Prayer to Open the Secret Door to the Luminous Mansion of Timeless Awareness

Namo Guru Padmavajra-ye:

Sitting here–
Relaxing this body, this breath, this mind, into the natural state–
This present moment revealing the path of the vidyadharas,
May I enjoy the pure realm of experience,
The Luminous Mansion of Timeless Awareness.
By swiftly opening the secret door in the immediacy of my own experience,
May I dwell in the naturally arising seat of awakening,
In which all activities and accomplishments are spontaneously manifest.

This pure realm, a spacious field of awareness without center or limit,
Appears as a luminous field of light,
A marvelous dwelling in which nothing need be done.
All forms are the naturally arising play of the five elements,
Ornamenting awareness with the energetic expression of the five lights of awareness.
All sounds are the timeless reverberations of the present,
Ornamenting awareness with the unceasing melody of experience and realization.
All thoughts are like the flight of a bird moving through space, coming and going without a trace,
Ornamenting awareness like the wind moving in space.
In this luminous house of spacious presence,
All that appears and exists is free just as it is,
The unceasing play of dependent origination,
Reflected through the lens of my own sensory experience
In the limpid ocean of ever-present awareness.

This Luminous Mansion is primordially present
as the dharmadhatu, the true nature of reality,
Self-knowing awareness abides in this infinite pure realm like the sun in the sky,
Illuminating the space of awareness without bias.
In this house, buddhahood is primordially present,
The three kayas fully evident as the ground of being.
Dharmakaya is ever-present as the primordially pure essence, beyond expression or imagination.
Do not search for meaning outside your house when what is truly beneficial is naturally present as the ground of being.
Sambhogakaya is spontaneously present as the unceasing nature of that ground, appearing as the infinite display of all that appears and exists.
Do not search endlessly for better and better outside your house, when the source of abundance is found within.
Nirmanakaya is ever-present as great compassion, the nature of reality in which everyone and everything is responsive, open, and interconnected.
Do not go dressing yourself up in a single identity, when reality demands that you must dance with myriad beings in myriad ways.

In this Luminous Mansion, this pure realm of enjoyment,
The five wisdoms and five poisons are fully evident here and now as the single sphere of awareness and ordinary mind.
Mirror-like wisdom perfectly reflects all that appears and exists just as it is, without distortion, acceptance, or rejection.
When there is even slight bias or distortion, mirror-like awareness gives rise to fragmentation and we experience the tension of aversion.
The wisdom of equalness is enjoyed as one taste,
the empty nature of all phenomena in their infinite variety.
When there is the slightest fixation, the ground of equanimity quakes, giving rise to higher and lower, better or worse, and the pride of your subjective viewpoint.
The wisdom of discernment is naturally present as the infinite display of the five senses, ornamenting our experience with great bliss.
With just a tinge of grasping, this myriad display sucks us into the experience of desire and attachment, unending hunger and thirst.
The wisdom of spontaneous fulfillment is naturally present in the single sphere of awareness in which nothing is missing and nothing need be done.
When there is even the slightest inclination for wanting more or feeling that this is not enough, one becomes consumed by the mara of greed and the unending search for more.
Without wavering from the wisdom of the dharmadhatu, the true nature of phenomena, one attains mastery in the ever-youthful body of light, enjoying the timeless freedom of the three kayas and five wisdom as the single sphere of awareness.

This Luminous Mansion is forever present, present where you are, wherever you are.
It is accessible to all but within the domain of very few.
The fortunate few who are dedicated to the path, who take their practice seriously, whose hearts are filled with compassion, and whose minds are open and relaxed, they hold the keys to this house, and it is up to them whether or not they enter.
Those who make their home this Luminous Mansion are the true householders.
They are like stars during the daytime, a rare light in the world,
ensuring the benefit and welfare of beings wherever they go.
Those who enter this secret door will appear in myriad and unexpected ways–
Young or old, rich or poor, male or female, gay or straight, left or right–
In this house, none of that matters, you play the hand you are dealt in the game of life.
What matters is that you hold the precious jewel of bodhicitta in your hands, right now, in this life.
You hold the keys to this house. Now is your chance to enter.
Stop wasting your time.
Fulfill your aims and accomplish great purpose in this life.
Just as the full moon brings a rising tide,
May this prayer bring a rising tide of bodhicitta!
May this seat be the ground of my awakening in the Luminous Mansion of pure, ever-present awareness!

This Prayer to Open the Secret Door to the Luminous Mansion of Timeless Awareness, clearly shows how the body, speech, mind, three kayas, and five wisdoms are all naturally present in the single sphere of awareness and how we go astray in ordinary mind. This prayer was composed by Gregory Patenaude (Karma Rigpa'i Wangchuk) on the morning of the full moon, January 13, 2025.

May virtue and innate goodness flourish!