ABOUT YAMANTAKA INITIATION

Who is Yamantaka?

Yamantaka is the wrathful manifestation of Manjushri, the Buddha of Wisdom, the practice of which is a strong antidote to the removal of ignorance, the root cause of all delusions.

What is an initiation?

An initiation is sometimes called an empowerment but is more correctly called a Wang, a great initiation in Tibetan. The Wang is the gateway to the practice of Tantra, also known as Mantra or Vajrayana.

I understand that there are different classes of Tantra. What are they?

There are 4 classes of Tantra, namely Action Tantra, Performance Tantra, Yoga Tantra, and Highest Yoga Tantra.

Yamantaka belongs to the class of Highest Yoga Tantra.

Why is LDC only organizing for a Highest Yoga Tantra (HYT) Initiation and not one from the lower tantric classes? There are so many new members.

Several years ago, Rinpoche agreed to bestow Lama Tsongkhapa Initiation at LDC. However, this initiation has not yet taken place. In the meantime, as Lama Tsongkhapa Initiation can only be conferred to those who have taken a prior HYT initiation, this may be the reason that Rinpoche is giving a HYT initiation this time round. This is the first time that Rinpoche is bestowing a HYT initiation at LDC. Rinpoche Himself chose Yamantaka for us.

Why does it take 3 days for this initiation? Do I need to attend all 3 days?

3 days have been allocated for this initiation, as advised by FPMT International Office. This is to allow for Rinpoche to give His teachings, before conferring the actual initiation. You will need to attend all 3 days if you wish to receive the initiation, unless Rinpoche Himself decides to complete the initiation in two days - this would be at Rinpoche’s discretion.

What are my commitments after having taken this initiation?

To receive a highest yoga tantra initiation, you need to take the Bodhisattva & Tantric vows. Further, we have been advised by Rinpoche’s office that you will need to do the Six Session Guru Yoga and the Yamantaka short Sadhana every day as a commitment of this Yamantaka initiation.