Tibetan Esoteric Method of Supernormal Prediction

Zhang Weijie (Tudan Banma Huadan)

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Supreme Yoga of Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism Tibetan Esoteric Method of Supernormal Prediction Zhang Weijie (Tudan Banma Huadan) ·Compiled from oral transmissions of masters· Practical Qigong Scientific Research Center, Chinese Qigong Science Research Association Tibetan Esoteric Supreme Yoga Qigong Research Association, Guangdong Qigong Science Research Association

Contents Chapter 1: Methods of Supernormal Abilities

  1. Cultivation Method of the Clear Mirror Supernormal Ability 5 Appendix: Mirror Gazing Prediction Method 5
  2. Cultivation Method of the Crystal Ball Supernormal Ability 5 Appendix: Crystal Ball Prediction Method 8
  3. Cultivation Method of Water Gazing Supernormal Ability 8 Appendix: Water Gazing Prediction Method 10
  4. Auxiliary Qigong Methods 11 Appendix: Treatise on the Three Channels and Seven Chakras 14 Chapter 2: Prediction Methods 17
  5. Mala Prediction Method 17
  6. Sleep and Dream Prediction Method 22
  7. Four-Armed Avalokiteshvara Prediction Method 24
  8. Light Gazing Prediction Method 27
  9. Emptiness Gazing Prediction Method 32
  10. Mirror Gazing Prediction Method 32
  11. Dream-Revealed Tara Prediction Method 34
  12. Palden Lhamo Prediction Method 36 Chapter 3: Six Methods of the Heavenly Eye 39
  13. Silver Thread Floating Pearl Method 39
  14. Mudra-Forming Lotus Opening Method 39
  15. Avalokiteshvara and Amitabha Method 40
  16. Sunlight Internal Circulation Contemplation Method 41
  1. Spirit-Inducing Flying Dragon Method 42
  2. Heavenly Eye Image Method 44 Practice Schedule for the Method of Supernormal Prediction Key methods: Clear Mirror Supernormal Ability Method, Mala Prediction Method. Notes:
  3. In this correspondence course, because the Clear Mirror Supernormal Ability Method and the Mala Prediction Method are the primary focus, you should set aside a certain amount of time every day to practice the Clear Mirror Supernormal Ability Method. The Mala Prediction Method can be practiced at any time. While practicing the above two methods, select one method from the “Six Methods of the Heavenly Eye” as an auxiliary qigong method to increase the effectiveness of your practice, so as to rapidly develop your abilities and improve your skill. The remaining methods are all elective content.
  4. Only after practicing the Clear Mirror Supernormal Ability Method and the Mala Prediction Method for a full 100 days should you begin training in the elective content.
  5. When encountering mantras (true words), please consult the Essential Collection of Common Mantras (Tibetan-Chinese Bilingual Edition). 2

Chapter 1: Methods of Supernormal Abilities

1. Cultivation Method of the Clear Mirror Supernormal Ability

This method utilizes a clear mirror to develop supernormal abilities. It has its own respective strengths compared to the Mirror Altar Accomplishment Method. Before practicing the method, first prepare a new mirror and wrap it well in yellow cloth. Unwrap it when practicing the method, and wrap it again after finishing.

(1) Mirror Consecration Method 1. Yidam Mantra Consecration Method First practice the Nine-Breath Buddha Wind, the Four Refuges, and the generation of Bodhicitta. Recite the Realm Purification Mantra twenty-one times: Om, Lam, Soha. When reciting the mantra, the left hand forms the Vajra Fist Mudra (the thumb is placed at the base of the ring finger, and the remaining four fingers fold over to make a fist). The right hand’s thumb presses on the tip of the ring finger to form the Auspicious Mudra, which is placed upon the mirror. Simultaneously, visualize a Sanskrit “Lam” syllable above the crown of your head, radiating pure bright light, like a radiant pearl or a full moon. The light illuminates the entire Dharma Realm, and everything is thereby purified. This “Lam” syllable is the Realm Purification Mantra. It can purify the three karmas (of body, speech, and mind), eliminate all sinful obscurations, accomplish all Buddha activities, and purify one’s dwelling place. If one’s clothes are impure, simply blessing them with this mantra turns them into pure clothes. All things, if merely washed with water, are not truly pure; but if blessed with this mantra syllable, they become ultimately and thoroughly pure. This true word is like a spiritual elixir that turns stone into gold. The sutra says: “Like the bright pearl in the topknot placed upon the crown, the true word is identical to the Dharma Realm, eliminating boundless sins; in all filthy places, one should apply this syllable gate.” Recite the Manjushri Bodhisattva Body-Protection Mantra twenty-one times: Om, Zheli. This mantra can eradicate all sinful karma of the five heinous crimes and the ten evil acts. It can remove various illnesses and sufferings, disaster obscurations, nightmares, evil spirits and ghosts, and various inauspicious events—all can be eliminated. It can accomplish all supreme

affairs, ensuring that all endeavors are brought to perfect accomplishment. This mantra is the heart of all Buddhas. By reciting this mantra, all ghosts, spirits, and heavenly demons will not dare to approach. When reciting the mantra, both hands form the Vajra Fist Mudra.

Next, recite the mantra of your own practiced yidam (principal deity) one hundred and eight times, and then blow a breath of air onto the mirror to bless it. The supernormal power of the yidam will then gather upon the mirror, possessing great power.

After blessing the mirror, recite the Vajrasattva Hundred-Syllable Mantra once so that all is perfectly accomplished. Then wrap the mirror in yellow cloth and store it away; simply take it out when you need to use it.

This yidam mirror blessing method can be performed before every practice session. Blessing it and then practicing will yield tremendous efficacy. If you cannot bless it every day, you may perform the blessing on the Ten Fasting Days. The Ten Fasting Days are the 1st, 8th, 14th, 15th, 18th, 23rd, and 24th of each month, as well as the last three days of each month. Blessing the bright mirror on these Ten Fasting Days yields greater effects than at other times. After blessing it on these Ten Fasting Days, store it away and take it out when you are ready to practice.

Aside from the Ten Fasting Days, performing the blessing on the birthdays of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, anniversaries of their attainment of enlightenment, the twenty-four solar terms, and traditional festivals will yield benefits far superior to other times.

2. Sunlight Blessing Method

At the time the sun first rises each day, bless the mirror to gather the energy and information of the sunlight into the mirror.

When the sun first rises, face the mirror towards the sun.

Practice the Nine-Round Buddha Wind, the Four Refuges, generate Bodhicitta, and recite the Pure Realm True Mantra and the Body Protection True Mantra.

Hold the mirror in your left hand aimed at the sun, and hold your mala (rosary) in your right hand. Keep both eyes open and look directly at the sun. Recite your yidam’s mantra one hundred and eight times, and then blow a breath of air onto the mirror to bless it. This blessing causes the supernormal information of the yidam and the radiant energy of the sun to gather within the mirror. After the blessing, wrap the mirror in cloth and store it away.

Then recite the Hundred-Syllable Mantra once.

3. Moonlight Blessing Method

This method is practiced for a total of seven days: the three days before the 15th of the month, the three days after the 15th, and the 15th itself.

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That is, this is the seven-day period surrounding the day of the full moon.

After the moon has risen, face the moon.

Practice the Nine-Round Buddha Wind, the Four Refuges, generate Bodhicitta, and recite the Pure Realm True Mantra and the Body Protection True Mantra.

Stare directly at the moon with both eyes. Hold the mirror in your left hand aimed at the moon, and hold your mala in your right hand. Recite your yidam’s mantra one hundred and eight times, and then blow a breath of air onto the mirror to bless it. This causes the energy and information of the yidam and the essence of the moon to gather within the mirror.

Recite the Hundred-Syllable Mantra once.

4. Big Dipper Starlight Blessing Method

At night, face the Big Dipper.

Practice the Nine-Round Buddha Wind, the Four Refuges, generate Bodhicitta, and recite the Pure Realm True Mantra and the Body Protection True Mantra.

Look at the Big Dipper. Hold the mirror in your left hand aimed at the Big Dipper, and hold your mala in your right hand. Recite your yidam’s mantra one hundred and eight times, and then blow a breath of air onto the mirror to bless it. The energy and information of the yidam and the Big Dipper will then gather within the mirror.

Recite the Hundred-Syllable Mantra once.

The above three mirror blessing methods—sun, moon, and star—should be conducted when the weather is clear. Do not perform the blessing during overcast skies, rain, high winds, lightning, or other drastic weather changes. The sun, moon, and stars are the Three Treasures of Heaven. Facing these Three Treasures of Heaven and reciting your yidam’s mantra can gather the essence of the sun, moon, and stars into the mirror. At the same time, gazing at the Three Treasures while reciting the yidam’s mantra allows you to absorb the essence and energy of the Three Treasures of Heaven, replenishing the Three Treasures of the human body—essence, qi, and spirit—achieving the goals of curing illness, strengthening the body, increasing gong, and stimulating potential.

During a solar or lunar eclipse (listen for forecasts), set out offerings and bless the bright mirror; the merit of the offerings and the efficacy of the mirror blessing will be immense.

If you do not have time to bless the mirror according to the ritual, you may simply hold the mirror to face them when the sun, moon, or stars appear, gaze at them, and recite your yidam’s mantra one hundred and eight times.

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When practicing this method, it is best to use a bronze mirror with a diameter of about 15 to 20 centimeters. If a bronze mirror is unavailable, a glass mirror may be used as a substitute. Bronze mirrors can be purchased at the dharma article distribution offices of certain monasteries in Tibetan areas.

(2) Practice Method

There are two methods for this practice.

The First Practice Method: Hang the bronze mirror 2 to 3 meters in front of you, at the same height as your eyes when you are practicing. The lighting where the mirror is hung must be moderate—bright but not glaring. Once the mirror is hung, begin the practice.

Practice the Four Refuges and the Guru Spiritual Power Blessing Method.

Keep both eyes open and gaze at the bronze mirror, reciting your yidam’s mantra. Once your eyes become fatigued, close them and continue to visualize the bronze mirror using your heavenly eye. Practice this back and forth repeatedly. When concluding the practice, use your intention to shrink the bronze mirror down to about 1 centimeter in diameter and retract it into the lotus of your brow center chakra.

Recite the Hundred-Syllable Mantra once.

During practice, whether your eyes are open or closed, various lights and images will quickly appear. No matter what appears, you must not be frightened or overjoyed; let it follow its natural course and continue your practice. Over time, as your skill deepens, you will naturally actualize various supernormal abilities and transformations. The key to this method lies in samadhi (concentration) power. If your samadhi power is profound, you will quickly actualize supernormal abilities. If your samadhi power is insufficient, it will be like a flower in a mirror or the moon in the water—ultimately an illusion. If you blindly pursue experiences otherwise, you will easily fall into demonic states. Remember this!

The Yidam Practice is the key to this method.

The Second Practice Method: Hang the mirror 35 to 60 centimeters in front of you, level with your eyes. The lighting requirements are the same as before.

Once hung, gaze with both eyes into the mirror, locking eyes with your own reflection. Your two physical eyes, plus the one heavenly eye at your Yintang (brow center), make a total of six eyes, each emitting light that shines upon one another. After the light shines out, it reflects back mutually, interweaving into a web of light. When fatigued, close your eyes to rest, and practice this repeatedly.

Next, visualize your own two eyes and brow center focusing together deep into the brow center of your reflection in the mirror. The gaze of your two eyes and the light of your brow center converge deep within the brow center of your reflection, forming…

…a point, then the self in the mirror likewise gazes back at you using the same method. When fatigued, close your eyes and rest. Practice repeatedly.

When concluding the practice, draw the self in the mirror back inward and merge it as one with yourself. Then shrink the mirror and retract it onto the lotus of the brow-center wheel.

Appendix: Application Method of the Mirror Supernormal Ability — Mirror Gazing Prediction Method

This method is practiced on the foundation of cultivating the mirror supernormal ability. It uses a copper mirror to predict events and to observe all things in the world.

To predict or investigate a certain matter, first take out the copper mirror and place it before you.

Perform the Four Refuges and the Guru Blessing Method.

Recite the mantra of your yidam deity. While reciting, close your eyes and visualize the matter you wish to predict or examine. After completing one hundred and eight recitations, open your eyes and gaze at the mirror. At this point, light and images will appear on the mirror, revealing the outcome of the matter. If no images appear, recite the Secret Blessing Mantra to bless the copper mirror, then recite the Eye-Testing Mantra and use saliva to bless both eyes. If you still do not see anything, recite the Secret Mantra of Contemplating the Three Realms, and light will naturally manifest within the mirror; within that light you will clearly see the outcome of the matter.

