Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 86-minute session, Lama Zopa Rinpoche introduces guru yoga, the foundational practice for all Tibetan Buddhist paths. He opens with reflections on the preciousness of human rebirth and the good fortune of meeting in a new teaching space, then turns to the heart of the practice: understanding the guru as the embodiment of all Buddhas and the ultimate source of every spiritual attainment, from the path through liberation to full enlightenment. He guides students through refuge and bodhicitta prayers, the four immeasurables, rejoicing in Je Tsongkhapa’s teachings and their transmission through monastic institutions to the West, and careful instruction on how to view the guru’s unconventional actions—rooted not in delusion but in compassionate skillfulness. The session emphasises that every benefit received, from beginningless time to buddhahood, flows from guru kindness, and concludes with prayers requesting steadfast reliance on the pure path without corruption. Suited to practitioners already familiar with basic Buddhist refuge and motivation.
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File: 01 guru yoga.mp3
UUID: 4a036ac8-48cf-47e5-a681-cafd8f11f387
Teacher: Lama Zopa Rinpoche 3
Collection: Guru Yoga (Lama Zopa Rinpoche 3)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 86.6 minutes
Words: ~4,663
Sorry for the very long delay. I’m still the same line of Sovereign many years ago. So many years ago, the same amount of solar was coming here, obviously, so no change. But that didn’t mean I’m permanent. I didn’t my bad behavior, say long delay.
It doesn’t mean I’m permanent. So very happy to ask us to get here in the new temple, in this new house again after we met last time. So that shows we are very fortunate that since we met many of us here we met last time here in this new building. And so we’ll meet able to meet again this time, able to get in this same building again this year. So that shows So that shows we are very fortunate.
To be able to be human being longer and able to say not just to be able to even but by having a Dharma that we are able to Dharma practice and every day we’re able to purify developments and able to collect extensive merits and able to make closer to liberation the cessation of the oceans of samsara’s sufferings and causes and make closer to enlightenment, make closer ourselves to enlightenment, make closer ourselves to liberate number of sentient beings of each the number of sentient beings from the hell realm, hungry ghosts, animals, human beings, suras, asuras, in the between, it brings from the oceans of some type of suffering and bring them to enlightenment. So we become closer to that, we see able to make ourselves closer to that. So which is our main goal of our life, main goal of our life. Why we I see why we live for, let’s say why we survive for, what for. So that’s what we’re living for you see.
So the reason for us to live every day, every hour, every minute, every second is for that. For these to liberate the numberless helpless, numberless hungry ghosts animals human beings, Sutras, Sutras in the between, numberless in the means from the oceans of saṃsāra sufferings. And they cause calm and delusion and bring them to enlightenment, full enlightenment, the great liberation. So therefore, say so able to do that much practice, Dharma practice every day that much to say. So especially with the bodhicitta, so which helped to say because we’d have to become closer to that to achieve this goal.
So I think it’s very fortunate. Yes. So I think we’re going to begin with the homage to put down Sanga in the UNIDENTIFIED Read in English. Next part. So the last verse on Page five.
Do not commit any non virtuous actions, perform only perfect virtuous actions, subdue your mind thoroughly. This is the teaching of the Buddha. Like a star, a visual aberration, a flame of a lamp, an illusion, a drop of dew or a bubble, a dream, flash of lightning, a cloud, sea condition things as such. Through these merits may sentient beings attain the rank of all seeing, subdue the fall of thoughts and be delivered from saṃsāra solution perturbed by the waves of aging, sickness and I apologize to the attributes and thus I’ve heard. That’s the page eight.
