Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 46-minute session, Kyabje Rinpoche answers a foundational question for Lama Chopa practitioners: why is the lama the most powerful field of merit accumulation, surpassing offerings to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas? Drawing on Nāgārjuna, he demonstrates that the answer lies not in the lama’s greater status but in their unique kindness in guiding the spiritual path. He then details four factors that determine the potency of offerings: the supreme field (Lama Lobsang Dondrub Changchub with retinue), the basis (enhanced by progressive vows), the motivation (deepening from sūtra to secret mantra intention), and the substance offered. Building on previous visualization work, the session assumes familiarity with tantric practice and empowerment vows.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1992-08-21 – 11A – KR.mp3
UUID: f04644aa-8518-43b9-9e5f-8ed2d24f1dc8
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Guru Puja – Lama Chopa
Date: 1992-08-21
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~2,727
Two divisions of the necessity or the reasons behind making offerings and the way of actually making offerings. The last teaching we left off where the in look we were visualizing the field of accumulation of the Lama Chöpa field and inviting the wisdom beings to come forth and to dissolve into the commitment beings which were being visualized before us. And upon the recitation of the syllable then the wisdom beings and commitment beings become nondual or indivisible. And as we’ve explained in the last teaching, upon the recitation of Tzar, then the wisdom beings come to the crown of the commitment beings and upon whom they dissolve into the commitment beings, bam, then they become inseparable and upon recitation of ho they become So are being visualized three types of beings. There is the wisdom being, jnana kaya, the commitment being of samayaVajrasattva, so the wisdom being or jnana sattva, the commitment being, the samaya sattva, and then finally the concentration being or the samadhi sattva.
And the initial visualization involved the visualizing the field of accumulation with Lama Lobsang Dondrub Changchub as a central figure surrounded by all the various direct and lineage Lamas and then the various tiers of the various beings such as the meditation deities, the yidams, the various Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, the various heroes, heroines, etc. And these are these initial those beings initially visualized are the commitment beings or the in Tibetan. And then we then invite the wisdom beings to come forth and they are coming forth from out of their meditative equipoise on emptiness, that they essentially are in the nature of the wisdom of bliss emptiness in their as a truth body. And then we are inviting them to come forth out of the state of their meditative equipoise on wisdom, this emptiness, into a form body. And as they come into the form body then they are referred to as the wisdom beings and we are inviting these wisdom beings to unite with the beings, the commitment beings which we have initially visualized before us.
So the beings which are, the place of abidance of wisdom beings is the commitment being. The wisdom beings come forth return but the place in which they reside is within the commitment beings themselves. And then the the the concentration being is the wisdom of great bliss which has taken the aspect of whom at the heart of Lama Lobsang Dondrub Changchub. So the of Lama Lobsang Dondrub Changchub. The body of is likened to a gathering house or a gathering hall, a hall where people gather together.
And they come together and then they disperse to do all their various activities and then they are drawn back in and they gather back together within the body of Lama Lobsang Dondrub Changchub. So we have established the field of accumulation. Is the object by means of which we are able to gather the accumulation. We have established that through our visualization. So the purpose of meditating and establishing this field is in order to have an object by means of which we are able to bring about the accumulation of the two collections.
There are many objects towards which we can accumulate in various collections. Can, that is to say the fields towards which we can direct ourselves and accumulate the collection. They can be sentient beings and mother sentient beings, Buddhists and Bodhisattvas. The fields of accumulation are numberless and the reason that what is the necessity for establishing this particular field, the field of collection that is Lama Lobsang Dondrub Changchub. The reason that we’re doing this is in order to attain Buddhahood.
That this in order to eliminate the sufferings and to lead to happiness all sentient beings. That it’s not, we’re not doing this practice for our own sake. So if in fact we were only involved in our own welfare and we’re not concerned with the welfare of others, then there would be no way through this meditation that we could attain Buddhahood, that it’s necessarily necessary that our meditation, our practice be motivated by the awakening heart, that we need to attain Buddhahood in order to eliminate the suffering and bring to complete happiness other sentient beings. That is to say our motivation must be of altruism in order to become a method for achieving Buddhahood. So in order to achieve Buddhahood, but in order to carry on any practice of Dharma, we are mainly concerned with the accumulation and purification.
