Dorje Phurba/ Vajrakilaya

[Earth Dragon]

Hi everyone. I have a very advanced buddhist teacher, who does not like people or talking to people ( including myself). Therefore he told me to conduct my own research and once i have the basic understanding, i should further consult him.

I want to understand Vajrakilaya and everything involved. I ve reas lots online but when i spoke to my teacher then within a minute he told me lots of new things- for example Vajrakilaya has snakes in his hair and the meaning of this symbol.

I can t speak sanskrit or tibetan so i m limited to english only.

I humbly ask friends - in - dharma to share knowledge and resources about Vajrakilaya.

Thanx

[JKhedrup]

There is a book called "Dark Red Amulet" in English that is highly recommended.

I would think, though, before you read commentaries on Vajrakilaya on this you should have the empowerment of Vajrakilaya or at least another yidam of the equivalent class of tantra.

Especially around Vajrakilaya many teachers are quite conservative about discussing with those who don't have the appropriate transmissions, as it is known as a particularly powerful practice. I'm sure others with more direct experience of it will give you feedback soon.

[Knotty Veneer]

Hi everyone. I have a very advanced buddhist teacher, who does not like people or talking to people ( including myself). Therefore he told me to conduct my own research and once i have the basic understanding, i should further consult him.

I want to understand Vajrakilaya and everything involved. I ve reas lots online but when i spoke to my teacher then within a minute he told me lots of new things- for example Vajrakilaya has snakes in his hair and the meaning of this symbol.

I can t speak sanskrit or tibetan so i m limited to english only.

I humbly ask friends - in - dharma to share knowledge and resources about Vajrakilaya.

Thanx

Firstly, I'd ask your teacher if he thinks this is the right practice for you. His reluctance may be his way of saying no (without actually saying no - very Tibetan).

but, also if your teacher is not so keen on people including you - perhaps you might also think of trying someone else.

[Earth Dragon]

Hi everyone. I have a very advanced buddhist teacher, who does not like people or talking to people ( including myself). Therefore he told me to conduct my own research and once i have the basic understanding, i should further consult him.

I want to understand Vajrakilaya and everything involved. I ve reas lots online but when i spoke to my teacher then within a minute he told me lots of new things- for example Vajrakilaya has snakes in his hair and the meaning of this symbol.

I can t speak sanskrit or tibetan so i m limited to english only.

I humbly ask friends - in - dharma to share knowledge and resources about Vajrakilaya.

Thanx

Firstly, I'd ask your teacher if he thinks this is the right practice for you. His reluctance may be his way of saying no (without actually saying no - very Tibetan).

but, also if your teacher is not so keen on people including you - perhaps you might also think of trying someone else.

It is the right practise for me and i have chosen my teacher. He lived 8 years in a closed room. He does not like talking to many. It was him who gave me a thangka of Dorje Phurba and told me a few things. But he never makes it easy for me, he insists that i would find things out myself. He wants to see if i m making the effort. It is not like - hey teacher, can you tell me all those secrer and interesting stuff?

[Knotty Veneer]

It is the right practise for me and i have chosen my teacher. He lived 8 years in a closed room. He does not like talking to many. It was him who gave me a thangka of Dorje Phurba and told me a few things. But he never makes it easy for me, he insists that i would find things out myself. He wants to see if i m making the effort. It is not like - hey teacher, can you tell me all those secrer and interesting stuff?[/quote]

Sorry - no offence meant. I would second Khedrup's suggestion then.

[Earth Dragon]

It is the right practise for me and i have chosen my teacher. He lived 8 years in a closed room. He does not like talking to many. It was him who gave me a thangka of Dorje Phurba and told me a few things. But he never makes it easy for me, he insists that i would find things out myself. He wants to see if i m making the effort. It is not like - hey teacher, can you tell me all those secrer and interesting stuff?

