TheGuanding(Empowerment) is the most important and basic religious observance in the Tibetan Buddhism with strong features of theSecretSchool, and it is also the process that every monk at a certain level must experience.
The Tibetan Buddhism deems that the self-cultivation of a Buddhist monk is a continuous transmission lineage that must come from a noble superior master, and only the transmission lineage from such a noble superior master can be trusted. In addition, the experience must be transmitted to next generation by the reviser who has no interruption for understanding and inspiration. Every Buddhist must contact this important transmission lineage, which is realized through the Empowerment.
According to the Tibetan Buddhism, the acceptance of Empowerment can awaken the special energy in the heart of the gymnosophist, the communication is established between disciple and superior master, the Empowerment can trigger the potential ability in the body of disciple and make he/her come to a good track of self-cultivation until the realization of consummation. To carry out the Empowerment ceremony, the superior master and the disciple must take part in the rite by themselves. In general, the Empowerment is carried out at the specified place in a monastery at a specified time. When the rite is being carried out, special monks recite sutras and play music, and the religious atmosphere is very strong and mysterious.