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Empowerments are necessary if you choose to practice Vajrayana Buddhism. (They are not necessary for other forms of Buddhism). Someone asked me what is its purpose, so I sent him these quotes. First, the article on rigpa wiki. Then quotes by Acarya Malcolm Smith are found below that.
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https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Empowerment#:~:text=dbang%20bskur%20ba)%20refers%20to,come%20to%20master%20its%20realization.
Empowerment
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Sogyal Rinpoche and Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche during an empowerment
Empowerment (Skt. abhiṣeka or abhisiddhi[1]; Tib. དབང་, Wyl. dbang, wang) or granting an empowerment (Skt. abhiṣiñca; Tib. དབང་བསྐུར་བ་, Wyl. dbang bskur ba)[2] refers to the Vajrayana ritual which awakens the special capacity for primordial wisdom (Tib. yeshe) to arise in the mind of the disciple.[3] It is called 'empowerment' because when we receive it, we are empowered to follow a particular spiritual practice, and so come to master its realization.[4] It is said:
In the Secret Mantra Vehicle, there can be no accomplishment without empowerment,
For that would be like a boatman without oars.
And also:
Without empowerment there's no accomplishment;
You can't get oil from pressing sand.[5]
Empowerments can only be granted by qualified vajra masters and requires for the students receiving them to maintain the specific vajrayana precepts (Skt. samaya), on the basis of the refuge and bodhisattva vows. (See Two Causes & Four Conditions for further details.)
Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche reminds us of the real meaning of 'empowerment':
"The most common description of abhisheka is that it is a transfer of power during a ceremony to give recipients the authorization to hear, study and practise the teachings of the vajrayana; we therefore “receive an empowerment.” But the problem is that receiving an empowerment suggests someone is giving us a power we previously lacked[...], and is a long way away from the true spirit of tantric initiation. During an initiation we are introduced to an aspect of ourselves that already exists within us but that we have yet to recognize, and it is the activation of this recognition that we call 'empowerment' or 'initiation'. This is the real meaning of abhisheka."[6]
Contents
1 Etymology
2 The Function of Empowerment
3 Subdivisions
3.1 In General
3.2 In the Inner Tantras
4 Two Causes & Four Conditions
4.1 Two Causes
4.2 Four Conditions
5 Empowerments Given to the Rigpa Sangha
6 Notes
7 Teachings Given to the Rigpa Sangha on the Topic of Empowerment
8 Further Reading
9 Internal Links
10 External Links
Etymology
Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche writes:
"Abhisheka is a Sanskrit term, and its two fundamental meanings have been translated into Tibetan as torwa and lugpa. Torwa is usually translated as “dismantling” and refers to the cocoon of ignorance in which we are wrapped and that needs to be dismantled; and lugpa is translated as “pouring”—as in “pouring blessings”—and more obliquely, as “discovering our buddhanature.”"[7]
Tsele Natsok Rangdrol explains the etymological definition of empowerment in the following way:
"Formerly your body, speech and mind followed deluded habitual tendencies and possessed no independent power. The method that now provides you with natural authority over the indivisible state of the four kayas is called 'empowerment'."[8]
The Function of Empowerment
Empowerment is to ripen or mature our buddha nature. Even though all beings possess the buddha nature, without receiving empowerment it is not possible to receive blessings and accomplishments through a particular practice, just as it will never be possible to get oil by pressing sand.[9]
His Holiness the Dalai Lama says:
"When an empowerment is conferred on you, it is the nature of your mind—the buddha nature—that provides a basis upon which the empowerment can ripen you. Through the empowerment, you are empowered into the essence of the buddhas of the five families. In particular, you are ‘ripened’ within that particular family through which it is your personal predisposition to attain buddhahood."[10]
In addition, to these aspects, Patrul Rinpoche adds that empowerments:
repair violated and broken samayas,
enable you to meditate on all the paths of the generation phase, the perfection phase, and the Great Perfection,
prevent obstacles and errors from arising, and
allow all your attainments to develop more and more.[11]
Subdivisions
In General
According to Khenpo Ngakchung:[12]
"In general there are three types of empowerment:
the ground empowerment
the path empowerment
the result empowerment
The ground empowerment is so called because when the nature of mind, sugatagarbha, is realized, this constitutes the "empowerment" of nirvana, and when it is not realized, this constitutes the "empowerment" of the three worlds of samsara. This nature is actually what is to be matured in the ground empowerment of the path empowerment .
