Introductory Practice Instructions:
Tantric Guru Yoga
Masters and Guru Yoga
The essence of Amrita Mandala is the living blessings of spiritual masters or mahasiddhas. As with all tantric traditions, we emphasize a living connection between practitioner and enlightened master (Skt. guru). This is traditionally called Guru Yoga. While discussion of gurus might sound strange or religious to modern Westerners, Guru Yoga is the foundation of the entire tantric path, and there is no tantric practice without it. Fortunately, however, esoteric practices like Guru Yoga can and should be approached reasonably and pragmatically without religious beliefs and ideas.
In Amrita Mandala, we practice Guru Yoga with a congregation of spiritual masters from different traditions. Together, these historical yet timeless masters make up the so-called Mahasiddha Family. Even though most of these masters are closely related to the lands and cultures of India, China, and Tibet, historical myths and legends are not the primary concern for yogis. For the purposes of spiritual maturation, what matters is the concrete blessing derived from cultivating a direct relationship with authentic spiritual masters.
The benefit of practicing with masters of different traditions is that it enables us to see beyond the superficial differences between different religions and philosophies and come to understand the universal ground of reality itself. Therefore, while having a clear and pragmatic view of our teachings and the goal of spiritual practice, in Amrita Mandala we look at dharma and spirituality from a universal perspective.
Introductory Practice
The Amrita Mandala teachings are divided into two main paths; The Path of Wisdom and Clarity, and The Path of Healing and Light (see Introduction). The foundation of the Path of Wisdom and Clarity is the living blessings of Buddhist Masters such as Guru Rinpoche and Yeshe Tsogyal. The foundation of the Path of Healing and Light is the blessings of Hindu Masters such as Babaji and Mataji. Connecting with and embodying the blessings of these masters is called Guru Yoga - union with the enlightened mind of the Guru.
Guru Yoga is practiced by chanting a Guru mantra and then feeling the presence of the master as it arises in one's own body and mind. Visualizations and hand gestures can also be used. Guru Yoga is done briefly at the beginning of each practice session when blessings of the master are asked for oneself and all sentient beings. It can also be practiced as a stand-alone practice, such as described below. We invite you to try this exercise and see for yourself. It is best if you do the following introductory practice daily for 1-2 months before receiving initiation into Rainbow Body Yoga or Amrita Kriya Yoga respectively.
Guru Rinpoche and Yeshe Tsogyal
Amrita Babaji
Amrita Mataji
Practice Instructions: Guru Yoga
Sitting Down, Relaxing, and Recognizing Open Inner Space and Basic Knowing, 2-3 min
Whole Body Smile, 1- 2 min
Guru Yoga: Receiving The Masters' Blessing, 1-2 min
Guru Yoga: Guru Mantra, 5-15 minutes
Non-meditation, 5-15 min
Basic Prayers: Five Refuges, Bodhicitta, Dedication of Merit, and Bow
1. Sitting Down, Relaxing, and Recognizing Open Inner Space and Basic Knowing
Sit down in an upright yet inwardly relaxed posture. For beginners, it is recommended to keep your eyes closed, without visual input. Take a few deeper breaths, if you feel like it. Then, let the breath flow on its own.
Start scanning the insides of the physical body. Be alert to notice any tensions and when you detect them, allow them to be released. When tension is released, notice what is found in the place of the released tension. Look carefully to find that out. What you find is a clear open space with nothing in it. After this observation, continue going through the rest of the body releasing tensions and recognizing that small area of open space whenever tensions are released. Do this carefully, without hurry. At some point, as you keep doing this, small areas of open space appear as a larger space that is both inside and outside the physical body, yet really is in neither. Simply notice that this space is there. Then, relax into it and marinate with your whole body.
Rest in it with some vigilance of mind so that you don't become drowsy. Also, you can check if ”you”, as you commonly think or speak of yourself, exist in this space or if this space is without the notion of me-ness. This takes a couple of minutes.
2. Whole Body Smile
After relaxing into the basic space, take a moment to remind yourself to smile gently. Simply begin smiling to yourself by turning the corners of your mouth up. Smile and feel the light joyful energy that comes with it. Let that energy spread all over your body and then simply enjoy it. Smiling without reason is a profound yogic exercise that transforms emotions and heals traumas. It is simple but its effect is profound. It connects you with your basic state and specifically its enjoyment aspect (Skt. sambhogakaya). Continue for a couple of minutes.
3. Guru Yoga: Receiving the Master's Blessing
Once basic relaxation and joy are established, express your practice motivation and ask for a blessing from the Gurus. You are free to use your own words, formulating your prayer to best describe what you want to do and what you wish to achieve with your practice. The prayer can be as simple as,
”Dear Guru Rinpoche and Yeshe Tsogyal/Babaji and Mataji, I humbly turn to you for support and guidance. Please flood my being with your blessings, so that I may attain Buddhahood as soon as possible for my own sake and for the sake of all beings. I am grateful for your support and bow before you.”
