The Five Elements practices from the Bön lineage of Tibetan Buddhism are spiritual practices that help to remove physical, mental, and energetic blocks. The practices invoke, balance, and harmonize each of the five elements through the use of sacred seed syllables, mudras (hand movements), mantras (sacred chants), physical postures, breath work and visualizations. These rich and ancient practices can help to remove physical, mental and energetic blocks and restore balance and integrity in one’s life. The practitioner is guided to connect to his/her own inner wisdom in order to achieve one’s full potential and be able to maintain a relaxed and awakened state of mind. When practiced regularly, these practices help one to attain a healthier lifestyle and to improve one’s physical, mental and emotional health. Invoking space clears a cluttered mind and creates spaciousness and recognition of the pure space of being; invoking air transforms pride to peacefulness and helps to support increased flexibility and improved communication; invoking fire transforms greed and desire to generosity and supports increased creativity; invoking water transforms jealousy to openness and supports a peaceful presence; invoking earth transforms ignorance to wisdom and supports a grounding, abiding presence.

The Five Elements are an integral part of Tibetan cosmology and essential to understanding the relatedness and interdependence of all things in the universe. The Five Elements (space/ether, earth, water, fire, and air) are the essential elements or building blocks for all phenomena, not only in the physical universe but also in our physical and energetic bodies. Each element represents not only an energetic quality, but also takes physical form—and like all forms, each element exists separately but also exists interdependently. Each element needs, supports, and affects the other elements together providing a cohesive whole within an individual being. When the Five Elements are out of balance, illness, negative emotions and disharmony manifest.

What Are Khandros?

Khandros (also called dakinis) are an archetype or symbol of enlightened beings who are not trapped in their intellect or their emotions but slide freely through the world inspiring others by their dance of freedom. It’s a type of energy that has nothing to do with sex or gender. Khandros are inspiringly free. The symbol of the khandro is the sky. 

So when we become a khandro, this has nothing to do with becoming a gender or sex. It’s about re-inhabiting this energy and connecting with this natural quality that is already present within us. To become the khandro means to re-inhabit the qualities of our buddha nature – to generate and keep alive all the wholesome qualities that are and always have been present in our original nature.

In order to help us connect with our original nature, we symbolically divide up our natural state into five elemental qualities. We do this so we can focus one at a time on each of the different qualities of our true nature. It’s important to remember that symbolisms are not real. We utilize symbolism to help us understand. We utilize symbolism to help us connect with the wholesome qualities of our natural state of mind. When you are connected with the natural state of mind you are transformed into the khandro. This is the deeper meaning of the internal visualization. Mind itself connects with its own self-knowing awareness.

Posture

Another thing to note is that each of the five practices below contain different sitting positions. But it’s always an option to just practice in our five-fold meditative posture. It is better to sit stable and comfortable than to try to hold a position that strains your body. So sit in accordance to what your own body will allow.

The Five-fold Posture

1. Sitting in the cross-legged position.

2. Placing the two hands below the navel with the left one positioned above the right. Reversed for women.

3. Straightening up the vertebrae of your spinal column.

4. Hold the upper arms and shoulders high and back. Bend the neck slightly at the throat.

5. The eyes are slightly open and looking down to the tip of the nose. Leave a space between the lips and the teeth about the size of a barley grain. Let the breath be natural and undisturbed.

Preliminaries

It is traditional and beneficial to begin the practice with the nine-fold purification breaths and the five trul khor exercises at the beginning of a session. 

Next, we always begin each meditation session with taking refuge, generating bodhichitta, and making an offering. We do this for each of the five elemental practices. If we are doing multiple rounds of practice in a single session, then we only do these preliminaries at the very start of a session. Likewise, at the end of a full session we dedicate the merit when we decide to end.

We do these three preliminary practices to set a context and orient our mind for why we are engaging in these practices. We can do this in a formal way, in which formal prayers can be found in the appendix. But we can also do this in a more organic and natural way unique to your own heart’s intention and aspiration. So please experiment and find what works best to connect you to your heart’s intention. 

Why do we make offerings?