Two: Crystal Ball Supernormal Ability Cultivation Method

This method is a cultivation practice that uses a crystal ball to develop the human body’s supernormal abilities.

Practicing this method not only quickly brings forth light at the heavenly eye and develops supernormal abilities, but is also an excellent method for cultivating samadhi. It can rapidly improve your concentration power, enter meditative absorption (a superconscious state), and develop the latent supernormal abilities of the human body.

Before beginning the practice, first prepare a crystal ball, approximately the size of a table tennis ball. Crystal is formed by absorbing the essence of heaven, earth, sun, and moon; it inherently possesses a certain energy. It also has the effect of clearing heat and reducing fire, which can prevent the phenomenon of internal heat arising from prolonged concentration. If conditions do not permit, a glass ball may be used as a substitute.

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(1) Crystal Ball Blessing Method

Simply use the Yidam Blessing Method to bless it. The specific ritual and procedure are the same as the Mirror Blessing Method.

(2) Cultivation Method

First Cultivation Method:

Place the crystal ball between 1.5 and 3 meters in front of your seat. The lighting should be moderate — bright but not glaring.

Sit in the vajra (full lotus) posture and form the samadhi mudra with your hands. Perform the Nine-Breath Buddha Wind, the Four Refuges, the Generation of Bodhicitta, the Guru’s Spiritual Power Blessing, and the Yidam Deity Method.

Gaze at the crystal ball with both eyes. While gazing, do not think of anything; let go of every thought. While gazing, do not forget the crystal ball, but also do not try to identify or discriminate — simply gaze. Concentrate your intention and spirit; focus your entire attention solely on gazing at the crystal ball. When your eyes feel fatigued, close them and rest. No matter what light or scenes appear before your eyes, do not pursue them; let things take their natural course. Practice repeatedly in this manner. During cultivation, the scenes and states that arise differ from person to person. Regardless of the state, remember one thing only: let it be natural.

By continuing to practice in this way, over time and with deepening skill, a state of purity will suddenly arise. The mind will become extremely clear, the inner heart will be calm, and everything in the external world will be fully understood within the mind. This is entering the state of meditative absorption — the so-called state of entering samadhi, entering the state of samādhi, also called the superconscious state.

Second Cultivation Method:

First close your eyes and visualize your own three channels and seven wheels. Then visualize your brow-center wheel as a white lotus with a total of two petals. On the green lotus base, there is a white bindu, the size of a bean — white, transparent, crystal-clear, bright as crystal, luminous but not glaring.

Once the visualization is clear, open your eyes and gaze at the crystal ball. Although you are looking with your eyes, your intention should be that you are looking with the bindu at the brow-center wheel (the heavenly eye). While looking, —

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think that the crystal ball before your seat is the bindu of the brow-center wheel, and the bindu of the brow-center wheel is the crystal ball before your seat. The crystal ball and the bindu are one. Do not use your mind to discriminate: where is the bindu, where is the crystal ball. Simply look. As you look, continuously think that the crystal ball and the bindu are one. Do not think about whether it is specifically in front of your seat or inside your head. The key point of this practice is: simply look, simply think, do not discriminate. When your eyes are fatigued, close them and rest briefly.

By cultivating in this way, over time and with deepening skill, you will see the crystal ball suddenly emit radiant light. Within the light there will be various scenes. Toward this light and these scenes, let them be natural — do not cling, do not grasp, and do not deliberately pursue. You should neither forget, nor assist, nor chase. At this point, a feeling of relaxation, joy, and serenity will arise within. Continue practicing, and various supernormal abilities of the human body will soon be developed.

Concluding the Practice:

Visualize the crystal ball entering through the brow center into the brow-center wheel, merging as one with the bindu of the brow-center wheel.

Interlock the ten fingers of both hands and place them over the lower abdomen. Relax naturally for three minutes. Recite the Hundred-Syllable Mantra once.

The two cultivation methods above are two simple, direct, and rapid methods for entering meditative absorption and developing the human body’s supernormal abilities. On the one hand, through cultivation, various supernormal abilities of the human body can be quickly developed. On the other hand, you can rapidly enter the superconscious state. During practice, through focused visualization, you reach the state of forgetting both self and object, develop the inherent light of the human body, enter samādhi, and various supernormal abilities and transformations naturally manifest. The first cultivation method primarily trains concentration power; the second cultivation method can rapidly develop various supernormal abilities. However, each practice simultaneously possesses both effects — training concentration power and developing supernormal abilities — they merely differ in emphasis. All supernormal abilities and transformations are rooted in concentration power. As the saying goes, “Wisdom is born from samadhi.” Without concentration power, or with insufficient concentration power, even if some supernormal abilities and transformations are attained, they are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows — merely phantoms. Therefore, during cultivation, the two methods should be practiced in alternation. The specific approach should follow each individual’s different —

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circumstances, as convenient.

Appendix: Crystal Ball Prediction Method

This method is practiced on the foundation of cultivating the clear-mirror supernormal-ability method, using a crystal ball to predict or observe all things in the world. However, once one has truly cultivated and naturally attained the various supernormal abilities, a crystal ball is no longer needed. Just like mirror-gazing and water-gazing, this applied method is merely a convenient means or an auxiliary technique.

Method:

Take out the crystal ball and place it on a table in front of you, level with your chest.

Recite your yidam mantra. While reciting, close your eyes and visualize the matter you wish to know. Your mind must become still, clear and luminous, and empty. Entering samadhi is the fundamental prerequisite. After completing one hundred and eight recitations, open your eyes and gaze at the crystal ball. While looking, use both hands to block the surrounding light from the crystal ball, because light shining directly onto the crystal ball will refract or reflect light and images that can affect the prediction result. At this point, you will see bright light and images appear within the crystal ball, revealing the outcome of the matter. If no light or images appear, recite the Secret Empowerment Mantra twenty-one times to empower the crystal ball, then recite the Eye-Cleansing Mantra and empower both eyes with saliva. If you still do not see anything, recite the Secret Mantra of Contemplating the Three Realms, and light will naturally manifest from the mirror, within which you will clearly see the outcome of the matter.

Three — The Water-Gazing Supernormal Ability Cultivation Method

This method is a uniquely characteristic cultivation practice of Tibetan esoteric Buddhism. In Tibetan regions, many living buddhas and lamas master this cultivation method to predict and locate lost objects, and even use it to find the reincarnated soul-children of living buddhas. Whether for cultivation or application, this method is very simple and convenient, and highly efficacious.

The water used for cultivating this method generally requires “the waters of the five elements,” namely well water, rain water, river water, seawater, and rootless water (dew). Collecting these waters is troublesome, so generally one may simply use mineral water with a small amount of salt added, or use only mineral water

which is also acceptable, but the cultivation effect will be relatively somewhat weaker, because each of these waters possesses its own unique energy. When combined, they gather the various energies and information of the universe, and after empowerment, using them for practice will rapidly increase one’s power, achieving the purposes of dispelling illness, strengthening the body, enhancing gong-power, and activating latent abilities.

Use these waters for cultivation; for application, any one type of water will do. Once the practice is accomplished and the supernormal ability is attained, even water itself is unnecessary.

First, prepare a water bowl or cup with a diameter of about 10 centimeters, in a jujube-red color. You may also use an ordinary bowl or cup painted with jujube-red color; note that it should not be reflective. After preparing the bowl, empower it following the method for empowering the bronze mirror. After empowerment, prepare a new piece of yellow or red cloth and wrap the bowl in it. When in use, open the cloth and spread it beneath the bowl; wrap it up again when finished, or you may also prepare a cloth pouch.

(1) Water Empowerment Method

To empower the waters of the five elements, use only the yidam empowerment method. For the specific ritual and method, see “Bronze Mirror Empowerment Method.”

(2) Cultivation Method

First Method:

Place the yidam image in front of you, level with your eyes, at a distance of about two meters, adjusted as convenient for visualization. Place the water in front of your seat close to your body. Perform the Four Refuges, generate bodhicitta, and practice the Guru’s Spiritual Power Empowerment Method.

Visualize yourself as the yidam. Form the yidam mudra or the samadhi mudra with both hands. Recite the yidam mantra. Gaze at the yidam image with both eyes, trying your best not to blink. When your eyes feel dizzy or you sense the yidam image moving, lower your head and gaze with both eyes at the water in the bowl. While gazing at the water, use your hand to block the surroundings of the water bowl to prevent light or scenery from reflecting in the water; meanwhile, continuously recite the yidam mantra without stopping. Cultivate in this way repeatedly. When your eyes become fatigued, gently close them and rest briefly, then continue your practice.

Second Method:

This method is relatively simple and convenient. When practicing (regardless of which practice method you are training in), first empower the water before each session, then place the water in front of you and leave it alone — simply proceed with your own practice. When the practice session ends, before closing the exercise, open your eyes and use both hands to block the surroundings of the cup while gazing at the water with both eyes. At this point, light or images will appear in the water. After your eyes become fatigued, gently close them and rest briefly, then reopen your eyes and gaze at the water. Practice repeatedly in this manner; the duration may be determined according to your own convenience of time.

Closing the Exercise:

Visualize the water transforming into nectar, flying up from the bowl, tracing an arc, and pouring into your body through the crown of your head. Simultaneously recite the Abhisheka Mantra twenty-one times. Visualize the nectar filling your entire body, expelling karmic obscurations and impure qi from your body, so that your entire body becomes pure, clear, and transparent, immaculate and undefiled, becoming a body of pure lapis lazuli.

Interlock the ten fingers of both hands and place them over the lower abdomen; relax the entire body for three minutes.

Dip your finger to take a few drops of water and sprinkle them on the crown of your head.

Drink a portion of the water, use a portion to wipe your eyes, and pour the remaining portion onto relatively clean ground, or into a washbasin.

The water used after cultivation possesses very high energy and can be used internally or externally to cure illness. When taking it internally, use your intention to direct the water to the affected area and cleanse it thoroughly. When using it externally, apply the water to the skin over the affected area and visualize the affected area healing completely. Water used for treating illness must be clean and sterile when selected.

When cultivating this method, many visions may appear. Regardless of what occurs, you must always follow the principle of “letting things take their natural course.”

Appendix: Water-Gazing Supernormal Ability Application Method — Water-Gazing Prediction Method

This method is applied on the foundation of cultivating the water-gazing supernormal ability, and is used to predict or investigate matters. When applying it, there is no need to gather the waters of the five elements as in cultivation; any type of water will do. With advanced attainment, there is no need to use a dedicated bowl for gazing. Many lamas in Tibetan regions locate reincarnated soul-children simply by gazing at well water or tidal water. The cultivation method —

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not exactly the same, yet the principle is consistent. When one’s skill advances further, many supernormal abilities and wisdoms are attained during cultivation, and even water is no longer needed.

Method:

Place the bowl of water in front of you, with the same requirements as during cultivation practice.

Take the Four Refuges; receive the guru’s spiritual power blessing.

Recite the yidam deity mantra. While reciting, close your eyes and visualize the matter you wish to predict or investigate. After completing one hundred and eight recitations, open your eyes and observe the water, using your hand to shield the sides of the bowl so that light and surrounding scenery do not interfere. At this point, based on the light and images that appear in the water, you can see the outcome of the matter. If nothing manifests, you may recite the Secret Blessing Mantra, the Wiping-Eye Mantra, and the Three Realms Secret Mantra, and the light and images will naturally appear before you.

Four: Supplementary Practice Method

This method is a supplementary practice for the Clear Mirror Supernormal Ability Method, the Crystal Ball Supernormal Ability Method, and the Water-Viewing Supernormal Ability Method. At the same time, it is also a foundational cultivation method. Mastering this method first and then practicing the supernormal ability methods can achieve twice the result with half the effort. You may practice this method first, and after gaining a certain foundation, proceed to practice the supernormal ability methods — that is, first practice the Four Refuges, generate bodhicitta, receive the guru’s spiritual power blessing, add this method, and then continue with the main practice.

Place a bronze mirror or yidam deity image about three meters in front of you, positioned higher than eye level. If using a crystal ball, place it approximately one and a half to two meters in front of your seat. During practice, keep your eyes open and gaze at the bronze mirror, yidam deity image, or crystal ball.

