The Collected Works of Chogyam Trungpa: Volume Three: 3 (69 page)

In the second abhisheka of the vase, the crown abhisheka, the student is presented with a crown inlaid with five jewels representing the wisdom of the five buddha families. He is symbolically crowned as a confident and accomplished student worthy of taking his place in the mandala of Vajrayogini. The crown abhisheka is connected with the ratna family; the student is also presented with a jewel, the symbol of the ratna wisdom of equanimity. There is a sense of being enriched, a feeling of openness and generosity, and a sense of confidence that one is able to overcome any sense of threat or poverty.

In the third abhisheka of the vase, the abhisheka of the vajra, the student is presented with a nine-pronged vajra scepter, or dorje. The vajra is the symbol of indestructibility and of complete skillfulness in working with the phenomenal world. So, in receiving the vajra the student is presented with the means to overcome obstacles and to propagate vajra sanity. The abhisheka of the vajra is related to the padma family: although the vajra is both a powerful scepter and a deadly weapon, its power comes from generating and extending compassion, warmth, and generosity. The student is also presented with a lotus, the symbol of the padma family, signifying the ability to transmute the grasping quality of desire into discriminating-awareness wisdom.

The abhisheka of the ghanta, or bell, is the fourth abhisheka of the vase. Presenting the student with the ghanta signifies that he is not only concerned with personal realization but is also willing to proclaim the teachings for the benefit of others. The piercing sound of the ghanta signifies that the vajra proclamation of truth is unobstructed. The abhisheka of the ghanta is connected with the karma family. The student is presented with a sword, the symbol of the karma family, signifying the wisdom of all-accomplishing action which conquers neurotic speed and jealousy.

The final abhisheka of the vase is the abhisheka of name. In this abhisheka, the vajra master rings a ghanta with a vajra attached to it above the student’s head. When the bell rings, the student is given a tantric name, which is a secret name. This name is not publicized like an ordinary name, but when the practitioner needs to use his power to wake someone up, he says his own vajra name, his secret name, as a reminder of vajra nature. The giving of the secret name signifies the final act in the coronation of the tantric prince or princess. Because of merit accumulated through practice and devotion to the teacher, the student deserves to change his or her name from a common name to that of a would-be king or queen, a potential master of the mandala; the student is acknowledged as a future tathagata.

The abhisheka of name is connected with the buddha family. There is a sense of complete spaciousness and openness that comes when one takes one’s place in the vajra mandala. Having been coronated, the student is presented with a hooked knife, which Vajrayogini holds in her right hand. At this point, the student is introduced to the chief deity of the mandala and to her buddhalike quality, which is the wisdom of all-encompassing space. Although Vajrayogini is red in color, symbolizing her feminine quality of warmth and passion, her basic quality is definitely that of the buddha family.

Having received the complete abhisheka of the vase, there is a sense of significant psychological progress and psychological change in the student. At that point, the vajra master is able to confer the remaining three abhishekas. We cannot go into too much detail about these aspects of the ceremony. But in brief, the second abhisheka is known as the secret abhisheka (guhya abhisheka). By drinking amrita—a mixture of liquor and other substances—from the skull cup on the shrine, the mind of the student merges with the mind of the teacher and the mind of the yidam, so that the boundary between confusion and wakefulness begins to dissolve. In the third abhisheka, the prajna-jnana abhisheka, or abhisheka of knowledge and wisdom, the student begins to experience joy, mahasukha—a uniting with the world. This is sometimes called the union of bliss and emptiness, which signifies greater openness and greater vision taking place.

The fourth abhisheka (chaturtha abhisheka) is known as the abhisheka of suchness. The student experiences that he or she does not have to dwell on the past, present, or future; he could just wake himself up on the spot. The student’s mind is opened into the ultimate notion of sacred outlook, in which there is nobody to “flash” sacred outlook. There is just a sense of the doer and the doing dissolving into one, which is a sense of basic shock: the possibilities of conventional mind are dissolving into nothing.

