The Distilled Essence for Practicing

The Flowing River of the Moon

The Manual of Instructions for the Longevity Sadhana
of the White Tärä, the Wish-Fulfilling Wheel


 (Arranged in a format for recitation;
those portions in italics are not meant to be recited aloud)

With regard to the white Tä T rä

r the Wish-Fulfilling Wheel, some four different
lineages were transmitted to Tibet - the Lineage deriving from tire Lord that
deriving from the translator Nyen Lotsawa, that deriving from the translator
Bari Lotsawa, and that deriving from the scholar of Kashmir Shakya-shri. This
text distills the essence of the direct transmission instructions of these four
lineages, emphasizing primarily the lineage of the students of Bari Lotsawa,
the teachings given by the guru Lama Lenakpa to the spiritual friend Geshe
Drepa—the practice and the amazing lineage of oral instructions associated
with it. This is said to constitute the most profound direct transmission
instructions for the longevity sadhana.
This compilation was made to support the regular practice of some of the great
patrons of the teachings, by the monk Losal [Tsarchen Losal Gyatso, 1502-
1566], who wanders throughout the Tibetan realm, at Duddul Dechen Ling,
his small residence at Puntsok Namgyal Raptentsé. The scribe was Khyentsei
Wangpo [Nesarwa Khyentsei Wangchuk, 1524-1568], a mendicant who is
nurtured solely through the kindness of this lord master.
Idam shasanañca sarva sattva hito bhavantu!
May this work be of benefit to all beings!

(Translation from the Tibetan © 1992 by Richard Barron for Turquoise Dragon
Translations) Produced by Sakya Dechen Ling on the Occasion of Jestsun
ChimeyLuding’s visit to bestow this practice and conduct a retreat.
Edition produced by Katherine Pfaff, Kent Sandvik and Kunga Dorje Gyalpo
in April 2003


 The Distilled Essence for Practicing

The Flowing River of the Moon

The Manual of Instructions for the Longevity Sadhana
of the White Tärä, the Wish-Fulfilling Wheel

arranged in a format for recitation;

those portions in italics are not meant to be recited aloud

A Supplication to the Lineage of Gurus

of the White Cintämaëicakra Tärä,
the Wish-fulfilling Wheel
Begin by supplicating the source of refuge:
Most glorious and precious root guru,
The Great jewel seated on a lotus on the crown of my head
out of your great kindness watch over me
and grant the siddhis of body, speech and mind!
Om svasti
Sakyamuni, lord among sages, most venerable exalted Tärä,
Vagindrakirti, Vajräsana,
Bari the Translator, and great siddhä Lénakpa
I supplicate you. Grant me the siddhis of longevity
Spiritual mentor Drépa, venerable Gampopa,
Gomtsul Sherap, venerable Jangchup Duldzin,
Drigung Lingpa, and Damchö Lingpa
I supplicate you. Grant me the siddhis of longevity!
Chökyi Tsultrim, incomparable Lhalungpa,
Toknépa, venerable Chökyi Wangchuk,
and Jangchup Zangpo, sublime guide of many beings
I supplicate you. Grant me the siddhis of longevity!
Venerable and omniscient Tashi Namgyal,
Sönam Lhawang, Palden Gyaltsen,
and venerable Trinlépa, lord among scholars and siddhäs
I supplicate you. Grant me the siddhis of longevity!


