Visualization

Buddha's body is made of golden light. He is seated in the "full vajra" or lotus posture. He is dressed in the robes of a monk which do not actually touch his body, but are separated from it by about an inch. His face is very serene and beautiful; each hair on his head is individually curled to the right, not mingling with or touching others; his ear lobes are long; and his eyes are slightly opened.

His left hand rests in his lap in the meditation pose, holding a begging bowl, filled with nectar. The palm of his right hand rests on his right knee and his fingers touch the moon disk upon which he sits; this symbolizes his great control over anger, attachment and ignorance.

Taking Refuge

You may also visualize texts of Dharma teachings on thrones near the Buddha which emanate with the sounds of the teachings contained in them. Imagine teachers you have read or heard seated on similar thrones around the Buddha. Imagine also that you are surrounded in space by all sentient beings in human form; your father and male friends and relatives are seated on your right; your mother and female friends and relatives are seated on your left; those you don't know and call "strangers" reach out to the vastness of space; those you call "enemies" are seated between you and the Merit Field of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, symbolic of anger in our mindstreams that separates us from feeling loving-kindness toward all beings and hinders our advancement to full buddhahood.

Imagine that you lead all these sentient beings in reciting the refuge prayer three times:

I take refuge until I am enlightened
In the Buddhas, the Dharma and the Sangha.
Through the positive potential I create by practicing generosity
and the other far-reaching attitudes,
May I attain buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Requests and Inspiration

Rays of light stream from the figure of the Buddha before you. This light enters your body and quickly removes all negativities, obscurations and hindrances, freeing you to progress quickly on the path. Imagine that this light flows not only to you, but to all living beings situated in space around you. Imagine that they all receive such inspiration and blessings as you recite the name mantra of Shakyamuni Buddha as many times as possible.

The Blessing of Body, Speech and Mind

Rays of light then stream from the Buddha's throat to yours, pufifying the negativities of your speech and removing hindrances to attaining the enlightened speech that communicates clearly to all sentient beings, regardless of their level or capacity.

Finally, rays of light emanate from the Buddha's heart and enter your own heart center. This light purifies the negativities of your mind and remove hindrances to the awakened, omniscient mind.

Imagine that these light rays flow to all sentient beings, helping them to quickly reach a state of supreme awareness.

Maintain this visualization for as long as you can, reciting the mantra quietly to yourself or aloud and imagine that the light continues to stream from the Buddha to you and all sentient beings. Imagine that nectar accompanies the light and nourishes you completely, such is the nature of the Dharma.

Absorption

Feel great bliss and joy as your body, speech and mind are completely transformed. Hold this feeling for as long as you can, experiencing the removal of all hindrances and obstructions to omniscience.

From this state, imagine in the space where you are sitting, arising from emptiness are the snow lions, the throne, lotus, sun and moon disks and yourself seated upon them in the same aspect as you visualized the Buddha before. Visualize and really feel that you have attained the state of omniscience; feel the enlightened compassion and wisdom of buddhahood.

At your heart appear sun and moon disks. At the center of the moon disk, standing upright, is the syllable MUM. Surrounding this are the syllables of Shakyamuni Buddha's name mantra: tayata om muni muni maha munaye soha. Streams of light flow from the MUM and mantra at your heart center to all sentient beings, completely removing their hindrances, obstructions, wrong views, delusions and traces of ignorance and thereby transforming them into the form of the Buddha as well. Meditate in this way for as long as possible, reciting the mantra quietly to yourself.

This portion of the meditation is called "bringing the result into the path." It is a very powerful method for transforming our normal view of and how we behave in the world. The result of our practiceis to attain full enlightenment; this activity of bringing the result of buddhahood to our present state is a powerful, transformative tool. You should not imagine that your body, speech or mind are the same; they have arisen from emptiness and manifested in the form of a buddha. This activity enables you to transform yourself and surroundings into vehicles that lead to full, perfect enlightenment.

Dedication

In your daily routine, bring to mind the feeling and attitude that you felt when you were just imagining the state of buddhahood. When your activities become particularly stressful, remember that such a state comes about by grasping after your "I" or some sort of non-existent self, by putting the interests of this "self" before all other mother sentient beings. Simply remembering a peaceful, blissful state--filled with love and compassion--is often enough to relieve a stressful situation; such times can be transformed into happiness by such a rememberance.

At other times, when you want to eradicate all traces of a disturbing attitude, simply reciting the Buddha's mantra om muni muni maha munaye soha is often enough inspiration to transform that state into one of peace and happiness. Reminding yourself that you are a "Child of the Buddha" and wishing to attain happiness for yourself and others helps to gradually remove such states of mind completely. When you do so, remember to dedicate the merit or positive potential to all beings, that they might do the same.