The Four Yogas of the Generation Stage (4/5)

Those who have advanced to the Bodhisattva grounds are able to accomplish myriad activities, such as practicing the six paramitas, delivering sentient beings on an inconceivable scale, even purifying their own negative karma, and so on, all through the power of meditation. 

Whereas ordinary people are often left exhausted, having to use our words to spread the Dharma and actions to benefit sentient beings, but with limited results.

A person’s body, speech, mind, and activity make up the whole person. Likewise, a Buddha’s body, speech, wisdom, and activities to free sentient beings from suffering encompass all the qualities of the Buddha. 

Not only tantra but sutra also acknowledges that ultimately the body of a sentient being can be the body of the Buddha, the words of sentient beings can become the words of the Buddha , the defiled minds of sentient beings the wisdom of the Buddha, and the activities of sentient beings the Buddha’s activities to deliver all to liberation, but sutra offers no specific method to make such a transformation. 

On the other hand, many skillful means are available in tantra to free sentient beings from suffering. Through the four yogas, which are unique to Vajrayana, the body, speech, mind, and activities of sentient beings can be transformed into those of the Buddha.

Deity yoga engages creative visualization as a skillful means of personal transformation through which the practitioner (sadhaka) visualizes a chosen deity (yidam) as part of a mandala or refuge tree in order to transform their experience of the appearance aspect of reality. 

Yoga of Deity’s Form

This is essentially a visualization of the deity’s physical form and mandala. Through this visualization, the body of a sentient being can be transformed into, made to manifest as, or purified as the body’s original state—the body of the divine.

Most people are troubled by two problems: one is not being able to visualize clearly, and the other is not being able to keep the mind still during sitting meditation.

A discursive mind needs samatha meditation as its antidote. If the visualization is not clear, it is because one is either not doing the visualization practice satisfactorily or does not understand the visualization method and technique. 

A brief introduction to this method was given in my discussion on the Vajrasattva practice in the Luminous Wisdom Series, but I shall repeat it here and focus on the key points.

At the outset of practicing the generation stage, we need an external object to help with visualization; otherwise, it would be quite hard to just rely on our own imagination to form a deity image, something only people of superior faculty can achieve. 

However, the situation today is quite absurd. Regardless of the individual’s capacity, everyone practices visualization like a person of superior faculty, without the help of any external object; the result can be nothing but failure.

Here, the external object is a thangka. When we do the Vajrasattva practice, we need a thangka of Vajrasattva. First, look at the thangka to visualize the deity; next, without looking at the thangka, practice the visualization by memory; and lastly, transfer the deity image on the thangka to our own body, that is, visualize our own body as that of the deity. Just do this step by step. 

There are three ways to visualize the details of the image. The first is for people of superior faculty. One just visualizes directly in the mind without any external assistance. For example, when visualizing the third eye on the forehead of the wrathful deity, the vision will appear clearly in the mind right away.

The second is for people of average faculty. When doing visualization, one does not rely on a thangka but instead on one’s own voice or words by muttering to oneself: the deity’s eyes have five colors, the pupil in the center is very dark, then white, finally red, and so on. 

It is not necessary to follow any sadhana; just using plain words will do. Visualize as the words are spoken. It has the same effect as doing visualization while reading the sadhana—reading without visualization is not effective, whereas visualizing without reading is hard to do. Be sure to speak slowly.

The third is for people of inferior faculty. In this case, one must rely on a detailed picture of the parts to be visualized. For example, photograph or scan the deity’s eyes, enlarge them, and print out the picture fit for visualization. Then repeatedly practice visualization as mentioned above.

Four is when a person who is truly practicing the generation stage should visualize this way rather than just generate a blurred image or indistinct outline of the deity during visualization, as we normally do.

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Aspiration For Bodhichitta

For those in whom the precious Bodhichitta has not arisen

May it arise and not decrease.

But increase further and further.

Dedication of Merit

By this merit, may we then obtain omniscience then.

Having defeated the enemies wrongdoings

May we liberate migratory from the ocean of existence.

With its stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

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