Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Arising as the guru deity from within the great bliss that realizes emptiness — that first verse alone, Geshe Pema Tsering notes, already assumes attainments most practitioners do not yet have. In this 122-minute walk through the opening sections of the Guru Puja, he establishes why guru devotion is the root of all Mahāyāna good qualities, then moves verse by verse through the refuge and bodhicitta aspirations, a detailed explanation of how the five impure meats and five nectars are purified through the realization of emptiness, and the visualization of the elaborate field of merit with the enthroned lama-as-Vajradhāra at its center. A Q&A closes the session, addressing whether practitioners without empowerment may attend and how to adapt the central visualization when one has multiple teachers.
File metadata (for organising)
File: GPT – Guru Puja.mp3
UUID: b4e27ef6-105c-4961-9102-dca3a38be243
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: z Unallocated multiple years (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 122.5 minutes
Words: ~5,660
So so, again, Geshe-la is instructing us then to give rise. You know, he was scheduled to give a teaching on the Guru Puja. The Guru Puja is a very extensive text with a very vast and profound meaning, and it’s it takes a very, very long time to give a commentary on the Guru Puja. It takes more than just one day. It takes it takes many days.
It takes more than a month. So we basically don’t have this hour and a half, meaning enough time to go through this text unless we will do something. So, again, it is a it is a it’s a very difficult text starting with the fact that it is a tantric text. So there’s nothing easy about it at all. Tibetan text in his hands, and he’s reading as it is usually the case when you make a comment about text, you start with the title.
So the title says, again, in the language of India and the ancient language of India, Sanskrit. And, again, this is whatever it is that is said in Sanskrit. And then in the language of Tibet, this is then the Guru Puja, you know, the ritual of offerings for your precious, good lama, and and and all that. And then the next verse is a verse of so it’s verse of petitions. A petition verse to the to the Buddhas and the Buddhas, to the deities, So in the next section of the next sentence, relying on him, by relying on one’s good guru, good lama, Then again, one accomplishes all sorts of excellences.
One accomplishes all the the happiness of the three bodies. Again, the the Dharmakāya, the Sambhogakāya, the Nirmānakāya, all bodies of they will accomplish by relying on the lama in this in this way. One accomplishes in in in in the moment. One accomplishes all the common siddhis. And one accomplishes all the extraordinary siddhis, special powers, dharma powers, and whatnot.
And then and then again, so by by making by being respectful and and making prostrations and offerings and and and doing reverence to one’s lama and accomplishes all that. So that being the case, I prostrate at the holy feet of the lama. And and and so this, again, is one of those sort of procedures in composing a text. You have to go through this first stages. I think you make petitions to all the deities.
You have the title. You make petitions. Then you you make prostrations and reverences and and and pay respects to the, in this instance, to the lama so that and before starting to compose the text itself, So in this Guru Puja, it is only the lama and no one else that can accomplish, that that can that is able, has the capacity, the power, and the ability to accomplish every every happiness. It is only by relying on the lama and so the in the in the end of the sentence saying, no one else can do that at this age. So and, again, so the next verse is saying that he here, I will reveal the very essence, the very heart instructions, the very essence, the very heart instructions, the sort of a very root of the lotus, the essence of the lotus, which is of the precious teachings of both Sūtra and Tantra.
And then again, he expresses them the need to give this this instruction, this most profound essential instruction, which then provides which which then is, like, the source of of every excellent collection, collections of wisdom and so on, which is the source of every good quality and all the common siddhis and so on. This So, again, regarding the need to give special instruction is that again this pa, this unmistaken path of relying on the lama is the one that contains all the essential points, all the most important points of all of all the oral instructions, of all the special instructions, of all the secret instructions, this path of relying on on this on the virtuous friend, the holy spiritual friend, virtuous friend is the one path is the one unmistaken path that contains all the most important points that are collected in this practice, in this practice for the Mahāyāna practitioners. So again, this this instruction, again, it’s like the reading quote from one sūtra, which says again that this practice of is the source of all good qualities. Again, because I was explaining this practice of relying on the Guru, or the Guru devotion, is the source of all the most important points from all the Sutras and the Tantras, again, that’s what Geshe-la was explaining.