The path empowerment is divided into three: ground, path, and result:
[the ground empowerment of the path empowerment
the path empowerment of the path empowerment
the result empowerment of the path empowerment]
The result empowerment: In the very instant following the result empowerment of the path, one gains mastery of the wisdom of omniscience and has authority over everything in samsara and nirvana."
When other sources refer to ground, path and fruition empowerments, they most usually refer to what Khenpo Ngakchung presents as the ground empowerment of the path empowerment, the path empowerment of the path empowerment, and the result empowerment of the path empowerment.
In this context, Patrul Rinpoche explains that:[13]
"The empowerment that we receive when we are first introduced into the mandala by an authentic Vajra Master is the ground empowerment.
The fourfold empowerment that we take by ourselves when we practise Guru Yoga, without depending on anyone or anything else, is the path empowerment.
The empowerment that we obtain at the moment of the ultimate fruit, called the "great ray of light empowerment" or the "empowerment of indivisible profundity and radiance," is the fruit empowerment, perfect and total buddhahood."
And Tulku Thondup says that:[14]
empowerments given to disciples who have not been initiated before are called causal empowerment;
the empowerment given to students for developing their maturation or restoring the broken precepts are classified as empowerment of the path; and
empowerments given to those who are ready to achieve the final attainment and which cause the disciple to attain the ultimate fruition are classified as empowerments of result because they bring the final result.
In the Inner Tantras
According to the inner tantras, there are four levels or stages within any ground empowerment of the path empowerment:
the vase empowerment (Skt. kalaśābhiṣeka; Tib. བུམ་པའི་དབང་, bumpé wang, Wyl. bum pa'i dbang)
the secret empowerment (Skt. guhyābhiṣeka; Tib. གསང་བའི་དབང་, sangwé wang, 'Wyl. gsang ba'i dbang; )
the knowledge-wisdom empowerment (Skt. prajñājñānābhiṣeka; Tib. ཤེས་རབ་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཀྱི་དབང་, sherab yeshe kyi wang, Wyl. shes rab ye shes kyi dbang)
the precious word empowerment
Two Causes & Four Conditions
Two causes and four conditions are necessary for an empowerment to fully take place:
Two Causes
The associated cause (mtshung ldan gyi rgyu) is the presence of the buddha nature
The cooperative cause (lhan cig byed pa'i rgyu) is the use of various substances (rdzas) during the empowerment, such as the vase, image cards and so forth.
Four Conditions
The causal condition (rgyu'i rkyen) is the disciple who has faith and intelligence
The dominant condition (bdag rkyen) is the teacher who is fully qualified
The objective condition (dmigs rkyen) is the teacher's knowledge of the empowerment, deities, and mantras, and samadhi
The immediate condition (de ma thag rkyen) is the previous phase or empowerment, since each phase prepares the student for what follows, and that is why empowerments must be given in the proper sequence[15]
Empowerments Given to the Rigpa Sangha
Many great masters have bestowed the most important empowerments needed for our practice upon the Rigpa sangha over the years, in particular, Kyabjé Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche in 1987 and 1990, Kyabjé Penor Rinpoche in 1988 and 1995, Kyabjé Dodrupchen Rinpoche in 1999, Kyabjé Trulshik Rinpoche in 1999, 2003, and 2005, and Yangthang Rinpoche in 2012 and 2013.
For the complete list of empowerments given to the Rigpa Sangha, see the 'Empowerments Given to the Rigpa Sangha' page.
