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The Yoga Method of Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha

of Compassion
By His Holiness the Dalai Lama at New York City, NY September 2005 (Last Updated Mar 16, 2009)
His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave this teaching in New York City, 24 September 2005. The sadhana was
provided by Khen Rinpoche Lobsang Tsephel, Land of Compassion Buddha, California. His Holiness’s
commentary was transcribed by Ly Bui, Lan Bui, San Bui and Nicholas Ribush and edited by the latter.

Morning Session: The Initiation

The two sessions of teachings today have been organized primarily for the benefit of the Vietnamese
Buddhist community but we also welcome here Buddhist brothers and sisters from other traditions and
nationalities as well. This morning I’ll give the initiation of Avalokiteshvara, the Greatly Compassionate One,
and this afternoon will give a teaching on the practice of the sadhana of this deity.

I’m very happy to have this opportunity to offer Dharma teachings to the Vietnamese community, which has
suffered a lot in recent history, and to the others here, who come from different countries, with different
languages and different cultures. However, despite this diversity, we are all followers of the same teacher,
Buddha Shakyamuni. And historically, since Buddhism arrived in China four hundred years before it came to
Tibet, and from China also went to Vietnam and Korea before Tibet, Vietnamese Buddhists are senior
members of the Buddhist community.

The Samdhinirmochana Sutra, the Sutra Unraveling the Intention of the Buddha, mentions three turnings of
the wheel of Dharma. The first of these contains the Buddha’s teachings on the four noble truths1; the
second is on the perfection of wisdom; and the third includes sutras like the Samdhinirmochana.

The first turning of the wheel of Dharma lays out the foundation and framework of the Buddhist path.
Connected with this the Buddha also gave teachings on monastic discipline, the vinaya, where he explained
how the monastic community is of utmost importance in upholding, sustaining and developing the
Buddhadharma. Therefore it’s wonderful to see here today a large number of sangha members, especially
Vietnamese ones, including both bhikshus and bhikshunis and male and female novices. I was once told that
the Vietnamese tradition still contains a reliable bhikshuni lineage that can be traced back to the Buddha
himself and I was very impressed when I heard that.

The main thing the Buddha taught in the second turning of the wheel, the perfection of wisdom sutras, was
emptiness.

In the first turning, the teaching on the four noble truths, the Buddha taught on the basis that all phenomena
possess intrinsic reality, but in the second he said that all phenomena are devoid of such inherent existence.
When some people see on the empirical level that things come into being, cease to exist and that there’s
cause and effect, they understand the various functions on the level of conventional truth but they can find
the idea that all phenomena are devoid of inherent existence difficult to uphold in their mind. So for their
benefit, in the third turning, the Buddha gave teachings on the three natures.

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So gradually, among the great masters who expounded the teachings of the Buddha, there evolved two main
traditions in the Mahayana lineage, one emphasizing the perfection of wisdom sutras, the prajnaparamita, the
other emphasizing the teachings of the Samdhinirmochana Sutra—the Middle Way (Madhyamaka) and the
Mind Only (Yogachara) respectively.

The third turning also contained sutras such as the Tathagatagarbha (Essence of Buddhahood) Sutra, where
the key teaching is on the nature of mind as clear light, as clear and luminous, and it is on the basis of this
teaching that the Vajrayana evolved.

The implication of the mind being clear and luminous is that all the pollutants of the mind—the afflictions and
the propensities for affliction—are adventitious, or removable. It is because (1) the nature of the mind is clear
light and the pollutants have not penetrated the essential nature of mind and (2) the afflictions and their
imprints are based on a distorted state of mind and can therefore be removed by the cultivation of powerful
antidotes, that pollutants are removable and that the potential for attaining the qualities of the Buddha, such
as the ten powers2 and so forth, lies naturally within all of us.

Although the seed for attaining the four Buddha bodies, the four kayas, exists naturally within all of us, there
are obstacles to its expression, the key obstacle being our distorted perception of reality, particularly our
grasping at self and inherent existence. However, by practicing deity yoga, the essence of Vajrayana, where
we visualize ourself as a deity, we can overcome these afflictions, and the main factors in the practice of
Vajrayana are cultivation of the innate mind of clear light and an understanding of emptiness. But before we
can engage in any Vajrayana practice our mind must first be enhanced and prepared by an initiation
ceremony, such as the Avalokiteshvara initiation we are doing this morning.

I received the transmission of this initiation from my regent, Tadrak Rinpoche, and my senior tutor, Ling
Rinpoche, and on that basis have done many Avalokiteshvara retreats and much recitation of the six syllable
mantra, OM MANI PADME HUM.3 The Thousand-arm Avalokiteshvara lineage that the Tibetan tradition has
received is that of Bhikshuni Palmo. In Tibet, the practice of Avalokiteshvara is very widespread and
sometimes associated with fasting [nyung-nä].4

The initiation begins…the details have been omitted but a few of His Holiness’s general comments have been
preserved.

In order to participate in the initiation ceremony the students need to try to understand the clear light nature of
mind and emptiness and generate the right motivation.

With respect to generating the right motivation for participating in this initiation ceremony, if you are taking the
initiation in order to have a long life, good health, success in worldly matters or some such, that motivation is
wrong. Similarly, if your motivation is to achieve a good rebirth in your next life or to attain freedom from
samsara for yourself alone, that too is incorrect. So what is the right motivation for receiving the initiation? It’s
bodhicitta, seeking buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings—limitless, countless sentient beings. If
you take the initiation with that in mind, that is the right motivation.

In Vajrayana deity yoga practice, visualization and imagination are very important, so even during the
initiation it is essential to dispel your ordinary perception and identity and cultivate the perception and identity
of the meditation deity. To visualize yourself as the deity during the initiation you have to reflect on the nature
of the person. As Nagarjuna says, the person is not the earth element, the water element, fire or anything
else like that; the person is designated upon the collection of the six elements. Generally when we have a
sense of self, we don’t understand this but have the impression that the self, or person, is independent of our
constituent elements.

