Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this two-hour session from the 2004 Mahāmudrā International Retreat, Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaches Guru Yoga, stressing that correct reliance on a spiritual guide is Buddhism’s foundation. He opens by emphasizing how difficult this realization is to generate, citing masters who devoted entire months to cultivating guru devotion alone. Rinpoche walks through the complete practice: visualization of the merit field, offerings and prostrations, bodhisattva and tantric vows, confession, rejoicing, mandala offerings, and supplications. The centerpiece is a guided meditation on seven benefits of correct devotion—accelerated progress toward enlightenment, pleasing all Buddhas, protection from negative influences, subduing afflictions, effortless realization, meeting qualified gurus in future lives, and purification of heavy karma. He concludes with nine attitudes for practicing devotion. For practitioners seeking practical grounding in this essential foundation.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 41 2004 04 20 MR.mp3
UUID: 51ca3f92-3516-4c84-b78c-57f1441c632e
Teacher: Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1
Collection: y Mahāmudrā International Retreat (Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1)
Date: 2004-04-20
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 130.4 minutes
Words: ~8,316
So we’re now on page twenty seven, and prostrations to guru remembering profound qualities. As the embodiment of the three kayas and all Buddha Samga, all holy objects. So this Guru Yoga then, she wants to emphasize very much guru devotion meditation. So this this takes time. As Rinpoche said last night, it’s one of the most difficult realizations to generate.
So you always work at this in combination with other ones. So the great enlightened holy being, a true manifestation of Heruka in holy form, Kyabje Rinpoche Mahesh, direct disciple of Kyabje Rinpoche Mahesh expressed that when Pabongka Rinpoche gave teachings, if he taught Lamrim for three months, one month he would teach Guru Devotion. And then after having completed the Geshe degree, Khyatri Rinpoche went to do meditation, stages of the path to enlightenment. And he expressed it took one year to generate the realization, guru devotion. One year, continue meditation, guru devotion in order to actualize the realization and make stable.
So it takes takes a long time. So just try. And first of all, stabilizing the mind, washing, cleansing the channels by doing the nine round breathing, settling the body and the mind. Recollect your visualization in merit field in front. Inseparable from your root guru, seated on the lion throne, in the center of wish granting tree, arising from the ocean of milk, in pure land, pure environment.
From the heart of Lama Losang Dragpa and Dorje Chang, light beams emanating all around. On these, the direct and indirect gurus, All one’s gurus in front of the Lama Losang Dragpa and Dorje Chang. All one’s gurus in front. The lineage gurus to either side and behind, including the Mahāmudrā lineage gurus. Then going down in gradations and levels, deities, the highest yoga tantra, yoga, charya, kriyā, the four classes of tantra.
Then all the Buddhas, there’s in a thousand including the thousand Buddhas is Fortune Aeon, eight Medicine Buddhas, the thirty five Buddhas and so on. The Bodhisattvas, Pratyeka Buddhas, Arhats, including sixteen Arhats. Then dakas and dakinis forming one row. Dakas one side, dakinis other side, form of dancing. Then below that the protectors and around the edge, the four guardians along with their entourage.
Focusing on this merit field with the awareness that this is this is absolute guru, manifesting infinite forms. Why? In order to guide me because of the great love, because of the unbearable compassion, Buddha’s generated along the path, generating bodhicitta for the sake of all beings, grant us the path with great hardship, then achieved enlightenment solely to guide us sentient beings. Therefore, from this dharmakaya holy mind, they manifest out infinite forms to guide me, pure and impure forms. All these figures in the merit field are my guru, inseparable from my root Guru and all my Gurus.
My root Guru and all my Gurus are one. And oneness with the merit field. One is many, many is one. This is the is the basis of the the Lama Chöpa practice. Even every pore of the merit field is all the Buddhas, all Dharma, all Sangha, all Gurus.
Surrounding oneself, all sentient beings, then with the mind recognizing how precious and how kind, feeling unbearable that even one of these sentient beings beings should have to suffer for even an instant, taking full responsibility to achieve enlightenment and thinking the only way that I can accomplish this is by first generating the realization of Guru devotion in my mind. All the blessings come from this. Therefore, I must devote myself to my Guru. Therefore, I must see my Gurus unstoppable from the Buddhas and make request and make and perform the seven-limb prayer with requests. And meditate on the basis of that.
Meditate on the path. Your compassion grants even a sphere of great bliss, supreme state of the three kais in instant. Guru with a jewel like body, vajra holder, I prostrate at your lotus feet. Imagine you emanated countless bodies, covering every atom in the earth, prostrating and reciting praises in a minor devotion. You are the wisdom knowledge of all infinite conquerors, appearing in any way that subdues.
With supreme skillful means, you manifest as a saffron robed monk. Holy refuge savior, I am prostrate at your feet. You eliminate all thoughts and their instincts and a treasure of infinite precious qualities, sole source of benefit and bliss without exception. Perfect pure guru, I prostrate at your feet. With this with this verse, you’re focusing on the Guruza dharmakaya.
