VAJRASATTVA INITIATION MOTIVATION: GURU DEVOTION

Tonight, we will do the Vajrasattva jenang, the permission to practice. That has graduated activities to be performed from the side of the lama: the sadhana, the self-generation, the front generation, the blessing of vase. Then, there are graduated activities to do from the side of the disciple: washing the mouth, prostrations, the distribution of flowers, and then offering mandala. Before that there is the torma offering from the side of the lama, giving torma to the interferers who interfere with granting or receiving the blessing of Vajrasattva.

As I mentioned this morning, Lama Tsongkhapa asked Manjushri what is the quickest way to realize the path to enlightenment and to achieve enlightenment. I don’t remember the words exactly. Manjushri answered: practicing purification and creating necessary conditions for the realizations, collecting the merits, then single-pointedly requesting the guru. That was already explained this morning with guru devotion. Then, there are the stages of the path to enlightenment, which is the actual body. Those three things Manjushri answered. I was explaining this morning on the basis of what Manjushri advised Lama Tsongkhapa.

As I mentioned this morning, there are so many practices for purification but what you should concentrate on, what has the great advantage like the skies, with the benefit of purification or collecting extensive merit is to always keep the mind in bodhicitta in your daily life. Whatever lifestyle you are living, put all the effort into bodhicitta. No matter how busy a life you have, you must rely on bodhicitta, no matter how busy you are or what obligations you have. Of the many practices for purifying and collecting merits, bodhicitta is the one that is the most profitable practice, which includes many things. That should be the main refuge in a busy life with a family, children, business, work, with so many things. That should be the main refuge in your heart, in your life. If you do that, whatever you do becomes the cause of enlightenment, the highest success in life, the highest among the happiness. Whatever you do, it becomes the cause for that, to be able to liberate numberless sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric suffering and bring them to full enlightenment.

And it is said by the Kadampa geshes, in daily life if there is no bodhicitta, there are so many things to purify, the purification never finishes. If there is no bodhicitta motivation in daily life, your purification is unending. There is always so much to purify. Life becomes like that, engaging in many heavy mistakes, many heavy negative karmas.

For example, even if you have taken the bodhisattva vows and tantric vows, with a selfish mind you can’t keep them. The bodhisattva vows are based on the attitude of cherishing others, on the thought of benefiting others. Therefore, you can understand why the Kadampa geshes say that if in daily life, unless you are focused on bodhicitta, there will always be so much to purify, there will be the need for unceasing purification.

I mentioned this morning about correctly devoting to the virtuous friend after you have analyzed them and made the Dharma connection with them. As I mentioned this morning, with the recognition of guru and disciple, even with the three-syllable mantra, an oral transmission or even one or two stanzas of the teachings—therefore, no question about having taken vows, initiations or commentaries from them—with that recognition, the relationship of guru and disciple is established from that time.

I thought just to add a few words to what I mentioned this morning and then that’s it.

The great scholar, the great enlightened being, Panchen Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen said,

You should not follow the guru who reveals the Dharma as easily as a dog seeking food in the road. You should examine the guru well; then take them [as guru] and follow them.

What he is saying is that when street dogs see food, they don’t analyze it; they immediately run to it and eat it. [Rinpoche makes a gobbling sound] They immediately eat it without analyzing whether it is harmful or what the quality of the food is like. They immediately run to it and eat it. If we do that [with a guru], there is great danger that we can be completely misled and our life is taken on the wrong path. Instead of gaining the right realizations, we develop wrong concepts, wrong views. Totally deceived, we make mistakes and take the wrong path. Even if from our side we are taking the path to liberation, and enlightenment is what we are looking for, without examining, there can be danger of being misled. Therefore, we must examine the teacher well before we take them as our guru.

His Holiness used to advise this. His Holiness didn’t say this but I have added that, like at university, we can study Buddhism from professors that we don’t regard as gurus. They are just teachers but not gurus. However, after studying for quite some time and taking the teachings and then analyzing, if we really feel that we can be devoted to them, that we want to devoted to them, [then we can]. This way is more careful.

But after we have established a Dharma connection, having devotion to the guru is vital. In the guru devotion teachings, there is a quotation that says that even if we didn’t develop heresy or anger or have any negative thought but after having made a Dharma connection we forgot to have devotion for the guru, we will be reborn as a dog for hundreds of lifetimes.

