PLEASE NOTE: The teachings and practices presented in this book are Secret Mantra Vajrayana teachings. As such, to benefit from this volume and the practices it contains, it is essential to first receive from a qualified master the Gesar Dorje Tsegyal empowerment or “entrustment with his life force,” the reading transmission of the practice, and the associated instructions. If you have yet to receive the empowerment and reading transmission, it is best to keep this book on your shrine as an object of veneration until you receive them. The empowerment is required in order to properly practice the teachings in this book.

Gesar of Ling is well known in Tibetan history, literature, and folklore. But, for Buddhist practitioners, he is an enlightened tantric protector and deity—an emanation of Padmasambhava. Engaging in Gesar practice is meant to generate positive circumstances and increase one’s experiences and realization in Buddhist practice.

Gesar of Ling is widely known as the hero of Tibet’s national oral epic, considered the longest in the world. He is also the focus of Buddhist practices in which the visualization and invocation of his enlightened form is used as a tantric method to progress towards buddhahood.

This work contains fifty-two prayers, practices, and instructions compiled by Ju Mipham Rinpoche (1846–1912) meant to be practiced under the guidance of an authentic spiritual teacher. These practice texts detail poetic imagery and include guru yoga, praises, invocations, and divinations. Central to all of these practices is raising what is known in Tibetan as lungta, or “windhorse,” a dignified energy that propels and enhances one’s wisdom, compassion, and power to benefit all beings.