Brief Daily Practice of the Rapidly Acting Lord of Pristine Awareness,

The Jewel, King of Power

1.Preliminaries
Thought of Refuge (repeat three times)
From this moment on: until attaining complete enlightenment solely for the benefit of others, I,
together with all sentient beings of the Six Realms, continuously take refuge in the Buddha,
Dharma, and Sangha; the Lama, Yidam, and Dakini.
Shaping of Motive (repeat three times)
Through the practice of generosity and other virtues, may I attain buddhahood in order to help others.
The Four Immeasurables (repeat three times)
May all sentient beings have happiness and the causes of happiness; may all sentient beings be free
from suffering and the causes of suffering; may all sentient beings never be separate from the genuine
happiness that is free from suffering; may all sentient beings abide in equanimity that is free
from passion, aggression, and prejudice.
2. Visualization
om shunyata jnana bedzra sobhawa atmako nya ham
All things and I are the nature of that indestructible wisdom that is emptiness.
[With this mantra, all appearances are refined to emptiness.]
From empty space, a circle of protection comes from HUM. In its center a lotus appears
from PAM, above it a sun from RAM, and from GAM,two Ganesh, white, with elephant heads, each
holding a radish and mongoose, lying face down.

Above them, ones mind appears as two vital drops of pure being, both white and red together, the size
of a pea.
In the center is HUM, the color of quicksilver. From them, light shines, clearing away the suffering of
all sentient beings that poverty causes.
The light is drawn in again and absorbed and the drops change to become the undifferentiated front
and self generation, the forms of the Fast-acting Lord of Pristine Awareness, the Jewel, King of Power.
He is white in color and shines brilliantly. His face is wrathful with a smiling expression, full of
humor. He has three eyes. His eyebrows, beard, and hair are orange and flaring.

His forehead is marked with a cinnabar triangle. Above his head, King Akshyoba seals him.
His first right hand brandishes a chopper in the sky. The middle hand holds the precious wishfulfilling gem to his heart. The last right hand rattles an acacia wood hand-drum.
The first left hand holds by his left thigh a skull-cup filled with nectar in which there is a vase filled
with jewels, in the second hand there is a trident, and the last left hand holds a noose.
He stands on the seat of the lotus, sun, and two Ganesh with his feet in the position of preparing to
move.
He wears flowing silks of different patterns, a tiger-hide loincloth, and on his back, a freshly flayed
elephant-hide mantel. He is adorned by a crown of five skulls, each surmounted by a precious jewel
set in gold; a garland of fifty freshly severed heads, dripping with blood; ornaments of jewels; jingling
bells, and garlands of flowers.
Surrounded by throngs of hundreds of millions of power-gathering dakinis as attendants, he stands in
the center of a mass of flames.
At his forehead, there is a white OM, at his throat a red AH and in his heart a red power-gathering
dakini holding an elephant goad and a skull-cup filled with blood. At her heart is a vital drop of pure
being and at its center a white HUM.
From ones own heart, light shines out inviting the Fast-acting Lord of Pristine Awareness, the WishFulfilling Jewel, and all his throngs of dakinis from the Cool Grove Cemetery in the Southeast. (bell)
3. Accomplishment of the Deity
pema kamala ya sa tam
dza hung bam ho
om bedzra argham ah hung
om bedzra padyam ah hung
om bedzra pukpe ah hung
om bedzra dhupe ah hung
om bedzra aloke ah hung
om bedzra gendhe ah hung
om bedzra newidye ah hung

om bedzra shabda ah hung (*)