Practice Method One:

  1. With your intention, visualize the Life-Source Palace as a red sun, spherical in shape, about the size of a table tennis ball, or approximately 5–10 centimeters in diameter. Beneath the Life-Source Palace, visualize a five-colored lotus supporting the Life-Source Palace (the sun). As you inhale, visualize the lotus opening and drawing energy into the red sun. As you exhale, the lotus closes, and impure qi is expelled from the body. With each breath, the sun becomes one degree brighter and its heat also

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increases by one degree. As practice continues, the red sun (Life-Source Palace) becomes increasingly bright and increasingly hot. Rest both hands below the lower abdomen, forming the Dharma Realm Mudra, or open and close them with the breath. Practice for a total of 36 breaths or 5–15 minutes, then close your eyes slightly and rest for a moment.

  1. With your intention, visualize the Heart Chakra as a five-colored lotus, and upon the lotus, a golden-yellow bright moon, approximately 5–10 centimeters in diameter or about the size of a table tennis ball. As you inhale, the lotus opens and draws energy and information into the yellow moon. As you exhale, impure qi is expelled. With each breath, the moon’s radiance becomes increasingly bright, increasingly cool and refreshing, pervading the entire body with luminous clarity. Practice for 36 breaths or 5–15 minutes, then close your eyes and rest for a moment. The hands form the Lotus Mudra or open and close before the chest with the breath.

  2. With your intention, visualize the Brow Chakra as a white lotus, and upon the lotus, a white, bright star about the size of a bean, luminous but not dazzling. As you inhale, the lotus opens and draws energy into the bright star. As you exhale, the bright star emits light, and the white radiance illuminates every part of the body inside and out. Wherever the radiance reaches, a sensation of comfort and joy immediately arises. With each breath, the star’s radiance grows increasingly bright, and the feeling of comfort and joy within your heart grows ever stronger. Practice for 36 breaths or 5–15 minutes, then close your eyes and rest briefly. The hands form the Dharma Realm Mudra or the Wisdom Fist Mudra.

Closing the Practice:

  1. Close your eyes and direct your inner gaze to the five zang and six fu organs and the entire skeletal structure.

  2. Close your eyes. If practicing with a bronze mirror, shrink the mirror to approximately one centimeter in diameter and draw it into the lotus of the Brow Chakra. If practicing with a crystal ball, simply draw the crystal ball onto the lotus of the Brow Chakra. If practicing with a yidam deity image, visualize the deity shrinking and entering your body through the crown of your head, so that you yourself become the deity.

From the perspective of developing and applying supernormal abilities, the Brow Chakra (the Heavenly Eye) governs function, the Heart Chakra (the Middle Elixir Field) governs supernormal abilities and the reception of information, and the Life-Source Palace (the Lower Elixir Field) governs the provision of energy. Traditional Chinese Medicine states that the Lower Elixir Field stores essence, the Middle Elixir Field stores qi, and the Upper Elixir Field stores spirit. This method uses consecrated objects such as a bronze mirror to practice, making the effects more direct, and uses the Three Treasures of Heaven — sun, moon, and stars — to replenish the Three Treasures of the human being — essence, qi, and spirit. Through cultivating this method,

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the energy of the cosmos is used to replenish the body’s energy, achieving the purpose of increasing gongfu and stimulating latent abilities, laying a solid foundation for the cultivation of supernormal ability methods.

Practice Method Two:

Place the bronze mirror, yidam deity image, or crystal ball in front of you as in the previous method.

Both hands form the Dharma Realm Mudra.

  1. Close your eyes and visualize the three channels. The Central Channel is blue, ascending from the Base Chakra through the Crown of Hundred Convergences (Baihui), then curving forward to the Brow Point (Yintang). The Right Channel is red, the Left Channel is white; the left and right channels connect to the left and right nostrils respectively, ascend to the Crown of Hundred Convergences, then descend flanking the Central Channel. The three channels converge at the Life-Source Palace, four finger-widths below the navel. Then visualize a white bindu upon the Life-Source Palace — pure and bright. Exhale: the breath flows through the left and right channels to the Life-Source Palace. Inhale: the breath pushes the bindu upward through the Central Channel to the Brow Center. Perform a total of 21 breaths.

  2. Inhale again: the breath flows through the left and right channels together with the brow-center bindu down to the Life-Source Palace. Exhale again: retain the bindu at the Life-Source Palace and push the breath down to the Base Chakra. Visualize nine flame-tongues at the Base Chakra burning the Central Channel (the flame-tongues are about one inch high).

  3. Open your eyes and gaze at the bronze mirror, yidam deity image, or crystal ball.

Simultaneously visualize nine flame-tongues at the Base Chakra burning the Central Channel. As you inhale, energy reaches the Base Chakra. As you exhale, the flame-tongues blaze fiercely, scorching the base of the Central Channel. With each breath, the flames burn ever more intensely. Perform a total of 36 breaths.

Closing the Practice:

Close your eyes and visualize energy from the Base Chakra slowly rising to the Brow Chakra.

Then, following the previous method, draw the bronze mirror, yidam deity, or bindu into the body.

Interlock the ten fingers of both hands and place them over the lower abdomen. Relax the entire body and breathe naturally for approximately 1–3 minutes.

This method can clear and unblock the three channels, achieving the effects of opening the qi channels and brightening the bindu. Through visualization of the Base Chakra, it can activate the dragon (or spirit serpent — that is, the spiritual energy and spiritual power latent within the human body at the Base Chakra) that sleeps in the Base Chakra. Once the coiled dragon is awakened, it ascends through the Central Channel and can successively open the three channels and seven chakras, achieving the aim of stimulating latent potential, increasing gongfu, and dispelling illness, in preparation for advancing

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lay a solid foundation for the step-by-step cultivation of supernormal abilities.

Appendix: The Theory of the Three Channels and Seven Chakras

In Tibetan esoteric Buddhism, it is held that the human body has three channels and seven chakras, located as follows.

The Three Channels:

  1. Central Channel — Extends from Baihui (the crown) to Huiyin (the perineum), located at the center of the human body; white on the outside and red on the inside, overall blue in color.

  2. Left Channel — Located on the left side of the Central Channel; also called the Water Channel; yin in nature; white in color.

  3. Right Channel — Located on the right side of the Central Channel; also called the Fire Channel; yang in nature; red in color.

The left and right channels connect to the left and right nostrils, ascend into the brain, and then descend flanking the Central Channel. The three channels converge four finger-widths below the navel. This point of convergence is the Dharma-Generating Palace, corresponding to the position of the lower dantian; it is the seat of the body’s true yang and can give rise to all dharmas. It is also called the mandala and takes the form of an inverted red triangle.

The Seven Chakras:

  1. Root Chakra (Muladhara) — Located at the base of the spine, above the anus, approximately four finger-widths in width; also called the Foundation Chakra. Because all the other chakras rest above this one, it serves as the source of strength and spirit for all the chakras. It is a four-petaled golden-yellow lotus. Indian yoga holds that a spiritual serpent (or coiled dragon, also called Kundalini, spiritual power, or Cundalī — the spring of life’s spiritual energy) lies coiled here with its head pointing downward, sleeping within. Abroad, this center is called the human body’s “snow-mountain intelligence bank.” This chakra governs the gonads and kidneys.

  2. Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana) — Level with the root of the genitals; a six-petaled light-red lotus. It governs the gonads, ovaries, testes, prostate, and so on.

  3. Navel Chakra (Manipura) — Level with the navel; a ten-petaled green lotus. It governs the spleen, liver, pancreas, and adrenal glands, among others.

  4. Heart Chakra (Anahata) — Level with the Shanzhong acupoint; a twelve-petaled deep-red lotus. It governs the thymus, heart, and lungs, among others.

  5. Throat Chakra (Vishuddha) — Level with the throat; a sixteen-petaled pure-white lotus. It governs the

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thyroid, tonsils, and salivary glands, among others.

  1. Brow Chakra (Ajna) — Level with a point slightly above the space between the eyebrows; a two-petaled pure-white lotus. It governs the pituitary gland.

  2. Crown Chakra (Sahasrara) — Located inside the crown of the head; a thousand-petaled blue lotus. It governs the pineal gland.

The seven chakras lie in front of the spinal column, traversed by the Central Channel. Physiologically speaking, they are the centers that generate various forms of informational energy in the human body. Through the many thick and subtle channels that depend on these seven chakras (the Crown Chakra sends forth thirty-two channels downward, the Throat Chakra sends forth sixteen channels upward, the Heart Chakra sends forth eight channels downward, and the Navel Chakra sends forth sixty-four channels upward), they regulate the three elements of the human body (qi, bile, and mucus), the seven principal constituents (the refined essence of food, blood, marrow, flesh, fat, and semen), and the three excretions (urine, feces, and sweat), thereby maintaining health and carrying out normal life activities.

In terms of developing the human body’s supernormal functions, once each chakra is truly opened, various abilities can be developed, and one attains the complete possession of the Five Eyes and Six Supernormal Powers.

When the Root Chakra is being developed, there are sensations of pulsation, intense feeling, or a worm-like wriggling. After development, it can expand to the size of the pelvis, with a pleasurable sensation as though an iron gate has been opened. It can generate the abilities of levitation, leaping to great heights, and searching for residual information.

When the Sacral Chakra is being developed, there is a continuous upward pulsation and an upward impulsive sensation. After development, a warm sensation is maintained constantly. It can generate spiritual hearing (receiving infrasound) and low-level spiritual vision, and it strengthens the functions of long-lasting bliss and longevity.

When the Navel Chakra is being developed, the abdomen feels as though pressed by a stick; in some cases there is pain. It can generate the ability to see through the ground, telekinesis (moving objects by thought), and the ability to detect the bio-field (information) left behind by the human body.

When the Heart Chakra is being developed, there are sensations of cold and heat; after development, a sensation of heat predominates. It can generate telepathy, prediction, knowledge of past lives, the ability of physical teleportation, and emotional transmission.

When the Throat Chakra is being developed, a salty taste appears in the mouth, sounds arise in the ears, and some may experience momentary discomfort from a blocked-ear sensation. It can generate the heavenly-ear ability, remote sensing, remote measurement, and remote control, with a lifespan like that of pine and cypress.

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When the Brow Chakra is being developed, there is a sensation of pressure, head swelling, or headache; after development, there is a numb sensation, and ultimately a comfortable, energy-filled state that manifests as silvery-white light or points of light. It is the window through which wisdom is expressed and divine light is emitted, and through which the body absorbs energy. It can generate the flesh-eye ability, the heavenly-eye ability, the wisdom-eye ability, and the dharma-eye ability, enabling one to perform internal vision, X-ray vision, remote vision, and microscopic vision of extremely fine matter, and can enhance existing supernormal abilities.

When the Crown Chakra is being developed, there is a sensation like thunder vibrating or waves of heat; after development, there is an icy-cold sensation, like water droplets continuously dripping. It can develop the ability of divine transformation, including the capacity to make the body grow large or small, light or heavy, and to come and go freely.

Once the left and right channels are opened and qi ascends to the crown, the qi of the Central Channel will also rise in accompaniment.

The seven chakras and the three channels interconnect to form an integrated whole, while each chakra is itself an independent center. The life-information within the human body travels among the seven chakras. A giant coiled dragon (spiritual serpent) lies dormant within the Root Chakra. When the divine power of the coiled dragon breaks through each chakra channel, allowing the seven chakras to flow freely, upon reaching the Throat Chakra all spiritual sensitivity within the body begins to awaken. Thereafter, according to the various innate potentials already developed, spiritual abilities arise in succession, reaching a realm of divine mastery, with functional abilities and wisdom emerging one after another. However, one must apply meditative concentration and engage in deep cultivation in order to sustain these functions, attain the fruits of the path that are “high, deep, profound, and wondrous,” achieve long-lasting bliss and longevity, and obtain the highest wisdom (transcendent, supreme wisdom that awakens one to the true meaning of the cosmos and human life).

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Chapter Two: Methods of Prediction

One: The Mala Prediction Method

One hundred and eight beads correspond to the numbers of heaven and earth. All myriad things in the universe are contained within the mala and can be reflected through it. Daoists use a circle to represent the universe, calling it the Qiankun Circle; Buddhists string beads into a circle to represent it, and one hundred and eight beads represent the entire Three Thousand Great Thousand World.

