A thorough guide to Vajrakilaya, from a master of the Drigung Kagyu lineage.

Kyabje Garchen Rinpoche offers a complete practice manual for the visualization and supplication of the deity Vajrakilaya, with clear instructions and insightful commentary. This ancient tantric practice centers on visualizing Vajrakilaya, a wrathful deity, as a method of progressing along the path to enlightenment. Rinpoche emphasizes the cultivation of bodhicitta in this comprehensive guide to deity practice in the Tibetan tradition.

Vajrakilaya practice is an antidote to all suffering, as the deity is principal among those who dispel obstructive forces. Rinpoche explains deity practice and visualization, with detailed instructions and previously restricted teachings offered for a general audience of Vajrayana practitioners. This book combines a wealth of traditional Vajrayana tenets with a masterful account of Vajrakilaya and the practice associated with devotion to the deity, offering specific guidance for practitioners to deepen their understanding of deity practice.

Vajrakilaya: A Complete Guide with Experiential Instructions, Kyabje Garchen Rinpoche, Snow Lion Publications, Paperback, 480 pp, $34.95

Kyabje Garchen Rinpoche is a Buddhist teacher of the Drigung Kagyu lineage who came of age during the final years of Tibetan sovereignty. When his three-year retreat was close to completion, eminent invasion by the Communist Chinese disrupted his trainings, and he briefly transitioned from solitary retreat to a life as a guerrilla fighter defending his people. Eventually, he was captured and sent to a labor camp, where he was imprisoned for twenty years. During that time, he became a disciple of Kathok Khenpo Munsel Rinpoche and studied with other Vajrayana masters who were also imprisoned there.

Finally, in 1980 Rinpoche was freed and able to return to the Nangchen area, where he rebuilt his monastery, offering vows at a time when many were afraid to spread Dharma teachings publicly. In 1993, he visited Nepal and India, which eventually led him to the United States, where he settled in 1999. Thereafter, he toured extensively, establishing Dharma centers throughout the world, while also building temples, housing for monks and nuns, schools, and medical facilities in Eastern Tibet. Rinpoche retired from touring in 2019 and currently resides in Chino Valley, Arizona.

CONTENTS: Vajrakilaya: A Complete Guide with Experiential Instructions
Preface		ix
Note to Practitioners		xi
Translator's Introduction		xiii
Text Conventions		xix
PART ONE Spiritual and Historical Context
1	Approaching These Teachings	3
	The Deity	3
	The Guru	11
	My Personal Connection with the Practice	15
	The Vajrakila Lineage	17
	The Vajrakila Texts	20
2	Teachings Common to All Mantric Paths	29
	Purpose	29
	Worldly and Spiritual Systems	30
	The Three Successive Paths	31
	Autonomy	32
	Gradual and Sudden Types	35
	Ripening Empowerment	37
	The Secrecy of the Secret Mantra	39
	Earlier and Latter Mantric Systems	43
	Deity Yoga	45
	Benefits of Mantra Recitation	74
PART TWO Experiential Instructions on the Practice of Vajrakila
3	Lineage Supplication Instructions	87
	Introduction	87
	Lineage Masters	88
	View, Meditation, and Conduct	88
	Mandala Deities	102
	The Four Kilas	103
	The Four Maras	131
	The Eight Qualities and Four Activities	140
4	Practice Manual Instructions	143
	Refuge and Bodhicitta	143
	Setting the Boundaries	157
	The Disclosure	158
	Consecrating the Offerings	161
	Introduction to the Stages of Development	164
	Visualizing the Immeasurable Palace	164
	Visualizing the Deity	170
	Invoking and Merging with the Wisdom Deities	205
	Paying Homage	212
	Making Offerings	213
	Offering Praise	218
	The Recitation of the Charm	219
	Approach and Accomplishment	224
	Offering the Charm	266
	Subsequent Rites	268
	Gathering In	271
	Dedication	276
	The Prayer of Auspiciousness	277
	Summary of Deity Yoga	283
5	White Torma Offering Instructions	287
6	Kila Consecration Instructions	291
	The Implement, the Material Kila	291
	Aspects of the Implement According to the Tantras	295
	Consecrating the Implement	296
	Meaning of the Words of the Text	298
7	Bringing Down Blessings Instructions	309
	The Material Mandela	310
	Visualization and Meditation	312
8	Petition Instructions	319
9	Feast Offering, Restoration, and Repelling Instructions	323
	Meaning and Purpose of the Ganacakra	323
	Making Offerings	325
	Ritual Practice of the Ganacakra	327
	The Restoration	328
	Drawing In	331
	Liberation	332
	Repelling	341
	Ganacakra Offerings	342
	The Ganacakra in Daily Activities	345
10	Taking Up Accomplishments Instructions	347
11	Practical Applications of the Instructions	355
	Carrying Retreat Experience into Daily Life	355
	Visualizing the Deity	358
	Mantra Recitation	359
	Antidoting Afflictions and Self-Grasping	362
	The Guru	365
	Maintaining the Samaya	366
	Pure Perception	367
	Benefiting Beings	369
	Concluding Points	370
	Dedication	372
PART THREE Liturgical Source Texts
12	Lineage Supplication	377
13	Practice Manual	381
14	White Torma Offering	393
15	Kila Consecration	395
16	Bringing Down Blessings	401
17	Petition	403
18	Feast Offering, Restoration, and Repelling	405
19	Taking Up Accomplishments	415
Notes		417
Quoted and Referenced Texts		427
Bibliography		429
Index		433
About the Author		479