The neighbourhood had closed the street for their annual street party, the music was playing, the sun was shining and yet inside the Temple was full and silence prevailed as Gen-la Jampa started the empowerment ceremony.

Gen-la gave a wonderful explanation of who Vajrapani is and how he can help us attain the spiritual power we need to conquer our inner enemies by recognizing our delusions - especially self-grasping ignorance - harming or reducing them and finally destroying or abandoning them all together. We were ready to receive his powerful blessings.

Emphasising how self-grasping ignorance is the root of all delusions and the basis for experiencing all fears, dangers and suffering, in the afternoon teaching, Gen-la invited us to contemplate the very powerful teaching given by Geshe-la in 2005 when he first gave Vajrapani empowerment.

Through contemplating and meditating on the deep subject of emptiness we will finally develop the wisdom directly realising the emptiness of all phenomena and thereby completely eradicate our self-grasping ignorance. All our fears, suffering and delusions will then cease.