THE LIVES AND LIBERATION OF PRINCESS MANDARAVA
PROMISE
Padmasambhava, Yeshe Tsogyal and Princess Mandarava are mahasiddhas in the Dzogchen and ancient Nyingma traditions.
Princess Mandarava, like Christ, Buddha and Krishna performed many miracles and left a record of her struggles and triumphs as an authentic historical Buddhist Master.
Here is Her gift to us.
We are all wisdom Buddhas.
In absolute truth our fundamental nature is the supreme wisdom of emptiness.
We are the supreme consort of whoever we devote our hearts to, when we uphold that deity’s enlightened noble qualities.
By the blessings of Avalokiteshvara Guan Yin we will care for all beings as our own.
We will lead all beings to liberation.
PROPHECY
“Have no doubt that the mother Mandarava will guide one to the future place of rebirth in the Realm of Great Bliss. Accordingly, for all beings, including the fortunate disciples of Tibet, whoever writes or reads this account of Mandarava’s lives and liberation and makes prostrations, offerings, and supplications with faith and devotion will experience the result of the spontaneous accomplishment of all wishes.”
MEDITATION
“Primordial mother of original purity, all-pervasive innate wisdom of the sphere of space, emanating from the supreme paradises of the five buddha families, principal among all dakinis, mother of the bodhisattvas of the three times (1) without exception, divine pure awareness holder (2) of the dance of miraculous display, on the supreme path of longevity, you are the goddess of all vajra buddha families! (3) I bow down to you, Mandarava!”
NOTES
(1) Past, present, and future.
(2) rig ’dzin, Skt. vidyadhara. In the Nyingma tantric system, there are four kinds of pure awareness holders: the pure awareness holder of maturation (rnam smin rig ’dzin), the awareness holder of power over life-span (tshe dbang rig ’dzin), the pure awareness holder of the great seal (phyag chen rig ’dzin), and the pure awareness holder of spontaneous presence (lhun grub rig ’dzin).
(3) The five buddha families are a tantric Buddhist typology of enlightenment in which the pure enlightened nature of the five psychosomatic constituents of sentient beings—the five aggregates or skandhas of form, feeling, perception, conceptualization, and consciousness—are seen as five male buddhas; these are in union with their female counterparts, who embody five primordial wisdoms, which are the pure enlightened nature of the five poisonous emotions (anger, pride, desire, jealousy, and ignorance). The “buddha” family is symbolized by Vairocana in union with his consort Dhateshvari, who embodies the primordial wisdom of the absolute expanse; the “vajra” family is symbolized by Akshobya in union with Buddhalochana, who embodies the mirror-like primordial wisdom; the “jewel” (ratna) family is symbolized by Ratnasambhava in union with Mamaki, who embodies the primordial wisdom of equality; the “lotus” (padma) family symbolized by Amitabha in union with Pandaravasini, who embodies the discriminating wisdom that knows the diversity of all phenomena; and the “action” (karma) family is symbolized by Amoghasiddhi in union with Samayatara, who embodies the wisdom capable of accomblishing all activities. (The five buddhas also have their respective paradises; cf. note 62.) Princess Mandarava is considered a manifestation of Pandaravasini, the female counterpart of Amitabha.
PRACTICE
The purpose of reading and sharing a terma is to discover and explore our life anew and find fresh new meaning in every moment so that this may help lead you to liberation and in turn when you share this wisdom you lead others to liberation.
This week simply meditate on the passage titled MEDITATION above and share here what arises in your awareness and consciousness.
This could be dreams, visions, meditations, actions or other insights and wisdom.
To meditate on the passage, read it three times daily and then enter into the silence and stillness and pray to Divine Mother in whatever form or formlessness She appears to you to guide you.
Consider what “prostrations, offerings, and supplications with faith and devotion” you could offer to Her.
For prostrations think “how can I show reverence to my body or others bodies this week?”
For offerings think “how can I give myself more self-compassion or nurture myself or show others more compassion this week?”
For supplications think “how can I ask Divine Mother for what I want and what do I want from Her, how do I want Her to guide me?”
For faith and devotion consider “what is my faith, what and whom do I place my faith and trust in, to whom am I devoted, how do I express my devotion?”
Luke 17:6 Jesus replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”
The power of faith and devotion to accomplish all wishes that Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava, Yeshe Tsogyal and Princess Mandarava speak about is the same faith of a mustard seed that Yeshua and Mary Magdalene spoke about.
In fact, Padmasambhava also used mustard seeds in parables and practices.
To dispel all obstructions He says
“HUM HUM HUM – say this and expel them by reciting mantras, playing music and hurling ritual mustard seeds.”
The key to liberation is to touch the Primordial mother of original purity and wisdom within us, to know Her, to realise Her, and in turn to see Her in all beings.
Then like Avalokiteshvara Guan Yin, we will care for all beings as our own, giving them the “love and affection of a mother for her children” as the Dalai Lama often says and bringing peace to the world.
In this way, as we are liberated into peace, so are all other beings.
Love and blessings
Altair and Mother