Prayer and Rituals

Tantra as a Structure on Which to Weave Sutra Practice This evening I’ve been asked to speak a little bit about tantra in general. When we look at the word tantra, it’s a Sanskrit word and what it means is the warp of a loom. A loom is something that you weave cloth on, and...

I prostrate to all the Triumphant (Buddhas) in the ten directions, together with their spiritual offspring. (1) May the boundless prayers I have offered with a pure, exceptional resolve to be able to free countless wandering beings from their compulsive existence be fulfilled...

Once we have practiced for a while, trying to maintain this deep awareness of nondual profound and clear – the profound understanding of voidness and the clarity of the visualization – then we practice the four types of mental stability. Not necessarily that we practice all...

I pay heartfelt homage to all of you Buddhas and sons of the Buddhas in all ten directions. (1) May the powerful Three Jewels of Refuge in Buddha, his assembly and teachings, all lacking deceit, and the might of the masters who teach what is true fulfill boundless prayers of...

Although tantra practice is extremely advanced, many Westerners receive tantra empowerments without proper preparation and begin tantra practice without deep understanding. Most, at first, see only the surface features of tantra, such as its emphasis on ritual, its profusion...

The Ceremony for Wishing Bodhichitta, Together with Advice  When we talk about developing bodhichitta, of course, this is a process that we need to work up to and that requires a great deal of work and effort to sincerely feel. There are stages of meditation for developing...

We have been speaking about the necessity for preparation for engaging in tantra practice. We have the common preliminaries (or preparation) which are shared in common with all Mahayana practices, sutra as well as tantra. In addition, we have the unshared or uncommon...

To overcome fascination, repugnance, or bewilderment about the dazzling array of Buddha-figures (yidams, tantric deities) used in tantra and about their unusual forms, Westerners need to understand their place and purpose on the Buddhist path. They also need to differentiate...

Taking the Vows for Involved Bodhichitta, Engaged Bodhichitta  (19) Except through the vows that are the very nature of engaged bodhichitta, your pure aspiration will never come to increase. Therefore, with the wish to progress toward aspired full enlightenment, take them...

A Person of Advanced Spiritual Scope Atisha continues: (5) Anyone who fully wishes to eliminate completely all the sufferings of others as (he or she would) the sufferings included in his or her own mental continuum is someone of supreme motivation. This introduces the topic...