With the awareness, every single action is done, eliminates a thought from your mind and produces a quality. In this way, on the Guru’s Buddha and remembering the kindness. So this is where Rinpoche told us to pause before and think about the meaning. Every single action the guru does to me ceases a thought and produces quality. Teacher of gods and all in humans and non-humans, the source of eighty four thousand pure dhammas, you tower above the whole host of ours.
Kind guru, I prostrate to you. To Gurus dwelling in the three times and ten directions, the three supreme jewels nor worthy of homage. With faith, conviction, ocean of loud praise, I prostrate manifesting as many bodies as the atoms of the world. And so once you have the meaning of the prostration verses in your mind, then very easy to do the offering practice according to Rinpoche’s instruction. At any rate, I must achieve a state of full enlightenment in order to benefit all sentient beings.
In order to do this, I need to accumulate extensive merit. Therefore, I’m going to practice making extensive offerings to the merit field. Blessing all the offerings set out here, blessing all the offerings in which is the realm above. Blessing all the offerings set out in all the FPMT centers in Mongolia and Kopan and Mahasiddha in Taiwan, all the various centers wherever their offerings set out. Also, Rinpoche’s houses in Washington, the treat house, the Aptos house, and the various different students’ houses wherever their offerings set out for the Buddha, the bowls, the flowers, the lights, thousands and thousands of Christmas lights, the incense, tea offerings, food offerings, all the beautiful offerings that set out for the Buddhas, those actually offered and those mentally created, visualizing skies of offerings, blessing these, causing them to be received by numberless Buddhas.
May human and divine offerings actually arrange in mentally created clouds of finest Samantabhādra offerings fill the entire space. By the power and truth, the Three Jewels, blessings for all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, the power of great mind that completed two collections of completely pure and conceivable sphere of reality, may all these offerings become just so. Now, making charity, all the offerings to each hell being, each hungry ghost, each animal, each human, each being, each intermediate state being. Then think, going to offer on behalf of all of them. So either you think going to offer on behalf or you think offering with them.
So two different ways to think. So think I’m going to offer along with all sentient beings all these offerings so we can all share the merit together. Just as I need merit, to all sentient beings need merit. Then prostrating, making all the offerings which in the nature of infinite bliss to all gurus generating infinite bliss in their holy minds. Do this over and over.
Prostrate, offer, generate bliss. Prostrating, making all the offerings which in the nature of infinite bliss to the Guru Puja merit field, meditating oneness with the virtuous friend whose own side, by making all these offerings generated infinite bliss in the holy minds. Do this over and over. Prostrate, offer, generate bliss. Prostrating, making all the offerings set out here, all the offerings set out in all the FPMT centers, all the various different offerings, which in a nature of infinite bliss, To all Buddha, Dharma, Sanghas, dwelling in all three times, ten directions.
So in every atom, there are numberless Buddhas, offering to all of this with awareness, virtuous friend from their own side, Generate infinite bliss in their holy minds. From a straight offering, generate great bliss. Do this over and over. Prostrating, making all the offerings set out here in plenty centers, all the various different offerings, which are in the nature of infinite bliss, which Buddha’s holy mind perceives as infinite bliss. To the eight medicine Buddhas, in order to have great success, all one’s prayers to be fulfilled.
Thousand Arms Chimrezig, in order to quickly generate great compassion, be able to take full responsibility to lead all beings to enlightenment. Bodhisattva siddhagava in order to do extensive activities for others. With awareness, these are one’s own root virtuous friend from their own side, generate infinite bliss in the holy mind over and over. Prostrating, making all the offerings said here in all the vast centers and Rinpoche’s houses to all holy objects in Tibet in India, especially the precious holy stupa and enlightenment in Bodh Gaya where all the thousand Buddhas of the Fortunate Aeon and achieve enlightenment, all the relics, all the gurus in India, and every single statue of scripture, all holy objects, seeing all of these as being skillful manifestations of one’s own root guru appearing in these forms for us sentient beings to quickly purify and accumulate merit, generate great bliss in the holy minds over and over. Prostrate after all the offerings, all the holy objects in Tibet, especially the precious statue of Buddha predicted by Buddha, blessed by Buddha in the Jokhang and Lhasa.
You may trace statue meaning for the whole and the. There’s a secret Hayagrīva, Hayagrīva statue in Sera Monastery. There’s special Mañjuśrī statue in Reting. There’s spontaneous manifested Chenrezig statue in the Potala, and all the holy objects, all relics into that. Seeing all of these guru manifestations of one’s own root guru, generating infinite bliss in the holy mind over and over.
Prostrating, making all the offerings in nature of infinite bliss, all the holy objects in Nepal, especially and the all encompassing wishful filling jewel stupa, Boudhanath. All the relics of one’s gurus, all holy objects in Nepal, with awareness, root root virtuous friend from their own side generate great bliss in the holy minds of knower. Prostrating, making all the offerings and the nature of infinite bliss to every single holy object existing in this world, in this universe. Seeing all of them as root guru from on from their own side, generating infinite bliss in the holy mind over and over. From these offerings, countless emanations countless countless emanation, more offerings come out, numberless offerings.