The great enlightened being, Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo, commonly uses this quote, as does one of my gurus, His Holiness Zong Rinpoche, who was a great scholar and a highly enlightened being I received many initiations and teachings from.

I don’t remember the exact words. It is something like, “If you have made a Dharma connection with the recognition of guru and disciple and you have received even one verse of the teaching, if you then fail to regard them as a guru, you will be reborn as a dog for hundreds of lifetimes.” There are two ways of explaining this. The Tibetan me se chen, which Pabongka Rinpoche in his teachings calls “lower caste,” meaning we will be reborn as a human being but in a lower caste. In the countries where there is caste system, as a lower caste person, there is very little opportunity; everybody puts us down, nobody listens to us. We can’t really benefit others because we don’t have much power. But according to His Holiness Zong Rinpoche, the Tibetan me se chen means “scorpion.” According to Rinpoche’s commentary, after a hundred lifetimes of being born as a dog, we then get born as a scorpion. So, there is a different meaning of that term.

If we have received even one verse of the teachings and we have a guru-disciple relationship, if after that we don’t have devotion for the guru, these shortcomings happen. Therefore, we shouldn’t look for a guru like shopping for food. In regard to taking teachings, we should just go everywhere to whoever gives teaching, but don’t practice guru devotion with them, don’t have devotion for them. We can shop around and not do the practice, [but if you take a guru-disciple relationship] and we don’t have devotion after that, there are these shortcomings. This is what is explained.

There are some Kadampa geshes who take teachings from anybody, anybody who is giving teachings on the road. Some other Kadampa geshes don’t do that. They listen to very few teachers; they have very few gurus. There was one particular Kadampa geshe—I don’t remember clearly—who would sit and listen to anybody giving teachings while he was traveling on the road. He would just sit down and listen. So, there is a question. Which is better, taking as a guru anybody who gives teachings or just a few? There is a question of which one is better! Anyway, that depends on devotion. If we have a very pure mind, we can see everybody as pure, without superstitions, without lots of doubts and negative thoughts arising. With a very pure mind, we can see everybody as pure, and then we can get teachings from billions of teachers; we can have billions and zillions of gurus! There is no problem. But if it is not like that, if our mind is very difficult, with lots of superstitions, lots of impure thoughts, then it’s better to have fewer gurus. With this, we correctly devote, otherwise it is very difficult, with many superstitions seeing many mistakes, we create many negative karmas with many gurus. If the mind has a lot of superstition, we can’t practice pure view with anybody, having stable and strong guru devotion. That was the conclusion and answer of the Kadampa geshes.

If it is our first time, if we are just starting on the path to enlightenment, that is the right time to study, research and find out how to practice guru devotion. In the lamrim teachings such as Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, there are very clear outlines on guru devotion for meditation. And although there are not so many outlines in Lama Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo, how to practice, how to devote, is clearly explained, especially the nine attitudes, which is the heart teaching, the essential answer on how to devote.

Every lamrim topic comes in Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. Of course, we can read many other lamrim teachings that give different ways of presenting guru devotion. If there is something we don’t find clearly [in one book], there are many other lamrim texts with valid teachings we are able to study. However, the section on guru devotion in Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand and the condensed teaching in Lama Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo, where he presents how to practice with the nine attitudes, these two texts are so powerful.

When we have difficulties in some matters [related to] the guru, if we read these nine attitudes, it is like an atomic bomb to destroy this superstitious, difficult mind. It is so very powerful to read the nine attitudes. It is like pouring cold water on boiling water. You know, there is a lot of noise when water boils [Rinpoche imitates the bubbling sound of boiling water], but when we pour cold water in, it becomes peaceful! So, these nine attitudes immediately cut the difficult thoughts that bother us, creating very heavy negative karma.

The outline is from Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. With Lama Tsongkhapa’s teaching on the nine attitudes, these two are very, very good.

With the outline in Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, first of all there are all the mind-blowing benefits and the inspirational stories about those who correctly practice guru devotion. It shows what incredible benefit having guru devotion is, how we can easily achieve realizations with the stable pure mind of guru devotion. There are so many stories of the experiences of the many practitioners. There are also stories of the many shortcomings [of not devoting correctly], of those who experienced great obstacles and who were unable to achieve realizations. There are stories of practitioners getting stuck, going down, having so many sicknesses and so many heavy things happening to them through making mistakes devoting to the virtuous friend. This is not just mere belief; it has been proved.