The accumulation involves the accumulation of the two types of collections and purification involves the elimination of various afflictive emotions and obstructions such as knowledge obstructions, all the various types of negative and unskillful actions. So our practice involves a process of purification and accumulation, and we want to do this not only to achieve but to achieve it extremely quickly because of the not being able to bear the sufferings of living beings that we want to alleviate this suffering as quickly as possible. Therefore not only do we want to create the necessary accumulation and purify the negativities, but we need powerful methods of accumulating and purifying in order to do it as quickly as possible. According to the verse by Nāgārjuna, where he said, if it is necessary that one achieve Buddhahood quickly, it is necessary to involve oneself in the powerful methods of collecting the accumulation. And how are we to do this?
He said if it is necessary to achieve Buddhahood quickly, then in order to achieve those powerful means, that over and above making offerings to such beings as Buddhas and bodhisattvas, the quickest and most abandoning those in favor of the most powerful method of achieving the powerful methods of accumulation that is making offerings to one’s lama. And why is that? It is by means of showing respect and making offerings to the lama that we are able to please the lama. And it is by pleasing the lama that this this object acts as an object unlike any other in its power and great blessing whereby to bring about quickly the accumulation of the collection. And by the pleasing of the lama that one can quickly attain the wisdom of all knowing, that is to say the attainment of Buddhahood.
If you were to ask what is the reason for that? It would be very useful for you to understand why it is that this comes about through pleasing the lama. So the way that we initially enter into, that way that we begin to enter into the process of developing our Buddha qualities is by first entering into the Dharma by means of the lama’s teaching. And but furthermore, in the intermediate process of our practice, then those excellent it is by means of the precepts and the teachings of the lama that are whatever qualities we may have developed will not be lost, but in fact will increase higher and higher. And all the various vows that we are able to take such as the such as the novice, the fully ordained vows, the bodhisattva, and the vows of secret mantra are dependent upon the lama.
And within sacred mantra, quick path, if for example we were practicing the method of Guhyasamāja, then it is by means of the teachings of the lama whereby that we can progress through the five stages of the completion stage. And ultimately it is dependent upon the receiving of the empowerment and quintessential instructions of the practice in order to achieve Buddhahood and in order to achieve that it necessarily comes from the lama. It is for these reasons that it is necessary that we are to rely upon the lama because in order to attain Buddhahood quickly, in order to proceed along the path, there is no way that we can achieve this without relying upon the lama. And why is the benefit so much greater in offering to the Lama as compared to making offerings to other beings? It is due to the kindness, the great kindness of the Lama.
Here when we talk about Lama we don’t mean an ordinary Lama, that is to say someone who simply can teach the Dharma, we’re talking about an individual who is a great master, someone who can set out the entire practice of universal vehicle. Qualities of the lama are like the Buddha, and therefore it is as if in making offerings to the lama we are making offerings to the Buddhas that we can it is because of this fact that the Lama is of such great importance to make offerings to in bringing about the accumulation. But not only that, but it is through the kindness of the Lama. This is through the kindness of the lama that all of our various excellent qualities are not lost, but are continually increasing higher and higher. So there are two factors involved in the necessity to make offerings.
One is that the lama is the means of accumulating the most powerful method of accumulating the collection, and it is by the kindness of the lama that whatever qualities we do develop they do not degenerate but increase higher and higher. By way of analogy, if someone were to give food to a person in general, and as this as compared to if one were to give food to one’s parents, one’s father and mother, the benefits would be extremely greater in the latter case. And why is that? It is because our parents of this life are like no other in terms of the great benefit that they have shown us over the course of this present life, and therefore in helping them the benefit is commensurate. It is a great benefit.
And the reverse of that would be that if in killing an individual, if we simply kill another person in general as compared to the killing of our parent, our mother and father, then the negativity created would be extremely greater in the latter case. So it is the degree of benefit and harm. It would be in the extremes with respect to our parents in the fact that they have shown us such great benefit. In return for their great benefit, if we were to show them kindness, then this would be a tremendous benefit. On the other hand, if we were to show them, bring them harm, then this would be extremely negative.