And saying, and by relying then on the Guru by relying on this practice of guru devotion, then one develops all the good qualities of the Mahāyāna part starting from faith all the way up to bodhicitta, great compassion, and so on. So all the good qualities of the Mahāyāna are developed by relying on again, he’s reading a quote from one of the Dalai Lama’s, from one of the former Dalai Lama’s, says, in which he’s saying that, again, this this practice of guru devotion, this practice of relying on on one’s lama is the one dependent arising, one condition that brings this process of dependent arising with regards to every other practice to good fruition. So again, is by relying on the lama that this process of dependent arising brings about the good rebirths in the future. And by not relying on the lama, then again the result in the scheme of things that arise or all that is that one is born in the suffering realm of existence. And then again, this this relying on the lama, this this practice of guru devotion, you you can rely there are two two ways of relying on the lama.
One can rely through thought and intention, and one can rely through action or, you know, one’s behavior and conduct and rituals and so forth. My practice of guru devotion is bearing good fruits, is turning out well for me. Must rely on this practice. And this is this thing again, there’s so much in introduction that we won’t have time to go through all of it. And then again, so I mean, the whole point of that introduction, the whole point being we have we’ve been told that this practice of guru devotion relying on the lama, is extremely important according to the tantric instructions.
Because one does actually develop all good qualities of enlightenment by relying on the lama, and one is to regard one’s lama as to give rise to the notion, to give rise to the conviction that the one’s lama is the actual Buddha or is an actual Buddha. That’s that’s very important And so Geshe lah started so Geshe lah started with the ritual itself, which which then started with the first very first verse. And I don’t know if you guys have the little orange book. But in the first verse, we start again. We think great bliss.
I manifest as a guru from my clear body. And so, again again, just just this line. It’s because I wasn’t saying that there’s so much here already. This this is so difficult. This is so profound.
This is all tantric. Again, the great bliss that has been referred to is is is the the great bliss of the mind, which is the union of clear light and bliss, which is something that we do not have. And then again, from that, we we arise as a guru. So, again, if you read, we have we have both the the Tibetan and the English here. So, again, the chain.
Again, within great bliss from within great bliss, and pointed out that this great bliss that has been referred to is the great bliss of the the wisdom mind that realizes emptiness. So the prerequisite the the prerequisite here is a very profound attainment of concentration concentrative powers, which we don’t have. And on top of that, a very profound and subtle realization of emptiness, which you don’t have. We we all don’t have don’t have. So and from that realization of emptiness, from that bliss of that mind of emptiness, you produce, you give rise to that form of of the edam, the guru edam in the form of clear clear light body.
So again, so and then this before I say so, but still, we we imagine that. We we still engage we as we are, and now we engage in the process with our with our thoughts. So this within great bliss, within this wisdom mind of great bliss, that is one’s own mind that is realized realizing in this, which is involved with bliss. From that mind, from one’s own mind, that we manifest, we produce this visual this visualized form, this emanation of oneself as the lama. And one thing one thinks of once one is arising as a lama deity, right, as the guru deity, and and there is the lama itself, the actual lama was imagining the actual lama, and one imagines that one’s mind and the lama’s mind are one and the same thing.
They united. And then again and then from that clear light body of one oneself as the guru deity, then again, one sends forth this light rays to the ten directions. That’s what they’re gonna touch blessing. All the the beings in all the ten directions and and the environment in which they are in. And then all becomes most perfectly arrayed with only excellent qualities, infinitely pure.
So, again, those light rays purify everything, all the beings, and all the environments in which they live. Everything becomes pure by by those light rays that are coming from oneself as the guru. So again again, you send forth one sends forth this light rays to towards the ten directions. Geshe-la goes back again a bit saying again. And when this this light rays then are touching, contacting all the environments in distant directions and all the beings, all the animals, and all the living beings, sentient beings that live in those environments.
And so again, all becomes most perfectly arrayed with excellent qualities. Again, before that point point out that having those light rays have been blessed and purified and and sort of transformed everything. So all the environment becomes sort of the of the lama. Pure. Everything is pure and made of precious substances and whatnot.
And all the beings that are invited, they all become Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. They all become enlightened beings. So, again, visualize the same again, get points out, you And then so everything becomes most perfectly arrayed with only excellent qualities, infinitely pure. So again, only excellent qualities. There is no fault, no shortcoming, nothing bad about the whole lot.