The numberless sets of the sixteen offering goddesses come from one’s heart and present the offerings to merit field, generating infinite bliss and holy mind of all gurus. By the merit of having offered this mandala to the merit field, may I and all sentient beings be able to meet the pure wisdom teachings of the Tathagatas, which contain the biographies of those eminent ones who live in pure morality, have the brave attitude to follow extensively the bodhisattva’s conduct, and practice the yogas of two stages, the essence of which is a transcendental wisdom of non dual bliss and voidness. May I and all sentient beings be able to meet this pure complete teaching of Lama Tsongkhapa, the unification of Sūtra and Tantra right this second. Purpose of my life, not just to attain happiness myself, but to free the oceans of numberless sentient beings from oceans of suffering. In order to do this, I must generate bodhicitta, but generating bodhicitta alone is not enough.
I must also take and keep bodhisattva vows. I go for refuge as Three Jewels. I confess individually all my negativities. I rejoice in the merits of migrating beings, I take hold with my mind the perfect state of Buddha. I go for refuge until I’m enlightened to Buddha, Dharma, Supreme Sangha assembly, and I do so to attain enlightened mind.
In order to fulfill the aims of myself and others, I should dwell supreme enlightened motive. Toward all sentient beings, may I uphold this supreme enlightened conduct, may I become a Buddha to benefit all. Shortened version. I go forever with your Three Jewels, confess individually all my negativities, I rejoice in the merits of migrating beings, take hold with my mind, the perfect state of Buddha. I go for refuge, Three Jewels, I confess individually all my negativities, joyce in the murder of my grating beings, I take hold with my mind, perfect state of Buddha.
Generate a very strong faith, receive pure bodhisattva vows in the presence of merit field. What has been degenerated, made pure. What has not been degenerated, increased. Then for those who take in the tantric vows, even if I practice bodhisattva Pāramitāyāna, the past still takes so long to achieve enlightenment three countless great aeons. For that amount of time, there’s sentient beings who depend upon me, who have connection with me, who rely upon me to liberate them from suffering, have to wait so long and experience so much suffering.
For myself, no matter how long, no matter how difficult, it doesn’t matter. But for the sake of all these sentient beings that they not have to suffer waiting for me, I must achieve enlightenment as quick as possible. Therefore, I’m going to practice tantric path, therefore, I’m going to take and abide in pure tantric vows. All Buddhas and bodhisattvas, please listen to me. I make a pledge from now to reach the essence of Buddhahood.
To generate the all Buddhas three times and show themselves awakening by generating it. The place shall uphold the vows, I firmly take refuge in the Triple Gem, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. The three disciplines observing proper behavior, gathering virtuous Dharma, benefiting sentient beings. I pledge to uphold the vajra Bellamu to the great family and to honor my teachers. I pledge to practice the four types of giving, six times each day, keeping in mind life of commitments, the great Ratna family.
For the great Vajra family, I pledge to uphold individually the holy dharmas that arose from great enlightenment. Those are outer secret in three vehicles. For the great supreme family, I pledge to uphold all vows well and to make as many offerings as possible. I should generate the vows, the sacred bodhicitta and uphold all vows without exception. I should deliver those not delivered, liberate those not delivered, give relief to those without relief and place all beings to stay beyond sorrow.
All Buddhas and bodhisattvas, please listen to me. I make a pledge from now until I reach the essence of Buddhahood, should generate the sacred precious bodhicitta, just all buddhas three times, ensure themselves awakening by generating it. I shall uphold a generous specific tantric vows, commitments of five families without exception. I shall deliver those not delivered, liberate those not liberated, give breath to those unable to breathe, and place all beings to state beyond sorrow. All Buddhas and bodhisattvas, please listen to me.
I make a pledge from now to reach the essence of Buddhahood. To generate the sacred precious bodhicitta, just all Buddhas three times, and show themselves awakening by generating it. I shall uphold a general specific tantric vows and commitments of the five families without exception. I shall deliver those not deliver liberate those not liberated, give relief to those unable to breathe and place all beings to stay beyond sorrow. Think.
Receive pure tantric vows in the presence of merit field. What is being degenerated is made pure. What is not being degenerated is increased. Then feel great joy, able to keep abide these in these vows, which brings enlightenment so quickly as Vajradhāra promised. What caused me to have so many obstacles in my practice even though I work so hard, study so much, all the heaviest negative karmas that I’ve accumulated in relationship to holy virtuous friend.
Therefore, I must purify all these immediately. in dependence on the guru, I create negative karma. in dependence on the guru, I purify it. Therefore, by depending on the guru manifesting the forms of my vajra, I must purify each and every single one of these negative karmas created since beginningless time. Says, all your negative karmas, obscurations, generated samayas are completely purified.
Generate strong faith that exactly what Guru Vajrasattva has said, has happened in reality. Your mental continuum has become completely pure, Not the slightest obscuration is left. Even the heaviest negative karmas accumulated in relationship with the holy virtuous friend have been completely purified. Due to this virtue, may I and all sentient beings be guided by the Guru Deity. From now until enlightened is achieved, may I and all others be protected by the Guru Deity and keep every Samaya of the Guru Deity.
Page forty nine. Before those having great compassion, I confess with regret and vow never to commit again, whatever non virtuous and evil actions I’ve done throughout beginningless time, caused others to do or in which I have rejoiced. Though all things are like a dream, lacking inherent existence, I sincerely rejoice in the bliss and joy of all aryas and ordinary beings and in every virtue that has ever arisen. A rejoicing one’s own that without merit, no happiness, no success, nothing you can do at all. Can’t even have happiness this life and cannot have realization.
