Mandala of Vajrayogini

Preliminary Explanation

      The commentary to the Highest Yoga Tantra practice of Venerable Vajrayogini consists of the preliminary explan­ation, the main commentary to the generation and completion stages, and the dedication. The first of these, the preliminary explanation, has seven parts:

      1 Generating a correct motivation

      2 The origin and lineage of these instructions

      3 The benefits of these instructions

      4 Biographies of past Buddhist practitioners who gain­ed realizations through practising these instructions

      5 The qualifications necessary for practising these instructions

      6 The four special causes of swift attainments

      7 What are outer and inner Dakini Lands?

      GENERATING A CORRECT MOTIVATION

      These instructions concern the extraordinary spiritual path of Tantra, or Secret Mantra, which is the quickest and most profound method for attaining great enlightenment. We should rejoice in this precious opportunity to study these instructions which, if put into practice, can lead to full enlightenment within one short human life. However, studying these instructions will be truly meaningful only if our motivation is pure. If we read this book merely out of intellectual curiosity we will not experience its real meaning. To receive the maximum benefit from these instructions, each time we study or practise them we should begin by generating a pure, altruistic motivation. We can do this by reciting the following prayer three times while concentrating on its meaning:

      I and all sentient beings, the migrators as extensive as space, from this time forth until we reach the essence of enlightenment,

      Go for refuge to the glorious, sacred Gurus,

      Go for refuge to the complete Buddhas, the Blessed Ones,

      Go for refuge to the sacred Dharmas,

      Go for refuge to the superior Sanghas.

      We should then recite three times:

      Once I have attained the state of a complete Buddha, I shall free all sentient beings from the ocean of samsara’s suffering and lead them to the bliss of full enlightenment. For this purpose I shall practise the stages of Vajrayogini’s path.

      THE ORIGIN AND LINEAGE OF THESE INSTRUCTIONS

      The two stages of the practice of Vajrayogini were originally taught by Buddha Vajradhara. He manifested in the form of Heruka to expound the Root Tantra of Heruka, and it was in this Tantra that he explained the practice of Vajrayogini. All the many lineages of instructions on Vajrayogini can be traced back to this original revelation. Of these lineages, there are three that are most commonly practised: the Narokhachö lineage, which was transmitted from Vajrayogini to Naropa; the Maitrikhachö lineage, which was transmitted from Vajrayogini to Maitripa; and the Indrakhachö lineage, which was transmitted from Vajrayogini to Indrabodhi. This commentary to the generation and completion stages of the Highest Yoga Tantra practice of Vajrayogini is based on the instructions of the Narokhachö lineage.

      THE ORIGIN OF HERUKA TANTRA

      At one time this universe was controlled by the worldly deity Ishvara. His mandalas and lingams existed in many places in this world, the most important ones being in the twenty-four holy places. Ishvara’s followers sacrificed innumerable animals as offerings to him. This greatly pleased Ishvara and in return he helped them to obtain wealth and worldly success, but he obstructed anyone who tried to attain liberation or enlightenment. Under the influence of Ishvara the people of this world slaughtered thousands of animals every day, thinking that they were performing virtuous actions. In reality however they were accumulating heavy negative karma and depriving themselves of the opportunity to attain liberation.

      The Heroes and Heroines of the five Buddha families found this situation intolerable and asked Buddha Vajradhara to intervene. Buddha Vajradhara manifested in the form of Heruka and through the power of his blessings subdued Ishvara and transformed Ishvara’s mandalas, or worlds, into Heruka’s mandalas. The other Deities of Heruka’s mandala subdued Ishvara’s retinue by converting them to followers of Heruka.

      Heruka did not reabsorb the mandalas, his pure worlds, that he had emanated in the twenty-four places in this human world but left them intact, and to this day beings with especially pure karma are able to see these mandalas and the Heroes and Heroines who abide within them. For practitioners of Heruka and Vajrayogini these blessed places are particularly powerful sites for meditation.

      After subduing Ishvara and his retinue, Heruka expounded the condensed, middling and extensive root Tantras of Heruka. Of these, only the Condensed Root Tantra of Heruka has been translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan. Buddha Vajradhara also expounded many explanatory Tantras, which are commentaries to the root Tantras, and a number of these have been translated into Tibetan. It is in these root and explanatory Tantras, especially in the forty-seventh and forty-eighth chapters of the fifty-one chapters of the Condensed Root Tantra of Heruka, that Buddha Vajradhara gave clear instructions on the practice of Vajrayogini.

      THE LINEAGE OF THESE INSTRUCTIONS

      The first Guru in the lineage of these instructions is Buddha Vajradharma and the second is Buddha Vajrayogini. Vajra­yogini transmitted these instructions directly to Naropa, who diligently put them into practice and as a result gained great realizations. Although Naropa had many disciples he kept his practice of Vajrayogini secret, transmitting it only to two brothers from the Nepalese town of Pamting, now called Pharping. He recognized that the Pamtingpa brothers, Jigme Dragpa and his younger brother Ngawang Dragpa, had a particularly strong karmic connection with these instructions. Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltsen and other famous Teachers have remarked on the fact that even Naropa’s most famous disciple, the great Tibetan Master Marpa, did not receive these instructions.

      The Pamtingpa brothers passed these instructions to the Tibetan translators Lokya Sherab Tseg and then Malgyur Lotsawa. It was Malgyur Lotsawa who translated the Condensed Root Tantra of Heruka from Sanskrit into Tibetan. Through his kindness many Tibetans in the past became great Yogis and Yoginis, and today many people have the opportun­ity to study and practise the Heruka and Vajrayogini Tantras. Malgyur Lotsawa himself reached the supreme Union of Vajradhara and attained Dakini Land in that life.

      From Malgyur Lotsawa these instructions were passed down in unbroken succession to Je Phabongkhapa, and then to the most Venerable Dorjechang Trijang Rinpoche, holder of the lineage. It was from this great Master that I, the author, received these instructions.

      From Buddha Vajradharma to Dorjechang Trijang Rinpoche there have been thirty-seven lineage Gurus. The lineage of these instructions is unbroken and the blessings passed down from Buddha Vajradharma are intact. Each lineage Guru attain­ed complete experience of these instructions, thereby ensuring that their power has not decreased. These instructions