And that’s only the first verse. All beings and all environments in which they they And then we move on to the next verse. Again, from the state of an exalted wide virtuous mind, I and all mothers and sentient beings, from this moment hence, from this moment until you are enlightened, I go for refuge to the gurus and the Three Jewels. So then this is the the verse of refuge, refuge in bodhicitta. So, again, from the state of an exalted wide versus mind, the mind of bodhicitta.
So from that mind of bodhicitta, and, again, I and all, are, And Geshe-la was just saying, even though every every being so even though one has already a reason. A reason. A reason. Get it all right. Even though one has already a reason as the lama deity, as an enlightened being, and one has purified all the beings and all the environment, so everybody’s enlightened.
Yes. Everybody has to go for refuge and generate bodhicitta. Then we have the next verse. It says, and again, with in each one of of these lines, it’s just saying again, I go for refuge to the guru. I go for refuge Buddha. I go for refuge to the Dharma, and I go for refuge to the Sangha.
That’s what Then we have the next verse, number four, which is then the verse produced in which says, for the sake of all mother sentient beings, I shall attain the state of a guru yidam. And thus, shall I lead all sentient beings to a guru yidam’s supreme enlightenment? Is just like the the usual mind of enlightenment that we know. So, again, one is bound and to attain full enlightenment in order to accomplish the enlightenment of all sentient beings. So one is bound then to arise as the guru yidam, fully enlightened being in order to establish all beings in the fully enlightened state of the guru or idam.
So again, for the sake of all mothers and human beings, I shall quickly quickly in this very life attain the state of a primordial Buddha Guru Yidam. I shall liberate all mother sentient beings from suffering and lead them to the great bliss of Buddhahood. To this I shall now practice the profound power of Guru Yidam yoga. This one. And then there’s, again, is next little three syllables.
Again, this is to bless the three actions or, again, the outer actions, the inner actions, and the secret actions or conducts. So, again, the whole point is that there’s a point in the ceremony where, you know, touches the torma and just like this, which is then the these these inner offerings and so on, you know, blessings of the the actions of the conduct. And just I was gonna say, this is a very abbreviated versions. It’s almost a very abbreviated version of of these blessings of the conduct. There is usually traditionally, there’s another very long verse, this this part of the same one refers to the purification also of this five impure the five meats of flesh and the five all the five other five impure impure substances.
And if I wasn’t saying that, you know, to purify that, which is a left heart thing. So the five meats or five fleshes that are being referred to is human flesh, the bull’s flesh, the elephant’s flesh, the horses, We have these five fleshes, and in which case I was gonna say, I mean, this type five types of flesh, we are regarded as unclean or impure. You know, just wouldn’t normally eat. So through these blessings and this visualization of and all that, you purify those substances. Then you have the five five other substances.
These are actually not impure. These are the amrita. Nectar. Nectar. Thank you.
Nectar. The five nectar, which are urine, feces, the semen of a man. Then in in old Tibetan culture, you can talk about, you know, the seeds, the male seed, which is the semen, and the female seed, which they refer to as blood. And So again, five fleshes, these five meats. Five meats?
Yes. These five meats and these five meats are very bad. These five nectars are transformed. So the is just blessing me and transforming, purifying me. Okay?
And so all these practices, such a practice such as these, it demands, it also one has already. One one is purifying. One is blessing these substances. Through one’s realization of the emptiness. Through one’s actual mind, the realized emptiness one purifies blessing.
Success. What we what we are doing is is cultivating the aspiration that we’ll be able to do so. So when we are going through this practice and reciting those words, the best that we can do at this stage is cultivate the aspiration. May I be able to accomplish that? Then all those these substances, they cease in within from within the realization of emptiness, they cease to be impure substances or or dirty substances or whatever.
And they and by the power for the power of that realization of emptiness with regards to these substances, then they they come they arise in the nature of bliss. The bliss, they realize the emptiness of those then and they are they they arise without they arise again without any shortcoming, any fault, any bad quality, and they are filled with only good qualities. And then they become substances which are suitable to be consumed. And then we can eat them. We can we can offer them.