Lord of pristine awareness, compassionate one: your body is white, radiant with light, like a snowcovered mountain. You completely pacify the poverty of beings. I pay homage and praise you. Grant
me the attainment of numerous desires.
4. Root Mantra
GURU MAHAKALA HARI NI SA SIDDHI DZA
(repeat 1,008 times, or as many times as possible)
5. Torma Offering
(cleansing mantra of Trowo Dutsi Kyilwa)
om bedzra amrita kundrali hana hana hung pe
(purification mantra)
om sobhawa shudha sarwa dharma sobhawa shudho ham
Out of empty space, wind appears from YAM, fire from RAM and above that, a skull-cup from AH. It
is completely filled with the five meats and the five elixirs all marked by the syllables HUM, BHRUM,
OM, JRIM,and KHAM. (**)
The wind blows, the fire blazes, and the ten substances and letters melt.
Elixir is drawn from the hearts of all Buddhas, and is absorbed into the contents, which become an
ocean of elixir of pristine wisdom.
om ah hum ha ho hri (repeat three times)
The assembly of wisdom deities drinks the torma, drawing it in with their tongues in the form of Vajra
straws. (***)
guru mahakala ha ri ni sa siddhi dza idam baling ta kaka kahi kahi
Eat, eat, please eat, please eat this torma. (repeat seven times)
om shri mahakala ya sha sa nam|
u pa kari nam|
e ko pash chi ma ka lo yam idam ratna trayaya|

a pa kari nri ya di pratijaa|

samara sita da|
idam duktram kaka kahi kahi|
mara mara|
grihana grihana|
bandha bandha|
hana hana|
daha daha|
patsa patsa|
di na me kena|
maraya hung phat|
idam baling ta kaka kahi kahi|
(repeat above three times)
om bedzra mahakala sapari wara|
argham|padyam|pukpe| dhupe|aloke|gendhe|newidye| shabda|tra tyi tsa hung so ha|
(drum & bell)
Lord of pristine awareness, compassionate one: your body is white, radiant with light, like a snowcovered mountain. You completely pacify the poverty of beings. I pay homage and praise you. Grant
me the attainment of numerous desires. Accept this offering and torma. (bell)
To we practitioners and our companions grant good health, life, power, glory, fame, and good fortune.
Grant me attainment in enlightened activity, pacifying, enriching, and the others.
Through your commitment, protect me. Through all attainments, be my companion.
Eliminate premature death and sudden illness, demons and obstacles.
Eliminate nightmares and bad omens, evil activities, and plans.
Make the world happy with good harvests, make crops flourish, andmake the Dharma flourish. Grant
the best in happiness, and fortune, and everything the mind desires. (bell)

6. Hundred Syllable Mantra of Vajrasattva

om vajra-sato samaya manupalaya
vajra-sato day-nopa day-ta dri-do mebawa
suto-kayo mebawa supo-kayo mebawa
anu-rakto mebawa sarwa siddam mepar-ya-tsa
sarwa karma sutsamay
chi-tum shereyang kuru hum
haha haha ho
bagawan sarwa tata-gato vajra mame mun-tsa
vajra bawa maha-samaya-sato ah
In the guru and the lord undifferentiated, I take refuge with devotion. Clear away all emotional
confusion in me and all sentient beings.
7. Placing in Support
By staying in this very place, united to this representation, spare us illness and grant us long life and
power. Grant us the Sublime Accomplishment in the most excellent way.
May the goodness prevail of the Lama and Yidam, the fulfillment of all fine qualities. May the
goodness prevail of the dakinis and dharma protectors, who effect all enlightened activity.
ge way tsok nam sak pa kun
dak gir yong su zung me par
sem chen ma lu kun dun du
che ying la na me par ngo
8. Dedication of Merit
Through this merit may beings, having won omniscient perception, defeat all harmful enemies. May
all beings be liberated from the ocean of existence and its surging waves of birth, old age, sickness, and
death.

Colophon

So, yesterday we looked at what we might consider threshold iconographic explanations for what
White Mahakala holds and how he is attired. This may be important for artists, but perhaps it is not so
important for us. If we have the sort of mind that requires such concordances, then we can add to the
above list in considerable detail. If, on the other hand, we do not require it, we can dispense with the
symbolism and experience White Mahakala as he naturally arises, satisfying ourselves on the level of
immediate reality.

