The Four Gatherings
The teachings explain that 'tsok' refers to four different types of
gathering, those of:
1. practitioners,
2. offering substances,
3. deities, and
4. merit and wisdom.
1. The Gathering of Practitioners
In the teachings this is known as the 'gathering of fortunate
individuals' because only beings with the greatest good fortune can
meet and practise the Vajrayana path. The male and female tantric
practitioners gather together to celebrate the tsok feast on the
tenth day of the waxing moon and the tenth day of the waning moon,
as well as on special anniversaries in the Buddhist calendar.
Tsok can also be offered in gratitude whenever we gain signs of
accomplishment in our practice, or for purification whenever signs
of an impairment or breakage of samaya occur.
An important part of the practice is pure perception, so everyone
is viewed according to his or her enlightened nature—all the male
practitioners as dakas who embody skilful means, and all the female
practitioners as dakinis, who are the embodiments of wisdom.
It is said in the tantras that the male practitioners should sit on
the right and the females on the left, facing each other, with the
Vajra Master in the centre and facing the assembly. Practitioners
should wear their best clothes to provide an auspicious connection
for the accumulation of merit.
Some masters say the practitioners should sit in order of
seniority, according to when they first received empowerment into
the Vajrayana, or according to their levels of experience and
realization and their qualities as a practitioner.
It is best to have an equal number of male and female
practitioners, as this symbolizes the balancing of skilful means
and wisdom.
We should consider the place where we gather not as an ordinary
room or building, but as the sacred place where Guru Rinpoche
himself practises the tsok feast, in the company of infinite dakas
and dakinis.
2. The Gathering of Offering Substances
This is traditionally referred to as the gathering of 'delightful
substances.'
It refers to the food and drink that will be offered by the
practitioners during the practice. It is said that the edible
substances represent skilful means and the liquids represent
wisdom. It is important that the offering includes many different
substances, especially, it says in the tantras, meat and
alcohol.
The teachings also stress that we should be generous in our
offerings, and not offer just a little amount with a miserly
attitude. We should try to avoid polluting the offerings with
limited dualistic concepts, by thinking something is too good or
too expensive to offer, or even that something is too dirty or
impure, or only offering things we like ourselves and leaving out
all the things we don't like.
It is important that we consider the substances as offerings, and
not as ordinary food and drink. To anticipate eating or drinking
the tsok is what it says in the practice of Narak Kong Shak is
'tsok wolf' behaviour. Kyabjé Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche would say
that this also includes bringing cups and plates together with the
offerings, which shows one is already thinking about consuming
them.
3. The Gathering of Deities
This is traditionally called 'the gathering of deities who are the
source of accomplishments.' The word 'gathering' signifies that we
are not just offering to a single deity, but to an entire mandala,
or even several mandalas of deities, each consisting of the
principal deity together with the retinue. It is important that we
have some image—a statue, a thangka painting or a photograph of the
mandala or of our own root master—whenever we offer tsok, as a
support for the practice.
4. The Gathering of Merit and Wisdom
The final gathering is the result of the first three. The practice
of tsok is a very powerful method for accumulating merit and
wisdom.
The definitions of merit vary, but in simple terms we can think of
the practices for accumulating merit as being the more conceptual
aspects of the practice—visualization, generating devotion and
compassion, offering, confessing and so on—and the practices for
accumulating wisdom are the more non-conceptual aspects, such as
the dissolution of the visualization.
On a deeper level, we accumulate merit by not grasping at anything
during the practice, and we accumulate wisdom by remaining with
non-conceptual reference.
The Benefits of Tsok Practice
The main benefit of tsok practice mentioned in the tantras is the
accumulation of merit with conceptual focus as well as the
accumulation of wisdom beyond focus. There could be no greater
benefit than this.
In the termas, we also find mention of unimaginable benefits. For
example, it is said that Guru Rinpoche himself will come and bless
the tsok practitioners, or that the place where tsok is performed
will become exactly the same as the Zangdokpalri heaven of Guru
Rinpoche. And Yeshé Tsogyal said that to practice tsok just once
closes the door to lower rebirths. It is also said that disease,
famine and warfare will be pacified, and all the practitioners'
wishes will be fulfilled without the slightest obstacle.