They are suitable to be offered to the to the Buddhism and so on by by force of this through direct realization. Can I just ask, is that because before we we come to the emptiness and realization of the emptiness that they are actually attachments and desires and delusion? Those substances are all attachments and desires and delusions. Yeah. And we get to discover the emptiness of them, they go from being bad Impure.
And impure to being before one realizes emptiness, then phenomena appear in different ways. Some phenomena appear as being as good, and some phenomena appear as bad. So those conventional appearances do arise without having realized emptiness. So some so those substances, one of those five meats, then they they appear as unclean, impure, unsuitable to be consumed, and so forth. And when one realizes anything, one realizes that those appearances, bad or impure or unsuitability and so forth, they are they are not true.
They lack in existence. And and as as emptiness as being empty, the one’s mind is related to that emptiness as this quality quality of bliss to it. So one sort of purifies the substances from all sorts of appearances and and so on. Then through that Those substances, they do not have inherent existence. They’re being dirty.
Their their dirtiness or their cleanliness or their purity or impurity, all of it has does not have any. All of it is impurity, self impurities of those substances does not have any kind of existence. So when generally speaking, we refer to these substances as impure or dirty because they arise out of contaminated actions and the afflictions. Affliction has been the root of all of it, being ignorance. If you are realizing, So this is reading in the next verse, verse number eight.
It says, I offer clouds of outer, inner, and secret offerings. So, again, the outer offerings are, you know, the the the water for cleaning the feast, the perfumed water, the the food, the incense, the candle lights, and and and the sounds and all that. So those are the outer offering. Then we have the the inner and the secret offerings, which are those substances that we’ve been the secret offerings, which are those substances within our offerings and so on. So, again, all objects which please our senses and fields of vision.
So, again, all sorts of different enjoyments or things that I enjoyed. And and the fields of vision, again, makes reference to the six sense powers, you know, the five sense powers and the mental sense power. Then again, pervade the reaches of space, earth and sky, spreading out beyond the range of thoughts, so again, unimaginable. In essence, they are pristine awareness in aspect, inner offerings, and the various objects offering their function. This is generating extraordinary pristine awareness of voidness and bliss as object to be enjoyed by the wisdom beings.
This one. Oh, yeah. The the three syllables of OM AH HUM. So one then has purified all the offerings. Basically, is what one has purified all the offerings.
Blessed and purified all the offerings. And now we’re going to give rise to the Again, as a crest of a wish granted to be embellished with leaves, flowers, and fruit. So again, we are then visualizing all these things, all these the tree and all these fruits and leaves and the throne with all the jewels and and and and all of the all of the all of it has is a having the nature of that mind of emptiness, which is the union of Again, so on this throne sits my good guru who is kind in all three ways. Again, kind by giving empowerment, kind by giving pith instruction, kind by even teaching. So is in essence all the Buddhas?
So, again, just saying again, lama has the essence or is the essence of all the Buddhas. And and, again, I just want to say, and the the lama, Geshe-la was giving this four-word expression, again, which makes reference to the lama, the the victorious one, the mighty one, the Buddha, and to Vajradhāra. So in that in the center of that depiction that you have one which is larger than the others, which is where you will place you will visualize your lama, or some people visualize some people visualize Śākyamūni Buddha, and some people visualize their own lama. So all of them have the same essence, the same nature, and you can visualize it. Any of them?
So again, in aspect, guru has, again, a it is a saffron robed monk. So it means that Dilom, it is a fully ordained monk with one face, two arms, and a radiant white smile. So again, the right hand is in the gesture of expounding Dharma. The left hand is a meditative pose, the the the mudra of meditative equipoise, holding a begging bowl filled with nectar. And again, he’s draped with the three robes of lustrous saffron, the shawl, the zen, and the chogyu.
And then his head is adorned by a a pandit’s gold colored hat. So then and even oneself, one’s sort of future other enlightenment, again, he is also in essence Vajradhāra. Even though one one is not, In your heart, the all-pervading Lord Vajradhāra with a body blue in color, one face and two arms holding vajra and bell, embracing consort. The major and minor marks of the Buddha. And then you sit in the vajra position and hallowed by the five colored rainbow.
