TENGA TULKU RITUAL INSTRUMENTS (1/3) When one is practicing the Vajrayana, if one is doing it in an elaborate way, then

one uses the cymbals and the drums, the vajra and bells and phurba etc. as objects of offering and amongst all of these it is the bell and the dorje that is the most supreme. The Buddha said in the tantra called the short coledemchuk tantra, short chakra symvara tantra, that when one is practicing the vajrayana and doing offerings in the vatryana, if one is doing it elaborately then vajrayam bell is necessary. This is what the Buddha himself said. It is also said that when an empowerment is being given that the vajra master should hold the vajra and bell with the vajra in his right hand and the bell in his left hand. That way he gives the empowerment and also that he gives the teachings to the pupils at this time while holding the vajra and bell. It is also said that at the beginning of some pujas the first one should set out a representation of the body and of the speech and of the mind as the basis for making offerings to. So one makes offerings to a representation of the body which is of the Buddha which can be a rupa or a thangka etc.; and if one has as a representation of the speech one has a volume, a text; and for the mind a stupa. So one makes these three types of symbols. If one is not able to obtain these three representations of body, speech and mind, then one can use the vajra and bell because the vajra and bell symbolise the body, speech and mind of the Buddha. In the top half of the bell you can see a face and this is the face of Buddha Vairochana and he is at the union of all of the five Buddha families. Therefore that upper part is a representation of the body of the Buddha. On the body of the bell itself there are a series of drawn syllables and there is also the sound that the bell itself makes, and together this makes the representation of the speech. Then there is the vajra which has five upper prongs with a round centre and next to the centre on both sides there is a petalled lotus and this is said to be the embodiment of the essence of the Buddhas mind. When one meditates on Dorje Sempa first one imagines that the syllable hunge above ones head and then one imagines that the hunge forms into this white vajra with the hunge in the centre. The centre of the vajra is round. So the round centre symbolises that the essence of all dharma, of all phenomena, is emptiness, that all the external relative appearances of the world and the beings within, ultimately in their true essence, have no true reality. When one looks on the side of nirvana that all of the qualities and activities of the Buddha is the ten strengths and four fearlessnesses etc. essentially none of them have any true reality. For the external relative phenomena, appearances, in their essence they have no true reality they are emptiness and so because of that then all these different appearances are able to arise and are able to appear to us.

The strengths and fearlessnesses of the Buddha, the qualities of compassion, in essence they are emptiness without any true reality and while they are like that then all these qualities and activities of the Buddha are able to appear to all beings and all beings are able to receive them whilst at the same time that they are empty. Because of all samsara and nirvana with the indivisibility of emptiness and appearance, because of this there is the round centre of the vajra. Through the mind of the Buddha, through the dharmakaya, through there being emptiness and also having the manifestation of clarity and being able to enter into the Buddha activity through this quality that arises appears all the different kinds of deities. Due to that on either side of this round centre of the vajra are the eight petalled lotuses, the upper eight petalled lotus are the eight bodhisattvas, the lower eight petalled lotus are the eight female bodhisattvis. This is at the time of purity or purification that they have the eight bodhisattvas and eight bodhisattvis. At the time of the impure time of samsara for us, then this is the eye and the nose etc., all the different sense faculties and all the different things that are perceived by the senses, forms etc. The consciousness of the eye, when this is pure, then this is the bodhisattva Sa nyingpo, or essence of the earth who is coloured white, Kshitigarbha in Sanskrit. He holds in his right hand a stalk of rice, and in the left hand a bell. The consciousness of the ear, when this is in its pure form is the bodhisattva Maitreya, who is also coloured white and in his right hand he holds a naga tree and in his left hand he holds a bell. The consciousness of the nose, in its pure form is the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, who is dark blue in colour. In his right hand he holds the sun and in his left hand a bell. The consciousness of the tongue when it is purified is the Bodhisattva Akashagarbha, called essence of space, Namkhai Nyingpo, and is coloured gold. In his right hand he holds a sword and in his left hand he holds a bell. The consciousness of the body, when it is in its pure state, is the Bodhisattva Chenrezi, who is red in colour. In his right hand he holds a lotus and a bell in the left. The consciousness of the mind, in its pure state, is the Bodhisattva Manjushri, who is the colour of vermilion, holds a oetpala flower in his right hand and a bell in the left. The ground consciousness in its pure state is the Bodhisattva Drimanampsa, who is white in colour and holds a text and a bell. The pure form of the manas (claysha) consciousness is the Bodhisattva Vajrapani, who is dark blue in colour holding the vajra and bell. So these are the Bodhisattvas, the eight upper petals of the lotus. This ground consciousness, or foundation of everything consciousness, is where all ones tendencies and karmic imprints and potentials are placed and remain. This is why it is called the ground consciousness.

