Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 129-minute commentary on the six-session Guru Yoga, Kyabje Rinpoche begins with a counterintuitive but central claim: protecting your tantric vows is more important than meditation practice itself. Drawing on Je Tsongkhapa’s direct vision of Mañjuśrī, he explains why Guru Yoga anchors all Buddhist paths, then guides practitioners through the daily structure of the practice—three sessions each morning and evening—designed to inspect and maintain vows. He covers the extraordinary severity of tantric downfalls (100,000 times heavier than breaches of monastic vows), the purification methods available, and why completion retreats are essential preparation. The session concludes with a Q&A on the differences between ordinary and Vajra hells. For practitioners who have received tantric initiation.
File metadata (for organising)
File: SSGY 110816 000 – KR.mp3
UUID: 7f9d0625-3514-4045-bbcc-44400b2ffaa2
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Guru Puja – Lama Chopa
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~4,505
Mhmm. To listen to teachings, it is fundamental to generate a good motivation. This motivation is love and empathy for beings. All beings apart from ourselves are facing tremendous suffering. The inconceivable suffering they face through being protectorless and without refuge are sufferings which we ourselves have to attenuate.
And with the resolve of eliminating the sufferings of beings, we ourselves should strive to attain that state in which all thoughts are eliminated and all qualities are perfected through practicing an authentic practice of Dharma, whichever it is. In this context, since the foundation of the path is Guru Yoga, Khensur Rinpoche has chosen to impart teachings on the six-session Guru Yoga and to explain the advantages of relying on the guru and the disadvantages of not relying on the guru. So if we can listen to these teachings with a peaceful and happy mind, there is great benefit. Therefore, we will meditate for a couple of minutes on this. As I said in the root tantra of Heruka, the forceful practitioners protect their pledges.
As for those whose pledges have degenerated, they will gain no attainments whatsoever. The meaning of this quote is that between protecting one’s pledges and vows and meditation, it is protecting one’s pledges and vows which is more important. Even though one puts great effort in meditation, if pledges and vows are not protected, let alone not attaining the supreme siddhis realization of one’s tutelary deity, one will not attain the ordinary siddhis. For this reason, it is said that even though one meditates without protecting pledges and vows, there are no attainments. On the other hand, if one protects pledges and vows, then the supreme practitioner attains full enlightenment within this life, the middling practitioner in the intermediate state, and the lowest of practitioners would attain full enlightenment within 16 lives.
The six-session Guru Yoga is a practice in six sessions for the sake of protecting pledges. One recites it three times in the morning and three times in the evening, inspecting one’s vows and pledges and seeing whether behavior is compatible or not with them. This is the most subtle means of inspecting one’s pledges. In this six session, Guru Yoga is for the purpose of preventing one self from committing the root tantric downfalls or the major downfalls. If one commits the root or the major tantric downfalls, there are only two means to purify them.
The first is to request again an initiation from one’s root teacher. The second is to perform self initiation. Otherwise, there is no means to purify root tantric downfalls. Generally speaking, each category of downfall must be purified by the corresponding ritual or ceremony. So for pratimoksha vows, they can only be purified by poshada or sojong.
Bodhisattva vows can be purified through reciting the sūtra of the Confession Buddhas or the appropriate ritual. For mantra or tantric they can only be purified through receiving initiation again or performing self initiation. To perform self initiation, one must necessarily have done the approximation retreat, either of Yamāntaka or Vajrayoginī or whatever deity one practices. Therefore, performing the approximation retreat, which involves the recitation of mantras, meditation on the mandala, and offering the fire puja is extremely important. It is fundamental, Because having performed this approximation retreat, as soon as downfalls are committed, we can practice or perform self initiation and purify them.
Otherwise, there is no means to purify these downfalls. Generally speaking, if the vows are protected, we accumulate tremendous merit. On the other hand, if the vows are not protected, we accumulate a tremendous weight of sin and non virtue, which prevents us from attaining common and extraordinary attainments. All of the four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, the Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, and Geluk have teachings which enable one to attain full enlightenment in one lifetime. It is an uncommon feature of the Gelug tradition that it includes teachings to attain full enlightenment within twelve years of our lifetime.
And for that matter, within three years and three units of what are called, might be twenty five days. This is due to the uncommon power and blessing of these teachings, as well as the extremely sharp sharp faculties of the students. Why is this the case? Generally speaking, all of the traditions before the Geluk tradition, the Nyingma, Sakya, and Kagyu had practices of secret mantra. However, Je Tsongkhapa, Je Rinpoche himself had the direct vision of and after this took Mañjuśrī as his own root guru.
