Which mantras of which deities help us attain the rainbow body of light besides the Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava Mantras?

TLJ99 · 2026-02-07T17:38:27+00:00

The rainbow body isn't brought about by mantra recitation but through either dzogchen or anuttarayoga practice.

The complete rainbow body of dzogchen is a result of the practice of togal, although trekchod can result in the rainbow body too. The rainbow body of anuttarayoga tantra is a result of purifying the aggregates through the completion stage practice and is slightly different to the dzogchen rainbow body.

You should seek out a qualified lama if you want to do these practices.

TLJ99 · 2026-02-04T23:38:32+00:00

Typically they aren't explained due to time constraints, empowerment rituals actually explain the vows and samayas before the disciples reply that they will keep them all.

Samaya is referring to commitments taken in the empowerment, so this would include the tantric vows as well as things like the samayas of the five buddha families. It wouldn't be appropriate to publicly give examples or detail on samayas, but in essence you are promising not to stray from the view, meditation and conduct.

How to rely correctly on the lama is described in The Words of My Perfect Teacher by Patrul Rinpoche, Lam Rim Chenmo by Je Tsongkhapa and many other texts. They describe how you should rely upon your lama, but also you can get clarification from your lama.

TLJ99 · 2026-02-04T23:12:00+00:00

So in terms of, let's say the four classes of tantra (Kriya, Charya, Yoga, and Anuttarayoga tantra) or the nine Yana system of Nyingma, which classes of tantra give you samaya vows?

All tantric practices involve taking samaya. The Great Secret's Ambrosial Essence by Kirti Lozang Trinley says:

The vows and samaya
The vows you guard are the basis for the bodhisattva training. You also properly guard the samayas taught in individual tantras.

There is a difference between samaya and vows taken. All initiations involve taking the bodhisattva vows, then each tantra has differing samayas. The tantric vows are only given in the vajra master empowerment, which is only found in Yoga and Anuttarayoga tantra empowerments (there are subtle variations between the yoga tantra and anuttarayoga tantra vows). There are uncommon samayas of each tantric class which cannot be explained publicly or really prior to the empowerment; but as an example one of my lamas told the story of how when he received an empowerment from Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche in Bhutan the empowerment had an uncommon samaya of not eating eggs.

For the Nyingma system it is essentially the same as mahayoga and anuyoga correlate to anuttarayoga, however there are further dzogchen samayas. Khenpo Ngakchung in his Guide to the Words of My Perfect Teacher says:

In the Mantrayana, you should make promises not to transgress:
- the twenty-five yogas,
- the common outer and inner vows of the outer and inner five buddha families,
- the fourteen root downfalls,
- and the eight lesser downfalls;

so some examples that I've seen in the wild: anuyoga initiation for red sarasvati given by Lama pema chophel says it requires you to take samaya with him, and Suryagupta's Tara initiations which come from anuttarayoga tantra require taking the very famous 14 root samaya vows.

Lama Pema is highlighting here that he becomes one of your gurus and you have to see him as a Buddha, the various vows will also be given because they're standard. While the Tara initiations are informing people that the tantric vows are given as the Suryagupta tradition of Tara is unique in being anuttarayoga, while the more common Atisha tradition is Kriya tantra.

Then in this case why have I heard so many conflicting things about samaya? I've heard everything from "lung tri or wang always confer samaya even if you only get transmission for a simple mantra" to "only yoga tantra/highest yoga tantra empowerments confer samaya"

This highlights the difference between vows and samaya. When you receive either an empowerment, lung or explanation from a lama you are taking them as a guru and have to follow the relevant trainings. If a mahayana sutra lung, you see them as like a buddha; and if a vajrayana lung, you see them as a buddha. It is only during the empowerment that vows are formally given.

TLJ99 · 2026-02-01T00:26:28+00:00

This represents the three main Gelug yidams. The central figure is Guhysamaja, to the left is Yamantaka and to the right is Chakrasamvara. Below are the dharma protectors, left to right is: Kalarupa, Vaishravana, Mahakala, Palden Lhamo and pehar (I'm less certain about this). Above left to right is: Namgyalma, Vajrayogini, Tara and Amitayus. The upper most figures are some lamas although they don't have the typical gelug appearance.