We make offerings to these enlightened qualities of our own natural state of mind – buddha nature – which are symbolized by these five elemental khandros. It’s a way to show reverence to the vitality of life, and to our aspiration to become enlightened for the sake of all beings. And we offer up our own deluded body, speech, and mind. Because we aspire to take up the enlightened body, speech, and mind of all Buddhas right here and now, present in our own original nature – we no longer need our samsaric body, speech, and mind which have habitually been a source of so much suffering in our life. So we give it all away. All the problems, stresses, worries, concerns, and deep sufferings we lovingly let go of and give it away to the sky-like dancers. Sky-like dancers who are not trapped in their sufferings but slide freely through the world inspiring others by their dance of freedom. And if the thought of giving it all away is too much for now, perhaps we can simply put down all our “stuff” just for the meditation session. 

Seed Syllables

In the following practices, seed syllables will be used. At the end of this section, you can find what they look like in Tibetan script. You can imagine them in Tibetan script, as English letters, or even just as a sphere of colored light. Use whatever is more natural to you. It is better to use what comes naturally than try to force or stress over “trying to get it right.”

Choosing an Element

We can practice with a single elemental khandro during a session. Traditionally, one learns and practices the space khandro first, as space is the first element in which all the other elements come from. So it is recommended we begin training with absorbing the essence of space before moving on to learn the others. However, during a retreat, we can practice all five in individual sessions throughout the day at the recommended times listed below. These suggested times are not hard rules, but just recommended times where the practice can be most beneficial. It is better to practice when we have the time, then to not practice waiting for the “perfect time.”

The essence of space is light. The essence of the wind is sound. The essence of the fire is the sun. The essence of the water is the moon. The essence of the earth are jewels and precious metals.

When we are born as a child, we come into being through the space element (consciousness), then the wind element, then the fire element, then the water element, then finally the earth element. When we die and leave this body & mind, we dissolve first with the earth element, then the water element, then the fire element, then the wind element, and finally the space element dissolves. We come into being according to the arising of the five elements, and we pass out of being through the dissolution of the five elements.

The Subtle Body
Often when we think of the body, we consider just the flesh, blood, and bones that are its physical make up. But our physical body is alive, animated by energy. Aliveness is happening all over. It includes the feeling of the air of your skin, the sense of warmth in and through your muscles and veins, your body’s subtle aches, your digestion, your breath. It even includes your mood.

This vibratory sense of aliveness is called the “subtle body”. It’s called “subtle” not because it is esoteric, but because we’re not in the habit of paying attention to it, so it requires us to tune in, to become more sensitive.

This subtle landscape of moving energy is the setting of our life. It is the energy that gives rise to our experience of the Six Realms. We can think of the subtle body as the surface of the ocean - moving, undulating, reflecting - and our consciousness as the sailor in a boat. Because this body of moving energy is the basis for our experience, the Bon practices gives us simple methods for soothing, smoothing, and clearing this energy before sleep. One such practice is the Nine Cleansing Breaths.

As we tune in closer and closer to the energy in the body that gives rise to our experience of emotions, cravings, and impulses, we begin to notice patterns. There are areas in the body where this energy naturally congregates - you might be familiar with common feelings like, “a lump in my throat”, “butterflies in my stomach”, “a tight chest”. The yogis who spent their lives specializing in the study of these patterns laid out a variety of anatomical maps that we can use as we explore our own inner experience.

The map of the subtle body and the practice of Nine Cleansing Breaths presented here are from the Dzogchen lineage of Bön yogic practice. They are a simple way of getting in touch with the feeling of emotional currents as they arise in the body.

The Three Channels of the Subtle Body

Visualize a blue central channel, like a hollow, transparent bamboo tube that begins in the pelvis and runs in front of the spine, up through the throat and opens at the crown.

On either side of this channel run two, lateral channels about the width of a pencil. They begin at each nostril, wrap up toward the skull, then curve downwards, running parallel to the central channel. Below the navel, they meet the central channel and form a junction.

Most important is that you feel a sense of ease and clearing when you do the practice.

Refuge, Bodhichitta, and Offering

Start each practice session by invoking refuge, bringing to mind the Three Jewels: the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Allow their presence to fill you with warmth and support.

Then, gently arise bodhichitta, the wish for the benefit of all beings. Feel that deep intention in your heart, like a flame that burns with compassion and wisdom, illuminating all sentient beings with love and peace. Then make offerings using the offering mudra.

Refuge

Root lama magnificent source of the three bodies,

Buddhas of the three times, who are the main refuge of sentient beings,

The statues, stupas, and scriptures are the body, speech, and mind of the Buddha.

Compassionate beings of the ten directions are the lamps on the Path of Liberation.