On the instructions of Mañjuśrī, he took guru yoga as the very life of the path. This is something which was presented in a more concise approach in the other traditions. And therefore, based on these three features, which is having the direct experience of Mañjuśrī, taking this as the essence of the path and the involved, the uncommon features of the guru tradition arose. And now, moving onwards with the commentary of Pabongka Rinpoche’s commentary on page three, third line. To summarize the crux of the meaning of Namo Gurubhyah and so forth at the beginning of the six-session Guru Yoga, the origin of the six-session Guru Yoga are the treatises on holding Bodhisattva and Tantric Vows, as well as the presentation of the root downfalls taught by Je Tsongkhapa.
Since it is in accordance with the presentation in the great stages of mantra of Je Tsongkhapa, as well as Kedrup Rinpoche’s Playful Feast of the Yogis, these should be studied carefully. This paragraph, Kedrup Rinpoche says, explains the origins of the six-session Guru Yoga practice. Since Mantra vows are to be held in both of the higher classes of tantra, this six-session Guru Yoga is necessary. Now here it is indicated that if one misses one six-session Guru Yoga session, one actually will have incurred a major downfall. The root for this, Rinpoche says, is to be found in the Vajra Peak tantra, where it is said that a major downfall has occurred in this [session]. These are very clearly explained in the six-session Guru Yoga, so through reading them we will understand them.
Moving onwards, since Mantra vows are to be held in both of the higher classes of tantra, this six-session Guru Yoga is necessary. Since in the pledges of the action family, one has committed to hold all the dharmas of sutras and mantras, these are most extensively explained, so it’s an uncommon pledge of the action family that one will hold all of the other mantra and sūtra vows. Moving on within the commentary, the explanation of the 19 pledges of the five families are fulfilled within this six-session Guru Yoga. So here, all of the manifestations of the Buddhas can be subsumed within five lineages, the lineage of Vairochana, Ratnasambhava, Amitābha, Amoghasiddhi, and Akṣobhya. These five Buddha lineages correspond to the purified forms of aggregates.
Our five aggregates, which are impure aggregates, are the form feeling, discrimination, volition, and consciousness aggregates. When they are purified through practice, they become respectively, for the form aggregate Vairochana, for the feeling aggregate Ratnasambhava, for the discrimination aggregate Amitābha, for the volition aggregate Amoghasiddhi, and for the consciousness aggregate Akṣobhya. In other words, these five aggregates dawn as the five lineage Buddhas. Each of the five lineage Buddhas has his own set of vows, and the totality of the five lineages comprise 19 different sets of vows. These are mentioned in your commentary on page three.
The examination of the 19 pledges of the five families are fulfilled within the six-session Guru Yoga. If one damages, in other words does not practice an individual session, one would incur one major downfall and should all sessions be damaged, one would have incurred six major downfalls. Since these sessions must be recited each day, each time one does not recite one, one will incur a major tantric downfall, and after one day, one would have incurred six of these. This is an extraordinarily heavy downfall. A major downfall of mantra, not even a breach of a root vow, is heavier than 100,000 defeats of a monk’s vows, of the vows of individual liberation.
As the supreme Sakya Pandita said, these days in the land of Tibet, the mere figment of the vows of individual liberation, in other words monastic vows still exist. However, the mere figment, the mere reflection of mantra vows, tantric vows does not exist. Sakya Pandita, in other words, was saying that mantra did not exist at his period in Tibet. And this is a direct result of absence of practice. Since there is no practice and these vows cannot exist, it is up to us to choose whether we practice sūtra or And here, since it is necessary to visualize an object of refuge, one visualizes a field of accumulation in the space in front of oneself, the middle of page three.
There are several ways of doing it. One can do it in keeping with the Lama Chöpa or Guru Puja presentation, eliminating the totality of the tree supporting the field of refuge, and visualizing the field of refuge from the guru upwards. Alternatively, one can do it through visualizing five thrones in the space in front of oneself, actually visualizing one major lion throne, and on top of this five thrones, the central throne will bear the Buddha. To the right of the Buddha is Maitreya. To his left, Mañjuśrī.
