Nyingma Empowerment

From: Thyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com
Newsgroups: soc.religion.eastern
Date: 24 May 1993 22:50:50 -0700

What follows are materials received at a Nyingma Empowerment
of Yeshe Tsogyel on May 4th, 1993, as well as some supplemental
materials to aid in the understanding of the tradition as a whole.

Compiled 930524, Tyagi Nagasiva
---------------------------------------------------------

Contents [All reproduced without permission, capitalization intact.]

A. Empowerment Readings
B. Yeshe Tsogyel Awareness-spell
C. Empowerment Handouts
D. Supplemental Notes and Comments

________________________________________

A. Empowerment Readings:
_________________________________________

1.
Empowerment of Khando Chenmo Yeshe Tsogyel
The Female Tantric Buddha

The Practice of the Yeshe Tsogyel Awareness-spell encourages the
Strong Laughter of the Dakinis as an aspect of one's existence.  This
means that one's circumstances become vivid with opportunities for
Practices, and electric with the immanent possibilities of Liberation.
With this practice there is the innate encouragement to be vital and
alive in each moment, to experience a nakedness of perception and the
dynamic continuity of 'the inescapeability [sic] of *what is*'.  The
Completion Phase Practice of Khandro Chenmo Yeshe Tsogyel is to
realize Transference of consciousness at the time of Death to the
Realised Sphere of her own mind, known as 'o-kar Kang-ri - the Mountain
of White Light.'

2.
Waning Moon and Yeshe Tsogyel Tsog-khorlo Envisionment

>From within the Lucid Shining Emptiness of my own Being,

I instantly arise in the Iridescent Form of the Great Enlightened Dakini;
Khandro Chenmo Yeshe Tsogyel.  My Gaze is at once Soft and Penetrating;
Compassionate yet Playfully Wrathful, in token of my ability [to]
infuse all circumstances with vivid opportunities for Realisation.
My Wide Open Eyes Sparkle with the Electricity of Existence
and Non-existence and communicate the immanence of Liberation
for all Yogis and Yoginis.

My mouth is open and my tongue is flickering.
My Strong Laughter overpowers all dualistic conceptions.

My hair is wound up in a Yogini's bun on top of my head
and ornamented with a golden takdrol topped with a flaming skull.
I am naked in token of utter lack of pretension and complete fearlessness.
I am open to the entire universe and the inescapability of what is.

I wear the six human bone cemetery ornaments
to show that I have accomplished the six Tantric Vehicles;
and, as the sign that I have passed beyond all relative constraints.
I wear the Conch Yogini earrings, and Sit on a Tiger skin
in display of my mastery of all Siddhis.

In my left hand I hold the skull bowl;
symbol of the Transformed emotions, and of Wisdom.
The white bone of the skull is the Male Quality of Spacious Passion.
The red frothing oceans of menstrual blood within the skull bowl
is the Female Quality of Passionate Space.

I cradle the Khatvangha trident in the crook of my left arm.
The three points of the khatvanga
pierce the fabric of attraction, aversion and indifference.
The secret Nature of the Khatvangha is Padhmasambhava
who is my Secret Inner Method nature.
In my right hand I hold the golden Five Pronged Wrathful Vajra,
with which I overpower all apparent phenomena in Bliss-Emptiness.

I sit in the Dzogchen Yogini's posture: in Display of the natural condition,
in which everything relaxes into its own condition of Primal Purity.
My right foot is extended in token of my ability
to enter swiftly into Activity for the benefit
of Everyone and Everything Everywhere.

___________________________________________

B. Yeshe Tsogyel Awareness-spell

OM A'A HUNG BENDZRA GURU JNANA SAGARA
BAM HA RI NI SA SIDDHI HUNG
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

C. Empowerment Handouts
____________________________________________

1. Ngakpa Chogyam Rinpoche - biographic details
[Bolds and italics not reproduced in either of these.]

Ngakpa Chogyam Rinpoche is an English-born Lama, recognized as the second
Incarnation of the Tantric Yogi 'a-Shul Pema Ledgen, by His Holiness Kyabje
Khordong Terchen Tulku Chhimed Rigdzin Rinpoche  (Holder of the Chang-Ter
and Khordong-Ter Lineages of the Nyingma School).

The Nyingma are the oldest Tradition of Tantra in Tibet, and the one most
directly associated with Padmasambhava (the Second Buddha who brought
Tantra to Tibet).

The Nyingma are the Holders of the Dzogchen Teaching - the most Direct
and Essential Path of the Three Inner Tantras.  The Inner Tantras of the
Nyingma are unique in the richness and simplicity of their View and Method,
and Ngakpa Chogyam Rinpoche is becoming increasingly well known for his
authentic yet radical presentation of these Ancient Spiritual Treasure
Teachings.