Of course, if we have made mistakes and we can also see the shortcomings, we can use the teachings to identify within ourselves, seeing how through our life’s experiences we made mistakes and then experienced all the shortcomings, such as how the mind has degenerated. Even though we might have had some realization or experience before, it has degenerated. Or though we even had some intellectual understanding of the Dharma, because we made mistakes in regard to devoting to the virtuous friend, with negative thoughts arising and making mistakes in our actions, we degenerated the experience that was built up in the past; it does not happen any more. The mind becomes like a stone; nothing happens, nothing benefits. We become very stubborn, very thick-skulled. Even the intellectual understanding we had before is gone; we no longer remember it.

There are many other shortcomings [of not devoting correctly], such as easily receiving harm from spirits. We become venerable—that’s not the word! I make a mistake, not venerable. [Student: Vulnerable?] Vulnerable, yeah, thank you very much.

We become vulnerable; it becomes very easy to receive harm from human beings and nonhuman beings, from spirits. There are many problems, many disasters, mentally and physically. I am not going to go on and on with this subject! I just want to mention this because this is the end of the teachings. It’s just a warning by mentioning a few points.

In Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand there are quite a few stories, as well as in other lamrim teachings, about those who correctly practiced. It is so easy to achieve realization, to realize emptiness and so forth. There are many stories there.

For example, when Lama Atisha went to Tibet, invited by the Dharma King of Tibet, Lha Lama Yeshe Ö, he had a disciple and translator, Dromtönpa. Lama Atisha took the aspect of old age and then took the aspect of sickness, having diarrhea. He showed that aspect. Without any hesitation of it being dirty, with a totally pure mind of devotion, Dromtönpa saw Atisha as the Buddha and with pure devotion cleaned him—not with a broom or anything but with his hands. Lama Atisha took that aspect of having diarrhea, with pipi and poopoo, but without any thought of it being dirty, Dromtönpa cleaned it with his hands, serving day and night with single-pointed devotion.

While Dromtönpa was doing this service, sacrificing his life to his guru, Lama Atisha, he suddenly achieved clairvoyance. He was even able to read the minds of insects for a distance of what would take an eagle eighteen days to fly or a human a month to walk. He could read the minds of all the creatures within that distance.

As I mentioned before, obtaining the guru’s advice and offering service becomes such a powerful means of purification. As I explained this morning, because the object is the most powerful, so many obscurations are purified. The mind has all the potential. With this purification, Dromtönpa could read the mind of every insect, even ants, up to the distance it takes eagles eighteen days to fly.

There are quite a number who are incomparable in the practice of guru devotion, such as Kadampa Geshe Chayulwa and the great yogi Milarepa. Kadampa Geshe Chayulwa’s guru was Chengawa. Even while he is doing his practice, offering mandala and so forth, if his guru called, even in middle of his practice, he immediately stopped and ran to offer service. Even if he was writing a syllable, such as the Tibetan syllable nga, as soon as he heard Chengawa calling him, he would immediately stop in the middle of writing the syllable and totally offer his body, speech and mind in service. That is how dedicated he was.

Every day, he cleaned Kadampa Geshe Chengawa’s room, putting the dirt in the fold in his robes in his lap and carrying it outside to get rid of it. One day when he was doing this, as he carried all the dust and garbage in his lap, when he reached the third step of the two-story house, his mind transcended and he achieved the first Mahayana path, the path of merit.

I translate this path as the “path of merit.” I don’t say “path of collection” because the first way is correct. If it was collection, we would have to translate it as “collect the collection.” But it means collecting the merits: the merit of transcendental wisdom and the merit of so nam, can be translated as either “fortune” or “virtue.” The two collections are the merit of transcendental wisdom and the merit of virtue, although you can also say “fortune” but that might sound a bit funny. So nam can also be “fortune.”

So, while he was carrying the garbage down to dispose of it, when he reached the third step, his mind suddenly reached the great path of merit; he achieved that concentration. When we achieve that level of the great path of merit, with the mind that is purified, we are able to see numberless buddhas in the nirmanakaya aspect. When Kadampa Geshe Chayulwa reached the third step while going down to dispose of the garbage, his mind suddenly reached that level and he saw numberless buddhas just there. When the mind is purified, no matter where we are, we see buddhas there.

