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The '''four nails''' or “four nails that secure the life-force of the practice” (Tib. སྲོག་སྡོམ་གཟེར་བཞི་, ''sok dom zer shyi'', [[Wyl.]] ''srog sdom gzer bzhi''), an important aspect of [[kyerim]] practice, are:

#The nail of all appearance as the deity (''nangwa lha yi zer'') or the nail of concentration ([[samadhi]]) on the deity (''ting nge dzin lha’i zer'') or (''kyerim lha'i zer'')
#The nail of all sound as the [[mantra]] (''dra drak ngak kyi zer'') or the nail of the essence mantra (''nyingpo ngak kyi zer'')
#The nail of the activity of emanation and absorption (''tro du trinlé kyi zer'')
#The nail of the unchanging wisdom mind (''gongpa mingyurwé zer'')

According to [[Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche]], these four points were first taught as a special [[mengak]] by [[Guru Padmasambhava]] in the ''[[Kagyé Deshek Düpa]]''.

==Alternative Translations==
*Four stakes that bind the life-force (Dharmachakra Translation Committee)
*Four stakes to bind the life-force ([[Erik Pema Kunsang]])
*Four linchpins ([[Lama Chökyi Nyima]])

==Further Reading==
*His Holiness [[Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche]], ''Pure Appearance—Development and Completion Stages in the Vajrayana Practice'' (Halifax: Vajravairochana Translation Committee, 2002), '5. The Four Binding Forces'. restricted publication
*[[Patrul Rinpoche]] in ''Deity, Mantra and Wisdom: Development Stage Meditation in Tibetan Buddhist Tantra'', translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee (Ithaca: Snow Lion, 2007), Text Three, ''The Melody of Brahma Reveling in the Three Realms: Key Points for Meditating on the Four Stakes That Bind the Life-Force''.
*[[Padmasambhava]] and [[Jamgön Kongtrül]], ''The Light of Wisdom'', Vol II, translated by [[Erik Pema Kunsang]] (Boudhanath, Hong Kong & Esby: Rangjung Yeshe, 1998), pages 108-117.

[[Category:Kyerim]]
[[Category:Enumerations]]
[[Category:04-Four]]