Kyabje Chhimed Rigdzin Rinpoche (Ngakpa Chogyam Rinpoche's Root Teacher -
Spiritual Father) is one of the Great Tertons of this century.  The Tertons
are Revealers of the Hidden Spiritual Treasures of Padmasambhava,
mystically sealed (through his Enlightened Mind-Mandate) to be Discover
[sic] at future times.  These Astonishing Teachings were Hidden for future
Discovery with the Intention that the Nyingma Tradition would never grow
stale, but would continually address the current situation of people in
the world.  Ter are encoded in the Secret Dakini Script of Khandro Yeshe
Tsogyel (the Enlightened Tibetan Woman - Yogini and mystic consort of
Padmasambhava) and they come to light whenever the Tradition is in
danger of stagnating through the human cultural tendency to atrophication.

Ter re-vitalise the entire Tradition in terms of its poignant relevance
to our times.  The Tertons (Incarnations of the twenty-five Disciples of
Padmasambhava) are predicted to appear at various times to reveal
Teachings, and these Great Lamas are the living fire of the Nyingma School.
By making contact with such Lamas we are brought into Direct contact
with the Mind Speech and Presence of Padmasambhava as a potent personal
reality; and this is seldom more true than in the case of Kyabje Chhimed
Rigdzin Rinpoche.  Kyabje Chhimed Rigdzin Rinpoche (the Incarnation of
one of the twenty-five disciples, called Kye-chung Lotsa) is one of the
few major living Tertons; and has (in his present life as Terchen Zilngon
Lingpa) discovered many powerful and extraordinary Ter.

In his last life, he was known as Khalding Lingpa and in that life Ngakpa
Chogyam Rinpoche was a Heart-Son of this MahaSiddha and Great Terton
(referred to earlier in this text as 'a-Shul Pema Legden).  'a-Shul Pema
Legden was Khalding Lingpa's Visionary Artist and Ter-scribe and worked
with him very closely.

'a-Shul Pema Legden, a monk-Yogi, was inpired to renounce his monastic
vows late in life in order to spend his remaining years in the company of
a young wandering Yogini.

His Incarnation, Aro Yeshe, spent his short life as Togden in a Gar (Yogic
tent encampment) on the Tibetan-Nepalese border, where he instructed his
disciples according to his own Visionary Revelations.

In this life, Rinpoche recognized his connection with the Tradition of
Padmasambhava whilst still relatively young, but only in a rather abstract
sense as all overt reminders were absent in his life.  It took until he was
fifteen before he met with the actuality of the Tibetan Tantric Tradition
of the Wrathful Awareness-Beings in books of Thangka paintings.  From that
time onward he sought out information on Tibet from as many available
sources as he could determine.  This eventually led him to travel to the
Himalayas, where he received Tantric Teachings and Empowerments with
Lamas of each of the Tibetan Schools.  This enabled him, not only to
develop a profound appreciation for all the Schools but also to
re-establish his link with the Nyingma White Tradition.

Lamas of the White Tradition take Tantric rather than Sutric ordination,
and are therefore not required to be celibate or abstemious.  Their vows
are primarily Internal, but among their various external commitments is
their characteristic sign of having un-cut hair.  White Tradition Lamas
are called Ngakpas (or Ngakmas in the case of women).  The word 'Ngakpa'
literally means: Mantra man, and indicates someone who has gained the
power of mantra (Awareness-spell) through Practice.

Rinpoche took his Ngakpa ordination and Empowerments (in which he received
his robes) from Kyabje Chhimed Rigdzin Rinpoche in 1978 and was acknowledged
as a Spiritual Son.  Although Kyabje Chhimed Rigdzin Rinpoche recognised him
immediately as 'a-Shul Pema Legden, he waited until 1988 before letting
Rinpoche know due to the time having previously been inauspicious.  It was at
this later time also that Rinpoche was Empowered with the authority to wear
the Tak-drol ornament (Liberation on Wearing) in his hair in recognition of
his ability.

Whilst in the Himalayas, he undertook several long solitary retreats and
followed the instruction to practice in wild and fearful places.  He
practiced under the guidance of several Lamas who were highly accomplished
Tantric Adepts and Masters of Dzogchen.  Through his training he underwent
various terrifying ordeals during the Practice of Chod (the charnal-ground
Practice of Cutting Attachment to both subtle and overt reference points -
the personal demons that devour our life-energy life energy [sic].