How quickly we achieve enlightenment depends on how quickly we can accumulate extensive merit. Therefore, every single merit we’ve accumulated in the past, we’re accumulating now, we will accumulate in the future up to enlightenment. It’s so precious. Most precious thing, feeling joy over and over again in the heart. This is rejoicing.
How wonderful. How precious. Rejoicing in all the virtues of others, all the merits, number of sentient beings, all the merit they’ve accumulated in the past, all the merit they’re accumulating now, or the merit they will accumulate in the future. All this merit is the cause for happiness that they seek, temporary and ultimate happiness. Therefore, all this is most precious.
How wonderful it is. How wonderful. How precious. Rejoice in all the merits and bodhisattvas. So even a very new body sufferer, every single thing that they do, there’s never thought of working or seeking happiness for self.
Every single action in their body, speech, and mind is completely focused on working and seeking happiness for others. This is only thought in their mind. So every single movement they make, even breathing in and out is done for other sentient beings. Eating, walking, sitting, sleeping, everything naturally becomes beneficial for all sentient beings. So continually, they’re creating limitless merit and all this merit they use for us, they dedicate for us.
There are numberless body centers. They’ve accumulated infinite merit in the past. They’re accumulating now and they will in the future. How wonderful, how precious. How wonderful.
How precious. Generate this thought over and over. Also remembering all the qualities explained in the scriptures, all the qualities enumerated for each of the body sufferers and the ordinary to ayam body sufferers, how wonderful, how precious. May I become like this. Next, rejoicing on the virtues of Buddhas or the mats, numberless Buddhas, ordinary beings just like ourselves, but then to the putting effort, generative renunciation, bodhicitta, completed the two collections, chief chief is still fully enlightened, able to effortlessly and spontaneously do extensive activities for every single being.
How wonderful, how precious. All their past, present, future, how wonderful, precious. Rejoicing in their qualities, rejoicing in their activities over and over again, the heart, how precious. Then also you can think of examples of Sankashyakamali Buddha, the May I become like this? May I become like these buddhas able to do extensive work for sentient beings having inconceivable qualities.
Please let fall a rain of profound and extensive Dharma from a hundred thousand billowing clouds of perfect wisdom and compassion to nurture, sustain, and propagate a garden of kunda flowers for the benefit and bliss of all limitless beings. Though your vajra body is subject to neither birth nor death, but as a vessel of the mighty king unification, please abide forever according to our wishes, not passing beyond sorrow until some sorrow ends. I dedicate the mass of why virt ues thus created so that I may be inseparably cared for in all my lives by perfect pure gurus who are kind in three ways, and so attain the unified state of vajradhara and Dala So when you do the mandala offering, then you have to visualize these offering these various different objects as clear as possible as though they’re lighting up in space. And then once you have that, then you think numberless offered to the matfield. And then for each one, there is a prayer.
I prostrate and go for refuge, the guru, and the three precious gems. Please pass my mind. I’m requesting you to immediately pass for all the wrong perceptions from incorrect devotion to the guru. I’ve to settle your view of the white, red, and dark visions that exist in my mind and minds all mother sentient beings. I’m requesting you to immediately generate all the right realizations from good devotion up to enlightenment in my mind and the minds of all mother sentient beings.
I’m requesting you to pass well out and in entire gradually past enlightenment in my mind and the minds of all mother sentient beings. I prostrate and go for refuge to the guru and the three precious gems. Please bless my mind. I’m requesting you to immediately pass far the wrong conceptions from incorrect devotion to guru up to solid your view of the white, red, and dark visions that exist in my mind and the minds of all mother sentient beings. I’m requesting you to immediately generate all the right realizations from guru devotion up to enlightenment in my mind and the minds of all mother sentient beings.
I’m requesting you to pacify all out and in obstacles to actualize the entire graduated path to enlightenment in my mind and in the minds of all mother sentient beings. I prostrate and go for refuge, the guru and the three precious gems. Please bless my mind. I’m requesting you to immediately pass forward the wrong conceptions from incorrect devotions of guru up to sullen jewel view of the white, red, and dark visions that exist in my mind and the minds of all mother sentient beings. I’m requesting you to immediately generate all the right realizations from guru devotion up to enlightenment in my mind and the mind of all mother sentient beings.
I’m requesting you to pass away without and in obstacles to actionize the entire path to enlightenment in my mind and in the minds of all mother sentient beings. Lord of sages, source of all realizations. Avalokiteśvara, great treasure of non objectifying compassion. Mañjuśrī, master, sustain us wisdom. vajrapani, destroy the entire host of Mars.
Lobsang Dragpa, crown jewel of sages in the land of snow. To you, Tenzin Gyatso, embodying the three refuges. I make requests showing respect with my three doors. Please grant your blessings to liberate myself and others. Please bestow supreme and common realizations.
Please bless me to become quickly like you. Lord of sages, source of all realizations. Avalokiteśvara, great treasure, non objectifying compassion. Mañjuśrī, master of stainless wisdom. vajrapani, destroy the entire host of Mars.