In front, one one’s root guru, and behind Vajradhāra. A third visualization is that where the guru is encompassed in the all encompassing gem. In this case, one can visualize him as the Buddha, as Vajradhāra, or as Je Tsongkhapa. In every single case, they are of one nature with the Guru, and the Guru’s body is the Sangha, his speech is the Dharma, and his mind is the Buddha. However, one chooses to visualize this, one must first create the causes for refuge to occur.
Two causes must be present for refuge to occur. The first is terror at the thought of the lower realms, and the second is terror at the thought of cyclic existence. Terror here refers to fear. If terror is not present, then refuge, fully characterized refuge cannot be generated. On this basis, one gives rise to fully characterized refuge, and one then generates conviction and faith in the objects of refuge, thinking I have accumulated numerous sins, numerous non virtues, only the triple gem can protect me.
And with this in mind, one takes single pointedly refuge in the object of refuge. It is after this that one recites the four verses of taking refuge, the two first verses are the actual taking of refuge, and the two last verses refer to the generation of bodhicitta. And here, at the bottom of page three, when going for refuge, we must go with the following motivation. When going for refuge to the Buddha, one goes with the hope a child places in its parents in this life. Rinpoche says, for a little child, its only hope is its father and mother.
When troubles arise, it rushes to them. This is a hope we should have in the Buddha when taking refuge in him. Then when going for refuge in the Dharma, we go for refuge as a man who is thirsty, seeking for water. Someone who is thirsty, whose throat is parched, is desperate for water, that is the same type of motivation we should have in seeking for the Dharma. And finally, going for refuge in the Sangha, we go for refuge as we’re collecting travel companions or friends on the path.
Moving onwards with the commentary, it is possible to do this at the end of every one of these sessions. Here, Rinpoche says one has a choice between reciting refuge once at the beginning total of sessions or before each session. It is up to oneself. And it is important to understand that the act of taking refuge includes the totality of the path. When we take refuge in the Buddha, we take refuge in whatever Buddhas there are.
When we take refuge in the Dharma, we take refuge in the third and fourth noble truth, the noble truths of cessation and of the path of Pratyekabuddha and Buddhas. And when we take refuge in the Sangha, we take first and foremost refuge in ārya beings, and in an ancillary fashion, in a subsequently concordant fashion, we take refuge in beings who are on the path of accumulation and preparation. They are not the actual refuge. The actual refuge is only ārya beings. Therefore, is in dependence on creating the complete causes for refuge, which are terror of the lower realms and terror of cyclic existence that actual refuge occurs.
And in turn, to give rise to bodhicitta, two goals or two accomplishments must be present. One must accomplish the goal of others, and one must accomplish one’s own goal. Here, this refers to the attainment both of a nirvana with remainder and of a nirvana without remainder. Generally speaking, it is said that to attain bodhicitta, it is necessary to create both the causes of compassion and of love. Compassion is that wish for beings to be freed from suffering, not any type of suffering, but specifically the suffering of the lower realms and more generally the suffering of cyclic existence.
While love is a wish for beings to be endowed with bliss or happiness, not any bliss, the bliss actually of nirvana. So in this context, that abandonment of the afflictions is said to be the truth of cessation, and it is one of the goals one strives for on the path. When one wishes here to free all sentient beings from the agony agony of suffering, and to place them in a state of full enlightenment. One is striving to accomplish the two goals of the goal for oneself and the goal for others. The means to accomplish the goal for others is initially to have at one’s disposal that state of full enlightenment or awakening.
Once this has been created, one can accomplish the will of others. And, moving onwards in the commentary, our pretentious ambition, our hypocrisy, claiming something greater, for not even protecting the precepts of refuge, leads nowhere. So in this context, the combination of refuge and generating bodhicitta is the fundamental practice. When one does not hold this, does not engage in this, but instead claims to engage in the practice of secret mantra, one has not accomplished anything. In the same same way as when one builds a house, one must first lay firm foundations.
Foundations. Otherwise, whatever one builds will not be stable and risks to collapse. Here, therefore, how can one talk of engaging in advanced practices, such as generating bodhicitta, the view, let alone the generation and completion stages when there is no refuge. Then moving onwards with our commentary on page three, through the merit accrued by charity and so forth, etcetera, is also effective in fulfilling the commitments of generating, you want to add in your text, aspiring bodhicitta. Here, charity and so forth turns all the roots of virtue of having given, protected, and meditated into the substance for the generation of bodhicitta.
