Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyal: The Vajrayana Path

Historical Context

Padmasambhava, known in Tibet as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Teacher), brought Buddhism to Tibet in the 8th century, establishing the Vajrayana tradition there. Unlike the gradual path of sutra Buddhism, he taught the swift tantric path that transforms all experience—including emotions, desires, and ordinary perception—into the path to enlightenment.

His chief disciple and consort, Yeshe Tsogyal, was a princess who became one of the most realized practitioners in Tibetan Buddhist history. She compiled many of Guru Rinpoche’s teachings and hid “treasure teachings” (terma) throughout Tibet to be discovered by future generations. Their relationship exemplifies the tantric principle that the energies of masculine and feminine wisdom must unite for complete realization.

The Dialogues

On the View: Recognizing Mind’s True Nature

Yeshe Tsogyal: “Guru Rinpoche, you teach that all phenomena are the display of mind’s luminous nature. But when I look at my mind, I see only thoughts, emotions, and confusion. Where is this luminous nature you speak of?”

Padmasambhava: “The very confusion you see arises from and dissolves back into luminous awareness. Look more closely—not at thoughts but at the awareness that knows thoughts. Not at emotions but at the awareness that experiences emotions.

This awareness is like space—thoughts move through it like birds flying through the sky. The sky is not stained by the birds’ flight. In the same way, awareness is not stained by whatever arises within it.

Now, as you listen to me, there is awareness, yes? This awareness is not created by my words—it was here before I spoke, will remain after I finish. It is not inside or outside, not coming or going, not born nor dying. This is your buddha-nature, your rigpa—primordial awareness.

The entire secret of Vajrayana is to RECOGNIZE this awareness and REST in it. Not to create it, attain it, or perfect it—simply to recognize what has always been present and relax into it.”

Yeshe Tsogyal: “But Guru Rinpoche, when strong emotions arise—anger, desire, fear—how can I see their luminous nature? They feel so solid, so overwhelming!”

Padmasambhava: “This is the crucial point! In sutra Buddhism, emotions are seen as poisons to be eliminated or suppressed. In Vajrayana, we recognize that emotions themselves are wisdom energy appearing in confused form.

When anger arises, don’t suppress it or act it out. Instead, look directly at its essence. Where is this anger? Can you find its color, shape, location? When you look, you find it’s empty—nothing solid there. Yet it appears! This empty appearing is the union of emptiness and luminosity—this is rigpa itself.

Anger, when liberated through recognition, becomes mirror-like wisdom. Desire becomes discriminating wisdom. Pride becomes the wisdom of equality. Jealousy becomes all-accomplishing wisdom. Ignorance becomes the wisdom of dharmadhatu—vast spaciousness.

This is why we call it transformation rather than renunciation. We’re not getting rid of anything—we’re recognizing the wisdom nature that was always present but obscured by fixation.”

On Meditation and Practice

Yeshe Tsogyal: “You have taught me many practices—visualization of deities, mantra recitation, breathing exercises. How do all these relate to recognizing rigpa?”

Padmasambhava: “All these practices have one purpose: to reveal the nature of mind. Let me explain the stages:

First, we practice shamatha—calm abiding. This stabilizes the mind, like still water that allows you to see the bottom clearly. Without this stability, the mind is too turbulent to recognize its nature.

Next, we practice vipashyana—insight. We investigate: What is mind? Where does it come from? Where does it abide? Where does it go? Through this investigation, we discover mind’s emptiness—it cannot be found anywhere.

But emptiness is not blank nothingness! It is luminous, aware, cognizant. This empty luminosity is what we call rigpa. All the deity practices and mantras serve to reveal this.

When you visualize a deity—say, Vajrayogini—you’re not creating something external. You’re manifesting the qualities of enlightened mind in form. The deity is a symbol of your own buddha-nature. By identifying with the deity, you gradually recognize that you’ve always been this enlightened wisdom, only covered by confused thoughts.”

Yeshe Tsogyal: “And the mantras? What is their purpose?”

Padmasambhava: “Mantras are the sound aspect of enlightened mind. When you recite mantra with deep concentration, your ordinary conceptual mind quiets. In that quietness, rigpa can shine through.

Moreover, mantras are compressed teachings. Each syllable carries profound meaning. The mantra OM AH HUNG, for instance, represents the body, speech, and mind of all buddhas. Reciting it, you’re aligning your body, speech, and mind with enlightened reality.