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Acarya Malcolm Smith's random selection of quotes on empowerments found in dharmawheel:
Malcolm wrote in 2021:
The essence of an empowerment is the arrangement of a special dependent origination by the master upon the disciple according to the methods taught by Buddha Vajradhara in the authoritative tantras, realized by mahāsiddhas, practiced by bodhisattvas, and translated by qualified translators out of Sanskrit and other dialects of India in Tibetan, and thence into English and other languages. There is no other essence than this.
These days however, people take it upon them themselves to just make up whatever doctrine feels good to them, disregarding the clear words of the sūtras and tantras about how to follow a virtuous mentor or a guru. They buy books and attempt to practice their contents without transmission. Such people close the doorway to liberation for themselves by inappropriately using methods taught in the tantras.
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Speaking strictly from the point of view of Dzogchen, empowerment is for inducing the experience of the example/actual wisdom. The guru is the guide who assists the student induce that experience. The lineage means that guru has also been lead through the process in a precise way by someone else before them. Not all empowerments involve deities. In fact, the actual Dzogchen empowerments never do. Dzogchen empowerment can be combined with deity empowerments, but it is not necessary.
Malcolm wrote in 2012:
Visting teachers is not Dharma.
Receiving empowerments is not Dharma.
Dharma is understanding your real condition.
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I never said don't receive transmission and teachings. I am saying, turn your dharma teachings and transmissions in Dharma. Use them to understand yourself. Don't leave them as an intellectual pursuit. For the most part, every dharma text I ever studied, am studying, and will study, was for the purpose of understanding something about my path, about myself, my own state. I learned Tibetan to enhance my practice, not to become a skilled translator who is expert in dancing on books (though I am pretty good). I did not learn Dharma to come to places like Dharma wheel and have debates. So I am pointing out that Buddhist Philosophy, the intellectual study of Buddhism divorced from a path, is a waste of time. If you want to study Madhyamaka, first understand how it is relevant to solving the Buddha's existential question: what is suffering, it's cause, it's cessation and the path. If you keep this in mind, then this study becomes Dharma.
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No, the fourth empowerment, an example wisdom, simply contextualizes the experience of the third empowerment and is used to indicate the meaning of the innate. It is not an actual transference of any sort of experience.
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2013:
It is both, and the former will lead to the latter, which is why Āryadeva proclaimed "Realization proceeds from view." This is why there is such a huge emphasis on developing a correct view in sūtrayāna. Whereas in Vajrayāna in general, the view is taught only after empowerment, because the view cultivated in Vajrayāna should be cultivated on the basis of the experience produced during one of the empowerments (but the Gelugpas have a different perspective on this).
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It means that according to Madhyamaka there are two so called ultimates, one is nominal, the other is the direct perception of emptiness.
But from a Dzogchen point of view, since all relative truths are objects of false cognitions, even the cognition of the nominal ultimate is faulty. The only thing that is true is the cognition of dharmatā. That most certainly requires some kind of direct introduction which is lacking in Sutra teachings. The main advantage to Vajrayāna teachings is that dharmatā or the example wisdom, is introduced during the time of empowerment. In the case of gsar ma, it is the introduction of bliss and emptiness at the time of the third and fourth empowerments; in the case of the Dzogchen it is the introduction of the potentiality of vidyā during anyone of the four styles of empowerment, elaborate, unelaborate and so on.
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Correct view in Vajrayāna arises from the empowerment. This is the reason why in Lamdre, for example, one meditates the view only _after_ having received the cause empowerment where it is introduced in the section of the ālaya cause continuum (tantra) among the three tantras (cause, path and result).
Despite this, of course one also meditates a sutrayāna view using śamatha and vipaśyāna (supplemented by citations from the Mahāsiddhas) at the time of the vision of experience teachings from among the three visions (impure, experiential and pure). Frankly, despite polemics between Sakya and Kagyu over the issue of sutra mahāmudra, meditating the view here is not so different than sutra mahāmudra save only the name.