 Lord Tsarchen, venerable Jamyang Khyentsé,
Lapsum Gyaltsen, Wangchuk Rapten,
Sönam Chokden, and Sönam Chokdrub -
I supplicate you. Grant me the siddhis of longevity!
Khyenrap Jampa, Morchen Nésarwa
Kunga Lodrö, powerful Kunga Khédrup,
Kunga Tendzin, and Khyentsei Wangpo
I supplicate you. Grant me the siddhis of longevity!
Lodrö Gyaltsen, Loter Wangpo,
great renunciate lord Chökyi Nyima,
and Zhenpen Nyingpo, lord of all buddha families-
I supplicate you. Grant me the siddhis of longevity!
The sublime mother of victorious ones is the venerable goddess,
transcendent, accomplished, and victorious,
the Wish-Fulfilling Wheel. The moment her reflected image
arises in the lake of my mind, may even the name of the mara of the
lord of death
come to an end, and may immortality be mine!
In the center of my heart are the syllables on the disk of the moon,
dripping with the sweet dew of the amåita of immortality;
through the feast of my body filling to overflowing,
may the siddhis of deathlessness and longevity come about.
By meditating on the protection circle of six concentric spheres of
light,
with fresh utpala blossoms filling the intervening spaces,
solid and firm, with the nature of a vajra,
may I emerge victorious over all counterproductive circumstances!
This was composed by the monk Losal. May it be auspicious!
Through all my births, may I not be separated from the perfect guru
and so enjoy the splendor of the dharma;
and by perfecting virtues of the paths and bhûmis,
may I speedily attain the state of Vajradhara!
By the power of offering to and supplicating you,
in places where we dwell, myself and others,
may illness, poverty and strife be pacified;
may dharma and auspiciousness increase!
These last two stanzas are traditional verses of aspiration.


 Namo guru ärya tä räyai
t rä
(Homage to the guru, the exalted Tä
T rä
r .)
In the center of a crystal moon and blooming lotus is the youthful and
captivating goddess of molten moonlight. May she who grants the splendor of
joy and bliss with the sight of her moon-like visage protect me forever with the
amrita of the flowing river of the moon!
The means to accomplish longevity through the venerable goddess, the
transcendent, accomplished, and victorious white Cintä t maëicakra Tä rä, the
T rä
Wish-Fulfilling Wheel, is the very profound instruction on longevity practice
known as “The Flowing River of the Moon.” Should you wish to practice the
distilled essence of these techniques, sit on a comfortable seat in the posture of
meditative stability.
The field for taking refuge is a pure realm, in the center of which is a wish-
granting tree formed from the vision of pristine awareness. Above the trunk
is a four-petaled lotus, in the center of which is your root guru in the form of
Amitabha, surrounded by the gurus of the lineage. On the front petal are the
white Ta
T ra and other chosen deities. On the petal to the guru’s right are buddhas
in nirmanakaya form, such as Munindra, Lord of Sages. On the rear petal are
the stacked texts of the excellent speech of the buddhas. On the petal to the
guru’s left is the sangha, the eight intimate sons of the buddhas and others. In
addition, visualize objects of refuge filling the entire expanse of the branches,
leaves, and flowers of the wish-granting tree. Recite the following aloud,
conceiving of yourself and all others joining together as one in body, speech,
and mind:
I and all beings, all sentient beings through the three realms, equal to the
limits of space, from this time forward until the essence of enlightenment
is reached, /* take refuge in the glorious and holy gurus. We take refuge
in the completely awakened buddhas, transcendent, accomplished, and
victorious. We take refuge in the sacred teachings of the Buddha-dharma.
We take refuge in the exalted sanghas.
Repeat 3 or more times (after first recitation, repeat from *):

I pay homage to and take refuge in the guru and the precious Three
Jewels. I pray that you grant your blessings to my mind stream.
Repeat once.

For the sake of all sentient beings, I will attain the state of a completely
awakened buddha; for this purpose I will practice the meditation and
mantra repetition of the Wish-Fulfilling Wheel that grants longevity.
Repeat three times:


Instantly I appear clearly as the venerable goddess. In her heart, above a
moon disk, is a white Tam syllable. Rays of light shine from this, inviting
from her natural abode the transcendent, accomplished, and victorious
goddess, her head crowned by her guru Amitabha She appears in the
space in front of me:
Perform the following invitation:
Om vajra samajah
(“Summon the vajra assembly”)
(Offer homage with)
Namo gurubhyah
(“Homage to the guru”)
Namah ärya tärä saparivarebhyah
(“Homage to Tara and her retinue “)
Make offerings with
Om ärya tärä saparivära argham pädyam purhpe dhüpe äloke gandhe
naividyä shabda äh hüm
(“Om Noble Tara and her retinue I offer water for drinking and washing,
flowers, incense, lamps, scented water, food and music, äh hüm “)
Accept the vows with the following:
I take refuge in the Three Jewels.
I confess all harmful actions individually.
I rejoice in the virtue of beings.
I hold in mind the enlightenment of the buddhas.
I take refuge until enlightenment
In the Buddha, Dharma, and Sublime Assembly.
In order to accomplish my own and others’ benefit to the highest
degree,
I give rise to bodhichitta.
Having given rise to bodhichitta,
I invite all beings as my guests.
I will engage in the delightful and sublime conduct of a bodhisattva.
May buddhahood be accomplished for the sake of all beings
Recite three times
Meditate on the four immeasurable attitudes
May all beings have happiness and the cause of happiness.
May they be free of sorrow and the cause of sorrow.
May they never be separate from the bliss that is free of sorrow.

 May they rest in equanimity, free of attachment or aversion to
those near or far.
Om svabhāva-śhuddhāh sarva-dharmāh svabhāva-śhuddho ‘ham
(“Om, all phenomena are pure by nature; I am pure by nature!”)

All becomes emptiness. Within the state of emptiness, from Pam appears
a white lotus with eight petals. In its center, from A appears the disc of
the moon. Above this, the essence of my consciousness appears as a
white Tam syllable. Rays of light shine from this, making offerings to the
äryas and bringing benefit to beings. The light rays reconverge, and from
a complete transformation of the syllable I appear as the venerable Tärä,
the Wish-Fulfilling Wheel. Her form is as white as the autumn moon,
as translucent as a flawless crystal, and radiates light. She has one face,
three eyes, and two arms. She is as youthful as one in her sixteenth year.
Her right hand is held in the mudra of sublime generosity. With thumb
and ring finger, her left hand holds the stem of a white utpala to her heart,
its petals blooming next to her left ear. Representing the buddha of the
three times, the single stem branches into three blossoms—the one in
the middle fully opened, the one on the right a mature fruit, and the one
on the left an unopened bud. Her blue-black hair is bound in locks at the
nape of her neck, with long tresses flowing freely. She is adorned with
various jeweled ornaments, clad in a jacket of multicolored silk, and
wears a skirt of red silk. She sits with her legs crossed in vajra
posture. She has seven eyes of pristine awareness, including one
on each of her palms and soles. Her back is supported by a moon
disk and she is surrounded by a halo of light.
At her forehead is Om, at her throat Ah and at her heart center
Hüm
Rays of light shine from the Hüm, inviting the venerable White
Tärä, surrounded by a host of bodhisattvas, from her natural
abode.


Invite the deity with the following:
Om vajra samajah (summoning mudra)
(“Summon the vajra assembly!”)
Jah hüm bam hoh
(With hook, noose, chain, union mudras)
(Summon! Attract! Bind! Merge!)
The deities merge in non-duality.
Once again, rays of light shine from the Hüm at Tärä’s heart center,
inviting the deities of empowerment—the buddhas of the five families
and their retinues.
Om vajra samajah (summoning mudra)
(“Summon the vajra assembly!”)
I pray that all the tathägatas grant me the true abhisheka!
Imagine that with this supplication, they say:
“Om sarva tathägata abhishekata samaya shiye hüm”
(vase holding mudra)
and confer empowerment upon me with water from their vases, filling
my form through the crown of my head and purifying me of flaws. The
excess water overflows upward, coalescing on my head as Amitabha
crowning me.
Make offerings with
Om ärya tärä saparivära argham pädyam purhpe dhüpe äloke gandhe
naividyä shabda äh hüm
(“Om Noble Tärä and her retinue I offer water for drinking and washing,
flowers, incense, lamps, scented water, food and music, äh hüm “)
Offer praises with the following:
O goddess Tärä, she who liberates from cyclic existence,
she who liberates from the eight fears with tuttare,
she who liberates from illness with ture:
I pay homage to the mother Tärä.
Resting in the center of a white lotus,
on a seat in the form of the moon,
is she who sits cross-legged in vajra posture:
I pay homage to the goddess who grants sublime generosity.