The claysha consciousness is given this name because it is the essence of ones mind consciousness but it naturally has the obscurations of the ego mind clinging to it. The lower eight petals, the eight female bodhisattvas. The pure form of the outer visual forms is the bodhisattvi Lasima who is white in colour who holds a mirror and a bell. The pure state of past thoughts, is the Pupima, the flower lady who is white colour and holds a white lotus and a bell. The pure state of the thoughts of phenomena, all the different thoughts that appear in the mind, is the Malama which means the mala lady who is yellow in colour. She holds the mala in the right hand and a bell in the left hand. The pure form of all smells, pleasant and unpleasant, is the Dupima, incense lady, who is yellow in colour. In the right hand she holds pleasant smelling incense and in the left a bell. The pure form of all sounds is Gutima who is red in colour and holds in both hands a lute. The pure form of all future thoughts is called Alokima, or the lamp lady, who is red in colour. She holds a candle in her right hand and a bell in her left. The pure form of present thoughts is Gendonma who is green in colour. She holds a perfume scented water in her right hand and a bell in the left. The pure form of all tastes is called is Nutima who is green and she holds in the right hand food and in the left a bell. The lower eight petals are the eight female bodhisattvas. So where do these eight bodhisattvas and eight bodhisattvis come from? They appear from the natural power and strength of the mind of the Buddha of the dharma kaya which is the inseparability of the appearance and emptiness and is symbolised by these lotuses coming out from the vajra. Then you have the upper five prongs of the vajra which are the five Buddhas. The lower prongs are the five Buddha consorts. For the five Buddha families, there are two traditions concerning them. One is from the kriya charya (action and performance) and yoga tantras, and then there is the anuttara (supreme union) tantras. In the kriya tantra and charya tantra and yoga tantra, all these five Buddhas appear with different kind of mudras. In their right hands, for example, Vairochana has the wheel turning mudra; Akshobhya has the earth touching mudra; Ratnasambhava has the supreme generosity mudra, Amitabha has the mudra of meditation; and Amoghasiddhi has the mudra of teaching the dharma. In the left hand of all of them is in the mudra of meditation and they are all wearing the dharma robes. For example in the fasting practice, one imagines the five Buddhas in the different directions and they are in this form. In the anuttara tantra, the highest tantra, the five Buddhas are in the symbogakiya form looking like Chenrezi and Dorje Sempa etc. wearing the necklaces, crowns and silks and the Vairochana holds in his right hand holds a wheel and in his left a bell which has a wheel on the handle. Akshobhya holds a vajra and also a bell with a vajra on the handle. Amitabha holds a lotus and a bell with a lotus on the handle. Ratnasambhava holds a jewel and a bell with a jewel on it. Amoghasiddhi holds a double vajra and a bell with a double vajra on it. The colour the Buddhas is the same in the kriya and charya tantras. Variochana is white, Akshobhya is dark blue, Amitabha is red, Amoghasiddhi is green, and Ratnasambhava is yellow. In impure state then these five Buddhas are five skandhas and five elements. So the skandha of aggregate form in its pure state is Buddha Vairochana who is coloured white, and whose hands are in the Vairochana mudra. The skandha aggregate of consciousness in its pure form is Akshobhya, dark blue, and his left hand is in meditation posture and his right hand is in earth touching posture. The skandha aggregate of sensation in its pure form is Ratnasambhava who is yellow, and his right hand is in the gesture of supreme generosity and his left hand is in meditation. The pure form of the skandha aggregate of recognition, perception, this is Amitabha who is red, both hands are in the meditation mudra. The pure form of the aggregate 3

