CATURTHĀBHIṢEKA

caturthābhiṣeka. (T. dbang bzhi pa; C. disi guanding; J. daishi kanjō; K. chesa kwanjŏng 第四灌頂). In Sanskrit, “fourth empowerment”; the fourth of the four empowerments or initiations employed in ANUTTARAYOGATANTRA, the other three being the vase empowerment (KALAŚĀBHIṢEKA), the secret empowerment (GUHYĀBHIṢEKA), and the knowledge of the consort empowerment (PRAJÑĀJÑĀNĀBHIṢEKA). After having engaged in sexual union with a consort in the third empowerment, in this fourth and final empowerment, the practitioner seeks to attain the state of innate bliss (sahajānanda) with the mind of clear light (PRABHĀSVARACITTA), in a vision like the natural color of the autumn sky at dawn, free from moonlight, sunlight, and darkness. The initiation is also called the “word empowerment” (Śabdābhiṣeka) because the teacher will identify this state for the disciple.