Therefore you should reflect deeply upon the fact that the person, or self, is merely a label designated upon
the collection of the body and mind aggregates, the skandhas, and apart from the skandhas there is no

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independent, inherently existent self. Similarly, when you analyze the skandhas themselves, each is
dependent upon its own parts. So what you come to recognize is that all phenomena originate simply on the
basis of mere dependence upon other phenomena and therefore all phenomena lack inherent existence.

Then you imagine that the mind that has understood the emptiness of the person—that the person has no
inherent existence—this very understanding of emptiness itself transforms into the deity, Avalokiteshvara,
with one face and two arms.

Also you need to cultivate a sense of rejoice for our great fortune in being able to engage in the practice of
the Vajrayana. In general, the coming of the Buddha to the world is very rare, the Dharma teachings are
particularly rare, and the Vajrayana teachings are extremely rare indeed. Therefore we must rejoice that we
have the opportunity to receive and practice these teachings.

It is important to reflect upon bodhicitta, the awakening mind, and the view of emptiness on a daily basis and
it would be excellent if you could gradually get to the point where you can recall these two minds even in your
dreams. If you can, then at the point of death, as long as the gross levels of consciousness remain active,
you will be able to retain your recollection of bodhicitta and understanding of emptiness. Then in your next
life, even if you can’t remember them you’ll still have strong imprints such that even a simple circumstance
can activate this seed to give you a better understanding.

Afternoon Session: The Commentary

Following this morning’s Avalokiteshvara initiation, this afternoon we’re going to discuss the sadhana practice
of this deity according to the action class of tantra.

First, however, I’d like to give a brief introduction to the short lam-rim text, Lama Tsongkhapa’s Three
Principal Aspects of the Path.

The three principal aspects of the path are renunciation, the awakening mind (bodhicitta), and perfect
understanding of emptiness and their importance has to be understood in terms of the true meaning of
Dharma in the context of Buddhism.

When we speak of Dharma here we’re referring to nirvana, liberation from cyclic existence, or perfect
goodness. Therefore, in order to enter the Buddhist path, we first need to cultivate true renunciation, and this
can arise only on the basis of a deep understanding of the nature of suffering—not just the obvious, manifest
sufferings we experience but also the suffering of change and, in particular, the suffering of pervasive
conditioning.

Therefore practitioners must develop a deep sense of revulsion and disillusionment with samsara and its
underlying causes—the afflictive thoughts and emotions. From the depth of our heart we must have a sense
of revulsion towards the afflictions and a genuine wish to attain freedom from them. The genuine wish to
attain freedom from the afflictions is true renunciation.

However, this wish alone is not enough for us to attain full enlightenment. To become enlightened we have to
generate bodhicitta—the altruistic aspiration to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings;
simply aspiring to attain liberation for our own sake is not enough to accumulate the great merit needed for
enlightenment. Only by being motivated by bodhicitta can we accumulate such a great store of merit because
the object of bodhicitta, all sentient beings, is infinite—aspiring for the wellbeing of all sentient beings
generates vast merit.

Furthermore, the courage of a practice motivated by bodhicitta is infinite and similarly most powerful in
accumulating the vast stores of merit we need. Thus the second principal aspect of the path is the awakening
mind, bodhicitta.

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Finally, even to attain liberation from samsara, the wisdom realizing emptiness is essential because only this
wisdom is a direct antidote to the afflictions. Moreover, when complemented by bodhicitta, the wisdom
realizing emptiness also has the capacity to eliminate the subtle obscurations to omniscience and so the
perfect view of emptiness is the third principal aspect of the path.

The Vajrayana

There are different ways of identifying the various classes of Vajrayana. For example, the Vajra Tent Tantra
mentions four classes of tantra: action, performance, yoga and highest yoga. Other tantras offer different
classifications. But at the heart of them all is the notion of the indivisibility of method and wisdom.

Generally speaking, in all Mahayana teachings the union of method and wisdom is the essence of the path.
Even the Perfection Vehicle, the Sutrayana, has the union of method and wisdom, where method refers to
practices such as bodhicitta and the six perfections and wisdom refer to the wisdom realizing emptiness. In
sutra, the union of these two is understood in terms of one reinforcing or complementing the other. In tantra,
the distinguishing feature of the union of method and wisdom is indivisibility.

So what is it that makes this indivisibility possible in tantra? It’s possible because of deity yoga practice,
where we first meditate on and dissolve everything into emptiness. Then, from within emptiness, we visualize
that the very mind that realizes emptiness arises in the form of the meditation deity, and take that enlightened
being as the focus of our meditation and reflect upon its emptiness.

Because the basis of emptiness that we meditate upon here is not an ordinary object, like an ordinary person,
but rather an enlightened being—the meditation deity—it is therefore a unique, special object and because of
that has a much more enduring quality. So when we realize the emptiness of that enlightened deity we have
the perfect indivisible union of method and wisdom within a single cognitive event; our visualization [clear
appearance] of the deity is the method aspect of the path and, within that same mental event, our
apprehension, or cognition, of the emptiness of that deity is the wisdom aspect. So both method and wisdom
are indivisibly present in a single mental event. This is what makes indivisibility possible in tantra.

Although some practitioners of action tantra simply visualize the deity in front of themselves, there are also
practitioners of action tantra who generate themselves as the deity and cultivate or experience this indivisible
union.

In the practice of action tantra, external rituals and the conduct of the practitioner are also very important,
therefore the texts emphasize personal cleanliness, diet and certain other lifestyle observations and so forth.

The Preliminary Practices

[The commentary which follows makes reference to the sadhana (practice), which is included below.]

