Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 47-minute teaching, Kyabje Rinpoche provides detailed instructions for the Lama offering practice within Vajrayoginī sādhana, with particular attention to visualizing six sense-offering goddesses and their associated hand mudras. He clarifies the external, internal, and secret Lama through Vajradhāra, then explains how commitment and wisdom beings merge through the mantra DZA HUM PHAT HO, each syllable synchronized with a specific mudrā. The main focus is making five types of offerings to the Lama: water for drinking, water for the feet, flowers, incense, and light. For each offering, Rinpoche teaches the visualization of a distinct goddess with a particular color, sacred implement, and mudrā that emanates from the heart and makes the offering. Both extensive and condensed practice versions are presented. For practitioners who have received Vajrayoginī initiation.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1991-11-21 – 9B – Comm – KR.mp3
UUID: 938a7224-25e6-4e12-8240-75ca2c67cb13
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Vajrayoginī
Date: 1991-11-21
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~2,038
Non-natural pieces of the mind are what we call adventitious. They are temporary aberrations. An explanation for the differences between these is in terms of the external, internal, and secret Lama. And the Vajradhāra is a representation of the external Lama. Vajradhāra, the internal Lama and the Vajradhāra who sits in consort with consort is representative of the secret Lama.
So that’s one difference. So what is presently being visualized, the central lama with the lineage lamas, are termed the commitment beings, the samayasattva. The beings which are being invited are the wisdom beings, or the jnana sattva. When we recite the word dza, or in Sanskrit then we should imagine that these wisdom beings which have been invited come to the top of the heads of all of the commitment beings, remaining at the top, just above their crown. So upon while you’re pronouncing the mantra, you do this Mudra.
Okay. Then hum. So upon pronouncing the syllable hum, you should imagine that the wisdom beings dissolve into the commitment beings. So when you pronounce the syllable whom, it’s like putting milk into water. They are mixed together.
So upon hum the commitment being and the wisdom being become mixed. Then reciting the syllable phat with the appropriate hand mudrā. And now upon phat, you should imagine that having mixed together, now they become indivisible. And upon reciting Ho with the Phat Mudra, upon reciting Ho, that the wisdom being and the commitment being experience great joy. Coordinated with the recitation of the mantra, Dza Hum Phat Ho, coming to the crown, dissolving, indivisibility, And you should imagine that all of the lamas without any discrimination as to difference are the condensation of the three refuges of the Buddha, Dharma, and the spiritual community, and they have all exactly equal excellent qualities.
There’s no discrimination as the one is better than the other. So this is the method of generating the lama. This So, we have invoked the Lama by inviting, and now we’re going to offer prostrations to the Lamas. I bow to where it says in the actual text, I bow to your lotus feet, O Vajra holder. My jewel-like guru, by whose kindness I instantaneously attained a state of great bliss.
So what is being said here is that the Lama, that by relying upon his teachings, one can in but an instant generate the wisdom of great bliss. And when it says an instant here, in comparison to the long-lived celestial beings, long lived gods and hell beings, that theirs are but an instant of time. And in instant one can attain the wisdom of great bliss, and the lama is like a jewel. The definitive Vajra, that is the actual external Vajra, which the Vajra Dhara is holding, represents the internal Vajra, which is the wisdom of great bliss. Acknowledging And that one respectfully places one’s crown to the lotus feet of the Lama.
So in making prostration, would be extremely beneficial if you could imaginatively emanate immeasurable numbers of bodies prostrating along with you. Or if you can’t do that, then we can have immeasurable numbers of beings. Another way to do this is the beings of our past lives are imagined in human form, and all of these are prostrating. This is extremely beneficial. So, having made prostration to the lama, now we’re going to make offerings to the lama.
So, as we did previously in making offerings, it was necessary to prepare the offering in terms of consecrating the inner offering. So we’re going to make five types of offerings. The five types of offerings, inner offerings, secret offerings, offering of suchness, and offering of practice. These first four are related to the four types of empowerments. The outer offering is related to the vase empowerment.
The inner offering is related to the secret empowerment. The secret offering is related to exalted wisdom empowerment, and then the offering of suchness is related to the word empowerment. So we ourselves are present in the aspect of Vajrayoginī, and our heart is the letter Bam. And from the squiggle, the Nada, emanates the offering goddess who is actually going to perform the offerings. So the goddesses perform the first three types of offerings.
These are offerings of Argham, Padam, Pushpe — that is water for drinking, water for feet, and flowers. The offering goddess which are emanating is white in color for all three of these. So you can either imagine that the offering Goddesses have four hands or two hands, depending on whether you want to make vast offerings or slightly condensed offerings. What do you think? Is the practice of Secret Mantra difficult or easy?
So one has to be able to this is for the most intelligent, those with the greatest wisdom, those who have put forth the greatest effort and are able to meditate well. You haven’t had much experience, you haven’t heard a lot of this. Now, day by day if you train, then it will become easier. It doesn’t take a lot of thinking, for example, do the Mudras. So now this is we’re giving this extensive explanation to give you some information, and then when you actually meditate it, can take bits of it.
So the first of these offerings is the nectar, and this is the goddesses, This is Chuyun. And India is very hot, and this is for drinking and cooling, offering to the feet to cool the body off. We’re adding the syllable pratīccha, or in Sanskrit pratīccha. This means please accept. So the syllable is Svāhā.