Lobsang Dragpa, crown jewel of sages in the land of snow. To you, Lama Losang Dragpa, embodying the three refuges. I make request showing respect with my three doors. Please grant your blessings to liberate myself and others. Please bestow supreme and common realizations.
Please bless me to become quickly like you. Sages, source of all realizations. Avalokiteśvara, great treasure and unobjectifying compassion. Mañjuśrī, ma, sustain his wisdom. vajrapani, destroy the entire host of Maras.
Lobsang Dragpa, crowned jewel of sage in the land of snow. To you, embodying the three refuges. I make requests showing respect with my three doors. Please grant your blessings to liberate myself and others. Please bestow supreme and common realizations.
Please best me to become quickly Lord of sages, source for realizations. Avalokiteśvara, great treasure, non object ifying compassion. Mañjuśrī, master, stainless wisdom. vajrapani, destroy the entire host of Mars. Los Andrapa, crown jewel of sages in the land of snow.
To you, guru buddhas, embodying the three refuges, I make requests showing respect with my three doors. Please grant your blessings to liberate myself and others. Please bestow supreme and common realizations. Please best me to come quickly like you. Requesting the guru.
I request the precious guru encompasses all objects of refuge of the past, present, and future. Please bless my mental continuum. I request the precious guru who encompasses all objects of refuge to the past, present, and future. Please bless my mental continuum. I request the precious guru who encompasses all objects of refuge to the past, present, and future.
Please bless my mental continuum. Five colored nectar beams fell forth from the guru’s holy body, entering my body and mind and those of all sentient beings. These purify all diseases, spirit harms, negative karmas, and obscurations, especially all the collections of obscurations, negative karmas, and degenerated samayas created in relationship to the holy virtuous friend, such as giving harm to the holy body, breaking the advice, disturbing the holy mind, generating undevotional thoughts, criticizing, giving up the guru and so forth. From all my doors, sense organs and pores, these are dispelled dispelled in the form of liquid smoke or black soot. They are completely purified.
My body becomes a nature of light, calm and clear. My life, merit, all my qualities of understanding and realizations are fully developed. The blessings of the guru’s holy body, holy speech, and holy mind enter my body, speech, and mind, and those of all sentient beings. I and all sentient beings are now under protection of the holy virtuous friend. Next, making request to the guru.
Page sixty nine. So questing not just from the mouth, but the mind being oneness with devotion. Remembering the qualities, remembering the kindness. And she says, requesting from the depths of the heart, from the depths of the bones. Source of virtue, great ocean of moral discipline, treasury brimming with jewels of much hearing, master, second Buddha, clad and saffron, elder of an eye holder, I make request to you.
You have the ten qualities suitable for one to teach the path of those godless. Lord of Dharma representing all conquerors, Mahāyāna Guru, I make request to you. You are wise, patient, honest, without pretense or gall. Your three doors well subdued. You have both sets of ten qualities, no tantrum rituals, and are skilled in drawing and explaining.
Foremost, vajra Holda, I make request to you. To those untamed by countless past Buddhas, the unruly, my greatest of this degenerate age was so difficult to subdue. You show unmistakenly the good way of those gone to bliss. Compassionate refuge savior, and make request to you. At this time, when the sunlight teachings are set in, you are not the deeds of conqueror for the many beings who lack a savior refuge.
Compassionate refuge savior, I make request to you. Even one of your hair paws is for us. A field of merit more highly praised than all the conquerors of three times in ten directions. Compassionate refuge savior, I make request to you. Adorned with the Sugata’s three kayas, you manifest from an alluring net of skillful means in ordinary form to lead all beings.
With Master, refuge, savior, I make request to you. Your aggregates, elements, sense, basis, and limbs are in nature the subgatus and consorts of five families, body sufferers and wrathful protectors, supreme guru essence of Three Jewels, and make a request to you. Arising from the play of omniscient pristine awareness, you are the essence of ten million mandala cycles, prevailing lord of a hundred Buddha families, foremost pleasure holder, unified primordial savior. I make request to you. Unobscured, inseparable from the play of simultaneous bliss, pervading everything in motion and at rest, the nature of all things free from beginning or end, Samantabhādra, actual, ultimate bodhicitta, I make a request to you.
You are my gurus. You are my yadams. You are the dakinis and Dharma protectors. From now until enlightenment, I shall seek no other refuge than you. In this life, the bardo and all future lives, hold me with your hook of compassion.
Free me from saṃsāra and nirvana spheres. Grant all attainments. Be my constant friend and guard me for interferences. You are my gurus. You are my yadams.
You are the dakinis and Dharma protectors. From now until enlightenment, I shall seek no other refuge than you. In this life, the bardo and all future lives, hold me with your hook of compassion. Free me from saṃsāra and nirvana’s fears. Grant all attainments.
Be my constant friend and guard me from interferences. You are my gurus. You are my yadams. You are the dakinis and Dharma protectors. From now until the enlightenment, I shall seek no other refuge than you.
In this life, the bardo and all future lives. Hold me with your hook of compassion. Free me from saṃsāra nirvana’s fears. Grant all attainments. Be my constant friend and guard me from interferences.