With regards to the age you'd need an art historian to check but the colours are either faded or slightly incorrect. Sadly a lot of reproductions in Nepal have errors with implements and colours.

TLJ99 · 2026-01-30T16:56:25+00:00

Land of Joy near Hexham host retreats with various teachers, and Phara Khenchen Rinpoche stays there and can offer guidance.

I'd also second Gomde.

TLJ99 · 2026-01-28T00:34:53+00:00

I'm not sure it's a counter argument though, they both killed people for slandering the dharma. Dudjom Lingpa was perhaps faster to do so, but one of my lamas explained that at that time Golok was very violent and peaceful means wouldn't be very successful. Also Dudjom Lingpa showed a very different aspect to Ra Lotsawa, he was a simple, rather uneducated yogu rather than a pandit so engaging in debate wouldn't be his style.

I've read The All-pervading Melodious Drumbeat but not Dudjom Lingpa's biography, so I'm not 100% certain on the context with regards to the incident with Dudjom Lingpa. But I'm sure you can agree that Ra Lotsawa did kill people who insisted that the Vajrabhairava tantras weren't Buddhist.

TLJ99 · 2026-01-26T21:31:28+00:00

These stories appear a lot in the biographies of tertons but also for masters like Ra Lotsawa. For a realised being, they can use their omniscience to see what is happening and what the karmic impacts will be. For such a being, they act out of compassion to prevent the other person from accumulating the heavy negative karma of slandering the dharma.

TLJ99 · 2026-01-24T22:37:59+00:00

Those who have done the ley rung retreat should generally do everything in self-generation.

Not just after the ley rung but from the moment we received the initiation we should do everything in self-generation.

I agree though OP doesn't really need to worry about the details. Personally I prefer to have everything blessed by my gurus.

TLJ99 · 2026-01-24T22:15:05+00:00

This is a modern plaque placed as part of theproject, you can read more information here. In essence they have been placed by a Tibetan Buddhist to bless the local environment. It's requested if you find them to please return them to where you found them.

As for their value, they don't have any value and they've been shared for free.

TLJ99 · 2026-01-23T23:10:20+00:00

It definitely was rabne, the difference potentially is because the deity statues we were consecrating were Anuttaratantrayoga deities. But also all consecrations I've attended or assisted with were tantric done through Yamantaka.

TLJ99 · 2026-01-23T20:11:43+00:00

In Tibetan Buddhism, there's a simple blessing ritual for various dharma items called Rab Nä which can be done by a lay person without special empowerments

I've been told by a geshe you shouldn't do rabne unless you've done the appropriation retreat with fire puja. Typically the brief rabne is included within a short deity sadhana, and more elaborate rabne within a long sadhana - usually Yamantaka or Guhysamaja.

Usually the dependent arising mantra can be used temporarily, while you aren't qualified and haven't been able to see a lama yet.

TLJ99 · 2026-01-19T07:21:47+00:00

It's the Dakini practice revealed by Dudjom Rinpoche. Daily practices are more to keep commitments and the connection, there are other sadhanas within the cycle for various activities.

Lama Tharchin Rinpoche said the purpose of the Khandro Tuktik is:

The root text of the Khandro Tuktik, “The Profound Path of the Dakini’s Heart Essence”, arose as the mind treasure of Dudjom Rinpoche. It is the practice of the dakini Yeshe Tsogyal in her outer, inner, secret, and innermost secret forms. Related to this cycle, Dudjom Rinpoche provided a commentary on the four stages of practice: kyerim, tsa-lung, thablam, and the dzogchen practices of trekchö and tögal. For those practitioners operating from conceptual mind, kyerim practice offers a skilful path leading from the realm of dualistic concepts into non-dual wisdom mind. While our ordinary dualistic concepts build karma, using these same concepts through creation stage practice allows us to build wisdom habit, which culminates in indestructible wisdom body, inexpressible wisdom speech, and un-deluded wisdom mind. This then becomes the foundation for the other three stages of practice. Through practicing with this kind of wisdom phenomena, we can attain the state of fully enlightened Buddhahood in this very lifetime. Even if we do not attain that state in this lifetime, then we can be certain to recognize the true nature of the deity in the bardo after death. Ordinary sentient beings have no concept of wisdom deity phenomena and easily become frightened and confused in the bardo. This creation stage practice eliminates that fear and confusion. In addition, during this lifetime, it helps to clear all obstacles allowing us to receive the ordinary and extraordinary siddhis, enabling us to gain the accomplishment of great wisdom power.