In 1983, he returned to Britain to be able to help people interested follow
the Path of the Nyingma White Tradition.  In returning, he determined to make
it possible for ordinary people to practice in an urban Western context.
He was initially requested to Teach at the Lam-rim Buddhist Centre in Wales
by his old friend Ven. Ani Tsultrim Zangmo la - who had received nuns' robes
from H.H. Gyalwa Karmapa in the early 1960's.  From the first public Teaching
enthusiastic requests came for him to Teach regularly in Cardiff, Wales.
Within a year a group of personal students gathered around him and
"Sang-ngak-cho-dzong" was established.

This name was given to Rinpoche and his students by His Holiness Kyabje
Jigdrel Yeshe Dorje Dudjom Rinpoche (the late Supreme Head of the Nyingma
School) and means: Secret Awareness-spell Fortress.  "Sang-ngak-cho-dzong"
has become a highly individual association of people enthusiastically
committed to the establishment of the Nyingma White Tradition in the West.
They study and Practice under the guidance of Rinpoche (who has devised
an Apprenticeship programme for their training) and integrate the Practice
of the Nyingma Inner Tantras with their everyday working and family
lives.  Rinpoche has evolved a fiercely gleeful approach, combined
with a humorous sensitivity to life-issues of people in the West.

Rinpoche is the author of 'Rainbow of Liberated Energy' (1986), and
'Journey into Vastness' (1989).

He is currently engaged with the writing of his third book, entitled:
'Wearing the Body of Visions', which deals with the Visionary Practices
of the Kye-rim phase of Inner Tantra.

He has contributed several chapters to books on the psychology/Buddhism
interface (notably 'Space in Mind') and given interviews to a variety of
magazines in the spheres of Buddhism, psychology, shamanism, health,
alternative medicine, spirituality and creativity.  He has a variety of
media appearances (notably in the Observer and the BBC Television
documentary: 'The Lotus and the Leek'; a film on Tibetan Buddhism in
Wales).  Rinpoche has given a number of key-note addresses at
international conferences, such as the British Psychological Society
(1986) and SEN/Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (1990).

An unusual aspect of Rinpoche's Teaching, is that he has committed himself
to working with a relatively small number of personal students (called
Apprentices) for whom he gives Apprentice Retreats.

He also gives Open Teaching Retreats in order to introduce wider audiences
to the methods of the Nyingma Inner Tantras.  Rinpoche travels widely at
the invitation of various institutions and individuals and is keen to
establish links between his Tradition and the Arts.  He is enthusiastically
engaged in making available the powerful Teachings that have long been
obscured by both cultural and academic  barriers, and in making it possible
for people to integrate their Practice with the life-styles that are common
in the West.

He is a Tantric artist, calligrapher, poet, singer and healer.  His
calligraphies have been exhibited at a number of galleries and have been
commissioned for the covers of several books and magazines.  In 1989, he
was awarded a Doctorate (by the International Nyingma Society, founded by
His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche) in Tibetan Tantric Psychology.  In November
1990 Rinpoche Discovered a Crystal Sphere (Shel-kar) buried in the sacred
hill of Swayambhu (Katmandu, Nepal).  This Miraculous Object was
subsequently validated as Ter of Padmasambhava by both His Holiness
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and His Holiness Kyabje Chhimed Rigdzin Rinpoche.

Rinpoche is a personal friend and Vajra-brother of Lama Sonam Sangpo
Rinpoche and Lama Tharchin Rinpoche.  With his Vajra-Brothers, he shares
the wish that in these difficult times all those who Teach the precious
Vajrayana Traditions should work together to encourage harmony and
enthusiasm for the Spacious-Passion of the Teachings.

Rinpoche's work is to present the Essence of the Tantric View of Life as a:
dynamic yet subtle; spacious yet grounded path - free of the current
spiritual biases toward: fantasy, 'meaningful' cosiness, thirst for
intensity, or the spiritualisation of neurosise. [sic]

"If you were to fall to your death from a very great height;
  it would be a shame not to enjoy the view as you fell,
  or to appreciate the wind in your hair
  and the warmth of the sun in your face.
  To Practice Tantra is to Ride the Tiger of Crazy Wisdom:
  to plummet into Wisdom-Fire, and emerge
  Wearing the Body of Visions!"

Ngakpa Chogyam Rinpoche

2.  'Friends of Sang-ngak-cho-dzong'

"Sang-ngak-cho-dzong" was named by His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche.
It is an association of those who follow the Nyingma White Tradition
under the guidance of Ngakpa Chogyam Rinpoche.  The purpose of becoming
a 'Friend of Sang-ngak-cho-dzong' is to be able to remain in contact with
Ngakpa Chogyam Rinpoche without becoming an Apprentice (see
Apprenticeship Information and Application Form).