Sorry - no offence meant. I would second Khedrup's suggestion then.[/quote]

No offence taken. For an avarage western dharma student your advise is excellent. I have lived years in asia and i m half mo golian so i know a bit about the direct and non-direct approach of asian. In buddhism and vajrayana i m still a baby tough

[Yudron]

Are you thinking about doing a specific Vajrakilaya practice, such as Longchen Nyingthig, Dudjom Tersar? There are hundreds of different practices -- different and the same -- it might help to be more specific. The earliest big text on Phurba has been translated by Martin Boord as a Bolt of Lightening in the Blue. But don't let it intimidate you. Practicing Vajrakilaya for a beginner might be using a one page text and reciting the mantra.

I think you are very brave to take on this kind of lama. I'm kind of excited by your story.

[JKhedrup]

This is a topic that interests me because a quite highly regarded Gelug lama told me I have a connection to Vajrakilaya and should pursue it. That was all the advice I had, and I never did any follow up except to develop a vague wish to take the initiation one day from HH Sakya Trizin or HH Karmapa. (they are the only two I sort of have a connection to that give this empowerment- it is available in the Sakya and Kagyu traditions as well as Nyingma, that might be useful for you to know as you pursue this).
The abbot of Namgyal monastery also told me that when he became abbot he had to spend a great deal of time learning the liturgies for Vajrakilaya and studying the commentaries because HH Dalai Lama considers it an extremely important practice during these times.

[Earth Dragon]

This is a topic that interests me because a quite highly regarded Gelug lama told me I have a connection to Vajrakilaya and should pursue it. That was all the advice I had, and I never did any follow up except to develop a vague wish to take the initiation one day from HH Sakya Trizin or HH Karmapa. (they are the only two I sort of have a connection to that give this empowerment- it is available in the Sakya and Kagyu traditions as well as Nyingma, that might be useful for you to know as you pursue this).
The abbot of Namgyal monastery also told me that when he became abbot he had to spend a great deal of time learning the liturgies for Vajrakilaya and studying the commentaries because HH Dalai Lama considers it an extremely important practice during these times.

Dear Khedrup

I had the same advice from my teacher. I asked him- in these difficult times when there is no clear tradition and teachings are so many but very few, what is the practice or teaching for myself? I am facing numerous obsatcles from all directions and including within myself, but i undertsnad that if i want to dedicate to buddha dharma and actually be efficient , i m going to need the right backup. After many times of asking and doing great favours to him, he told me to study VajraKilaya. He gave me a thangka. I have read a bit about it , but within 3 minutes he spoke , i heard the most interesting aspects about Vajrakilaya. I guess he was in a good mood for a moment. But thats it, 3 min of explaining. I asked for more and he said- i had to find out things on my own, you should do the same.

So i m puzzling about this yidam deity and what it is about. As i said, i have understood that in order to achive what i have to , i need strong protection and assitance.

That is ny story. I have downloaded Dark Red Amulet and will read it today.

[Kunga Leshe]

You could try these: The Practice of Vajrakilaya by Khenpo Namdrol,
A Bolt of Lightning from the Blue: The vast commentary on Vajrakila that clearly defines the essential points & A Roll of Thunder from the Void: Vajrakila Texts Of The Northern Treasures Tradition, Volume Two

[Adamantine]

In addition to the good suggestions above, there is also some account of the history of the practice in the big red book The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism by Dudjom Rinpoche. There's also an explanation of the classes of yogas in there that could be helpful.

[T. Chokyi]

Hi everyone. I have a very advanced buddhist teacher, who does not like people or talking to people ( including myself). Therefore he told me to conduct my own research and once i have the basic understanding, i should further consult him.

I want to understand Vajrakilaya and everything involved. I ve reas lots online but when i spoke to my teacher then within a minute he told me lots of new things- for example Vajrakilaya has snakes in his hair and the meaning of this symbol.

I can t speak sanskrit or tibetan so i m limited to english only.

I humbly ask friends - in - dharma to share knowledge and resources about Vajrakilaya.