In the Supplication to the Lineage Gurus, verse 11 reads,

I supplicate the ocean of different emanations of the Supreme Arya,

Universally appearing as environments and inhabitants,
Apparitions of analytic wisdom and compassion,
Unified with an all-pervading nature, primordially pure.

This refers to the understanding of emptiness I mentioned earlier, but here emptiness is described in terms
of two primary characteristics: all-pervading nature and primordial purity. All-pervading suggests that
emptiness is not the reality of just some phenomena but rather is all-encompassing; it pervades all
phenomena. Therefore it is not a partial negation of some postulated entities.

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Similarly, emptiness is primordially pure because it relates to the emptiness of inherent existence of all
phenomena, and this invokes a passage in a text where Maitreya says that there is nothing to be cleared or
dispelled or to be posited or postulated; rather one must develop the view that is the perfect reality as it is. In
other words, the experience of emptiness does not negate something that existed before that is somehow
mentally constructed, neither is the perfect nature of reality something that has been newly placed upon
phenomena—rather, realization of perfect reality, emptiness, is a recognition of the true nature of things as
they are.

This ultimate nature of reality, dharmata, can be understood in terms of either the Yogachara teaching as
found in the Samdhinirmochana Sutra or the Madhyamaka understanding of emptiness according to the
second turning of the wheel, the perfection of wisdom.

The Yogachara interpretation of suchness, the ultimate nature of reality, asserts a non-duality of subject and
object where the objective existence of external world is negated, an understanding that can be very powerful
in overcoming strong afflictions such as grasping at and clinging to external objects. Recognizing the external
world as a projection or extension of our own mind automatically diminishes grasping at and clinging to it as
objectively real.

However, the Madhyamaka understanding of emptiness in terms of absence of inherent existence is more
profound and comprehensive because it leaves no scope left for grasping. While [the Yogachara
understanding of] the non-duality of subject and object may negate the objectivity of the external world, it still
leaves room for grasping at internal experiences such as feelings, sensations, mental states and so forth;
realizing emptiness in terms of absence of inherent existence leaves no scope at all for grasping at either the
external world or the internal world of experience. Therefore the Tibetan tradition recognizes the
Madhyamaka understanding of emptiness as the most profound.

So this stanza basically summarizes the essence of the practice of a Vajrayana sadhana:

Apparitions of analytic wisdom and compassion,

Unified with an all-pervading nature, primordially pure.

The union referred to here is that of wisdom with all-pervading, primordially pure nature—the union of subject
and object. The subject is the wisdom dharmakaya; the object is the all-pervading, primordially pure
emptiness, suchness, or dharmata; and the expression of this unification into a single experience is the
Buddha’s compassion.

We find similar ideas—compassion as the natural expression of the clear light mind—in the Vajrayana rituals
of the Nyingma school, the early translation texts: the buddha’s form body—particularly the sambhogakaya,
the buddha body of perfect resources—is the compassionate expression of the union of wisdom and its
object, emptiness. Furthermore, it can manifest as the entire assembly of all the deities of the mandala. Thus
we read,

I supplicate the ocean of different emanations of the Supreme Arya,

Universally appearing as environments and inhabitants.

This means that Avalokiteshvara, the resultant state to which we aspire, is in fact the embodiment of the four
buddha kayas—the two dharmakayas and the two rupakayas. His primordially pure nature is the natural
dharmakaya [svabhavakaya]; the wisdom that is unified with that is the wisdom dharmakaya; the
compassionate expression of this union in a physical embodiment is the sambhogakaya; and this then
manifests as the entire assembly of the mandala [nirmanakaya]. Since the goal to which we aspire is the
attainment of these four buddha bodies, the path that leads to this resultant state must have characteristics

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that resemble or correspond to it.

Then, in verse 14 we read,

Please bless me to eliminate ordinary appearance and grasping

With the clear appearance and divine pride of the six deities

So from this point on the actual heart of the sadhana practice according to action tantra is explained.

Basically, the heart of action tantra sadhana practice consists of two main practices, the yoga with signs and
the yoga without signs, and this differentiation of the presence or absence of signs is not based on whether or
not there is a realization of emptiness but on the way that emptiness is experienced.

The principal practice in the first section, the yoga with signs, involves generating the deity through six
stages; the principal practice in the second part, the yoga without signs, involves cultivating the wisdom
realizing emptiness based upon the union of shamatha, tranquil abiding, and vipashyana, penetrative insight.
Thus the yoga with signs is the main practice for attaining the buddha’s form body, rupakaya, and the yoga
without signs is the main practice for attaining the buddha’s body of perfect reality, dharmakaya.

Verse 14 of the supplication deals with the yoga with signs, verse 15 with the four-branched yoga, which
includes mantra repetition and so forth, and verse 16 with the yoga without signs.

The Actual Practice

As I just mentioned, the heart of action tantra deity yoga meditation is explained in six stages referred to as
the six deities and begins with meditation on emptiness—a clear indication that an understanding of
emptiness is indispensable in Vajrayana practice.

1. The Ultimate Deity

Here we read, “Contemplating as follows is the ultimate deity,” which is followed by the mantra OM
SVABHAVA SHUDDAH SARVA DHARMA SVABHAVA SHUDDHO HAM.

We use Sanskrit here partly to receive inspiration and the blessings of the mantra but it also captures the
meditation on emptiness.

The OM at the beginning of the mantra stands for the unity of the person, the practitioner, who is basically a
combination of body, speech and mind. In general, when the thought “I am” arises, its basis is the
aggregation of body, speech and mind. Now, as we find in the Heart Sutra, just as the self is devoid of
inherent existence, so too are the five aggregates upon which the person is designated. I was once told that
the particle “too” is not found in the Chinese version of the Heart Sutra but it is in the Tibetan version: the
aggregates too are devoid of inherent existence. What this suggests is that not only is the person designated
upon the aggregates, not only is the person empty of inherent existence, but even the basis upon which the
label “person” is constructed, the five aggregates, is devoid of inherent existence. So the OM here stands for
the identity and existence of the person.

