Why is tantra called a swift method?
"The more we train to see ourselves as such a meditational deity,
the less bound we will feel by life's ordinary disappointments and frustrations.
This divine self-visualisation empowers us to take control of our life
and create for ourselves a pure environment
in which our deepest nature can be expressed."
Lama Yeshe
"The wisdom that realizes emptiness, that has gained insight into the nature of reality, is of varying kinds, depending upon the level of subtlety of the consciousness perceiving the emptiness. In general, there are rough levels of consciousness, more subtle levels, and then the innermost subtle level of consciousness. It is the uncommon characteristic of Tantric practice that through it one can evoke this most subtle consciousness at will and put it to use in a most effective way. For example, when emptiness is realized by this subtlest level of mind, it is more powerful, having a much greater effect on the personality.
In order to activate or make use of the more subtle levels of consciousness, it is necessary to block the rougher levels--the rougher or grosser levels must cease. It is through specifically Tantric practices, such as the meditations on the chakras and the channels, that one can control and temporarily abandon the rougher levels of consciousness. When these become suppressed, the subtler levels of consciousness become active. And it is through the use of the subtlest level of consciousness that the most powerful spiritual realizations can come about. Hence, it is through the Tantric practice involving the most subtle consciousness that the goal of enlightenment can most quickly be realized."
From Answers: Discussions with Western Buddhists by the Dalai Lama
INITIATION
Depending on the specific lineage and class of tantra, a Guru can demand that the disciple will commit to a daily practice (like reciting a certain number of mantras or doing a daily meditation practice). Next, a ritual is carried out in which the Guru transmits the potential of the specific tradition of the practice and gives the permission to practice. Highly qualified disciples sometimes achieve immediate realisations due the combined power of this transmission and their practice (maybe in previous lives).
If you seriously intend to take an initiation, please verify the following beforehand:
Do I have a reasonable understanding of renunciation, bodhicitta and emptiness? (Please check out the page Preliminaries to Tantra.)
What are the prerequisites of this initiation? Am I prepared to do the preliminaries?
What are the vows I need to take? Am I willing to take aspiring Bodhisattva, Bodhisattva or even tantric vows?
Why do I really want to receive the permission for this practice? Do I want to practice it, or is it only because everyone else is going?
What are the daily commitments? Am I prepared to do these daily practices every day for the rest of my life?
Are there retreat commitments? What does this retreat mean?
Last, but perhaps even most important is the teacher. Do I really have full confidence in him/her? Have I checked this person out? Does the teacher accept me as his/her disciple? The teacher/disciple relationship is extremely important in tantra.
During an initiation, try to be very alert and aware of what is happening. It is also very helpful to make notes of the visualisations and aspects that happen during the ritual, like establishing your tantric name, giving a mantra for the deity to practice etc. If you are lucky, a commentary to the practice is given or even a retreat may be organised after the initiation, also books may be available on how to do the practice. It is best to check with your teacher or more experienced other practitioners on these details. An initiation allows one to engage in only one specific practice, so it is important to note exactly what the practice is.
During an initiation many different ritual implements are used, see also the page on tantric symbols.
Most initiations should be given to small groups of disciples at a time; the Kalachakra practice is the famous exception to this rule. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has given this initiation to hundreds of thousands of people at a time.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the meaning of initiation or 'empowerment', from Dzogchen: The Heart Essence of the Great Perfection
"As for empowerment in general, what does the term wang, or empowerment, signify? To begin with, our fundamental nature - what we term 'the buddha nature', or tathagatagarbha, the very nature of our mind, is inherently present within us as a natural attribute. This mind of ours, the subject at hand, has been going on throughout beginningless time, and so has the more subtle nature of that mind. On the basis of the continuity of that subtle nature of our mind rests the capacity we have to attain enlightenment. This potential is what we call 'the seed of buddhahood', 'buddha nature', 'the fundamental nature', or tathagatagarbha. We all have this buddha nature, each and every one of us. For example, this beautiful statue of Lord Buddha here, in the presence of which we are now sitting, is a representation that honours someone who attained buddhahood. He awakened into that state of enlightenment because his nature was the buddha nature. Ours is as well, and just as the Buddha attained enlightenment in the past, so in the future we can become buddhas too.
...In any case, there dwells within us all this potential which allows us to awaken into buddhahood and attain omniscience. The empowerment process draws that potential out, and allows it to express itself more fully. When an empowerment is conferred on you, it is the nature of your mind - the buddha nature - that provides a basis upon which the empowerment can ripen you. Through the empowerment, you are empowered into the essence of the buddhas of the five families. In particular, you are 'ripened' within that particular family through which it is your personal predisposition to attain buddhahood.
So, with these auspicious circumstances established in your mindstream, and when you reflect on what is taking place and maintain the various visualizations, the conditions are right for the essence of the empowerment to awaken within you, as a state of wisdom which is blissful yet empty - a very special state that is the inseparability of basic space and awareness. As you focus your devotion in this way, it allows this special quality of mind, this new capability, as it were, to awaken."