But hear this clearly: the real mantra is not the sound but the recognition of awareness itself. All practices—visualization, mantra, mudra—are skillful means pointing to this recognition. Don’t mistake the finger for the moon!”

On Guru Yoga and Devotion

Yeshe Tsogyal: “Guru Rinpoche, why is devotion to the guru so emphasized in Vajrayana? Can’t we realize truth on our own?”

Padmasambhava: “Yes and no. The truth you seek to realize is already your own nature—in that sense, you’re not getting something from outside. But recognition of this nature usually requires the blessing and pointing-out instruction of one who has already realized.

The guru is not different from your own buddha-nature. When you see the guru as buddha, you’re training yourself to recognize the buddha-nature in all things, especially in yourself. External guru awakens internal guru—your own rigpa.

Moreover, devotion itself is a powerful practice. When you open your heart completely in devotion, ego-clinging loosens. In that openness, transmission can occur—mind to mind, beyond words, concepts, or techniques.

This is why Guru Yoga is considered the heart of Vajrayana practice. It’s not blind faith or personality worship. It’s recognition that the awakened state exists, it’s accessible, and the lineage masters embody this truth. By connecting with them, you connect with your own deepest nature.”

Yeshe Tsogyal: “What if doubt arises? What if I question whether the guru really is enlightened?”

Padmasambhava: “Some doubt is natural and even healthy—it prevents gullibility. Examine your teacher carefully before committing to them. But once you’ve chosen your teacher and received transmission, doubt becomes an obstacle.

Here’s the secret: it doesn’t matter whether I’m really enlightened or not! What matters is your devotion, your openness, your willingness to see enlightened qualities. This attitude itself transforms your mind.

If you see me as an ordinary person, you’ll receive ordinary instruction. If you see me as buddha, you’ll receive buddha’s blessing. The difference is not in me but in your perception. By training to see enlightened qualities in your teacher, you develop the ability to recognize these qualities everywhere, including in yourself.

This is the meaning of ‘pure perception’—seeing the sacred in all things. And this pure perception IS enlightenment. So your devotion is not serving me; it’s revealing your own awakened nature.”

On Tantra and Transformation

Yeshe Tsogyal: “I hear people say that tantra is about using desire and passion as the path. But isn’t desire the root of suffering in Buddhist teaching? How can it be the path?”

Padmasambhava: “Excellent question! In the sutra path, desire is indeed seen as something to renounce. But tantra recognizes that desire itself is energy—powerful, dynamic, transformative. The question is not whether to have energy but how to work with it.

When you suppress desire, you’re still in relationship with it—a relationship of conflict. This creates tension, makes the mind rigid. But when you transform desire by recognizing its empty, luminous nature, it becomes wisdom.

Think of it this way: fire can burn your house down, or it can warm you and cook your food. The same energy, different results depending on how you work with it. Emotions are like fire—dangerous if uncontrolled, beneficial if properly channeled.

In tantric practice, we use everything as the path. Desire arises—we recognize its empty essence and it becomes great bliss, which we recognize as the enlightened state. Anger arises—we recognize its clarity and it becomes luminous awareness. Even confusion becomes spacious wisdom when seen rightly.

This is why tantra is called the swift path. Instead of spending lifetimes gradually purifying yourself, you directly recognize that everything—all experiences, all emotions, all phenomena—is already the display of buddha-nature. Nothing to purify, nothing to attain!”

Yeshe Tsogyal: “But isn’t this dangerous? People might use this teaching to justify indulging in worldly pleasures.”

Padmasambhava: “Very dangerous! This is why tantra requires proper preparation. You must have:

1. Strong foundation in basic dharma: Understanding of karma, compassion, impermanence, and emptiness

2. Stable meditation practice: Ability to maintain awareness in various circumstances

3. Pure motivation: Genuine wish to benefit all beings, not just satisfy personal desires

4. Qualified teacher: Someone who has completed the path and can guide you safely

Without these, ‘using desire as the path’ becomes an excuse for self-indulgence. With these, even ordinary activities become vehicles for awakening.

The key is always: can you maintain recognition of rigpa? If passion arises and you’re swept away by it, that’s just ordinary attachment. But if passion arises and you recognize its empty, blissful nature while it arises—that’s tantra. Big difference!”

On the Secret Practice: Union and Non-Duality

Yeshe Tsogyal: “You speak of the union of wisdom and compassion, emptiness and appearance, masculine and feminine. What does this really mean?”