SVABHAVA means its nature, and SHUDDAH means naturally pure; this naturally pure nature of person
stands for the emptiness of the person.

Then we see SARVA DHARMA, which means all phenomena. Here it refers in particular to the physical and
mental aggregates upon which the concept of person is constructed and includes all phenomena in both
samsara and nirvana. Again, SVABHAVA means their nature and SHUDDHO their purity, while HAM

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connotes the need to place our mind single-pointedly upon the realization of emptiness of both person and
phenomena.

This fusion of our mind with the emptiness of person and phenomena refers to an experience where all
conceptual elaborations have come to an end, or been dissolved, similar to what the Seventh Dalai Lama
described in a poem, where he said that just as clouds arise and dissolve in the vast expanse of the sky,
similarly, when subject—the mind—and object—dharmata, ultimate reality—fuse, within that experience, all
duality and conceptual elaborations dissolve.

The text continues, “The nature of myself, the deity to be meditated upon, and all phenomena are in essence
of one taste of emptiness.”

“One taste of emptiness” refers to the dissolution of dualistic perceptions of all phenomena—just as the
meditator is devoid of inherent existence, so too is the object of meditation, Avalokiteshvara. It is said that as
far as buddha nature is concerned, there’s no difference between a sentient being and an enlightened
buddha, so here, similarly, as far as emptiness is concerned, there’s no difference between the meditator and
the object of meditation. In this way we meditate upon the emptiness of all phenomena but particularly upon
the emptiness of our own self.

2. The Deity of Sound

Here the text reads, “From the sphere of emptiness, the aspect of the tone of the mantra, OM MANI PADME
HUM, resounds, pervading the realm of space.”

This refers to the second stage of the deity yoga meditation, where out of our experience of emptiness there
arises not letters but a sound, which we can call the resonance of emptiness. So this sound, OM MANI
PADME HUM, resounds from within the state of emptiness.

3. The Deity of Syllables

The third stage of the deity yoga meditation is the deity of letters, or syllables, and here we read, “My mind, in
the aspect…grains of gold.”

4. The Deity of Form

Next is the deity of form, where we read, “The (syllables) transform into…of the hell and other realms.” This
describes the fulfillment of the two purposes, making offerings to the enlightened beings, such as
Avalokiteshvara, and bringing about the welfare of other sentient beings.

As I explained before, sadhana practice must be based upon meditation on bodhicitta and emptiness. So at
this point, when we emanate light and make offerings to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas, we can offer our
own spiritual practice, which is the highest of offerings; if we have done some meditation on bodhicitta and
emptiness, we actually have something to offer that will really please the buddhas and bodhisattvas and gain
their approval.

Similarly, although at this point we may not have had a genuine experience of bodhicitta or attained
buddhahood and are therefore not fully able to bring about the welfare of other sentient beings, at least on
the level of imagination we can mimic the activities of the buddha in bringing about others’ welfare. Therefore,
if our sadhana practice is based upon meditation on bodhicitta and emptiness, when we recite this section
and reflect upon fulfilling the two purposes, there’s some substantive meaning to that meditation. If our
practice is not properly grounded it remains on the level of mere words.

5. The Deity of Mudra

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On the basis of fulfilling the two purposes of making offerings to the buddhas and bringing about others’
welfare, we now arise in the full form of Avalokiteshvara, with one thousand arms and so forth, as described
in the sadhana.

6. The Deity of Sign

This involves first invoking and absorbing the wisdom beings, then invoking and making offerings to the five
buddha families, and finally requesting the empowerment. Then the empowering deities dissolve into us,
crowning our head with the lord of [Avalokiteshvara’s] buddha family, [Amitabha].

Now let’s take another look at supplication verse 14, which mentions these six deities:

Please bless me to eliminate ordinary appearance and grasping,

With the clear appearance and divine pride of the six deities:
The deity of thusness, the tone of the mantra’s empty resonance, the seed syllable,
The form complete with marks and exemplifications, the commitment mudra and sign.

Having identified the six stages of the deity yoga meditation, we see the purpose of engaging in it: to
overcome ordinary perception and apprehension, which is done by deliberately cultivating the visualization of
ourself as a deity. The clearer we cultivate this visualization, the more stable is our perception of ourself as
an enlightened being. When we have a stable perception of ourself as the deity and the thought “I am” arises
on that basis, the focus of that thought is not the afflicted ordinary person but rather the new identity that we
have cultivated of ourself as a deity. Thus in place of ordinary perception we cultivate divine perception, and
in place of ordinary identity and apprehension we cultivate the divine identity of the deity and divine
apprehension of all phenomena.

If we are able to maintain as the foundation of our practice both bodhicitta and a deep understanding of
emptiness and, on that basis, constantly engage in the deity yoga meditation of cultivating the divine
perception and the enlightened identity of ourself as a deity and gain deep realization of that, then, as Lama
Tsongkhapa says, all our activities—physical, verbal and mental—are transformed such that we accumulate
great stores of merit.

This is very true. The key practice of deity yoga meditation is cultivation of divine perception and identity,
which we have to maintain not only during the meditation session but in between sessions as well. If we can,
everything we do with our body, speech and mind will create a vast amount of merit. This shows the unique
and distinctive qualities of the Vajrayana approach.

Then, as we read in supplication verse 15, the main practice of cultivation of divine identity and perception is
followed by subsidiary practices:

Please bless me to accomplish each and every common attainment

Through dependence on the concentration with four-branched repetition.

“Four-branched repetition” refers to the practices associated with repetition of the mantra: sound, the mental
state that accompanies recitation of the mantra, the basis of self, and the basis in relation to others. In other
words, the four-branched repetition refers to the sadhana practice, which involves visualization of the deity in
front of us, the front-generation; visualization of ourself as a deity, the self generation; visualization of a moon
disk and so forth at our heart; and visualization of a mantra on that moon disk. These four practices are the
four-branched repetition.

