The Mirror of Dharma. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

strive to practise the three higher trainings, the synthesis of all paths.

      With my mind like a fine horse heading for higher ground

      Guided by the reins of the Dharma of the three higher trainings,

      And urged onwards with the whip of strong effort,

      Now I will swiftly travel the path to liberation.

      All mother living beings who care for me with such kindness

      Are drowning in the fearful ocean of samsara.

      If I give no thought to their pitiful suffering

      I am like a mean and heartless child.

      Since throughout my beginningless lives until now, the root of all my suffering has been my self-cherishing mind,

      I must expel it from my heart, cast it afar and cherish only other living beings.

      Thus, I will complete my practice of exchanging self with others.

      O my precious Guru, please bestow your blessings so that I may complete this profound practice.

      To permanently liberate all mother living beings

      From suffering and mistaken appearance,

      I will attain the Union of the state of enlightenment

      Through the practice of the six perfections.

      Eliminating the distractions of my mind completely,

      Observing and holding a single object of meditation with mindfulness,

      And preventing the obstacles of mental sinking and mental excitement from arising,

      In this way I will control my mind with clear and joyful meditation.

      All my appearances in dreams teach me

      That all my appearances when awake do not exist;

      Thus for me all my dream appearances

      Are the supreme instructions of my Guru.

      The phenomena that I normally see or perceive

      Are deceptive – created by mistaken minds.

      If I search for the reality of what I see,

      There is nothing there that exists – I perceive only empty like space.

      When I search with my wisdom eye,

      All the things that I normally see disappear

      And only their mere name remains.

      With this mere name I simply accept everything for the purpose of communicating with others.

      The way phenomena exist is just this.

      Guru Father Je Tsongkhapa clarified this following Nagarjuna’s intention.

      Thus, the correct view of emptiness free from the two extremes

      Is extremely profound.

      With my having experience of the common paths,

      The principal of Akanishta Pure Land, Vajradhara Heruka,

      Now appears in this world as an emanation of Heruka

      In the form of my root Guru

      Who has led me inside the great mandala of the body of Heruka

      And granted me the four empowerments to ripen my mental continuum.

      Thus I have become a great fortunate one who has the opportunity to accomplish in this life

      The Union of Heruka by accomplishing No More Learning, the state of enlightenment.

      The kindness of Guru Heruka Father and Mother is inconceivable

      And the kindness of my root Guru is inconceivable.

      Because of this good fortune and through the power of my correct imagination

      I now abide in the great mandala of Heruka, the nature of my purified gross body.

      I am the enlightened Deity Heruka,

      The nature of my purified white indestructible drop,

      With my consort Vajravarahi,

      The nature of my purified red indestructible drop.

      I am surrounded by the Bodhisattva Deities, the Heroes and Heroines,

      Who are the nature of my purified channels and drops.

      Through enjoying great bliss and the emptiness of all phenomena I have pacified all ordinary appearances and conceptions,

      And thus I have accomplished the real meaning of human life.

      Having generated myself as Heruka with consort,

      I meditate briefly on my body as hollow and empty like space.

      Within this body is my central channel possessing four characteristics.

      Inside my central channel in the centre of the eight petals of the heart channel wheel

      Is the union of my white and red indestructible drop, the size of a small pea,

      Which is very clear and radiates five-coloured lights.

      Inside this is my indestructible wind in the aspect of a letter HUM,

      Which is actual Glorious Heruka.

      My mind enters into the HUM and mixes with it like water mixing with water.

      I hold this HUM, which is my indestructible wind and Heruka, with mindfulness and meditate on it single-pointedly.

      Through stabilizing this meditation the movement of my inner winds of conceptions will cease.

      Thus, I will perceive a fully qualified clear light.

      Through completing the practice of this clear light

      I will attain the actual Union of Great Keajra, the state of enlightenment.

      This is the great kindness of Guru Heruka;

      May I become just like you.

      Avalokiteshvara

      Essential Insights into the Avalokiteshvara Sadhana: Prayers and Requests to the Buddha of Compassion

      Who is Avalokiteshvara? Avalokiteshvara is an enlightened being who is the manifestation of the compassion of all Buddhas; the compassion of all Buddhas appears as Avalokiteshvara. He is the synthesis of all Buddhas. In this context, sadhana refers to the ritual prayer for the attainment of Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion. The actual sadhana can be found in Appendix III.

      The benefits of engaging in the practice of this sadhana are immeasurable. Through sincerely practising the instructions presented in this sadhana we can first solve our own daily problems by controlling our desire, anger and ignorance, and then with this ability we can lead people throughout the world to the correct spiritual path through which they can find the real meaning of human life.

      The main practice of this sadhana is training in purifying and transforming the six classes of living being, which is a very blessed instruction that comes from the Ganden Emanation Scripture. The six classes of living being are: gods, demi-gods and human beings, the three higher classes of living being; and animals, hungry ghosts and hell beings, the three lower classes of living being. There are seven stages to practising this sadhana.

      THE FIRST STAGE: GOING FOR REFUGE AND GENERATING BODHICHITTA

      GOING FOR REFUGE

      In this context, going for refuge refers to seeking refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. This means that we apply effort to receiving Buddha’s blessings, to practising Dharma purely and to