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And of course, the common misunderstanding of empowerments/initiations is that they are merely there to allow you to practice something. In fact empowerment is the primary method of liberation in Vajrayāna. It is only if you do not wake up from the empowerment itself that you are given a sadhana to practice.
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Anuttarasamyaksambodhi is only possible through empowerment -- this is why for example abhiśeka is mentioned as a key feature of buddhahood in in the Āvataṃsaka sūtra and so on.
When a bodhisattva attains buddhahood, they do so on the basis of an empowerment (abhiśeka) transmitted through from all the tathagatas of the ten directions. For exmaple,the Buddhāvataṃsaka-nāma-mahāvaipulya-sūtra states:
Whoever attains facility through the supreme samadhi, they completely receive the ornaments of the empowerment conferred from the victors of the ten directions
Ārya-tathāgatācintyaguhyanirdeśa-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra states:
By attaining empowerment, one is endowed with all qualities.
Ārya-svapnanirdeśa-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra:
On the tenth stage one is predicted as a buddha through empowerment
Āryākṣayamatiparipṛcchā-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra:
Since the tenth creation of bodhicitta is the empowerment that grants power over qualities, wisdoms and all phenomena, it is seen to be equal with space through the example of the name "cakravartin".
Ārya-ratnacūḍaparipṛcchā-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra:
All who are impeded by a single birth obtain empowerment.
Ārya-lalitavistara-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra:
Through possessing love and compassion, the bodhisattva who has been conferred the empowerment of merit and wisdom leaves Tuṣita.
Thus, empowement in Vajrayāna, the direct route to experiencing anuttarasamyaksambodhi in a single lifetime in a single body, is fully validated by Mahāyāna sutras.
M
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You have five aggregates; these are the cause. The teacher arranges their connection to the five buddhas, the result, through the empowerment. If you don't attain buddhahood during the empowerment, then you have a path to follow.
Most people do not understand that abhisheka is primarily a method of attaining buddhahood, and only secondarily, an introduction to a path.
When we talk about dependent origination, there are five: outer, inner, secret, ultimate and sucheness. If you really want to understand this, then you should go and study Lamdre with the Sakyapas.
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"What defines Vajrayana?"
Empowerment (abhiṣeka) as the entryway into the teachings.
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The difference between sutra and tantra is empowerment. There is no direct introduction in Sutra. There are also important differences in terms of how the result is contextualized in sutra and tantra in general, and dzogchen specifically.
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If you do not attain awakening during empowerment, then you have sadhana practice, cause that's what it is for, i.e., sadhopaya, "method of accomplishment".
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The path of Varjayāna is taught so that a common, ordinary person can traverses all the paths and stages in a single life, and ideally, within the rite of empowerment itself, or at least so I have been taught (I am someone who has done a three year retreat).
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Malcolm wrote:
There are no siddhis without empowerment,
just as there is no oil even if sand is pressed.
Whoever proudly explains the tantras and citations
to those without empowerment,
both master and disciple go to hell
as soon as they die even if there are siddhis.
-- Mahāmudratilaka-tantra
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The proper way to enter Vajrayāna is through receiving empowerment. There is no other way. You can read this or that book, but without having taken proper empowerment, Vajrayāna texts will not benefit you and can actually give rise to wrong views that will cause you much problem.
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They are not my views. In any case, you can also read Kongtrul's Buddhist Ethics, where different approaches to samaya are evaluated and harmonized, but not one claims that one can hold samaya without an HYT empowerment of some kind. Empowerment is the sole entryway to Vajrayāna, this has been proclaimed in one voice by all the scholars of India and Tibet.
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This is the principle we should employ, as Kenpo Ngalo states in his commentary on Ngondro:
Never arriving with empty hands is a critical point of dependent origination. In particular, when that guru confers empowerment and explains Dharmas, since all the compassion and blessings of all the buddhas of the three times and ten directions along with all the bodhisattvas exist in that sublime guru, the guru is inseparable with all the buddhas. Even bringing him a morsel of food has greater merit than making many hundred of thousands of offerings to others
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2015:
There really is no mahāmudra that can be spoken of outside of tantric practice. Sutra mahāmudra is using dohas to illustrate and prepare one for the true result mahāmudra realized via the practice of the two stages. The word "mahāmudra" does not occur in even one single sūtra.
