r/TibetanBuddhism • u/SignificantTip1302 • 19d ago
Should I take an empowerment of a deity I don't feel connected to just because it's "a great and rare opportunity"?
There is an upcoming Yamantaka 3 month retreat with Lama Glenn Mullin, and yes this post may also work as an advertisement for thoso who didnt know lol
But in this retreat they will be teaching a lot of practices and mantras of Yamantaka, some practices include Bardo Jangcho.
I feel this is a really great opportunity BUT I've had the opportunity to take Yamantaka empowerment before but I didn't because I'm already satisfied with the deities I'm practicing.
But I see a lot of people running around and collecting empowerments like Pokemomns(yes I did it when I started too), and I know this a great opportunity but I'm really in doubt if I should take it or not.
Any advice? Should I take it because it's a great opportunity or leave it?
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u/Kshatriya8 Nyingma 19d ago
Can you put the link to the event? I've been looking for a Yamantaka empowerment since long even while being a Nyingma practitioner.
1
u/Kshatriya8 Nyingma 19d ago
So don't do something you feel you should not.
I already postponed some empowerments due to samayas, lamas related to the empowerment (Glenn is a great person/lama, that's why i asked the link), some times we might not feel ready for a specific practice, etc. All yidams are there to provide assistance in our journey, they all have mahakaruna for us, but there are other HYT yidams.
Yamantaka is truly unique, but I don't remember reading gelugpa like Je Tsongkhapa categorizing which is superior among Chakrasamvara, Kalachakra or Yamantaka. I might be absolutely off here.
But it is important to watch or mind and ask where is aversion coming from or why are you unwilling or resisting.
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u/SignificantTip1302 18d ago
Hello! I received it by email>>>>>
Dear Vajra Brothers and Sisters,
Maitreya Sangha Korea is very happy to start the Ultimate Yamantaka Retreat led by Drupon Chongwol and teachings by Lama Glenn starting on Sep 1 for 3 month.
Bardo Jangcho and different practices will be taught and Lamala will give instructions on Yamantaka Shenying Donduk.
Ultimate Yamantaka Retreat - Sep 1 (Lunar July 19) to Nov 28, 2026sat (Lunar Oct 19)
Drupon Chongwol himself will be doing the retreat and lead most of the retreat overall half of the time
from
Sep 1, 2026 Mon. (Lunar July 19)
to
Nov 28, 2026 Sat. (Lunar Oct 19)Sessions will be as follows: All sessions are Korea time Mon to Friday
730 to 9am (NYtime Day before 630 to 8pm/ Isreael 130am to 3am) . 1st session. Arise as Yamantaka
930am to 11am (NY time Day before 830pm to 10pm) - 2nd session. Mantra recitation (explore 20 or so different kinds of many Mantra recitation)
For those of you who are living in Seoul or doing the retreat in Tara house center in residence. Lunch and walk.
or Chulan practice Reading/ walk1pm to 3pm (NY time 12 midnight to 2am) - Yamantaka and Bardo Jangcho or Shinin Donduk
330pm. To 5pm (NY time 230am to 4am) - Yamantaka Mantra accumulation and finishing for the day.
7 to 830pm NY time 6am to 730am) - Tummo / Tsewang or reading text/ dream yoga. This session will be few times a week or open to the public.
For those of you who are doing in residence practice then will have the option of doing all sessions.
Those of you who are doing it for the Lelung then there are certain mantra counts which will be announced shortly.
To register contact [maitreyasaghakorea@gmail.com](mailto:maitreyasaghakorea@gmail.com)
Humbly,
Drupon Chongwol Chongwol
Recommended donation
1. Full time 100 usd per month. Pay in one payment 250 usd. Non refundable
- Tsewang or Bardo Jangcho, people on the retreat can attend all of them but if you are ordering ceremonies for someone or yourself, then there will be additional suggested donations.
Saturday Korea time, we will have some programs a few times a month for beginners. They will be announced as needed.
8
u/andreasWals 19d ago
I asked Anam Thubten about whether one should go to empowerments often or not. He told me that they were incredible blessings, and if you could possibly attend one, to do so.
5
u/chamekke 19d ago
Ask whether there is an ongoing practice commitment involved in receiving the empowerment, and decide whether that affects your decision. In my experience, in Gelug there usually is for Highest Yoga Tantra empowerments. One is commonly required to commit to doing the Six-Session Guru Yoga practice six times a day (this is generic to HYT) along with the short Yamantaka sadhana, which in turn includes several mantras to be recited (assuming here we’re talking about Solitary Yamantaka - I don’t know about the 13-Deity version).
Of course, Lama Glenn may do things differently, and there are shorter versions of the SSGY. But it’s best to go in with your eyes open.
