My very dear Harold,
Thank you very much for your kind letter, sorry for the delay in replying.

It seems best for you to pursue getting the Cittamani Tara initiation and learning about this; it is a little easier. Focus on that more, learning and practicing the meditations.

It is very good that you have been practicing Kalachakra, you are very fortunate, that means you can be reborn in Shambhala and come back as a bodhisattva warrior to protect the world in the degenerating age. According to the text it says that the army from Shambhala will ride on horses with weapons and conquer all the barbarians, then they will change in aspect and give teachings, so in that way the Dharma will last for another 100 years in this world.

Maybe you can prepare for this by taking all the violent people in this world to Shambhala pure land, to achieve enlightenment. Do you like this idea? Isn’t this a very inspiring project for you? Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!

So, life is short and death can happen at any time, so it is very important to practice Dharma. Thinking in this way stops you doing non-virtuous things and makes you do virtuous things; also you can get many practices done. If your mind is full of compassion for all beings then everything you do (with this thought) becomes the cause to achieve enlightenment and then you are really able to benefit sentient beings.

Live your life in this way all the time. In your break time (which means your rest time, not break from practicing Dharma), then everything becomes meaningful and you create the cause for happiness in your future lives, liberation from samsara, and enlightenment, and every day you destroy the causes of samsara: ignorance.

Try to achieve the lamrim realizations, that is the MOST important thing, by meditating on the lamrim step by step, renouncing this life’s happiness, renouncing future lives’ happiness, generating bodhicitta, and meditating on emptiness, every day. Then, on top of that, perform tantric practice.

Also, it is important in your daily life do all your actions with the motivation of bodhicitta. In this way, you use all the actions to collect merit and purify negative karma. That means when you eat, drink coffee, work, sleep, talk to people, etc. When you talk to people, talk about compassion to help others to also collect merits, in that way bringing other people little by little to enlightenment.

Try to realize renunciation, bodhicitta, and emptiness. Recite the Three Principles of the Path by Lama Tsongkhapa, meditating on each step of the lamrim.

It would also be very good for you to recite one evening the King of Prayers and then the next evening to recite Losang Gyeltenma by Lama Tsongkhapa.

With much love and prayers...