In Buddhism, there are many methods of prediction using the mala, but regardless of the method, all are based on the heart mantra of Manjushri Bodhisattva or on one’s own yidam deity. This is because when one recites the yidam’s mantra to a certain number of repetitions, one’s meditative concentration reaches a certain level. Then, during prediction, reciting the yidam’s mantra enables one to enter a certain state of samadhi. In this state, the latent potentials of the human body are fully developed, so one can accurately predict the outcome of any matter. Ultimately, the key to the mala prediction method is cultivation of the mind.

In practical application, one may devise one’s own set of procedures, determining a specific method and result-interpretation. Once determined, it should not be changed at will; thereafter, each prediction should follow one’s own established procedure. The results obtained are often astonishingly accurate.

When using this method for prediction, the accuracy of the results depends on the depth of one’s ability to enter stillness. Generally speaking, during prediction, if one firmly believes that one will obtain the correct result and is able to concentrate, dispelling distracting thoughts, one will obtain correct results. In daily practice, frequently practicing the Manjushri Bodhisattva yidam method or frequently reciting the Five-Syllable True Word (heart mantra) of Manjushri Bodhisattva can improve the accuracy of predictions. When practice becomes thoroughly proficient and one’s information connects with that of Manjushri Bodhisattva, receiving the information of the matter being predicted will naturally

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the result of the thing that appears. The accuracy of the prediction result lies in one’s degree of mastery and cultivation of the Manjushri practice method. Learning the method is easy, but truly mastering it requires a period of diligent cultivation. At the very least, one should recite the Manjushri Bodhisattva heart mantra more than 100,000 times.

Method: First practice the Manjushri cultivation method and recite the Manjushri Bodhisattva heart mantra.

  1. Bless the mala beads 21 times.
  2. Visualize Manjushri Bodhisattva sitting opposite you, with both hands pressed together in greeting. Recite “OM, AH, HUM,” and respectively visualize the three syllables “OM, AH, HUM” at Manjushri Bodhisattva’s crown, throat, and heart, each emitting light that shines upon your own crown, throat, and heart. Your body respectively turns white, red, and blue, receiving the blessings of Manjushri Bodhisattva’s body, speech, and mind. Then visualize Manjushri Bodhisattva transforming into a bindu, entering your body through the crown of your head, and you yourself becoming Manjushri Bodhisattva.
  3. Place the guru bead of the mala (often shaped like a gourd) at the base of the left ring finger. Recite the Manjushri Bodhisattva heart mantra while simultaneously wrapping the mala around your hand. After wrapping it completely, remove it and place it in front of you. Press down on it with your right hand, and in your mind concentrate on the matter you wish to predict. Visualize Manjushri Bodhisattva emitting light that illuminates a certain bead, like a lotus flower. Then casually pinch a spot on the mala and begin counting — counting in groups of six. Count until you near the guru bead and see how many remain. Record that number. Then do it once more to obtain a second number. Then begin the divination calculation. Usually the front and back two hexagram images are combined, and the result is deduced from the primary hexagram (zheng gua), the overlapping hexagram (hu gua), and the changing hexagram (bian gua).

The mala prediction method uses the six mental states and phenomena of energy channels experienced in meditative concentration (ding) to correspond to the six types of transformational phenomena of human affairs. This does not mean that in meditative concentration there are only these six states and phenomena. Speaking from the perspective of Tibetan esoteric Buddhism’s nine successive stages of concentration (jiu cidi ding), beginning from the first abiding (chu zhu), one must sequentially pass through nine levels of mental-state cultivation: continued abiding (xu zhu), returning abiding (hui zhu), near abiding (jin zhu), subduing abiding (fu zhu), still abiding (ji zhu), supremely still abiding (zui ji zhu), focused abiding (zhuan zhu), and equal abiding (deng zhu) — finally entering a profoundly deep state of concentration. Moreover, during the course of cultivation, the body will produce many phenomena, such as the opening of energy channels, the rising of inner heat (tumo), the descending of moon-fluid, and a whole series of phenomena involving energy (qi), channels (mai), -18-

centers (lun), and bindus (mingdian). That is to say, during the course of cultivation, from the psychological to the physiological, there will be very many states and phenomena. In this method, from among these many psychological and physiological states and phenomena, six are selected that can represent the six transformational phenomena of human affairs. These serve as the predictive procedure or hexagram images, through which predictions about people and things are made to arrive at correct results. The six situational programs are compiled as follows:

(1) Cloudless Clear Sky

Predicting travel: suitable for long-distance journeys. Predicting neighborhood relations: best to avoid. Predicting business: smooth paths and broad scope. Predicting family: marriage is not good; separation or divorce is possible. Predicting career: all matters go smoothly; things proceed as desired.

(2) Heavenly Horse Soaring Through the Sky

An image of constant busyness with no moment of quiet. Predicting career: very good, very prosperous — like “a heavenly horse soaring through the sky,” unconstrained, with abilities fully expressed and career developing.

(3) Radiant Sun in the Sky

The sun’s energy is vigorous; the sky clears after rain — an image of diligent labor. Predicting marriage and family: very good; life is vibrant and flourishing. Predicting work: thriving and prosperous, but with signs of exhaustion.

(4) Thunderclap in a Clear Sky

A sudden great change occurs — unfavorable. Predicting health: generally speaking, very inauspicious; accidents may occur. Predicting business: major upheavals will happen. Predicting personal affairs and family: originally harmonious together, but suddenly a thunderclap appears and causes scattering. This hexagram image is the most unfavorable — it is a hexagram image in which planned endeavors do not succeed.

(5) Sky and Water in Mutual Dependence

Viewed from a distance, the water and sky seem to merge as one, appearing quite auspicious. But in reality, they will never blend. Predicting family: the surface looks fine, but there is a latent crisis. Predicting personal affairs: there are petty troublemakers. Predicting travel: running very far without finding an end. Predicting business, fame and emolument, or studies: the backing is unstable; a situation will arise that is beyond one’s capacity to handle.

(6) Blue Sky and White Clouds

Matters go back and forth repeatedly, not smoothly; struggles and arguments will arise. On the blue sky -19-

white clouds appear. After the clouds scatter, it is blue sky again, and after a while white clouds form again — back and forth repeatedly. Through continuous effort, there will be a good outcome. The six states corresponding to the six situations:

“Cloudless Clear Sky”: During meditation, the mind is free of distracting thoughts, like a cloudless clear sky.

“Heavenly Horse Soaring Through the Sky”: Distracting thoughts in the mind are like a heavenly horse, darting east and west, flying through the sky, unconstrained.

“Radiant Sun in the Sky”: Turning inward to illuminate one’s own thoughts is also called “contemplating the mind” (guanxin). When movement arises, one knows movement; when stillness comes, one knows stillness. One is unmoved by either movement or stillness, observing everything with perfect clarity.

“Thunderclap in a Clear Sky”: This is when practice enters into a state of concentration, the primal energy (yuanqi) becomes abundant, and the energy channels open. Suddenly there is a “boom,” like a thunderclap erupting in a clear sky. The six sense bases shake, the ears hear a loud sound, and the energy channels throughout the entire body open simultaneously.

“Sky and Water in Mutual Dependence”: In the nine successive stages of concentration this is called subduing abiding (fu zhu), the fifth state among the nine successive stages of concentration. When meditation enters this state, it is very stable, but a very subtle torpor will appear (subtle hunchen). This torpor is exceedingly subtle and very difficult to detect. Many ancient practitioners fell into this torpor and mistakenly believed it to be an exceedingly profound state of concentration, causing their cultivation to be obstructed. In reality, this torpor and the genuine state of concentration are like water and sky — forever two separate aspects that can never merge together.

“Blue Sky and White Clouds”: This corresponds to the “first abiding” (chu zhu) state among the nine successive stages of concentration. One attains some degree of concentration, but it is quickly lost again as distracting thoughts reappear, just like white clouds appearing against the blue sky. At this point one raises right mindfulness, dispels the distracting thoughts, and enters the state of concentration — the mind becomes like the blue sky again. After a while, more distracting thoughts arise and are again dispelled. This repeats back and forth until one can finally enter the next level and achieve the state of meditative concentration.

To help everyone broaden their thinking, several methods commonly used among Buddhist monastics are now introduced for your reference and study.

(1) The Object Selection Method

Number the objects, then take a number using the method described earlier. Whatever number is drawn, the object corresponding to that number is the one you should select.

Other matters, as long as they involve a choice — such as predicting a time, the direction in which lost property or a missing person has gone, and so on — can all use this method. -20-

(2) Method of Taking Numbers from Both Sides of the Mala’s Buddha Head

First, determine the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness based on the left and right numbers. If the remainder on the left side is greater than that on the right side, it is auspicious; otherwise, it is the reverse. The degree of auspiciousness or inauspiciousness depends on the difference between the remainders on the left and right sides. The most auspicious situation is when the left side is 3, and the right side is 1. Once the numbers are determined, chant the mantra, visualize the matter being predicted, and enter meditative absorption. Then, casually pinch a bead on the right side of the Buddha head with your right hand; your left hand should also pinch a bead on the left side of the Buddha head according to the same method. Next, your right hand begins to count the beads toward the Buddha head, in groups of three, counting by threes all the way to the Buddha head. Stop when the remaining number of beads happens to be exactly three or fewer than three. The left hand also counts the beads according to the same method. Then, compare the ratio of the remaining beads on both sides of the Buddha head to determine the auspiciousness, inauspiciousness, success, or failure of the matter.

(3) Simple Judgment Method

Visualize the matter being predicted, chant the mantra, and enter meditative absorption. Casually pinch a segment of the mala with both hands, then use your right hand to count the beads toward your left hand in pairs, stopping when the count is exactly three or fewer than three. Judge the outcome of the matter based on the remainder: if the remainder is three, it is auspicious; if the remainder is one, it is inauspicious; if the remainder is two, it is a neutral number. A neutral number indicates that the outcome of the matter can be achieved but will not be entirely satisfactory, or that although the matter succeeds, it will require much effort, necessitating arduous struggle before success can be achieved.

(4) Mala Mind-Illuminating Method (Mala Mind-Purifying Visualization Method)

The key to this method lies in cultivating the mind. First, place your left hand with the palm facing upward at the lower abdomen, or support the mala, and hold the mala with your right hand in front of your chest. Only then begin counting the beads. When counting the beads, the left hand holds the mala at the lower abdomen to assist the right hand. The right hand counts the beads one by one using the thumb and index finger. While counting, the thumb gently twists the bead from the inside out in a clockwise direction—a natural, relaxed twist—then pushes the bead down, and counts the next bead according to the same method. While counting, you must also visualize: visualize that the mala beads are the seed syllables of the yidam, crystal clear and transparent. If you have not learned the Tibetan esoteric Buddhist yidam method, then visualize the mala as your own mind, and your own mind as a single mala bead. Do not generate discriminating consciousness;

just having this thought is sufficient. As your thumb twists and pushes the mala bead, imagine wiping away the dust obscuring the obscurations, revealing the luminous self-nature deep within your mind. In this way, regardless of time or number of repetitions, you can practice at any time. There is no need to formally conclude the exercise; practice when you want to practice, and stop when you want to stop. This method is of great help for developing one’s own spiritual power and reducing afflictions and delusions. It is an excellent cultivation method: simple and convenient, yet kept secret and unspoken by many great masters. It is just this simple, but the spiritual stage is very high. High-level esoteric teachings are often very simple, but if they are not pointed out, they are very difficult to comprehend. This is what makes it “secret.”

II. Sleep Dream Prediction Method

This is the most unique prediction method in the secret yoga methods of Tibetan esoteric Buddhism. Through the communication of yogic information, one enters a special state of meditative absorption. During sleep, the human body’s discriminating consciousness is reduced to its lowest point, and the body’s latent functions are developed to predict events. For those whose ability to enter stillness is relatively poor, who cannot generate mental images, or whose subjective discriminating consciousness is too heavy, this is an optimal prediction method.

