This meditation is centered on Guru Rinpoche or Padmasambhava,
The great ancestral teacher of the Indo-Tibetan lineage of Buddhism,
Venerated as the second Buddha and a great Tantric master.
By meditating on him,
We are gaining access to all the ancestral teachers at the same time,
And are also establishing a deep connection with our own basic goodness.
To begin the practice,
We start with relaxation.
Our body is ideally in a comfortable stationary position and is resting in the quality of stillness,
Releasing all physical activity with a chow breath.
Our speech is resting in the quality of silence,
And in this silence we also release the mental chatter,
Allowing our breath to move naturally.
Our mind is resting in a spacious clear presence in the here and now,
Releasing all identification with mental appearances with a chow breath,
Simply resting in its own clarity,
Just as it is.
In this state of openness,
We mentally turn towards refuge,
Our true reliance on the Buddha,
The Dharma and the Sangha,
The three jewels of refuge,
Finding safe direction in the awakened mind,
The path leading to awakening,
And those who have already gained certain realizations,
Especially the direct knowledge of the true nature of reality.
We also generate the altruistic intention of bodhicitta,
The aspiration for full awakening for the benefit of all sentient beings.
And so we think,
I am undertaking this practice of Guru Rinpoche in order to become fully awakened for the benefit of all sentient beings.
Out of the luminous clarity of our own mind arises a vision of Guru Rinpoche.
We can imagine ourselves as practitioners and as his students,
Seated on a medicinal field,
Surrounded by healing plants and nourishing streams of water.
In the open,
Rainbow-filled sky in front of us is Padmasambhava himself,
Seated on a lotus flower and sun and moon cushions.
His youthful,
Energetic body is made of rainbow light,
And he is symbolically wearing several layers of majestic robes,
Including a beautiful brocade cloak,
A symbol of the unified nature of all the teachings.
With his right hand,
He is brandishing a golden Vajra scepter.
In his left hand resting on his lap,
He is holding a skull cup with a golden long-life vase brimming with nectar.
The aspect of enlightened female wisdom is present symbolically as a trident in the fold of his left hand.
He is also wearing a lotus crown and beautiful jeweled earrings.
And his compassionate and playful gaze is resting upon us and all the beings that we imagine around us,
Practicing this meditation with us.
With a feeling of Guru Rinpoche's presence,
We rest for a short while,
Focusing on the qualities of wisdom,
Compassion and power present and embodied before us.
And we also realize that this presence is a direct expression of our own Buddha nature,
Our basic goodness,
Our awakened dignity.
So simply resting in the awareness of our own potential,
The potential of our pristine awareness,
The deepest layer,
The deepest dimension of our mind.
Imagining all sentient beings around us,
We see them devotionally supplicating Guru Rinpoche with an aspiration to attain liberation.
Liberation from all disease,
All negative karma,
All mental limitations,
All afflictions,
All wrong views and all that obscures the true nature of the mind.
If we have specific ailments or dangers we're facing right now,
We can request help,
Inspiration and clarity in dealing with them.
And similarly,
We can request help and inspiration on behalf of other beings that are facing dangers or disease.
Imagining these specific beings practicing right in front of us.
In trusting themselves to Guru Rinpoche's activity.
Above all,
We request the inspiration to traverse the path to awakening for the benefit of all sentient beings.
And we either request this inspiration mentally,
Or we chant Guru Rinpoche's mantra together with all beings.
Om Ahum Vajra Guru Padmasri Hum Om Ahum Vajra Guru Padmasri Hum Om Ahum Vajra Guru Padmasri Hum Om Ahum Vajra Guru Padmasri Hum With this chanting,
With these supplications,
The long life-vase in Guru Rinpoche's hand releases an endless stream of the medicinal nectar of immortality.
This nectar flows along a ray of light and enters our crown,
Starting to fill our body in all of its energy channels.
The same process is happening to all the sentient beings around us.
Gradually filling our subtle nervous system,
This nectar forces out all the negativities and illnesses.
They leave our body through our bodily doors and pores,
And then they completely disappear in space.
This nectar then forms a protective layer along the surface of our body,
An indestructible armor of sorts,
Suffusing us with a feeling of vitality and youthful optimism.
In this way,
All the suffering of our body,
Our speech,
Which includes our breath,
And our mind,
Is completely eliminated.
And we also imagine the same process happening to all beings.
Even those we dislike or don't really understand are being liberated from their afflictions,
Their wrong views,
And gaining true compassion and true wisdom.
All beings are gaining the qualities of Guru Rinpoche,
His awakened state.
Through this,
We can chant the mantra some more,
Or just rest in the experience,
Or recite the mantra quietly.
Looking around,
We now imagine that all beings have gained true freedom and happiness.
All that exists has gained the quality of rainbow light.
All sounds are now Guru Rinpoche's mantra,
And all thoughts and mental appearances are the play of primordial wisdom.
With this,
We imagine that Guru Rinpoche in front of us melts into light,
And this light absorbs into us,
Blessing us with oneness.
Releasing all thoughts and all identification with them,
We rest in a healing state of non-fixation,
Oneness and clarity.
Before concluding the practice,
We feel joy about having done this meditation,
And joy about our own incredible potential,
Our basic goodness equal to that of Guru Rinpoche himself.
We mentally dedicate the effort of having done this practice the merit.
For this,
May I soon gain the fully awakened state of Guru Buddha,
Of Padmasambhava,
And guide all beings to that very state.
May the precious altruistic wish to become a Buddha,
The precious Bodhicitta,
Quickly be born in my own heart,
And the hearts of all beings.
May it always expand and may it never degenerate,
And through this may all beings immediately be free and happy.
Through this,
We return to our normal awareness,
Conclude the practice,
And invite the bell.
