Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 80-minute Yamāntaka wisdom initiation, Lama Zopa Rinpoche guides practitioners through the fourth initiation of Anuttara Yoga Tantra. Beginning with visualization of the deity in union and the movement of bodhicitta through the chakras, he teaches how to experience increasingly subtle bliss at each center. The central instruction joins this intense bliss with direct realization of emptiness — the nondual mind that sees vast, limitless joy as the nature of reality itself. He outlines how this initiation purifies negative karma and broken vows accumulated through body, speech, and mind, and emphasizes it as the most powerful preparation for death. The teaching concludes with the vows and samaya commitments that protect the path. Aimed at practitioners with prior tantric training and initiation.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 05 2005 04 17 YAMANTAKA..mp3
UUID: 28d22434-0d92-4c2e-b7b8-92b8e36091ac
Teacher: Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1
Collection: z Malaysia (Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1)
Date: 2005-04-17
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 80.7 minutes
Words: ~3,411
Due to the guru’s instruction, then the wisdom of the Jing, Jangchub Sempa. Then due to the guru’s instruction, the one called the consort, looking for the vein and then with the various arts of love, then engaging in the union. So you are self deity, father, mother, then being in union, then the bodhicitta flows down from the crown, reaches the neck chakra, experience joy. Now the bodhicitta flows down in your heart chakra. Experience supreme joy, supreme bliss.
Now the bodhicitta flows down in your heart chakra, no, in navel chakra, experience extraordinary bliss. Experienced extraordinary bliss, greater bliss than before. Now from navel chakra, bodhicitta flows down to your secret place, the tip of the secret place. Not out, but in the tip of the secret place.
Reach up to the tip. Then now generated greatest bliss. Greatest bliss. Simultaneous born bliss. Understand the emptiness.
So now think, meditate this way. So what appears to you is space. What appears, you see, what appears to you is the space. And what do you understand is emptiness? So space.
The other way, you meditate it. The I who is meditating. I who is meditating is totally empty. The I who is meditating does not exist at all from its own side.
So what is appearing existing from its side, it’s totally empty. Other than that. Or what is appearing to you is space. The other way of maintaining. What do you understand is the emptiness.
So the space, go beyond from that, go beyond from space. So space, how does the space appear to you? As real space? Real one appearing from there. So that is a hallucination.
That is the object to be refuted. That is a hallucination. While you are focusing mentally on the hallucination, the way the space appears, existing from its own side, hallucination. So now at the same time, while you’re looking at this hallucination, think the meaning of hallucination. It doesn’t exist at all.
Even the atom of that, the real space appearing from there, doesn’t exist. Doesn’t exist at all, even slices of atom of that. It’s totally, completely empty. All that. There’s no such thing.
Even the space is empty of existing from its own side. Total nonexistent. Total nonexistent from its own side. Now that wisdom sees emptiness, is experiencing infinite bliss, like limitless sky, vast bliss. So bliss expands like limitless sky.
And nonduality with emptiness. In the view of that wisdom, there’s no such thing as this is emptiness, this is the mind, that is the emptiness. There’s no such thing. There’s no discrimination. There’s no dual. The infinite bliss, that wisdom, nonduality with emptiness. So meditate on this. So this experience is the wisdom initiation.
That’s not the wisdom initiation. Therefore, in the midst of the pure state of separated from the transcendent joy, the practitioner should remain stably fixed on what appears as signs. When the mind of the pure Vajra posture reaches the center of the jewel through the places that have been activated by the navel of the vajra in the space of the lotus gives rise to pristine awareness. It should be adorned with what is known as the nature of pristine awareness. This is not the white appearance of the preconception of attachment nor the red appearance of the preconception of detachment, nor is it the black appearance what is at the center.
When the yogi sees this pristine awareness, they should remain placed in this bliss, not change from it. They should remain placed with this manifest joining with present awareness for either a session, a day, a fortnight, one year, an eon, or even a thousand eons. You have received in the Bhagavan mandala. You have received by the actual wisdom mother, you have received initiation, the actual wisdom initiation. Then you have received the wisdom initiation in your continuum.
I think that. So what is purified? The negative karma collected with the mind. What is purified? Negative karma collected with the mind from beginning of birth up to now. Completely purified.
Negative karma collected with the mind from beginning of the birth is completely purified. Then a strong faith. It’s a strong faith. It purifies the stains, those stains which obscure us to see whatever appears to appear as natural bliss and emptiness.
So those stains which obscure us to see everything, you see, to see all the phenomena that appears in the nature, you see, I said, natural nature of this nondual bliss. So it is purified. So you have received permission and power to maintain on the Karmamudra practice, Mahāmudrā. You have received permission, power to maintain on the Karmamudra Mahāmudrā. This initiation, this wisdom initiation, left special power to actualize the result time dharmakaya.
This initiation has left special power to actualize result time dharmakaya. Didn’t pay off the mandala for the fourth initiation. So what is, is one of the segment I share, but usually explain is that during the wisdom initiation, you see your mind and then your mind in the great bliss, nondual with emptiness, and your body in the deity’s form, you see, the father mother in union, you see. So now it’s visualized. So this becomes preparation.