Practice Method:

  1. Chant the Four Refuges Mantra 7 times.
  2. Guru Blessing: Visualize the guru in the space opposite you, place your palms together, and pray for the guru’s blessing: “I pray to all the gurus to bestow great blessings and accomplish the dream-observation prediction method.” Visualize a white light radiating from the “Om” (嗡) syllable at the guru’s brow center to bless your own brow center; your body becomes white, obtaining the guru’s body blessing. Visualize a red light radiating from the “Ah” (啊) syllable at the guru’s throat to bless your own throat; your body becomes red, obtaining the guru’s speech blessing. Visualize a blue light radiating from the “Hum” (吽) syllable at the guru’s heart center to bless your own heart center; your body becomes blue, obtaining the guru’s mind blessing. Visualize the guru transforming into a bindu (bright drop), forming an arc, and flying from the crown of your head into your own body. You

yourself become the form of the guru, identical to the guru without any difference, obtaining the guru’s secret blessing. 3. Yidam Correspondence: Transform your own body into the form of the yidam, and chant the yidam’s mantra 108 times. 4. Chant the mantra (Dream-Observation Prediction Mantra) 108 times: Na da a le bao, da na de mo ni, mo di ni, mo zi le sa mu, da xia na sa, ma ya suo ha. While chanting, think about the matter you wish to predict. After chanting, lie down in your most relaxed and comfortable posture (it is best to sleep alone), and then peacefully go to sleep. In this way, the prediction result will appear in your dream.

Appendix 1: Visualization Method After Waking After waking up early, perform the Ninefold Buddha Breath (or exhale three mouthfuls of stale air: when inhaling, draw in fresh air through the nose; when exhaling, expel the stale air from the body through the mouth). Perform seven deep Vase Breaths. Pray again to the guru for blessings to enable you to clearly understand your dreams. Then, concentrate your mind and visualize a white bindu one inch inward between your eyebrows, the size of a bean, bright but not glaring. If you have an excess of blood, visualize this bindu as red instead. If you are highly nervous, visualize this bindu as green. If you still cannot understand the dream using the above method, then after getting up in the morning, perform the Ninefold Buddha Breath, perform Vase Breathing 7 times, and then visualize a black bindu at the secret chakra (Huiyin acupoint / perineum). In this way, you will be able to understand the realms that appeared in your dream.

Appendix 2: Method to Prevent the Dispersion of Dreams The dispersion of dreams means forgetting the dream upon waking. There are the following countermeasures: ① Being in a dream, just as you are about to clearly realize it, you suddenly wake up, and upon waking, the dream scatters and is lost. Countermeasure: Take more nutritional supplements; and before predicting, exercise the body or practice dynamic qigong. You may practice the Vajra Breath-Training Great Method, the Naropa Six Yogas of Breath, or the Vajra Varahi Fist Method, and only then practice the sleep dream prediction method, so that the sleep and dreams become stable, long-lasting, and profound. ② Due to excessive fatigue, dreams are numerous, chaotic, unclear, and often repetitive. Countermeasure: Strengthen your resolve to clearly understand the dream; practice Vase Breathing; visualize the bindu between the eyebrows. ③ Due to physical and mental pain, the dreamed realms are extremely numerous, and scatter upon waking, unable to be remembered

at all. Countermeasure: avoid all impure environments; frequently visualize the syllable at the crown of the head to purify body, mind, and the Dharma Realm; then visualize a black bindu at the perineum (the secret chakra).

④ No dreams — dreams do not appear. Countermeasure: practice vase breathing; then visualize the bindu at the brow center and enter into samādhi; recite the mantra of dream-visualization prediction more often.

Three: The Four-Armed Avalokiteśvara Prediction Method

The key to practicing this method lies in cultivating the mind. When deluded thoughts no longer arise, the luminous true nature naturally reveals itself. Through further practice, one can reach the state in which one’s own mind is Buddha.

Practice method:

  1. Visualize yourself in the form of Four-Armed Avalokiteśvara (see the yidam practice).

  2. With your intention, shift your heart from the left side to the exact center of the body — the position of the heart chakra within the central channel — and turn it so the tip of the heart points upward. Visualize the heart transforming into a pure, transparent six-petaled white lotus. In the center is a green lotus seat, upon which rests a white bindu — bright, round, smooth, pure, and transparent. The bindu then transforms into the seed syllable of Four-Armed Avalokiteśvara, about one inch tall, standing on the lotus seat. Around it are arranged the six-syllable true mantra of Avalokiteśvara: Oṃ Ma Ṇi Pad Me Hūṃ — the Oṃ in front, the other syllables arranged in order, one syllable on each of the six petals, forming a mantra wheel. At the very center is the seed syllable “Hrīḥ.”

Form the lotus mudrā with both hands and place them before your chest. Recite the six-syllable true mantra of Avalokiteśvara. When reciting, include the seed syllable as well, i.e., “Oṃ Ma Ṇi Pad Me Hūṃ Hrīḥ.” With each recitation, the mantra wheel rotates one full turn clockwise. When reciting the seed syllable, focus your intention and visualization on the seed syllable. Simultaneously visualize both the seed syllable and the mantra wheel radiating brilliant light that fills the universe, and the universe also radiating light back onto the seed syllable. The light of the seed syllable resonates with the light of the universe. The sound of the six-syllable true mantra resonates with the universe — that is, the universe and all sentient beings of the six realms together emit the mantra sound, resonating with one’s own mantra recitation.

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When reciting, the volume should be just loud enough for you to hear — neither too loud nor too soft. The sound is emitted from the mouth and returns through the ears into one’s own mind; this is called “out through the mouth, in through the ear.” Recite a minimum of 108 times; the more, the better.

  1. Then focus exclusively on reciting the seed syllable of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva: Hrīḥ. At the same time, use your own mind (the luminous essence) to experience and sense all things in the universe. Do not add your own subjective consciousness; simply use the mind to sense, to receive the information of all things in the universe, and then carefully sense each particular thing. The length of practice time is up to you. Alternatively, you may practice once through the above procedure in the morning without closing the practice, then spend the entire day using the mind to sense various things. Every place you go, every thing you encounter, recite and visualize the seed syllable, and receive and sense the information of those things. Then, before going to sleep at night, close the practice.

  2. Closing the practice: Gather all the light, information, and energy of the universe back into the seed syllable. The petals of the lotus slowly close, enveloping the seed syllable and the mantra wheel within the lotus. The lotus transforms back into the heart and returns to its original position. Interlock the ten fingers of both hands and place them over the lower abdomen for 3–5 minutes, then conclude the session auspiciously.

Prediction application:

When predicting a certain matter, first follow the practice method to visualize yourself as Four-Armed Avalokiteśvara — entirely transparent and pure as crystal — and visualize the lotus, the mantra wheel, and the seed syllable. Recite the mantra and the seed syllable according to the method. Focus your intention single-pointedly on the matter you wish to predict. Observe the seed syllable and recite the seed syllable, while simultaneously using the mind to receive and sense the information of that matter. Eliminate all deluded and scattered thoughts, relax, and enter stillness until the brain is completely blank.

After a brief moment, a feeling or a thought will arise in the mind. This thought is not something devised, induced, calculated, or analyzed by subjective consciousness; it carries no subjective component whatsoever. Therefore it is a manifestation of the luminous essence and possesses the power of prediction.

Once the thought arises, whether it seems good or bad, do not add your own subjective intention to it — neither welcoming nor rejecting it; simply let it follow its natural course. After the thought — the prediction result — emerges, again sense the feeling within your own mind. If you feel that your mind is very relaxed, comfortable, and joyful, with an increasing sense of groundedness,

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then the result is correct. If you feel tension, pressure, or dejection in your mind, and an increasing sense of ungroundedness — a kind of hollow, empty loss — then the result is not a manifestation of the luminous essence but rather your own erroneous thought. If this is the case, overturn the result and follow the method again, waiting for the next correct thought to appear.

When overturning an erroneous result, it is essential to note: you must not use subjective analysis, judgment, or reasoning to conclude that the thought is wrong and should be overturned. Rather, allow a feeling to arise naturally in the mind. This feeling arises naturally, without the slightest subjective element on your part. Therefore, affirmation too is natural, and negation too is natural — that is, when a feeling confirms something, it is not your subjective intent; rather, the result stands on its own and needs no help from you to be established. Likewise, results that should be negated and overturned are not those that are judged erroneous through analysis, judgment, and reasoning. All such subjective thinking is entirely unnecessary. The affirmation or negation of a result is determined solely by the quality — good or bad — of the feeling that naturally arises from the thought. The natural manifestation of the luminous essence is the most accurate. After entering the super-sensory state, a sudden flash of insight occurs and a thought appears — this thought is very often the most accurate.

When one’s practice reaches a certain level, the prediction result will no longer be merely a feeling or response; sensations, images, sounds, or written characters may appear simultaneously. The results that appear at that stage will be even clearer and more accurate.

When the Four-Armed Avalokiteśvara Prediction Method is practiced together with the Light-Visualization Prediction Method, they complement each other and yield twice the result with half the effort. The Four-Armed Avalokiteśvara method primarily trains the mind’s sensitivity to things, while the Clear-Mirror Lotus Accomplishment Method primarily trains light and imagery. Therefore, practicing both methods together produces remarkable efficacy.

When practice of this method enters a high level, because of prolonged training, the mind becomes extremely sensitive to the information of things and frequently abides in the super-sensory state; the luminous essence manifests easily. As soon as a matter arises, without the slightest need for thought, one can immediately speak the result — with great accuracy. This is what is called the Spontaneous Speech Ability.

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IV. The Method of Prediction by Gazing at Light

The method of prediction by gazing at light may be called the foundation of the Tibetan esoteric methods of prediction. Methods such as mirror-gazing and water-gazing all take this as their basis.

In the region of the human heart, there is a blue life-channel. From the front, back, left, and right of this life-channel, eight channels branch out, belonging to the four great elements. At the center of these eight channels, in the middle of the life-channel, there are five pure bindus (drops), entering layer by layer from without to within:

  1. Outer layer: the pure bindu of the earth element — white.
  2. Inner layer: the pure bindu of the water element — red.
  3. Inner layer: the pure bindu of the fire element — golden yellow.
  4. Inner layer: the pure bindu of the wind element — green.
  5. Innermost central layer: the pure bindu of the wind element, like a vacuum tube — formless and without appearance.

Within this vacuum tube, there is an aggregate of the five pure bindus. It is bright, circular, the nondual unity of luminosity and emptiness, free from all deluded thoughts, and possesses an indestructible essential nature. It is the Five Directional Buddhas, the totality of the five wisdoms, and is called the indestructible bindu. Within the indestructible bindu, five kinds of luminous light are fully present, radiating in all four directions.

From the indestructible bindu, a channel leads to the two eyes of the human body. It is called the crystal-tube channel; we call it the wisdom-light channel. This channel rises directly from the heart to both lungs, loops around the bases of both ears, and reaches both eyes, connecting to the pure dharmadhātu. This channel is fine and delicate, hollow inside, narrow at the back and wide at the front, clear and luminous like water; therefore it is also called the far-reaching water-light channel.

Within the indestructible bindu in the heart is hidden the primordial wisdom light — that is, the innate luminous wisdom of the human body, also called Buddha-nature. In Tibetan esoteric Buddhism it is mostly called the luminous essence (ming-ti). “Luminous” (ming) refers to the wisdom-transformation of both mind and matter; “essence” (ti) refers to the fundamental substance of both mind and matter. If we speak in terms of substance and function, then luminosity is the function and essence is the fundamental substance. Self-nature is precisely the luminous essence. “Illuminating the mind and seeing one’s nature” means seeing the manifestation of the luminous essence.

When we come into contact with something, the information of that thing is first received by the luminous essence, which then produces a response. Ordinarily, because our inner desires and afflictions are too

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many, they obscure this information, so the resulting response cannot be received by our brain. However, once we calm our mind and eliminate distracting thoughts, this latent supernormal ability will manifest. When predicting something, the luminous essence makes an accurate judgment about the outcome of the event, and according to the different outcomes of the matter, different luminosities will appear. This luminosity is revealed before our eyes through the wisdom-light channel, and we can then make accurate predictions about a matter based on the color and shape of the light appearing before our eyes. This method of prediction we call the “method of prediction by gazing at light.”

What follows is one form of the light-gazing prediction method — using the visualization of the heart-center lotus bindu and a precious mirror to develop the heavenly-eye ability. It is also called the Method of Accomplishment of the Lotus Bindu and Mirror.

Practice method:

  1. Form the Dharma-realm samādhi mudrā with both hands, and place them below the navel.

Visualize the heart-center lotus. Using mental intent, visualize the heart moving from its leftward position in the body to the center of the body — that is, to the position of the heart center on the central channel. Then, using mental intent, flip the heart over so that the tip of the heart faces upward, transforming it into a white lotus flower. Upon the green lotus pedestal of the lotus, there is a white bindu, pure as crystal, clean and transparent.

Visualize the wisdom-light channel. Visualize two channels branching out from the white bindu of the lotus, entering both lungs, passing behind both ears, and rising up to both eyes.

