The reason why the clear light mind can mix so easily with emptiness is that it is totally free from conceptual distraction. When the inner winds are completely gathered and dissolved within the central channel, the gross inner winds are absorbed and so the gross minds that depend upon these winds cease to function. If there are no gross minds, there are no gross objects; thus, for the mind of clear light, gross objects do not exist. It is like falling asleep. At that time, because the gross minds of the waking state absorb, all the objects that appear to these minds disappear. For the sleeping or dreaming mind, the objects of our normal waking state do not exist. Being completely free from gross objects, the mind of clear light mixes with emptiness in space-like meditative equipoise. With respect to this mind, all phenomena are of one taste in space-like emptiness. Thus it is said that this mind is inseparable from the ultimate nature of all phenomena.
The mind that is described as ultimate bodhichitta in Sutra is not an actual ultimate bodhichitta because it still has subtle dualistic appearances. Therefore, to attain actual ultimate bodhichitta we need to engage in Secret Mantra practices. Once we understand how the mind of ultimate bodhichitta is inseparable from the nature of all phenomena, we will understand the real nature of the Guru. The actual Guru is definitive Vajradhara, or definitive Heruka. Vajradhara is sometimes called ‘kyab dag’ in Tibetan, which means ‘pervading all natures’. This means that the ultimate bodhichitta that is Guru Vajradhara’s Truth Body is inseparable from the nature of all phenomena. To appreciate this fully we also need to understand how the two truths are the same nature. This is more difficult to understand than emptiness itself because it is harder to abandon the mind grasping the two truths as separate entities than it is to abandon self-grasping. Bodhisattvas who have attained the union of meaning clear light and the illusory body, for example, have abandoned the latter but not the former. Only Buddhas are completely free from grasping the two truths as separate entities.
According to the sadhana, ultimate bodhichitta is ‘beyond words, thoughts and expressions’. This is because ultimate bodhichitta is necessarily a direct experience of emptiness, free from conceptuality. It is said that someone who has a direct experience of emptiness cannot adequately describe this experience in words, but can only point to it by means of analogies. Even so, great beings such as Je Tsongkhapa are able to give very clear descriptions of emptiness. Thus Changkya Rolpai Dorje praises Je Tsongkhapa, saying:
Emptiness is said to be inexpressible, but you have described it as clearly as something seen with the eyes.
OFFERING OUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
The offering that delights our Spiritual Guide the most is putting his or her instructions into practice, which is why offering our spiritual practice is called an ‘unsurpassed offering’. Whenever we practise Lamrim, Lojong and the Vajrayana paths of Heruka and Vajrayogini, we are making a supreme offering.
There are seven special spiritual practices, presented in many Tantric sadhanas, that contain the very essence of Buddha’s teachings. These are: (1) purification, (2) accumulating merit, (3) ultimate bodhichitta, (4) Mahayana refuge, (5) aspiring bodhichitta, (6) engaging bodhichitta, and (7) dedication. Remembering that these practices are the supreme offering, we should integrate them into our daily life.
We can make these seven offerings to our Spiritual Guide with the prayer from the sadhana:
I go for refuge to the Three Jewels
And confess individually all negative actions.
I rejoice in the virtues of all beings
And promise to accomplish a Buddha’s enlightenment.
I go for refuge until I am enlightened
To Buddha, Dharma and the Supreme Assembly,
And to accomplish the aims of myself and others
I shall generate the mind of enlightenment.
Having generated the mind of supreme enlightenment,
I shall invite all sentient beings to be my guests
And engage in the pleasing, supreme practices of enlightenment.
May I attain Buddhahood to benefit migrators.
These verses appear in many ritual sadhanas of both the lower and higher Tantras. The following explanation of the meaning of this prayer is given according to Highest Yoga Tantra. This prayer includes the essential practices necessary for making progress in our Mahayana training.
The meaning of the first two lines is that we need to purify our negativities by relying upon the Three Jewels. The third line indicates that we need to accumulate merit by rejoicing in all the special realizations and virtuous actions of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and other beings. With the fourth line we promise to accomplish the actual quick path to enlightenment, ultimate bodhichitta, the spontaneous great bliss that realizes emptiness directly, which is the very essence of Highest Yoga Tantra.
To engage successfully in the advanced practices for generating ultimate bodhichitta, meaning clear light, we first need to establish the firm foundation of the common paths. These are taught in the next two verses. The first two lines of the second verse, ‘I go for refuge until I am enlightened to Buddha, Dharma and the Supreme Assembly’, reveal Mahayana refuge. The next two lines, ‘And to accomplish the aims of myself and others I will generate the mind of enlightenment’, reveal aspiring bodhichitta. The third verse reveals engaging bodhichitta. To accomplish ultimate bodhichitta and great enlightenment we then need to engage in the meditations on generation stage and completion stage.
With the third verse we promise that, having generated and maintained bodhichitta, we will engage in the pleasing, supreme practices of enlightenment – the practices of the six perfections; and that having completed this training we will invite all living beings to our Buddha Land to enjoy the happiness of liberation. When we make this promise, we are generating engaging bodhichitta and we are taking the Bodhisattva vows. From this moment on, we should practise the six perfections sincerely and dedicate all our daily activities towards the happiness of others. The practice of dedication is revealed by the last line of the prayer. We then constantly pray every day with the following words from the sadhana:
May everyone be happy,
May everyone be free from misery,
May no one ever be separated from their happiness,
May everyone have equanimity, free from hatred and attachment.
A detailed explanation of the remaining limbs of the seven-limbed prayer – confession, rejoicing, beseeching the Spiritual Guide not to pass away, requesting the turning of the Wheel of Dharma and dedication – can be found in other books such as Joyful Path of Good Fortune and Heart Jewel.
OFFERING THE MANDALA
The practice of mandala offerings is very popular amongst practitioners of Mahayana Buddhism and is regarded as a very important practice. It is said that those who sincerely make mandala offerings will never experience poverty in this or future lives. Through her practice of making mandala offerings to Avalokiteshvara, the fully ordained nun Bhikshuni Palmo received a direct vision of the Buddha of Compassion. Through the practice of mandala offerings, Atisha received the blessings and a direct vision of Arya Tara, and Je Tsongkhapa received direct visions of all the enlightened beings in the Lamrim Field of Merit. After Je Tsongkhapa had passed away, Khedrubje, through his practice of making mandala offerings to Je Tsongkhapa, received a direct vision of him five times. These events demonstrate that the practice of mandala offerings is a powerful method for purifying our mind.
In Guhyasamaja Tantra Vajradhara says:
Those who wish for attainments
Should mentally and skilfully fill this universe
With