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InVajrayāna Buddhism, anempowerment orconsecration (Sanskrit: abhiṣeka, lit. ablution; sprinkling) is an esoteric initiation or transmission of secret teachings performed by a tantricguru (vajracharya) to a student in a ritual space containing themandala of a Buddhistdeity.[1] The initiation is traditionally seen as transmitting a certain spiritual power (Sanskrit:adhiṣṭhāna, Tibetan:jinlap, sometimes translated as "blessings") which allows the tantric yogi to reach enlightenment swiftly or to attain other yogic accomplishments.
Manytantric practices are commonly said to be secret, and are only to be revealed after ritual initiation. Other tantric practices may be openly known, but are only considered to be effective after being initiated into the proper mandala which corresponds to a specific practice.[citation needed] The secrecy of teachings was often protected through the use of allusive, indirect,symbolic and metaphorical language (twilight language) which required interpretation and guidance from a teacher.[2] The teachings may also be considered "self-secret", meaning that even if they were to be told directly to a person, that person would not necessarily understand the teachings without proper context or initiation. In this way, the teachings are "secret" to the minds of those who are not following the path with more than a simple sense of curiosity.[3][4]
Because of their role in giving access to the practices and guiding the student through them, the role of theVajracharya guru orlama (who himself must have been initiated by a previous guru of a specificlineage) is indispensable in Vajrayāna.
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Traditionally, there are three requirements before a student may begin a tantric practice:[citation needed]
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To practice tantric yoga, it is considered necessary to receive a tantric empowerment (Skt.abhiṣeka; Tib.wang) from a qualified tantric master (Vajracarya, "vajra master"). TheSanskrit termabhiṣeka refers to ritual bathing oranointing.[5] Mipham states that empowerment produces the view of mantra in one's being and that this is the basis for the practice of Vajrayana.[6] According to Mipham,
empowerment is the indispensable initial entry point for the practice of mantra. The reason for this is that the profound empowerment ritual produces a sudden manifestation of the ground maṇḍala that dwells primordially within oneself. This refers to the indivisible truths of purity and equality, which are very difficult to realize.[7]
Kongtrül defines empowerment as "what makes the [student's] mind fully ripened by planting the special seeds of the resultant four dimensions of awakening in the aggregates, elements, and sense fields of the recipient."[8] It is also associated with the conferral of authority, in this case, someone is authorized to cultivate the tantric path.[9]
Empowerment includes introducing the student to a specificmandala (which may be made from flowers, colored powders, grains, paint and a mental mandala).[10] One is not allowed to practice tantra without having received the particular empowerment.[11] Some simpler mantra methods, such as reciting themani mantra, are open to all however.
In Unsurpassed Yoga Tantra, the ritual procedure generally includes four "wangs" (though it may include more, depending on the system):[12][13][14]
Trhi is the oral instruction and explanations on how to meditate or practice.[15]
InDzogchen tradition, direct introduction is called the "Empowerment of Awareness" (Wylie:rig pa'i rtsal dbang, pronounced "rigpay sall wahng"), a technical term employed within the Dzogchen lineages for a particular lineage of empowerment propagated byJigme Lingpa. This empowerment consists of the direct introduction of the student to the intrinsic nature of their own mind-essence,rigpa, by their empowering master.[16]
InDzogchen tradition, pointing-out instruction (Tibetan:ངོ་སྤྲོད་ཀྱི་གདམས་པ་,Wylie:ngo sprod kyi gdams pa,THL:ngo-trö kyi dam-pa) refers to the teaching called "pointing out nature of mind" (Tibetan:སེམས་ཀྱི་ངོ་སྤྲོད་,Wylie:sems kyi ngo sprod,THL:sem kyi ngo-trö).[17] Thelama points out (ngo sprod) nature of mind (rig pa) to the student in a way that facilitates the student's own direct perception of that nature. This teaching may be called "pointing out transmission" or "introduction to nature of mind".[17]
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