Bodhichitta

Like the Buddhas and compassionate beings

Who have accumulated the power of virtue during the three times,

In order to help all beings attain Buddhahood.

I cultivate the heart and mind of enlightenment.

Mandala Offering

We prostrate and purify our mind, clearing defilements and becoming clear and pure,

Making it as great and delightful as the supreme mountain.

Space, air, fire, water, and earth purify our mind and destroy obscurations, making it clear and pure like a celestial palace,

And our mind is clear and pure like a flower.

On the foundation of the five elements, Mount Meru, and the seven golden mountains,

The external and internal precious objects of the four worlds and eights continents,

And millions of universes, decorated with the sun and moon,

Please accept and bless as I offer these from my heart:

Mantra of Dissolving the Mandala:

Om A Ha Ha Hé Hé Cho Pur Sa Lé Ha Lo Seng

Sit in the five point posture in the center of the room. Start with refuge, arising bodhichitta, and mandala offerings. Next, visualize the white dakini, Khala Dugmo. She is standing in a fierce pose. Then slowly, you are the white dakini of natural awareness. In your right hand is a victory banner; and in your left is a white skull cup filled with red and white light essence. The symbolism of the khandro’s skull cup is cutting all the attachments to negativities (three and five poisons). Anger is connected to our bones. Attachments are connected to our blood. Ignorance is connected to our flesh. Dakinis cut the bones, blood, and flesh as symbolism for cutting our anger, attachment, and ignorance. The symbolism of the banner is that it flies like a flag through space.

Now focus on your heart center. Visualize in the central channel at the heart is a luminous white A radiating the five pure lights; white, red, blue, green, and yellow lights. Then while chanting the syllable A and making the space mudra, slowly, slowly the five-colored rays of light go out from the A everywhere in all directions. Then the radiance of the light rays come back. Bringing back with them the essence of the space element. The five colored lights go out from the A gathering the essence of space and bringing it back to a blue HUNG syllable at your crown chakra. If you don’t know what the HUNG looks like, simply imagine a blue sphere at the crown of your head.

Then slowly, slowly from the HUNG all the energies collected melt and drip down the central channel to your heart like melted fat. Like red and white spheres dripping down and connecting with the A syllable in your heart.

In that moment, hold your breath a little bit. Not breathing in, not breathing out. Hold the breath at the heart level. Then slowly, slowly all the energy of space dissolve into the whole of your body. All the bones, nerves, chakras, veins, muscles. Every cell is filled with the energy of the space element. All the channels open. The whole body opens in this spaciousness. 

Then breath in forcefully, wrathfully, a strong quick breath through the nose focusing on the A syllable in your heart. Continue to do this until the breath and mind are united in oneness at the heart. Once the mind and breath are united, rest in that feeling of bliss. When the mind and breath are united in the heart, this is the true essence of the space element. This is the essence of dzogchen practice as well. The essence of the mind, the nature of the mind is this. Rest in this nature of mind for as long as you can. When finished, dedicate the merit.

Notes:

You can imagine the white khandro, or a more wrathful blue khandro. Both white and blue colors symbolize space. White for the clear light nature of space and blue for the sky-like quality of space. White is more peaceful energy, and blue is a bit more fierce energy to work with. You can practice especially between 2 am and 6 am. This practice is good when feeling blocked, lost, tight, constricted, or when challenges feel too solid and impenetrable. This is a good practice for people also practicing meditations from the Great Perfection tradition or sky gazing. 

Sit in the five point posture facing North. Start with refuge, arising bodhichitta, and mandala offerings. Next, visualize the green dakini, Limun Lengyed. She is holding a green wind-pennant in her right hand and a vase filled with the vital essence of the air element of the universe in her left hand. Then slowly, you are the green dakini, Limun Lengyed. 

Then focus on your lung channels. In your lung channels are small wind dakinis holding the wind pinwheel with the syllable Yam in their right hand. In their left hand they are holding a vase containing the vital essence of the air element of the universe. 

Then as you chant the syllable YANG, "MA YAM" or the mantra “Yang-Ny Ly-Thun Hung” and make the air mudra, the wind dakinis go out with the outbreath out the right nostril. They travel everywhere collecting the essence of wind in their vase. Then they come back through the left nostril, and all the energies pour into the vase in your lungs. Then the full vase nourishes the whole body with the nectar of the essence of wind through your central channel. Everywhere is the pure essence of the wind element. Letting go of the mantra, rest in the pure essence of wind. Repeat as needed. When finished, dedicate the merit.

