Introductory Practice Instructions
Masters and Guru Yoga
The essence of Amrita Mandala practice is the living blessings of spiritual masters or mahasiddhas. As in all tantric traditions, we emphasize a living connection between a practitioner and a master (Skt. guru). This is traditionally called Guru Yoga. Discussion of gurus might sound strange or religious, and that is understandable. However, Guru Yoga is the foundation of the tantric path and has a very important role in the tantric method. It can be approached reasonably and pragmatically without religious beliefs and ideas. From the perspective of spiritual maturation, guru yoga is immensely beneficial.
In Amrita Mandala, we practice guru yoga mainly with Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyal, who together have a very special position in the history of vajrayana, or tantric Buddhism. Even though they both are closely related to the lands and cultures of India and Tibet, in Amrita Mandala, we don't give much attention to historical myths and legends. What matters most is the direct contact and benefit derived from cultivating a relationship with the masters. We also receive blessings from many other masters as well, so that through experiencing their presence, we can come to understand the common ground of all beings and are able to see beyond the superficial differences between religions and philosophies. While having a clear view of our practice and its goal, we look at dharma and spirituality universally, rather than in a sectarian manner.
Guru Yoga is practiced by chanting the guru mantra and then feeling the presence of the master 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 initiation into Rainbow Body Yoga.
Practice Instructions
Sitting Down, Relaxing and Recognizing Open Inner Space and Basic Knowing, 2-3 min
Guru Yoga: Receiving The Master's Blessing, 1-2 min
Guru Yoga: Guru Mantra in 18 Centres, 2-5 rounds, 10-20 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 hurrying. 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, exists in this space or if this space is without the notion of me-ness. This takes a couple of minutes.
2. Guru Yoga: Receiving the Master's Blessing
After relaxing into natural knowingness, express your practice motivation and ask for a blessing from Guru Rinpoche and Yeshe Tsogyal. You are free to use your own words, formulating your prayer in a way that best describes 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, 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 short moment with Guru Rinpoche and Yeshe Tsogyal is a short and condensed form of Guru Yoga through a simple prayer. This takes about 1-2 minutes.
3. Guru Yoga: Guru Mantras in 18 Centers
The next part is a continuation of Guru Yoga with Guru Rinpoche and Yeshe Tsogyal, 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 own 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.
What we use here is Guru Rinpoche's and Yeshe Tsogyal's simple Guru mantras, which are to be repeated aloud with an open mind and focus for 5-10 minutes. The mantras are:
NAMO GURU RINPOCHE
NAMO YESHE TSOGYAL YE
You can find recordings of the mantra from the Amrita Mandala Youtube channel.
In Amrita Mandala practice one directs the Gurus' mantras to specific energy centers (Skt. chakra) throughout the upper body. This is a very natural and effective way to combine Guru Yoga and tantric purification practice. Below you'll find a chart with the location of the 18 centers.
As you can see, the 18 centers are marked as alternating blue and red dots. On the blue dots you chant the mantra of Guru Rinpoche and on the red dots you chant the mantra of Yeshe Tsogyal:
Namo Guru Rinpoche
Namo Yeshe Tsogyal Ye
Chant the mantras directly into each center with both focus and relaxation as an invitation for the masters to come to you. Do 2-5 rounds of chanting in all of the 18 centers. After chanting, welcome and feel Guru Rinpoche's and Yeshe Tsogyal's 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 Guru's 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 that is not accomplished by common concentration (skt. shamatha) practices in a full day's, week's or even a month's practice. At first, shouting can feel awkward but you get used to it with practice, not to mention 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 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.
This practice takes about 30-40 minutes at one sitting. Ideally, one should practice it every day for 1-2 months before joining the empowerment for Rainbow Body Yoga.