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The term "sūtra" mahāmudra, according to Kongtrul and even Gampopa himself, is used for the teaching given to those people who are incapable of practicing Vajrayāna for this or that reason but who are nevertheless interested in Mahāmudra. They are taught śamatha and vipaśyāna, the experience of which is clarified by quotes from dohas, etc.
But without the example wisdom as well as the profound dependent originations arranged by the guru at the time of empowerment, this sūtra mahāmudra cannot go beyond the common practice of the six perfections.
There are many terms for the state of buddhahood in various systems. The meaning is the same, but the means differ, and the length of time to the result as well.
The means of realizing mahāmudra is the two stages and or guru yoga. It is the practice of the an example wisdom introduced at the time of empowerment. This leads to buddhahood in one life, or seven or at most sixteen.
It takes three incalculable eons at minimum to progress to buddhahood via the sūtra path.
The level of insight experienced in Vajrayāna completion stage practices involve the experience of levels of mind more subtle than is possible in sutra meditation of plain śamatha and vipaśyāna, which is another reason why it is more rapid than sutra meditation
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In reality, it is something connected with empowerments. So it really should not be discussed so much in a public place, regardless of how many books it may be published in. As Sachen states:
In general, Secret Mantra makes dependent origination into the path. Since all dependent originations are arranged at the time of the empowerment, in the beginning it is very important to obtain completely the four empowerment from the guru. That empowerment is not merely a symbol, not merely an introduction and not merely a blessing.
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There is no difference between the fourth empowerment and direct introduction. They both involve inductions of specific experiences.
The fourth empowerment is an introduction based on the induction of a specific experience in the student, likewise, so is direct introduction.
Though it is called the "word empowerment", the actual fourth empowerment is not truly contained within words such as "this is like space...", etc. But when combined with this or that specific experience, the fourth empowerment/direct introduction introduces the student to the nature of their minds experientially, and then it can be called the word empowerment because the nature of that experience has been described to them in a way that they understand the experience that they have had. That experience itself is the example, wisdom, not the words.
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No, that is never the case, it is more like a stamp and its impression. A recorded empowerment can never be a stamp, it can only be an impression. In this case, an inert impression. A student, who receives an empowerment, is an animate living person upon whom an impression has been made, and when they have realized the meaning, they too can make impressions on others.
This is essentially why, for all who reading, the idea that one can receive an empowerment from a recording is a corrupt idea that will destroy lineages if people take it seriously.
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Anyway, this is a stupid conversation — you cannot receive empowerments from a recording of an empowerment, period. End of story. Just like you cannot receive monks vows from a recording, and so on. People who think they have received an empowerment from a recording are just deluding themselves and received nothing whatsoever. Even if they recite mantras and practices they think they have received from a recording there will be no benefit whatsoever, in fact the opposite will be the case.
If you want to receive a vow, any vow, you have to do it in the proper way, and receiving them from a recording cannot be construed as proper at all.
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The commentary tantra of the Great Perfection, the Rig pa Rang Shar states:
While one has not left the body of traces, migrating beings will not see one as worthy of respect. One’s merit will be small, one’s life short, one’s enjoyments of living will be few, one will be powerless and many obstacles will occur. Nothing will be accomplished. Those are the faults of not obtaining the empowerment for the conduct of Secret Mantra. A yogin of Secret Mantra conduct must first obtain empowerment. If empowerment is not obtained, not even the Buddha will be able to turn the wheel on the stage of a tathāgata. If the wheel cannot be turned, then the nirmanakāya will not be able to benefit migrating beings with compassion. Therefore, the empowerment of the conduct of Secret Mantra must be obtained.