Padmasambhava: “This is the heart secret of Vajrayana. Listen carefully:

Emptiness without appearance is a dead void—it’s one-sided. This is the error of those who emphasize only the absolute, only emptiness, only transcendence. They reject the world of form.

Appearance without emptiness is samsara—being caught in the reality of things, thinking they truly exist independently. This is the error of ordinary beings who don’t recognize the dream-like nature of reality.

True realization is the union of emptiness and appearance. Things appear yet are empty. They are empty yet appear. This is non-duality—not two, not one.

In our tradition, we represent this as the union of masculine and feminine. Masculine represents skillful means, compassion, appearance. Feminine represents wisdom, emptiness, the absolute. Their union is enlightenment.

This is why the deity practices often show the buddha in union with consort. It’s not about sex—it’s about the inseparability of compassion and wisdom, relative and absolute, samsara and nirvana. When you realize this union, you are a buddha.”

Yeshe Tsogyal: “And in our relationship, Guru Rinpoche? We practice this union of masculine and feminine wisdom?”

Padmasambhava: “Yes. Our relationship is not ordinary relationship of man and woman, teacher and student. It is the display of primordial wisdom—the energy of awakening manifesting in form.

Through our practice together, you have recognized that feminine wisdom—the spacious, empty, all-encompassing nature of mind. And you have seen that this emptiness is not passive but dynamic, creative, manifesting as the play of appearances.

This teaching is not only for those in physical union. Every person must unite the masculine and feminine principles within themselves. We all have both energies. Completeness comes from integrating them—being both spacious and active, both receptive and expressive, both empty and compassionate.”

On Terma: Hidden Teachings for Future Times

Yeshe Tsogyal: “Guru Rinpoche, you have asked me to write down many teachings and hide them in various places throughout Tibet. Why not teach them openly now?”

Padmasambhava: “I see future times clearly. I see when Buddhism will flourish and when it will decline. I see times of darkness when the teachings will be persecuted and lost. And I see times of renewal when people will be ready for these profound instructions.

The terma—treasure teachings—are time capsules for future beings. They are hidden not physically only but spiritually. They will be discovered by destined individuals—tertons—at the precise time when those teachings are needed and when people are ready to receive them.

Moreover, hidden teachings have special power. Because they haven’t been diluted by continuous transmission, they carry fresh energy, direct blessing. It’s as if I will be teaching those future students directly through you, through these terma.

You are not just my student, Yeshe Tsogyal. You are my partner in this great work of benefiting beings across time. The teachings you hide will enlighten countless beings in dark ages. This is your sacred mission.”

Yeshe Tsogyal: “I am honored and humbled. How will future tertons know if they have truly discovered authentic terma?”

Padmasambhava: “The authentic terton will have specific signs—visions, dreams, prophesies. They will find the terma at the right time, in the right place. And most importantly, when they open the teachings, they will have instant recognition—‘This is exactly what beings need now!’

But also, there will be false tertons who claim to discover teachings but are motivated by ego, fame, or profit. The test is always: Does this teaching lead to recognition of rigpa? Does it increase compassion and wisdom? Does it align with the core Buddhist principles? If yes, it’s authentic, regardless of its origins.”

On Bardo and Death

Yeshe Tsogyal: “Guru Rinpoche, what happens at death? How should a Vajrayana practitioner prepare?”

Padmasambhava: “Death is the greatest opportunity! At the moment of death, all the ordinary supports of ego dissolve—body, possessions, relationships, identity. In that dissolution, rigpa nakedly reveals itself.

If you recognize rigpa at the moment of death, you are instantly enlightened—you recognize the clear light of death as your own true nature. This is called ‘liberation in the bardo.’

But if you don’t recognize, you enter the bardo—the intermediate state between death and rebirth. In the bardo, mind manifests as various visions, sounds, lights—terrifying or attractive. If you recognize these as projections of your own mind, you can still be liberated.

This is why we practice deity visualization and mantra now. At death, when consciousness is separating from body, these practices give you something stable to focus on. You recognize the deities appearing in the bardo as manifestations of your own buddha-nature.

The best preparation for death is to recognize rigpa NOW, in life. If you can maintain recognition while living, you’ll maintain it at death. Death is just another experience arising in awareness—more dramatic than others, but fundamentally the same nature.”

Yeshe Tsogyal: “Is it possible to choose one’s rebirth?”