The last two lines of this verse read,

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And to complete perfect concentration
With the yogas of absorption in fire and sound.

“Yogas of absorption in fire and sound” refers to the unique approach of action tantra where we cultivate
tranquil abiding on the basis of deity yoga meditation, which also enables us to accumulate great stores of
merit very quickly.

The next stanza concerns the union of tranquil abiding and penetrative insight based on deity yoga:

Please bless me to uproot the two obscurations

With the great space-like concentration
Bestowing immaculate liberation that destroys all trust in grasping at signs
And by being endowed with a myriad of merits of skillful means.

In the context of deity yoga, the union of tranquil abiding and penetrative insight refers to a total fusion of our
mind with emptiness.

So, with this, I have explained the heart of the sadhana’s deity yoga practice. With respect to the actual
meditation, each session begins with instantaneous dissolution into emptiness, which serves to remind us
that every moment of the Vajrayana practitioner’s day to day life has to be permeated by the deity yoga
practice of viewing everything in the light of divine appearance and identity—clear appearance of ourself as
the deity and strong conviction that this is who we are. Therefore, the first thing we have to do when we get
up in the morning is to remind ourself to cultivate enlightened appearance and apprehension—so we dissolve
everything into emptiness and arise as the deity from within it.

The sadhana practice of offering also involves first dissolving the materials we’re going to offer into
emptiness, regenerating them from within it, and then consecrating and blessing them before making the
offering because, as beginners, our attachment to ordinary objects is very strong. Therefore we need to go
through this process first.

The materials we offer in the sadhanas—water for drinking, water for washing the feet, flowers, incense and
so forth—are probably based on the ancient cultural traditions of India. So, dissolve the offerings into
emptiness, regenerate them from within emptiness, bless and then offer them.

Offering is followed by praise.

The actual meditation is what I explained before, the cultivation of divine perception and identity, but, as
many sadhana manuals state, when we’ve done this for a while and become tired, we should engage in the
repetition of the mantra. Normally in retreat we focus on mantra repetition and ignore the key practice, the
heart meditations of deity yoga, and so when we get tired our only option is to end the session.

In summary, then, we do the main practice on the mental level of meditation. When this makes us tired we
shift to the verbal level and recite the mantra. When this makes us tired we end the session and engage in
physical activity such as walking around and so forth. And when even this makes us tired, we go to bed!

Mantra recitation

If you look at the sadhana you’ll see that first there’s the long Avalokiteshvara mantra, NAMO RATNA
TRAYAYA NAMAH ARYA JNANA SAGARA…and so on, all the way to the end, CITI JVALAM APANAYE
SVAHA.

The second part of this, TADYATHA OM DHARA DHARA DHIRI DHIRI DHURU DHURU…SVAHA is

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considered the short version of the long one and normally when we do Avalokiteshvara retreat, we recite this
one 10,000 times.

However, if we retreat on the basis of the six-syllable mantra, OM MANI PADME HUM, we do 100,000
repetitions for each syllable, 600,000 all together.

The Concluding Practice

The first section, the request to reside or depart, is not necessary when we practice the sadhana daily and
generate ourself as the deity, but if we do the practice on the basis of a front generation, where we visualize
the deity in front of us, we need to include this section. So when we’re doing the sadhana daily with
self-generation, we skip to “I transform into the Great Compassionate One, with one face and two arms,
marked by a white OM on the crown, a red AH at the throat and a blue HUM at the heart” and conclude the
sadhana there. Then we do the dedication.

Dedicating our merit at the end of practice is crucial because, in general, it’s very rare for us create merit, so
we have to ensure that when we do, it doesn’t get wasted. We do this by dedicating the virtue we have
accumulated not to the fulfillment of our mundane aspirations or the welfare of this life but to the benefit of all
sentient beings as infinite as space, following Shantideva’s sentiments,

As long as space remains,

As long as sentient beings,
Until then may I too remain
And dispel the miseries of the world.

It is important to dedicate our merit in this manner and to reinforce or complement it by remembering
emptiness as well.

In between sessions

So far we’ve discussed the practice of the sadhana and deity yoga during the meditation session, but as I
mentioned before, we need to practice in between sessions as well, and there are yogas associated with all
our everyday activities, such as getting up in the morning, blessing the speech, eating, sleeping and so forth.
Doing these yogas between sessions enhances our sessions of sadhana practice, transforms all twenty-four
hours of our existence into practice and obviously speeds our path to enlightenment.

So with this, today’s teaching is completed. As Buddhists we are all familiar with ritual practices but the most
important thing to remember is that actual Dharma practice is done not by means of ritual but by the mind
and the essence of such practice is to cultivate the awakening mind, bodhicitta, and an understanding of
emptiness. These two are the essence of Dharma.

Thank you very much.

The Self-generation Sadhana of Avalokiteshvara

The Preliminary Practices

Refuge and Bodhicitta

In the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha

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I take refuge until enlightenment is reached,
By the merit of generosity and other good deeds,
May I achieve Enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. (3x)

Supplication to the Lineage Gurus

1. The heavens of the dharmakaya are supreme yet, out of warmth,

A hundred thousand moisture-bearing clouds of non-referential compassion gather.
I supplicate Padmapani, skilled in sending a rainfall
Of attainment, benefits and bliss to limitless sentient beings.

2. Excellent Bhikshuni Lakshmi, gone to the stage of supreme liberation,

Chandra Kumara, who favored the five sciences,
Jnanabhadra, strong in patience, effort and faith,
I supplicate you three friends of sentient beings.

3. Penyawa of Nepal, best of scholars,

Excellent Dawa Gyaltsän, emanation of Supreme Arya,
Nyiphug Chökyidra, lord of practice,
I supplicate you three great beings.