By the force of having thus requested three times, nectar and light rays, white, red, and dark blue, stream forth in the places of my guru’s body, speech, and mind, and dissolve into my own three places one by one and altogether. The four obstacles are purged. The four pure empowerments and seeds, the four kayas are received. A replica of the guru happily dissolves into me, and I am blessed with inspiration. So do the Guru and Dreme Herta.
As a deep stretch. I I didn’t mean to get out and run around. I just meant like relax a little bit because next we’re going to do meditation. Okay. So we’re going to do a meditation.
We’re going to do the meditation on guru devotion by going through the outlines. Beginning with meditating on the benefits of relying on the guru. So Rinpoche has said, how much we understand and have feeling for the advantages and disadvantages of devoting ourselves to the Guru determines how beneficial our practice of Guru Yoga will be for our mind. When we understand the advantages, there’ll be more feeling in our heart and the Guru Yoga prayer won’t be just words. We’ll be able to do the Guru Yoga prayers mixing with our mind.
Kyabje Rinpoche Mahesh says, if you go really deep on the advantages and disadvantages, devoting yourself to the guru, you’ll be so motivated and so happy to do the actual practice. It will burst out your practice of guru devotion very much. So these come first and they’re very important. And if you do these well, your mind will be extremely happy in your practice. So please sit down.
I’m going to do a meditation. Through the power of having made offerings and respect for request to you, holy and venerable gurus, supreme field of merit, I seek your blessings, saviors, and root of well-being and bliss that I may come under your joyful care. Begin by focusing on your lama, the root guru. In front of Lama Losang Dragpa and Dorje Chang is your root guru, an ordinary form. And surrounding your root guru are all your gurus.
So focus on these. With the awareness, all objects of refuge. Then, think like this. Myself and all sentient beings since beginningless time have been wandering in cyclic existence, experiencing the general and particular suffering in the three lower realms. Why?
The reason is because we haven’t trained our mind in the correct way of relying on the guru. Therefore, right now, myself and all sentient beings are going to train our minds in the correct way of relying on the guru. Please, Guru Yadam, grant blessings that we may be able to generate the correct realization of the path. Think that inconceivable streams of nectar flow from the holy body of the gurus, purifying all negativities and obstacles created since beginningless time, and especially those prevent us from generating the stages of the path in connection with relying on the spiritual guide. The nectar then fills us up, fills our body and those all sentient beings, granting all the blessings so that our mind can ripen very fast in the stages of the path of correctly relying on the spiritual guide.
Now think. Because I want to achieve enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings, I need a guru. Since even to learn worldly skills, I need to rely on someone who has that knowledge, how much greater is the need for a qualified teacher to show me the path to enlightenment? And not only do I need a guru, but I need one who is perfectly qualified. And I need to rely on this perfectly qualified guru in a correct way without reversing my devotion or abandoning that reliance.
Because that would be like cutting off the root, the very happiness I’m seeking and all the good results of the path. Now reflect on the benefits of correctly devoting one by one. The first benefit I will receive is that I will constantly get closer to the state of Buddha that I’m seeking. First, I will be closer to the state of Buddhahood by receiving instructions from the guru. The path that normally takes many aeons to achieve can be achieved in a very short time by relying precisely on the instructions of the guru just as previous masters have done.
Each time one obtains advice from the guru and that advice gets done, when becomes closer to enlightenment. Each advice the guru gives us is like a wish granting jewel. Following the advice of the guru brings the greatest purification and the greatest accumulation of merit all the time, continually bringing us closer to enlightenment because the guru is the most powerful object. Think. By relying on a guru, I will be able to travel very fast on the path.
As it says in Lama Chopa, the state of great bliss is achieved in even an instant due to the kindness of the Lama. How quickly I achieve enlightenment depends on my ability to serve a guru well, to correctly devote and follow him or her. And when I rely on a spiritual guide, even if I should only be able to receive and put into practice one small advice, still I will be that much closer to Buddhahood. Not only I become close to enlightenment by carrying out the guru’s instructions, But in order to achieve enlightenment, I need to complete a huge accumulation of merit and do extensive purification. And this can be done very quickly by relying on the guru because the guru is the supreme merit field.
Even making a very small offering to a single pore of the guru is greater than offering to all the Buddhas for many eons. Each time I make offering to the guru, either directly or indirectly, by doing sadhanas, visualizing, making offerings in my room. Each time I think guru, I become closer to enlightenment. Even a small positive action or a small offering made to the Guru, the most powerful maroon field, brings the greatest purification, accumulates the most extensive maroon, and continually brings me closer to enlightenment. Which means closer to being able to benefit all sentient beings.
The second benefit is that by correctly relying on a guru, we will greatly please all the Buddhas. All the Buddhas have traveled the path enduring great hardships with only the one aim of being able to benefit sentient beings, which includes us. In order to guide us, they manifest in the form of our gurus. The moment we correctly rely on the guru, we enter into the path, and that pleases all the Buddhas immensely. And gurus are the ambassadors of all the buddhas.