So again, and sit in the vajra position, haloed by the five-colored rainbow, totally pure, your skandhas are the five Buddha families, the five aggregates, your four elements, the four elements, the bliss of your senses, your energy channels, sinews, and joints are all in reality, Bodhisattvas. The hairs of your pores are twenty one thousand arhats. Your limbs, of protectors, your light rays, directional guardians, lords of wealth, and their attendants, while all worldly gods are but cushions for your feet. So, again, all all lastly, again, all worthy gods are cushions for your feet. So again, surrounding you in the respective order is an assembly of actual and visualized gurus.
Then around those, around those, the hosts, the hosts of mandala deities. Then around those, the Buddhas and the protectors of the teachings. Again, of all those gurus, yidams, buddhas, bodhisattvas, all of those beings, the three doors of each one of them are marked with three vajras. Again, from their syllables of HUM, light rays go out.
So, again, and then again, light rays go out and so to speak draw forth from the natural abode, the wisdom beings, so that they may become inseparably united. So, again, those light rays, from each one of those very many Buddhists and Bodhisattvas and so forth, they send they send forth light rays that bring about the actual wisdom beings that they are presenting, and they become one with those actual wisdom beings. And they fall like rain. They become one with those wisdom beings. Those visualizations that we have that become the actual become one of the wisdom As the next request, again, you who are the source of goodness, bliss, perfection, all root meanings, gurus, idams, the jewels of refuge, viras, dakinis, Dharma, palace, protectors, with enlightened eyes and all the three times, by the power of compassion, come forth and abide steadfastly.
Again, abide in that visualization that I have produced. Abide abide here. So in Zanghum, they sort of they fall into those visualizations that we have. And then when we say, they become one with those visualizations. So first, we have, you know, we have we have visualized, and we have got the the actual wisdom beings, which we are which we have visualization.
So and then they become one with the our visualization. And again, as an another little petition, when he was asking for the actual wisdom beings to become one with one’s visualization of the wisdom. Again, has to see then the lama as one with Buddha Vajradhāra, inseparable. Inseparable with Buddha Vajradhāra. And then that is said, there’s a little commentary which is not here.
And that is stated in very many tantras and very many tantric scriptures. I have some quotes from some texts which are saying again one, the lama and the essential Buddha, they are not different. Meaning, again, they are one and the same. And then, again, so all and that which was said about all five aggregates being the five Buddha families, and then the hairs, all one’s hairs being the thousands of arhats, and all the sinews and the bone and the joints and so forth being the Buddha, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and so on. So all that is what is said in this.
Quote. I guess I was reading the actual quote from from that sūtra, from that particular tantra. I guess I was explaining the meaning, saying again that all the qualities, all the precious qualities of all the Buddhism and bodhisattvas are contained in the body of the lama, of the vajra Lama. So if if one worships and revere and and makes offerings to the lama, then one is is may is is is equal to make offerings to all those Buddhas, all those who have all those good qualities. And so the benefit is immeasurable.
And the same goes for if one misbehaves or And again, so of all the the conducts, again, one should rely, Nāgārjuna telling us that all of all the conducts, one should rely on the conduct which is making offerings to the lama, to the guru. And by doing so, one attains this omniscient wisdom mind, which is enlightened. Then this this process of of visualizing our the one to whom towards whom we are making all the offerings. Realizing that being, realizing that object of of our of our offerings. So then now we start with the next section of the ritual, which is then the seven-limb prayer.
So the hope, what we have done so far is at first, we have purified the offering, then have gone through the refuge and all that. Then we have visualized the the field of offerings, the lama and all the deities and all that. And then we have we have asked for the actual beings, lamas, and deities, and so forth to become one with our visualization. And then now we start with the actual seven-limb prayers. We start with the prostrations.
We start with the offerings and the requests requests and the and the confessions and all of those, you know, topics of the of the usual seven-limb prayer. And I would do it. I have an extensive version of those kind. They’re very extensive prayers and say, we we don’t have much time to do all that. Geshe-la said he would tell all those answers.
I was this time. So what what why do we need to do this Guru Puja? Why we do it? Why we need this Guru Puja? Because I wanna say this, just like the text was saying, if the lama is really the embodiment of all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and of every all the good qualities and everything, then it is the best way, the quickest way to accomplish the accumulations accumulations of merit.