  1. Bindu mantra sound

Inhale: with mental intent, visualize energy entering both eyes from the empty space of the dharmadhātu, descending along the wisdom-light channel into the bindu. The bindu expands, becomes full, and fills with energy and light.

Exhale: softly produce the sound “OM.” As you exhale, produce the sound — making it as long as one breath allows. Close both lips and produce the sound “Mm” — this is the correct method of pronouncing “OM.” After finishing the sound, gently close the lips and mouth, inhale through the nose directly into the dharma-origin palace (the lower abdomen), and simultaneously imagine energy filling the heart-center bindu. Visualize the bindu radiating five-colored light, the light filling the entire body, but not extending beyond the body. While producing the sound, experience the sensation of the sound-wave frequency vibrating within the body.

Perform this for a total of twenty-one cycles of one exhalation and one inhalation.

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  1. The mirror gathers energy

Visualize both eyes and the hall of impression (yintang, the point between the eyebrows) each emitting a beam of light forward, converging into a single point at a distance of about two to three meters in front. That is, light is emitted from three points — the hall of impression and both eyes — in a triangular formation, converging in front into a single focal point, transforming into a large round precious mirror, radiantly luminous and glowing. The mirror may be visualized at about three feet in size. The precious mirror slowly rotates to the right and emits light.

While visualizing the precious mirror rotating and emitting light, also visualize the white bindu on the heart-center lotus. When inhaling, light and energy enter the bindu; when exhaling, expel the turbid qi from the heart center and the body. Practice for approximately five to fifteen minutes. Then visualize the precious mirror gradually shrinking, finally condensing to about one inch in size, and draw it in through the hall of impression into the lotus of the brow-center.

  1. The mirror illuminates the body

Visualize two beams of light radiating from the bindu of the heart-center lotus, passing outward through the wisdom-light channel like a luminous mist, arriving into the space before you. The two clusters of five-colored light each revolve and spiral, transforming into two bright mirrors approximately twenty centimeters in diameter — one positioned at the front-upper region of the head, the other rotating to the rear-upper region of the head. The two mirrors, one in front and one behind, shine diagonally downward to illuminate the entire body. Then visualize your entire skeleton from head to foot, and then visualize the entire skeleton once more from bottom to top, that is, from foot to head. When visualizing, each region must be visualized clearly, one area at a time. After visualizing each area clearly, hold it for a moment, then visualize the next area. The color of the bones is white on the outside and red on the inside — the outer white is pure and transparent, while within there is a thread of red faintly emitting red light. The order for visualizing from top to bottom is: skull, cervical vertebrae, shoulder and collarbones, upper arm bones, lower arm bones, hand bones, finger bones, spinal vertebrae, sternum, ribs, coccygeal vertebrae, pelvis, thigh bones, kneecaps, lower leg bones, ankle bones, heel bones, foot bones, and toe bones. Then visualize in the reverse order from bottom to top. This may be repeated several times.

After that, visualize both mirrors rotating to the front, shrinking into white bindus the size of pupils, emitting five-colored light, and entering through the pupils into the wisdom-light channel, descending to the bindu of the heart-center lotus, then transforming into five-colored light and dissolving into the white bindu.

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Closing the Practice: Visualize the lotus closing, enveloping the bindu within the lotus. The lotus then transforms back into the heart, turns so that the heart-tip points downward, and returns to its original position. Interlace the ten fingers of both hands and place them over the lower abdomen. Relax the entire body for 3–5 minutes. Auspiciously conclude the session.

Application in Prediction: When predicting a matter, first relax the whole body and calm the mind. Then, following the cultivation method described earlier, visualize the heart as a lotus and bindu. Eliminate all distracting thoughts from the mind, focus exclusively on the matter to be predicted, and simultaneously softly emit the sound “OM.” Imagine the matter to be predicted transforming into the “OM” sound, striking and vibrating the bindu on the heart-center lotus. Just as in the cultivation practice, emit the sound breath by breath. Once a feeling of ease, joy, groundedness, and lightness-well-being arises in the mind, or after completing a full twenty-one recitations, shift your attention to the space in front of you and visualize a great round treasure mirror before you. At this point, various forms of light will appear before your eyes, and you can make accurate judgments about the outcome of the matter based on the shape and color of the light. Those with accomplished skill can directly see images manifest.

If light does not appear before you, then keep your attention on the bindu of the heart-center, then rub and press both eyes with your fingers, finally pressing the outer corners of both eyes. At this point you must keep your attention on the bindu of the heart-center, while simultaneously thinking of the matter to be predicted. Then shift your attention to the great round treasure mirror in front of you, and light will appear.

To use this method for prediction, one must first cultivate the “Lotus-Mirror Accomplishment Method” described earlier. Generally speaking, when during each practice session you can clearly visualize images or manifest clear light, you can use this method for prediction. Otherwise, even if you rub your eyes until golden and silver stars burst forth, you will not obtain correct results. What you see is the non-conceptual bindu produced by rubbing with your hands — it is an illusory, unreal phantom. Only the manifestation of the luminous body is a true reflection.

Judging the Prediction Results:

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1. Judging by Light Color: If golden-yellow, blue, purple light, or seven-colored light appears, it is an auspicious sign and the matter can succeed. If the light is golden-yellow and circular, or like the deep blue sky — a vast expanse of blue with a very distinct band of another color in the middle — then the matter encounters resistance. The degree of resistance depends on the proportion of the other color. However, the final outcome of the matter is very good and very satisfactory.

White light and pale yellow light indicate an average or neutral outcome. If speaking in terms of the matter being achievable, then accomplishing it requires special mental exertion, trouble, hardship, and running about in all directions before it can succeed.

If a hazy, grayish-white or other colors appear, it is an inauspicious omen.

2. Judging by the Shape and Characteristics of the Light: If the shape of the light is round — as round as a full moon — it is a symbol of auspiciousness and success.

If the outer edge of the light is not very clear, it is a sign of a neutral outcome.

If other colors appear, it is an inauspicious sign.

When the light’s characteristics are steady and clear, it is an auspicious sign.

If the light’s characteristics are initially blurry, flickering between bright and dim, but after a while stabilize and the color is also auspicious, then the matter has many difficulties and resistance at the start, but can ultimately succeed.

If the light’s characteristics are exactly the opposite, then things start out well, but the outcome of the matter will be unsatisfactory.

If the light’s characteristics are unstable, appearing and disappearing, flickering between bright and dim, then the matter will go back and forth repeatedly and will not easily succeed.

3. Sometimes certain images may appear, such as the sun, moon, mountains, water, and so on. If there is a sunrise with clouds parting and mist dispersing, the matter is auspicious; a bright moon indicates assistance from a noble benefactor; rivers, lakes, and seas indicate the matter will proceed smoothly; encountering a mountain indicates obstruction.

4. Those with deep attainment can directly display the outcome of the matter — this type is easy to judge.

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Five. The Contemplation-of-Emptiness Prediction Method

The Contemplation-of-Emptiness Prediction Method is relatively simple. In actuality, it is also an application in which the inner light of the luminous body from the Light-Contemplation Prediction Method manifests externally. The Lotus-Mirror Accomplishment Method involves observing light with closed eyes, whereas this method involves observing light with open eyes. The specific practice is as follows:

Form the Dharma-Realm Samaya Mudra with the hands. With eyes open, focus your attention on visualizing your chosen visualization target (see the Visualization Accomplishment Method, i.e., the Heavenly Eye Image-Manifestation Method, for details). The Visualization Accomplishment Method requires that one cultivate to the point where there is no difference between open-eyed and closed-eyed contemplation. If you can visualize with closed eyes but cannot visualize when you open them, you have only accomplished half. Only when you can visualize just as clearly with open eyes as with closed eyes is it called the Visualization Accomplishment Method. Once the visualization is done, shift your gaze to a blank wall or into empty space. At this point, the visualized image can manifest on the wall or in the empty space.

Applying this method for prediction: Relax, enter stillness, and enter the super-conscious state. Gaze directly at a blank wall or into empty space. The luminous body will then manifest light or images on the wall or in empty space through both eyes via the Wisdom Light Channels. Based on these images or light, make accurate predictions about matters.

Six. The Mirror-Contemplation Prediction Method

The Mirror-Contemplation Prediction Method is called the Mirror Mandala Accomplishment Method in Tibetan esoteric yoga practice. It belongs to the traditional ritual framework and has quite strict requirements for the practice environment: a place where during the day one does not see outsiders, and at night there is no crowing of roosters or barking of dogs. One should practice in strict retreat to achieve rapid accomplishment. In Tibetan esoteric yoga, among methods of explicit realization, no method is faster or easier to accomplish than this one.

Practitioners may, according to their own circumstances, choose not to follow the ancient requirements for the practice environment, but should at minimum maintain quiet surroundings as an essential condition. Furthermore, during the course of practice, one should maintain a vegetarian diet and strictly abstain from tobacco, alcohol, meat, and the five pungent spices. During practice, observe silence and exclusively recite for 7 days, 21 days, or even 49 days, and success is certain. The time required for accomplishment varies according to each person’s spiritual capacity. If an ordinary practitioner exceeds 100 days without achieving accomplishment, then one must follow the re-

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Seek retreat to cultivate with a focused mind, and within a predetermined period, you will certainly achieve accomplishment. At the time of accomplishment, various signs may manifest. For example, one may see extraordinary realms in meditation, or feel sensations of anomaly, or hear voices speaking in the air, or see classes of spirits and deities. When these phenomena appear, this practice is already accomplished.

Practice Method: Buy a new mirror. After purchasing it, wrap it well in new cloth (red or yellow). The fewer times the mirror has been used for reflection, the better. Open it during practice, and wrap it up again after practice.

  1. Place the mirror in a clean place in front of you. Perform the Four Refuges, the Four Immeasurables, and generate Bodhicitta. Then visualize that in the space opposite you, Tara and her retinue are seated encircling you.
  2. Recite the prayer: “Guru Tara, pray bestow your blessings. May all worlds, all humans, gods, spirits, animals, matters, destinies, and all that I wish to see and hear, be clearly revealed within the light and grant me accomplishment.” Visualize Tara entering your crown.
  3. Recite the karma-purifying emptiness-visualization mantra. Visualize the bam syllable transforming into a lotus, and the ah syllable transforming into a moon disc. On the moon disc, the green tam syllable radiates light, as all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas universally deliver sentient beings, and the light returns to the tam syllable. Yourself transforms into Tara, with one head and three arms; the right hand forms the wish-granting mudra, the left hand holds the stem of an utpala flower, and you adorn yourself with various jewels and precious necklaces.
  4. Recite the invoking mantra. Invite the innate Prajna Bodhisattva and all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to descend from the sky, transform into light, and enter your three places of crown, throat, and heart. Recite the Four-Syllable Mantra to merge into one body.
  5. Visualize your own crown, throat, and heart possessing the three vajra syllables (Om, Ah, Hum), distinctly colored white, red, and blue. The tam syllable in your heart radiates light to invite the Buddhas of the Five Families to bestow empowerment. Recite the empowerment mantra: Om, sarva, tathagata, abhishikata, shiyehum. Nectar pours down from the crown, filling the entire body; your body becomes pure, and sinful karma is eliminated. Finally, the nectar overflows at the crown, transforming into Amoghasiddhi Buddha to adorn your crown.
  6. Finally, single-pointedly recite the Tara mantra: Om tare, tuttare, ture, mushayi, gushayi, zamadengde, gaguodaya, xuemadare, rezachie

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qiamo, hayadengdili, soha. After this practice is accomplished, if you wish to use this mirror to observe and know matters, take the mirror out and place it in a clean place in front of you. Clarify in your mind the matter you wish to ask about, and then recite the mantra to the mirror (108 times): Om, amagagaya, dabologuoya, menzhagazhagagaya, zazhagagaya, moxinmoxinya, zhemareyale, duzhemareyale. Blow a breath onto the mirror, and light will appear within the mirror. Then recite the eye-wiping mantra (while reciting, moisten your finger with saliva and wipe it over both eyes): Om, muxiariyi, guxiariyi, zhangxiariyi, zamoxiariyi, zhamosiyidi, harehare, siyidiweidangqi, mencimasuo. At this time, you will see the matter asked manifested within the light in the mirror, or inside the mirror. If it is not clear and difficult to discern, recite the following secret mantra 108 times: Om, gaguodaya, zamadengde, om zhadinihuaza. Blow a breath onto the mirror, and you can observe and know all things within the mirror.

