The Tree of Enlightenment

eserved for actually introducing the disciple into the mandala
of the particular deity involved.
e second kind of initiation is the subsidiary initiation,
which might be likened to a license that empowers you to handle
a rare, specialized class of practices, which are nonetheless
important and highly efficacious.
e third class is even more limited in scope, consisting of
rather simple initiations, often very brief in terms of the time
required to bestow them, that enable one to engage in relatively
simple practices associated with subsidiary deities belonging to a
larger family to whom one has already been introduced by means
of the appropriate initiation. ese are sometimes termed ‘subsequent
initiations,’ because they are traditionally given subsequent
to major or subsidiary ones.
Vajrayana deities are also divided into families (not related to
the four classes of tutelary deities mentioned a moment ago) that
are associated with the Buddhas of the Five Families – Vairochana,
Ratnasambhava, Amitabha, Amoghasiddhi, and Akshobhya. For
example, the tutelary deity Hevajra is associated with the Vajra
family headed by Akshobhya, while Chakrasamvara is associated
with the Buddha family of Vairochana.
A major initiation can be likened to the purchase of a season
ticket for a whole series of events. e season ticket entitles
you to participate in any or all of the events, although whenever
you do you will naturally have to produce your ticket and
perhaps have it stamped. Similarly, a major initiation entitles
you to receive a whole series of subsidiary and lesser initiations,
although, when receiving each initiation, you will still have to
participate in the appropriate ritual.
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