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“Every sentient being has innate buddha-nature. Because of this, if we receive an empowerment from a qualified master, then meditation, mantra, and ritual objects become conditions that instantly invoke the power of our inherent buddha-nature. By receiving the samaya substances, the lineage blessings will be connected to our own primordial wisdom, or buddha-nature. These blessings create great opportunities for us to invoke and discover our own buddha-nature. This is the general purpose of empowerment.
Empowerments have different categories and divisions. There are empowerments of body, speech, mind, qualities, and activities, and each of these can be further divided into fivecategories, which makes twenty-five empowerments altogether. The number of empowerments for a particular lineage practice depends on the nature of the teaching and the instructions of Guru Padmasambhava, or Buddha Samantabhadra. The different categories of empowerments can be summarized into four: outer, inner, secret, and absolute.
How should you receive an empowerment and how should a vajra master give an empowerment? We all have to work together and generate our bodhichitta intention of love, compassion, and wisdom for all beings. Always have strong devotion and appreciation for all the lineage masters, the buddhas and bodhisattvas, and for Guru Padmasambhava. Maintain this state and receive the empowerment while applying the visualization and meditation instructions that we’ll go over according to the lineage instructions. We’ll do the same. Activating our bodhichitta and feeling strong appreciation and devotion to all the lineage masters means we’re mingling our devotion, loving-kindness, and compassion into a single state, which invokes the lineage blessings and our own buddha-nature.
Chod is an extremely powerful practice: it arouses strong and deep energies that can be difficult for us to handle. For this reason, Chod practice should never be attempted by anyone without first receiving empowerment, transmission, and instruction, and without forming and maintaining a close, ongoing connection to a qualified teacher.”
Venerable Khenpo Rinpoches
Cutting Through Ego and Revealing Fearless: Chod Practice According to Jigme Lingpa’s Bellowing Laugh of the Dakini (pgs 9-10)
Ven. Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche bestowing a Guru Dragpo Empowerment according to the lineage of Tsasum Lingpa at Padma Samye Ling in July 2012.
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