PLEASE REGISTER TO ATTEND THIS CLASS – this will allow us to send you further details about this initiation and post initiation materials.  Note:  If you are attending Part 2 on May 10th, you will need to also register for this as well.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THIS INITIATION:

As part of the Yamāntaka Empowerment on May 10, Empowerment Preparations will be held on May 4th from 2–5 PM. Attendance on May 4 is required if this is your first time receiving the Yamāntaka Empowerment. If you have previously received it, attending the preparations is encouraged but not required.

OVERVIEW:

If this is your first time receiving Yamāntaka Empowerment, you will need to attend this first part as entering this path requires the right preparations before receiving vows.

The Yamāntaka Empowerment, given by Venerable Sherpa Choje Ngawang Jorden Rinpoche, is one of the highest forms of Buddhist Tantric practice, known as Anuttarayoga Tantra, which means literally the “Tantra that is the unsurpassed form of spiritual practice” (T: rnal ’byor bla na med pa’i rgyud). Among the tutelary deities included in this level of practice, this initiation will be a form of the deity whose Sanskrit name is Vajra Bhairava, which in Tibetan is Dorje Jikché (T: rDo rje ’jigs byed). This deity is also known by the Sanskrit name Yamāntaka, which in Tibetan is Shinjé shé (T: gZhin rje gshed). Among the several forms in which this deity’s instructions are practiced, this initiation will be for the form of Vajra Bhairava that is known as the Solitary Hero (S: ekavīraḥ, T: dpa bo gcig pa).  

Important Requirements for attending:

• It is customary for a person who wants to attend such an initiation to make a request to the Lama who is conferring it (or Geshe Dhargey), seeking permission to do so. Among the considerations regarding whether an individual is in fact qualified to attend, it is generally understood that he or she should have undergone sufficient training in the Buddhist Mahāyāna teachings that are described as being “in common with” or “shared with” the Mahāyāna Tantric tradition, in Tibetan thun mong-gi lam (T: thun mong gi lam). This means that the candidate should be familiar with the non-Tantric form of the Mahāyāna tradition, which is sometimes referred to as the Sūtra form of Mahāyāna Buddhism and also as the teachings of the Pāramitayāna tradition, which means the Vehicle of the [Six] Mahāyāna Prefections.
• Highest yoga tantra is one of the four levels of tantric practice and is the most complete and subtle form of advanced practice to a yidam deity. It includes both generation and completions stage and also can include a body mandala. Meant for serious and devoted practitioners, it includes a daily practice commitment and offers a powerful path for personal transformation, realizations, and true spiritual accomplishment.
• In addition, anyone who wishes to attend this two-day event should have received instructions in the teaching known as the “Three Principal Elements of the Path”—that is, those of renunciation, Bodhichitta and right view.

“How to enter the Tantric Path” will be given prior to this initiation for anyone attending a Tantric Empowerment.  (see more:  https://dnkldharma.org/event/how-to-enter-the-tantric-path/2025-04-03/

Commitments:

While the opportunity to receive this initiation is extraordinarily rare and it has the potential to be supremely meaningful, it also comes with certain responsibilities and obligations. First of all, because during the initiation one will be accepting both the non-Tantric Bodhisattva vows and the unique Tantric vows and pledges, all attendees must agree to recite on a daily basis a relatively short ritual text known as The Six-Session Guru Yoga (T: thun drug bla ma’i rnal ’byor), which specifically addresses the commitment to preserve the precepts associated with these two systems of Mahāyāna Buddhist morality. You will also need to commit to reciting the Yamāntaka Long Shadna daily.  (If you do not have copies of these, we will send them to you following the initiation).

Finally, anyone who is interested in attending this special event should first give the possibility of doing so careful thought. The desire to enter this unique form of the Buddhist path should be one that is motivated by the right reasons. The most important reason is that you wish to attain supreme enlightenment so that you can obtain the ability to remove all sentient beings’ suffering.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: 

Sharpa Choje Rinpoche Ngawang Jorden was born in 1956 in Tsang region (Tibet).  At the age of 3, Rinpoche was migrated to India with His parents. In 1972, Rinpoche became a monk at Sera Mey Monastery and started studying Tibetan Buddhism. In 1974, Rinpoche officially started training on Buddhist logic and five classic topics of Gelug tradition (Abhidharma, Prajnaparamita, Madhyamika, Pramana and Vinaya).

In 1978, Rinpoche took Getsul vows from Dakyab Rinpoche and Gelong (fully ordained) vows from H.H the 14 Dalai Lama at Guymed Monastery.  In 1991, Rinpoche was honored with Geshe Lharampa degree after seven years of rigorous exams. In the same year, Rinpoche went to study Vajrayana at Gyuto Tantric Monastery in Tenzing Gang (Northeast of India). Rinpoche completed a series of Vajrayana retreats such as Guyasamaja, Thirteen Deities of Yamāntaka, Solitary Yamāntaka, Vajrayogini and so on.

In 1999, when Rinpoche was doing Chakrasamvara retreat at His own home at Sera Mey Monastery, Rinpoche received a letter from H.H the Dalai Lama honoring Rinpoche as a Lama Uze (candidate to next abbot of the monastery) of Gyuto Monastery. After a three-year term, Rinpoche was appointed as the abbot of Gyuto Monastery. Rinpoche was appointed as Abbot of Segyu monastery in 2009 and then, Abbot of Sera Mey Monastery in 2011 by H. H the Dalai Lama. Rinpoche has given spiritual guidance and Dharma teachings around the world.

Recently, on 1/1/2025 Rinpoche was appointed as Sharpa Choje by H. H the Dalail Lama and Rinpoche is the holder of Sharpa Choeje position in Gelugpa lineage.

TRAVEL INFORMATION: 

Traveling to DNKL_22March2025