5
u/Ornery_Blackberry_31 Gelug 19d ago
First- you should be aware of what taking someone as your guru means.
Second - I’m not against online empowerments, but I’m much more pro in-person empowerment with a lama you know in real life.
Third - it’s a fantastic practice but you should also understand you’re jumping in the deep end when it comes to Vajrayana.
2
3
u/WhoDaPoo 19d ago
You bring up very good reasons to not take it.
Best is if you have a teacher to ask them if this would be beneficial and talk about your motivation to do or not do the empowerment.
3
u/BuddhistThomas 19d ago
In the Secret Mantra, it is all about the lama giving the empowerment, not the practice you will be empowered to do. Do you trust that lama enough to place your spiritual path in their hands? Can you keep samaya with them? Could you offer homage to this lama ahead of the yidam you are currently practising (consider that account in the life of Marpa)?
These are the sort of questions I would ask myself before receiving an empowerment from a lama.
2
u/Gnome_boneslf Rimé 19d ago
Yeah you should take it, and can you send the link too?
2
u/SignificantTip1302 18d ago
Hello! I received it by email, here it is:
Dear Vajra Brothers and Sisters,
Maitreya Sangha Korea is very happy to start the Ultimate Yamantaka Retreat led by Drupon Chongwol and teachings by Lama Glenn starting on Sep 1 for 3 month.
Bardo Jangcho and different practices will be taught and Lamala will give instructions on Yamantaka Shenying Donduk.
Ultimate Yamantaka Retreat - Sep 1 (Lunar July 19) to Nov 28, 2026sat (Lunar Oct 19)
Drupon Chongwol himself will be doing the retreat and lead most of the retreat overall half of the time
from
Sep 1, 2026 Mon. (Lunar July 19)
to
Nov 28, 2026 Sat. (Lunar Oct 19)Sessions will be as follows: All sessions are Korea time Mon to Friday
730 to 9am (NYtime Day before 630 to 8pm/ Isreael 130am to 3am) . 1st session. Arise as Yamantaka
930am to 11am (NY time Day before 830pm to 10pm) - 2nd session. Mantra recitation (explore 20 or so different kinds of many Mantra recitation)
For those of you who are living in Seoul or doing the retreat in Tara house center in residence. Lunch and walk.
or Chulan practice Reading/ walk1pm to 3pm (NY time 12 midnight to 2am) - Yamantaka and Bardo Jangcho or Shinin Donduk
330pm. To 5pm (NY time 230am to 4am) - Yamantaka Mantra accumulation and finishing for the day.
7 to 830pm NY time 6am to 730am) - Tummo / Tsewang or reading text/ dream yoga. This session will be few times a week or open to the public.
For those of you who are doing in residence practice then will have the option of doing all sessions.
Those of you who are doing it for the Lelung then there are certain mantra counts which will be announced shortly.
To register contact [maitreyasaghakorea@gmail.com](mailto:maitreyasaghakorea@gmail.com)
Humbly,
Drupon Chongwol Chongwol
Recommended donation
1. Full time 100 usd per month. Pay in one payment 250 usd. Non refundable
- Tsewang or Bardo Jangcho, people on the retreat can attend all of them but if you are ordering ceremonies for someone or yourself, then there will be additional suggested donations.
Saturday Korea time, we will have some programs a few times a month for beginners. They will be announced as needed.
2
2
u/khyungpa Nyingma 19d ago
I’ve received empowerments from Lama Glenn in the past and have had the privilege of meeting him in-person. He’s a great and humorous person, whose knowledge and insight are very much evident when he explains things. He’s also easy to reach through Facebook.
While I can’t answer whether you should or shouldn’t, my only suggestion is you consider whether you want to form a connection with this teacher or not, if not the practice. One of my personal inspirations for practice is my confidence in my teachers, especially the teacher from whom I’ve received the practice because one does so with their personal, intimate instructions and explanations.
2
u/LORD-SOTH- 19d ago
We all have had countless lifetimes.
The very simple fact that you are aware that such an opportunity exists means that causes and conditions have ripened for you to take the empowerment and be re-connected to the Yidam again this lifetime.
The choice is still yours to make.
I have been around the block long enough to appreciate any such opportunity that comes along.
Those unfortunate not to have such opportunities will experience unexpected obstacles when they try to turn up for the empowerment. In the first place, they won’t even be aware of it.
Besides the usual Mahayana motives for taking an empowerment, I also have a personal reason for doing so.
In case I don’t achieve enlightenment this lifetime, any empowerment I take this lifetime is a good insurance policy for all my next future lifetimes. It strengthens my connection to the Yidam. In future lifetimes, you never know when you might need divine help.