Thanx

From experience, one of the best places to practice within a group retreat situation with qualified teachers would be The Vajrakilaya Drup Chod held at what is sometimes referred to affectionately as the "Vajrakilaya Gompa"... this is the information below, and one would want to pay attention to what's highlighted:

Vajrakilaya Drup Chöd

"Vajrakilaya is the primary meditational deity of the Nyingmapa tradition of Vajrayana Buddhism, and the practice undertaken and accomplished by the majority of its great realized masters. A compassionate expression of the Buddha nature, Vajrakilaya is the wrathful manifestation of Vajrasattva, arising to purify the source of all suffering, which is ignorance. Particularly known for its reversal of obstacles, this powerful ritual is performed to transform negativity, sickness, and obscurations, bringing about well being and ultimate enlightenment. Both the higher and lower activities are engaged in, first concentrating on recognizing the Mandala of Vajrakilaya by way of mantra recitation and visualization. The lower activity then invokes the deity’s liberating energy in a very wrathful aspect in order to bring about the transformation of negativity for ourselves and the community at large. This retreat and practice requires an empowerment and/or permission from the Lama and takes place in the fall, generally in October – November."

If you write them an email, perhaps mentioning who your Lama is, where you got the empowerment (if you have the empowerment by then) or if you wouldn't have had the empowerment before the time of the Drup Chod, ask if the Vajra master will be giving the empowerment, and in addition, what you could be doing to meet the practice prerequisites to attend, as the Vajra master may be different each year.

From this web site:
http://www.tashicholing.org/programs.html

This Pudri Rek Phung / Vajrakilaya retreat:

"As well, during the ninth month of the Tibetan calendar, Tashi Chöling offers the Pudri Rek Phung / Vajrakilaya retreat. The Festival Day known as Lha Bab Duchen celebrates the time when Buddha Shakyamuni taught in Indra’s heaven for the benefit of his mother who had taken rebirth there, along with the gods. This took place during a three-month period, and displayed the Buddha’s gratitude toward his mother’s kindness, and his repayment for this was to liberate her.

In conjunction with this, the Guru Rinpoche Day that falls several days before Lha Bab Duchen commemorates another amazing occurrence. In Nepal, Guru Padmasambhava was called Vajra Guru, Garland of Skulls [Dorje Totreng], when he took the form of Vajrakilaya at Yang Lesho and subdued the local deities and negative forces. At that time he performed the sadhana of Palchen Yangdak and attained the Vidyadhara stage of Mahamudra realization. What better time for us to gather as one to practice Vajrakilaya! Other auspicious days fall in this period as well, such as Dakini Day."

If you can't get to a retreat, you could also listen to The Dzogchen master CHNN (Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche) when he is webcasting live. Rinpoche often gives the "lung" for Guru Tragphur, and he also gives teachings. This could potentially start you out.

When CHNN has a live "open" broadcast generally one of the practitioners from The Dzogchen Community will post it on this board in the really long thread in the Dzogchen section of this web site.

If you have any specific questions about what I wrote here, feel free to PM your question, however I might not get back to you until next week sometime.

[Yudron]

Once a year, before the Tibetan New Year, Nyingma gompas do several days of practice of a wrathful obstacle removing practice, usually Vajrakilaya. This year this practice is Feb. 7 - 9. So, in addition to the marvelous center Tashi Choling referred to above, one can do Vajrakilaya practice at Pema Osel Ling, or Rigdzin Ling here on the West Coast of the U.S., on those dates. It's the best time of the year to see an elaborate form of the practice, that includes wrathful activity practices that are generally done only once a year.

[JKhedrup]

This is an interesting article on Vajrakilaya in the Sakya tradition by the current Sakya Patriarch, HH Sakya Trizin

The full text it available here:http://www.hhthesakyatrizin.org/teach_vajrakilaya.html

The Sakya Order has innumerable exoteric and esoteric teachings, and among them the Vajrakilaya teaching cycle is the teaching with the longest history. It has been a major practice of the Khon lineage since the time of Padmasambhava and it was the Khon lineage that founded and preserved the Sakya school and has caused it to flourish.

In fact, the Khon lineage is believed to be directly descended from celestial beings. Although not much detail is known regarding the life and activities of the early generations of the Khon lineage, at that time only the Bon religion existed in Tibet, as there were not yet any Buddhist teachings.