The White Tradition

The White Lineages of the Nyingma School are sometimes known as the
house-holder or nonmonastic traditions.  These are the Lineages that
owe their inspiration to Padmasambhava (the Tantric Buddha) and touch,
more than any other, on integration with everyday life.  Many great Siddhas
in these Linneages have been nomads or farmers.  There have been great
Teachers who have been illiterate, yet who have bequeathed Teachings
which have occupied scholars for centuries.  Many important Lamas of
this Tradition (men and women) have been family people, whose family
lives have demonstrated the Essence of the Teaching in its most profound
respects.  The Inner Tantra Teachings and practice-style of the White
Tradition could obviously be of immense benefit to us in the West today;
but sadly it is not widely known or made available.

Inner Tantra

The Inner Tantras of the Nyingma School provide profound methods for
realisation in one life-time.  The Maha-yoga and Anu-yoga provide methods
which transform the energy of the individual through Vision and Inner Sound;
and Ati-yoga, enables us (through direct introduction by the Lama) to
explode the confines of conventional reality.  Within the Yogic Lineages
of the White Tradition there exist a startling variety of psycho-physical
methods which are brilliant in their simplicity and dynamic effectiveness.
This rich vibrant tradition needs to be preserved.  The lives of the Lamas
of this tradition (especially those who are now old) need to be recorded
and their inspirational Teaching-stories related.  To provide information
one the White Tradition, and the Teaching work of Rinpoche, we publish
'Hidden Word'.

'Hidden Word' the journal.

'Friends of Sang-ngak-cho-dzong' are on our mailing list, and always find
out when and where courses or retreats given by Ngakpa Chogyam Rinpoche
will be held; well in advance.  You will also receive a copy of our journal
'Hidden Word' which is produced twice a year.  'Hidden Word' is the journal
of "Sang-ngak-cho-dzong".  It provides information on the White Tradition
of the Nyingma School (White Lineages of the Kagyud and Sakya Schools,
occasionally, will also be featured).

Rinpoche is dedicated to the establishment of a White Tradition of Ngakphang
& Nalphang Practitioners based upon integration with life as it's lived for
most people in our times.  'Hidden Word' contains occasional Teachings given
by Ngakpa Chogyam Rinpoche, and by his Tsa-wa'i Lama - H.H. Kyabje Khordong
Terchen Tulku Chhimed Rigdzin Rinpoche.  'Hidden Word' contains occasional
interviews with Rinpoche's Vajra Brothers and Sister: Sonam Sangpo Rinpoche,
Tharchin Rinpoche and Khandro Tendzin Dolkar.  Each edition contains an
interview and/or Teaching with Ngakpa Chogyam Rinpoche.

It will contain information from rare sources; together with illustrations,
line drawings and photographs of the Tradition.

Participation.

As a 'Friend of Sang-ngak-cho-dzong' you will be actively supporting the
many objectives of establishing this Ancient Tradition in a manner that can
be accessed for the benefit of people with jobs and families.  These aims
include Teacher-training programmes, which will enable more people to
have access to Western Lamas within this Tradition.

We are at this time engaged in the task of raising the necessary funds for
establishing a retreat place, which will be called "Tigers' Nest" after
the meditation cave where Padmasambhava manifersted [sic] Dorje Trollo.
(This will become the permanent home for this style of Teaching and
Practice.) Any contributions, therefore, are warmly welcomed - however
small.  Charitable status is currently in process of application and
should be obtained by the end of 1992.

Annual Subscription    Sliding scale, dependant [sic] upon income:

U.K.  P10-P100 / U.S.A.  $20-$200 / Germany DM35-DM350
Donations (regular or one-off) of larger sums by generous benefactors
are very much welcomed.  Such sums could facilitate many important
projects that we are as yet unable to undertake.

Please do not send foreign currency in the post.

Please send subscription (CHEQUE/ INTERNATIONAL MONEY ORDER) to
Revd. Ngakchung Nordzin Lhamo
The Administrative Secretary,
'Sang-ngak-cho-dzong'
5, Court Close,
Whitchurch, Cardiff Cf4 1JR
Wales, U.K.
telephone: 0222 620332

For information on the Apprenticeship Programme, please write to:
Rinchen Khandro,
The Apprenticeship Secretary,
14, Wickham Gardens,
London SE4 1LY
England.

Or, in the U.S.A. to:
Lisa Grant
1020 Stannage Street
Albany, California  94760.

Telephone: (415) 526-7510.
Local contact for the Teachings of Ngakpa Rinpoche in the U.S.A.