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2017:
The process of empowerment transforms the human body through dependent origination. Sadhana is for those who do not obtain buddhahood during the empowerment.
M
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Anytime you take an empowerment, you are making a commitment to that method of practice from now until awakening. That is essentially what a yidam is, i.e., a commitment to the path of awakening. The whole idea of "special yidams" is a bit of quasi theistic superstition. It does not matter who anyone's yidam is since the continuum of pristine consciousness of all yidams is the same.
People have karmic relations with this or that practice. But in reality, everyone in Mahāyāna has the same yidam: buddhahood.
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Malcolm:
"These days, empowerments are handed out as a means of attracting followers to people who no idea what they are doing, even though sometimes they have been "following" Tibetan Buddhism for decades. How can one even imagine that any of these people have actually received samaya? It is only possible to believe this if one thinks that merely attending a ritual and repeating some words has the power to confer samaya. I don't believe this, but you are free to disagree."
makewhisper wrote:
Based on your study and practice, what conditions are necessary for a successful empowerment and conferral of samaya?
Malcolm:
The student has to actually know what they are doing — this is the main criteria.
makewhisper wrote:
As a neophyte, I'm not quite sure what this means.
Malcolm:
It means you have to know what you are doing. You have to understand the Dharma. You have to examine the teacher. You have to understand the commitments you are taking on. For example, if you do not understand the commitments you are taking, you don't have samaya at all. It is really that simple.
If you do understand the commitments, you do know what you are doing, and so on, a teacher's conduct has to be pretty outrageously abusive before you can legitimately say, this teacher has broken samaya and now my commitment to him or her is null and void. If he or she likes fancy cars, too bad; if they like expensive food and wine; too bad. If they have a penchant for gold and silver, and insist that their students pay outrageous fees for teachings, too bad. If they like having multiple partners and are up front about it, too bad. If they are gay, too bad. If they are trans, too bad.
But if they systematically abuse their power, or are dishonest, or are physically and/or sexually abusive, well, then one might have a case that this teacher is bad news. Even here, it is best to just leave their company and move on. However, sometimes it is bad enough to warrant a public outing. In this case, don't worry about your samaya, your obligation to sentient beings is more important.
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"Samaya" basically means "coming to a mutual understanding , agreement , compact , covenant , treaty , contract , arrangement , engagement , stipulation , conditions of agreement, terms."
It is rooted in a notion of contractual obligation which results when two people agree on something. In this case, before a guru offers an empowerment, the disciple has to agree to some terms in order to enter the mandala for which the teacher is giving an empowerment. The teacher also has obligations which he or she must fulfill in order to be able to offer than empowerment.
This is the base level definition of samaya. There are much deeper understandings, like the four unbreakable samayas of the Great Perfection.
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One is not qualified to study these things without empowerment, transmission, and instruction. These teachings are part of Secret Mantra. It is called "secret" for a reason.
One is not even permitted to look at these texts without transmission, let alone discuss there contents on an open forum such as this.
Those who have empowerment, transmission, and instruction are not permitted discuss these things with those who lack empowerment, transmission, and instruction.
For example, if one buys a book on Dzogchen, no one is going to stop you, no one who is responsible will discuss the contents of the teachings with someone who is not qualified.
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Terms and so on are experiential, they are related to the practice, so they really cannot be discussed either. This is why we don't discuss them, apart from the occasional kerfuffle about how rig pa is properly translated (knowledge, knowing, in rare cases, mind)
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No, there is no samaya greater than empowerment. Direct introduction is an empowerment.
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2018:
You cannot educate people about what happens in an empowerment before the empowerment. If you do, you are breaking your own samaya. For example, the preparation day exists precisely so that people are readied to hear the secrets spoken during an empowerment.
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2021:
Every time you take any empowerment or initiation, you are making a promise to hold that deity as your yidam. Hence you can have hundreds, there is no limit.
The key of course is to practice all yidams in one yidam, all mantras in one mantra, etc.