By pleasing them, we please all the buddhas. The third benefit is that by correctly relying on the guru, we will never be overcome by negative forces or influenced by negative friends, and we will be able to accomplish all our virtuous purposes. A person who correctly relies on the guru is a very fortunate person. Someone who creates great merit all the time. Because this person can accomplish such great merit all the time, whatever they set their mind to will be accomplished effortlessly.
Nothing can overcome them. The fourth benefit is by the force of your correct devotion, naturally, all your thoughts will decrease. When you’re around the lama, you feel your afflictions decreasing. You feel your mind becoming subdued. By generating devotion in your heart and correctly following the guru’s advice, you’ll be you’ll be putting into practice all the teachings set forth by the Buddhas to abandon thoughts and increase qualities.
The fifth benefit is that by relying on the guru, you will be able to effortlessly generate all the insights and realizations of the past. This is illustrated by the story of the disciples of Lama Atisha who had no time to meditate because they were constantly attending the guru, cooking, translating, serving. But they gained higher realizations than those who only meditated. The sixth benefit is that by correctly devoting the guru, in this life, you will never be parted from perfect gurus in all future lives. This is the answer to the happiness of all our future lives.
Even if in this lifetime, the gurus appear to us to be very cruel, very mean, but from our side, by devoting to them as though they were Maitreya, Mañjuśrī, Tārā, it creates the cause in the future to be guided by actual emanations of Maitreya, Mañjuśrī, Tārā. Correctly devoting and following in this life will produce results similar to the cause that in all future lifetimes, we will also meet with, be guided by, correctly devote ourselves to, and follow the instructions of perfect Gurus. The seventh benefit is that by correctly devoting and following the guru, you cannot be reborn in the lower realms. Even if we’ve created all causes for such a rebirth, by correctly relying on the guru, it will be purified in this lifetime instead. By correctly devoting to the guru, all the results of these heavy negative karmas can be experienced as headaches or nightmares or sicknesses in this life.
Therefore, be grateful and take joy in bearing hardships and difficulties for the guru. The final benefit is that by correctly devoting to the guru and following the instructions, all your temporary and ultimate wishes will be achieved. Everything flows. It’s easy to be successful in worldly things and easy to be successful in practice. By correctly devoting to the guru, if we go to do retreat, we’re able to complete the retreat and achieve the realizations.
If we go to study, we’re able to continue our study without obstacles and study well. By correctly devoting the guru, we’re able to work for others without obstacle and offer extensive benefit to them. How much we’re able to benefit others is determined by the strength of our devotion. And if one correctly devotes to the guru following the advice, then at the time of death, we will be able to meditate and have a successful death great experience. This life will turn out well.
Future lives will turn out well. Everything will be successful. By reflecting on these benefits, generate the determination and the certainty. The most important thing in my life is to find a fully qualified guru, and then to devote myself correctly, and to follow completely all the instructions. By finding a fully qualified guru, I must see them as Buddha, continually keep their kindness in my heart, and then carry out their instructions exactly as they advise.
So this is a conclusion. Hold this in your mind. There were a site on page seventy six, Planting Guru Devotion with Nine Attitudes. I’m requesting the kind Lord Root Guru, who is more extraordinary than all the Buddhas. Please bless me to be able to devote myself to the qualified Lord Guru with great respect in all my future lifetimes.
By realizing that correctly devoting myself to the kind Lord Guru, who is the foundation of all good qualities, is a root of happiness and goodness, I shall devote myself to him with great respect, not forsaking him even at the cost to my life. Thinking of the importance of the qualified guru, may I allow myself to end under his control? May I be like an obedient child, acting exactly in accordance with the Guru’s advice. Even when Mara’s evil friends and the like try to split me from the guru, may I be like a vajra inseparable forever? When the guru gives me work, whatever the burden, may I be like the earth carrying all?
When I devote myself to the guru, whatever something occurs, may I be like a mountain immovable? Even if I have to perform more than unpleasant tasks, may I be like a servant of the king with a mind undisturbed? May I abandon pride, holding myself low before the guru. May I be like a sweeper? May I be like a rope, joyfully holding the guru’s work no matter how difficult or heavy a burden?
Even when the guru criticizes, provokes, or ignores me, may I be like a dog without anger, never responding with anger? May I be like a ferry boat, never upset at any time to come and go from the guru? Oh, glorious and precious root guru, please bless me to be able to practice in this way From now on in all my future lifetimes, may I be able to devote myself to the guru in this way. So just rest the mind in the state of devotion. And then we’ll dedicate in the separate sheet.
Due to the mass, the three times created by me, Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and all other sentient beings. May bodhicitta cherishing others, letting go of oneself, letting go of the I, is the source for the happiness and success of myself and all other sentient beings, be generated within my own mind and minds of all sentient beings without even a second’s delay, may that which has already been generated increase. Due to the merits of the three times created by me, Buddhas, bodhisattvas, all other sentient beings. May all the father and mother sentient beings have happiness. May the three lower realms be empty forever.
May all bodhisattvas prayers succeed immediately. May I be able to cause all this to happen by myself alone. Due to the merits of the three times created by me, Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and all other sentient beings. May his holiness, Dalai Lama, Buddha of compassion, and all other holy beings. All our virtuous friends have stable lives, and may all the holy wishes succeed immediately.
