10. DISSOLUTION OF THE MERIT FIELD

HAVING BESEECHED THE merit field for fulfillment of the three aspirations, you should start the process of the dissolution of the merit field, as the preparatory practices are now coming to their end.

The process begins with an exclusive request to your root spiritual guru made in conjunction with the recitation of the following verse:

O, my glorious and precious root guru,

Reside at my crown on a lotus seat,

And sustain me with great kindness,

By bestowing the attainments of your body, speech, and mind.

If you have visualized the elaborate version of the merit field, now imagine that light rays emanate from the heart of Shakyamuni Buddha and touch all the members of the merit field surrounding him. They melt into light and gradually dissolve into the lineage masters of the Vast Practice and the Profound View, which in turn dissolve respectively into Maitreya and Manjushri. Similarly, the masters of the Experiential Lineage dissolve into Vajradhara, and the host of gurus from whom you have received teachings in person dissolve into your personal root guru. At this point you should reaffirm your visualization of the five figures. After a while, visualize Maitreya and Manjushri dissolving into the central figure while their thrones and cushions dissolve into those of Buddha Shakyamuni. Eventually, your own root guru melts into light and dissolves into Buddha Shakyamuni’s heart. Vajradhara, progressively diminishing in size, enters through Buddha Shakyamuni’s crown and remains within his heart as a wisdom being. Cultivate a clear visualization at this point of Buddha Shakyamuni, who eventually dissolves into your personal root guru seated at your crown. Your root guru is in the aspect of Buddha Shakyamuni, possessing all the qualities of a completely enlightened being.

Then, focusing upon your root guru at your crown, make a single-pointed request from the depths of your heart. Together with all the sentient beings around you, make request prayers to the spiritual master, seeing him from the depths of your heart as the embodiment of all the objects of refuge. Perceive the spiritual master as the embodiment of the dharmakaya, all the bodies of the Buddha, meditational deities, heroes, heroines, and so forth. Do this until you feel some effect within your mind; at that point it is effective to examine the nature of the mind which feels that experience.

Say to the master that he alone is the embodiment of all refuges and that you entrust yourself completely to his care and request his inspiration.

Single-Pointed Prayer

I beseech you, Buddha Vajradhara,

The exalted guru deity embodying the four kayas.

I beseech you, Buddha Vajradhara,

The exalted guru deity embodying the unobscured dharmakaya.

I beseech you, Buddha Vajradhara,

The exalted guru deity of blissful sambhogakaya.

I beseech you, Buddha Vajradhara,

The exalted guru deity of manifold nirmanakaya.

I beseech you, Buddha Vajradhara,

The exalted guru deity embodying all gurus.

I beseech you, Buddha Vajradhara,

The exalted guru deity embodying all meditational deities.

I beseech you, Buddha Vajradhara,

The exalted guru deity embodying all buddhas

I beseech you, Buddha Vajradhara,

The exalted guru deity embodying all sublime dharma.

I beseech you, Buddha Vajradhara,

The exalted guru deity embodying all sangha.

I beseech you, Buddha Vajradhara,

The exalted guru deity embodying all dakinis.

I beseech you, Buddha Vajradhara,

The exalted guru deity embodying all protectors.

I beseech you, Buddha Vajradhara,

The exalted guru deity embodying all refuges.

While reciting these verses pray fervently and imagine that, because the guru is pleased with you, nectar descends from his body and enters through your crown. This purifies all the negativities that you have committed in connection with him, and the inspiration you receive empowers you to achieve all the high realizations on the path. With that, the practices preliminary to the practice of proper reliance on a spiritual master are over.

Just as in a sadhana of tantric meditation there is a point where one does the meditations on subtle and coarse generation stage practices, similarly it is at this point that one undertakes the actual practices of Lamrim meditation.