4. Trupa Dorje Gyäl, descendent of the conqueror’s children,

Excellent Zhangtön Drajig, great in learning and morality,
Thugje Jangchub Päl, endowed with morality’s fragrance,
I supplicate you three, who clarified the path to liberation.

5. Dewa Chän, with control over countless concentrations,

Jangchub Bar, with visions of hosts of meditational deities,
Yeshe Bum, who possessed a treasury of precious qualities,
I supplicate you three, who fulfilled the hopes of sentient beings.

6. Thogme Zangpo, who attained supreme bodhicitta,

Sherab Päl, emanation of the invincible conqueror, Maitreya,
Tsultrim Tsän, who constantly protected all beings with compassion,
I supplicate you three, who spontaneously achieved the welfare of others.

7. Yontän Rinchen, holy guide of sentient beings,

Sangye Gyatso, lord over an ocean of Buddha’s teachings,
Kyabchog Päl, who showed the path to infinite manifestations,
I supplicate you three, who embodied scripture and realization.

8. (Gyälwa) Ensapa, hero who accomplished righteous conduct,

Sangye Yeshe, who fulfilled the hopes of the fortunate,
Excellent (Panchen) Lobsang Chögyän, seeing all to be known,
I supplicate you three holy guides.

9. Damtsig Dorje (Könchog Gyältsän), who attained supreme realization,

Excellent (Panchen) Lobsang Yeshe, lord of all families,
Venerable Donyö Khädrub, clarifier of the excellent path,
I supplicate you three lamps of the doctrine.

10. I supplicate Ngawang Chogdän, embodiment of the glorious,

Who partook of the supreme wisdom of Manjushri, the five-knotted lord of speech,

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And Kälsang Gyatso, the seventh Dalai Lama,
Who clarified the doctrines of scripture and realization of the good eon’s fourth guide,
Lord Shakyamuni Buddha.

11. I supplicate the ocean of different emanations of the Supreme Arya,

Universally appearing as environments and inhabitants,
Apparitions of analytic wisdom and compassion,
Unified with an all-pervading nature, primordially pure.

12. Please bless me that I might be cared for closely like an only child
By Padmapani, who enjoys the Potala,
And by drinking the essence of the nectar of the Mahayana,
Accomplish solely what is pleasing with my three doors.

13. Please bless me to renounce all the perfections of cyclic existence,

To be unattached to the bliss of my own peace,
And to generate the supreme mind desiring to liberate mothers,
Equal to space, from the ocean of suffering.

14. Please bless me to eliminate ordinary appearance and grasping

With the clear appearance and divine pride of the six deities:
The deity of thusness, the tone of the mantra’s empty resonance, the seed syllable,
The form complete with marks and exemplifications, the commitment mudra and sign.

15. Please bless me to accomplish each and every common attainment

Through dependence on the concentration with four-branched repetition,
And to complete perfect concentration
With the yogas of absorption in fire and sound.

16. Please bless me to uproot the two obscurations

With the great space-like concentration
Bestowing immaculate liberation that destroys all trust in grasping at signs
And by being endowed with a myriad of merits of skillful means.

17. Please bless me to attain soon the complete direct exalted wisdom regarding all phenomena,
The wish-fulfilling form bodies with their nets of light,
And to spontaneously achieve the enlightened activities,
Ripening and liberating sentient beings of the five families.

Arising in the Holy Body of the Great Compassionate One

Contemplate:
Instantaneously, I arise as the holy body of the Great Compassionate One.

Blessing of the Offerings

OM PADMANTAKRITA HUM PHAT

OM SVABHAVA SHUDDHAH SARVA DHARMA SVABHAVA SHUDDHO HAM

Everything is empty. From the sphere of emptiness appear [eight] BHRUMs that become vast and extensive
vessels, each containing a white OM. The OMs melt into light and transform into drinking water, water for
feet, flowers, incense, lamps, perfume, food and music. Their nature is emptiness, they have the aspect of
the individual offerings, and their function is to give special uncontaminated bliss.

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OM ARGHAM AH HUM (drinking water)
OM PADYAM AH HUM (water for feet)
OM PUSHPE AH HUM (flowers)
OM DHUPE AH HUM (incense)
OM ALOKE AH HUM (light)
OM GANDHE AH HUM (perfume)
OM NAIVIDYA AH HUM (food)
OM SHAPTA AH HUM (music)

The Actual Practice

1. The Ultimate Deity

Contemplating as follows is (the meditation on) the Ultimate Deity:

OM SVABHAVA SHUDDHAH SARVA DHARMA SVABHAVA SHUDDHO HAM

The nature of myself, the deity to be meditated upon, and all phenomena are in essence of one taste of
emptiness.

2. The Deity of Sound

Contemplating as follows is (the meditation on) the Deity of Sound:

From the sphere of emptiness, the aspect of the tone of the mantra, OM MANI PADME HUM, resounds,
pervading the realm of space.

3. The Deity of Syllables

Contemplating as follows is (the meditation on) the Deity of Syllables:

My mind, in the aspect of the undifferentiable suchness of myself and the deity, becomes a moon mandala,
upon which the very aspect of the tone of the mantra resounding in space is set down, having the form of
written syllables. The sounds and the written letters [of the mantra] are mixing, like very pure mercury
adhering to grains of gold.

4. The Deity of Form

Contemplating as follows is (the meditation on) the Deity of Form:

The (syllables) transform into a thousand-petaled lotus, as brilliant as refined gold, marked at the center by
the mantra, OM MANI PADME HUM. From the tips of the multicolored light rays emitted from the moon, lotus
and mantra, innumerable holy bodies of the Arya (Avalokiteshvara) spread out, pervading all the realms of
space. Great clouds of miraculously emanated offerings are beautifully offered to the buddhas and their
children.

From yet another great emanated cloud, a continuous rain of nectar descends, extinguishing the fires of
suffering of all migrators of the hell and other realms. They are satisfied with bliss (and become
Avalokiteshvara). Then the light rays along with the bodies of the deity return and enter into one’s own mind
(in the aspect of) the moon mandala, lotus and mantra garland.

