Gyalwa Ensapa

      To begin with we should not try to visualize all the objects of refuge clearly but be satisfied with a rough mental image of them. If we try too hard we are likely to end up with no image at all. What matters most of all when visualizing holy beings is to have strong conviction that they are actually appearing in subtle forms in the space before us.

      Once we have generated the causes of going for refuge, understood the way to go for refuge, and visualized the objects of refuge, we can actually go for refuge by reciting the refuge prayer three times or more while contemplating its meaning. In the sadhana the refuge prayer is given in Sanskrit:

      Namo Gurubhä

      Namo Buddhaya

      Namo Dharmaya

      Namo Sanghaya

      The meaning is ‘I go for refuge to the Gurus, I go for refuge to the Buddhas, I go for refuge to the Dharmas, I go for refuge to the Sanghas.’ Tibetans often recite this prayer in Sanskrit because these were the very first words of Dharma to be spoken in Tibet, and they remind them of the kindness of the original Indian Pandits who brought the Dharma to their country. At one time there was not even the sound of Dharma in Tibet. Then the Tibetan king, Trisong Detsen, invited Padmasambhava and Shantarakshita to come from India to teach Dharma to the Tibetans. They began by trying to teach the Tibetans to say this refuge prayer in Sanskrit. The Tibetans had never heard Sanskrit before and had great difficulty in pronouncing it correctly to start with, rather as western practitioners are currently struggling to pronounce Tibetan. Eventually they mastered the prayer and, to this day, the Tibetans still cherish these precious Dharma words.

      It is worth mentioning in this context that for a long time Sanskrit was more important than Tibetan because it was the language in which Buddha taught and the language in which the original scriptures were written. Gradually, however, all the scriptures were translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan. The Tibetans took great care over these translations, consulting Indian scholars at every stage and translating the texts back from the Tibetan into Sanskrit to test their authenticity. Eventually they had translated into Tibetan a collection of over one hundred volumes of Buddha’s teachings and more than two hundred volumes of various commentaries to these teachings. These two collections are known as the Kangyur and Tengyur respectively. Subsequently, many of the original Sanskrit scriptures were irretrievably lost and so these days the only complete collection of scriptures is in Tibetan. If the Tibetan scriptures are lost there will no longer be a complete collection of Dharma texts in this world. Moreover, the pure Sanskrit in which the teachings were originally given has gradually become mixed with colloquial strands and these days only impure forms of Sanskrit remain. The written Tibetan language, however, has not undergone the same kind of degeneration. Therefore there is good reason for claiming that, from the point of view of Dharma, Tibetan is now more important than Sanskrit.

      As mentioned before, Offering to the Spiritual Guide is a preliminary practice for Vajrayana Mahamudra and was compiled principally as a method for practising the fourth great preliminary guide, Guru yoga. However we can, if we wish, collect all four great preliminary guides with this sadhana, in which case we should collect the first great preliminary guide, going for refuge, at this point. The way to do this is explained in Joyful Path of Good Fortune and The New Guide to Dakini Land. Both of these books also contain an extensive explanation of the practice of going for refuge.

      GENERATING BODHICHITTA

      This has two parts:

      1 Generating aspiring bodhichitta

      2 Generating engaging bodhichitta

      GENERATING ASPIRING BODHICHITTA

      Having gone for refuge, we now generate a special motivation of bodhichitta. This is done in conjunction with the next verse from the sadhana:

      For the sake of all mother sentient beings,

      I shall become the Guru-Deity,

      And then lead every sentient being

      To the Guru-Deity’s supreme state.

      On the basis of the compassionate wish generated on the occasion of going for refuge, we now generate the wish to become a Buddha to free all mother sentient beings from the sufferings of samsara and lead them to the supreme happiness of Buddhahood.

      Because this is a Highest Yoga Tantra practice, we generate a very special bodhichitta wish. This is expressed by the words ‘I shall become the Guru-Deity’. To become enlightened for the sake of others we first train on the common paths of Lamrim and Lojong and then enter into the uncommon Vajrayana paths of generation stage and completion stage. The purpose of practising the two stages of Vajrayana is to accomplish the state of our personal Deity. For example, if our personal Deity is Heruka we strive to become Heruka, and if our personal Deity is Vajrayogini we strive to become Vajrayogini. How is this done? The only way to become a Deity is to rely upon a Spiritual Guide whom we regard as being the same nature as that Deity. For example, if we are striving to become Heruka, we regard our root Guru as by nature inseparable from Heruka. With this recognition we perform either an extensive or a brief Guru yoga and dissolve our Guru into our heart. We feel as if our root mind and our Guru’s mind have become inseparable, the nature of Guru Heruka. With this special feeling we then generate ourself as Heruka and maintain divine pride of being the Guru-Deity.

      To begin with, this is accomplished through correct imagination but eventually, through training in completion stage practices, we will generate a subtle body called the illusory body, which is an actual body of a Deity. Once we have attained the illusory body we have a pure mind and a pure body. Through continuing to improve our experience with the yogas of completion stage, our pure illusory body will become the actual body of a Buddha and our pure mind will become the actual mind of a Buddha. Then we will have become the actual Guru-Deity, Guru Heruka.

      Without first generating a completely new subtle body, the illusory body, there is no way we can become a Buddha. No matter how long we meditate we will never be able to transform our present gross body into a Buddha’s body. To generate the illusory body we need to train in the generation stage and completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra, and to do this we must practise Guru yoga, regarding our Guru as inseparable from the Deity. In other words, the only way to become a Buddha is to practise Guru yoga in conjunction with the two stages of Highest Yoga Tantra. If we understand this we will realize just how precious is the practice of Offering to the Spiritual Guide. We will also see that the way of generating bodhichitta according to Highest Yoga Tantra is much more profound and much more realistic than the way of generating it according to Sutra.

      We may wonder why it is necessary to rely upon a Guru to practise generation stage and completion stage. Why can we not simply practise these yogas on our own and generate ourself as the Deity? The answer is that at the moment we are completely different from the Deity, and without the Guru we have no way of establishing a connection with the Deity. For example, the Deity Heruka is a transcendental being completely beyond the realms of ordinary experience. The only way we can connect with Heruka is through our Guru. The Guru’s extraordinary characteristic is that although in reality he is a transcendental being who is the same nature as Heruka, he is nevertheless able to appear in an ordinary form and communicate with us directly. In this way he is able to introduce us to Deities such as Heruka and guide us through the stages of transforming ourself into that Deity. Thus we should regard our Guru as an emanation of the Deity. Without the Guru it would be impossible for us to receive the blessings of Heruka or any other Deity. This is why Guru yoga is called ‘the gateway to receiving blessings’. All Tantric realizations depend entirely upon the blessings of the Guru. Without the water of the Guru’s blessings our minds are like dry seeds, incapable of spiritual growth.

      There is a traditional Tibetan saying that the Guru possesses the four bodies of a Buddha, which are like a large snow mountain, but if the sun of our faith does not rise, the waters of the Guru’s blessings cannot melt. Considering