The first empowerment is called the “vase empowerment,” which points out that the nature of our five aggregates (Skt. skandhas) is actually the five buddha families. There are five aspects of the vase empowerment: the vase empowerment of Akshobhya, the crown empowerment of Ratnasambhava, the vajra empowerment of Amitabha, the bell empowerment of Amoghasiddhi, and the name empowerment of Vairochana. Through these five stages of the vase empowerment, we recognize the five aggregates as being the five buddha families. The second empowerment is called the “secret empowerment,” and this takes place through the actual experience of tasting and swallowing the healing nectar (Skt. amrita) that is passed out in the empowerment. If we are completely receptive and swallow this amrita, then all the knots and blockages within the subtle channels (Skt. nadis) in the body and the life force (Skt. prana) are untied or liberated. With this empowerment, if we are receptive to it, we will experience an extremely even flow of the energy within the body. This is the empowerment of the energy flow, the channels, and the energy drops within the body, and especially the flow of the mantra itself.17 The third empowerment is called the “knowledge and wisdom empowerment,” in which we actually experience great bliss. By experiencing great bliss, we recognize that it is inseparable from the nature of mind, that it is emptiness. So we attain an experience called “bliss-emptiness.” The fourth empowerment is called the “empowerment of the word,” which explains the real nature of wisdom itself. These four empowerments are called “ripening empowerments” because when we receive these empowerments, this does not mean that we have attained all the stages and never need to practice anymore. Rather, ripening empowerments should be taken as symbolic moments that eventually lead to the fruition of our practice. Having received these empowerments, we should feel that we have had the great fortune of receiving the empowerments and these empowerments are connected with the full realization of these empowerments with further practice.