Om Vajrasattva hum!

Rounding off several days of practice of meditation and exploration of the four main sadhanas Bhante practiced (Green Tara, Manjughosha, Padmasambhava and Vajrasattva) there was a Vajrasattva sadhana puja on the final night of the 2019 UK & Ireland Area Order Convention. Here are some of the mantras from that puja: firstly, Yashodeva sings the slow version of the 100 syllable mantra, then Santavajri starts off seven rounds of the 100 syllable mantra and finally, Vandanajyoti begins the...

Prakasha outlines the nature of the samaya-sattva (the Buddha/Bodhisattva figure to which we have a commitment). Our samaya is about establishing a communication between ourselves and our chosen sadhana deity, and he explores the illumined imagination as a means to achieving this.

Prakasha rounds off this series by comparing the symbols of the path and the mandala as models for practice, noting that while the mandala has boundaries, it also enables everyone to have a place within its scope.

This is the final of...

Prakasha focuses on the fourth stage of sadhana practice - the imaginal evocation of a Buddha or Bodhisattva figure. Imagination can be expressed through symbols or signs and the sadhana itself is a myth (a story that holds value) which is represented as a drama that unfolds through various stages. Each sadhana provides a unique gateway into the Mandala of Awakening.

This is the third talk of four talks given by Prakasha at the 2019 UK ...

Taking a quote from C.G. Jung, “one does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light but by making the darkness conscious” as his starting point, Prakasha explores the third stage of sadhana practice, spiritual death. While sadhana is about imagining figures of light to help us gain enlightenment, Prakasha clarifies that it is also as much about descent as ascent.

He encourages us to consider hindrances not as disruptions to our meditation but rather as being the meditation, suggesting that...