Thus did I hear at one time the Bhagawan was dwelling at Massed Vultures mountain in Rajagriha together with a great community amongst and a great community at Bodhisattvas. At that time the Bhagawan was absorbed in the concentration and categories of phenomenal core profound perception. Also at that time, the Bodhisattva, mahasattva, Arya Avalokiteshvara looked upon the very practice of profound perfection and wisdom and beheld those five aggregates also as empty and inherent nature. Then through the power of Buddha, the Venerable Śāriputra said this to the Bodhisattva, mahasattva, Ayah, Unakisattva, how should any son of that in exchange wishes to practice the activity of the profound perfection of wisdom? He said that in the Bodhisattva, Mahāvajrasattva, Ayar Uddhisattva, say this to the venerable Śāriputra Śāriputra, any son of the lineage or daughter of the lineage wishes to practice the activity or the profound perfection of wisdom should look upon it like this, correctly, repeatedly beholding those five aggregates also as empty inherent in age.
Form is empty. Emptiness is form. Emptiness is not other than form. Form is also not other than emptiness. In the same way, feeling discrimination, convolutional practices, consciousness are empty.
Śāriputra, likewise of phenomena are emptiness without characteristic, unproduced, unceased, painless, not without stain, not deficient, not fulfilled. Śāriputra, therefore, in emptiness, there’s no form, no feeling, no discrimination, no compositional factors, no consciousness, no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind, no visual form, no sound, no order, no taste, no object of touch, and no phenomenon. There’s no eye element and so on up, including no mind element and no mental consciousness element. There’s no ignorance, no extinction of ignorance, and so on up, including no aging and death, and no extinction of aging and death. Similarly, there’s no suffering, origination cessation, and path.
There’s no exalted wisdom, no attainment, also no nonattainment. Shariputra, therefore, because there’s no attainment, Bodhisattvas rely on and dwell on the perfection of wisdom, the mind without obscuration and without fear. Having completely passed beyond error to reach the endpoint in the bond, all the Buddhas who dwell in three times also manifest thee, completely awakened to unsurpassable, perfect complete enlightenment in reliance on the perfection of wisdom. Therefore, the mantra of the perfection of wisdom, the mantra of great knowledge, the unsurpassed mantra, the mantra equal to non equal, the mantra that already pacifies all suffering should be known as truth. This is not false.
The mantra, the perfection of wisdom is declared. Train and perform perfection of wisdom like that. Then the Bhagawan arose from the concentration and the Lord Sathva MahaVajrasattvaaya Vrittisva saying, well said, well said, son of the lineage. It is like that. It is like that.
Once you practice to perform perfection of wisdom just as you have indicated, even the heart of goddess rejoice. The Bhagavan having heard spoken, benevolisharya bhutra, the bodhisattva, master to Hayao, bodhisattva, bodhisattva, those surrounding the entirety along the world of God’s humans, aspires and Gandhawa, all overjoyed and highly praised as spoken by the Bhagavan. Any extensive? Great. Just going after those.
So we continue with Page eleven. I know all surrounding Xinjiang being go for refuge to the Buddha, go for refuge to Dharma, go for refuge to the Sangha. We prostrate to the great mother, Pashtana Paramita, wisdom gone beyond, surrounded by all the children and by the assemblies of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to the ten directions. By depending on my prostrations to all of you, may these words of truth be actualized. In the past, the deva king Indra dispelled the maras by reflecting on the profound meaning of the wisdom gone beyond Reciting the profound words in daily recitation, in the same way, I also reflect on the profound meaning of the great mother, Prajñāpāramitā, and recite the profound words in daily recitation.
May all diseases, spirit possessions, bad conditions, all the negative directions that which happens due to past, karma and immediate conditions may all this be dispelled may become non existent, may become pacified. I and all surrounding sentient beings go for refuge to the Buddha, go for refuge to the Dharma, go for refuge to the Sangha. We prostrate to the great mother, Prajnaparamita, surrounded by all the children and by the assemblies of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten directions. By depending on my prostrations to all of you, may these words of truth be actualized. In the past, the deva king Indra dispelled Amaris by reflecting on the profound meaning of the pristine gone beyond and reciting the profound words in daily recitation.
