I think it’s a good enough time to start. We’ll make the formal prayers, mandalas, and then we start our “Creation and Completion“.
[Prayers] [REFUGE AND BODHICITTA PRAYER] sang gyé chö dang tsok kyi chok nam laI take refuge in the buddha, Dharma, and Supreme Assembly
jang chup bar du dak ni kyap su chi
Until the attainment of enlightenment.
dak gi jin sok gyi pé sö nam kyi
Through the merit of practicing generosity and so forth,
dro la pen chir sang gyé drup bar shok
May Buddhahood be accomplished for the benefit of beings. [THE FOUR IMMEASURABLES] sem chen tam ché dewa dang dewé gyu dang den par gyur chik
May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.
duk ngel dang duk ngel gyi gyu dang drelwar gyur chik
May they be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
duk ngel mé pé dewa dam pa dang mi drelwar gyur chik
May they be inseparable from true happiness devoid of and suffering.
nyé ring chak dang dang drelwé tang nyom chen po la né par gyur chik
May they realize great equanimity, without attachment to loved ones and aversion to others. [SEVEN-BRANCHED PRAYER] chak tselwa dang chö ching shak pa dang
Through homage, making offerings, confession,
jé su yi rang kül zhing sölwa yi
rejoicing, exhorting, and supplicating,
gewa chung zé dak gi chi sak pa
whatever small virtue I have amassed,
tam ché dak gi jang chup chir ngo
I delicate it all to supreme enlightenment. [OFFERING MANDALA] sa zhi pö chü juk shing mé tok tram
The ground is anointed with fragrant waters and strewn with flowers,
ri rap ling zhi nyi dé gyen pa di
adorned with Sumeru, the four continents, the sun, and the moon.
sang gyé zhing du mik té pülwa yi
Through my imagining this as a buddha realm and offering it,
dro gün nam dak zhing la chö par shok
may all beings enjoy and completely pure realm. [GURU YOGA] penden tsawé la ma rin po ché
Glorious and precious root guru
dak gi ji bor pemé den zhuk la
who sits on a lotus-moon seat on the crown of my head,
ka drin chen pö go né jé zung té
Through your great kindness, having taken me as a disciple,
ku sung tuk kyi ngö drup tsel du söl
Grant me the accomplishment of the body, speech and mind of the Buddhas. [SUPPLICATION TO THE LINEAGE] …
shawa ri pa mé tri ra hu la k’young po nal jor …
So we are starting from the last line of the 260 page right? That’s where we have left off last time. Okay, so today it’s going to be little bit more into detail rather than generalization, because many of the things that we have to generalize, then it’s quite easy to understand and assume, but there are things today, little bit, to be little bit aware and to know little bit.
So here goes the famous answer to all the famous questions: “How can I visualize the deity more clearly? I cannot visualize or visualize clearly, Lama-la, please help me!, I need your advice.” So here is the disappointing answer: because everytime when we start practicing, we say “Ah, I try to visualize, it’s not very clear, it’s little bit there, but not really there”, we have so much concern, so much disappointment. Now you will be lead to more disappointment. Not really disappointment.
Because it says here “Hla ku sel yang rang sem sel nang yin” if you see the deity in terms of visualization clearly, then that’s also the manifestation or the reflection of your own state of mind. “Hla ku sel yang rang sem sel nang yin mi sel lo yi tsin pang rang sem yin” and then also the state of (mind), the second part is this. “mi sel” means not clear.
So the disappointing news is “Hla ku sel yang rang sem sel nang yin mi sel”, if your visualization is clear, then that’s also the reflection of your own state of mind. So we will come down to that question and answer, little bit later. Because we may ask question “oh what is the state of mind? Because you said something about state of mind, what does it really mean? Does it mean something to do with the nature of the mind? Or is there something other than that? The state of the consciousness, is it two? or is it one?” We may ask into this kind of question.
So therefore the first thing, the first disappointing answer is that “Hla ku sel yang rang sem sel nang yin”, if your visualization deity is clear, that is the reflection of your state of the mind, state of the mind does not identify or, it doesn’t mean the nature of the mind, okay? It’s just the surrounding, let’s say the pollution of your mind. It is the reflection of the pollution of your mind, lets put it like this. Because when we say the nature of the mind, and then we think “oh my nature of mind is very dirty” or maybe “my nature of the mind is very bad condition”, we may have all this different imagination, so let’s not go in the direction of misunderstanding.
“mi sel lo yi tsin pang rang sem yin” even the small clinging of desire that “I am not fulfilled, I am not satisfied about my visualization of the deity”, is also your own state of mind. “sel död yang gom gom dje pei ken pong sem”, “sel död” means “the one” (mind). Also the third part is that even a small desire, a small desire that you would like to develop more clear, more visualization, more meditation, or wanting to create more deity, that desire, is also the reflection of the state of the mind, of your state of mind, okay? So these are the three things, little bit more distinctive, and subtle distinctive, just keep in mind.
“rang sem yeshe lama hla yang yin” and then if you understand correctly, then it’s also the manifestation of the guru and the deity, equally combined “hla yang yin”.
“tam che sem nang sem nyi ma tchö pa rim nyi lam gyi che ned tar tug te kye pei rim pa mang po chi gom yang ma yieng tsam gyi dren rip sel teb na” and then there may be “rim nyi lam gyi che ned tar tug te”, and with this sense of combination of the two, understanding of the state of the mind, understanding of the reflection of the mind, understanding these two things.
“rim nyi lam gyi che ned tar tug te kye pei rim pa mang po chi gom yang ma yieng tsam gyi dren rip sel teb na” and then also over the time, it is not just the visualization of this and that, it is the continuity of your visualization. So the continuity of the visualization with minimum distraction, “ma yieng tsam gyi”, “ma yieng tsam gyi” means with the minimum of your distraction.
“dren rip sel teb na”, “dren rip sel teb na” means with the strength of minimizing the distraction and the continuity of the awareness of your visualization, if you continue in this method of practice.
“sel na sel tong nyiog na nyiog tong char” so then whatever the challenge may be along the way, and then it will dissolve by itself.
Monthly ZOOM teachings by Kalu Rinpoche
Session 5 – September 26, 2021
“[22] Hla ku sel yang rang sem sel nang yin
The clear form of the deity is the luminous appearance of your own mind,
mi sel lo yi tsin pang rang sem yin
and the unclear, dissatisfying experience is also your mind!
sel död yang gom gom dje pei ken pong sem
So also, mind is the one who desires clarity and tries again,
rang sem yeshe lama hla yang yin
and mind is the wisdom deity and guru.
tam che sem nang sem nyi ma tchö pa
Everything is mind’s appearance, and yet mind itself is uncontrived.
rim nyi lam gyi che ned tar tug te
The beauty of this ultimate essential point of the approach of the two stages
kye pei rim pa mang po chi gom yang
is that no matter which of the many creation stages you do,
ma yieng tsam gyi dren rip sel teb na
if you apply clear awareness and mindfulness that is merely undistracted,
sel na sel tong nyiog na nyiog tong char
when the meditation is clear, it arises as clarity-emptiness and when obscure, as obscurity-emptiness!“
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