Instructions before the Kurukulla empowerment and vase practice – Singapore, September 9, 2025

Amitabha Buddha, may you be auspicious and have all your wishes fulfilled.

Today, we are gathered here for the benefit and happiness of all sentient beings, to practice the Dharma of Tara and all the Mother Buddhas, to receive blessings and pray for protection. Many of you present have received empowerments, some have already received the teachings of the highest tantras and are familiar with this Dharma; others are participating for the first time and seek complete blessings. Therefore, this empowerment ceremony has been specially arranged today.

To practice the highest tantras, certain conditions must be met—inner faith and external conditions. The fundamental inner faith is unwavering faith in the Three Jewels, especially pure faith and profound understanding in the deity. Those new to the Dharma may not yet be completely steadfast, but they must be determined to strive, learn, and practice in this direction. External conditions require a pure practice space, a proper mandala, a qualified guru, and fellow practitioners. All these conditions coming together are like us jointly constructing a wisdom mandala: the guru symbolizes the perfection of the Three Jewels, the disciple demonstrates the determination to practice, and the mandala represents the pure lands of the Buddhas.

In this convergence of conditions, we receive the blessings of the Three Jewels, the power of the Guru’s vows, the power of shared practice with fellow practitioners, and the power of mantras and karmic objects.

Empowerment, in Sanskrit “Abhisaka,” has two profound meanings: First, it brings about the ripening of merit: through the Guru’s blessings and the power of all Buddhas, the disciple’s roots of virtue mature, making them capable of practicing the sublime Dharma; second, it purifies obscurations and enhances spiritual growth: since beginningless time, our body, speech, and mind have created numerous karmic obstacles, constantly entangled in right and wrong, greed, anger, and distraction. If these are not purified, they will ultimately become obstacles to liberation. Empowerment is precisely a supreme means to purify karmic obstacles and replant roots of virtue.

Empowerment is further divided into causal empowerment, path empowerment, and resultant empowerment: causal empowerment is the Guru bestowing a pure stream of Dharma, planting the seed of Buddhahood within you; path empowerment is continuously receiving the benefits of Dharma in daily life through visualization, mantra recitation, and bodhicitta; resultant empowerment is the ripening of conditions, the realization of the innate enlightenment of Buddhahood.

What we receive today is the supreme “causal empowerment.” With this seed of virtue as the starting point, it will surely blossom and bear fruit in the future.

During the empowerment, three minds are essential: faith in the Three Jewels; compassion for all sentient beings; and maintaining pure mindfulness throughout the empowerment process.

The strength of one’s faith determines the depth of the blessings. Superior faith receives superior blessings, moderate faith receives moderate blessings, and even weak faith can plant the seeds of virtue. Even without faith, simply being in a sacred space, seeing a Buddha image, hearing mantras, or touching objects—contacting the sacred realm with the six senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and mind)—can plant the seeds of liberation.

Some people often ask, “If I recite Buddha’s name or mantras without focusing my mind, will I still gain merit?” My answer is: Yes. As long as you are willing to recite and do not resist, and at least in the present moment you refrain from speaking ill of others, gossip, or committing the four transgressions, your speech will be pure, and you will surely receive the blessings of the mantra and increase your merit. However, whether you can sever afflictions and attain enlightenment depends on the state of your mind—whether you possess right view, right mindfulness, and right practice.

Now, please relax your body and mind, breathe naturally, and let your mind be like still water.

Visualize this place as the Pure Land of all Buddhas, where all sentient beings are Bodhisattvas and Dakinis, the Guru is the Yidam, and the Dharma sound is the pure and secret meaning. All attachments and discriminations dissolve into the equality of the Dharmadhatu.

If your mind contains only the thought “The Guru is the Buddha,” all other discriminations will naturally dissolve. The reason we have so many discriminations—”This person is bad,” “That environment is impure”—is entirely because our minds are not pure. Just as an infant cannot see the country and society, a sick person only sees their sickbed, and a dying person only feels themselves—our discriminations stem from an overly strong attachment to external circumstances.

You must know: all external circumstances are projections of the mind. If the mind is pure, all phenomena are pure. Directly observe the essence of the mind—its inherent luminosity and Buddha-nature—and attachment to external circumstances will naturally fall away.

Here and now, there are no entanglements of past or future, only the pure thought of the present moment. Abiding in this state is the most perfect pure visualization.

Today’s empowerment is the “Red Tara” empowerment, a type of activity empowerment. In esoteric Buddhism, there are five types of empowerments: outer, inner, secret, most secret, and great. Among them is the “Flower Garland Empowerment,” which encompasses the blessings of the Twenty-One Taras. What we receive today can be called the “Root Empowerment” or “Healing Empowerment,” using a round vase as the auspicious object, symbolizing perfection, mirror-like wisdom, nectar, and activity—the four perfections.

Due to time constraints, I will not elaborate on the profound meaning of the teachings. Now, please receive this auspicious empowerment with the purest mind and the most devout reverence.