These transform into a multicolored lotus and a moon seat, upon which oneself arises as Arya
Avalokiteshvara with a white-colored body in the prime of youth and radiating rays of light. Of the eleven

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faces, the root face is white; the right, green; and the left, red. Above that, the central face is green; the right,
red; and the left, white. Above that, the central face is red; the right, white; and the left, green.

They also have long narrow eyes and smiling expressions. Above these is a wrathful black face with bared
fangs and wrathful wrinkles, a third eye and orange hair standing upright. On the crown is a peaceful red face
with crown protrusion, having a chaste aspect, devoid of ornaments and with (its own) neck.

The first two hands are folded at the heart (and hold a jewel), the second right hand holds a rosary, the third
eliminates the hunger and thirst of the hungry ghosts by sending down a stream of nectar from (the mudra of)
granting sublime (realizations) and the fourth holds a wheel. The second left hand holds a golden lotus with a
stem, the third holds a water vessel and the fourth holds a bow and arrow.

The remaining nine hundred and ninety-two hands, as soft as lotus petals, are (in the mudra of) granting
sublime realizations. In the palm of every hand is an eye. The hands do not extend above the crown
protrusions or below the knees.

An antelope skin covers the left breast and there is a lower garment of fine cloth. (The waist is) endowed with
a golden belt adorned with jewels; (the head of the wrathful face) is beautified with a garland of orange hair.
He has a jeweled crown, earrings, necklace, armlets, bracelets and anklets, wears garments of various
(colored) silks and radiates rays of white light.

5. The Deity of Mudra

Contemplating as follows is (the meditation on) the Deity of Mudra:

At the crown of the (central) head is a white OM, at the throat, a red AH, and at the heart, a blue HUM. Upon
a moon disk at the heart is a white (syllable) HRIH, with a long vowel (i) and subsequent aspiration (h).

[Then, say the following (mantra five times while) touching and blessing the heart, brow, throat and the tops
of the (right and left) shoulders with (one’s hands in) the commitment mudra of the lotus family, which was
demonstrated before. This is the Deity of Mudra.]

OM PADMA UDBHAVAYA SVAHA (5x)

6. The Deity of Sign

Invocation and Absorption of the Wisdom Beings

Then, invoke the wisdom beings saying:

Light rays radiate from the HRIH at one’s heart, invoking from their natural abode Arya Avalokiteshvara,
surrounded by the entire assembly of buddhas and bodhisattvas.

OM ARYA LOKESHVARA SAPARIVARA VAJRA SAMAYA JAH JAH JAH HUM BAM HOH.

Contemplate:
They become non-dual with (oneself), the commitment being.

Invocation of the Dhyani Buddhas and Offerings

Again, light rays radiate from the HRIH at one’s heart, invoking the empowering deities: the five (Buddha)
families, with Amitabha as their principal deity, together with their retinues.

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Present offerings while saying:

OM PANCHA KULA SAPARIVARA ARGHAM, PADYAM, PUSHPE, DHUPE, ALOKE, GANDHE, NAIVIDYA,
SHAPTA PRATICCHA SVAHA

Request for Initiation

“All tathagatas, please bestow empowerment upon me.”

Requested thus, the Goddess Dressed in White and the others who are emitted from the (tathagatas’) hearts
hold aloft vases filled with nectar and say:

“Just as at the very time of birth,

The devas offered ablution (to the Buddha),
I, too, with pure divine water,
Offer ablution to the holy body.”

OM SARVA TATHAGATA ABHISHEKATA SAMAYA SHRIYE HUM and bestow the empowerment.

Thereby, the entire body is filled [with divine water] and all defilements are purified. From a transformation of
the excess water remaining on the crown, the head becomes adorned with Amitabha—the very nature of
one’s guru—on the crown, Akshobhya on the forehead, Ratnasambhava behind the right ear, Vairochana at
the back, and Amoghasiddhi behind the left ear.

On the moon disk at one’s heart is the exalted wisdom being, Arya Avalokiteshvara, with a white-colored holy
body, one face and two hands. The right (hand is in the mudra of) bestowing sublime realizations and the left
holds a lotus (at his heart). The moon disk at his heart is marked by the concentration being symbolized by
the white (syllable) HRIH, with a long vowel (i) and subsequent aspiration (h).

[Having focused upon oneself, clearly visualize the holy body of the deity, then meditate one-pointedly upon it
is called meditation on the Deity of Sign.]

Offerings to the Self-Generation

Blessing the Offerings

Then (perform) the offerings of the self-generation. Cleanse (the offering substances of) hindrances by
means of the (action) mantra along with visualization:

OM PADMANTAKRITA HUM PHAT

OM SVABHAVA SHUDDHAH SARVA DHARMA SVABHAVA SHUDDHO HAM

(The offering substances) become just empty. From the sphere of emptiness, from (eight) BHRUM
(syllables), eight vast and extensive precious vessels arise. Within each, (the syllable) OM melts into light
from which arise drinking water, water for feet, flowers, incense, lamps, perfume, food and music. They are
empty in nature, have the aspects of the individual types (of offerings) and function to bestow special
uncontaminated bliss.

