My very dear one,
Thank you very much for your kind letter.

Yes, you need chöd initiation to do the practice and before receiving chöd initiation you need to have a Highest Yoga Tantra initiation, such as Yamantaka, Heruka or Guhyasamaja. There is also the deity Troma Nakmo, a very common one in Nyingma and Gelug. In Gelug, the deity is Machig Labdron.

Chöd is very good, quick way of the hero, a brave way to remove the self-cherishing thought and dedicate the I and the body for sentient beings. It is a very heroic, brave way to do that on the basis of cherishing sentient beings. This brave, heroic way calls spirits and they create violence and fear. These emotions arise and at that time you recognize the false I, what has to be realized as empty, as it is empty from beginningless rebirths, it has been empty, it never existed.

This is a quick way to recognize that the object never existed. This is a quick way to recognize the object to be refuted, the false I. First examine the false aggregates to be refuted, the false I. First examine the false aggregates, false phenomena, false hell, false suffering and false happiness, as these have been empty from the beginning.

This is a great practice of charity and it’s also heroic. Dedicate not only I, the aggregates, everything, but also your body as nectar to sentient beings, particularly as red distribution, flesh, the body, everything. Dedicate this to the spirits and to those who have so much desire, anger and so on. Doing chöd cuts the emotional problems, the eight worldly dharmas, it cuts those, so it is very good.

Thank you very much for studying the Basic Program.

With much love and prayers…