After you make the request, feel how the blessings come to you. It is necessary to learn to recognize what experientially happens with visualizations, prayers, and mantras, so from the beginning of your Amrita Mandala tantric practice, learn to detect the blessing. This brief moment with the Gurus is a short and condensed form of Guru Yoga in the form of a simple prayer. This takes about 1-2 minutes.
4. Guru Yoga: Guru Mantra
The next part is a continuation of Guru Yoga with the help of mantra chanting. Guru Yoga can also be practiced through visualization and mudra or all these three elements combined. What is most important is not the superficial technique but the inner meaning of it, which is the feeling of the master's presence in one's body. This reveals one's own natural state, or oneself as a buddha. Confidence and understanding of Guru Yoga come through repetition. The Guru's mantras can actually be used at any time or place, and however much one wants to, there is no limit to this.
As mentioned there are two options of mantras; Guru Rinpoche's and Yeshe Tsogyal's mantras according to The Path of Wisdom and Clarity, and Babaji’s and Mataji’s mantras according to The Path of Healing and Light. Choose one or the other of the following pair of mantras for each particular session:
Path of Wisdom and Clarity
NAMO GURU RINPOCHE
NAMO YESHE TSOGYAL YE
Path of Healing and Light
OM AMRITA BABAJI NAMAHA
OM AMRITA MATAJI NAMAHA
You can find recordings of these mantras on the Amrita Mandala Youtube channel.
The idea is to repeatedly chant the mantra aloud for about 5-10 minutes. Chant the mantras with focus and relaxation to invite the masters to come to you. After chanting, welcome and feel the Gurus’ presence in your whole being; body, mind, and heart. Simply feel and receive their gift in the form of a blessing. At this point, there is no need to do anything else. Taking the blessing into one's system is like taking a warm bath or receiving a good massage. After several minutes, the Gurus’ charge begins to fade. You feel this as calming down of energetic sensations. After Guru Yoga, the mind is calm, clear, and open and it is easy to simply be, without doing or thinking anything. At this stage, one naturally shifts from Guru Yoga to non-meditation.
4. Nonmeditation and Phet!-syllable
The last part of the practice is nonmeditation (Skt. abhavana), with Phet!- syllable. Nonmeditation means that one is not focusing on anything but is not distracted either. It means to rest in the most simple of ways, not doing, thinking, planning, or intending anything. One simply sits, without moving the body, like someone who is not bothered about anything, sort of like a simpleton but with a very clear mind that is marked by selflessness, groundedness, and self-cognizance and is imbued with life, just like a rainforest. The actual experience of buddha-nature is simpler and more profound than any words can describe. During non-meditation, eyes can be kept closed or open.
At first, you won't be able to remain in the natural state for more than a second at a time. It appears and disappears but even though the glimpse is short, it makes a big difference. It is like switching the lights on and off in a room that is usually dark. Seeing the room for a second makes a big difference. Because it goes by quickly, you simply need to keep returning to it again and again. This is what practice is.
When your mind becomes busy and you find yourself thinking or planning things, return to the undistracted state by yelling sharply the syllable ”Phet!”. In Amrita Mandala practice, shouting or Dynamic Concentration is something that is done a lot because this is the most direct and effective way to cut through the multilayered confusions of the self-based mind. A few sharp shouts get the job done in seconds or minutes. This is radically more effective than the practices founded in common concentration (Skt. shamatha). At first, shouting can feel awkward but you will get used to it with practice, not to mention when recognizing the great benefits you get from doing that.
The Phet-syllable is pronounced like ”pet” as in pet dog, just add ”h”. Yell it firmly, using the muscles in your belly in producing the sound. It should be like an explosion. Shout it sharply 1-10 times so that you can notice how the conceptual mind gets shattered.
Basically, there is no limit if you wish to shout more repetitions. The point is to use the shout of Phet to cut through the layers of the mind so that recognition of the natural state can take place. In the beginning, for a few years, it is better to do more Dynamic Concentration than less. Immediately after shouts, relax thoroughly and continue doing nothing. Continue Nonmeditation for 5-10 minutes or more. After Nonmeditation, continue to Basic Prayers, and with each prayer feel their energetic meaning.
5. Basic Prayers: Five Refuges, Bodhicitta Prayer, Dedication of Merit, and Bow.
To finish your practice session, start off by chanting the Five Refuges three times in your own language:
Five Refuges (Relative)
I take refuge in the Guru
I take refuge in His Pure Land
I take refuge in the Buddha
I take refuge in the Dharma
I take refuge in the Sangha
x 3
Five Refuges (Absolute)
I am the Guru
I'm in the Pure Land
I am the Buddha
I am the Dharma
I am the Sangha
x 3
Bodhicitta Prayer (Relative)
May all be-ings be free (x 3)
Bodhicitta Prayer (Absolute)
All be-ings are free (x 3)
Dedication of Merit
May all be-ing re-ceive my ac-cu-mu-la-ted me-rit.
I de-di-cate the me-rit to the Re-fuge and to all sen-tient be-ings.
Finally, as an outward sign of sincerity, put your palms together and bow your head.
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This practice takes about 30-40 minutes in one sitting. Ideally, one should practice it every day for 1-2 months before joining the empowerment for Rainbow Body Yoga or Amrita Kriya Yoga.