In the same way, I also reflect on the profound meaning of the great mother Prajnaparamita and recite the profound words in daily recitation. May all diseases, spirit possessions, bad conditions, all the negative directions that which happens due to past karma, immediate conditions. May all this be dispelled, may become nonexistent, may be pacified. I and all surrounding sentient beings go for refuge to the Buddha, go for refuge to the Dharma, go for refuge to the Sangha. We prostrate to the great founder, Prajnaparamita, surrounded by all these children and by the assemblies of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten directions.
By depending on my prostrations to all of you, may these words of truth be actualized. In the past, the deva king Indra dispelled Namara by reflecting in the profound meaning of the wisdom gone beyond and reciting the profound words in daily recitation. In the same way, I also reflect on the profound meaning of the great mother, Prashna Paramita, to recite the profound words in daily recitation. May all diseases, spirit possessions, bad conditions, all the negative directions that which happens due to past come immediate conditions. May all of this be dispelled, may become nonexistent, may be tested Please go to the volume two, the payable volume two, page seventeen.
Me start English for your measurables. So we continue with the four immeasurables. How wonderful it would be for all sentient beings with abiding equanimity free of hatred and attachment, not holding some clothes and others distant. May they abide in equanimity. I myself will cause them to abide in equanimity.
Please, Guru, Deity, bless me to be able to do this. How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings had happiness and the cause of happiness. May they have happiness and its cause. I myself will cause them to have happiness and its cause. Please, Guru Deity, bless me to be able to do this.
How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings were free of suffering and its cause. May they be free of suffering and its cause. I myself will force them to be free from the suffering and its cause. Please, Guru Deity, bless me to be able to do this. How wonderful it would be if all sentient beings were never separated from the happiness of high rebirth and liberation.
May they never be separated from these. I myself will cause them never to be separated from these. Please, guru, deity, bless me to be able to this. For the sake of all mother sentient beings, I shall quickly and more quickly actualize the Guru Deity’s primordial state of Buddhahood in this very lifetime. I shall liberate all mothers and human beings from the suffering, lead them to the great bliss of Buddhahood.
For this purpose, I’m going to practice Prahapada from Guru Deity Yoga. For the sake of all mothers and human beings, I shall quickly more quickly visualize the Guru Deity’s primordial state of Buddhahood in this very lifetime. I shall liberate all mother sentient beings from the suffering and lead them to the great bliss of Buddhahood. For this purpose, I’m going to practice the pravana path of the Guru Deity Yoga. For the sake of all mother sentient beings, I shall quickly and more quickly virtualize the Guru Deity’s primordial state of Buddhahood in this very lifetime.
I shall liberate all mothers and human beings from suffering and lead them to the great bliss of Buddhahood. For this purpose, I’m going to practice the profound part of Guru Deity Yoga. UNIDENTIFIED We’ll address here. So first we can address Lambert’s other past merits in the past all that made is correct in the past. Number is made.
And which are collected in the present, which will be collected in the future. So I’ll pass the question. Next, we rejoice in the Walter Je Tsongkhapaunov’s qualities. All the realizations. We rejoice Lama Sangamo’s holy action by limited skies of benefit that is done towards sentient beings and towards the teaching of the Buddha.
Road explained the clearest explanation of the Buddha’s teachings, most difficult points where many great learning famous meditators make mistakes. There’s very subtle points, important points such as the emptiness. The profound Madhyamaka, the emptiness, giving the clearest explanation of the percentage of mathematical schools, the percentage of schools be empty as well as clearest extensive explanation The Maanotra Tantra, the Maanotra Tantra, the Maanotra Tantra, how to achieve the illusive body, how did you clear the cost of Dharmakāya, direct cost of Dharmakāya, how to achieve illusive body direct cost of the Rubakaya. So before Je Tsongkhapa Haba there was no extensive elaborate clear explanation how to achieve this body. Je Tsongkhapa Haba I’d say Je Tsongkhapa Haba happened and I’d say one of the things this teaching So and then as well as many other points where many mentors made mistakes and elements of what made clarified made a clear explanation of those made a very easy to achieve enlightenment.