Because the guru is the most powerful object, as I mentioned this morning, we do such powerful purification even by doing service with the single-pointed mind of devotion.

Another example is the bodhisattva Always Crying One. even though he saw many buddhas he was not satisfied, he wanted to see his guru, Bodhisattva Choepa, who he had connection with in past lives. Usually the teachings of the guru you have karmic connection in the past are very effective for the mind. He wanted to meet his guru, Bodhisattva Choepa, who he had connection with in the past, but Bodhisattva Choepa was in retreat and he could not see him. So, he waited, I don’t know how long but a certain number of years. As he waited, he cleaned outside the temple that Bodhisattva Choepa was inside. The day Bodhisattva Choepa was able to come out, Bodhisattva Always Crying One requested his guru to give teachings.

That day, he prepared the ground for other people to also come and receive teachings. He cleaned the ground but there was no water to clean away the dust so it would not rise because the maras had stopped the water, so he took blood from his body and sprinkled it so the dust would not rise. Then he prepared the throne and all the other things in order to receive teachings on the Prajnaparamita, the Perfection of Wisdom. He performed everything well. Like this, he offered service, cherishing his guru more than his own life.

Collecting merit to achieve enlightenment in the Paramitayana path without practicing the tantric path, to achieve enlightenment we have to collect merit for three countless great eons. He completely finished the first countless great eon of merit within seven years because of such strong guru devotion, sacrificing his life, cherishing the guru more than his life and offering service. Even though he was only practicing sutra, with such strong guru devotion practice, he was able to complete the first countless great eon of merit within seven years.

Then, in one story, Lama Atisha had a disciple, Kadampa Geshe Gönpawa, who was always meditating. He thought because he was always meditating, he had to have higher realizations than Dromtönpa, who was always busy translating for Lama Atisha. And because he was always meditating, he had to have higher realizations than the cook, Amme Jangchu, who was always busy cooking. He thought he had to have higher realization than them.

With his psychic power, Lama Atisha knew what Kadampa Geshe Gönpawa was thinking, so he called Dromtönpa and the cook Amme Jangchu and the meditator, Kadampa Geshe Gönpawa and asked all three to sit in front of him so he could check who had the higher realizations. Lama Atisha saw that Dromtönpa’s realization was much higher even though he was so busy translating. Gönpawa’s realization was nothing to compare to Dromtönpa’s. Even though Dromtönpa was so busy, his realization was so much higher. And even the realization of Lama Atisha’s cook Amme Jangchu, was higher. He didn’t have time to meditate like Gönpawa had, he was always busy serving Lama Atisha, but when he checked their realizations, Amme Jangchu’s was higher. Sorry! I had the wrong understanding before. I thought it was a nun, Ani Jangchub, but actually that was mistake. Kyabje Ribur Rinpoche, one of my gurus, always calls Ven. Roger, the main attendant, Amme Jangchu. I had misunderstood before. I thought it was a nun, Ani Jangchub, but later I realized it was the monk, Amme Jangchu!

So, even though Kadampa Geshe Gönpawa always meditated, his realizations could not compare to even the monk cook, Amme Jangchu, who never had time to meditate, who was always busy serving, cooking. I don’t know, maybe they had to bear more hardships, always busy cooking and translating.

There is another story. The great enlightened Pabongka, the author of Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, had an attendant who didn’t know the Tibetan letters at all. He could not read prayers, he did not study, but Pabongka Rinpoche predicted that he would be able to read Guru Puja text by himself one day, without being taught by anybody. When this attendant escaped from Tibet, he went to Buxa where I lived for eight years. Buxa was a concentration camp, where Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi were imprisoned. Where Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned became a nunnery for some nuns who escaped Tibet. The building looked exactly the same as a prison; there was no change from the time when Mahatma Gandhi lived there, imprisoned during the British time.

Jawaharlal Nehru’s prison became Sera Je and Sera Mey, the two colleges of the Sera monks from Tibet who were able to escape. They lived and studied there. The many monks of those two colleges lived there, outside in the corridor and inside, on the verandah. The same place they slept was also the gompa, the hall where they did pujas; there was no other place. They were prison buildings; nothing had changed, with barbed wire outside and the halls exactly the same.

