Chatral Rinpoche:
The first door to the
secret mantra, the essence of the sublime teachings, is empowerment. The root
of empowerment is samaya. If you transgress the samayas, you will not achieve
spiritual attainments.
If you violate the samayas, you will fall into the hell realms. Therefore, the
advantages and disadvantages, constructiveness and destructiveness, are both
great. While receiving such ripening and liberating instruction,
It is important for both the teacher and the disciple to create the right
circumstances. When you sit down at the empowerment and teachings, your ears
should focus on the words of the empowerment,
And your mind should contemplate the meaning of the words. Avoid whispering or
making gestures with your mouth and eyes, and abandon wrong views and doubt
about the lama who is the Vajra Master.
Develop pure perception, devotion and respect from your heart. Avoid finding
faults, or nourishing grudges and enmity towards your vajra brothers and
sisters.
With deep love and kindness, be skilful when with them. If you find any fault,
recognize it as your own weakness.
In short, rely upon mindfulness, vigilant introspection and carefulness. The
three doors should be calm, gentle and relaxed. Respect all, high or low.
Subdue the great enemies of pride and jealousy. Always remain humble. This is
crucial. Avoid jumping, running, laughing and shouting.
Avoid jokes, gossip and harsh words. Abandon all faulty speech. If you remain
silent, all these harms can be avoided.
Give gain and victory to others. The supreme of all ascetic practices is
patience. To accept defeat is the doctrine of a shramanera.
In every session of the teachings, it is utterly important not to skip
generating bodhichitta, and making dedication and aspiration prayers. If you
follow this instruction, the meaning of the empowerment, which is the blessings
of the vajra body, speech, mind and all of them combined, will be received. You
will then become worthy of attaining the state of the four kayas.
You will obtain the authority to practice recitation, meditation, and the
generation and completion stages. Additionally, the accumulation of merit and
the purification of obscurations will both be accomplished during the
empowerment and reading transmission.
The benefit of receiving empowerment is thus unfathomable. To mention
everything here is impossible. In this process of bestowing and receiving
empowerment, the highest benefit would be to realize the meaning of the
empowerment, which is primordial wisdom.
The middling benefit would be to generate bliss, clarity and non-conceptuality.
At the very least, you should gain certainty in the four empowerments.
Otherwise, forget about developing primordial wisdom,
Even the mere understanding of the four empowerments will not be achieved. Just
being satisfied with tasting the blessed water from the vase and placing the
icons upon one’s head should not be considered enough for receiving the meaning
of the empowerment. At these times, when the teachings have degenerated, it is
very difficult to find someone who actually explains these things.
Therefore, all of you, my children, distinguish between what is authentic and
what is not; be careful and try to gain confidence through listening and
contemplation.
In particular, those who are born in these degenerate times will be liberated
through the treasure teachings. As such, capture the essence of this life from
this teaching.
The blessings are great and the lineage close. There is no corruption and it is
easy to practice. I have listened to and contemplated upon many teachings of
Kama, Terma, and the classes of tantra and sadhanas.