So we rejoice. REPRESENTATIVE:] Holy action. So like equating the limitless guy to benefit done towards the sentient beings and teaching the Buddha. So we rejoice. The Serakat and Debong so forth and the Tashilumba monastery, Benshin Lamas monastery so forth.
So within those, there monastery universities. Within those so it’s a main that there are many preserved the extensive understanding the Buddha’s teachings, Sūtra and Tantra and those Tantra College Lord Tantra Adoptama College was established in Tibet. Then this was established again with the great jaws of the the amounts who are able to scale from Tibet and establish the established outside of Tibet. I think say with those some great teachers who are able to escape from Tibet and educated many young monks outside of Tibet state of monastery in India. And so able to, say, preserve Dharma with extensive of Buddhadharma, the Sūtra and Tantra and able to and those who begin to learn extensive, say, Buddharma in India, then able to educate the younger monks.
So now there’s also nuns as well. So they’re like that they’re able to produce many qualified teachers. And then that’s why able to send those many qualified teachers in various in different parts of the world, especially in the West, the dark land where it has not dark land from beginning where it’s not been light with Dharma. So now it’s very Dharma in so many so the rest of the world and especially in the West and different parts of the world. So now able to have a light of Dharma.
So the teachers all of our teachers come from those monasteries. So spread of the Dharma, say, explain of the Dharma, say, by reasoning, the quoteachings and the reasonings, I mean, explain with the logic, make them a cause and then bring them to have a clear Dharma understanding, not just a blind faith. Let’s see. So the Dharma able to spread to the rest of the world we see with a deeper understanding, let’s say, with the logic. So that so many sentient beings now in the world, different parts of world and especially even the West are able to have an incredible understanding of opportunity to follow path to enlightenment to at least to practice Lamrim.
I have learned Lamrim in a state of path to enlightenment. Then the extensive teaching of the philosophy and teachings of Dharma. Incredible, unbelievable opportunity there in the rest of the world in there these days. And so all these activities are benefiting core benefiting see unimitable percentage of things. As well as us myself as well as myself and all of us here.
So every understanding that we have, every understanding of the dharma that we have is a lot of us, our holy action, this dharma, how much we have now, how much light of dharma we have in our heart, in our mental rhythm. So before, totally dark, totally dark darkness of ignorance. Now how much we have how much Dharma say how much understanding of Dharma words, how much understanding Dharma we have, how much wisdom we have and that how much practice we teach so far and how much we do every day. Let’s see some practice. So the crude version, renunciation, both the Cheetah Rat View the preliminary practices, various practice purification, various practice of collecting extensive merits.
So for the intent on top of that, the practice a quick path to achieve enlightenment. A quick way to liberate a quick way yourself to liberate the number of sentient beings from its realm from oceans of some sort of suffering and bring them in a full enlightenment. A quick way to that by utilizing them apart by taking initiation then by learning them and practicing that. So unbelievable, unbelievable opportunity not only to help yourself, but to help the number of others who are unbelievable staff who have been unbelievable suffering in saṃsāra and to liberate them, to bring them to full enlightenment. This anyway so every understanding dharma we have is a lot from it is from Lama Tsongkhapa, all the action.
Every single Dharma we collect every day with a good version, a renunciation, with a bodhicitta, with a right view, with a Thangkul practice generation completion stage. With Thangkul practice, how much may they reflect, how much performance we how much performance we purify every day. So this is how much of our kindness. You see teaching which came from Lamato Gabor teaching, but learning Lamato Gabor teaching, expand by you see the indirect gurus and direct gurus. Expanded by indirect gurus and direct gurus.
See present gurus that we have received, say teachings and initiation of vows all that to see. So all seek based from Lama Tsongkhapa. So you can see if you take everything like this everything Je Tsongkhapaaba. So Je Tsongkhapaaba is a holy action. It’s working with us every day.