Padmasambhava: “For a realized practitioner, yes! When you recognize rigpa, you’re no longer controlled by karma. You can consciously choose where to take rebirth based on where you can benefit beings most.

This is why great masters often leave predictions about their next incarnation. They’re not guessing—they’re announcing their intention. Many tulkus (reincarnated lamas) remember their previous lives because the continuity of consciousness was never broken.

But this requires very stable realization. For most practitioners, it’s better to focus on recognizing rigpa moment by moment in this life. That recognition naturally extends through death and beyond.”

Key Teachings

1. Recognition of Rigpa (Primordial Awareness)

The essence of Vajrayana is recognizing the luminous, empty nature of mind that has always been present—your buddha-nature in its natural, uncontrived state.

2. Transformation Rather Than Renunciation

Instead of suppressing or eliminating emotions and desires, recognize their empty essence and transform them into wisdom energy.

3. Guru Yoga and Pure Perception

The guru is a mirror reflecting your own buddha-nature. By training to see enlightened qualities in your teacher, you develop the capacity to recognize them everywhere.

4. Union of Wisdom and Compassion

Enlightenment is the non-dual union of emptiness (wisdom) and appearance (compassion), absolute and relative, feminine and masculine principles.

5. Everything as the Path

All experiences—pleasure and pain, clarity and confusion, ordinary activities—can become vehicles for recognizing rigpa when worked with skillfully.

6. Direct Recognition vs. Gradual Purification

Vajrayana offers the possibility of direct recognition of already-present buddha-nature rather than gradually building up qualities over lifetimes.

Practical Applications

Daily Recognition Practice

• Throughout the day, pause and recognize the awareness that’s always present
• Look at the one who is seeing, not just at what is seen
• Rest in this natural awareness without trying to modify it

Working with Emotions

• When strong emotions arise, don’t suppress or indulge
• Look directly at the emotion’s essence
• Recognize its empty, luminous nature
• Rest in the space that contains the emotion

Deity Practice

• Visualize yourself as the deity (if you have received transmission)
• Recognize that deity as symbol of your own buddha-nature
• Let the visualization dissolve, resting in natural awareness
• Maintain divine pride throughout the day

Guru Yoga

• Visualize your teacher above your head, embodying all enlightened qualities
• Open your heart in devotion and gratitude
• Receive blessings as light flowing into you
• Recognize the guru as inseparable from your own mind’s nature

Questions for Contemplation

1. Right now, what is the awareness that knows these words? Where does it come from? What is its nature?

2. When an emotion arises, can I look at its essence rather than its story? What do I find?

3. What would it mean to see all appearances as the play of primordial awareness rather than solid, independent reality?

4. How can I maintain recognition of rigpa in the midst of daily activities, not just in meditation?

5. What is the relationship between the guru I see externally and my own awakened nature?

The Significance of This Dialogue

Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyal represent the Vajrayana’s unique contribution to Buddhism: the possibility of rapid transformation through working with life as it is—including its messy, passionate, confusing aspects—rather than retreating from it.

The teaching on transformation versus renunciation is particularly relevant for modern practitioners who live in the world. You don’t need to become a monk or nun, give up all worldly activities, or suppress natural human experiences. Instead, you learn to work with whatever arises, recognizing the wisdom nature within all experiences.

The emphasis on the guru-disciple relationship addresses something often missing in Western spirituality: the importance of transmission and lineage. While encouraging independence and self-reliance is valuable, Vajrayana recognizes that direct transmission from one who has realized the path is invaluable. The guru is a living example that awakening is possible and practical.

Yeshe Tsogyal’s role is also significant. In a time when women’s spiritual capacity was often questioned, she became one of the most realized practitioners, equal to her teacher in realization. This validates that awakening is available to all, regardless of gender, and that feminine wisdom is essential to complete enlightenment.

The teaching on terma—hidden treasure teachings—has proven prescient. Throughout Tibetan history, especially during persecutions, terma discoveries have revitalized the tradition at critical moments. This shows the visionary depth of Padmasambhava’s understanding and planning.

For contemporary practitioners, Vajrayana offers sophisticated methods for working with the mind and transforming experience. The recognition that “everything is mind” and “mind is buddha” provides a framework for meeting all of life—pleasant and unpleasant—as opportunities for awakening.

The teaching warns against misuse of tantric principles to justify self-indulgence while affirming that, properly practiced, tantra is the swift path to recognizing one’s true nature. This requires honesty, proper preparation, qualified guidance, and above all, the genuine aspiration to benefit all beings.