Sometimes, I think it is useful to simply call upon the deity and then take note of what he looks like
when he arrives. White Mahakala may appear one way at one time and another way at another time.
There may come a time when all appearances are White Mahakala.
The

Offering

The next matter to be considered is the offering. Primarily we are performing what is known as an
inner offering; so called because it is of the inner components of humans and animals. These impure
components are transformed into elixir, in order to bless the outer offerings.
Naturally, we do not cook this in an actual vessel. Instead, we visualize this process. If we wish, we can
also then symbolize the visualization with black tea or wine in a skull cup.(*) We can place the ring
fingers of our right and left hands together and encircle the skull cup three times, setting it to the left
side of our table.(**) It is not strictly necessary for us to do this: we can do this entirely as
visualization. However, if we find it useful to adopt such formalities, we can use an actual skull cup as
noted.(***)
On the altar, we have the external torma, if possible, and the offerings of water and so forth, arranged
in bowls. Many people are confused about this aspect of practice, so we will review a few details.
A torma is not an object. An object can symbolize a torma, and we can call that symbolic object a
torma. A torma is in fact a space. To the extent that an object symbolizes this space, then that object is
a vessel. We want the torma to be free from physical impurities, and want it to be free from conceptual
impurities. We therefore understand that the torma arises from emptiness, is an inherently empty,
uncreated offering vessel, ultimately devoid of form, and dissolves into emptiness.
We arrange our offering bowls from left to right in the following fashion: in the first bowl, we place
pure drinking water. When we offer this water to the deity, we think that it completely and
simultaneously quenches the thirst of all sentient beings. Actually, we are giving this water to the deity
to deliver. White Mahakala is not thirsty.
Next, we offer water for bathing. Again, White Mahakala is not dirty, but rather serves as the medium
to wash all sentient beings clean of their defilements.

We next offer flowers, and the surroundings of all sentient beings become beautiful by this action. We
offer incense, which similarly soothes and beautifies the surroundings of all beings, cleansing the air.
Next, we offer light, eliminating the darkness of ignorance. We follow this with perfume, which
purifies the stains of immorality.
We now offer food, bestowing freedom from deprivation, followed by music, which purifies all sound.
Allowing for the above, you should understand that this practice might be done in the middle of
traffic, if you have the mind for it. There are all sorts of things that nobody owns, such as wildflowers,
or the songs of birds. There are pure waters in mountain springs. There are delicious fruits growing
wild in the fields. You can offer all of these, and all the other treasures your mind can conceive.
The point is that you are giving these offerings to White Mahakala, who in turn is delivering them to
all sentient beings. Therefore, you can afford to be creative. For example: when you give light, you can
specify that it bring light to those who are blind. When you give music, you can believe that it removes
harmful or fearful words. When you give food, you can understand that beings will ultimately be
delivered from reliance on external sources. The possibilities are as endless as you wish. The
corresponding benefit is inconceivable to the human mind.
The next matter to consider is that of supports. When you are concluding this practice, you can invite
White Mahakala to stay in a picture, or a statue. This is up to you. It is my idea that White Mahakala is
inherently present in pictures of my teacher. You may find that he is inherently present in pictures of
your teacher.
We should also discuss the mantra. White Mahakalas mantra has thirteen syllables. Were you to
recite the mantra 100,000 times, this would represent 1,300,000 syllables. This cannot hurt
anyone. As to the appropriate mala for counting this mantra, it is considered traditional to use 108
lotus seeds, or bodhi seeds, or even 60 rudraksha tree berries having specific characteristics. Actually,
any mala with 108 beads of any material will be just fine. We must learn not to be neurotic about such
matters.
Finally, we dedicate the merit gained by our actions to the welfare of all sentient beings. We hope that
it will become a source of benefit to them and never a source of harm. Under no circumstances do we
keep any merit for ourselves.