Later, around the year 775 C.E., Guru Padmasambhava came from India to subdue the local deities and spirits, and gave many Buddhist teachings. Among them was this particular Vajrakilaya teaching, which was given to Khon Nagendra Raksita, an early member of the Khon family who was also one of the first seven Tibetans to receive full Buddhist monastic ordination.

These seven Tibetans were chosen for ordination as a trial of whether Tibetans would be able to keep Buddhist monastic vows. There were three older persons, three younger persons and one middle-aged person. Nagendra Raksita was one of the three younger persons. In this way he received full Buddhist monastic ordination from the great abbot Shanta Raksita. All seven ordained monks were very successful, which was an auspicious beginning for the great Tibetan monastic tradition.

Khon Nagendra Raksita, who was a fully ordained Buddhist monk and great translator, and his younger brother Vajra Ratna, who was a householder, both received the Vajrakilaya empowerments and teachings directly from Guru Padmasambhava.

[michaelb]

Lots of information and links have been posted already. I thought I'd add links to the books I know of. Given its widespread practice there is quite a lot written about Vajrakilaya including commentaries on the practice such as The Practice of Vajrakilaya by Khenpo Namdrol Rinpoche. Martin Boord's books have already been mentioned, you can read his introduction to Bolt of Lightning From the Blue, here. His other books include Roll of Thunder From the Void and the forthcoming Gathering the Elements which, I think, is a reprint of his doctoral thesis and previous now out of print "Cult of the Deity Vajrakila" available on scribd.com, here. There are other academic theses on the subject on scribd.com such as Rob Mayer's translation of The Phurba Chu Nyi Tantra. There is a lot more on scribd.com including Vajrakilaya sadhanas and commentaries. Given the restricted nature of these texts, which should only really be read by people who have received the appropriate empowerment, this may not be a good thing. Two commentaries available from Vimalatreasures.org have recently been taken down from scribd.com. Copyright is another issue. But if you are after stuff on Vajrakilaya, there is certainly a lot out there

[Earth Dragon]

Lots of information and links have been posted already. I thought I'd add links to the books I know of. Given its widespread practice there is quite a lot written about Vajrakilaya including commentaries on the practice such as The Practice of Vajrakilaya by Khenpo Namdrol Rinpoche. Martin Boord's books have already been mentioned, you can read his introduction to Bolt of Lightning From the Blue, here. His other books include Roll of Thunder From the Void and the forthcoming Gathering the Elements which, I think, is a reprint of his doctoral thesis and previous now out of print "Cult of the Deity Vajrakila" available on scribd.com, here. There are other academic theses on the subject on scribd.com such as Rob Mayer's translation of The Phurba Chu Nyi Tantra. There is a lot more on scribd.com including Vajrakilaya sadhanas and commentaries. Given the restricted nature of these texts, which should only really be read by people who have received the appropriate empowerment, this may not be a good thing. Two commentaries available from Vimalatreasures.org have recently been taken down from scribd.com. Copyright is another issue. But if you are after stuff on Vajrakilaya, there is certainly a lot out there

Thanx a lot for providing all this links. Much appreciated.

[michaelb]

You're welcome, Earth Dragon. Of course, there is a lot more scattered around the web, such as articles like this and images with descriptions here. Good luck finding what you are looking for.

[michaelb]

BTW you can also read the introduction to Roll of Thunder from the Void, here. (I only just noticed that...)

[mahabuddha]

"Hey teacher tell me all the secret information." No, it's probably better you find it on the internet

Seems like a communication breakdown or possibly an imaginary teacher.

[Earth Dragon]

"Hey teacher tell me all the secret information." No, it's probably better you find it on the internet

Seems like a communication breakdown or possibly an imaginary teacher.

MAHABUDDHA, it is truly a great name that you have. Did you give it to yourself?
My teacher- Not imaginery, but real. Not popular, but secluded. Not friendly, but smart. Not Western, but Eastern.

What i ve found from books and internet is not as juicy as what he told me, but still it is very useful.