 With a luster like that of the autumn moon,
she rests her back on the moon,
perfectly and completely adorned with all ornaments:
I pay homage to she who holds the utpala lily.
With the body of one in her sixteenth year,
all perfectly awakened buddhas are her children,
for she is the mother with the form that grants all that is desired:
I pay homage to the venerableTärä
The white wheel giving off rays of white light
has eight syllables on its eight spokes
as it revolves completely:
I pay homage to the one with the wheel.
Rest in equipoise for as long as your mind remains at rest, directing your
attention to the form of the deity as the inseparability of appearance and
emptiness when you wish to repeat the mantra, imagine the following:
In my heart is a white wheel that is the nature of the moon, with eight
spokes and five concentric rims. In the hub is a Tam syllable; surrounding
this are the letters ma ma äyuh puoye jñäna purhtim kuru.

In front of these is Om, behind is hä and on the eight spokes,

beginning from the front and going clockwise, are tä re tu ttä re tu
re svä, one syllable on each spoke.

Outside these, around the innermost rim, are a ä/ i i/ u u/ ri ri/ li li /e ai /o

au/ am ah, arranged counterclockwise.

Around the next outermost rim are ka kha ga gha nga/ ca cha ja jha ña/
tatha da dha oa/ tha da dha na/ pa pha ba bha ma/ ya ra la vasha/rha sa ha
krha, arranged clockwise.


Around the next outermost rim are ye dharma hetu präbhava hetun
tarhän tathägato hyavadat terhancayo nirodha eväm vädi mahä
shrämanah, arranged clockwise.

The next outermost rim is a surrounding garland of blue vajras. The

outermost rim is a surrounding barrier of five-colored light, revolving
clockwise.


As well, imagine the following:
The guru Amitabha on the crown of my head completely transforms
into the lord protector of immeasurable life and awareness, Amitayus,
his form white with a reddish tinge, with one face and two hands in the
gesture of meditative equipoise, holding a golden longevity vase filled
with the flowing amrita of immortality. He is clad in silken garments and
adorned with jeweled ornaments. He sits with his legs crossed in vajra
posture.
Surrounding me is a white wheel with eight spokes and a hollow
enclosure at the hub, like domed hats joined brim to brim: It revolves
clockwise, blazing with writhing masses of fire, incinerating and
obliterating all malevolent influences, hindrances, and injurious forces
like feathers falling into a smith’s forge.


Further imagine the following:
Furthermore, from the Tam syllable and mantra garland in my heart
shine rays of white light like one thousand moons shining at once. These
fill the inside of my body completely, refining away and purifying all
illnesses, malevolent influences, the effects of harmful actions, and
obscurations. The light seeps out through my pores, forming an elliptical
pavilion of white light extending an armspan out from the wheel. All
pacifying activities are accomplished.
Further imagine the following:
Furthermore, from the mantra garland in my heart shine rays of yellow
light like molten gold. These fill the inside of my body completely,

