When your spiritual eye clears and you are able to see and discern fully, with eyes closed, the figure of Buddha seated in the lotus pose – and let all that you see be every bit as clear to you as the palms of your own hands – imagine yourself then, as you yourself appear in the world of Perfect rapture, as you sit there, your legs crossed, upon the lotus flower. Then imagine, how this flower closes upon you and over you, and then opens and unfolds again. Once it has reopened, your body is illuminated by light rays of myriad colors, and your eyes are open to perceive Buddhas and Boddhisatvas filling the heavens. You shall hear the rushing sounds of waters and of trees, birdsong and the voices of many Buddhas. Overflowing with bliss, you shall say: “Never have I seen such a wonder…”

In order for your frame of mind to deepen as you wish it to, practice reflecting upon your own self in the center of the Golden Buddha mandala, which them reorganizes itself, becoming infinite space. Give birth within you to an even more exalted state of majesty and Divine pride. You discern yourself without visualizing your own body, but rather attuning yourself to your own inner harmonic, to the divine feeling of being yourself and in yourself, and then you feel this perception of your own self expand, grow, as if you are not a small body – as if you are expanding to fill the entire space of your room, your city, ultimately the entire Universe, imagining yourself to be as vast and enlarged, as the limits of your imagination will allow, so that it seems as if the very pores of your skin radiate stars, planets and galaxies. Do not stress yourself, do not invent, do not visualize some incomprehensible mental pictures or constructions: simply feel yourself be.

Tibetan yogi can clearly visualize an immense mandala within the compass of a minute God… On the one hand, such visualization enables the power and agility of the mind to increase; on the other, it can lead the subject to a state of enlightenment. Nirvana, Samadhi (as understood in the East) – rapture or ecstasy (as understood in the West) – correspond to the blissful state which accompanies the blossoming of the ascent of consciousness. At the earliest stages, visualization is primarily an exercise for the training of the mind and is highly limited by the ‘latching on’ habits of the mind of the meditating subject. Advanced visualization might very well approach the level of higher consciousnesss This is the most complete and complex of all the meditative practices.

You feel your entire body becoming charged and saturated with strength; your pose becomes more stable; it becomes easy for you to sit; your energy flows unimpeded – your fragile carnal body feels strong and sturdy, becoming a body of red gold.

That which causes discomfort or displeasure to others does not darken your mood. Instead, you acquire the distinct astonishing impression, that this specific point in space, where you are seated in meditation, this city, this country, this planet earth is one great big magnificent world of Light, beauty and clarity.

Your soul, as if freshly bathed, having experienced the state of serenity, feels great joy. And this attests to the fact that the principle of Light is in harmony with your entire body.

It is really much simpler. Complexity is merely simplicity described in greater detail. Even when certain complicated explanations arise, it is sufficient to understand the essence of the practice: it consists of reflection, as a result of which you are brought into an exalted state: it permeates you completely, your attitude to all that surrounds you, and you remain within that state for increasingly prolonged periods of time.

When the period of practice reaches its conclusion, do not forget these feelings – continue to perceive this world as if you are still there, within the very center of the Golden Buddha mandala: look upon the entire world as such a mandala, and you as the divinity within it. When you maintain this practice, your purest insights, which lead in turn to Pure Sight, are born.