After this monk, Pabongka Rinpoche’s attendant, Jamyang Thinley, had been in Buxa some time, one day, without anybody teaching him, he was able to read the Guru Puja text by himself. His mind just awakened or was purified, and he was able to read. How can Western scientists explain that? Unless they say some atoms came from the parents who read the Guru Puja! It would be interesting to see how they could explain it. Pabongka Rinpoche, the great enlightened being, predicted in Tibet that his attendant who served him would be able to do that. Through offering service with devotion to a great being like Pabongka, the effect of that is that all the defilements, the obstructions disappeared and he was able to read without anybody teaching him.

There are so many proofs of those who did correct practice that was incredible purification, how correctly devoting to the virtuous friend is the quickest way and most powerful way to purify and collect most extensive merit. It is the quickest way to achieve enlightenment, as I mentioned this morning.

I want to add one more story! I’m not going to spend the whole night telling stories but I’ll tell this story and you should keep this in your mind for your practice. I think this happened to the Seventh Dalai Lama. I’m sorry, my memory is not so good. There was a geshe who had a nickname that meant to really like joking. He liked making people laugh. He was very sincere and straightforward. The Seventh Dalai Lama liked this geshe very much.

This geshe asked the Seventh Dalai Lama what his future rebirth would be, something like that—maybe something like will he be born in a buddha’s pure land. The Seventh Dalai Lama answered that immediately after death he would be immediately born as an elephant or, I am not sure, maybe an ox! Probably an ox! He would immediately be born as an ox. The geshe said “That is not possible! How could it be possible to be reborn as an ox immediately after death? How is it possible, because after death, you are born in the intermediate stage. You have to go through this before taking rebirth. The father and mother ox have to have contact, and then you are conceived, so it is not possible immediately after death to be born as an ox. It’s not possible!” Then, His Holiness laughed and laughed and laughed, and the geshe asked again.

Then His Holiness said, “Now, you will be born in the pure land.” So the geshe asked again, “How is that possible? You are telling lies because before you said I would be born as an ox, and now you say I will be born in a pure land.” His Holiness the Seventh Dalai Lama said that it was possible because the geshe had made him laugh so much. He had made him happy and he, the Seventh Dalai Lama, was a special being—in fact he is Chenrezig—and having been made happy, the geshe’s negative karma was immediately purified and he could be born in a pure land.

Do you understand? Within that minute, everything changed. Do you understand the point? Before, this geshe was going to be born as an ox—that’s right! It was an ox with blue horns! I just remembered—but then he made those comments that made His Holiness the Seventh Dalai Lama laugh. I don’t remember but I think he asked again and then His Holiness said he would now be reborn in a pure land, but the geshe challenged him, saying he was lying because he had said he would be born as an ox and then in a pure land and it is not possible to suddenly change. But His Holiness explained that because he was a special person and the geshe had made him happy, he had purified negative karma and could now be born in a pure land.

I am telling it as a story but it contains important advice. That’s why it should be kept in mind. Even though we have created very heavy negative karma in this life and in other lifetimes, with the relationship with virtuous friend, by correctly devoting to and pleasing the holy mind, all those very heavy negative karmas are so easy to purify. Then enlightenment becomes very easy to achieve.

I am going to mention two quotations then I’ll stop.

Just by making His Holiness laugh with his comments, making him happy, all that heavy negative karma was purified in that minute! And he got the chance to be born in a buddha’s pure land.

SEEING THE GURU AS PURE

It is mentioned in the teaching by a lama, maybe Jangba Lhundrup Dakpa,

Until your mind is free from karmic obscurations, even though every single buddha came in front of you with the thirty-two holy signs and eighty holy exemplifications, you wouldn’t be able to see them. There is no fortune to see them in the aspect of the Buddha having the holy signs and exemplifications, only in the present view, which is impure.

What is that impure view? They are enlightened but the way you see them is in the present view, the impure view, as projections of the impure mind, the obscured mind, the deluded mind, the mistaken mind. They are enlightened beings but we see them as having delusions, as having physical suffering and making mistakes in their actions. That is the view of our own mistaken mind. If we have a dirty face, with black marks on it; when we look in a mirror, we see the same thing there.

That is a very important quotation for the meditation on guru devotion. A very important quotation to write in your notebook or your diarrhea book, to remember in daily life.

The Fifth Dalai Lama mentioned much the same thing. This again is a very important quotation, a very important practice. The Fifth Dalai Lama said,

Whatever mistake you see in the guru’s actions, that is your own mistake appearing in the actions of the guru.