Charity here in the verses of refuge, which are on page two of your root text of the six-session Guru Yoga, refers to that practice which gives rise as its effect effect to prosperity in future lives. And so forth, in the verses in bold letters, refers principally to ethics, which acts as the cause for not being reborn in the lower realms, and being reborn in the higher realms. It also refers in an ancillary fashion to the practice of forbearance, which creates a cause for one’s meeting a good entourage in future lives, and specifically a spiritual teacher, as well as the remaining of the six perfections. Generally speaking, Candrakīrti in his Madhyamakāvatāra said, foremost for the lay people is the practice of generosity, ethics, and forbearance. This is for foremost for the lay people, because as a result of the practice of ethics, which is a practice lay people can engage in, since there are objects which are the recipient, excuse me, the practice of charity.
Since there are objects which are the recipient of charity, and they themselves have the means to practice charity, as a result of this in future lives, they can obtain wealth and prosperity. As a result of the practice of ethics, which means means that they have the capacity to practice ethics and something to restrain from, they are able in future lives not to be reborn in the lower realms. And as a result of the practice of forbearance, they are able to meet a good entourage and a spiritual teacher. These are the foremost practices for lay people. Then, once one is ordained, one has the possibility to practice enthusiasm or perseverance.
Because someone who is ordained does not have any work and has time to practice. This enthusiasm is enthusiasm in the practice of the last two perfections. The perfections of concentration and of wisdom. The perfection of concentration is that training where the mind is single pointedly focused on an object, and the perfection of wisdom is that training where the mind is focused on the surface of phenomena and one gives rise, for instance, to Vipashyana. These two are fundamental since they are what leads to liberation from cyclic existence.
Moving on with our commentary, Pabongka Rinpoche’s comment is complete. For there is a slight difference between through the merit accrued by charity and through charity, there is no difference in what one recites. Here, two different textual traditions are due to the Lotsawas who translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan and the choice they made. There is no difference in terms of meaning. However, his holiness, the Dalai Lama, has pointed out that generally speaking, the two I s in the two groups of two stanzas in the Tibetan taking of refuge and generation of bodhicitta have different or slightly different meanings.
The first one, in the two first verses, refers specifically to the elimination of the self of persons, and the generation of a selflessness of persons, which sees persons as non autonomously existent. The second I, which is present in the following two stanzas, which are connected with the generation of bodhicitta, you have these on page two of your six-session Guru Yoga, refer principally to the generation, or the accumulation of merit. And Rinpoche says in an ancillary fashion, to the accumulation of the collection of wisdom. So the I in the two first stanzas mainly refers to the accumulation of the collection of merit, and the I in the second two verses refers mainly to accumulation of wisdom. And therefore, the difference between being a Buddhist and being a non-Buddhist is exclusively refuge.
If one has refuge, one is a Buddhist. If one does not have refuge, one has not one is not a Buddhist. As is said in our text, below the folio 249, if one does not have refuge, one is not included within the Buddhists, or without bodhicitta, one does not travel on the great vehicle. Atisha and Shantipa taught that the difference between Buddhists and non Buddhists is refuge. And as a noble first Pänchen Lama said, initially, as to the teachings in the great vehicle, since they are the gateway and the central pillar, refuge and bodhicitta.
Here, the gateway to the teachings is refuge, and the gateway to the great vehicle is bodhicitta. It is quite clear here, therefore, that with refuge, one is a Buddhist, and without refuge, one is not a Buddhist. As I said in the Lamrim, the gateway to becoming a Buddhist is refuge, just as the gateway to the great vehicle is bodhicitta. We must be fully aware of this because within the eight vows or the eight advantages, excuse me, of refuge is listed the fact that with refuge, one has a firm foundation for all vows. Specifically for novice vows, for lay vows, for the vows of someone who is fully ordained, bodhicitta, and tantric vows.
Without refuge, it is almost impossible to generate these, and if they are generated, they collapse. As Atisha famously said, oddly enough, the ranks of elder monks, many seem to have no refuge. Then if elder monks have no refuge, the situation is quite tragic. And it is also said that if the advantages of refuge were material, which he said if they had the shape of bread or then they would fill all 3,000 worlds. The reason for this is that the qualities of a Buddha are inconceivable.
If the qualities of a Buddha are inconceivable, then how vast could they be? We ourselves do not see this, and because we do not see this, we do not accept it or understand it. And moving onwards on page four of Pabongka Rinpoche’s commentary at the bottom. Vows of individual liberation are like the body and refuge is like the head. So in the same way, if the body and the head are separated, one dies.
