Vajrasattva Practice 

A Brief Introduction 

Vajrasattva in Union. 

Thangka by Amita Gupta.	

In Vajrayana Buddhism, the fundamental nature of our minds and the world is posited to be purity. The Buddha proposed that all beings without exception are endowed with "buddhanature" - the heart of enlightenment - and that everyone has the potential to fully awaken to their truest state, which is known as buddhahood. This state has been the nature of our minds from the very outset of practice, and not just at its completion. Thus, in the Buddhist practice of confession and purification, one aspires to reconnect with one's own and others' inherent nature of goodness, openness, and purity. 

The meditation and recitation of Vajrasattva is renowned as supreme among all forms of purification practice employed in Tibetan Buddhism. An important principle of Buddhist deity meditation is that the deity visualized is not thought of as existing outside of one's own mind. Rather, through meditating on Vajrasattva as an expression of mind's pure essence, we will be more and more capable of connecting directly with our fundamental state. In this way, incidental obscurations that are not inherently part of the mind's nature will be gradually cleansed, allowing buddhanature to manifest. This will help us engender more compassion for others, as well as more insight into the true nature of all beings and all things, and this compassion and insight will naturally and spontaneously lead to the accomplishment of our own and others' relative and ultimate benefit. 

Read the full introduction 

Practice Instructions 

These instructions are offered for those new to Vajrasattva practice and apply primarily to the basic liturgy provided below. Those who have received a Vajrasattva empowerment and wish to practice the sadhana according to the higher classes of tantra should seek and follow the instructions of their lineage masters. 

The Meditation and Recitation of Glorious Vajrasattva 

Liturgy 

The practice liturgies that appear on this website are excerpted from The Vast Treasury of Authoritative Speech (Tib. rgya chen bka' mdzod) by the nineteenth century Tibetan Rime (nonsectarian) master Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye. As their title indicates, they encompass the four classes of tantra presented in the various traditions of Vajrayana Buddhism. 

These specific liturgies are offered as a supplemental resource only — Vajrayana Buddhist practitioners with a personal connection to other Vajrasattva practice liturgies should use those and also submit their mantra count. If you wish to use the provided liturgies, The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche has offered some instructions detailing how individuals of differing levels of meditation practice should approach these liturgies. 

Practice Options 

Whichever practice option you are following, all practices should 

·	Begin with three recitations of the verse of "Refuge and Bodhicitta" at the beginning of the liturgy, and 
·	End with the "Dedication of Merit" at the end of the liturgy. If you are inclined and know the melody, you can also sing the Dedication Song composed by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. 

After having begun the practice by chanting three times the verse of refuge and bodhicitta, you may proceed along the following guidelines, for which there are two main categories of students. 

1. Beginners, shamatha students, and ngöndro students 

If you are 

·	new to Buddhist practice, 
·	practicing shamatha meditation (basic sitting meditation) as your main practice, or 
·	a ngöndro student, 

The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche has suggested that it is best to use only the basic practice liturgy. 

Basic Practice Liturgy (82KB) Requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader. 
(Right-click + save to download the .pdf to your hard drive.) 

2. Sadhana students 

Rinpoche has indicated that in order for sadhana students to do any of practices two, three, or four, they must have first received a Vajrasattva empowerment of any kind from a qualified lineage teacher. Note that an empowerment (Tib. wang), also referred to as an abhisheka from the Sanskrit, is not the same as a reading transmission (Tib. lung), such as that received prior to starting ngöndro practice. 

If you have received a Vajrasattva empowerment, there are three options for your practice session, to be chosen in accordance with the amount of time you have as well as with what best matches your personal daily practice. 

The first option is to do the practice of the entire liturgy, starting with "Refuge and Bodhicitta" and continuing through the end of "Practice Four" and the concluding dedications. 

After the verse of "Refuge and Bodhicitta", proceed through "Practice One". Having completed "Practice One", skip to the practice among the three remaining that best matches your personal daily practice. 
After the verse of "Refuge and Bodhicitta", skip directly to the practice that best matches your personal daily practice.