Putting as much effort as possible into self-initiation is great, either the long or short self-initiation. Just recently, Kyabje Chöden Rinpoche said for self-initiation you have to have the initiation of Vajradhara, or the initiation of the vajra guru/master, in order to actually receive the initiation and purify broken samaya vows. When I asked about Vajrayogini, Rinpoche said it is included within the four initiations of Vajrayogini. Reviving the vows is, I guess, when you take the vow again. Normally, you do need the vajra master initiation in order to purify the vows. The other, shorter self-initiations of Yamantaka, Chakrasamvara and Guhyasamaja normally contain the vajra master initiation.
Normally, the place to do the mahamudra meditation is at the end of Lama Chöpa after the guru enters your heart, or in Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga after the guru enters your heart. You can do the same with Six-Session Guru Yoga, doing the meditation after the guru enters your heart, where it says “those who do the illusory body practice, arising from within." You can start there. If it is sutra mahamudra, mainly the meditation is after the guru enters your heart. It is also very helpful to meditate on emptiness with great bliss, meditating on the Dharmakaya. Meditate on emptiness, that phenomena do not have true existence. Look at phenomena as empty, with the wisdom seeing emptiness, experiencing infinite bliss, which is non-dual with emptiness. Keep your mind in that state as much as you can. This is also very helpful.
Tantric mahamudra has outlines in the Six Yogas of Naropa, with tum-mo meditation.
It is good to do these self-initiations every day so as to be ever more pure as a gelong, not only the pratimoksha but also bodhisattva and tantric vows. Then, your mental continuum doesn’t get stained from one day to the next, so it is very good. That is the best preparation for death. A lot of people talk about what to do for one’s own death, what to do at that time, only expecting that time to be difficult. So, preparation now is the best thing, then at that time you don’t need any effort, it is very easy, like an airplane taking off in good weather, no bumps, no cyclones or thunder.
Taking self-initiation is highly admired by Lama Tsongkhapa. It is said Lama Tsongkhapa took on the aspect of missing the sadhana of Secret Vajrapani and since that day Lama Tsongkhapa did self-initiation every day. He was already Vajrapani, so maybe he did that for our benefit. So, you are catching with up Lama Tsongkhapa’s example.
It is recommended by the 13th Dalai Lama and others as important because it plants the seed of enlightenment all the time, and purifies the defilements, all the heavy negative karmas of all the different broken vows, pratimoksha vows, etc. Each time it plants the potential to achieve the four kayas—that is how it makes it possible to achieve enlightenment.
Purifying negative karma and broken vows is what allows one to achieve realizations of the path to enlightenment easily. Otherwise, one gets stuck. No matter how great a scholar you are, knowing the whole Kangyur and Tengyur by heart, if you lack these practices of purification, all the negative karmas are there, so the mind cannot really develop, and it gets stuck.
