I. SELF-GENERATION AS A DEITY 88 1. Preliminary yoga 88 Purificatory and protective activities 88 Taking the refuges 89 Raising the thought of enlightenment 90 2. Meditation on the protective circle 90 Blessing of one’s body, speech and mind 90 Self-generation as a wrathful deity 91 Destruction of obstructive spirits 92 Visualisation of protective enclosures 93 Worship of the wrathful deity 94 Giving an order to the obstructive spirits 96 Self-protection 96 The hundred syllables of Vajrasattva 98 3. The process of self-generation 98 Seminal meditation which perfects the deities 98 Generation of the resultant deities 101 Recitations 103 The highest royal maṇḍala 104 The highest royal works 105 Significance of the self-generation practices 107 II. VISUALISATION OF THE VICTORIOUS VASE 109 Characteristics of the victorious vase 109 Visualisation of the victorious vase 110 Recitations 111 III. VISUALISATION OF THE MAṆḌALA AT THE FRONT 112 1. Visualisation of the maṇḍala 112 Visualisation of the maṇḍala foundation 112 Evocation of the pledge-deities 113 Five Buddhas 114 Sixteen Vajrasattvas 115 Goddesses of offerings 119 Four guardians of the maṇḍala gates 120 Remaining deities of the maṇḍala 121 The descent of the knowledge-deities 122 2. Worship of the deities 123 3. Entry into the maṇḍala and self-consecrations Preliminary activities 126 Entry into the maṇḍala 127 Consecration of the vajra-disciple 129 Blessing with mantras 129 Vase consecration 129 Diadem consecration 130 Consecration with the mudrā symbols 130 Name consecration 131 Crossed vajra consecration 131 Consecration of the vajra-master (vajrācārya) 131 Wheel consecration 131 Dhāraṇī consecration 132 Secret consecration (guhya-abhiṣeka) 133 Wisdom and means consecration 133 Strengthening activities 133 4. Activities of self-perfecting and recitations 134