Though the objects of the offering, the Lamas, have already generated the exalted wisdom, non-dual wisdom of great bliss emptiness, by the condition by the various offerings we’re making by the condition of this offering, this acting as a cooperative condition, they newly generate this blissful wisdom. So this offering acts as a cooperative condition for them to newly generate it. And this is the meaning of Svāhā. So we’re going to do the Mudras, and beginning with the Vajra fist. So we’re going to emanate goddesses from our heart and to the object of offering, and it’s necessary that we snap both of our fingers.
In This order to emanate the offering Goddess. Then we do the Lotus Mudra. This snapping should be done in front of the heart, not some other place. All of the emanation and dissolving which is going to take place emanates all that takes place from the heart. It goes out from the heart and dissolves back into the heart.
This is the turning lotus Mudra. The folded hand, And then imagine that you’re offering water. So while doing this Mudra, imagining that you have offered immeasurable numbers of offering goddesses have been emanated and making offerings to all the lamas. And then imagine that by means of his offering, all of the Lamas newly generate wisdom of great bliss. And then having made the offerings, we must reabsorb the offering goddesses.
That’s the first offering, which is called Argham. Second is Padam, begin with the Vajra fist. Then the Padam is water for washing the feet. So, the snapping of the fingers as previously, doing the turning lotus mudrā, and then the mudrā of the folded hand. That you’re taking some water up.
Dipping and taking up water and spreading. So you’re spreading the water out smooth, rubbing the water. That’s washing of feet. Again, many offering goddesses should be emanated. Again, by means of having made this offering, the Lama’s newly generate the wisdom of great bliss.
So now we begin to say Om Vajra, and here Pushpe — Pushpe is a flower. We’re offering the flower to the crown of the head. So, we offer innumerable offering goddesses who are offering flowers, and then vajra fist, the turning lotus mudrā, and then the folded hand mudrā. This is the throwing the tossing up of the flower. So, the next offering is Dhupe, which is incense.
So this is the smoke of the the incense. So, we’re offering to the nose. Now we offer the Aloke, and this is the offering lamp or light. In the Sanskrit text, the Tibetan, it says Aloke rather than Dipam, it’s the same as Aloke. Means the same as Aloke.
So these are the thumbs represent the wicks of the lamp. Not like that, like this. We’re going to have photographs. So it should be in the middle. The wick should be in the middle.
That’s the correct way. So the next offering in Sanskrit is Gandhe, and it is scented water, and it is applied to the heart area. Because in India it’s very hot, they would have taken some kind of scented water scented with sandalwood or some fragrance like that, and rubbed it around the heart area. We’re going to offer this scented water at the heart area. So when we’re hot, if we rub water around our chest and the heart area, it’ll cool as well.
So now we’re doing Naividya, which is food. Now we’re going to offer sound. Shabda. So this is the Mudra for the highest yoga tantra. And Caryā Tantra has its own. So this is the Ubhaya Yoga Tantra Mudra for Shabda.
So it’s nice to have good music while you’re eating. Now we offer six sense offering goddesses. If we were doing it in a vast way, we would offer 16, in an extensive way of 16. So this begins with, as it says in the text, So we recite this, the offering mantra for this first offering of Om Vajra Adarsha Hum. Om is the doorway into the mantra.
A is the seed syllable of the speech of the Buddha, and at the end it says hum. This is the seed syllable of the mind of the Buddha, and in between is Adarsha, and this is the offering of the mirror. This is offering of the mirror is the mirror represents offering of form, visible forms. The goddess which is offering the mirror has one face, four arms, and is white. The left hand, the first one is holding a skull cup, the second a khaṭvāṅga.
The first one on the right is holding the handle of a mirror, and the second on the right is holding a ḍamaru. The name of the Goddess is Zuk Dorjema, and she’s holding this Mudra represents the mirror which she’s holding. So, all visible form appears within the mirror. Whatever, whatever everything in the world appears within the mirror when you look into it. The next offering goddess is called Dra Dorjema In her right hand, I can’t remember the word for it.
No, it’s Indian musical instrument. It’s called it’s a stringed instrument, a little stringed instrument she’s holding in her right hand, which I can’t think of the word right now. Something, right, that’s what we might call it. I call it a lute for now. Lute.
Can’t remember the name of it. Anyway, it’s a lute for now. And the other right hand is holding Like Doc plays the guitar? Then the next offering goddess is called Tri Dorjema and she is yellow in color. Left hands are the same, holding implements?
Her right hand is holding a container of incense, a censer. And second is Damaru, holding Damaru. Then the next offering goddess is called Ro Dorjema, and she is red in color. So she’s holding food in her right hand, her first right hand. Left hands hold the same.
You can like that. So the next offering goddess is Rekha Dorjema, and she’s green in color. Again, left hand are holding the same implements, and in her upper right hand, she’s holding soft cloth. She’s offering touch, object of touch. This is the Mudra for the next offering goddess.
Her name is Chö-jung Dorjema. Chö-jung is the reality source and she’s white in color. That symbolizes the reality source, the triangular reality source. And offering the the reality source? She’s white in color?
Offering the reality source, and again the Lama’s newly generate the wisdom of great bliss. Why do you think, right?