Question asked by Parth2
Greetings rinpoche, greetings pastors. I was going through pabongkha rinpoche's book "liberation in the palm of your hand" there , there was a chapter on the merit field visualisation
centring on lama lozang tupwang dorje Chang. I had a few questions regarding this and the bathing ritual that follows it
These are a bit too long, I apologise for that
1) does one require initiation to visualize and petition the merit field ?
2) As the visualisation is very complex, can we begin with the centre figure of the five thrones and then extended to the others?
3) does the bathing ritual require initiation, if yes then does having read the process of it in the book constitute stealing Dharma?
4) if it doesn't require initiation, what instruments and implements ( like dorje and bell) does one require for it?
5) can non-initiates keep the dorje and use it?
6) if one can use the dorje, then how is it used?
Thanks a lot.
Dear Parth2
I try my best to answer your questions but due to the nature of those questions, I may not be able to answer in full. Below are the answers for your questions:
1) We do not need initiation to visualize merit field.
2) H.H. Pabongka Rinpoche explained the visualization method Day 5 of his teaching – The Preparatory rites. There’s one special instruction He received from his gurus to combine different versions into one which visualize all the figures in the central vertical row in the form of Manjushri. Please follow that. If you find it hard, H.H. Pabongka Rinpoche also suggested a simpler way to visualize. Please refer to that.
3) The bathing ritual doesn’t require initiation. It’s nothing wrong to read the text. However, in order to perform the ritual, you might need a guru to guide you.
4, 5, 6) The instruments that required in this process are those common instrument we use in Tibetan bathing/consecrating ritual such as melong mirror, bathing basin, bhumpa vase, dorje, bells etc. Non-initaites can keep the ritual instruments, however you may need a guru to demonstrate to you the proper way to use those instrument. Different lineage have their own way of using those instruments, slightly different with each other.