S
AMAYA

The principle of samaya, or sacred bondage, becomes extremely important once we have taken abhisheka. The definition of yidam as the “sacred bondage of one’s mind” was discussed earlier. When we receive empowerment to practice the sadhana of Vajrayogini, we take on that samaya, or bondage. We bind ourselves to indestructible wakefulness, committing ourselves fully to maintaining sacred outlook throughout our lives. This is done by identifying oneself completely with the vajra sanity of the teacher and of Vajrayogini. One is inseparably bound together with the teacher and the yidam; and, at this point, one’s very being and one’s sanity depend on keeping up this commitment.

This is not to say that if a student has one “bad” thought or trace of confusion he will be rejected or destroyed. There is still a sense of journey and path that takes place once one has received abhisheka. In fact, it is said that samaya is nearly impossible to keep: it is like a mirror in that, no matter how thoroughly it is polished, it always collects dust and must be polished again. In taking abhisheka, one is taught to experience sacred outlook on the spot, which
is
samaya. When obstacles or difficulties arise, they become reminders of sacred outlook rather than purely hindrances. This is called the samaya of experiencing everything as sacred in vajra nature, which has three categories: the samaya of body, or mudra; the samaya of speech, or mantra; the samaya of mind, or vajra.

The samaya of body involves always regarding one’s basic phenomenal situation as an expression of sacredness. We do not doubt the sacredness of our world. The samaya of speech involves also regarding any occurrence—anything that comes up in our experience—as sacred. This could be either an internal or an external occurrence, so that any subconscious gossip or emotional upheaval is included here. The samaya of mind is connected with the indestructible wakefulness of the vajra mandala—in this case the mandala of Vajrayogini. Even the hint or the possibility of neurosis is unable to enter into one’s state of being because the whole world is seen as part of the mandala of sacredness that one has entered.

It is interesting that abhisheka brings both a greater sense of freedom and a greater sense of bondage. The more we develop a sense of openness, of letting go and shedding ego, the more we develop a commitment to the world of sanity. So taking abhisheka and beginning yidam practice is a very serious step. In fact, we should be somewhat frightened of it and, at the same time, we could appreciate it as the most precious opportunity to realize our human birth.

C
OEMERGENT
W
ISDOM

Fundamentally, the magic of the vajrayana tradition is the ability to transform confusion into wisdom on the spot. From the point of view of vajrayana, real magic, or
siddhi
in Sanskrit, is the ability to work with and tame one’s mind. This is completely different from the usual notion of magic as a supernatural power over the universe. As mentioned in the previous discussion of the samayas of body, speech, and mind, any potential confusion and neurosis becomes an opportunity to experience sacred outlook. At the beginning of the path of meditation, we work to tame our minds and subdue the forces of confusion. In the mahayana, we see the emptiness of self and phenomena; out of that, we rouse compassion for beings who do not realize the emptiness, and therefore the freedom, of their nature. In the vajrayana, we could actually bring together confusion and enlightenment on one spot, and thereby completely overcome the dualism of samsara and nirvana.

The simultaneous experience of confusion and sanity, or being asleep and awake, is the realization of coemergent wisdom. Any occurrence in one’s state of mind—any thought, feeling, or emotion—is both black and white; it is both a statement of confusion and a message of enlightened mind. Confusion is seen so clearly that this clarity itself
is
sacred outlook. Vajrayogini is called “the Coemergent Mother.” In fact, the sadhana of Vajrayogini according to Tilopa is entitled
The Sadhana of the Glorious Coemergent Mother Vajrayogini.
By practicing the sadhana and by identifying ourselves with the body, speech, and mind of the yidam, we become able to experience the coemergent boundary between confusion and wakefulness. Then we can use confusion itself as a stepping-stone for realizing further sanity and further wisdom.

V
ISUALIZATION

A practitioner’s connection to, and understanding of, the iconography come about through the visualization practice of Vajrayogini. There are two stages of visualization practice: utpattikrama (
kyerim
in Tibetan) and sampannakrama (
dzogrim
in Tibetan).
Utpattikrama
literally means “developing stage,” and
sampannakrama
means “fulfillment stage.” Utpattikrama is the process of visualizing the yidam, in this case, Vajrayogini. In the self-visualization, the practitioner visualizes himself as the yidam. The visualization arises from shunyata, or emptiness, as do all tantric visualizations. The text amplifies this concept:

All the dharmas comprising grasping and fixation become empty. From within emptiness . . . arises the triangular source of dharmas . . . On that is the nature of my consciousness . . . Like a fish leaping from water, I arise in the body of Jetsun Vajrayogini.