OM ARGHAM AH HUM (drinking water)

OM PADYAM AH HUM (water for feet)
OM PUSHPE AH HUM (flowers)
OM DHUPE AH HUM (incense)
OM ALOKE AH HUM (light)

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OM GANDHE AH HUM (perfume)
OM NAIVIDYA AH HUM (food)
OM SHAPTA AH HUM (music)

Presenting the offerings

Present the offerings by (reciting the following while making the appropriate mudras):

OM ARYA LOKESHVARA SAPARIVARA ARGHAM PRATICCHA SVAHA

OM ARYA LOKESHVARA SAPARIVARA PADYAM PRATICCHA SVAHA
OM ARYA LOKESHVARA SAPARIVARA PUSHPE PRATICCHA SVAHA
OM ARYA LOKESHVARA SAPARIVARA DHUPE PRATICCHA SVAHA
OM ARYA LOKESHVARA SAPARIVARA ALOKE PRATICCHA SVAHA
OM ARYA LOKESHVARA SAPARIVARA GANDHE PRATICCHA SVAHA
OM ARYA LOKESHVARA SAPARIVARA NAIVADYA PRATICCHA SVAHA
OM ARYA LOKESHVARA SAPARIVARA SHAPTA PRATICCHA SVAHA

[If you would like to do them extensively, the offerings can also be made (while reciting) offering garland
verses along with the mantras (as is done while presenting offerings to the front generation.]

Praise

Praise by saying:

Highly venerated by all the Buddhas,

You accumulated all holy qualities, and
Were conferred the name Avalokiteshvara:
I prostrate to the always merciful one.

Blessing the Rosary

[Then, with regard to doing the (mantra) recitation, bless the counting rosary. With palms joined at one’s
heart, pay homage to the guru and deity saying]:

OM GURU SARVA TATHAGATA KAYA VAK CITTA PRANAMENA SARVA TATHAGATA VAJRA PADA
BANDHANAM KAROMI.

[Then put a properly assembled rosary that conforms to the activity to be done (i.e. a crystal or bodhi seed
rosary for peaceful actions) between your cupped hands and bless it by reciting (the following mantra) seven
times]:

OM VASU MATI SHRIYE SVAHA. (7x)

Mantra Recitation

Contemplate as follows:
On a moon disk at one’s heart is the concentration being (the syllable HRIH), surrounded by garlands of the
mantras to be recited, white in color and standing clockwise. Light rays radiate from them filling all the inside
of one’s body and purifying all negativities and obscurations.

Light rays radiate outwards from which an incalculable assembly of deities of the Great Compassionate One
are emitted, purifying the negativities and obscurations of all sentient beings and setting them in the state of
the Arya (Avalokiteshvara). (These then) collect back and dissolve into the HRIH syllable at one’s heart.

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Reciting the Long Mantra

NAMO RATNA TRAYAYA, NAMAH ARYA JNANA SAGARA, VAIROCANA VYUHA RAJAYA,
TATHAGATAYA, ARHATE, SAMYAKSAM BUDDHAYA, NAMAH SARVA TATHAGATEBHYAH,
ARHATEBHYAH, SAMYAKSAM BUDDHEBHYAH, NAMAH ARYA AVALOKITE SHVARAYA,
BODHISATTVAYA, MAHASATTVAYA, MAHAKARUNIKAYA,

TADYATHA, OM DHARA DHARA, DHIRI DHIRI, DHURU DHURU, ITTI VATTE, CALE CALE, PRACALE
PRACALE, KUSUME, KUSUMEVARE, ILI MILI, CITI JVALAM, APANAYE SVAHA

Reciting the Six- Syllable Mantra

OM MANI PADME HUM

Reciting the Padmasattva Mantra

[Then, recite the hundred-syllable (mantra of Padmasattva) three times, and make amends for excesses and
omissions (in one’s practice), and stabilize the blessing.]

OM PADMASATTVA SAMAYA, MANUPALAYA, PADMASATTVA TVENOPATISTHA, DRIDHO ME BHAVA,

SUTOSYO ME BHAVA, SUPOSYO ME BHAVA, ANURAKTO ME BHAVA, SARVA SIDDHIM ME
PRAYACCHA, SARVA KARMA SUCAME, CITTAM SHRIYAM KURU HUM, HA HA HA HA HOH,
BHAGAVAN SARVA TATHAGATA, PADMA MAME MUNCA, PADMA BHAVA, MAHA SAMAYA SATTVA AH
HUM PHAT

The Concluding Practice

Request to Reside or to Depart

Please remain here together with this image

For the welfare of migrating beings and
Excellently bestow health, long life, riches,
And supreme (realizations).

OM SUPRATISTHA VAJRAYE SVAHA

OM. You enacted all aims of sentient beings

And bestowed appropriate attainments.
Although you depart to the buddhafield,
Please return again later.

OM VAJRA MUH

The exalted wisdom beings depart to the natural abode (the sphere of emptiness). The supporting and
supported commitment beings [which are] the mandala itself and visualized deities melt into light and dissolve
into me.

I transform into the Great Compassionate One, with one face and two arms, marked by a white OM on the
crown, a red AH at the throat and a blue HUM at the heart.

Dedication

Due to these merits, may I quickly

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Become the Great Compassionate One
And place all migrating beings, without exception,
In that very state.

Long Life Prayer for His Holiness the Dalai Lama

In this realm surrounded by snow mountains,

You are the source of all benefits and happiness,
Tenzin Gyatso, you who are one with Avalokiteshvara,
May you remain steadfast until the end of cyclic existence.

Verses of Auspiciousness

May the source of benefit and goodness—the doctrine—spread and expand,

May the beings upholding the doctrine have excellent health and
May the source of happiness and well-being for all embodied beings,
The doctrine of the Buddha, always increase.

May there be auspiciousness of Supreme Teachers, precious Buddhas;

May there be auspiciousness of Supreme Protector, precious Dharma;
May there be auspiciousness of Supreme Guide, precious Sangha;
May there be always auspiciousness of these Three Jewels.

Notes
1. See His Holiness' teaching on the Four Noble Truths. [Return to text]

2. See Meditation on Emptiness, pp. 208–10. [Return to text]

3. See Becoming the Compassion Buddha for Lama Yeshe’s commentary on His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s
practice text on Four-Armed Avalokiteshvara, The Inseparability of the Spiritual Master and Avalokiteshvara.
[Return to text]

4. See the booklet Nyung Nä for details of this practice. [Return to text]

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