Notes:

You can visualize the MA YAM མ་ཡཾ or just the YAM ཡཾ syllable. Or you can just imagine a green sphere in the center of your heart. You can do this in the evenings between 4pm and 9pm. This practice helps purify pride into the wisdom of equanimity. If you become distracted, focus on a crystal stupa on your heart single pointedly, until your mind calms naturally.

This practice is good when feeling stuck, lacking flow, not progressing or expanding, or relationships not deepening. This is a good practice for people also practicing mindfulness of the breath, phowa, or the trul khor exercises.

First we offer the mudra to the Fire khandro. The khandro is the red khandro – the khandro of tummo and fire – and the syllable is RAM. The location is the liver.

Sit in the five point posture facing West. Start with refuge, arising bodhichitta, and mandala offerings. Next, visualize the red dakini. Your body is red in color. You hold a thunderbolt in your right hand, and a skullcup filled with blood in your left hand. You are standing in a dancing posture with the left leg extended downward and the right leg pulled up.

Chant the seed syllable RAM three times and make the fire mudra as an offering to the red fire khandro, Tshang Tang Ringmo.

Next we take the fire posture. The feet crossed, one foot on top of the other. Holding your knees, pulling your knees to the chest. Hands resting on the other elbow, hugging the knees. Chin is tucked down, making the head tilt forward and down.

Visualize the three channels. In the center of the heart in the central channel, visualize a red RAM syllable. If you cannot visualize the syllable, then visualize a red sphere in center of the heart. Focus your awareness on this RAM in your heart. The RAM syllable melts into light and you arise as the wrathful red khandro, Tshang Tang Ringmo. Imagine that in your right hand you are holding a flashing bolt of lightning and in your left hand a skull cup filled with nectar of blood. Slowly, slowly find your liver area in the body, particularly the channels of the liver that go from the heart to the liver. In the liver channel, visualize a tiny red khandro the same as you are in the channel. In their right hands the holds a flaming red lotus with the syllable RAM on it, and in their left hands a vase which contains the essence of the fire element of the 3,000 worlds.

As we sit breathing in and out, when the breath goes out the red khandro goes out with the breath through the right nostril and collects the essence of fire. In between the out breath and in breath, you can hold the breath comfortably as the khandro gathers the fire essences. On the in breath the red khandros brings back this warmth as you breathe in through the left nostril. When the khandro reaches the channel of the liver, imagine the essence of fire increases your radiant luster of warmth in the body.

At the same time we can chant the sacred syllable RAM, "MA RAM" or the mantra "Tsang-Tang Ringmo." As we continue the same visualization of the tiny red khandros in the liver coming up and out the right nostril on the out breath, gathers and absorbs the essence of the warmth of the fire element, and returns in the left nostril on the in breath, going back down to the liver bringing the radiant luster of warmth to the body.

At the junction of the three channels four inches under the navel, is the main location of warmth and heat in the body. Place your attention on this junction of the three channels and whether you can feel it or not imagine a very small flaming fire blazing in that junction. As the khandros bring back the radiant luster of warmth to the body, imagine this heat increasing. This fire in the  junction of the three channels slowly increases little by little up to just below your navel. If you know the third tummo practice “Intense Mass of Fire Breathing” you can do that practice here. If not that is okay, just continue on. As this fire burns at the base of the central channel you can feel it’s heat burning all the negativities and obstacles in the central channel by this wisdom fire. These negativities and obstacles burn up and leave like dark incense smoke out of the top of the crown channel.

Letting go of the mantra and posture, sit comfortably in the meditative posture and rest in the pure essence of nature of mind. If you cannot do that, simply be mindfully open to your empty central channel free of any negatives and obstacles. Sit for as long as you can. When finished, dedicate the merit.

Notes:

You can do this practice especially between 6 am and 11 am. This practice is good when feeling a lack of energy, vitality, enjoyment or enthusiasm, uninspired, or difficulty starting or completing projects. This is a good practice for people also practicing inner heat meditations such as tummo.

Sit in the five point posture, or sitting on your knees in seiza, facing South. Start with refuge, arising bodhichitta, and mandala offerings. Next, visualize the blue dakini. She is holding a crocodile banner in her right hand. In her left hand she is holding a vase filled with the vital essence of the water element of the universe. Then slowly, you are the blue dakini, Ting Nam Tumo.

