Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Khensur Rinpoche walks through the Guru Yoga visualization in this 48-minute session, guiding listeners step by step as three streams of nectar — white for purification, yellow to increase wisdom, red to draw in favorable conditions — flow from Tsongkhapa before he dissolves into the practitioner’s heart, minds merging inseparably. Rinpoche then unpacks the dedication prayer, explaining that reciting “may I attain the enlightened state of Guru Buddha” means one’s own mind has become the lama and therefore Buddha. The Q&A addresses the three types of compassion described in Entering the Middle Way — observing sentient beings, observing phenomena qualified by impermanence, and observing the unapprehendable qualified by emptiness — and clarifies how all spiritual teachers are to be regarded as emanations of one’s root guru. Suited to practitioners already working with Lamrim or Guru Yoga practice.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 06 PP 1989-05-20.mp3
UUID: 32aac267-6858-41b1-9f7d-6e9ba36fbe6a
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Preliminary Practices (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1989-05-20
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 47.8 minutes
Words: ~1,885
Lines. There’s four, five, and nine. In the Heruka practice of homage to the spiritual master contains the nine line verse. While reciting the verse mantra, imagining that from the hearts of Tsongkhapa and his two spiritual sons, white nectars flow down to the crown of entering through the crown of your head, completely filling your body, purifying all the various negativities, imagining your body is completely cleaned and that your body becomes crystal clear and in the nature of light. Having performed this practice, then imagine that yellow nectar begins to flow, filling one’s body, and yellow has the power of increase.
And here we should imagine that all of our positive potential, our realizations and understanding, that is to say our wisdom is increasing as the white nectar flows into our body, completely filling it up. Then imagine that red nectar begins to flow, completely filling your body, and from your body, light radiates out with hooks of compassion drawing forth from the environment all the conducive conditions. Bringing one drawing forth empowering one, bringing power to oneself. So previous to recitation of the mantra we offered mandala and then we recite the mantra as many times as you wish. Seeking to, that we gain all the various realizations of the path, that that any hindrances or obstacles to our traveling the path may be eliminated, making all these various types of requests in the form of the recitation of the mantra.
Having been requested in this way through the recitation of the verse or the mantra, and then imagine that the two spiritual sons of Tsongkhapa are absorbed into Tsongkhapa himself along with the throne and the lions, and then Tsongkhapa comes down and resides above the crown of your head. Then requesting to to abide in your heart. And Tsongkhapa comes down into the central channel where there is an eight petal lotus. And imagine at this time that your own mind and mind of Tsongkhapa and your own mind and Tsongkhapa become of in of the same nature, inseparable. Then imagining that that the eight petal lotus closes, the petals close, and that within your mind and are one, and that it radiates within the within this closed petals within inside, it radiates out light just like filling this light, this room out completely with light that your mind is one with.
No. So now at this point, the the forms of mantra, I have to get the mantra. I don’t know the mantra, which which binds the the petals of the lotus closed, wraps around the petals, keeps it keep keeping it shut. So this is the practice of Guru Yoga or Lama Naljor.
In Tibet, Lama Naljor. Guru Yoga. When we say Lama, Lama has the idea that there is nothing higher. Nothing higher. And Yoga?
Yoga means to join. And what is being joined together is one’s own mind and the mind of one’s Lama. So it’s the uniting or the union of one’s own mind with the mind of the Lama and this is accomplished through the practice of Guru Yoga when the one imagines that one’s mind that the Guru has dissolved into at your heart and that your mind has become one with his or hers. And this is the practice of Guru Yoga. Then we make the prayer, the dedication.
This is a prayer that we we usually do. Through these merits, may I soon attain the enlightened state of Guru Buddha. That is to say, the Lama, Lama Buddha. And what is being said here is that one’s own mind becomes the Lama. That is to say, one’s own mind becomes the Buddha, inseparable from the Lama, one’s own mind.
And having done that, then we are empowered to lead every migrator, sentient beings, to that same state. So one’s own mind becomes the Lama therefore the Buddha. So this is this is the meaning of this prayer that one’s mind becomes the mind of one’s lama and therefore becomes the mind of Buddha and is empowered to lead sentient beings to that same state. So So in reciting this dedication prayer, that through these merits may I assume the enlightened state of a Guru Buddha, imagining that your mind has become inseparable in nature from mind of Tsongkhapa, that your mind has become the Lama, and therefore your mind has become the Buddha. And thereupon, may I lead every migrating being without exception to that state radiating out light to all sentient beings, touching them, and upon touching them removing all their various sufferings, all their negativities, and they becoming the nature also of Tsongkhapa.
And then having done this, you’re filled with a sense of joy. Also, when we when we eat, we can we can offer the food to Tsongkhapa at our hearts and create we can accumulate merit. And also, even when we’re getting dressed, we can offer the clothes to, reciting the mantra Om Ah hum, and this we create positive potential. So this has been an abbreviated explanation of the practice of Guru Yoga, And now our time is finished. So we take a couple minutes for questions.