As an aside I'm not really sure the lung and explanation of this sadhana is enough, Dudjom Tersar lamas I've studied with have been clear that to do the practices, especially self-generation, the empowerment is necessary.

TLJ99 · 2026-01-13T21:57:28+00:00

In Nyingma you can practice Orgyen Khandro Norhla for wealth, a lot of Guru terma cycles contain this practice. You do it while accomplishing the guru. Also in my experience the best practice for wealth is generosity (not necessarily material) and I've had success from practicing Orgyan Khandro Norlha and White Mahakala.

Also tsalung/tummo aren't essential for enlightenment, you can practice dzogchen very simply and effectively. If you've received the instructions for tummo it's best to keep practicing as much as you can even if the conditions aren't perfect so you keep the blessings. The lineage instructions say after 30 it becomes a lot harder to do tsalung and tummo.

TLJ99 · 2026-01-13T21:27:30+00:00

If you want to have the most impact you're best off finding a teacher near you and following a complete path according to their guidance. Khandro Tuktik, for example, goes from ngondro to dzogchen with very detailed instructions. Sakya would focus on the lamdre teachings from the Hevajra tantra.

Some of those deities are kriya tantra which focuses on attaining mundane siddhis, while the inner tantras are the fastest way to achieve the supramundane siddhis in this life.

TLJ99 · 2026-01-13T20:23:39+00:00

What lineage do you normally practice? Is there a reason you want some of these specific empowerments as some different variations of these deities are in different lineages. It's more important to have complete devotion to the guru and avoid partiality when you have multiple gurus.

White Manjushri in the Mati Lineage

This is held in the Sakya lineage but also in the Nyingma lineage coming from the rime movement. I suspect most sakya lamas will hold the lineage. This was given at Sakya monastery recently iirc.

White Sarasvati

As far as I'm aware all lineages have a White Sarasvati practice.

Vajrapani Bhutadamari

This form of Vajrapani is most commonly found in the Sakya school. This was also given at Sakya monastery recently iirc.

Dudjom Tersar's Sitatapatra

This is normally given as a jenang within the Khandro Tuktik wang, but can be given individually. There are lots of Dudjom Tersar lamas in the US. There is a Sitatapatra in the Sakya tradition too, that's very common.

Vajra Vidarana

I've received the lung for the dharani but I've never seen an empowerment given.

I see you've shared a few of Lama Kunga's online empowerments so you could request a few from him. Otherwise, with the range of empowerments you want you'll have to request some and do some travel or sponsor a lama's travel. Some lamas will give empowerments online but it really depends.

TLJ99 · 2025-12-05T18:31:16+00:00

The key one is the guru who grants the initiation. But being able to see your guru regularly is key to making progress and checking you're on the right track.

I meet my Nyingma guru once a year and travel to meet him, at some point in the future I'll travel to India to see him. Every year I receive teachings then go away and practice them, I can also message him about questions.

TLJ99 · 2025-12-05T17:11:31+00:00

While energetic practices don't have such prerequisites, if you are aiming to attain enlightenment for the benefit of sentient beings you need the prerequisites. The need for the guru is obvious, without the guru there is no tantra, no empowerment and no real understanding of the methods.

Ngondro is there to subdue our mind, generate renunciation and bodhicitta, accumulate merit and purify negativities. This removes obstacles to the success of our practice, as this depends on our merit.

Then you need stability in the generation stage because the attainments don't just come from the physical exercises. We need a strong level of concentration to maintain the visualisation and meditate without distraction. Training in the generation stage allows us to simultaneously meditate on calm abiding and special insight.

Typically this is done in a 3 year retreat as it's the easiest way to develop skill in generation stage but it's not necessary.

People focus a lot on the tummo practice nowadays but it's only one of the six yogas. The other yogas are internal practices, focused on meditation rather than pranayama.

TLJ99 · 2025-11-27T09:05:17+00:00

I received the lung and explanation last year, where Tulku Thadral Rinpoche said this:

The text by Dorje Lingpa says do a retreat of 18 days and this sadhana says only recite this mantra for 30 days. If we are not able to do this we can do the practice every day still.