Then focus on your kidney channels. In your kidney channels are small water dakinis.  In the right hands they are holding a precious jewel with the syllable Mam. In their left hands they are holding a vase containing the vital essence of the water element of the universe. 

Then as you chant the syllable MANG, "MANG TING," or the mantra “Mang Tangra Hung,” and make the water mudra the water dakinis go out with the outbreath out the right nostril. They travel everywhere collecting the essence of water in their vase. Then they come back through the left nostril, and all the energies pour into the vase in your kidneys. Then the full vase nourishes the whole body with the nectar of the essence of water through your central channel. Everywhere is the pure essence of the water element. Letting go of the mantra, rest in the pure essence of water. Repeat as needed. When finished, dedicate the merit.

Notes:

You can do this practice especially between 11 am and 4 pm. This practice is good when feeling a lack of well-being, feeling out of tune, and feeling like something is “off.” This is a good practice for people also practicing guru yoga, tonglen, or meditations of loving kindness & compassion for all beings.

Sit in the five point posture, or sitting in the elephant posture on your knees and elbows, with your chin resting in your cupped hands, facing East. Start with refuge, arising bodhichitta, and mandala offerings. Next, visualize the yellow dakini, Nele Saten. She is holding a golden Yungdrung (swastika) in her right hand and a vase filled with the vital essence of the earth element of the universe in her left hand. She is adorned with ornaments and is standing in a dancing posture with the right leg drawn up and left leg extended. Then slowly, you are the yellow dakini. 

Then focus on your spleen channel. In your spleen channel are small earth dakinis. In their right hands they are holding a Yungdrung with the syllable Kham. In their left hands they are holding a vase containing the vital essence of the earth element of the universe.

Then as you chant the syllable KHANG, "KHANG DRUM" or the mantra "Khang Kye-Le Hung," and make the earth mudra the earth dakinis go out with the outbreath out the right nostril. They travel everywhere collecting the essence of earth in their vase. Then they come back through the left nostril, and all the energies pour into the vase in your spleen. Then the full vase nourishes the whole body with the nectar of the essence of earth through your central channel. Everywhere is the pure essence of the earth element. Letting go of the mantra, rest in the pure essence of earth. Repeat as needed. When finished, dedicate the merit.

Notes:

You can do this practice especially between 9 pm and 2 am. This practice is good when feeling ungrounded, unstable, dissatisfied, disconnected, spacy, agitated, and restless. This is a good practice for people also practicing calm abiding meditation, single pointed concentration, or mindfulness of an object like the body & breath.

Results of Practice

The root text details the results or fruit through training in the five khandro practices listed above. We can allow ourselves to be inspired by these fruits. And we can also mindfully reflect on our own actions of body, speech, and mind, our own well-being, our relationships with ourselves, with others, and with the world to see how the fruits of these practices may be unfolding in our lives. Through diligent study and practice, may the fruits of awakening ripen in each of us.

From the root text:

Fire: Through the accumulation of Fire essence, one gains a long life, and extensive merit. One’s tigle become abundant, the mouth of the central channel is opened, and wisdom increases. Ultimately, having gained power over the wind of Fire, delusion is cut. That is the system of extracting Fire essence.

Wind: Through training in this way: your life is extended; your radiant luster is increased; you accumulate food and wealth; you can run quickly; you have great power; and, you will not sink in the water. Through gaining power over Wind, deluded appearances do not arise.

Water: Through training like this: your life becomes long; your radiant luster increases; you can drink a lot; and you gain power over sentient beings. Having gained power over the wind of Water [element], kidney diseases, and the diseases of dropsy and phlegm will not occur.

Earth: Through mastery of the wind of Earth, diseases of the three humors of wind, bile, and phlegm, will not arise. When Earth essence is absorbed, deluded experiences are cut.

Space: Through sustaining this practice, wind-and-mind are absorbed in the central channel. Through the increase of tigle, your radiant luster is increased. Through gaining power over the wind of Space, deluded appearances are cut and naturally purified. Through the increase in tigle, life and merit are made more abundant.

Practice sessions: It is best to practice for 21 days. The second-best option is to practice for 14 days. At least seven days are necessary. Our place of practice must be quiet and undisturbed. It is best if we observe silence. Practice until you get signs of progress. After you receive signs you should do the practice at least once a day.