enriching all longevity, merit, and pristine awareness. The light seeps
out through my pores, forming an elliptical pavilion of yellow light
extending an arm span out from the pavilion of white light. All enriching
activities are accomplished.
Further imagine the following:
Furthermore, from the mantra garland in my heart shine rays of red
light like the color of coral. These fill the inside of my body completely,
bringing the entire inanimate and animate world as a container and
its contents under my power. The light seeps out through my pores,
forming an elliptical pavilion of red light extending an arm span out
from the pavilion of yellow light. All activities of magnetizing power are
accomplished.
Further imagine the following:
Furthermore, from the mantra garland in my heart shine rays of dark
blue light. These fill the inside of my body completely, annihilating all
counterproductive forces. The light seeps out through my pores, forming
an elliptical pavilion of dark blue light extending an arm span out from
the pavilion of red light. All wrathful activities are accomplished.
Further imagine the following:
Furthermore, from the mantra garland in my heart shine rays of green
light like molten emerald. These fill the inside of my body completely,
causing all siddhis, both sublime and mundane, to be accomplished. The
light seeps out through my pores, forming an elliptical pavilion of green
light extending an arm span out from the pavilion of dark blue light. All
activities are accomplished.

Further imagine the following:

Furthermore, from the mantra garland in my heart shine rays of maroon
light. These fill the inside of my body completely, stabilizing all siddhis.
The light seeps out through my pores, forming an elliptical pavilion of
maroon light extending an arm span out from the pavilion of green light.
All blessings and activities are stabilized.
Further imagine the following:
All six pavilions of light are elliptical spheres, like the shape of an egg,
with one continuous surface, firm and solid, such that even the fire and
wind at the end of time could not destroy them. The spaces between them
are filled with billowing clouds of soft, gentle buds of blue utpala lilies
just on the point of opening.


Focus your attention, beginning with clearly visualizing yourself as the
venerable goddess, up to the pavilion of maroon resting in equipoise in the
experience of the union of the appearances and emptiness. Similarly, focus
your attention successively from the outermost point back in to the Tam
syllable in your heart, resting in equipoise in the experience of the union of the
appearances and emptiness.
Then imagine the following:
From the Hrih
r in the heart of Amitayus on the crown of my head,
rays of light shine throughout the ten directions; all the longevity
and merit subsumed within samsara and nirvana are drawn in in
the form of rays of light and enter into his vase, becoming a flow
of the amrita of immortality. This swirls upward, overflowing
from the mouth of the vase and penetrating through the crown of
my head. It fills the inside of my body completely, refining away all
fearsome illnesses, malevolent influences, the effects of harmful actions,
obscurations, and untimely death. I gain the siddhis of deathlessness and
longevity.
(Hold a ‘vase breath’ twenty-one, seven, or at least three times. Then imagine
the following)
From the wheel and mantra garland in my heart flows the sweet dew of
the amrita of immortality, and immeasurable rays of white light shine
forth, resounding with the sound of the mantra. These fill the inside of
my body completely to overflowing from the crown of my head to the
soles of my feet, refining away and purifying all fearsome illnesses,
malevolent influences, the effects of harmful actions, obscurations,
and untimely death. I gain the siddhis of deathlessness and longevity.
Dewdrops of amrita glisten in all the pores of my body.
To bless the mala recite:
Om ruchi ramani pravardhanaya svaha
(Om!A joyful splendor is brought into being, auspicious!)
(Repeat 108 recitations when using a new mala, 3 times thereafter. Coil mala in
hands and rub)
Om tä re tu ttä re tu re ma ma äyuh puoye jñäna purhtim kuru svähä

(Om swift one who removes fear, liberator, please increase my merit,
wisdom, and longevity, svähä!)