Please send a large Stamped Addressed Envelope if writing within the U.K.
or U.S.A. - (or a large Self-Addressed Envelope with international reply
coupons if writing to the U.K. and in need of a reply.)
____________________________________________

D. Supplemental Notes and Comments [My comments are in brackets. - Tyagi]:
____________________________________________

"Yeshe Tsogyel... Tib., lit. 'Princess of the Wisdom Lake,' 757-817;
intimate companion of Padmasambhava and the most important female
figure in the tradition of the Nyingmapa school.  Named for a miracle
that occurred at the time of her birth, the rising of a nearby lake....
Padmasambhava took her as his consort and transmitted to her
particularly the teachings of the *phurba* cycle.  Yeshe Tsogyel
codified countless of her guru's teachings in *terma* texts and
also composed his biography.  In the last part of her life she was
active mainly in east Tibet.  She is venerated up to the present
day as a *dakini*."

_The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen_, by Fischer-Schreiber,
Ehrhard, and Diener, transl. by Michael Kohn, Shambhala Pubs. Inc., 1991;
page 253.

"Phurba... Tib., lit. 'nail, wedge'; a dagger for subduing demons
introduced into the ritual of Tibetan Buddhism by Padmasambhava.
As a system for the direct transmutaton of negative forces, it plays
a central role in a system of meditative practice that was transmitted
by Yeshe Tsogyel.  The actual *phurba* is a three-edged knife with a
handle in the shape of half of a *dorje*....

"The origin of the *phurba* is associated with a long Tantra presented
by Padmasambhava at the beginning of his journey to Tibet.  A deity
personified as a *phurba* plays an important role as a *yidam* in the
Sakyapa and Nyingmapa schools;..."  Ibid, page 170.

"Dakini...Skt.; in Indian folk belief, a female demon to be found in the
company of gods; in Vajrayana Buddhism, the inspiring power of
consciousness, usually depicted in the iconography as a wrathful
naked female figure (forms of manifestation).  As semiwrathful or
wrathful *yidam*, the dakini has the task of integrating the powers
liberated by the practitioner in the process of visualization
(*sadhana*).  In Tibetan, *dakini* is translated as *khadroma*.
*Kha* means 'celestial space,' emptiness (*shunyata*) become
an image; *dro* has the meaning of walking and moving about;
*ma* indicates the feminine gender in substantive form.  Thus the
*khadroma* is a female figure that moves on the highest level
of reality; her nakedness symbolizes knowledge of truth unveiled.
The homeland of the *dakinis* is said to be the mystic realm of
Urgyen [aka Shambhala]."  Ibid, page 50.

"Yidam... Tib., lit. 'firm mind'; in Vajrayana Buddhism, a term for a
personal deity, whose nature corresponds to the individual
psychological makeup of the practitioner.  *Yidams* are manifestations
of the *sambhogakhaya* [buddha-body of delight] and are visualized
in meditative practice (*sadhana*), i.e. perceived with the inner eye.
They can take on either a peaceful or wrathful form of manifestation....

"Tibetan Buddhism does not particularly regard *yidam* as protective
deities (as the personal deities...are regarded in Hindu Tantra); rather
their function is as an aid in the transformative process in which the
practitioner comes to acknowledge his or her own basic personality
structure.  The *yidams* also serve to bring the practitioner to a
sense of ultimate connection with the traditional lineage whose
teaching he or she follows....

"In the Tibetan pantheon, male and female deities are also represented
in union (*yab-yum*), as, for example, the male deities Chakrasamvara
and Vajrabhairava with their consorts...."  Ibid, page 253.

"Following many trials, Tsogyel eventually received full initiation
into the Tantra and was transformed into a 'Sky-walker,' a female adept
of the highest order.  Padmasambhava said to her, 'The basis for realizing
enlightenment is a human body.  Male or female, there is no great
difference.  But if she develops the mind bent on enlightenment, the
woman's body is better.

"For many years thereafter, Tsogyel worked for the good of all - feeding
the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, instructing the
ignorant, and 'giving her sexual parts to the lustful.'...

"Tsogyel also married a leper and served him as a model wife.  She died at
a great age, and is now venerated as Tibet's top female Tantric master."

_Lust For Enlightenment: Buddhism and Sex_, by John Stevens, Shambhala
Pubs. Inc., 1990; pages 70-72.

**************** - FIN - OM MANI PADME HUM - FIN -*****************

Completed in dedication to Kali-Ma, Queen of Dakinis, on this day, 930524.

Thyagi@HouseofKaos.Abyss.com
Tyagi Nagasiva
House of kaOS
871 Ironwood Drive
San Jose, CA 95125-2815
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