1. Development of the correct motivation for taking the empowerment (bsam pa bcos pa).

2. Inner empowerment (nang dbang bskur ba). The students imagine that they dissolve into the mouth of the teacher imagined as Kalacakra, and are then reborn from the womb of his consort as single two-armed Kalacakra.

3. Request for the empowerment (gsol btab bsngags). This is followed by the teacher's confirmation that it will be given.

4. Taking of the ordinary vows (thun mong gi sdom bzung). This consists of the commitment to refuge and the development of the enlightened attitude.

5. Taking of the special mantra vows (thun mong ma yin pa sngags kyi sdom pa bzung ba). This consists of three vows of discipline, vows associated with each of the five types, and the fourteen basic vows.

6. Protection (srung ba). Here the students imagine at their six places the seed syllables of the six types of buddha:

forehead u on a disk of the moon (white)
heart i on a disk of Rahu (black)
crown a on a disk of space (green)
navel li on a disk of Kalagni (yellow)
throat ri on a disk of the sun (red)
genitals ah on a disk of awareness (blue)

The order above is the order in which they are described.

7. Empowerment of the three places (gnas gsum byin rlabs mchod). The students imagine the syllables "hum", "ah" and "om" at their heart, throat and crown, in order to empower their mind, speech and body as the three vajras.

8. Casting of the toothpick (so shing dor ba). Twelve finger-widths in length, the rather large ritual toothpick is made from a milky wood, and is cast by the student into a mandala in order to determine the type of realization (particularly the activity) for which the student is best suited. This is indicated by the direction within the mandala in which the head of the pick falls. The directions are given as:

North-east: pacification
North: increasing
South-east: killing
East: expulsion
South-West: controlling
South: coercion
North-west: dumfounding
West: petrifying
Up or down: All activities

9. Giving of palm-water (khyor chu sbyin pa). This is to purify the three doors of body, speech and mind so as to clarify dreams (dreams that might occur before the main empowerment, giving indications regarding one's future practice).

10. Giving of kusha grass (ku sha sbyin pa). This grass is placed under one's bed at night in order to avoid disturbed or confusing dreams.

11. Giving a protective cord (srung skud sbyin pa). This is to protect from obstacles in the dreams.

12. Entreating Vajrasattva (rdor sems bskul ba). This is to purify the awareness of the students.

13. Explanation of profound dharma (zab mo'i chos bshad). This is to ensure that the students do not stray from the correct path.

14. Examination of dreams (rmi lam brtag pa). This is an instruction on what to do with the kusha grass and when to observe dreams. The text gives some details as to the nature of auspicious signs, and what to do if signs arise which are inauspicious.

This completes the first day's activities.