Like ants, human beings swarm through the Tree, consuming it. Yet however so much we may devour, it remains whole, eternal, endless. The Tree of Life endureth forever, and the exploration of it may endureth as long as we wish it so.But studying from my armchair, I found vague or ambiguous similes when approaching the subject of the Ains. Thus I despaired of learning how to approach them, their existence, ever becoming conscious of their sphere of influence.
But I met a man, he pointed a way, I followed a path and I learned many things. Some of these I cannot impart; I have no words for them But I will speak here of what I can.
Within our Western magickal systems we call power from the earth up into ourselves, and we liken the chakras of our body to the sepherah of the Tree of Life. Within Tibetan Buddhism, one invokes power down into one's body. This seems to be a pivotal and simple detail, for the Gods of the Tibetans contact us from out of the Ains, reaching us at our crown chakra, our body's Kether. At the top of our head, three cranial ridges meet and there blossoms the thousand petaled lotus. One thousand is an importa nt number in Tibetan Buddhism; it does not mean in actuality the number 1000, but rather, the infinite. And infinity cannot be experienced without its twin, eternity, for they walk together and cannot be parted.
There is an important initiation referred to as the Kalachakra, Wheel of Great Time...the goal of which is to free oneself from limiting space-time perceptions, our cyclic existence.
But I must back up. I should like to begin by discussing the casting of the sacred circle. Those of you reading this already know the Western method. Here I relate the equivalent ritual to be found in the daily rites Tibetan Buddhist monk.
It is known as Thirty-seven-fold Mandala Offering:
(condensed form of the seven branches from Shantideva's engaging in the Bodhisattva deed, chapters two and three).
Spoken:
To all the buddhas who traverse the tree times,
to the Teaching and the Spiritual Community
I bow down with emanations of my body
Equal to the number of atoms in a buddha-field.Just as bodhisattvas such as Manjushri
Make offerings to the Conquerors,
So I make offerings to you, Thus Gone Ones,
You, the protectors and your offspring.Mandala Offering:
Om vajra bhumi ah hung.
Here is the mighty and powerful base of gold.
Om vajra rekhe ah hung.
Here is the diamond-hard fence.
The outer ring is encircled with this iron fence.
In the center of which stands Mount Meru, the King of All Mountains.In the East is the continent Purva-videha,
In the South is the continent Jambudvipa,
In the West is the continent Apara-godaniya,
In the North is the contininent Uttara-kuru.Around the East the sub-continent Deha and Videha,
Around the South the sub-continents Chamara and Apara-chamara,
Around the West the sub-continents West the sub-continents Shatha and Uttaramantrina,
Around the North the sub-continents Kurava and Kaurava.In the East is the treasure mountain.
In the South is the wish-granting tree.
In the West is wish-granting cow.
In North is the unplowed harvest.Here is the precious wheel.
Here is the precious jewel.
Here is the precious queen.
Here is the precious minister.
Here is the precious elephant.
Here is the precious and best of horses.
Here is the precious general.
Here is the precious vase.Here is the goddess of beauty
Here is the goddess of garlands.
Here is the goddess of song.
Here is the goddess of dance.
Here is the goddess of flowers.
Here is the goddess of incense.
Here is the goddess of light.
Here is the goddess of perfume.Here is the sun.
Here is the moon.
Here is the umbrella of all precious things.
Here is the banner of victory in all the directions.
In the center are all the possessions precious to both gods and humans.
This magnificent and glorious collection, lacking in nothing,
I offer to you glorious and holy lamas,
Both my gracious root lama and lineage lamas,
To the assembly of deities of the peerless Shakya Conqueror,
As well as to their retinues.Out of your great compassion,
Please accept all these offering
For the sake of all sentient beings.
And after accepting them, please bless me.Golden land, filled with incense and strewn with flowers,
Mount Meru and the four continents ornamented by sun and moon--
Imagining all this as a buddha field, I offer it.
May all beings find enjoyment in this pure land.The physical movements accompanying this speech consist of pouring various offerings (grains, primarily barley, and other substances) onto the backside of a round offering bowl, made particularly for this purpose. A handful is poured during each spoken l ine until filled then one builds up two tiers more on top of it. These are held together by topless and bottomless rims. Finally, one then sets a special "Ornament," a sacred talismanic adornment, at the top.
Here begins the beginning. Here the basic philosophic difference appears:
In Western Occultism, we call to attention the universe around us, we protect ourselves within the circle, and hold our power within. In Buddhism, WE OFFER OURSELVES TO IT. This could be seen as a basic dichotomy between magickan and mystic, but THE ACTUAL PRACTICE IS THE SAME.