So it is for these reasons that we make offerings to the lama that we in order to achieve Buddhahood quickly and the two aspects of our practice in terms of the accumulation of accumulation and purification, the accumulation of the collection and purification of negativities and these two are mutually assist one another that in the purification and collection as we the more in purifying we collect and collecting we purify. And how do we proceed in the practice of our accumulation and purification? This is done by means of the seven-limb prayer which is the practice both within sūtra and secret mantra. This is the main practice of the Bodhisattva, the seven-limb prayer. So, how are we to accumulate the collection quickly? This is in terms the power of the field of collection.
It’s great, what potentiality, the way in which we’re collecting has we must use a method whereby we can have great power and we can have it has a way in which has great potential. As it says in the Lam Rim, the graduated path, this is in terms of the potency means of accumulating the collection is in terms of four factors: the field of accumulation, the potency, first the field, then the motivation, then the potency, and then the base. So as far as the field, there is no more powerful field by means of which we can accumulate the collection then Lama Lobsang Dondrub Changchub along with his retinue. There’s no greater, more powerful field that we will ever find. So then with the the the degree of efficacy of the means of accumulating the collection in terms of the basis, the basis refers to the person who is doing the collecting, who doing is the accumulating, that there is a difference in terms of the potency of the base, that is the difference in terms of the person who is doing the accumulating, difference in the efficacy, the power, the potency.
And this would be that first the power of humans in general, a being who has all the various leisures and fortunes as a basis, but additionally the case of lay practitioners having taken lay vows, that base would have increased potency whereby to accumulate collection. Efficacy of the offering would be increased, but then there would be a doubling factor and the potency is multiplying as we increase the potency of the base in terms of then if one were to go on to take monks’ vows, nuns’ vows, or additionally the bodhisattva vows, vows of secret mantra, then the potency of the base, that is to say the person who is accumulating is increasing greater and greater, and then finally as we mentioned previously, if in the course of the practice of Lama Chöpa one has on the basis of one’s vows of secret mantra, one takes on the aspect of in this case Heruka and then goes on to make offerings through Lama Lobsang Dondrub Changchub, then as far as the basis is concerned, there’s no other more effective or powerful basis. Then the third factor determining efficacy of the means of accumulating was in terms of the intention or that is to say the motivation.
And here motivation is that of the kind hearted attitude of the awakening heart. But even within the awakening heart there is a difference between motivation of the sūtra, our discourse, and secret mantra. In discourse we have the motivation that in order to establish all living beings, in order to eliminate the suffering of all living beings and establish them in happiness, I must achieve Buddhahood. Though this is a powerful motivation that of secret mantra must be even more powerful in that one has the motivation that in order to eliminate the suffering of all mother sentient beings, I must quickly, as quickly, quickly, quickly attain the state of Buddhahood. That is to say that there is even a more powerful motivation in terms of the quickness that one wants to achieve Buddhahood, not just Buddhahood itself but one wants to achieve it extremely quickly.
And having achieved Buddhahood then I will lead all sentient beings to that same state and in order to achieve that end I am now going to carry out the practice of Guru Yoga, making offerings to the Lama, and it is by this means, by means of this motivation that we can achieve Buddhahood extremely quickly. So this is the efficacy in terms of the intention or the motivation. I I made a mistake. The the fourth factor is not the ability. It’s the Then there’s the fourth factor, I think I said ability, that’s not correct. It’s the substance or the thing itself, which is being offered, the substance or the thing itself that which is being offered. And here we offering the seven-limb prayer and this is as was mentioned this is the main practice of the bodhisattva in the process of accumulation and purification, but even this has a degree of effectiveness. In terms of we increase the potency of the things that we are offering, and we go on to offer the things are in the various aspects as they are portrayed but we imagine that they are in the very nature of the wisdom of non dual bliss emptiness. And as it and they have the function of generating a special bliss.
So the offering things, substances are imbued with greater potency additionally, we make the various not only these types of offerings but all the four types of offerings, the external offerings, inner offerings, secret offerings, and offerings of suchness. So this is the efficacy in terms of the substance offered. So it is by means of these four factors that this method of offering is very powerful. It is essentially where we are accumulating