Guhyasamāja Practice in the Ārya Nāgārjuna System - Vol. 1

Book

The Guhyasamāja Tantra is one of the Unexcelled Yoga Tantras of Vajrayana Buddhism. In the initial, generation-stage practice, one engages in a prescribed sequence of visualizations of oneself as an enlightened being in a purified environment in order to prepare one’s mind and body to engage in the second stage: the completion stage. The latter works directly with the subtle energies of one’s mind and body and transforms them into the enlightened mind and body of a buddha. In this book, Gyumé Khensur Lobsang Jampa, a former abbot of Gyumé Tantric College, provides complete instructions on how to practice the generation stage of Guhyasamāja, explaining the visualizations, offerings, and mantras involved, what they symbolize, and the purpose they serve. These instructions, which are usually imparted only orally from master to student after the student has been initiated into the Guhyasamāja mandala, are now being published in English for the first time and are supplemented by extracts from key written commentaries in the footnotes to support practitioners who have received the required transmissions from a holder of this lineage. The complete self-generation ritual is included in the second part of the book, with the Tibetan on facing pages, which can be used by those who read Tibetan and want to recite the ritual in Tibetan. (Source: Shambhala Publications)

Citation	Engle, Artemus B., trans. Guhyasamāja Practice in the Ārya Nāgārjuna System. Vol. 1, The Generation Stage. By Gyumé Khensur Lobsang Jampa. Boulder, CO: Snow Lion Publications, 2019.

Abbreviationsxi
Translator’s Prefacexv
Translator’s Introductionxxix

Oral Commentary on the Self-Generation Ritual

1. The Initial Practice3
- Preliminaries3
  - Verses of Supplication3
  - Generating Oneself into a Divine Form Instantaneously16
  - Blessing the Vajra and the Bell24
  - Blessing the Inner Offering40
  - The Preliminary Torma Offering59
  - Blessing the Self-Generation Offerings80
  - The Mandala Offering87
  - The Vajrasattva Meditation and Mantra Recitation94
  - Worshipping the Merit Field122
  - Meditating on the Protection Wheel162
- The Main Rite of Clear Realization195
  - Taking Death as the Path to the Wisdom Body196
    - Meditating on the Ground of Transcendent Awareness196
    - Generating the Vajra Ground211
    - Generating the Mandala Palace218
    - Installing the Deities235
    - The Activity of the Deities249
    - Drawing the Deities into One's Body251
    - Placing the Deities into the Mandala of Ultimate Reality257
  - Taking the Intermediate State as the Path to the Enjoyment Body273
  - Taking Rebirth as the Path to the Emanation Body284
    - Generating the Emanation-Body Form of Vajradhara285
    - Creating the Body Mandala294
      - Creating the Body Mandala’s Residence295
      - Creating the Body Mandala’s Deities304
    - Blessing the Body, Speech, and Mind of Vajradhara's Emanation-Body Form319
    - Generating the Three Tiered Beings337
    - Affixing the Seal of the Lineage Lord341
  - Preparing a Knowledge Consort345

2. The Foremost King of Mandalas363
- Generating the Mandala Palace and Its Divine Residents363
- Emitting the Mandala Deities377
- Emitting the Mandala Palace409

3. The Foremost King of Activities411
- Spiritual Practices Carried Out during Meditation Sessions411
  - The Practice of the Subtle Drop411
  - Mantra Recitation422
  - Reappearance of the Deity Who Dissolved442
  - Reciting Verses of Praise, Presenting Offerings, and Tasting Nectar448
    - Reciting the Verses of Praise449
    - Presenting the Outer Offerings452
    - Tasting the Nectar of the Inner Offering457
    - The Secret Offering and the Offering of Ultimate Reality466
  - Dissolution468
  - The Generation-Stage Portion of the Aspirational Prayer472
- Spiritual Practices Carried Out between Meditation Sessions500
  - The Yoga of Ordinary Activities501
  - Blessings One’s Residence502
  - Blessing One’s Clothing503
  - The Spiritual Practice That Relates to Bathing503
  - The Spiritual Practices That Relate to Sleeping and Waking Up504
  - The Meditative Absorption That Relates to Food507
  - Reinvigorating the Body512
  - The Methods of Achieving the Common Spiritual Attainments512

The Self-Generation Ritual

The Initial Practice517
- Preliminaries517
  - Verses of Supplication517
  - Generating Oneself into a Divine Form Instantaneously529
  - Blessing the Vajra and the Bell529
  - Blessing the Inner Offering531
  - The Preliminary Torma Offering533
  - Blessing the Self-Generation Offerings541
  - The Mandala Offering543
  - The Vajrasattva Meditation and Mantra Recitation545
  - Worshipping the Merit Field549
  - Meditating on the Protection Wheel557
- The Main Rite of Clear Realization571
  - Taking Death as the Path to the Wisdom Body571
    - Meditating on the Ground of Transcendent Awareness571
    - Generating the Vajra Ground571
    - Generating the Mandala Palace573
    - Installing the Deities577
    - The Activity of the Deities587
    - Drawing the Deities into One’s Body587
    - Placing the Deities into the Mandala of Ultimate Reality589
  - Taking the Intermediate State as the Path to the Enjoyment Body589
  - Taking Rebirth as the Path to the Emanation Body591
    - Creating the Body Mandala’s Residence593
    - Creating the Body Mandala’s Deities593
    - Blessing the Body, Speech, and Mind of Vajradhara's Emanation-Body Form605
    - Generating the Three Tiered Beings611
    - Affixing the Seal of the Lineage Lord611
  - Preparing a Knowledge Consort613

The Foremost King of Mandalas617
- Generating the Mandala Palace and Its Divine Residents617
- Emitting the Mandala Deities631
- Emitting the Mandala Palace647

The Foremost King of Activities647
- Mantra Recitation647
- Reappearance of the Deity Who Dissolved649
  - The Principal Deity Enters the State of Ultimate Reality649
  - The Principal Deity Arises from the Clear-Light State651
- Reciting Verses of Praise, Presenting Offerings, and Tasting Nectar653
  - Reciting the Verses of Praise653
  - Presenting the Outer Offerings653
  - Tasting the Nectar of the Inner Offering655
  - The Secret Offering and the Offering of Ultimate Reality661
- Dissolution661
- The Concluding Torma Offerings663
  - Blessing the Outer Offerings663
  - Blessing the Tormas665
  - Inviting the Recipients of the Torma Offerings667
  - Presenting the Torma Offerings673
- The Aspirational Prayer679
- Verses of Auspiciousness689

Bibliography695
Index to Oral Commentary711

Tsong kha pa, ed. Dpal gsang ba 'dus pa'i bla brgyud gsol 'debs dang bdag bskyed dga' don dpal ldan stod rgyud grwa tshang gi 'don rgyun rje thams cad mkhyen pas zhus dag mdzad pa. In rgyud stod grwa tshang gi chos spyod, Vol. 4: 107-166. Tenzin Gang: Rgyud-stod Tantric College, 1975-1977.