So these three types of compassion, they’re all compassion. First off, all compassion, but they differ with respect to the object of observation. When the compassion is conjoined with the wisdom of observing the sentient beings qualified by impermanence, then this is termed compassion observing phenomena. When the compassion is conjoined with the wisdom of understanding the non true existence of the sentient beings, then this is termed compassion observing the unapprehendable.
When the compassion is not conjoined with either of these two and merely observes sentient beings, then it’s compassion observing sentient beings. So these three types of compassion are mentioned in Entering the Middle Way. So each of these compassions becomes slightly more subtle than the one preceding it. And initially, without the realization of emptiness, without a realization of impermanence, merely observing sentient beings with one’s compassion. This is the compassion observing sentient beings.
We’re only observing sentient beings. Then upon gaining the realization of impermanence, we observe the compassion observing phenomena. Phenomena here refers to the aggregates of the sentient being and understanding that these are impermanent, that they’re constantly changing. Therefore, the compassion which is qualified by this understanding would be the compassion observing the phenomena. Then the phenomena, compassion observing the unapprehendable.
What the apprehendable refers to is true existence. And since it doesn’t exist, then it’s unapprehendable. True existence is unapprehendable. It cannot be apprehended, so it’s unapprehendable. So understanding that sentient beings as qualified as not being true existence, the compassion which is qualified by this is that which observes the unapprehendable.
Question? When when Tsongkhapa comes down to your heart? So the two spiritual sons dissolve into Tsongkhapa into him. The lion throne dissolves upwards. And the verse actually said, it says, O glorious and precious Guru, come take your lotus and moon seat placed here upon my head.
So you request Tsongkhapa to come down to the crown of your head, Coming down. Then after that, within the tantric system, we would imagine that we request to requesting the Tsongkhapa to come to your heart and requesting to reside in your heart. Within the tantric system this would be imagined that he would be moving down your central channel and that he would be residing in your central channel at the area of your heart center. Whereas in the Sūtra system, you would just imagine a lotus at your heart and he would come down and sit upon the lotus. And sitting upon the lotus, then we imagine that the lotus closes its petals and that one’s mind and the mind of Tsongkhapa become completely one.
No difference whatsoever. And keep and then the verse goes on, and keep me safe in your great kindness bestow me the the power attainment the powerful attainment of your body, speech, mind. They’re requesting the the Lama to remain until you attain Buddhahood at your heart. The verse also continues to say, O glorious and precious Guru, come take your lotus and moon seat at my heart and keep me safe in your great kindness. Remain steadfast until I achieve Buddhahood.
So imagine that you’re now your mind has become one with the lama’s mind, And that it increases all the excellent qualities of one’s own mind, all the good qualities of one’s own mind. Whatever type of dharma that you seek to engage in, compassion and love, comes very easily without any hindrances. Do you want to go through the meaning again? Well, just if you just give us the the wording about it. Yeah.
It’s Meaning of it. It’s translated in this text here. It’s not such a good translation, but I can I’ll try to find it out. Yeah. Thanks very much.
Yeah? Okay. Seeing your teacher in certain situation. So you generate respect for a particular teacher and that you try to apply this same respect to other teachers? That last line there?
Transfer that, safe, to other teachers. Seeing present teacher as activities of your former teacher? So, you know, one has many lamas, one has many spiritual teachers. But we regard that individual who we have the greatest faith in, who we see as having been most kind to us as our root teacher, and all the various other lamas teachers as emanations of this root teacher. They aren’t somehow separate.
Even no matter how distant they may be, they’re not separate. They’re just emanations of our root teacher. Therefore, in this practice where we are imagining Guru Yoga, where we’re imagining Tsongkhapa, an aspect, but in the nature of our teacher, nature is the condensation of all our teachers since they are all emanations of our root teacher. So they are all, this in the nature of condensation of all our spiritual teachers. I don’t know if that helps.
So in the practice of, for example, mind training, where we are just to look upon the the enemies as one’s lamas, spiritual teachers. This is, they aren’t actual spiritual teachers, but they’re similar to spiritual teachers in that they benefit us in developing, for example, the qualities of compassion and patience. Therefore, since they benefit us, we’re to look on them as if, like they are spiritual teachers, but in fact they are not They are like spiritual teachers, but they are not spiritual teachers. They are not our spiritual teachers. Are like our spiritual teachers, since they benefit us.
They are teachers? So we can’t say that they are either our lamas or our teachers, but they benefit it. Therefore, they’re like our teachers. They’re like our lamas. A spiritual teacher can emanate in whatever form that would bring us benefit.
Therefore, you know, whether it might be as a demon, it might be as a bridge, it could be as a dog, or those situations. Therefore, speaking of this situation as an emanation of one of the spiritual teachers, it would give you a chance to practice Dharma. It could change your mind. It would be a good benefit. So this would be a good way to look at such a situation.