mantra. By practising in this way, we purify our ordinary appearances and conceptions.
As we fall asleep at night we should try to maintain the first recognition, regarding our mind as Heruka’s mind of the Dharmakaya experiencing the union of great bliss and emptiness. As we wake up in the morning we imagine that we arise from the state of great bliss and emptiness as Heruka, we recite the essence mantra, and we then engage in the yoga of experiencing nectar and so forth. The yoga of experiencing nectar is explained in the book The New Guide to Dakini Land. Apart from the times when we are training in common paths, such as going for refuge and purifying negativities, we should try to maintain the three recognitions throughout the day and night.
PURIFYING OTHER BEINGS, THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENJOYMENTS
This practice is a powerful method to fulfil our main intention to lead all living beings to enlightenment as quickly as possible. To show that we need to maintain this intention throughout our practice, and to fulfil it as quickly as possible, we now bring the resultant deeds of a Buddha into the path. In this way we create a powerful cause to accomplish our final aim of leading all mother beings to the ultimate happiness of enlightenment.
We imagine that from the letter HUM at the heart of ourself generated as Heruka, infinite rays of wisdom light emanate throughout all directions, purifying all worlds and the beings within them. The worlds become Heruka’s Pure Land and all beings become Heroes and Heroines. Everything becomes immaculately pure, completely filled with a vast array of offerings, the nature of exalted wisdom and bestowing uncontaminated bliss. We firmly believe that we have fulfilled the two intentions of our bodhichitta, and develop a feeling of joy. We meditate on this feeling for a short while. This meditation acts as a powerful cause to awaken our Buddha nature. Gradually our Buddha nature will transform into actual enlightenment, and we will then be truly able to lead all living beings to the happiness of enlightenment.
PURIFYING NON-VIRTUES, DOWNFALLS AND OBSTACLES
This has two parts:
1 Why we need to purify non-virtuous actions and downfalls
2 The actual practice of purification
WHY WE NEED TO PURIFY NON-VIRTUOUS ACTIONS AND DOWNFALLS
In the Vinaya Sutras Buddha says:
Abandoning non-virtuous actions,
Practising virtuous actions,
And controlling the mind;
This is Buddhadharma.
Here ‘Buddhadharma’ refers to the actual refuge that directly protects living beings from suffering. We accomplish this protection by abandoning non-virtuous actions, practising virtuous actions and controlling our mind.
First we need to develop the inner realizations that directly protect us from lower rebirth. As mentioned before, without this basic protection we are like someone attempting to climb a treacherous mountain without safety equipment. The main cause of all suffering, including lower rebirth, is non-virtue, or negative actions. Once we understand this we can gradually stop creating the causes of future suffering.
However, we have already accumulated infinite non-virtuous actions earlier in this life and in our countless previous lives, and if we do not purify these they will definitely throw us into a lower rebirth where it will be impossible for us to continue with our Dharma practice. Even now, these non-virtuous actions and downfalls are seriously obstructing the fulfilment of our wishes and progress in our Dharma practice. It is vital that we purify them without delay. This ability to purify our non-virtuous actions is one of the main advantages of a human rebirth. Animals have very little capacity to engage in virtuous actions, and naturally perform many negative actions such as killing; but human beings have the freedom not only to refrain from non-virtue but also to purify the potentialities of all their previously accumulated negative karma.
THE ACTUAL PRACTICE OF PURIFICATION
This has four parts:
1 The power of regret
2 The power of reliance
3 The power of the opponent force
4 The power of promise
These are known as the ‘four opponent powers’ because they have the power to purify completely all the non-virtue we have accumulated since beginningless time. Every non-virtuous action gives rise to four different effects: the ripened effect, the effect that is an experience similar to the cause, the effect that is a tendency similar to the cause and the environmental effect. The action of killing, for example, has as its ripened effect rebirth in any of the three lower realms – the animal realm, the hungry spirit realm, or the hell realm. The experience similar to the cause of killing is that in subsequent rebirths we suffer from physical pain, poor health and a short life. The tendency similar to the cause of killing is that in life after life we have a strong propensity to kill living beings. This is the worst effect because it traps us in a vicious circle of killing. Finally, the environmental effect of killing is that the place where we live is impure, making it hard to find uncontaminated food, air, water, and so forth, which in turn causes us to suffer from ill health.
The power of regret purifies the potential for the effect that is an experience similar to the cause; the power of reliance purifies the potential for the environmental effect; the power of the opponent force purifies the potential for the ripened effect; and the power of promise purifies the potential for the effect that is a tendency similar to the cause. By engaging in sincere purification using the four opponent powers, we can destroy the potentialities for the four effects of all non-virtuous actions, thereby attaining permanent freedom from mental and physical suffering, and especially from rebirth in the three lower realms. In this way we can take the real essence of our precious human life. How wonderful!
THE POWER OF REGRET
If we swallowed even the tiniest drop of poison, we would be terrified of its imminent effect, but our terror of the effects of our past negative actions should be far greater. External poison may cause us to become sick or even to die, but it can harm us only in this life. The internal poison of previous negative karma, on the other hand, harms us in all our lives, causing endless physical and mental pain and preventing us from attaining higher rebirth and spiritual realizations. Since this poison is already within our mental continuum, we must develop strong regret and make a determination, to purify the potentials of our negative actions as quickly as possible. Having meditated on this determination, we then put it into practice.
THE POWER OF RELIANCE
Through sincerely relying upon the Three Jewels we can completely purify all our non-virtuous actions and accomplish the ultimate refuge of Buddhahood. Therefore, at this point we need to go for refuge by sincerely relying upon Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. This is the meaning of the power of reliance.
We first visualize the objects of refuge. Above our crown on a lotus and moon seat sits Vajrasattva, who is inseparable from Guru Heruka. He has a white-coloured body, one face and two hands, holds a vajra and bell, and embraces his consort. His body is the synthesis of all Sangha Jewels, his speech the synthesis of all Dharma Jewels, and his mind the synthesis of all Buddha Jewels. We firmly believe that the living Buddha Heruka is actually present above our crown in the form of Vajrasattva, and with strong faith in the Three Jewels we contemplate:
Through relying upon Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, I will purify all my non-virtuous actions and accomplish the Buddha Jewel so that I can benefit all living beings without exception.
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