Start by visualising Dorje Shugden in front you an arms length away, similar to visualizing Buddha or Tsongkapa during other visualizations.
Visualize and belief strongly that Dorje Shugden is one with your lama. This is very important and one should have great faith in this. If one believes this, it will carry on through our actions, as we get off the meditation cushion and into our daily affairs. If we had great faith in this, we would never break our guru samaya, break our promises, forget our commitments, etc.
Why? Because to visualise that our lama and protector is of the same nature, and then to break our samaya to our lama is contradictory. How can we break our commitments to a being we take refuge in? It is a false refuge from our side then. Therefore we gain no realizations even after millions of mantras have been recited. So if we believe all the time and not just during prayers that our lama and Protector are one and indivisible, we would conduct ourselves accordingly. This is one of the foundations of gaining attainments from our dharma practice.
Visualizing our Lama and Protector as one and reciting the mantra while visualizing the blessings in form of lights entering our body is a tremendous blessing to gain realizations. But we have to think of our Lama as the protector in nature even when our meditation is finished. We spend more time out of meditation than during meditation, so our view of our lama while not meditating is more important. How can we break our samaya to our lama during our daily lives, then during our meditations visualize blessings coming from a being we consider ‘ok’ to break our samaya with? Not logical.
So we must respect, listen to and follow the instructions of our lama and then only during meditations we can solicit his true nature as the protector to bestow healing and realizations upon us. Then when the lights come forth and bless us, we will gain healing and realizations due to our correct view of our Lama.
Next, start the mantra recitation. As you recite, visualize bright golden lights coming from Dorje Shugden’s heart entering the crown of your head and filling your body with bright golden wisdom light. Your body you visualise should be the same shape and size as your current body, but clear and vacuous, without your bones or internal organs or anything inside. See your body as light and clear.
These golden wisdom lights fill you up completely and bring you the power to easily understand the Dharma. They bring you the power of gaining attainments from the understanding of the Dharma. And they bring you the ability to overcome your negative habituations from your realization of the attainments. The golden lights are the blessings, attainments and transcendent abilities of your lama and protector.
The golden wisdom lights are also healing lights. Visualize the light that fills your body to heal your body of its problems. In particular, visualize the golden light going to the parts of your body that cause you problems eg your head if you suffer from headaches, your stomach if you have problems there, your heart if you have heart problems, etc. Visualize that these lights remove your problem and you are healed. Trust and believe.
If you feel tired at any time during the meditation, you can stop your visualisation for a moment. And once you are ready, you can start again from the beginning or continue where you left off.
Why do you need to visualize that you are healed although your body is vacuous? Because despite your visualization of a vacuous body, in reality you are not yet healed therefore the visualization is necessary.
Now that your body is healed and repaired to youthfulness, meditate on the fact that you did not get your human body for hedonistic life or for pleasure. Our body is a result of much prayers and merit accumulation from previous lives. It should not be wasted for empty pleasures that get us nowhere. Our bodies are the vehicles by which we can gain merits and benefit others tremendously. The potential is great. The healing meditation creates a body that is ready to collect merit. Ready to be used for others. Thus we should not waste it.
Of course we can still have occasional fun and indulge ourselves as we are still attached. But that is not the primary reason that we have acquired our rare human life.
Realising the above strongly activates the potency of Dorje Shugden’s mantra. The mantra is Manjushri’s mind and the power of mantra is activated by the correct motivation as explained above. Without the correct motivation and by merely reciting the mantra, it does not activate the power.
Although this meditation is for healing, do not just visualise the golden light from Dorje Shugden as just healing light. This reduces the power of your meditation. As Dorje Shugden is one with Wisdom Buddha Manjushri, the golden light has the wisdom of the Buddhas that takes you all the way to Enlightenment.
Other prayers that you recite along with your mantra are e.g.: Serkyem or Kanshag should also be recited sincerely, and not merely reciting for the sake of it. Motivation is everything. Focus is important to develop. Reciting without thinking will not bring even enlightenment to just your mouth since you are using your mouth to recite. Enlightenment is within the mind, therefore your mind must be excercised during recitations.
TK
This was written in accordance with the teachings my lama gave me to do while reciting the sacred mantra of Dorje Shugden daily. It is a method to expedite healing of illness both physical and mental.
DSFriend
November 27, 2011
Dear TK
My heartfelt appreciation for an incredibly clear instruction and explanation for such a deep, subtle, powerful and highly beneficial visualisation and practice.
dondrup shugden
November 29, 2011
Dear TK
Thank you for such a clear instruction and I will practise to gain realizations to understand the Dharma at greater depth
bambino
December 1, 2011
Dear TK,
Thank you very much for such beneficial teachings. I shall do exactly what your Lama taught you and you to us for the visualization. It is logical and easy to understand in what was explained above. May we receive Manjushri’s love in every lifetime.
Poonlarp
December 2, 2011
Thanks for the useful information.
I like the picture which i will visualize as the picture shown which the light comes from Dorje Shugden’s heart.
For me, it’s hard to get my mind very concentrate, it flies here and there especially doing long recitation. But as it stated here, it’s very important to get our mind focus, as enlightenment is within our mind.
Will practice more towards this direction.
Thanks TK!!
negra orquida
February 28, 2012
Thank you TK for sharing this. It makes more sense to do the prayer along with the meditation, otherwise it’d be just reading a text and not training the mind. Those of you who may find it difficult to visualise whatever is described above in the beginning.. Personally, the images appear to be very fuzzy and the colours very dull to me (I find myself with my brows knitted in effort to get any image), and my mind wanders off midway… Do not give up and do not get annoyed! Practice + patience makes perfect.
Also, it is important to note that if we want to see the fruition/results of our meditation, we need to collect merit in addition to practicing the visualisation consistently every day. The results of this meditation is, among others, letting go of our attachment of the body and gaining attainments of DS.
Merits may be collected from doing dharma work well and sincerely,and following the Guru’s instructions. For a discussion on merits and following the Guru’s instructions, go to: http://www.dorjeshugden.com/forum/index.php?topic=1679.0
diamond223
July 8, 2012
Thanks to you TK, for sharing such informative meditation and explained so well the motivation of doing meditation and how to apply into our daily lives.
May the powerful of this meditation benefit all practitioners and others tremendously.
SabrinaL
February 22, 2013
Thank you very much for the clear method on meditative visualization during prayers. I will apply this visualization in my daily sadhana, starting today. I enjoy ur articles very much and always look out for it when I visit this site. May u continue benefitting us wt your wise n helpful articles.
Anonymous
August 3, 2013
Thank you TK for sharing such information with us. I believe that it would benefit many of us here.
The guidelines to the visualization is very clear and precise. I like the fact that from the picture, the light rays burst out from Dorje Shugdens heart. I believe that through this picture, it would help all of us visualize better as we would have a clearer idea of how to do the visualization. Thank you!
Shaun
September 28, 2013
Thank you so much for this practice. I hope and pray that all the wishes of every sincere practitioner will be fulfilled.
Sandra
May 9, 2014
Thank you TK for sharing this article. Most of the time we do our prayer but do not know how to visualize. We also quite confuse and worry do it wrongly. I will print out the above article and read this for few time in order to fully understand it. I will start to visualize and hopefully to gain the blessing from Dorje Shudgen. May I never be parted from my Guru and enjoy the glory of dharma.
sunitta
November 25, 2015
The instructions in this article for visualization during meditation or sadhanna is very simple and clear. This is really good especially for beginners. I am sure it is much harder then the simplicity it potrays as we have such a monkey mind that cannot keep focus on one thing.