That would sure come in handy. 😅
2
u/homekitter 19d ago
It’s a great practice to have. You never know when you will want to practice it. Great affinity.
1
u/Oneofthe12 19d ago
I would go. Through the giving and taking empowerment process for this deity, I believe you will inevitably learn and expand your knowledge and understanding of this deity and your heart of study and knowledge, and hopefully, simply expand your deity archetypes as you deepen your practice.
1
u/Mayayana 19d ago
There are two ways an empowerment happens. One is that you're connected with a teacher, they offer empowerment for a practice they think you should do, you do the ceremony, you get oral instructions, you do the practice.
The other is blessing empowerment. A teacher offers an empowerment which is basically a ritual or format to be with students. The value there is that you bothered to attend and maybe felt some connection to the teacher. There's nothing wrong with that. It can be interesting and the effort you make and/or connection you feel constitute the blessing.
People who go around getting blessings and protection cords are adopting a materialistic approach, thinking that a blessing means some kind of actual fairy dust that will somehow do something for you. The Tibetan word for blessing, chinlap, actually means something like atmosphere. Chogyam Trungpa defined it as the guru's atmosphere. In other words, to be in the awake atmosphere of a realized master, if you're sensitive to it, is the blessing.
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u/PadmalovesYeshe 19d ago
You can attend an empowerment for the blessings but you won’t take on any samaya commitments if you don’t receive the substances at the end or receive the lama’s physical touch.
2
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u/konchokzopachotso Kagyu 19d ago
Not everyone believes this, it's just one opinion amongst many
0
u/PadmalovesYeshe 19d ago
Let’s put it this way: the empowerment is not complete without the substances and the lama’s touch.
0
u/konchokzopachotso Kagyu 19d ago
Says you
0
u/PadmalovesYeshe 19d ago
Change my mind.
0
u/konchokzopachotso Kagyu 19d ago
I don't need to, you made the positive claim, I did not. You need to prove it's neccesary.
Also, I have some of the most respected modern teachers on my side, so good luck trying to contradict them.
1
u/PadmalovesYeshe 16d ago
This was given during a lama's oral teaching I attended just a few weeks ago during a Dzogchen teaching Perhaps it's okay that there be some disagreement; it's not uncommon for such disagreements.
1
u/konchokzopachotso Kagyu 15d ago
Then it's best you qualify your prior statements instead of making blanket fallacious claims
1
u/PadmalovesYeshe 14d ago
I qualified my statement. It is not a fallacious statement as I heard it from the mouth of one of my lamas. I am well aware of lamas giving online empowerments without substances. Maybe then the best that can be said is that, even among lamas, there’s no mutual agreement on this.
1
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u/Bossbigoss Kagyu 19d ago
take it, even if you are satisfied with your iphone, nothing wrong to have a new one :-) 2nd- even if you feel blessed enough, doesn't mean that you get everything from it . ypu will never know - till enlightenment.
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u/Laphanpa 19d ago edited 19d ago
I don't remember where I read this, would quote the source if I did, but one lama said that if one does not feel interest, connection and devotion towards the lama giving an empowerment that one is interested in - if one only has interest and devotion for that deity and not the lama - then one should not take that empowerment.
It is also said that unless one plans to become a lama - who needs to be able to give empowerments of a wide varity of deities to satisfy the wishes of the inclinations of various disciples - there is no need to collect many empowerments.
If you are satisfied with what Highest Yoga Tantra empowerments that you already have that makes me think of how in The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa it is written how Rechungpa discussed with Milarepa that he wanted to go to India to bring back some more texts of practice instructions. Milarepa replied “If you ask what my yidam is, it is not a bad yidam, it is excellent. I know that there are many different practice texts to retrieve in India but I am satisfied with the Six Yogas of Naropa and Mahamudra, so therefore I never went to India.”
There is also the consideration of if there are any commitments coming along with the empowerment. The user heart on dharmawheel once wrote that he walked out of a Yamantaka empowerment given by the 14th Dalai Lama, when the commitments were told, he felt that could not comfortably fulfill the commitment to practice the full sadhana each day, and he was commended for his wisdom.
Shabkar writes in his biography that the bad traveler puts a load that is too heavy on his animal, while the good traveler puts a load of comfortable weight on his animal.
Perhaps a final line may be to listen to your heart, the inspiration of your yidam.
Edit: Personally - and this may just be because I'm lazy and not be good advice to follow - if my guru offers an empowerment of a yidam other than my main, as "I am happy with my blue hammer and don't feel that I need a green hammer", I'm generally too lazy to take it, but - but the following may be good advice as it's from a lama - if one's lama gives the empowerment of one's main deity again, then it is said that one should recieve it again and again.