Vajrasattva Practice

Preliminary

Start with performing the nine purification breaths, take refuge and generate bodhichitta.

Reflection

To begin, sit on the cushion and try to remember what you did today that caused constriction or suffering in someone else’s life. You can reflect on the Five Mindfulness Trainings or the Ten Non-Virtues.

Visualization

Stage One

We imagine Vajrasattva sitting a few inches above the top of the crown of our head. We can imagine Vajrasattva in union with his consort, Dorje Nyima Karmo, or alone. Her name means “unshakable white sun.” His name means “unshakable, uncorruptibleness.” They sit on the moon disk, in the embrace of full sexual union. They are both made of pure light. Vajrasattva is a cool, moonlight white light and Dorje Nyima Karmo is a warm, sunlight white light.

They are adorned with the Sambhogakaya ornaments: They each wear a crown and two necklaces (long and short). They are draped in rainbow-colored silks and are adorned with jewels. These ornaments signify the richness of infinite vitality and power.

Vajrasattva has two hands. In his right hand he holds a vajra at the level of his heart. In his left hand, he holds a bell. Both of his arms are around Nyima Karmo, embracing her. Dorje Nyima Karmo also has two hands, embracing her love. In her right hand, she holds a flensing knife, a drigu. In her left hand, she holds a kapala. Their hearts press together in love and union as if there was one heart chakra subsuming both.

From Vajrasattva’s heart, a white nectar comes down and flows into your central channel from the crown of your head. The white nectar flows down the central channel, traveling down all the many channels of the body, washing the entire body from head to toe. Black tar smoke, and disgusting creatures such as spiders, roaches, worms – which are all our karmic impurities– are pushed down, down, and out the bottom of the body. All this dirt and impurities is washed out of the body. Each of these represent all the unskillful actions of body, speech, and mind that we do out of ignorance which cause ourselves and others to suffer. All the digpa we have collected in our daily life. 

As the black tar, smoke, and disgusting creatures leave the body, they go down deep into the earth to the underworld where Yamantaka, the Slayer of Death, captures them up and eats them. For the Slayer of Death loves to eat our impure digpa. It is the best food he likes. He is midnight blue in color and has the head of a bull. He is twenty feet tall, giant and muscle-bound. His huge mouth is open and he’s looking up toward you with an expression of absolute delight. All your scorpions and spiders and centipedes are falling into his mouth and he eats them all up with great pleasure until they are all gone!

Stage Two

Imagine another batch of white nectar comes down from Vajrasattva’s heart and through the crown of your head, fills your whole body with white nectar. Now the body is clean, as all the dirt has been expelled. You are filled up from your toes up to your head with this pure white nectar. Your whole body is pure white – a hollow, crystalline form made only of pure light, filled completely with luminous nectar. You are completely purified, absolutely pure.

"As the negativities ooze from our body, this cleansing transforms us into a rainbow-like wisdom body, dissolving any distinction between the nectar and us, and between Vajrasattva and us. It’s a kind of alchemical process that absorbs the heart, arms, nails, fingers - everything. We no longer experience our body as blood and bones, but as light and energy."

    ~Mingyur Rinpoche, from Turning Confusion into Clarity​

Stage Three

Imagine a third batch of white nectar comes down from Vajrasattva’s heart and through the crown of your head, fills your whole body with white nectar. Now from the pores of your own skin pours out this white nectar which goes outward into the world penetrating & purifying all beings.

Mantra

While you do the three visualizations, slowly, and melodically recite either the long or short vajrasattva mantra. The short mantra is Om Vajrasattva Hung.

While you are reciting the mantra, the mantra itself is circling around in the hearts of Vajrasattva and Dorje Nyima Karmo in union, where it is creating dutsi, amrita, mythical substance of purification, mythical, primordially pure substance, liquid light. Soft, white, milky, creamy, warm, white light. And this amrita that is being created here has a very interesting and particular texture. Milk – whole milk, high cream milk. It’s almost a little unctuous, rich, creamy. It will act upon your energy channels, your tsa, like cream rinse, like pure white hair conditioner.  You want your channels to relax and smooth out and release all the quirks, neuroses, hang ups, glitches, demons, and ick that’s caught them.

Conclusion

Part One

Finally, when you feel you are done, let go of the mantra and visualization and feel remorse for everything you did in the past which caused beings suffering. Feel heartfelt remorse. And decide at that moment, that you are not going to do these unskillful actions which cause harm again. And that you will behave in a kind manner to all people. Be very specific about your actions you feel remorse for, and make the decision to not do specific actions again. This is the only way we can transform our mind. It has to be personal and specific to your life and your actions. Plant in your mind again and again, this same wholesome karma so that in the future it will ripen.

That egocentric side of me that permeates my life and manipulates myself and others to preserve itself shall be ended. No more shall my ego drag me around in this life. I am willing to see that it is not about me. I don’t want to be that kind of person. I renounce my egocentric nature. I take on defeat and give victory to others.

Part Two

Then Vajrasattva and Vajra Nyima Karmo smile at you with love, looking ever so pleased with your actions. They say, “child of my heart, all your digpa and breakage of samaya is forgiven. All your negativities and obstructions are washed away and completely purified.” In joy, they both sink into me and become one with me. 

After this, all beings, yourself, and Vajrasattva and consort together absorb into white light. The white light absorbs into itself, leaving no-thing. Sit in & as no-thing for a while.

This is the total bliss of sunyata in full samadhi, completely beyond the dualistic view which discriminates between subject and object, this and that – completely beyond dualism. This is the highest possible enjoyment. This is the bliss of the vitality of the sambhogakaya, non-dual with dharmakaya and nirmanakaya. This is the clear light nature of your own mind.

Then dedicate the merit and go about your day.

Dedication

Through the positivity and merit of this, may I swiftly attain the realization of Vajrasattva, and thereby every single sentient being reach the state of perfection too.