This cause becomes preparation, you see, to achieve pure illusory body from completion stage. Then unification of those two. Then unification, so you envision those two, the unification of learning. Then from that, that’s the path, you see, of unification. So from that, then you see, part of, you see, then unification of no more learning.
From that unification of no more learning. You see, the extremely subtle wind is completely pure from all two defilements, the extremely subtle wind. So that extremely subtle wind, total complete pure from two defilements. So the holy body, then the extremely subtle mind free from the two obscurations. So the dharmakaya, the holy mind.
So this, you see, inseparable. So we have the extremely subtle wind and mind during the base time. Extremely subtle wind and mind is there. It is inseparable from the beginning of rebirth. It’s inseparable. So but now this is, you see, not pure, not free from the disturbance or obscuration, just the obscuration towards fully knowing mind.
So that time, then by completing on the base of the generation stage and then completion stage. And by completing the, as mentioned before, the complete part, then you see extremely subtle wind and mind that’s free from all the two defilements. So it’s inseparable, the holy body and mind. So understanding this, so that the achievement. So understand this.
You see what it means, what means unification of the holy body and mind. In the vision of the holy body and mind. So understand the meaning of the words. So that’s the word initiation, understanding what means unification, you see, meaning of that. So by developing this, at the moment, we visualize, you see, mind in that state of nondual realization, and the body in deity’s form of the father mother in union.
Like that, you see. So by training mind in this thing, the defilements gradually, you see, get purified, and the quality is increased. So at the end, at the end, all the qualities are complete, and all the mistakes are ceased. So the sambhogakaya holy body, you see, which is just merely the extremely subtle wind and mind. So which, you see, embraced with the wisdom mother, which is illusory body, also mind.
The wisdom, that is wisdom, illusory body, likewise. So holy body, the holy body like this. Then at the same time, the holy mind in the sambhogakaya’s point of great bliss, understand emptiness, which is the dharmakaya. So these two are unified. The holy body, holy mind unified, so that, understand this is the word initiation.
Sorry. It’s completely this part. Commitment. You must always safeguard the vows and the close samaya bonds to the actual attainments, and all the Buddhas have said this in agreement. These are supreme everlasting holy words.
Never disparage your master. Never transgress the Sugata Buddha’s words. Likewise, never speak negatively about your vajra siblings out of anger. Never abandon, certainly never abandon the loving attitude towards sentient beings. Never give up the enlightened motive of bodhicitta mind. Never belittle your own Dharma traditions. Never disclose the secrets to sentient beings who have not been ripened.
Never despise your own. Never denounce the void, the nature of all things. Always abandon being friendly with those who are evil. Never hold a limit to your Dharma practice. Never deceive someone with faith. Always devote yourself to that commitment.
Never speak negatively about women. Never speak negatively or fault women since they are in the nature of wisdom. I’m not sure here. Never speak negatively. Never speak, fold, so generalizing, see, saying mistakes to women. So because among the women there, you see, dakinis. So therefore to not create obstacle, you know, for attainment. Never have the yoga bond of your breath and mantras run separately as if apart. And never abandon the yoga. Always recite the mantra continuously and always devote yourself to the close samaya bonds.
If you have despised your guru or likewise, if you have been careless about your close samaya bonds, draw the mandala with certainty and confess your black karmic deeds to the Sugata Buddhas. Today, your birth has become fruitful. And because of that you are well situated in this, have no doubt that you will come to remain as an equal with the close bonded deities. All the Buddhas, including the vajra holder, have conferred empowerment today on you who will have a long life. You are shown to be a lord with dominion, a great king of those of the three realms.
Having been victorious today over the Mara demonic force, now remain in the supreme city of enlightenment. Now there’s no doubt about your attainment of Buddhahood. Therefore, like this make your mind supremely into a virtuous state. Devote yourself to your close samaya bonds, which come from an inexhaustible place. Now you can bring these easily and cultivate them to a lasting state, equal to a vajra supply.
So you have received the word initiation in the absolute bodhicitta mandala. The pleasure of word initiation. So, have received the pleasure of word initiation. And this initiation, you see, left special potential to purify the imprints of the defilements of the body, speech, mind. This initiation, the word initiation has left potential on the mental continuum to wash, to purify the imprints of body, speech, and mind.
And you have this permission, power to maintain on the gradual completion stage. The unification of the two truths. The unification, the inseparability of two truths. The conventional truth and the absolute truth. So you have permission to maintain on the complete state, unification of two truths.
Then this, the word initiation made you fortunate to actualize result time, no more learning, the unified state of Vajradhāra. This initiation, word initiation, made you fortunate to actualize the result time, no more learning, the unified state of Vajradhāra, the holy body of the unified Vajradhāra. Left the potential as an imprint on the mental continuum. Yeah. That’s it.