So every single merit we collect is about kindness of Lama Tsongkhapa. Every single purification is a whole action. Everything understand what we have from Lama Tsongkhapa. So that Lambert’s kindness is all this whole action Lambert’s kindness. We happiness.
Benefits that you’re receiving from Ramatana. And every single benefit we offer every day to other sentient beings, every single benefit what we offer with the time of understanding, you see a risk and benefit what we offer to us. All the teaching we received from the direct gurus. So here, in all the lifetimes may I say be like Lama Tsongkhapa, able to offer tremendous kinds of benefit to Ascendiant beings and the teaching of Buddha. UNIDENTIFIED Appropriate.
Okay. We did get the merit. They have offered Mandala to meet all of us here. All of us here then all the students all the supporters everybody of our service here at Ametho Buddhist Center. Then all the rest in the Family Center all the students and all the organizers and as well as all the benefactors in this world.
In this world there’s on this world there are so many people who bear so much hardships of our service to the with the body of peace in mind of our service to the organization at FPMT to a benefit of our sentient beings in teaching Buddha. There are so many people in different parts of the world as we have so forth in as well as those who will a lot from our promised province So we pray all of them to meet Lama Tsongkhawa teaching to exercise to complete exercise Lama Tsongkhawa teaching this very lifetime, okay? So we make prayer sincerely from the bottom of our heart. So as prayer itself expresses so whatever quality ultimate guru. The very first thing to think what real meaning of guru there ultimate guru, okay?
So that was manifesting also of conventional gurus to guide us in the means Originator, Montuquintu, originator originator all the realizations or originator of all your attainment from how you use all your all the attainment from a rooted path enlightenment to good devotion. From there, after enlightenment, the realization of the Lispera part, the Great Vagles, Parmediana part, Great Vagles, the Sacramento, Vagilana, all that part. Sorry about that. And then the common eight common cities, the uncommon cities, so eight common cities, all that in the so what you would see is the originator from whom you would see. Let me see.
Not on that not only city cities, not only attainments, but from whom one receive happiness from beginningless rebirth. Happiness one has experienced from beginningless revert, from beginningless revert. Happiness one has experienced beginningless But every single happiness of the happiness you had in the past from beginning is a result. So we receive from this, okay? And all your present happiness is from that.
All your future happiness is from that from this quarter, okay? And then not only all the future saṃsāra happiness, not only that, but ultimate happiness liberates from saṃsāra received from that guru. And then ultimate happiness, the full enlightenment we want to see from the guru, yes. Say ultimate attainment, all the past preservation, all every single comfort pleasure up to enlightenment, okay? So this manifesting in the Tuan Śākyamūni Buddha, Mahajiwan.
Then Bajidara who manifested Bajidara. REPRESENTATIVE:] I’ll reveal the teachings. So the teachings within this aspect or to conduct no attachment. Then with the Buddha then the Tantra teachings revealed as with the Buddha aspect having attachment of the different aspects. So those who are teaching center, let’s look at the teaching shown.
Those through the teaching center. Primarily the teaching center with that aspect you see with the manga aspect, without the devotional attachment. That’s with that aspect. Then the tongue, the teachings of those are revealed with the aspect, you see the attachment touching to about their attachment to the showing that aspect. It doesn’t mean there’s a delusion.
It doesn’t mean budget that has a delusion. It’s not saying that. But as far as the aspect of the so that the we’ll manifest you see from who wants to receive all this every single attempt, every single positive, all that happen is after enlightenment. Everything all the collection of goodness are received from the manifest in this So also manifest into Chenrezig with the embodiment of all the Buddha’s non object fine connection. And then manifested also Mañjuśrī, embodiment of all the Buddha’s stainless understanding.
They manifest in also vajrapani embodiment of it. The older Buddhist vajrapani destroying the host of the Maras. Also host of matters. Therefore gross matters, four subtle matters. So that the amount of say delusion, the amount of the Samsana, amount of the Lord of the Dead, the amount of Devilsson who should the four or five arrows of delusion to serving this to serving sentient beings to cause an obstacle to attain the path of announcement.