7. Dream-Revealing Tara Prediction Method

Dream-Revealing Tara is one of the Taras of esoteric Buddhism. “Tara” (Du) carries the meaning of universal deliverance, and “Mother” (Mu) means mother. Tara signifies that the urgency to relieve the suffering of sentient beings and universally deliver them is as pressing as a mother helping her children. Dream-Revealing Tara can reveal dreams to instruct sentient beings, pointing out future matters for them.

In Tibetan esoteric yoga, the ritual framework for the practice of Dream-Revealing Tara is very complex. What is explained here is a simplified practice method.

  1. Four Refuges;
  2. Four Immeasurables;
  3. Generate Bodhicitta;
  4. Purify karma and visualize emptiness, recite the mantra: Amida, gunzhali, hanahana, sawabigadazhaha, sawababang, humpaisoha.

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Visualize blue light in the sky, and within the light is the bam syllable as a lotus. On the lotus is a moon disc, and on the moon disc is the tam syllable. Transform yourself into Tara, with a white body, one head, and two arms. The left hand holds a blue lotus, and the right hand forms the wish-granting mudra (the thumb and middle finger connect to form a ring, and the other three fingers extend straight). The left foot is extended forward in a half-lotus posture, draped in blue celestial garments, adorned with pearls and various jewels as necklaces, with Amoghasiddhi Buddha adning your crown. You yourself sit upon a white lotus. The tam syllable on the moon disc of the lotus in your heart radiates light; this light fills the ten directions and three realms, pervading the entire dharmadhatu, making offerings to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas above, and delivering the sentient beings of the six realms below. It also welcomes the descent of the innate Prajna deity. Recite the invoking mantra and the Four-Syllable Mantra. Visualize your brow center possessing the white Om syllable, your throat the red Ah syllable, and your heart the blue Hum syllable, fully constituting the three vajra syllables. Visualize the tam syllable on the lotus moon disc in your heart revolving to form a mantra wheel. Recite the mantra: Om, subadare, soha. According to esoteric Buddhist regulations, each session must consist of 5,000 or 10,000 recitations, and completing 1.4 million recitations signifies accomplishment. However, in modern times, due to people’s time constraints, the number of mantra recitations per practice session should be determined according to your own situation and schedule. If you do not have time to practice according to the ritual framework, then persist in reciting the mantra daily; whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, silently recite the mantra continuously. With a singular, sincere mind, accomplishment is also certain. Then recite the Great Mantra; it must be recited 108 times per session, or at least 21 times: Om, subadare, subaawaluogeyini, zheluojianidaxiani, zheluojigerezani, budangbawabaweixiang, xiubaxiubangdangqiao, xinyagadayu, soha. Afterward, recite the Hundred-Syllable Mantra once. If you wish to predict a certain matter, or want to clearly understand various situations—such as the circumstances of family members and friends, your own work situation, or if you encounter difficult problems in your studies or practice—or if you wish to firmly memorize certain things in your sleep, such as foreign language vocabulary, texts, or articles, you can use this method for blessing. When praying for a dream, first clarify in your mind the matter you wish to predict or understand, and then recite…

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recite the great mantra 108 times, then fall peacefully asleep. In sleep, you may receive the instructions of Dream-Revealing Tara, clearly seeing everything.

If the purpose is to study or memorize, or to deepen understanding of certain content, then after reciting the mantra, place the material you wish to understand and memorize beneath your pillow as you go to sleep. You will then receive Tara’s instructions in your dreams, knowing everything through the dream.

8. Shri Devi Prediction Method

Shri Devi is one of the protector deities of Tibetan esoteric Buddhism. She has one head, two arms, and three eyes, and rides a mule. On the rear saddle of the mule there is also an eye growing. Hanging on the left side of the saddle are three dice — these three dice are used for prediction. In Tibetan esoteric yoga, using this method to predict and judge the success or failure of a matter is extremely efficacious. In traditional practice, one must also enter retreat to cultivate the practice. The dice are placed in front of oneself, and then one recites the mantra of Shri Devi to bless the dice. Under normal circumstances, when one has recited up to forty thousand repetitions, one die will jump up; after another forty thousand repetitions, another die will jump up; when one has completed one hundred and twenty thousand recitations, all three dice will have jumped over. At this point, the practice has been accomplished, and one can use this method to conduct predictions.

During the practice, each person’s attainment is different. Some people, when reciting the mantra, will have all three dice jump up together after a certain time. Some people will have two jump together, while others will have only one jump up. Three dice jumping up together is upper-grade attainment; two jumping up together is middle-grade attainment; one jumping up is lower-grade attainment. As long as a die has jumped up — no matter how many or whether they jump together — one can use this method to conduct predictions.

For modern people, due to various reasons, it is not easy to complete a retreat practice to the point where the dice jump over. Therefore, the following several methods may be used for cultivation:

  1. In Tibet, some people who practice this method but lack the conditions for a dedicated retreat will wrap the dice in yellow cloth, then use a horsehair thread or a long

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hair from themselves or a close relative to tie the dice to a tree outdoors or to a wooden post. Then every day they find time to recite the mantra facing it. Through exposure to wind, rain, and sun, combined with factors such as thermal expansion and contraction, the horsehair or hair will generally break after one to three months, and the dice will fall. Once all three dice have been blessed by this method and fallen, one can begin using this method for prediction.

  1. Place the dice properly in a box, lined beneath with yellow cloth, and set it in a clean place. Every day whenever you have time, recite the mantra facing it. After reciting, do not move it, and do not open the box to look inside. Persist every day. After about a month, open the box again, and you will discover that some of the dice inside have jumped over — perhaps one, perhaps two, or perhaps all three have jumped over. At that point, they can be used for prediction.

  2. Dedicate rest days to specialized practice. Aside from necessary activities such as eating, do not do other things. Practice this method alone in a purified room. This is equivalent to entering retreat. Each time your practice reaches over forty thousand recitations, a die will jump over, and you can then use it for prediction.

  3. Every day take these three dice and bless them. Hold them in your hand, recite the mantra with your mouth, and visualize the seed syllable Jiao (嚼) within the dice. This syllable is the seed syllable of Shri Devi, representing all the virtuous qualities of Shri Devi. By blessing them daily in this way, over time a very strong informational energy will gather on the dice, and the response will be very powerful. They can also be used for prediction.

Now, we will explain the abbreviated practice of this cultivation method.

Tools: ① Three dice. In the traditional practice, they are made of ivory, with gold lacquer applied within the pips, each weighing approximately 6 grams. Nowadays, ordinary white ones are acceptable. The dice should preferably be new and never used by anyone else. ② One box, preferably with a lid — color and material are not restricted. ③ A piece of yellow cloth, approximately one square foot in size. ④ Additionally, it is best to enshrine an image of Shri Devi in front of you.

When practicing, try to choose a relatively quiet and clean environment. In front of yourself,

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first lay out the yellow cloth, then place the box on top of the yellow cloth. Open the lid of the box and place the three dice inside the box. The three dice should be arranged horizontally in front of you. The face with one pip should be face-down at the bottom, and the face with six pips should face upward. For the die in the center, the six pips should point vertically toward you. For the two dice on the left and right sides, the six pips should face the sides.

  1. Four Refuges;
  2. Generating Bodhicitta;
  3. Four Immeasurables;
  4. Recite the Shri Devi mantra: jiu la ma, jiu la ma, jiu jiu la ma, sang jie ga la, la jie duo la, mo ha mo ha, jia jia jia zhun que, gu lu gu lu hong, jiu hong.
  5. By cultivating and reciting the mantra in this way, once you have completed one hundred and twenty thousand recitations, you may use this method for prediction.

Prediction method:

When conducting a prediction, first lay the yellow cloth in front of you and place the box on it. Write the matter you wish to predict on a slip of paper and press it beneath the box. Open the lid of the box. Shake the dice in the palms of both hands. While shaking, recite the Shri Devi mantra with your mouth and hold the matter you wish to predict in your mind. Then cast the dice into the box and observe what the total number is. Based on the number, you can determine the outcome of the matter.

Numbers of great auspiciousness: 9, 15. The outcome of the matter will be extremely good — family harmony, prosperous career, abundant wealth flowing in, and all things going as wished.

Auspicious numbers: 11, 13. Slightly inferior to the numbers of great auspiciousness. One must put forth a certain amount of effort in undertaking the matter, but the outcome will be very good and success can be achieved.

Neutral numbers: 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14, 16, 17, 18. One must make continuous effort in undertaking the matter to achieve results. If there is even slight negligence, success will not be possible.

Worst numbers: 4, 12. The outcome of the matter will be very poor. No matter how one strives, failure is already a settled fate.

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Chapter 3: Six Methods of the Heavenly Eye Ability

1. The Method of the Silver Line and the Roaming Pearl

Form sword fingers with both hands. Point one hand at the Yintang position between the eyebrows, and point the other at the right Yuzhen point at the back of the head. Visualize the inside of the brain as a round mirror (the entire inner wall of the brain is a mirror). Between the sword fingers of the two hands, an extremely bright silvery-white line is formed. On this silver line is a white bright pearl, crystal clear. Then visualize this pearl rolling back and forth, roaming along the silver line, forward to Yintang and backward to Yuzhen. During the roaming process, the pearl collides with the silver line, emitting light (just like when two pieces of metal collide, bursting forth sparks). The light shoots into the mirror on the inner wall of the brain, and the mirror reflects the light back. The light reflects and collides back and forth like this, and the brain becomes filled with brightness. After visualizing this for a certain period of time, you can put your hands down, form the Dharma Realm Samadhi Mudra, place it below the navel, and quietly observe the brow chakra. At this time, various lights and images will appear in the brow chakra. Do not grasp or reject these images; let nature take its course. After a moment, practice repeatedly until closing the practice. The length of time and the number of practice sessions can be managed according to your own condition.

2. The Method of Forming Mudras to Open the Lotus

Form the Vairocana Wisdom Fist Mudra with both hands and place it in front of your chest. Visualize a white two-petaled lotus flower in the brow chakra. Lightly touch the mudra to the brow, chant the mantra “Weng, Hong”, and at the same time visualize the lotus flower in the brow chakra continuously opening layer by layer from the outside to the inside. When chanting the mantra, note that you should first take a full

breath of air, then let the sound exit your mouth and enter your ears. For the duration of one breath, sound out “Weng, Hong”. When the breath is completely exhaled, the sound should finish exactly. At this time, your lower abdomen will naturally retract. Then, lightly close your lips, gently rest the tip of your tongue against the gums behind your front teeth to receive body fluids, and naturally inhale through your nose. At the same time, your lower abdomen will naturally expand, filling your lower abdomen with qi. This chanting method is the secret key to chanting mantras. Just like recharging a battery, it fully replenishes the human body’s original qi. With long-term and deep practice, the original qi will naturally become sufficient, naturally opening up the human body’s meridians. Keep the mudra at the brow. Chant the mantra three times in total. Then lower the mudra. As it descends, the mudra acts like the pull-cord of an automatic curtain; following the descent of the mudra, it pulls the cord, continuously drawing open the curtain in front of the Heavenly Eye layer by layer. Lower the mudra to the heart chakra, lightly touch the heart chakra, and then chant the mantra using the previous method, chanting three times in total. Scoop qi with both hands, lift the five-colored Buddha light, channel qi into the Heavenly Eye acupoint, and infuse the five-colored Buddha light into the lotus of the brow chakra. Do this 7 times in total. After the 7 qi infusions are completed, form the Sun Wheel Mudra with both hands and place it at the brow. Various types of cosmic information, energy, and five-colored Buddha light will continuously stream through the mudra into the brow chakra lotus for about 3-5 minutes. Then visualize a sudden clap of thunder and a bolt of lightning flying from the distant horizon, entering the Heavenly Eye through the mudra, striking the brow chakra and forcing open the Heavenly Eye acupoint. Visualize the lightning and thunder a total of three times. After visualizing the lightning and thunder three times, form the Wisdom Fist Mudra again and lightly touch the brow. Following the above sequence, practice repeatedly several times.

3. The Method of Avalokitesvara and Amitabha (Avalokitesvara Opening the Lotus)

Put your palms together. Visualize your body as transparent and hollow. Above your head are the dharma-transmitting guru and the patriarchs of past generations, and at the very top are the Five Buddhas of the Five Directions and all the great Bodhisattvas.

