4 Highest Empowerments
Traditionally Given in the Final Vajra Yoga Stages for Vajra Masters4 Highest Empowerments
Sometimes people come up to say they have received this. It’s important to check if you really received this. Were you qualified or just in the room when a Vajra master bestowed this. It’s important to check this.
The 4 Vajras
In general, the vajra yogas are most commonly linked to the Kalachakra system of practice. However, they are not restricted to only those who practice Kalachakra as it is presented in Tibetan Buddhist schools such as the Jonang or others. The vajra yogas are defined as the gradual unveiling of the ultimate nature of reality to the direct perception of a yogic practitioner who abides within non-conceptual primordial wisdom. As such, all of the teachings of unsurpassed tantra or ati yoga that were taught by the Buddha, can be considered direct or indirect presentations of the vajra yogas.
Understanding this, in order to clearly identify the essence of these various presentations, we can think of the vajra yogas as a final process leading from the first moment when a practitioner directly realizes non-conceptual primordial wisdom, up to the complete manifestation of the omniscient mind of a fully-enlightened buddha.
- The Vajra Body of Empty-Form
- The Vajra Speech of Great Bliss
- The Vajra Mind of Mahamudra
- The Vajra Wisdom of Union
In many ways, the nature of phenomena is like a mirror. The phenomena which arise are like the reflections that appear in that mirror. Through training in the four drops, we gradually dissolve all of the concepts which we have built up regarding how this nature actually exists. Following that, we train in the vajra body so that we may directly perceive the actual basis that is being reflected by the mirror. This is like the difference between a finger pointing at the moon and actually looking at the moon itself.
The key to achieving this sort of experience is the process of bringing the subtle energetic winds into the central channel. This is another way of saying that we need to balance the left and right energies within the body so that they cease perpetuating the patterns of conceptuality. When everything is balanced, then the impure appearances of consciousness cease and the pure appearances of primordial wisdom begin to arise.
In this stage, only a few pure appearances arise because only a few winds are balanced. As this process is stabilised, more and more aspects of our perception are brought into balance and therefore we experience a wider range of pure appearances. When we learn to fully abide within this pure perception of primordial wisdom, then no matter what arises, the mind never falls out of balance. Traditionally, this phase corresponds with the first two vajra yogas—Individual Withdrawal and Concentration.
The second stage of this process continues to refine the continuity of primordial wisdom. At the time of training with the vajra body, there is still a very subtle distinction between how objective and subjective appearances arise. While there are no projected imputations regarding this difference, the distinction is still experienced.
For this reason, the next phase of our training is to join the objective manifestations of emptiness with the subjective experience of the nature of the mind—great bliss. The methods used to do this focus primarily on the non-conceptual manipulation of the subtle energetic body so that the winds of karma are made to not only enter into the central channel, but to abide and dissolve there. When these very subtle movements of energy are stopped, then the innately blissful nature of the mind comes forward and each moment of experience becomes of one taste. The primordial wisdom which is experienced in this process is likened to the blazing of an inner fire that burns away the very subtle ignorance of dualism and releases the power of great bliss. It corresponds to the yogas of Life-Force Control and Retention.
At the moment of our first experience of great bliss, even though dualism is removed, there are still fluctuations in the degree of bliss that is experienced. This means that while all appearances have the taste of bliss, the degree of bliss is perceived as different. This is a very subtle cause for giving rise to extremely subtle movements within the mind. As long as there is movement, then there are limitations on how much of our innate purity can be experienced at a given moment.
Therefore, the third stage is to refine the experience of bliss so that we can fully eradicate even the most subtle fluctuations of the mind and thus allow for all of the infinite aspects of our ultimate nature to manifest. This complete manifestation which is endowed with all sublime qualities is likened to the petals of a great lotus flower in full bloom and is known as the “Mahamudra of Empty-Form.” This infinite fullness is only experienced by a mind which has cut all forms of gross, subtle and very subtle conceptual movements and has achieved a state of immutable bliss. It is achieved through the vajra yoga of Recollection.
On the basis of achieving the vajra mind of immutable bliss, we have effectively cut all causes for the manifestation of conceptuality. From this point forward, by abiding in the union of immutable bliss and sublime emptiness, all of our karmic propensities which were previously accumulated since beginningless time will dissolve away over the course of a single day.
When all of our karmic conditioning has been removed, then there is nothing left to do. The mind is no longer bound by the body and the vajra awareness of a fully enlightened buddha is made manifest. This is what is referred to as Buddhahood. It is a state that is completely free from all limitations and completely free from all contradictions. For one’s self, there is only the ultimate peace which is a union of bliss and emptiness. While for those who have formed a karmic connection with you, there are now limitless manifestations working for the benefit of others—the perfect manifestation of ultimate harmony. This is the final vajra yoga of Absorption.