# Tassie Yamāntaka Commentary 4a 1990-01-04
**Collection:** Rinpoche Recordings — Yamāntaka Commentary (1989-90)
**Duration:** 46.7 minutes
**Words:** 3,147
**Model:** Deepgram Nova-3
**Corrections applied:** 2
**Transcribed:** 2026-03-01 00:15
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January 1990. Self, in order to liberate all sentient beings from their suffering and to place them to ultimate bliss and happiness, firstly, I must attain as quickly as possible the state of complete And for that purpose, meaning in order to attain the complete Buddhahood, for that purpose, I must engage in the activity of listening to the performed. Mahāyāna are great working teaching and more particularly in this context, the peak of all the four classes of tantra that is Highest Yoga Tantra of which this present practice of Yamāntaka is section or it belongs to that group. In this way we will try to engage in this practice of explaining and listening to the teaching through bodhicitta motivation. In trying to generate that right motivation, let’s meditate together for three minutes for about three minutes.
Yeah. The great master Lama Tsongkhapa has said in a verse which goes, Once the practitioner has preceded his practice by completing training on the common path, thereafter the practitioner, who is a fortunate being should enter into the supreme among all the vehicles, which is the secret mantra path. So in meaning it explains that in order to do the practice of the secret mantra path, firstly the practitioner should have trained on the common parts. And regarding the common path, generally speaking, the common path comprises the trainings of the three types of persons: small capable person, intermediate capable person, and supreme or great capable person. But to explain what common path in essence means, in essence the common path are three principal aspects of the path to have trained on them, of which the first is renunciation.
Renunciation means the practitioner should have come to a determined what I call feeling of decision that whatever and how long one may be in cyclic existence, there is no real happiness at all. Therefore, cyclic existence or saṃsāra is a place of complete completely filled with faults. And whenever such a feeling is there spontaneously without artificial makeup, and that is supposed to be renunciation. And with that renunciation, which primarily thinks about the faults of general saṃsāra in terms of oneself and one’s own suffering, and thereby generate a thought not to be attached to samsaric things. And that very thinking of one’s own suffering when one what could shift or twist that thinking when other person or sentient beings suffering and through which one generates an aspiration that I must somehow find a solution to liberate these sentient beings who are suffering.
And in trying to find a solution when one comes to realization that to attain Buddhahood there is the only possible resourcefulness. Therefore, at the end, when the practitioner thinks that for the sake of all sentient beings, I must attain the state of Buddhahood, and whenever that thought arises, then it is called the second one, the bodhicitta thought or mind of enlightenment. Even though the practitioner may have the first two renunciation and bodhicitta, but if the practitioner lacks the or if the practitioner doesn’t have the correct view which understands the reality, emptiness, nature of things then there is not any possibility for the practitioner to get rid of subtle obscurations which are called afflictive obscuration and knowledge obscuration. Therefore, the practitioner must have the third one, the correct view. Correct view here principally means understanding about everything lacking true existence in the context of the highest middle way school that is Consequentialist or Prāsaṇgika middle way school.
And therefore, if possible, practitioner before entering the secret mantrapath should have the three principal aspects of path in one’s self in what is called experience without effort, which is to be explained as meaning a spontaneous experience. And if that is not possible, then at least the practitioner should have experience with effort, meaning non spontaneous experience about the three principal aspects of the path. And if not, at least most, the practitioner must have good understanding about what the three principal aspects of path means. Once the practitioner has these three complete, then he has the requirement complete to enter into the door of the secret mantra path. And to enter into secret mantra path, the entrance door is to receive the empowerment of whatever classes of tantra the practitioner wants to enter.
And once the empowerment is received, it is not enough just to remain like that. Instead, the practitioner should abide or observe all the pledges and vows. So all these explained are the requirement to form the basis, foundation for any practitioner wanting to practice the sacred mantrapath. Like when you build a house, if the foundation is very firm, stable, then the whole house to build on that will be also firm and stable. So likewise, if one has all these complete, then if one does the secret mantra path, all the realizations will be born and ultimately one can attain Buddhahood.
All the strength or power of mantra path, meaning the tantra path, will have to be produced through the force of the perfection vehicle, which is to be explained as meaning that through special training and to emphasize long training on the three principal aspects of path, the real realizations can be produced after when the practitioner does the sacred mantapath. Otherwise, it’s not possible. So far, in yesterday’s teaching, we came to the point of offering torma to the direction protectors, wherein the sādhana comes to the mantra Om Vajra Sattva and so forth. And this mantra Om Vajra Sattva, ya pa la tar ya, and so forth are of seven fragments or seven sections. And these seven sections incorporate the mantra Om Yamantak Hum Phat, the seven syllables of the mantra Om Yamāntaka Hum Phat.