So finally, after many eons, it’s finished. So sorry for that, changes. However, taking, doing self initiation, if this lama giving, you know, opportunity to receive initiation, this is the one most powerful purification. It purifies the broken vows, those negative karmas. They purify that and broken bodhisattva vows, purify that, and tantric three vows.
So this, you see, all those negativities, all those, see, block the path to Buddha’s subtle attainments, but all those negative karmas get purified by taking initiation. So makes again very pure. So and this is the, and then this way, there’s no obstacle to each realization. You see, whatever mistake is done.
Then also broken samaya with guru or whatever. Any heavy karma that is done, so by taking initiation, complete, all this gets completely purified. Get purified. And then again, become pure. And then one, as by practicing samaya again, then one able to achieve realization, able to achieve enlightenment quickly, and able to liberate numberless sentient beings quickly and able to enlighten them quickly.
So, therefore, that’s taking initiation. It has, and then leaving the potential. Leaving, you see, every time it leaves potential, your potential, your mind developed. It leaves every time potential to, most preparation to each of the path, you know, and then the path time trikaya, the result time trikaya. So it leaves potential to be, but it must be preparation to each other.
So it is highly admired, taking initiation, it is so much benefit. And those who are unable to do self initiation every day, who are unable to do, so busy life or unable to do or listening, whatever, then when there’s opportunity to take initiation, the Maha Anuttara Tantra, with the great Maha Anuttara Tantra and the four, which is this four initiation. So then that washes away, all those purifies away all those past, you know, all those negative karmas collected. Whatever one is collected, any negative karma should completely get purified. So and therefore, this is the one, this is the one best one for preparation for death.
So one, one know, one discover that one is gonna die. End of these days, then, you see, for this month, however, then best thing is, best thing is to, if there is no lama, to take self initiation. If it’s lama, then to take initiation from lama. However, so this is the best thing to do. And then you can go to pure land very easily.
You see, those methods, powers, they then work very, they work very easily. Very easily, they work, function, you see, to go to pure lands, so forth. Otherwise, the heavy karma, not purified, so they can become obstacle. Even you know the techniques, but it become obstacle to go to pure lands.
So this initiation thing, it’s very, very fruitful for life. Very meaningful. So and also, okay. And also, I think it also saved me from the lower realms because I did the ceremony today and yesterday and day before, all this. So I think like that.
Yeah. I think so, so thanks for that. Liberating also myself from the lower realms. You see. By doing this initiation.
Yeah. So a short mandala. All the past, present, future merit I collected, from the three times merit. Then all the rest of the organization, all the students and all the supporters, all those people who sacrificed their life to the organization during service to. And in the hearts of all those, and in the hearts of all the rest of the sentient beings, as well as in the hearts of, particularly in the hearts of sentient beings in this world and particularly generate bodhicitta in the hearts of all the leaders of all the countries and in the hearts of all the terrorists, all the people who are giving so much harm to others, in all their hearts without delay, without delay, even a second. And may it be increased, the ability to, you know, whose heart is generated.
Has a long life, by having the same quality, may as Lama Tsongkhapa has from now on in all my future lifetimes. And let’s see. All the projects. The as yet three-story stupa, and then seven-story, seven hundred feet.
Seven hundred feet something. Anyway, I’m sorry. Seven hundred story Maitreya. Medicine Buddha. Still comes out, I mentioned Medicine Buddha a few years ago, but it still comes out, Medicine Buddha very beneficial. I think you’re very lucky for the people in that area to have a large Medicine Buddha.
The area and then, you know, I mean, any sentient will come there. So all this project, and then the Maitreya statue project and all the rest of the project. And to do in the west, in the at Tibet and various countries. All the rest of the projects. And then maybe it’s like helping the centers where there are projects. You know?
Then all those places succeed immediately by receiving all they need. Immediately. And then dedicate all the three times merit collected by me, three times merit collected by others, that which is empty.
What I dedicate is empty, the one who dedicates is empty. Achieve, which is empty. Lead all sentient beings to emptiness. And to that great bliss, which is emptiness, by wisdom of bliss-emptiness, which is all empty. Dedicate all the three times merit collected by me.
Yeah. And all virtuous brothers, may I and also all beings be able to meet perfectly qualified guru in all the lifetimes. And each, from each to be able to see only enlightened being. The virtuous friend, only enlightened being. From each to see only. And then to do only action most pleasing the holy mind, the virtuous friend, only from our side.
And then to be able to fulfill the holy wishes of the virtuous friend immediately, only serving from our side. To happen this in all the future, in all the lifetime. And then I dedicate merit to be able to follow the whole extensive teaching. I dedicate all the merit in same way, three times. The merit.
In general, teaching may it spread in all directions. May it flourish for everyone in one’s family members, in the, in the hearts of one’s family members, in the hearts of the spirits in this world, in the hearts of the Dharma centers in this world. So very, very good morning. Long good morning. So, yeah, we can leave, but I have some short prayers to do.
That’s all. Thank you very much. All the things back to you, all the past things back. Okay.
Yeah. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you so much.