This afternoon Gen-la Khyenrab demonstrated the liberating and creative power of meditation on emptiness as he guided us through the stages of the Amitayus empowerment.

Once we realize that everything is merely appearance to mind, we can abandon ordinary, impure appearances and through the power of correct imagination generate ourself as a completely pure being in a pure world. Then by relying on the generation and completion stages of Tantra we can gradually transform this imagined world into an enduring reality.

Tomorrow Gen-la will give an explanation of these stages based on the Yoga of Buddha Amitayus.

Sitting in this magnificent temple bathed in the warmth of the Portuguese sun we witness directly the transformative power of pure minds – the power of Venerable Geshe-la’s mind to create such a pure place and extraordinary event, and the power of hundreds of sincere practitioners to produce so much joy and kindness.

It already feels as if we have entered a new world