Three Roots

Three Roots (Tib. tsawa sum; Wyl. rtsa ba gsum) — "the three roots are the lama, yidam and khandro, the inner refuge of the Secret Mantrayana. They are like the root or the basis for all the positive accumulations until you attain enlightenment."

According to the Vajrayana, the lama is seen as the Buddha, the yidam as the Dharma, and the khandro as the Sangha. As it says in the Longchen Nyingtik Ngöndro Refuge:

"Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are in reality lama, yidam and khandro."

In the Nyingma tradition, once we have accomplished the ngöndro, we continue on the path with the sadhanas of the ‘Three Roots’, which are:

• the practice of the lama, which is the root of all blessings,
• the practice of the yidam, which is the root of attainment, or accomplishment,
• the practice of the dakini (Tib. khandro), which is the root of inspiration or activity.

For Rigpa students, the focus for the Three Roots practice is:

• the lama practice of Rigdzin Düpa;
• the yidam practice of Yang Nying Pudri; and
• the dakini practice of Yumka Dechen Gyalmo.

Whilst Rigdzin Düpa and Yumka Dechen Gyalmo are from the Longchen Nyingtik tradition, Yang Nying Pudri is a terma revealed by Tertön Sogyal (1856-1927), the predecessor of Sogyal Rinpoche.