Treative liberation, Treative air, full announcement. So they’re destroying the whole set of four models for gross maras and four subtle models as well. So the embodiment of all the business power. So you see all this manifest into aspects of Strong Hapa that’s embodied into copper. But the main driver is the very first sale, Lama, the one you see.
The ultimate guru who guided you, who manifests us into a conventional guru that what we can appear to a good level of our mind. So guided us from beginning guided us from beginningless, and it’s guiding us now, guiding us in the future. So So when I compare to this. Buddha embodiment who encompasses all the three objective refuge Buddhadamasanga. I request with great respect to the Board’s mind, I make a request.
So what is the request around Xinmingen products? To wrapping to wrapping was to mine and other sentient beings other sentient beings mined to wrapping. And then you see that means with the root of the past management, cost to receive realization the good portion and then the renounced section both which is the right view. On the basis of this as a foundation, you see realization. Then you see generative they have a realization generation stage of Tantra with rapid demand.
And then with completion stage liberates the mind, which is the function liberates the mind, okay? From the departments or from the ordinary debt, ordinary debt, ordinary debt, ordinary independent stage, the rebirth. Sorry the question of this you see. I’ll wrap in the mind and liberate the mind, your own mind, upper single mind In that way, to achieve in that way, then to achieve the state of three kayas, result time, dharma kayas, sabbhakaya, nirmanakaya. Sorry about the Kamsar.
The realization of the last one. So I already included that before. So Tomoto, this will grant the common and so on realization. But I already completed before that. On Page thirty one.
Yes. The foundation of all good qualities is the kind and perfect pure. The correct devotion to him is the root of love. By creating this and applying great efforts, his best needs to be relied upon him in great respect, understanding that the precious freedom of this rebirth is found only once, his greatness and being full and being full defining. This vast regenerate the mind and seizingly day and night takes its essence.
As life impermanent to water bubble, remember how quickly the case and death comes. After death such like Led by this pure thought, mindfulness, alertness and great caution arise. The rule of the teachings keeping the pratimoksha vows is blessed me to accomplish this essential practice. Others. Others means all the Buddhists all the Buddhas.
All these merits, we put all the merits together. They have been very powerful to say to exercise our wishes. What is that? That is in all the lifetimes oneself, oneself family members and all the students, all the benefactors are there. So was my promise, which name is given to me.
All these names are being guided by Lama Tongaba being Mahan Guru. There’s a directive to be guided by Lama Tongaba, may us being guided by Mahan Guru. And never to be set by a ready degree even for one second from the pure path that is admired by all the Buddhas. So which means to not meet the wrong path, to not be misguided in the future lives to meet the wrong path and then which guide which is only some sort of even lower realms. So not having that.
So mid wrong religion in a wrong faith, wrong religion not like that say. All right. But even that is a complete path, let’s say, to enlightenment there. However, pure path that is highly admired by Buddhas or sorry about the path that Je Tsongkhapaab has actualized. So to never be separated from those parts with the Buddha, the six ornaments, that’s great pundit, great scholarly, achieved enlightenment and six ornaments, were achieved enlightenment.
One sub to auto is in the base one. But that’s okay in all the lifetimes. That the dollar Tieteheim made us flat balance about this. I know that that can be said that to be able to be able to live the life with pure mortality, mortality, have extensive listening to Dharma, train the mind of bodhicitta, living the clean, correct city conduct and the view. So in that way, the life without corruption to the Lama to Rama teaching.
And indeed, Ottarthas, one self is being the to not rise heresy even for one second in the actions of the guru. To be able to see pure actions of what we actually have done with this devotion. May the blessing of the Guru be in touch in my heart. Is it dinner time or? Yes.
It’s dinner time. Okay. It is dinner time. So we will come back at seven thirty. So we have to label.
We have to label these. Let me follow-up. Thank you. Please put the prayer book on one side, yes?