Due to the merits of three times created by me, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, all other sentient beings, may I be able to offer skies of benefit to all sentient beings as Nama Tsongkhapa did, by having within me the same qualities that Nama Tsongkhapa has from now on in all my future lifetimes. Due to the mass, there’s three times created by me, Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and all other sentient beings, which are totally non existent from their own side. May the I, which is also totally non existent from its own side, achieve Guru Śākyamūni Buddha’s enlightenment, is also totally nonexistent from its own side, and lead all sentient beings who are totally nonexistent from their own side, to that enlightenment which is totally nonexistent from its own side, by myself alone who is also totally non existent from its own side. I dedicate all my merits in a way greatly admired by the Buddha’s and bodhisattvas the three times and realized by Samantabhādra and Mañjuśrī. May I be able to completely actualize Lama Tsongkhapa teaching which unifies Sūtra and Tantra within my mind and spread these teachings in the minds of all sentient beings.
Thus, may LamaTsongkhapa teachings flourish forever. Second session. Due to the mass of three times created by me, Buddha’s, Bodhisattvas, and all other sentient beings, may I, the members of my family, all the students and FPMT organization, and all the rest of sentient beings meet only perfectly qualified Mahāyāna Gurus in all our future lifetimes. From our side, may we see them only as enlightened beings, where we do only actions most pleasing to the holy minds of virtuous friends, may we be able to fulfill all the holy wishes immediately. Then the food offering.
Perhaps my life not just to attain happiness for myself alone, but to free each and every sentient beings who are suffering. Therefore, I’m going to make this food offering and I’m going to make offering to sentient beings. Also, I’m going to make charity of food to all sentient beings in my body. Through this connection, I’ll be able to teach Samadharma. Purify the food into emptiness, all the food in the kitchen, then blessing it in the form of whatever deity one practices.
Palms together, offering number of oceans of nectar to Guru Puja merit field. Each direct and indirect growth is all Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha, ten directions. Every single man field is a virtuous friend. Even each pore of all gurus is all a mare field. By prostrating, by making offerings to guru, we come closer to enlightenment.
With each offering, close to enlightenment. Offer all the oceans of nectar food as uncontaminated blissful wisdom nectar. Also offer all the offerings set out here and all the offerings set out in the FPMT centers. By making these offerings, generated infinite bliss in the holy mind. Make charity to numberless home beings, numberless hungry ghosts, numberless animals, numberless humans, numberless gods, numberless intermediate state beings.
They all fully enjoy liberated from all suffering whose causes actual lives are passed. They all became enlightened in the form of the deity that one practices. By making this offering, create luminous cause enlightenment, limitless cause liberation, limitless cause happiness to future lives, happiness to life. By making all these offerings, collected numberless merits. And making all these offerings, the most powerful merit field.
Even each pore, created unimaginable cause of enlightenment. Numberless sky is the merit. Then dedicating due to all these merits, my eye, my family members, that also we should dedicate for Georgina. So I can’t remember her ordained name. Is it children?
Carol. Okay. Children. So this could happen to anyone of us, any any moment. Not just family dying, but ourselves dying.
My family members, all the organizers of this course, all members of Buddha House, everyone who’s offering service, All the students and benefactors of the organization, and all those who sacrificed their life for Buddha’s teachings, sentient beings. And all of the sentient beings, especially those who died for this food, who suffered to provide this food, who worked for this food, who created negative karma for this food, benefitted this food, everyone involved in the evolution of this food. May all of us sentient beings in our future lives never separate away from the Triple Gem, Always collect merit by making offerings to the Triple Gem. Receive all the realizations of the path from guru devotion up to enlightenment without delay even one second. The past, present, future merits created by myself and all sentient beings which are completely empty.
May the I which is empty. Achieve enlightenment is empty. Need all sentient beings empty? Till I stay by myself alone is empty. May the seal deities to whom we offer these desire enjoyments of this circle of magnificence.
So please take by being pleased and satisfied. Instead of uncontaminated bliss, Grant us the holy body, speech, mind. Please grant blessings to achieve in this life. Mahāmudrā Prabhavajrayoga, So please before you leave the Gompa, again recollect whichever one of these between session time meditations you’ve decided to do for the day, whether it’s bodhicitta, recognizing all sentient beings, every bird that you hear, every insect that you see, every person, everyone who comes to mind as having been mother and kind or emptiness, whichever message for rising emptiness. So recollect that and and set the strong determination to practice that in the break time.
So as you can see by doing this, we will get close to enlightenment all the time. Then one thirty, there’s a meeting for those teachers who are teaching discovering Buddhism at the center as a layered ordained. And tomorrow one thirty, Venerable Gen Dondrub has agreed to lead a question and answer session for people. The meeting for the Discovering Buddhism teachers is in the Sangha Lounge. Also, there is information session on Dethung Ling.
It’s a good job I knew what detail meant. Dethung Ling, great bliss and emptiness, a place of great bliss and emptiness, retreat center at one PM in Buddha’s Lounge. So next to second Gompa. So if you’re interested in doing retreat there, if you’re if you’re interested to help build a stupa there, or if you just would like to find out more about Dethung Ling retreat center, then one PM in Buddhist Lounge. Thank you very much, everybody.
Thank you for the silence and everything.