I could add, in this case, in this practice of merit and wisdom. So that’s why we need this practice. It was a very skillful way of accomplishing these two accumulations of merit and wisdom. Oh, yeah. That is the the issue.
This is this is a very difficult text. This is a very extensive text, and and we need much more time. Yes? How could you sleep? I was asked last week what would happen if you didn’t have a guru.
Would it be okay to attend this session? And I’d love to hear Geshe-la’s version I just know that many of the Tibetans take the Dalai Lama or, as you said earlier, into their hearts. But that’s what I’ve told this person, but I’d like to hear. Look, if one does not have a lama, then one can come to the teaching and study about that. It’s alright to study about that.
Now if one does not have a lama, then one does not have the essential ingredient of the Guru Puja. One does not have anybody to make offerings to. So if one does not have a lama, then how can one practice a Guru Puja? If has, you know, if one has, you know, interest and one wants to learn, then, you know, with if one has faith and respect, then one is allowed it’s it’s alright to study the subject and and learn about the subject. Now, technically speaking, if one does not have the empowerment related to the lama, one is not supposed to be practicing this practice.
So again, Geshe-la explains again, technically speaking, the empowerment related to the lama is necessary in order to be allowed to practice this. Nonetheless, Geshe-la says, if one is practicing with the clear idea or knowledge that one with the intention of taking the empowerment in the future. Okay. I I will take it in the future. What I’m doing now is just learning about it, studying, and one can still sit in and watch it and and and even participate to some degree in the whole ritual.
And again, even in Tibet, the the little novices, the little young monks, they all read the Guru Puja and they recite the Guru Puja as part of their studies. Nonetheless, they don’t have the empowerment, and yet they are allowed to study and recite. If it wasn’t allowed, if it wasn’t permitted for them to then recite, read, learn, and recite this pray this practice, then they wouldn’t be doing so. Power of the faith that one has produced in one’s heart, then one will one will benefit regardless of the language that’s being used to be English, Tibetan, Indian, Hindu language or any other language. Given given the question about whether someone has found their guru, are there any parts of the ritual that it’s respectful to abstain from if if you’re in that position?
The phone does not have the guru. So there’s nothing disrespectful about it. You can recite. I was just trying to convey the meaning, so I was using myself as an illustration. And you can recite the whole lot.
You can take part in the whole lot. You still is beneficial. You are living in the present moment. So it is it is better to recite than not to recite. Mhmm.
It’s better to go through it than not to go through it. Reciting four, you know, lines, then by reciting that one one has taken in the verbal by words or verbal refuge. Measure of benefit from from that is derived from reciting those words. So, again, one will have the measure of benefit from reciting the from reciting from reciting the purifications, the offerings, the prostrations, the confessions, and all that. There is a verbal sort of the the benefit that you derive from mere words.
There is a small benefit that comes from that. So, again, just by reciting all of these, quite a lot of benefits can be accrued from that and much more benefit than not recital. Can one take part in this alone? So there’s two questions there. Yeah. Could you do the Guru Puja when you’re alone?
Alone? Or can you do it with others? And And could you do it If you have or many gurus, can you put Śākyamūni in the lotus seat? The Buddha Puja with all the Dharma and the Buddha Śākyamūni together. If you are able to visualize all of them together, you visualize all of them. That is comfortable for you.
If you are not able to visualize all of them them together, it’s alright to visualize only the Buddha Śākyamūni and and knowing that they are all the same. They are all one and the same, the same essence, the same nature. They are all one and the same thing. You’re I think the same thing. So there is one empowerment, which is the empowerment of the Guru Puja.
The empowerments that are being referred to is any highest yoga tantra empowerment. So it could be any higher. It could be any any higher. Personally, I like to visualize my lama in the form of Vajradhāra, is it alright for me to visualize all the Buddhas and all my gurus in the form of Vajradhāra, and then visualize the whole field of merit? Can you repeat that, please?
If I feel comfortable to visualize, it’s more convenient for me to visualize my guru in the form of Vajradhāra. Is it alright for me to visualize my gurus, all my gurus, Buddha, Śākyamūni, and all the bodhisattvas in the in the form of Vajradhāra? And you can you can you can visualize all you can visualize just one Vajradhāra, with the understanding that he is the essence or he is the embodiment of all of them. It’s the same.