Repeat the mantra as much as possible:
Whenever the visualization is not clear, recite the lines above describing the
amrita flowing from the wheel and mantra garland in your heart, and the
shining forth and reconverging of light; in this way, bring the mantra and
visualization together. Following the mantra repetition, performed with an
undistracted mind, perform the offerings and praises as before
Make offerings with
Om ärya tärä saparivära argham pädyam purhpe dhüpe äloke gandhe
naividyä shabda äh hüm
(“Om Noble Tärä and her retinue I offer water for drinking and washing,
flowers, incense, lamps, scented water, food and music, äh hüm “)
Offer praises with the following:
O goddess Tärä, she who liberates from cyclic existence,
she who liberates from the eight fears with tuttare,
she who liberates from illness with ture:
I pay homage to the mother Tärä.
Resting in the center of a white lotus,
on a seat in the form of the moon,
is she who sits cross-legged in vajra posture:
I pay homage to the goddess who grants sublime generosity.
With a luster like that of the autumn moon,
she rests her back on the moon,
perfectly and completely adorned with all ornaments:
I pay homage to she who holds the utpala lily.
With the body of one in her sixteenth year,
all perfectly awakened buddhas are her children,
for she is the mother with the form that grants all that is desired:
I pay homage to the venerableTärä
The white wheel giving off rays of white light
has eight syllables on its eight spokes
as it revolves completely:
I pay homage to the one with the wheel.
then recite the following:
I pray that the transcendent, accomplished, and victorious goddess grant
sublime and mundane siddhis without exception to me and all sentient
beings.


Stabilize the blessings and account for all omissions or interpolations by
reciting three times each the Sanskrit vowels
a ä/ i i/ u u/ ri ri/ li li /e ai /o au/ am ah,

and consonants
ka kha ga gha nga/ ca cha ja jha ña/ta tha da dha oa/ ta tha da dha na/
pa pha ba bha ma/ ya ra la va / sha rha sa ha krha,

the “ye dharma”,

ye dharma hetu präbhava hetun tarhän tathägato hyavadat terhañcayo
nirodha eväm vädi mahä shrämanah“

and the one-hundred-syllable mantra:

OM VAJRASATTVA SAMAYAM ANUPĀLAYA/ VAJRASATTVA
TVÊNO PATISHTA/ DRDHO ME BHAVA/ SUTOSHYO ME BHAVA/
SUPOSHYO ME BHAVA/ ANURAKTO ME BHAVA/SARVA
SIDDHIM ME PRAYACCHA/ SARVA KARMA SUCA ME CITTAM/
ŚHREYAH KURU HŪM HA HA HA HA HOH/ BHAGAVAN SARVA
TATHAGATHA/ VAJRA MA ME MUÑCA/ VAJRI BHAVA MAHĀ
SAMAYASATTVA ĀH

(“Om! Vajrasattva, guard my samaya! Remain close, be steadfast for me, be very
delighted with me, be loving toward me, enrich me! Bestow on me all siddhis!
Make my mind glorious in all activities! Hûm ha ha ha ha hoh [symbolises the
five aspects of jñâna associated with the five buddha families] Blessed one, do


 not abandon me, make me a heruka! Great
samaya-being Āh “)
Then imagine the following:
Rays of light shine from the Tam
syllable in my heart. These touch the
entire world as a container and its
contents, which dissolve into light and
are absorbed into the pavilion of maroon
light. This is absorbed into the pavilion
of green light. This is absorbed into
the pavilion of dark blue light. This is
absorbed into the pavilion of red light.
This is absorbed into the pavilion of
yellow light. This is absorbed into the pavilion of white light. This is
absorbed into the pavilion of the wheel. This is absorbed into me as the
transcendent, accomplished, and victorious goddess. I am absorbed into
the wheel and mantra garland in my heart. These are absorbed into the
Tam syllable. The body of the syllable is absorbed into the head stroke.
The head stroke is absorbed into the crescent moon. The crescent moon
is absorbed into the dot. The dot is absorbed into the nada. The nada is no
longer visualized, becoming a state of emptiness, sheer clarity.

Rest in equipoise for as long as your mind remains at rest. When thoughts issue
forth, recite the following:
I appear instantly in the form of the venerable white Tärä.
By this virtue may I swiftly
accomplish the Wish-Fulfilling Wheel,
and may all beings, without a single exception,
be established in that same state.


 May I achieve a lifespan of one hundred years, behold one hundred
teachers,
have longevity, freedom from illness, and have happiness and well
being in abundance.
Through the certainty of my release in the most sublime of spiritual
approaches,
due to this auspiciousness may there be happiness and excellence here
and now!
Recite these and other prayers of aspiration and auspicious benediction.