I call Einodian Hecate,
lovely dame, of earthly, wat’ry, and celestial frame,
Sepulchral, in a saffron veil array’d, leas’d with dark ghosts that wander thro’ the shade;
Persian, unconquerable huntress hail!
The world’s key-bearer never doom’d to fail
On the rough rock to wander thee delights, leader and nurse be present to our rites
Propitious grant our just desires success, accept our homage,
and the incense bless.

"“I must stress here that visualize does not mean you should try to paint a picture of the refuge tree in your mind; that would be impossible. Visualization is very like thinking about the person who is closest to you in this life-your mother, for example. Try imagining her standing in front of you right now. As you do so, I’m quite sure you are not thinking about the exact shape of her ear. Or whether or not her toes curl. Or how many moles she has on her back. In fact, that kind of detail has probably never even occurred to you. At the same time, I am equally sure that you have created a strong sense of your mother in your mind and that you are completely confident it really is her. This is how you should visualize the objects of refuge, and the confidence you feel in your visualization is of utmost importance.”

Dzongsar Khyentse Norbu

For those who are planning on attending the upcoming Vajrabhairava initiation, or simply searching for a comprehensive daily practice, this document contains a complete front-generation sādhana of the Bodhisattva of Wisdom Mañjuśrī, which requires no initiation or transmission.

"One of the essential practices at all levels of tantra is to dissolve our ordinary conceptions of ourselves and then, from the empty space into which these concepts have disappeared, arise in the glorious light body of a deity: a manifestation of the essential clarity of our deepest being. The more we train to see ourselves as such a meditational deity, the less bound we will feel by life’s ordinary disappointments and frustrations. This divine self-visualization empowers us to take control of our life and create for ourselves a pure environment in which our deepest nature can be expressed."

Lama Yeshe

"Of course the void is nothingness. By knowing things that exist, you can know that which does not exist. That is the void...

"Until you realise the true Way, whether in Buddhism or in common sense, you may think that things are correct and in order. However, if we look at things objectively, from the viewpoint of laws of the world, we see various doctrines departing from the true Way. Enact strategy broadly, correctly and openly.

"Then you will come to think of things in a wide sense and, taking the void as the Way, you will see the Way as void.

"In the void is virtue, and no evil. Wisdom has existence, principal has existence, the Way has existence, spirit is nothingness."

Musashi, The Book of Five Rings

"Quanto mais observamos a nossa mente e vemos o que ela faz por nós e para nós, mais estaremos inclinados a cuidar bem dela e tratá-la com respeito. Um dos maiores erros que podemos cometer é não nos darmos conta da importância da mente. A mente tem a capacidade de criar para nós o bem e também o mal, e apenas quando formos capazes de permanecer felizes e equânimes não importando que condições estejam surgindo, somente então poderemos dizer que temos um pouco de controle. Até que isso ocorra, estaremos descontrolados e os nossos pensamentos é que estarão no controle."

Ayya Khema

"Qualquer dukkha que tenhamos, pequeno, médio ou grande, contínuo ou intermitente, tudo isso é criado pela própria mente. Nós somos os criadores de tudo aquilo que nos ocorre, formando nosso próprio destino, ninguém mais está envolvido. Cada um está desempenhando o seu próprio papel, é um acaso que estejamos próximos de algumas pessoas e distantes em outras ocasiões. Mas tudo aquilo que fizermos, tudo é criado pelos nossos momentos mentais."

Ayya Khema

"No mundo em que vivemos, podemos encontrar pessoas, animais, a natureza e objetos feitos pelo homem. Dentro de tudo isso, se quisermos ter controle sobre alguma coisa, a única coisa sobre a qual poderemos exercer alguma influência é o nosso próprio coração e mente. Se realmente quisermos ser alguém, poderíamos tentar ser aquela pessoa rara, aquela que tem controle sobre o seu próprio coração e mente. Ser alguém assim não somente é muito raro, mas também traz consigo os mais benéficos resultados. Esse tipo de pessoa não cai na armadilha das impurezas. Embora as impurezas não estejam ainda desenraizadas, ela não irá cometer o erro de exibi-las e envolver-se com elas."

Ayya Khema

"All negative disharmonious conditions are sublime siddhis"

--Mahasiddha Virupa

विगलितपशुभावो भैरवोऽहं शिवोऽहम्।
सकलकरणचक्रेश्वर्यधिष्ठानकायः॥
विकसितनयनः सन्निर्विकल्पे निषण्णः।
भवडिमरसपूर्णो भैरवोऽहं शिवोऽहम्॥

vigalitapaśubhāvo bhairavo 'haṃ śivo 'ham|
sakalakaraṇacakreśvaryadhiṣṭhānakāyaḥ||
vikasitanayanaḥ sann nirvikalpe niṣaṇṇaḥ|
bhavaḍimarasapūrṇo bhairavo 'haṃ śivo 'ham||


With the bondage [or the modes of duality] dissolved, I am Bhairava! I am Shiva. While I have my eyes fully opened as my body is the basis for the governing deities of all the sensory faculties, I am situated in the absolute absorption [without thoughts]. I am replete while savoring the drama of the world, as I am Bhairava, I am Shiva.

"Abandon fluent essence; let us go to the true goal, assimilation to Him; let us know the Master, let us love the Father; let us obey his call; let us run towards the heat, fleeing the cold; become fire; let's go through the fire. We have the free way for the ascent: the Father guides us, after having opened the roads of fire"

Proclus

Full of strange things is the world of yoga in which manifold images appear.
There is a moment when we are drawn into a luminous world of reality.
Do not be proud or deceived by it;
Such a vision is yet provisional.
Away with all images;
The great samadhi of void is to be our companion.

Kūkai

"What is initiation? It is the beginning of the experience of meditation and concentration, of penetration into the nature of the reality of all phenomena. Initiation leads us into the mandala of a deity and into the totality of the experience of that deity. It is an antidote to the dissatisfied, samsaric, fanatical, dualistic mind. During initiation we should completely let go of our preconceptions and fixed ideas of who we are, of our limited self-image. Instead, we need to identify with the wisdom-mind of the deity, which is our own perfect potential."

Lama Yeshe

"The origin of all demons is in mind itself.

When awareness holds on and embraces any outer object, it is in the hold of a demon."

Maching Labdron

"This doctrine [of karma, that there is a law of moral cause and effect at work in the world] lies at the heart of his teaching, and forms the essence of the Triple Refuge. Put briefly, it states that action is real, effective, and the result of one's own choice. If one chooses to act skillfully and works to develop that skill, one's actions can lead to happiness, not only on the ordinary sensory level, but also on a level that transcends all the dimensions of time and the present."

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

A monk offering diverse alcoholic beverages to Chaturbhuja Mahakala and Kakamukha Mahakala.