The actual practice of generation stage > Checking meditation on the mandala and basis Heruka

Question 1

What is at the edge?

Answer 1

At the very edge of our new world, surrounding the protection circle, are the eight great charnel grounds.

Similar to Vajrayogini practice.

In VY practice they (the eight great charnel grounds) are inside the protection circle.

In Heruka practice they (the eight great charnel grounds) are are outside the protection circle.

Question 2

More

Answer 2

• In each charnel ground there is a tree, at the foot of which there sits a directional guardian.
• Each directional guardian has four arms. With their first two hands they embrace their consort, and with their second two hands they hold aloft various objects and a skullcup.
• They each sit on a different mount and wear a silken scarf.
• Except for the guardians in the south and south-west, who wear a crown of three skulls, they all wear a golden five-lineage crown.
• At the top of each tree there is a regional guardian with the upper half of his body emerging from the branches.
• They each have the same face as the mounts of the directional guardians at the foot of their tree, and they hold a torma and a skullcup.

Question 3

M

Answer 3

Lake, naga, jewel
Cloud, mountain, white stupa, wisdom fire.

Question 4

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Answer 4

Various corpses.
Wild birds & animals.
Spirits.
Tantric practitioners.

Question 5

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Answer 5

Eight directional guardians:
1. Indra
2. Vaishravana
3. Varuna
4. Yama
5. Agni
6. Kardava
7. Vayuni
8. Ishvara

Brahma & Bhumi.

Another five directional guardians.

All fifteen directional guardians residing in the charnel grounds are emanations of Heruka appearing in mundane aspects.

Question 6

Offering tormas

Answer 6

Whenever we offer the torma to the mundane Dakas and Dakinis we invite these guardians together with their retinues from the eight charnel grounds to receive it.

Question 7

Symbolism:

Answer 7

Corpses = impermanence & faults of samsara (sickness, ageing & death). Corpses are ownerless so they also remind us to practice renunciation, bodhichitta, profound view and the six perfections.
Lake = conventional bodhichitta
Naga = the six and ten perfections
Jewel held by naga = the four ways of gathering disciples.
Wild animals = generation stage realizations. Their eating corpses teaches us to destroy our ordinary appearances and ordinary conceptions through the power of our generation stage practice.

Question 8

Symbolism (2)

Answer 8

The tree = the central channel
Directional guardian (bottom of tree) = the downward-voiding wind just below the navel
Regional guardian (top of tree) = the life-supporting wind at the heart
Fire (at the base of the mountain) = inner fire of tummo at the navel
The cloud = white bodhichitta in the crown chakra.
Eight charnel grounds = four joys of serial and reverse order
Mountain = the immovable equipoise of spontaneous great bliss mixed with emptiness
Stupa (at top of mountain) = three bodies of a Buddha.

Question 9

How do these aspects of the charnel grounds teach us how to attain full enlightenment by training in completion stage?

Answer 9

• Tummo (fire at base of mountain) causes
• downward-voiding wind (directional guardian at bottom of tree) to reverse and flow up through
• the central channel (the tree), which in turn causes all our inner winds to gather into the central channel and dissolve into
• the life-supporting wind at our heart (Regional guardian at top of tree)
• This causes the white bodhichitta in our crown chakra (cloud) to melt and descend through our central channel giving rise to
• the four joys of reverse and serial order (eight charnel grounds)
• The final joy, the mind of spontaneous great bliss, then mixes inseparably with emptiness (mountain) and gradually abandons the two obstructions.

Question 10

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Answer 10

Inside the circle of the eight great charnel grounds is the protection circle of the vajra ground, fence, canopy and tent, surrounded by five coloured wisdom fires swirling counter-clockwise.
In the center of these are the four elements, Mount Meru, the lotus and the crossed vajra, all of which have been described previously.

Question 11

Celestial mansion

Answer 11

• Standing on the center of the huge crossed vajra is the celestial mansion, which is constructed like a large square house with an elaborate entrance on each side.
• Approached from the four directions by stairways.
  Jewelled walls have five layers, which from the outside in are white, yellow, red, green and blue.
• Around the top of the wall and overhanging it is a red jewelled moulding studded with rectangular, triangular, circular and half-moon shaped jewels.
• Upon this are four layers of golden bands.
• Upon these are parallel rafters whose ends form the shape of sea-monsters with strings of pearls hanging from their mouths.
• Overhanging these are special jewelled decorations, suspended from the eaves.
• Around the edge of the roof runs a white parapet in the shape of half-lotus petals.
• Eight victory banners, and eight other banners, all set in golden vases.
• At all four corners of the roof monkeys sit on the parapet, holding parasols adorned at the top with a jewel, crescent moon and blue half-vajra.