So the process of visualizing oneself as the yidam comes first from the experience of emptiness and egolessness. Out of that arises the source of dharmas, the abstract form of coemergence; and on that, the practitioner visualizes himself as the yidam. The visualization, therefore, is essentially empty as well. The practice of visualization is identifying oneself with the yidam, realizing the deity as the nonmanifested, or empty, manifestation of basic enlightened nature. The form of the yidam, including her clothing, ornaments, and stance, represents aspects of the enlightened state of mind. So when one visualizes oneself as a blazing, youthful red lady decked with bone ornaments, one is not particularly trying to conjure up an exotic costume as the latest fashion, but one is identifying oneself with Vajrayogini as the embodiment of wisdom and compassion.

The visualization of oneself as Vajrayogini is called the samayasattva: the “sacred bondage of one’s being.” The samayasattva is basically the expression of the samayas of body, speech, and mind. It expresses one’s commitment to the teacher and the teachings and one’s trust in one’s fundamental state of mind.

Having visualized the samayasattvas of basic being, one invites what is known as jnanasattva. The jnanasattva is another level of being or experience. Jnana is a state of wakefulness or openness, whereas samaya is an experience of bondage, of being solidly grounded in one’s experience.
Jnana
literally means “wisdom” or, more accurately, “being wise.” One invites this state of wisdom, this level of wakefulness, into one’s own imperfect visualization, so that the visualization comes alive with a feeling of openness and humor.

At the conclusion of the visualization practice, the visualization is dissolved back into the emptiness and one meditates, or rests, in that nondual state of mind. This is the sampannakrama, or fulfillment, stage. It is said in the tantric texts that the proper understanding of visualization practice is that the utpattikrama and sampannakrama stages are not fundamentally different; that is, in this case, the sampannakrama experience of emptiness-emptiness and the utpattikrama experience of form-emptiness should not be seen as two things, but as one expression of the world of the Coemergent Mother.

Sampannakrama meditation is similar to the practice of shamatha-vipashyana; in fact, without prior training in these meditation practices, it is impossible to practice sampannakrama. Sampannakrama is an expression of vastness. Experiencing the vajra mind of Vajrayogini is so deep and vast that if thoughts arise, they do not become highlights: they are small fish in a huge ocean of space.

T
HE
V
AJRAYOGINI
P
RINCIPLE AND
I
TS
I
CONOGRAPHY

An examination of the meaning of the following praise to Vajrayogini from the sadhana may help us to understand the Vajrayogini principle in relation to the iconography of Vajrayogini. The praise begins:

Bhagavati Vajrayogini,

Personification of vajra emptiness,

Blazing with the kalpa-ending fire, uttering the terrifying sound of
HUM
—

We prostrate to Vajra-chandali.

Bhagavati
means “blessed one.” This stanza refers first to Vajrayogini as the anthropomorphic form of shunyata, the “personification of vajra emptiness.” It then praises her fiery quality of passion and cosmic lust. In the iconography, Vajrayogini’s body is red and blazes with rays of light, which is described here as “blazing with the kalpa-ending fire.” This is her padma family quality, which transmutes neurotic passion into all-consuming compassion.
Kalpa
means “a historical era.” The “kalpaending fire” in Indian mythology is an explosion of the sun, which burns up the solar system and brings an end to the kalpa. Vajrayogini’s passion is so bright and so consuming that it is likened to that fire. The “terrifying sound of
HUM
” expresses the wrath of her passion, which is terrifying to ego. Chandali (
tummo
in Tibetan) is the yogic heat, cosmic heat, in yogic practice, which is again the Vajrayogini principle of passion arising free from habitual tendencies. Such passion is immensely powerful; it radiates its warmth in all directions. It simultaneously nurtures the welfare of beings and blazes to destroy the neurotic tendencies of ego. The praise continues: