THE KUSALI (BEGGAR'S) ACCUMULATION OF MERIT
 ALSO KNOWN AS
 CHÖD

 Translated, Edited and Created by a DEAD HAND and adorned with
 divers other matters germane, delightful to the wise,
by Frater Yaron
 
 

 or: THE BLOODY SACRIFICE AND MATTERS
 COGNATE

 Arachne Anansi Directive Class B
 

 Imprimatur:
 Soror Machig Labdron 10=1
 Frater Jig-Me Lingpa 9=2; Frater Patrul Rinpoche 9=2
 Frater IDOMME 8=3; Soror Anila Rinchen Palmo 8=3
 Frater & ven. Geshe Jig-me 7=4
 Frater Tongnyi Dhontok Rinpoche 6=5
 Frater Tongnyi Dorje Targyi 5=6

 Perform the Star Ruby or any banishing rite one may be
 used of performing, then formally break the circle, saying: ŒDo what
 thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law‚

 Refuge/turn on:
 Head- OM : I seek refuge in One secret and ineffable
 Lord
 Throat- AH: I seek refuge in the Law whose Word is
 Thelema
 Heart- HUM: I seek refuge in the Communion of Saints

 Make prostrations visualising the averse Pentagram in
 relation with knees, hands and forehead, see oneself be purified from
 all 'elemental afflictions' that flow from there in the ground.

 Guru Yoga:
 OM AH HUM VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUM (HPK, source of
 Al, being Lotus-born as well, both Padmasambhava and HPK depicted as
 young children)

 Relative Bodhichitta/ tune in:
 Be the hour auspicious, and the gate of life open in
 peace and in well-being, so that she that beareth children may rejoice,
 and the babe catch life with both hands. Upon all that this day unite
 with love under will let fall success; may strength and skill unite to
 bring forth ecstasy, and beauty answer beauty. Term of all that liveth,
 whose name is inscrutable, be favourable unto all sentient beings in
 thine hour. Unto them from whose eyes the veil of life hath fallen may
 there be granted the accomplishment of their true Wills; whether they
 will absorption in the Infinite, or to be united with their chosen and
 preferred, or to be in contemplation, or to be at peace, or to achieve
 the labour and heroism of incarnation on this planet or another, or in
 any Star, or aught else, unto them may there be granted the
 accomplishment of their wills; yea, the accomplishment of their wills.

 Absolute Bodhichitta/ DROP OUT:
 „ Omnia in Duos: Duo in Unum: Unus in Nihil: Haec nec
 Quatuor nec Omnia nec Duo nec Unus nec Nihil Sunt. Gloria Patri et Matri
 et Filio et Filiae et Spiritui Sancto externo et Spiritui Sancto interno
 ut erat est erit in saecula Saeculorum sex in uno per nomen Septem in
 uno Ararita‰. (Identical to Madhyamika Prasangika fourfold negation and
 so very lovely to pronounce)

 PHAT!!!

 By throwing out cherishing the body,
 The demon of the gods is destroyed.
 The mind is shot into the pure expanse
 Through the fontanel.
 Destroying the demon of death and becoming Rudrani (the
 yogini)
 Who wields the curved Vajra blade in her right hand,
 Which slays the demon of conflicting emotions.
 I annihilate the demon of the bodily aggregation
 By cutting off my skull:
 My left hand actively wrenches away the head
 And places it upon a tripod stove of three human heads,
 symbolizing the three perfect bodies.
 In it is my corpse which fills the three-thousand-fold
 universes
 The short AH and HUM syllables melt the corpse into
 nectar:
 By the power of the three letters (OM, AH and HUM
 dissolving into the offering), it is purified, increased and
 transformed.

 OM----AH----HUM (recite many times)

 PHAT!!!
 The wishes of the upper guests are fulfilled.
 The accumulations are perfected and the common and
 uncommon attainments are achieved.
 The lower guests of samsara are satisfied and their
 debts are paid.
 Especially, the harmful and obstructive spirits are
 satisfied,
 Illness, evil spirits and obstacles are pacified into
 empty space.
 Harmful circumstances and clinging to self are blasted
 to atoms.
 Finally all the offering, offerer and object of offering
 Dissolve into unmodified Dzog-pa Chen-po --- AH!!!

 Visualisation and practice sequence
 loosely based on Patrul Rinpoche‚s instruction, with additional elements
 from my teacher TD Rinpoche, Geshe Jigme and a few suggestions for
 kabbalistic adaptations by myself):

 If you are experienced in the practice of forceful projection (you‚re
 probably not, but if you would like to, either practice Padamasambhava‚s
 or Naropa‚s instructions, that can be considered extensions of Liber 0‚s
 rising on the planes, in combination with Tibet style kundalini yoga),
 you can just shoot your consciousness into empty space, where you can
 instantly appear as the Very Wrathful Black Mother (Troma Nagmo or
 wrathful manifestations of Yeshe Tsogyal will do, as well as really
 pissed off manifestations of Babalon with sword & cup). If you do not
 have any experience in this practice, envision that the essence of your
 mental consciousness rests in your heart in the shape of the Wrathful
 Mother. She dances and waives a curved knife in the air with her right
 hand, while her left hand is holding a skull-cup filled with blood close
 to her heart. The head of a black pig pops up behind her right ear and
 she wears the clothes a wrathful Goddess would wear,
archetypal Domme bitch type stuff.
 At that moment you shout PHAT!!! For the first time, your consciousness
 in the shape of the Wrathful Mother shoots up through your central
 channel. On the exact moment she exits through your fontanel aperture,
 your body becomes a corpse and collapses. It is important to view this
 body not in its normal appearance, but as a big, fat, disgustingly
 enormous body, in fact as big as the cosmos of a billion worlds. Here
 you combine the following envisioning, starting with „By throwing out
 cherishing the body up till by cutting off my skull‚ in the above
 text.
 In one single stroke with her curved blade the Wrathful black mother,
 (maintain the awareness this is your own mind btw) chops off the top of
 your skull up till the eyebrows and makes a skull cup of it. This skull
 cup (Kapala) isn‚t as big as your normal meat body, more like the cosmos
 of a billion worlds. With her left hand the Wrathful Mother picks up the
 skull cup and places it upon a Tripod made of three human skulls, each
 as big as a huge mountain (Mount Meru, actually). While holding the
 curved blade in her right hand she lifts the decapitated corpse and
 places it inside the skull cup on the tripod. Say „my left hand, until
 three perfect bodies.
 Now envision that in the space above the skull cup appears a white HAM
 (The Hebrew letter Heh‚ attributed to The Star‚ would work quite well
 as a replacement, Rinpoche agreed). This letter completely consists of
 nectar. Below the Tripod appears the vertical line which can be found in
 the Sanskrit A-syllable (Rinpoche agrees the middle vertical line of the
 letter Shin‚ would fit in quite neatly), this vertical line appears in
 the shape of fire.
 the fire from the vertical line starts heating up the skull cup until
 the corpse in the cup melts into nectar. The nectar starts cooking and
 everything which is disgusting and impure comes up as a foam of chemical
 waste, that automatically flows out of the cup. Steam rises up from the
 nectar and touches the HAM syllable, heating up this syllable. The HAM
 thereupon emits streams of white and red nectar that fall into the skull
 cup and inseparably blend themselves. The HAM itself dissolves into
 light, which melts in the nectar. Say the text from In it is my corpse
 until purified, increased and transformed.

 Start vibrating OM-AH-HUM with full speed and intensity and while you
 enflame yourself with prayer, visualize that the OM purifies the nectar
 of all imperfections of the senses (colour, smell, taste etc); the AH
 multiplies the nectar, while the HUM transforms the nectar into
 everyting which is desirable. The nectar assumes the nature of
 primordial wisdom steaming out like big white clouds from the skull cup,
 fulfilling every wish of whatever it touches. (view
 http://spvs.batcave.net/essay1.htm for a kabbalistic view on this
 process).

 Envision in the space in front of you a throne with silk cushions piled
 upon it, on which your Holy Guardian Angel, your inner teacher appears.
 Above him appear all Saints, Bodhisattvas, Angels and tradition teachers
 you have a connection with, as well as Oath bound protectors and the
 local gods + elememntal guardians.  Inside the skull are all beings of
 the six classes of existence (hell beings, animals, hungry ghosts,
 humans, jealous gods and gods) and the three times; amongst your most
 prominent guests are the 80,000 creators of obstacles and to karmic
 creditors they whirl around in the skullcup, like innmumerable specks
 of dust in a sunray.
 

 The following banquets or feasts are from the Grove of delights which
 is from the Kagyutpa Chod tradition and has as an advantage for
 magicians, that it contains more visualizations and also slightly more
 wrathful ones, enhancing the intensity of the experience and providing
 them with the possibility, to integrate the Lemegeton or similar
 grimoires in this work. Instructions on these can be receieved by Lama
 Karta from Huy http://www.tibetan-institute.org/  who also recorded his
 Chod practice on a CD that I can recommend heartily, if one wishes to
 perform the rite old style and actually hear the trumpet of human
 thighbone. All the extatic carnival has been removed from this
 presentation, as Machikma also developed cushion‚ versions to be used
 in meditation retreats. It would be ideal to collect little bags of dust
 from the sacred cremation grounds on which this rite is traditionally
 performed, to place these beneath ones‚ cushion. I replaced these with
 the 72 Goetic sigils, which worked as well as a homeopathic connection
 and morph the rite to western hermetix.

 The traditional Kagyudpa prayer is optional to perform during this rite,
 it might cleanse impure views and attachments to the gruesome Imagery in
 itself:

 NAMO!!!
 Gods and spirits who abide in this awesome place, and you gods and
 spirits of manifestation and existence who display your Magick for me,
 the lucky one!!! All of you without exception gather like masses of
 clouds from the  sky, fall like rain through empty space, sweep in like
 a sandstorm across the ground. I offer this body to your throng. I offer
 the six shapes of the outer flesh of the body: may we obtain the six
 perfections (the Paramita‚s liberality, ethix, patience, strenuousness,
 meditative concentration and awareness, Prajna Paramita or the
 Prefection of Wisdom being the Wrathful Mother herself). I offer the
 nine passages inside the body; may we obtain the vehicles of the nine
 stages (the Œbhumi‚s or Bodhisattva levels, tenth one being buddhahood &
 corresponding with the ToL). I offer the five different sense faculties:
 May we obtain the Five Bodies and their Primordial Wisdom (Elements,
 five primordial Buddhas) . I offer this body to your throng. Those of
 you who are in a hurry, eat it raw!!! Those of you who have more time,
 cook it and eat it!!! Whether you are particularly in a hurry or not,
 eat it however you like it: boiled, baked or raw. Those of you with big
 stomachs, eat your fill!!! Those of you with great strength, carry as
 much as you can take!!! Accept this untouched offering and don‚t leave
 anything, like a lion attacking his meat.

 Basically each practice consists of two feasts, a white one and a red
 one (corresponding with the male and female seed) and should be preceded
 by the visualization of oneself as the Yogini. But there are also
 Œvaried feasts‚ and xtra wrathful black ones, designed to be combined
 with the Tibetan Demon Prayer. Here the Goetic conjurations can be
 performed, but only after the feast has been utterly realized. As long
 as the visualizations are performed in pairs, the feasts can be added at
 whim, there is no definite order. In case of daily giving of one‚s body,
 each of them can be taken in turn. Before proceeding with Goetic
 practice, it is sound advice to first try out the less wrathful ones and
 gradually build it up. They can be found in ŒCutting through ego
 clinging‚, a translation by Anila Rinchen Palmo (Dzambala, 1988 isbn
 2-906940-02-X)

 FIRST PAIR
 1)    The skull goblet, a white feast. The body is stripped of its
 skin, which is spread out, and on it are set a severed leg and two arms
 which become a triangular hearth of human heads on which the skull is
 placed, and in it the cut-up body. Three stirring movements of one‚s
 hooked blade turn it into nectar. Into the skull in one‚s left hand are
 gathered the blessings of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten
 directions, a nectar which overflows from the Brahmanic opening
 (fontanel) of the skull in one‚s hand and dissolves into the skull in
 front of one. It becomes a lake of nectar with commitment and creativity
 indistinguishable. This is scooped up by many white Dakinis holding
 skulls who emanate from oneself and feast the guests and please them.
 2)    The excellent Impalement, a red feast. One severs the four limbs
 of the body with the hooked knife and sticks them into the ground at the
 four cardinal directions, and on them is impaled the skin which has been
 stripped from the body. In it the flesh and blood collect, like a lake.
 Four Dakini‚s emanate from one‚s own heart (the wrathful mother‚s heart,
 that is). White, yellow, red and green ˆthey grasp the flayed skin by
 its four corners and feast the guests.

 SECOND PAIR
 1)    The feast of the nectar vase. A white feast. One‚s consciousness
 re-emerges from the Wrathful Mother‚s heart as a HAM which becomes a
 white Dakini carrying a hooked blade in her right hand and a vase filled
 with nectar in her left. She pours the vase‚s nectar on the crown of the
 body‚s head and the body becomes like a pouch full of milk. A sweep of
 the curved blade tears it and it bursts open. Over the ground of
 crystal-like purity, a lake of nectar penetrates from th peak of
 existence down to the deepest hell. One attracts and dissolves the
 nectar of primordial wisdom. Many white Goddesses carrying vases issue
 from oneself and feast the guests. The offerings to the Dharma
 protectors are made with fresh heads filled with flesh.
 2)    The flayed skin distribution. A red feast. One‚s own awareness
 as the Wrathful Black Mother spreads the skin on the ground, and on it
 piles flesh, blood and bones. The four working Dakinis distribute them
 to the guests.

 THIRD PAIR
 1)    Offering the five sense delights, a white feast. Identical to
 the Skull goblet visualization applied in both the Kusali text and this
 sequence of feasts, except that the workers of various colours carry all
 sorts of offering substances and present them to the guests.
 2)    The Feast of Food, a red feast. Wrathful Mother cuts up the body
 and it becomes an ocean of flesh and blood in a vast open skull cup.
 Dakinis whose numbers are equal to the number of atoms in the sacred
 mountain (Meru) emanate from one‚s body and give to the eight great
 demons, goetic Kings, etc. who show their satisfaction with delighted
 laughter and songs of joy.

 FOURTH PAIR
 1)    Emptying the abodes of the six realms, a white feast. This
 resembles the feast of the nectar vase, but the offering divinities
 (samboghakaya Goddesses) go to each of the abodes of the six realms and
 give the feast, which calms each particular suffering. Struck by the
 rays of light, the abodes of the six realms are emptied. The hells
 become the world of manifest joy, the hungry ghost realm becomes rthe
 blissful world, the animal realm that of dense array, the human realm
 that of glory, the jealous god realm that of perfect activity, and the
 god realm that of the sphere of phenomena below nothing.
 2)    Throwing down one‚s body, a red feast. The body becomes bright
 and gleaming, pleasing and moving to look at, with all that is excellent
 in the way of colour, perfume, capability and strength, filling the
 whole galaxy. The gods and spirits eat it with the buzz of HA sounds.

 FIFTH PAIR
 1)    The assorted feast. The Wrathful Mother strips off the body‚s
 skin and spreads it out. With her hooked blade she draws chessboard
 squares on it. In each square appears whatever delights the guests: The
 five Meats and the five nectars; the five sense delights‚; auspicious
 symbols; substances relied on, pleasing and things of accomplishment.;
 the three white and the three sweet things; nectar, flesh and blood;
 human wealth and castles, etc. Each guest enjoys these things and is
 pleased in consequence.
 2)    The Flag, a red feast. The Wrathful Mother cuts up the body with
 one‚s hooked blade. The blood collects in a great lake in which the
 bones are planted like ritual stakes; on their tips, the flesh flaps
 like flags and from them falls a continuous stream of flesh, blood and
 bones, bringing an Aeon of enjoyment for Demons and hindrances.

 These are the red and white feasts in pairs. Some other, more wrathful
 red feasts for sorcerers, that can be used in combination with any of
 the above described white feasts :

 1)    The four continents. With her Hooked blade, the Wrathful Mother
 severs the four limbs and hurls them in the four cardinal directions.
 With the Smell-Eaters, the Death Lords, the powerful Nagas and
 Harm-givers in the forefront, the demons squabble to eat them up.
 2)    The corpse feast. The body turns into the corpses of children,
 old men and women, etc. either dried up, fresh or old. Equal to the
 number of atoms in the universe. The gods of spirits enjoy whichever
 they like most.

 In conclusion two black envisionings, to be combined with any of the
 above mentioned white feasts. These two are performed when engaging in
 demon practice:
 1)    Shaking the bones. One‚s mind as the Terrible Lady grabs the
 body by the left leg and shakes it to and fro, causing a scattering of
 pieces of flesh, blood and bones which enter the wide open mouths of the
 demons in an uninterrupted stream, thereby contenting them.
 2)    The crashing down. Either one imagines that the Terrible Lady
 grasps the two legs of the corpse in her hands and carries it up into
 the sky, whereupon the gods and spirits snap their upturned red moeths
 open and shut, and she gives it to them.; or, that she severs the head
 of the body in front of her and it becomes a huge block of bronze on
 which the body is hurled down where it becomes a scattering of red flesh
 and blood which is eaten by the gods and the spirits.
 

 Finish muttering OM AH HUM here and shout once again „PHAT!!!‰
 Hereafter is the proper timing to put in Goetic conjurations etc. and
 the spirits will readily comply.

 Conclude the text, saying:

 The wishes of the upper guests are fulfilled.
 The accumulations are perfected and the common and
 uncommon attainments are achieved.
 The lower guests of samsara are satisfied and their
 debts are paid.
 Especially, the harmful and obstructive spirits are
 satisfied,
 Illness, evil spirits and obstacles are pacified into
 empty space.
 Harmful circumstances and clinging to self are blasted
 to atoms.
 Finally all the offering, offerer and object of offering
 Dissolve into unmodified Dzog-pa Chen-po --- AH!!!

 Now rest in a state that has been liberated from the concepts of offer,
 offerer or offering.
 

 DEVILS, GODS AND DEMONS

 Now follows a summary of chapter 4 of Machikma‚s explanations‚
 concerning the throwing down of the body as food, the real meaning of
 Chöd explained.

 In reply to questions about gods, devils and demons posed to her by her
 disciple Ganapa Mutsan, Machikma replied the following:

 Devils are not physically existing creatures with enormous black shapes.
 Anything blocking our liberation can be considered a Devil. As a
 consequence of that, loving and compassionate friends can become devils,
 insofar they form a hindrance for Liberation. Especially, there is no
 bigger Devil than the devil of ego-clinging. Because of him, the three
 other devils will start causing hindrances until this ego clinging has
 been cut off. One also has to cut off these three devils which can be
 derived from ego-clinging.

 All in all there are four classes of Devils: the Obstructed devils, the
 unobstructed devils, the devil of exhilaration and the devil of
 arrogance (identical to the devil of ego clinging).

 OBSTRUCTED DEVILS
 Clinging to the two reactions of like and dislike as a reaction to
 sense-data is said to be a devil. It is a devil, because the real
 obstruction of the sense organ with its like and dislike of a (so
 called) genuinely existing object of that organ, provides the conditions
 whereby living beings are harmed. Because a (so called) genuinely
 existing object, good or bad, obstructs the organ and produces devils,
 they are called obstructed devils.

 Meditate on the natural emptiness of phenomena without like and dislike
 of the form and you will dazzle the obstructed devils, son/daughter of a
 noble lineage.

 UNOBSTRUCTED DEVILS
 Apart from the senses, all sorts of good and bad ideas may develop in
 one‚s mind. Through maintaining such dualistic ideas of good and bad,
 conditions are created whereby the mind becomes afflicted with emotions.
 They are said to be unobstructed devils, because they have no genuine
 existence, nor any genuine obstruction

 Do not stop the occurrences and sensations and so on that arise in the
 mind, and don‚t even stop the various good and bad thoughts that occur,
 whatever they may be: be aware of them, but don‚t pursue them. If one
 naturally rests without interfering with the appearance of good and bad
 thoughts in mind, one will dazzle the unobstructed devils. Forsake
 mental clinging to subject and object and rest naturally and loosely
 without disturbing the mind or body: you will then become naturally free
 of the unobstructed devils, son/daughter of a noble lineage.

 THE DEVIL OF EXHILARATION
 This is said to be a mental attachment which is enjoyed and exulted in,
 so that great mental joy arises. Its cause can be an abundance of
 worldly renown and fame; that one has gathered a great following; seen
 the face of the Yidam Deity or used the ability of speech (power of
 mantra) to subdue demons and evil spirits or pacify a painful illness.
 Rejoicing and exulting in this produces great haughtiness and pride
 which becomes an obstacle to then path to Liberation, and hence, an
 obstacle to which the name Devil of Exhilaration applies.

 Therefore, whatever qualities occur, however and whenever they appear,
 in the essence of non-duality of manifestation and mind, these
 manifestations are not held to be qualities; neither the exhilarated
 mind nor the object of such exhilaration, have even a jot of permanent
 true existence, for which reason practice that everything is like a
 dream or wizardry and remain in a state where the mind that takes pride
 in these qualities, as well as the objects of that pride, are emptiness
 free of all projected extremes, al phenomena are similar to a dream or
 wizardry. Once the devil of exhilaration has been severed, there will
 occur the benefit of beings in a way which is like a dream or wizardry,
 son/daughter of a noble lineage.

 THE DEVIL OF ARROGANCE
 Arrogance is a way of saying ego clinging. Through clinging to an ego
 where there is none, the mind becomes afflicted with emotion and all the
 good and bad appearing in the mind is seized upon by thought and clung
 to as real: it is this which is called arrogance.

 Once one is not carried away by arrogance towards every idea of good and
 bad, and once one is free of the extremes of all the things the mind
 projects in the way of mental creations and mental longing, there is a
 suppleness which is not a mental label, an easy mental comfort where
 ego-clinging has been destroyed, a total pureness of the potential for
 disturbance by emotional conditions, a lightness of perceptivity which
 is free of clinging to within or without, a vivid awareness, without any
 attachment to anything whatsoever.

 Therefore, through freedom from extremes, the awareness of primordial
 wisdom increases one‚s understanding of all objects of knowledge and one
 is free of the four devils. This is know as the fruit, son/daughter of a
 noble lineage.

 PROGRESSION
 Concerning the particular progression of these devils in their
 severance: The obstructed and unobstructed devils are devils associated
 with the time of cause. The devil of arrogance is the devil associated
 with the time of the path. The devil of exhilaration is a devil at the
 time of the result.

 Persons on the path of accumulation and the lower parts of the path of
 preparation (men of earth) are still genuinely obstructed by ideas of
 substantiality such as the four elements and so on. Consequently, it is
 difficult to sever the obstructed devils at the times of the path of
 accumulation and preparation, so at that time one mentally purifies
 oneself. Those who have reached the first Bodhisattva level (lovers)
 have great strength of mind and some ability in precognition and Magick;
 they can therefore genuinely sever all ideas of substantiality, such as
 the four elements, poison, weapons, and so on.

 Severing the unobstructed devils starts on the path of preparation. This
 path consists of the occurrences and feelings in the mind such as the
 Magick tricks of gods and demons, illnesses, suffering, attachment and
 hatred, the eight worldly values and so on.

 Arrogance (hermit) involves two things: the object of one‚s arrogance
 and the arrogance itself. The object of one‚s arrogance, i.e. ignorance,
 is the root of clinging to reality and must be abandoned. Arrogance
 itself is the self aware primordial wisdom which recognizes ignorance
 and there is no need to give it up, because it is what does the giving
 up; you can give it up, but you won‚t get rid of it. Out of the
 awareness of primordial wisdom which is the essence of being arrogant,
 there will appear a very special experience which is that of realizing
 egolessness. At that very moment the devil of exhilaration (hermit) will
 occur, exhilarating over its good qualities, which will prevent one from
 the attainment of Buddhahood. That‚s why it is called the devil of the
 result.

 The obstructed and unobstructed devils are both therefore to be given
 up, whereas the devil of arrogance and exhilaration is what gives them
 up. Divide Devil against Devil, Son/Daughter of a noble Lineage!

 WHAT GODS AND DEMONS ARE

 What are called gods and demons are these devils, but there certainly
 are others that are also called gods and demons. There are gods and
 demons in the terminology of worldly people; gods and demons by
 essential state; gods and demons interpreted as such through
 manifestations; naturally inborn gods and demons; gods and demons due to
 infallible karma; and gods and demons in the ultimate sense.
 Each of these can be said to be both god and demon: ultimately one can
 be sure of what is a god and what is a demon, but until then one can
 never be sure, and a god may be a demon, or a demon a god.

 GODS AND DEMONS BY TERMINOLOGY
 Anything appearing in the worldly people‚s field of vision that has a
 lovely and pleasing form and stirs up feelings of joy and devotion is
 called a god. But something that gives rise to fear, in that it seems
 unpleasant or unattractive, or whose form creates conditions which put
 one‚s life in danger, is called a demon.

 Bound up by concepts of god and demon simply based on
 pleasant/unpleasant and helpful/harmful, the names of god and demon are
 applied by worldly people, but there is no certainty that they are that
 really. Consequently, the practitioners of Chöd should not believe at
 allin clinging to god or demon simply on basis of pleasant/unpleasant or
 helpful/harmful, nor should they even use the terms but recognizing them
 to be untrue, know how to assimilate everything into the path.

 GODS AND DEMONS BY ESSENTIAL STATE
 There are two kinds of gods: the worldly gods of cyclic existence and
 those gods who have transcended the world. The latter category has
 transcended both cause and result and the abodes of cyclic existence and
 those who have not. The gods of the formless, form and desire realms are
 what are essentially called the worldly gods. These two types, the
 worldly gods and the gods who are beyond the world, are the Gods by
 their essential state.

 Now about demons: the name demon is applied to all those who harbor
 harmful intentions, such as the formless arrogant ones who are renowned
 throughout the world, the poisonous wild ones, those of great powers,
 those able to display great miracles, Death harming many living beings
 who have form, Goetic Demons and what are called the eight cohorts of
 demons and evil ones, etc. are called demons by their essential state.

 However, if one speaks of someone is helpful as a god, then the Goetic
 demons and cohorts are gods too, since they are able to help in
 producing food, wealth and merit for all worldly beings; and if
 evil-doers are demons, then since ordinary worldly gods become harmful
 when displeased, these gods are also demons.

 Nor should you become attached to worldly gods. If you do, they become
 demons, causing you to wander in the cycle of existence, so don‚t place
 the slightest bit of hope in worldly gods, or have any regard for them.

 Meditating on loving kindness towards those who harm you and devoting
 yourself to their benefit without any regard for your own life and body,
 without ever becoming separated from a compassionate state of mind, is
 the belief held in gods and demons held by those who belong to the Chöd
 tradition. They are simply manifestation: don‚t cling to them as real
 but know that in ultimate reality they have no existence of their own.

 GODS AND DEMONS INTERPRETED AS SUCH THROUGH MANIFESTATIONS
 When worldly good fairies such as the celestial Good Lady and so on
 become slightly joyful and stir the minds of ordinary men and women, so
 that they prophesise and undergo mediumistic experiences, or when
 various unusual things are seen such as the sudden growth of flowers and
 crops in the cold of winter, or when many non-human beings openly show
 their forms and make various pronouncements, or when rainbows and bodily
 shapes are seem all such happenings are interpreted as siddhi, a
 blessing, a god or a glory, and made into something divine. These are
 the gods interpreted as such through manifestations.

 The sighting of unusual or frightening forms such as snakes and frogs
 during an untimely winter, the sight of otters in an untimely summer
 eating many living creatures or many fish struggling on dry land, or the
 sight of various different things which make the mind uncomfortable,
 such as fear and terror at an ugly form in front of one‚s eyes, etc. all
 these are said to be demons since they herald misfortune. Because they
 are interpreted as demons, they are called demons interpreted as such
 through manifestations‚.

 Practitioners of the place of Chöd don‚t get overjoyed or attached, but
 rest poised in great equanimity, with the effect that benefit and harm
 have no power and just free themselves naturally.

 A practitioner of Chöd who does not know that and who is taken up with
 ideas of god and demon simply on seeing some kind of manifestation, is
 in conflict with the way of my Dharma and has lost hold of what needs to
 be severed.

 THE NATURALLY INBORN GODS AND DEMONS
 The occurrence of the five wisdoms in the self-aware pure outlook aspect
 of mind is termed a god, whereas the emergence of the five emotional
 poisons from non-aware ego clinging is called a demon. Because
 self-aware primordial wisdom ˆthe utterly pure unborn Dharmakaya- and
 the emotions related to the non-aware ego clinging have both been inborn
 in us since the very beginning of time, with awareness and non-awareness
 being linked together, they are called the god and demon of the inborn
 union.

 Because they are spontaneously present ˆnot born from any causes or
 conditions whatsoever- and because there is no way of saying they
 occurred at such and such a time, they are naturally inborn gods and
 demons. If one examines and investigates, they are discovered to be
 indistinguishable like the moon reflected in water and yet each has a
 separate essence, so they are therefore distinguishable one from the
 other.

 GODS AND DEMONS DUE TO INFALLIBLE KARMA
 There are two categories: natural general karma and a more particular
 karma consisting of individual activity of each person‚s sensory field.
 AS general karma there are the four seasons, the four elements, day and
 night, birth and death, sickness and health etc. When these four
 elements remain in a settled state and behave calmly, they are the cause
 of all the sense delights that occur and are consequently called gods.
 However, when they are disturbed and in violent movement, they are
 called a demon. Day is a god, but night a demon, birth is a god, but
 death a demon. Because such things are sure to happen to all the world,
 and because they are due to ordinary general karma which is infallible,
 they are called the gods and demons due to general karma.

 The gods and demons of the sensory field are: one‚s own parents who
 created one‚s body which is composed according to karmic forces; the
 authentic Lama who shows one on the path to Liberation, which is the
 development of Bodhichitta; and the five divinities, who bring
 understanding They all act infallibly as one‚s own gods in accordance
 with one‚s karma. They are not set and sure and consequently can on
 occasions become particular types of helpful or harmful gods or demons.

 One must understand that the incomprehensible variety of karma, the
 scope of which is impossible to describe, such as god and demon, good
 and bed, help and harm, hap[pines and suffering, high and low,
 attachment and anger, samsara and nirvana and so on, all occur according
 to the various good and evil actions accumulated by each living being.

 Apart from the dictates of karma, there is not a whit of any other
 influence involved, for which reason it is infallible. One therefore
 talks of gods due to infallible karma. Therefore know that everything
 that occurs through karmic accumulation, and you should also know the
 characteristic that even karma is not real and true: abandon clinging to
 permanence and holding on to truth, and wander alone amongst unpopulated
 valleys without any regard for body or life, accomplishing the benefit
 of others through casting down your body as food for demons. You should
 apply PHAT!!! To all your actions and rest in a state free from all
 projections.
 