And after that the mantra following is Om E Priya and so forth which meaning that mantra after which comes Om e, Priya and so forth, that mantra incorporates the heart mantra which is Om Vajra Vidhana and so forth. So Om e, the first mantra, and e is the first syllable of the word of the what’s called Ishwara. Ishwara, the local holy god. And Priya, you is the first letter of Yamarāja, the master of death. Shinje, yam.
And Ko, the first letter of Indra. And a is the first letter of the fire deity. No. Agni. And a is the first letter of the what I call demons.
I I think think better than flesh-eaters. Is the first letter of cannibals. And is the first letter of the wind god. And is the first letter of the earth goddess. And Sarwa after that, which follows after that.
Sarwa means all, and Bhutebhya in short means all the assemblies of the all the assemblies of the cannibals. So in short, this mantra incorporates the 10 syllables of Om Vajra Vidhana. So what happened so far with the visualization is we have invited the direction protectors who are the torma guests together with their entourage. And also we have emitted from our heart the offering goddesses who hold in the skullcap the offerings the torma, and they’re offering the torma. And when that is being visualized, one recites the mantra, this whole set of mantra three times and offers the torma.
So the offering of torma to the direction protector has been taken or has been taken from master Lalitavajra’s work on Yamāntaka commentary called Shiyag Yama, the Yamāntaka with 49 deities. So meaning this section of offering, paramatri, direction, protector has been imported from master Lalitavajra’s work on Yamāntaka Shiyag Yama, not Yamāntaka with 49 deities. And now he’s offering the what called outer offerings, and this starts with and so forth. So means 10 direction. Means 10 and directions.
And this means the direction protectors of the 10 directions. Regarding 10 directions, there are the four main directions, four sub directions, up and down. Top. Yeah. And 10 directions, means world, universe.
Pala means guardians or protectors. So universe, guardians are the 10 directions. Sarva dik pala, that’s as normal is the And the time when one has offered or finished offering the torma, at that point, the offering goddesses will be absorbed back into one’s heart. And again, when one is going to make the outer orphan, one has to emit out the offering goddesses and then offer the argham and so forth. And when that is finished, again emit, they are absorbed back into one’s heart.
And when that outer offering is finished, then one has to make the inner offering which starts from. So in this way, one has done the formal offering, outer offering, and inner offering. And why these are being offered, torma, outer offering and inner offering are being offered is because I, the practitioner, afterward or following afterward going to do the practice of Yamāntaka where I will generate myself into Yamāntaka and do the remaining practice. Because that practice may perhaps be hindered by interference and obstacle bearing beings, therefore, youth protector, or please assist me in trying to divert those obstacles and interferences. And how that is so is because in the following where the one verse praise goes with Kama Yama, all grace, Dakinis, and so forth.
In there, the line says, you who have promised before the Bhagawan, the master or master Dharma raja, the manjushri that in future you would protect any practitioner who does the practice of Yamāntaka. Therefore, that is the purpose. And as in accordance to that purpose, afterward there comes the one verse prayer, which in English starts with Kama Yama, all grace, whereas in Tibetan starts with the Bhagawan, Dharma Rāja, manjushri, and so forth. So after that, one what I call do the relying for enlightened activity, which is the one verse of praise and after that the request to kindly protect and what call kindly remove the hindrances. When that is finished, regarding the following practice after that, there are two different ways.
One is where the practitioner says or requests, Please return back to your natural residence place, and in which one visualize when the torma is offered, when the request is finished, you request them to kindly go back to your place and then you visualize that they have gone. The other way is in which you visualize that after the request, they went a little bit further, but they still remain at a distance surrounding you, thereby ever protecting you. And that’s another way. So regarding the arrangement of the offerings, you can if it is if the altar is quite big and it’s quite convenient, then you can offer the torma at the background and in front of it the offering to the dharmaraja and in front of that the offering of the preliminary practice and in front of that the offering of the self generation, and in front of that, the offering of the front generation. All the other offerings will have to be arranged right to left, which from our point will have to start from left.
And whereas the offering to the front generation which is now coming. So whereas the offering to the front generation will have to be right from one side, so that will be left from that side of right from one side from here to left. So the offerings for the self generation deity and for the front generation deity, difference is only in the position of arrangement whereas the amount of these offerings offered are same. And then as before with the other offerings, which has been explained before, there the blessing part comprises of four parts, the what called expelling, purification, generation, and blessing. So here too with the offering for the self generation deity, it is of four: the expelling, purification, generation, and blessing.
And as in the sādhana, it starts the same way. You recite a mantra for expelling, invitation with abisheka. At this point, the offering to the self generation deity is being blessed only, consecrated only, but it’s not being offered. So the consecration will start with culminating in the mantra. So it would be just left, blessed, at this point.