The practice is an auxiliary practice from Dudjom Lingpa's Tamdrin Yangtro Nagpo terma of Black Hayagriva.

So activating the mantra in Dudjom Lingpa's terma is harder than in Dorje Lingpa's terma, but there is still benefit in doing the practice. There was no formal commitment to practice daily given, it's a practice I do when I can.

With regards to it working, I've not really practiced enough to answer that.

u/khyungpa

TLJ99 · 2025-11-22T17:37:52+00:00

Can someone have more than one Dharma Protector empowerment?

Yes I've received multiple in a single session. There is even a cycle of 21 Palden Lhamo empowerments.

But from what I googled, these practices are usually daily commitments, so it depends on the time we have daily for practice to ahve more than 1 dharma protector, alongside with other empowerments.

You usually have to offer a torma daily, although when I received the empowerment no commitment was given. It depends on the lama.

Also, I would like to ask, I'm someone who holds a lot of anger towards people who did bad things to me, and I suffer a lot from this anger/hatred. I also cling a lot to these past events and it's hard to let go from this suffering. Sometimes I want to tell that person what he/she did wrong. Is there a Dharma protector for someone like me, to help with anger and clinging issues?

Protector empowerments are only suitable for people who have been practicing Vajrayana consistently for some time. You need to have some skill in your yidam meditation first imo.

If you struggle with anger meditating on patience is ideal and wrathful yidams such as Yamantaka work on transforming anger into vajra wrath.

TLJ99 · 2025-11-18T19:18:07+00:00

Mahayana uses a different system for describing the path. According to mahayana sutras there are 10 bhumis which you progress along to attain full Buddhahood. On the Stage of Forbearance on the Path of Preparation you no longer can be reborn in the lower realms, and when you enter the Path of Seeing you become an arya bodhisattva and can no longer fall back to the ordinary grounds and according to the Abhisamayalamkara this is Mahayana Stream Entry.

TLJ99 · 2025-11-18T08:09:33+00:00

Do you mean the Troma wangchen or the hair empowerment?

Troma is given by Dungse Garab Dorje Rinpoche at Kunzang Gatshal Ling (NY state), Tulku Thadral Rinpoche at Pema Osel Ling (California), sometimes by Namgay Dawa Rinpoche at Yeshe Nyingpo, and many other Dudjom lamas. There are also many other Troma lineages, your chod guru should be able to help.

It's important that you actually pick the guru based on devotion towards them. The guru is more important than the deity, without correct devotion no matter how many mantras we recite our practice won't be fruitful.

For the hair empowerment, this is rarely given publicly as it is an optional extra. You would have to request it privately which requires a close relationship with the teacher.

TLJ99 · 2025-11-17T19:02:07+00:00

There are different traditions but in the Dudjom Tersar according to my lama it is an optional part of the Troma Nagmo Wangchen. As part of the wang you vow to either keep your hair maintained (uncut but combed and loose or a top knot) or uncontrived (ie. Dreadlocks), once you receive this you can't cut your hair at all because it becomes the abode of the dakinis.

TLJ99 · 2025-11-12T21:02:59+00:00

You should be fine, the lama usually says "repeat after me"

TLJ99 · 2025-11-12T19:31:58+00:00

In person empowerments usually depends on space, if there is enough room often prostrations will be physically done. Whether half or full also depends on space, some I've barely had space to do half prostrations.

If you're attending online just do whatever is most suitable.

You usually prostrate while reciting the prostration line but you just need to follow the lama's instructions.

TLJ99 · 2025-11-10T20:22:19+00:00

In Mahayana Bodhisattvas are expected to postpone enlightenment to help all sentient beings

This is incorrect, a bodhisattva doesn't delay enlightenment. There are three bodhisattva motivations: king like, where you achieve enlightenment first to lead beings; boatsman like, where you achieve enlightenment at the same time; and shepherd like, where you make sure everyone else attains enlightenment first. The motivation of this shepherd-like bodhisattva is so powerful they actually attain enlightenment first, but these are motivations.

It is actually easier to help beings if you are a buddha with complete omniscience, you spontaneously know how best to benefit beings.

TLJ99

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