 GODS AND DEMONS IN THE ULTIMATE SENSE
 The utterly and pure Buddha who has transcended cyclic existence is the
 ultimate refuge for those who are desirous of liberation: because he is
 able to provide protection from the suffering of cyclic existence, he is
 termed a god. Worldly samsaric gods are no ultimate refuge because they
 are not able to provide protection from cyclic existence: although on
 occasions they have some slight specific benefit, they have not reached
 the ultimate state themselves and therefore are not ultimate gods.

 The ultimate demons are the realms in cyclic existence, especially the
 three lower realms, which are demons that bring suffering and torment to
 body and mind, an interminable suffering which is endless and
 continuous, without interruption. Because it is difficult to get free of
 the demon of cyclic existence in general and the three lower realms in
 particular, and because it persists for a long period, it is called a
 demon in the ultimate sense.

 In short, the difference between gods and demons is made by awareness or
 a lack of it, and consequently, in the ultimate view, all those gods and
 demons explained above have not even a jot of real existence. Therefore,
 since there are no gods or demons in the utterly pure ultimate truth,
 one should recognize the view that all is totally and naturally purified
 in the sphere of ultimate reality where there is no pollution by the
 stains of ripening karma.

 The yogi who knows all this should practice the place of Chöd which is
 an authentic teaching of the Great Perfection. In addition, he needs to
 know and practice the four particular aspects of severance: outer,
 inner, secret and ultimate severance.

 ON THE OUTER, INNER, SECRET AND ULTIMATE PLACES OF SEVERANCE

 Listen child of a noble Lineage, my teaching must be divided into four
 aspects: outer, inner, secret and ultimate.. Firstly I will teach about
 the places of severance: the outer places for severance are places which
 are especially awesome (cremation grounds, haunted places); the inner
 places are illness and demonic states; the secret places are the various
 conceptual occurrences and sensations; the ultimate places, my child,
 are the three or five poisons. (attachment, anger and indifference)

 Now I will teach about the work of control: the control of the outer
 gods is to be without attachment and free of clinging; control of inner
 illnesses and demons is to be free of attitudes of helping and harming;
 control of the secret thoughts is to be free of any reference to good or
 bad; control of ultimately everything is to have the mind groundless and
 rootless.

 Now I will teach about the evidence of outer, inner and secret
 severance. If one is not afraid no matter how many terrifying magick
 tricks of gods and demons occur, this is evidence of outer severance. If
 one recognizes as one‚s own karma all the illness, suffering or
 misfortune that occurs, however much that may be, this is evidence of
 inner severance. If one is free of ego-clinging, whatever the variety of
 inner and outer sense delights occur, this is evidence of real
 severance.

 Now I will teach of the evidence of annihilation relating to the three
 abilities. If one is calm and unruffled whatever the variety of
 different magickal tricks, this is evidence of outer annihilation. If
 all kinds of gods and demons show faith and respect and grant one
 various siddhis, this is evidence of inner annihilation. If one has
 pacified illness, demons and thoughts so that they rest evenly, and body
 and mind are at ease, thi is evidence of secret annihilation. Evidence
 of ultimate annihilation is when one‚s heart stirs with love and
 compassion and with recognition of impermanence. These are all evidence
 of annihilation relating to people of small capacity.

 Being anxiety free, no matter what kind of fears and terrors occur, is
 the evidence of outer annihilation. Whatever sickeness, demons or
 suffering occur, if they become calm without artificial rtemedies, this
 is evidence oof inner annihilation. If the evidence of outer and inner
 upsurged, seized on by the mind, is free of a seizing mind, this is
 evidence of ultimate annihilation. These are all evidence of
 annihilation relating to people of middling capacity.

 The dazzling of ferocious magickal tricks which seem dangerous and
 frightening, is evidence of outer annihilation. Whatever misfortune
 occurs, whether they be illnesses, emotions or demons, if one remains
 free of conceit, this is evidence of inner annihilation. Whatever
 unfavourable circumstances and obstacles occur, if they appear as
 friends, this is evidence of secret annihilation. Naturally real
 egolessness has emptiness as its inherent nature: bringing stainless
 reality into being is evidence of ultimate annihilation. These are all
 evidence of annihilation relating to people of superior capacity

 Realization of the nature of mind dazzles the outer awesome place. Being
 free of anger and attachment and clinging dearly to things dazzles the
 inner illnesses and demons. Being free of judging with Œis‚ and Œisn‚t‚,
 dazzles the secret concepts. Being free of a partial mind dazzles cyclic
 existence.

 Those profound key points on this teaching of mine are not wordy, their
 meaning is concise and their practice easy. Fortunate child of good
 karma, do not forget them but settle them in your mind!

 Given from the Valley of Haarlem 07/10/2003 e.v.