So at this point, one will have to do purification practice because when one is the yoga practice of the glorious Yamāntaka, where one generates and meditates oneself into the aspect of deity, there are principally two adverse factors which hinders the practitioner from gaining realizations and in the previous realization in that case which causes the previous born realizations to decline down. So what are those two principal obstacles? They are the negativities and obscurations, technically called negativities and obscurations and these two at this point the practitioner has to get rid of. In one of the root tantra, it explains where the meaning is if one does the practice of Vajrasattva and if one does the practice of Vajrasattva, then all the past negativities will be purified and even the negativities which are being done right now, if one does the practice of Vajrasattva and recites the one hundred syllable mantra 21 times, the practice will help the practitioner for the present negativities or non virtuous actions to not increase in their potential to produce karmic results In the commentary text, the commentary text does not include the practice of Vajrasattva at this point, but the practice of visualization and recitation of Vajrasattva at this point.
But in the sādhana, you have gone therefore, I will explain according to the sādhana, meaning we will go through explaining Vajrasattva practice. And at this point, with the Vajrasattva practice, it starts in the sādhana. Two to three times, go for refuge. So this is going for refuge at the beginning. And as in any refuge practice, it will have to be complete with the two necessary requirements which is to see the sufferings and unbearable experience of the nature of three bad migrations and saṃsāra in general.
Second, to have belief in the Three Jewels having the power to rescue you. And if one is doing the going for refuge practice in the context of great vehicle, then on top of that, the third requirement is to have a feeling for all sentient beings thinking in order to myself and all other sentient beings to be freed from genuine suffering, rely and go for refuge to the Three Jewels. And with the Three Jewels, they really do have the utmost resourcefulness to work or rescue all sentient beings because they have the four qualities making them worthy of perfect object for refuge because the first qualities they themselves are freed of all the fears, and second, they are skillful liberating others from the fear, and third, their great compassion engages to all without nearness and farness, meaning the great compassion is focused on all sentient beings without discrimination of nearness and farness. And fourth quality, they perform the welfare of all sentient being, notwithstanding the matter that some has helped them or some don’t. Meaning some have respected them and some don’t.
What name? And going for refuge practice, this is a special practice which is not found in non-Buddhist practices. And then after that, the lines in the sādhana goes, all the sentient beings are liberate and will lead to the place of enlightenment and will generate the perfect bodhicitta mind. So this is I will lead all sentient beings, liberate them and lead them to the highest enlightenment. So at this point, one generates bodhicitta or mind.
Generating the mind technically called generating the mind, meaning to generate bodhicitta bodhicitta is a practice which is distinct to great vehicle and superior to the solitary realizers and hearers. And then at once so on top of one’s crown about this distance, on top on top of one’s crown, there is a Pam syllable from which comes or which transforms into lotus and an Ah syllable which transforms into moon on top of that lotus. And on top of that is a Hung which is in nature Vajrasattva, and that transforms into a five-pointed vajra, at the hub of which is the syllable. And then rays emitted from that Hung syllable, which which does the offering to the Buddhist and Bodhisattvas and liberating or purification of the sentient beings and liberating them. And after that, the rays are drawn back and which which transforms drawn back into the home, and that transforms into Vajrasattva, white in color, one face, two arms, holding a vajra, and to mother, white in color, one face, two arm, holding a curved knife and a skull cup and embracing the father.
And at the heart at the heart is the moon on which is the Hung syllable surrounded by the mantra, Om Vajrasattva Samaya, and so forth, the 100 syllable mantra. And then visualize from the Hung syllable rays are emitted, invites the wisdom being and the empowering empowering deities, and then wisdom being absorbed into the Vajrasattva, father and mother. And empowering deities bestow empowerment, which completely fills their body, and the overflowing excess adorns the crown as Buddha Akṣobhya. So at this point, in order to do the purification thoroughly, it will have to be complete with what is normally called four opponent powers or four antidote powers. Among the four antidote powers, the first is called the power of basis which are, as explained at the beginning of this practice, are going for refuge and generating the mind of enlightenment.
And then the second power power is called power of complete eradication in which the practitioner should remember or recollect past negative actions and thereby should generate generate intense regret for the past negative actions thinking oh I have done such negative actions and now if I don’t purify them then I will have to experience what are called intense consequences. Therefore one at this point has to generate intense regret for past negative actions. And the third power is called the power of turning away from misdeeds. So this is to make what call literally call, this is to make a thought of restraint that I will refrain from these mistakes in future, that I will never do that. And if possible, one should make that thought of restraining for the whole remaining lifetime making promise or making decision within one’s mind that I will not do again such misdeeds for the rest of my life.
And if that is not possible, then some past Tibetan lamas have explained a skillful method which is to make decision in one’s mind thinking if I’m not able to make promise for my remaining lifetime, at least I will not repeat this mistake for the next year or this year, if not this month, if not at least this week, if not at least this day. And in doing so, then