Four empowerments

• Four empowerments — dbang, Skt. abhisheka, transference of wisdom power, from the master to disciples, authorizing and enabling them to engage in a practice and reap its fruit. There are four levels of tantric empowerment. The first is the vase empowerment, which purifies the defilements and obscurations associated with the body, grants the blessings of the Vajra Body, authorizes the disciples to practice the yogas of the development stage, and enables them to attain the nirmanakaya. The second is the secret empowerment. This purifies the defilements and obscurations of the speech faculty, grants the blessings of Vajra Speech, authorizes disciples to practice the yogas of the perfection stage, and enables them to attain the sambhogakaya. The third is the wisdom empowerment, which purifies the defilements and obscurations associated with the mind, grants the blessings of the Vajra Mind, authorizes disciples to practice the yogas of the "Skilful Path," and enables them to attain the dharmakaya. The final empowerment, which is often simply referred to as the fourth initiation, is the word empowerment. This purifies the defilements of body, speech and mind and all karmic and cognitive obscurations; it grants the blessings of primordial wisdom, authorizes disciples to engage in the practice of Dzogchen, and enables them to attain the svabhavikakaya. [AJP] from The Great Image ISBN 1-59030-069-6