of the mental activities, Amoghasiddhi who is green in colour, has his right hand in the mudra of teaching dharma and his left in the mudra of meditation. So that is the five upper prongs which are the symbols of the five buddhas. The lower five prongs are the five Buddha consorts. The pure form of the element of space is called Akashadhateshvari, the Lady of Space, she is white in colour and holds in her right hand a wheel and in the left hand a lotus. The pure form of the element of water is Lochana who is blue and in her right hand is a vajra and in the left a lotus. The pure form of the element earth is called Mamaki, she holds in her right hand a jewel and in her left a lotus, and she is yellow in colour. The pure form of the element fire is Pandaravasini and she is red in colour, holding a lotus in her right hand and in her left hand. The pure form of the element of air is Samaya Tara who is green in colour and who holds a sword in her right hand and in her left a lotus. So from the natural power of the dharma kaya there appears all of the different kinds of wisdom deities, peaceful and wrathful etc. But all of these are contained within the five different Buddhas and five Buddha consorts. For example if one is meditating on a deity, if one is meditating on Akashadhateshvari then one imagines above her head, Buddha Vairochana. She belongs to the dharmachackra Buddha family. When one meditates on Tara one imagines above her head, Amitabha, which shows that she belongs to the lotus family. In this way there is no deity that doesnt belong to one of these families. So in the explanation of the vajra, the central part is the dharma kaya and from that there appears naturally all these other appearances and qualities. Next is the explanation of the bell. Generally, when one is practicing the vajrayana you have the mandala which is the basis and the mandala which is based literally. The basis mandala means the Buddha palace and externally it is the vajra wall. The mandala which is based is all the deities which one imagines in the Buddha palace and the protective vajra tent. The shape of the bell is the similar shape to the vajra protective tent. Some examples have been brought from the White Tara practice, but all the practices are very similar. The way that the vajra tents are very much the same, it is the colours that are different. This is the

First we have the Vajra ground and in the Vajra ground you have the centre or double Vajra cross and all the different Vajras that can emerge from this Vajra. For example in the Dorje Pama one recites below always the Vajra ground, in the middle the Vajra wall and above, the Vajra canopy. So this is the Vajra ground. This is all the bottom part which is all made of Vajras. On the bell you see the shape of the actual body of the bell which is also round, and also along the bottom you have these vertical Vajras drawn, and towards the top there is a line of horizontal ones. This represents the Vajra wall and so the Vajra wall is made up of a line of vertical Vajras on top of which are the horizontal ones. Then on the top of that there is another line of vertical ones and horizontal ones. This top part of the bell, the main metal part, represents the Vajra roof or tent. Also in the middle part of the bell you have these hanging decorations. This represents the hanging Vajra decorations, loops, and made of the Vajra you have the Vajra tent. The Vajra roof or tent is made up of, in the centre, multicoloured double Vajras with a head adornment, top adornment of a yellow Vajra, and from this comes off the other Vajras to make the roof. Hanging from the edge of that are all these loops and hanging lines of Vajras. The Vajra canopy inside the bell you can find inscribed the lotus of 8 or 4 petals. This symbolises this Vajra canopy which is inside and above. So having imagined this Vajra tent in this way, when one is meditating one imagines this Vajra covering externally on top of this tent. So looking in the White Tara, in this covering you have the double Vajras, and in between you have these arrows crossed and the tops of these arrows are blazing with white fire. In the Dorje Pama practices, there radiates from the navel, lots of these arrows or choppers, and these form an extra tent outside the vajra tent. From the ha in the crown head there radiates blue Vajras which form another protective tent. Outside that there appears from the re in the throat of Dorje Pama, emanating yellow jewels and these form a tent of yellow jewels outside the vajra one. From the ne in the heart, red lotuses emanate and these forma protective tent of red lotuses. From the sa at the naval there emanates lots of green swords which form another protective tent. Then from the lower navel centre radiate lots of multicoloured light rays which form a protective yellow circle which is the essence of the element Earth. They form a blue protective tent which is the essence of Water. Then another tent is the essence of Fire which is a tent of red lotuses. There is the tent of green double Vajras which is the essence of Air. So this is where one imagines the series of 9 protective tents and circles similar to the shape of the bell.