The Four Guests

Introduction

Invite and connect to the four guests.

Invite the four guests and visualize them in the space above you and surrounding you on all sides.

Connect with them.

Don’t limit yourself, be open.

Feel an emotional and energetic connection.

Let it change you, soften you, and revitalize you.

Find a greater lightness in yourself.

Let go of what is negative. This kind of spiritual practice is not passive; you must be involved.

If you have a strong intent and open yourself, higher forces and entities will respond, but if you do all this mechanically there will be little benefit.

Invite the First Guests

The first guests include the (1) buddhas and (2) enlightened protectors and (3) bodhisattvas, the (4) teachers of the lineage to which you are connected, and the (5) deities to whom you have tantric commitments.

The (6) illuminated goddesses of the elements are included in the first guests.

Visualize them and feel their presence. They are beautiful, fully enlightened goddesses. The (a) Space Goddess is white; the (b) Air Goddess is green; the (c) Fire Goddess is red; the (d) Water Goddess is blue; and the (e) Earth Goddess is yellow.

Make prayers to the goddesses, requesting help in removing internal and external obstacles, retrieving the lost and damaged qualities of the soul, and overcoming even the innermost spiritual obstacles.

Ask for blessings, for power and support, and for guidance.

Be clear about what you’re asking for. These are the enlightened beings and, though beyond turmoil themselves, they respond to our intent and need and will help.

Ask them for healing for yourself and for all beings who need healing.

If you don’t believe in spirits, just try to connect to higher forces.

It’s not a question of believing and not believing.

We all have the experience of higher forces. Here we are giving them a name and trying to understand them as they are understood and experienced in the ancient Tibetan traditions.

If you focus on and connect with these forces, whatever name you use, you can draw positive qualities from that connection.

Invite the Second Guests

Connect to the second guests.

They are the (1) powerful guardians and (2) protectors of the teachings, (3) gods and (4) goddesses, and (5) the beings that are the stars and planets.

Ask them for healing power in order to heal yourself and others.

Ask them to remove obstacles and pacify disturbances.

Ask that they bless you with their own positive qualities.

Invite the Third Guests

Connect to the third guests: the (1) eight classes of beings and the (2) karmic guests.

These include the (3) spirits related to place—to the mountains, the water, the trees, and the fields.

They are the forces you can feel in different locations, that can be beneficent or malevolent.

Ask them to support you and to not disturb you.

Request that they guide you to the time and place where your energies and qualities were lost, stolen, or damaged.

Connect to the spirits who have taken energies from you and ask that they return what they took.

Offer them prayers for their well-being.

Invite the Fourth Guests

Connect to the fourth guests, the guests of compassion.

These are the beings weaker than you and beings who, like yourself, suffer the difficulties of daily life, whatever realm they may inhabit.

Imagine offering them whatever they need in order to be happy and healthy.

Cultivate generosity in your giving.

Ask them for help in healing the soul and life-force, and to return the energy they have taken.

Source: Wangyal, Tenzin Rinpoche. Healing with Form, Energy and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen. Boston, Massachusetts: Snow Lion, 2002.