The-Tibetan-Book-of-Living-and-Dying

THE SPIRITUAL PATH 151of your master, and simply opening your heart and mind tothe embodiment of truth, really does bless and transform yourmind. As you invoke the Buddha, your own buddha nature isinspired to awaken and blossom, as naturally as a flower insunlight.2. Maturing and Deepening the BlessingWhen I come to this part of the practice, merging my mindwith the master through the mantra, I recite the mantra OMAH HUM VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUM (pronouncedby Tibetans: Om Ah Hung Benza Guru Péma Siddhi Hung),which I think of as actually being Padmasambhava, and theblessing of all the masters, in the form of sound. I imagine mywhole being filled with him, and I feel, as I recite the mantra—which is his heart essence—that it vibrates and pervades me, asif hundreds of little Padmasambhavas in the form of soundwere circulating inside me, transforming my whole being.Using the mantra, then, offer your heart and soul in ferventand one-pointed devotion, and merge and mix and blend yourmind with Padmasambhava or your master. Gradually youwill feel yourself coming closer to Padmasambhava, and closingthe gap between you and his wisdom mind. Slowly,through the blessing and power of this practice, you will findyou actually experience your mind being transformed into thewisdom mind of Padmasambhava and the master: You beginto recognize their indivisibility. Just as if you put your fingerinto water, it will get wet, and if you put it into fire, it willburn, so if you invest your mind in the wisdom mind of thebuddhas, it will transform into their wisdom nature. Whathappens is that gradually your mind begins to find itself in thestate of Rigpa, as the innermost nature of mind is nothingother than the wisdom mind of all the buddhas. It is as ifyour ordinary mind gradually dies and dissolves, and yourpure awareness, your buddha nature, your inner teacher, isrevealed. This is the true meaning of "blessing"—a transformationin which your mind transcends into the state of the absolute.This "maturing of the blessing" is the heart and main partof the practice, to which you should devote the most timewhen you do the Guru Yoga practice.3. EmpowermentImagine now that from the master thousands of brilliantrays of light stream out toward you, and penetrate you,