Four doors of secret mantra practice

Four doors of secret mantra practice (Tib. གསངས་སྔགས་ཀྱི་སྒོ་བཞི་, sang ngak kyi go shyi, Wyl. gsangs sngags kyi sgo bzhi):

1. The door of recitation, for genuine visualization
2. The door of secret mantra, for invoking the wisdom mind
3. The door of samadhi, for focusing one-pointedly
4. The door of ritual mudras, for conveying symbolic meaning

Alternatively:

The verbal gate of utterance is to remind of the ultimate.

The secret gate of mantra is to invoke the samayas.

The mental gate of samadhi is to keep one-pointed focus.

The playful gate of mudra is to link gesture with meaning.

Teachings given to the Rigpa sangha

• Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche, Lerab Ling, 4 November, 2012, during the Kurukulle Drupchen.

Alternative translations

• Four gates of secret mantra (Erik Pema Kunsang)