Likewise, if the vows of individual liberation are separated from refuge, the whole practice collapses. And moving onwards with our text, roots of virtues were offered by the gurus, the conquerors and their children, as a condition to lead all sentient beings, giving rise to the bodhicitta, which thinks in dependence on that I will attain Buddhahood for the sake of all beings. So here, these roots of virtue virtue are the actual substance of bodhicitta. They are what gives rise of to bodhicitta, in dependence on them, bodhicitta arises. And that Buddhahood one is striving for, one does not strive for for one’s own sake.
If one were to strive for it for one’s own sake, that would be a clear case of self-cherishing, then there is no such thing as Buddhahood for someone with such a motivation. So one strives for it for the sake of others. So we have finished the teachings and Rinpoche will make space for one good question if you have questions. The difference between the suffering of the ordinary hells and the Vajra hells is gigantic. It is the same as the difference between the suffering of a human being and the suffering of a being in the hell realms.
It is thousands of times superior. There is the same difference, therefore, between the sufferings of a human being and that of a hell being as that of a hell being and that of a being in the Vajra Hells. From the standpoint of a hell being, an ordinary hell being, the sufferings of a human being, however extreme, are pure bliss. The sufferings of an ordinary hell being from the standpoint of a being in the Vajra Hell are not suffering at all. They are happiness.
Why is it that these sufferings in the Vajra Hell are so extreme? The suffering in general in the hell realms are a result of great sin. The greater the sin, the greater the sin, the greater the fall, the greater the result. In the case of the Vajra Hells, one can only be reborn in the Vajra Hells through breaches of tantric pledges and commitments. Someone who has not taken initiation, and who has committed however heavy non-virtues, such as killing many people, will never be reborn in the Vajra Hells.
He will be reborn in ordinary hells. However, someone who has taken tantric vows and commitments, has taken initiation and broken them, will be reborn in the Vajra Hells, precisely because tantra is a much faster means to full enlightenment. It is swifter and easier, and as a result, when one acts in contradiction to this, the results are much more powerful. And generally speaking, the vows are classified in terms of benefit. So vows of individual liberation, pratimoksha vows, monastic vows, of benefit, but bodhisattva vows are far more beneficial than these, and in turn, tantric vows are far more beneficial than Bodhisattva vows, and in turn, the breaches of these vows are much more severe in their consequences.
It is the same thing, for instance, which he says, as killing a small animal. If one kills an insect, the insect is not very developed, not very large, the suffering is probably small, the sin is lighter than if one kills, let us say, a more developed animal such as a cow. Therefore, the differences in the weight of a sin depend on numerous factors such as the basis, the thought, the motivation, the and way the deed is performed. If we take the case of the basis, the person who performs the deed, a lay person who has no vows and who kills an insect accumulates a small non virtue. If that lay person has lay vows and kills the same with the same motivation, the non virtue is greater.
If in turn that lay person, that person is a novice, the non virtue accrued is even greater. If they are a fully ordained monk, a bhikṣu, the non virtue is yet greater again. If they are bodhisattva, the non virtue is far greater. And if they have tantric vows, killing that single insect is a huge non virtue. Then in turns, the weight of sin depends on the intention with which the deed is committed, the thought with which the deed is committed with greater or lesser glee, and the way in which the deed is performed through inflicting long enduring torture.
And in addition, there were two broad categories of deeds. The sins or the non virtues, which lead to low rebirth in the lower realms, but after committing which one spends some time in the intermediate state in the Bardo. And the deeds literally without or without interruption, which are the heinous deeds of killing, for instance, one’s father, one’s mother, an arhat, killing one’s teacher, drawing the blood from the body of a Buddha, which are vicious deeds towards the kindest of persons. And this leads to an immediate rebirth in the hell realm without an intermediate state, in the self same way as a stone which falls from heaven. Such deeds, and deeds such as using offensive words to one’s parents, and so forth, are deeds which are extraordinarily heavy due to the kindness of one’s parents and of one’s teachers.
Dharma and the world function in the same way in this matter. In the same way as in worldly matters, if a criminal has committed a great crime, the punishment is appropriately severe. If crime is middling, the punishment is middling. And if the crime is light, he may be let off. Likewise, in Dharma matters, the retribution for the deed is proportional to the severity of the deed.