The New Guide to Dakini Land. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

and respect we imagine that we emanate countless replicas of our body pervading the entire world, and that with these emanated bodies we make physical prostrations to our Guru. At the same time, with our palms pressed together, we recite the following praise while contemplating its meaning:

      Vajra Holder, my jewel-like Guru,

      Through whose kindness I can accomplish

      The state of great bliss in an instant,

      At your lotus feet humbly I bow.

      In this verse of praise our Guru is compared to a wish-­granting jewel because if we develop unshakeable faith in him he will help us to attain the wisdom of spontaneous great bliss. This bliss is the supreme, quick path to Buddhahood that enables us to fulfil all our own wishes and those of all other living beings. The phrase ‘accomplish the state of great bliss in an instant’ means that by practising Guru yoga purely we can attain spontaneous great bliss and Buddhahood within the brief span of one human life. If we constantly make prostrations to our Guru with our body, speech and mind, every moment of our human life will have great meaning.

      OFFERINGS

      We make the following seven offerings:

      1 Outer offerings

      2 Inner offering

      3 Secret offering

      4 Thatness offering

      5 Offering our spiritual practice

      6 Kusali tsog offering

      7 Offering the mandala

      OUTER OFFERINGS

      To make the eight outer offerings we recite the offering prayers from the sadhana. As we offer each substance we imagine that countless offering goddesses emanate from the letter BAM at our heart and make the offering to the Gurus. First innumerable white Ahrghamvajra Goddesses emanate, each one holding a vessel of nectar. These are followed by white Padämvajra Goddesses holding vessels of bathing water, white Pupevajra Goddesses holding flowers, smoke-coloured Dhupevajra Goddesses holding incense, orange Diwevajra Goddesses holding lights, green Gändhavajra Goddesses holding vessels of perfume, multicoloured Newidevajra Goddesses holding precious bowls of food, and multicoloured Shaptavajra Goddesses playing musical instruments.

      As we make each offering we perform the accompanying mudra and recite the appropriate offering mantra. Thus, when we make the first offering, nectar for drinking, we emanate the Ahrghamvajra Goddesses, perform the mudra of offering nectar for drinking, and recite OM AHRGHAM PARTITZA SÖHA. We then reabsorb the Ahrghamvajra Goddesses into our heart and emanate the next set of goddesses, the Padämvajra Goddesses. We perform the accompanying mudra and recite the appropriate offering mantra. Each of the eight offerings follows the same pattern.

      Next we offer the objects of enjoyment of the six senses, such as beautiful forms and melodious sounds. We imagine that countless vajra goddesses such as Rupavajra Goddesses emanate from the BAM at our heart to make the offerings. Each offering that the Gurus receive causes them to experience uncontaminated great bliss. The different vajra goddesses are named after the Sanskrit word for their offering and they all have different aspects. Rupavajra Goddesses are white and hold jewelled mirrors reflecting all the visible forms of the universe; Shaptavajra Goddesses are blue and play various instruments such as flutes; Gändhavajra Goddesses are yellow and hold jewelled vessels filled with perfume; Rasavajra Goddesses are red and hold jewelled containers filled with various foods; Parshavajra Goddesses are green and hold an assortment of precious cloths, delightful to the touch, and Dharmadhatuvajra Goddesses are white and hold phenomena sources symbolizing the ultimate nature of phenomena. While visualizing these goddesses making the offerings we recite the offering mantras from OM AH VAJRA ADARSHE HUM up to OM AH VAJRA DHARME HUM and perform the accompanying mudras. All the various mudras are illustrated in Appendix III.

      Whenever we make these offerings we imagine that all the visual forms that exist in the universe transform into Rupavajra Goddesses, all sounds transform into Shaptavajra Goddesses, all smells transform into Gändhavajra Goddesses, all tastes transform into Rasavajra Goddesses, all objects of touch transform into Parshavajra Goddesses, and all other phenomena transform into Dharmadhatuvajra Goddesses. These goddesses make offerings to the assembled Gurus and Deities, to the self-generated Deity, or to the assembly of the Deities of the body mandala.

      INNER OFFERING

      To offer the inner offering we imagine that red offering goddesses emanate from our heart, scoop up some nectar from the inner offering in front of us, and offer it to the Gurus. At the same time we dip our left ring finger into the nectar and flick some nectar into space while reciting the inner offering mantra: OM GURU VAJRA DHARMA SAPARIWARA OM AH HUM. We imagine that the Gurus accept this offering and as a result experience spontaneous great bliss. We then reabsorb the goddesses into our heart.

      SECRET OFFERING

      While reciting the prayers from the sadhana we imagine that countless attractive knowledge goddesses in the aspect of Vajrayogini emanate from our heart. These knowledge goddesses serve as Tantric consorts, or mudras. They are of three types: (1) Dakinis of the twenty-four places, (2) mudras with realizations of generation stage or the first stages of completion stage, and (3) mudras with realizations of the union that needs learning or the Union of No More Learning. The goddesses absorb into one another to become one single Deity. She then embraces Guru Vajradharma, causing both of them to experience uncontaminated bliss.

      THATNESS OFFERING

      Through embracing, Guru Vajradharma Father and Mother experience an uncontaminated bliss that realizes thatness, the emptiness of all phenomena. This realization of indivisible bliss and emptiness is the thatness offering.

      OFFERING OUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

      At this point we offer our practice of the Tantric seven limbs. This is the supreme offering that delights our Spiritual Guide more than any other. The Tantric seven limbs are our practices of purifying, rejoicing, ultimate bodhichitta, refuge, aspiring bodhichitta, engaging bodhichitta and dedication.

      The practice of the seven limbs is indispensable for practitioners of Highest Yoga Tantra. According to the teaching of Highest Yoga Tantra, ultimate bodhichitta is the wisdom of spontaneous bliss that realizes emptiness directly. This is the actual quick path leading to the Union of No More Learning. Before we can realize ultimate bodhichitta we must generate the two types of conventional bodhichitta – aspiring bodhichitta and engaging bodhichitta; and all these attainments depend upon going for refuge, accumulating merit, purifying negative actions and dedicating virtue.

      We can offer these seven limbs with the Tantric prayer of seven limbs from the sadhana:

      I go for refuge to the Three Jewels

      And confess individually all negative actions.

      I rejoice in the virtues of all beings

      And promise to accomplish a Buddha’s enlightenment.

      I go for refuge until I am enlightened

      To Buddha, Dharma and the Supreme Assembly,

      And to accomplish the aims of myself and others

      I shall generate the mind of enlightenment.

      Having generated the mind of supreme enlightenment,

      I shall invite all sentient beings to be my guests

      And engage in the pleasing, supreme practices of enlightenment.

      May I attain Buddhahood to benefit migrators.

      The first four lines of this prayer come from Vajrapanjara Tantra. According to the Highest Yoga Tantra interpretation the first two lines indicate purification, the third rejoicing, and the fourth training in ultimate bodhichitta. The phrase ‘promise to accomplish a Buddha’s enlightenment’ means to train in developing the wisdom of spontaneous bliss inseparable from emptiness, which is the main cause of the enlightened mind of a Buddha. The first two lines of the second verse indicate Mahayana refuge, and the last two indicate the practice of aspiring bodhichitta. In the last verse, the first three lines indicate