First chant the Four Refuges Mantra seven times, then chant the Empowerment Mantra. At the same time, visualize the dharma-transmitting guru, the patriarchs of past generations, and the Five Buddhas of the Five Directions transforming into five-colored nectar and descending, pouring into your body from the crown of your head. Contemplate that this nectar possesses the various information and energy of Tibetan esoteric Buddhism. Pouring into your body, it fills every part, expelling turbid qi, poisonous qi, and karmic hindrances out of the body through the pores. Your entire body will become crystal clear and transparent, becoming a body of lapis lazuli. After the nectar fills your body, it overflows from the crown of your head, and the overflowing nectar condenses into a red Amitabha Buddha sitting upright on the crown of your head, and you yourself transform into the image of the dharma-transmitting guru. Transform yourself again into the image of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. Visualize your dharma-generating palace, the three channels, and the brow chakra lotus. Imagine the central channel as the stem of the brow chakra lotus, planted at the dharma-generating palace, hollow inside, connecting upward to the brow chakra and downward to the dharma-generating palace. Form the Avalokitesvara Samadhi Mudra or the Lotus Mudra with both hands. Then chant the Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra of Avalokitesvara: Weng Ma Ni Ba Mi Hong. When chanting, chant it breath by breath. When exhaling, let your lips open slightly; the volume of the chanting should be at a level where you can just hear it yourself. Your ears should listen inwardly to your own chanting voice; in this way, it exits the mouth and enters the ears. For the duration of one breath, count and recite the six-syllable mantra, reciting as many times as possible. At the same time, your lower abdomen naturally retracts inward. Visualize the energy of the dharma-generating palace rising up the central channel to the brow chakra. Make the lotus of the brow chakra continuously open layer by layer from the outside to the inside. After exhaling completely, close your lips slightly, rest your tongue against the palate, and naturally inhale through the nose. At the same time, keep your lips, teeth, and tongue still, silently recite the mantra in your mind, and let your lower abdomen naturally expand outward. Simultaneously visualize Amitabha Buddha above your head descending nectar, which, together with the energy of the universe, pours into your body from the crown of your head and fills your whole body. One exhalation and one inhalation count as one breath. Practice 108 breaths in total. Then relax your entire body and enter quiescence, breathing naturally. Finally, interlock the ten fingers of both hands and place them over the lower abdomen to close the practice.

4. The Method of Inward Circulation and Contemplation of Sunlight

Face the sun, and form the Sunlight Bodhisattva Mudra: touch the thumbs and index fingers of both hands together to form…

ring, while the other three fingers extend naturally. Place the right-hand mudra in front of your face with the palm facing left. Let your left hand hang naturally at your side, the tip of the middle finger lightly touching the Fengshi acupoint. Look at the sun through the ring formed by the right-hand mudra.

Recite the mantra of the Sunlight Bodhisattva: Namo boduju numi, namo dama mohexuan, namo sengjia duoyeni, dilibu bisha, doudan namo. The method of recitation is also done breath by breath. When exhaling, use the Vajra recitation method — the sound exits the mouth and enters the ears. When inhaling, use the mind-recitation method.

Slowly inhale, filling the breath completely, while visualizing the sunlight being drawn in from the Yintang point into the Ajna (brow) chakra. Then slowly exhale while reciting the mantra, guiding the absorbed sunlight gradually downward — passing through the head, throat, chest, and abdomen, down along both legs to the Yongquan point, and entering the ground through the Yongquan point. When the sunlight moves internally, coordinate with inner vision, illuminating your own body. Use the energy of the sunlight to illuminate the five viscera, six bowels, bones, and cells throughout the entire body. Coordinate with gentle exhalation and mantra recitation so that every part of the body can be seen clearly.

One inhalation and one exhalation constitute one breath. You may practice 21, 36, 49, or 108 breaths.

Five: The Method of Arousing the Spirit and Flying Dragon (Dharma Eye Attainment)

  1. Ninefold Buddha Wind.

  2. Spirit-Arousing Method:

Form the Dharma Realm Mudra. Visualize the three channels and the coiled dragon at the Muladhara (base) chakra. The front end of the central channel opens at the Ajna (brow) center, ascends into the brain to the crown (Baihui acupoint), then descends along the spine to the Muladhara chakra at the sacrococcygeal region. The left and right channels connect to the left and right nostrils respectively, ascending through the nostrils into the brain and descending alongside the central channel. The three channels converge at the “Life-Dharma Palace” four finger-widths below the navel. Within the Life-Dharma Palace, there is a coiled dragon, its head pointing downward in a state of slumber.

Once the visualization is clear, begin arousing the spirit.

Inhale, drawing the five-colored radiant light and various energies of the universe in through the Ajna center and the left and right nostrils respectively, into the central channel and the left and right channels. Follow the three channels downward to the Life-Dharma Palace, where they converge and gather

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within the Life-Dharma Palace.

Exhale, directing the five-colored light and various energies within the Life-Dharma Palace downward to awaken the coiled dragon slumbering at the Muladhara chakra. One exhalation and one inhalation constitutes one round. Perform this 21 times in total.

  1. Flying Dragon Method:

Form the mudra: The thumbs and ring fingers of both hands meet fingertip to fingertip to form rings. Place the tips of the index fingers on the backs of the middle fingers. Then the middle fingertips and little fingertips of both hands respectively touch each other, forming the Buddha Light Mudra. Place it in front of the lower abdomen.

Once the mudra is formed, begin practicing the Flying Dragon Method.

Inhalation: When inhaling, do not draw the breath to fullness all at once. You must fill the breath in seven mouthfuls, so each inhalation should only take in one or two tenths. Seven inhalations in total will fill the breath completely. When inhaling, note that you only inhale and do not exhale. After each inhalation, pause the breath briefly, then take the next inhalation.

First inhalation: visualize the coiled dragon at the Muladhara chakra raising its head. Second inhalation: the dragon’s head rises to the Svadhisthana (genital) chakra. Third inhalation: the dragon’s head rises to the Manipura (navel) chakra. Fourth inhalation: the dragon’s head rises to the Anahata (heart) chakra. Fifth inhalation: the dragon’s head rises to the Vishuddha (throat) chakra. Sixth inhalation: the dragon’s head rises to the Ajna (brow) chakra. At this point, the dragon’s head is at the Ajna center, and the dragon’s tail is at the Muladhara chakra — the entire dragon body is the central channel. Then take the seventh inhalation, drawing the breath full and complete, focusing your attention on the Ajna chakra. The mudra follows the inhalation, guiding the coiled dragon upward step by step, ultimately rising to the Ajna center.

Exhalation: Because you have inhaled seven consecutive breaths to fullness, inhaling only and never exhaling, once the breath is full you will feel an urge you cannot suppress. At that point, exhale forcefully with all your might in a single outbreath, while simultaneously visualizing the coiled dragon flying forward from the Ajna center out to the edge of the sky. The mudra simultaneously guides forward.

Because you have taken seven consecutive inhalations to fill the breath and then exhaled, panting will result. At this point, you may breathe naturally for seven or eight breaths to even out the respiration. At the same time, you can visualize the five-colored flying dragon entering and exiting through the Ajna center with each breath. The mudra also guides back and forth. When the dragon flies out, the dragon’s head leads; when the dragon flies back in, the dragon should reverse direction so that the head still leads.

After panting seven or eight breaths and the breath has become even and calm, take one final inhalation,

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drawing the dragon back into the Muladhara chakra. Visualize it facing downward, because at this time the dragon is flying downward, so in the Muladhara chakra the dragon’s tail points upward. When exhaling, visualize the dragon coiled at the Muladhara chakra.

One ascent and one descent constitutes one round. You may perform this three, five, or seven times.

For visualizing the dragon’s color, you may visualize it as red or five-colored. After the heavenly eye has opened, the color of the dragon you see will vary according to each person’s internal organ condition — the colors will not be entirely the same: heart red, lungs white, liver green, kidneys black, spleen yellow. Whichever organ’s function is strongest will bias the color toward that organ.

This practice produces strong qi-sensation and great energy. For cases where the heavenly eye is not opening well or is on the verge of opening but has not yet done so, practicing this method is most suitable.

Six: The Heavenly Eye Image Method (Heavenly Eye Energy-Gathering and Image-Manifestation Method)

Place an image of a Buddha in front of you at the height of your own head. If you have already practiced the yidam method, then place the image of your yidam in front of you, form the yidam mudra, and recite the yidam mantra. If you have not practiced the yidam method, then place the Buddha image you like best in front of you. Put your palms together and recite the three-syllable universal mantra: Om, Ah, Hum.

Open your eyes and look carefully at the Buddha image. When beginning practice, you may first look at a part — that is, first observe the head (according to the sutra records, one generally begins by visualizing the white hair mark between the eyebrows of Shakyamuni Buddha). Once you see it clearly, firmly memorize the head image of the yidam. The image information you have viewed is received through the Yintang point into the heavenly eye acupoint (i.e., the lotus of the Ajna chakra).

Then close your eyes and visualize the image of the yidam, so that the image you just viewed appears at the heavenly eye like watching television. At first, there may be no image or the image may be unclear. At this point, concentrate your mind and the image will gradually appear.

Once you can clearly visualize the head, you can proceed further to visualize the entire body, until you can visualize the full-body image clearly. Once yidam visualization is practiced proficiently, you can switch to other Buddha and Bodhisattva images for rapid training, until you can effortlessly visualize images clearly.

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This method of training does not involve keeping the eyes open to look at an image and then closing the eyes to imagine and manifest the image. Rather, after observing clearly with open eyes, the information and energy of the image are absorbed. Then, closing the eyes, one allows this information to automatically manifest the image.

Once this training method is practiced to proficiency, further training can be conducted. That is, when observing with both eyes open, there is no need to observe each item clearly and memorize it firmly; a general glance is sufficient. Then, retrieve the information energy, close the eyes, and manifest the image.

After the heavenly eye is opened, to cultivate high-level supernormal abilities of the Five Eyes and Six Supernormal Powers, one must pass through the gateway of images. This is because many supernormal abilities—such as internal vision, microscopic vision, penetrating vision, prediction, and knowledge of others’ minds—are often displayed through images. Therefore, images serve as a necessary gateway for developing extraordinary abilities and entering high levels.

The training of this method practices the reception of information while simultaneously training on images. Although the practice is that of visualization, once the skill is achieved, it reaches the level of Dharma Eye Penetration.

Guangdong Province Qigong Science Research Association, Tibetan Esoteric Supreme Yoga Research Society Mailing Address: P.O. Box 9218, Shuqian Road Post Office, Guangzhou Postal Code: 510080

[General Information] Book Title = Tibetan Esoteric Supreme Yoga - Tibetan Esoteric Supernormal Prediction Method Author = Zhang Weijie (Tudan Banma Huadan) Pages = 45 SS Number = 10229500 Publisher = China Qigong Science Research Association Practical Qigong Scientific Research Center; Guangdong Province Qigong Science Research Association Tibetan Esoteric Supreme Yoga Research Society Chinese Library Classification Number = B94 Reference Citation Format = Zhang Weijie (Tudan Banma Huadan). Tibetan Esoteric Supreme Yoga - Tibetan Esoteric Supernormal Prediction Method. China Qigong Science Research Association Practical Qigong Scientific Research Center; Guangdong Province Qigong Science Research Association Tibetan Esoteric Supreme Yoga Research Society.

Cover

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Methods of Supernormal Abilities

  1. Mirror Supernormal Ability Cultivation Method
    • Appendix: Mirror Gazing Prediction Method
  2. Crystal Ball Supernormal Ability Cultivation Method
    • Appendix: Crystal Ball Prediction Method
  3. Water Gazing Supernormal Ability Cultivation Method
    • Appendix: Water Gazing Prediction Method
  4. Auxiliary Practice Methods
    • Appendix: Theory of the Three Channels and Seven Chakras

Chapter 2: Prediction Methods

  1. Rosary Prediction Method
  2. Sleep Dream Prediction Method
  3. Four-Armed Avalokiteshvara Prediction Method
  4. Light Gazing Prediction Method
  5. Emptiness Gazing Prediction Method
  6. Mirror Gazing Prediction Method
  7. Dream-Revealing Tara Prediction Method
  8. Auspicious Goddess Prediction Method

Chapter 3: Six Methods for the Heavenly Eye

  1. Silver Thread Moving Pearl Method
  2. Mudra Knotting Lotus Opening Method
  3. Avalokiteshvara Amitabha Method
  4. Sunlight Internal Circulation Contemplation Method
  5. Spirit-Stimulating Flying Dragon Method
  6. Heavenly Eye Image Method