"Vajrayana is very different from the New Age approach. The difference is that the Vajrayana teachings are controlled by the lineage. I know we don’t like the word control, but the Vajrayana teachings are actually held by the authority of the lineage. I know we also don’t like the word authority, but we have it in Vajrayana. When we have this pure lineage, this genuine lineage, there is no space for our egocentric interpretation of Dharma. We cannot interpret Dharma like the New Age gurus. We cannot invent a new lineage because a lineage must be received. It must be received by transmission. It is not something we can just create here. That would be New Age, probably from California."
Penetrating Wisdom: The Aspiration of Samantabhadra by the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
Deity Practice
Much of the popular confusion around tantra can be traced back to two aspects: deity practice and sexual practice. Deity practice is a profound meditation practice which uses the projection of already being enlightened to speed up one's good potential and reduce one's negative mind states. It is important to understand that this should only be done from the perspective of emptiness (or a mental arising from emptiness), otherwise one may not be much different from the people behind bars in mental institutions who claim to be Napoleon...
If one imagines in deep meditation that one is a perfect, loving being, free from the delusions of attachment, anger and ignorance, one can notice a slight difference in attitude after the meditation. For untrained minds, the time that one notices some positive difference is brief. However, as with most things, regular practice enhances the positive feeling and gradually one's mind becomes habituated to a more positive state. (Remember that meditation stands for habituating the mind to positive states.)
In the words of Lama Yeshe from "Introduction to Tantra":
"When you are ready, bring to mind your bodhicitta motivation to work for the sake of others and make the strong determination to arise in a form to which even more beings can relate.
With this compassionate motive the seed-syllable suddenly transforms into the transparent rainbow body of the deity itself. Understand this as being the actual emanation body (nirmanakaya) of full awakening that replaces the gross physical body of ordinary rebirth and has the nature of simultaneous bliss and wisdom.
Once again, identify strongly with this appearance by thinking, "This is the real nirmanakaya; it is who I really am."
In this way, then, ordinary rebirth is taken into the path as the emanation body of a Buddha.
When you see yourself as a deity, you should feel that you are the real emanation of the deity. Don't think that you are just pretending; you should be convinced. Then, like the actor who remains in character even after the play is finished, you might surprise yourself to find that you have actually become the deity.
Such divine pride - the strong sense of actually being the deity - is crucial. With it, tantric transformation will come naturally and be very powerful. Those people who think that tantra is only involved with pretending to be a deity are completely mistaken."
Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, from 'Everyday Consciousness and Buddha-Awakening':
"A beginner who visualizes the body of a deity and does not know the distinctive characteristics of the different aspects of consciousness would think that the deity must be seen as clearly during the mental meditation as if seen directly with the eyes. The eyes, however, have a much coarser way of perceiving concrete forms. Beginners do indeed meditate in the hope of attaining such clarity. Nevertheless, it will not arise, because the meditation on a deity does not happen through the medium of the eye consciousness, but through the medium of the mind consciousness. The objects of the mind consciousness are much less clear. The mind consciousness most definitely does not work like the eye consciousness. That's why some meditators who perceive a vague mental image think they are not capable of meditating correctly on a deity. The result is that they develop an aversion for the meditation. Those, however, who understand that each consciousness perceives in a different way know that mental images aren't as clear as the forms perceived with eyes, and therefore they are content with their meditation. They know how to meditate, do indeed so meditate, and thus their meditation works well."-
The main tantric practices can be summarised in the "Four Purities":
1. Seeing one's body as the body of the deity
2. Seeing one's environment as the pure land or mandala of the deity
3. Perceiving one's enjoyments as bliss of the deity, free from attachment
4. Performing one's actions only for the benefit of others (bodhicitta motivation, altruism)
During the "generation stage", one imagines these four purities and familiarises oneself with them. This usually involves extensive visualisations and mental exercises to achieve single pointed concentration on the emptiness of the deity and surroundings. A typical aspect of tantra is that limitations and obstacles are used and transformed in the path. The mental energy of anger is transformed into powerful compassionate action, desire is transformed into compassion for others, ignorance into omniscience etc., this is quite something else then repressing our delusions, it requires taking control over our deluded emotions. At a very subtle level, body and mind are inseparable aspects. Both mind and energies need to be fully controlled to make the transformation to Buddhahood possible. Therefore, the extensive yogic practices found in tantra are aimed at controlling the energies within the body, like the practice of 'inner fire', 'Kundalini' (Skt.) or 'tummo' (Tib.). During the "completion stage", the transformation to Buddhahood gradually takes place, mainly while working with the subtle energies in the channels and chakras. The main aim is to direct all energies into the central channel.
The word 'mantra' means 'mind-protection'. It protects the mind from ordinary appearances and conceptions. 'Mind' here refers to all six consciousnesses -- eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mental consciousnesses -- which are to be freed, or protected, from the ordinary world. There are two factors in mantra training, pride in oneself as a deity and vivid appearance of that deity. Divine pride protects one from the pride of being ordinary, and divine vivid appearance protects one from ordinary appearances. Whatever appears to the senses is viewed as the sport of a deity; for instance, whatever forms are seen are viewed as the emanations of a deity and whatever sounds are heard are viewed as the mantras of a deity. One is thereby protected from ordinary appearances, and through this transformation of attitude, the pride of being a deity emerges. Such protection of mind together with its attendant pledges and vows is called the practice of mantra.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tsong-ka-pa and Jeffrey Hopkins from Tantra in Tibet