It’s like if we have a black, dirty face and we look in the mirror, it appears like that in the reflection. Like that, we should realize that all our own mistakes appear in the guru’s actions. He continues,

By realizing that what you see is your own mistake, abandon it like poison.

That means abandoning the negative thought that believes it to be a mistake; abandon that wrong thought like poison. That is similar to the previous quote.

Again, this quotation is extremely important to remember in our daily life, to apply it, to remember it, to bring it up whenever these negative thoughts arise. If the thought of mistakes in the virtuous friend arises, we should bring up the Fifth Dalai Lama’s advice. In that way, the ordinary thought believing in the mistake doesn’t arise. And what we see in the actions of the guru is that it is our own misunderstanding that is the mistake, like in the example of the mirror. If we didn’t have mistakes—if our face was clean—what we would see in the mirror would be clean. It’s similar to that. If our mind was pure, what we would see would be pure. Because our mind has mistakes, because we have defilements, we see them in the action of the guru.

Meditating on what the Fifth Dalai Lama said, even though a mistake appears to us, there is no thought of believing it. There is only a pure thought. Because we have pure mind, there is no need of a thought of mistake in the virtuous friend. We just see it as our own mistake appearing there.

In reality, [the guru] is a totally enlightened being. The holy mind is the dharmakaya, free from all the mistakes. Because we have that understanding, whatever delusions or mistakes in action there seem to be, whatever suffering, whatever appears to us, it doesn’t disturb our mind; it doesn’t make us lose our devotion in this way. We are able to develop our devotion. Our mind is stable in devotion, which causes us to achieve all the realizations of the path to enlightenment, from perfect human rebirth up to enlightenment.

According to Lama Tsongkhapa’s teaching, this is one technique—using mistakes we see in the guru to develop devotion within us. There are two techniques and that is one: seeing mistakes of the guru as a support to develop devotion within us. These two techniques are extremely important to protect ourselves from this heaviest negative karma, which is an obstacle to achieving the realizations of the path, liberation and enlightenment, which is the great obstacle to being able to do perfect work for sentient beings.

The other one is this. Leaving aside being able to see the guru as a buddha … As I mentioned the other day, we cannot even see the sicknesses we have in our body; we have to rely on a doctor, x-rays, checking the blood and many things. There are so many things within us that we cannot see. They are there but we don’t see them. It is like His Holiness Zong Rinpoche said, we cannot see what the back of our head looks like; we are so ignorant, so obscured. In the same way, we cannot see what is going to happen tomorrow. It is totally dark. We cannot even see what is going to happen in an hour. It is totally dark. We can’t even see what is going to happen in the next minute; we can’t tell. Our mind is totally dark, so obscured and filled with all the delusions. This superstitious mind has so much ignorance and negative emotional thoughts and attachment. It is filled with so many wrong views.

We have all the wrong views that the four schools of Buddhist philosophers talk about. Whenever we look at anything, when we think of the I, any object we look at is covered with all these wrong views. The wrong views mentioned by the four schools of Buddhist philosophers are what is opposite to what they mention as reality. We all have that. The mind is so heavily hallucinated.

Our own self, our own life, form, sound, smell, taste, tangible objects, causative phenomena—they are impermanent in nature; that is the reality but we don’t realize this. We hold on to them as permanent. That which is impermanent we hold on to as permanent. Samsaric pleasure is only in the nature of suffering but we believe it to be pure happiness. We have totally wrong view, seeing it as pure happiness and clinging onto that.

The I exists by depending on the aggregates and the continuity of the aggregates. It does not exist as being self-sufficient but our mind holds onto it as self-sufficient, existing without depending on the aggregates and the continuity of that.

Not only that, this I is empty of existing from its own side, existing in mere name, merely imputed by mind. That’s the reality. The total hallucination is that it exists from its own side, not merely labeled by mind. Our mind believes that totally; it completely holds on to it as true.

There are so many things here that are reality but that we don’t discover. We have the totally wrong projection. Leave aside seeing the guru as Buddha, there are so many other things. So, first we start from this, recognizing all these mistakes that we have, how the mind is so mistaken, how it is so ignorant.

I’ll just finish this part. Normally I mention this: when we have compassion for somebody, we want to help them. We want to help the animal or the person. If we have compassion, we want to help that being, we want to do something. That should be the example to start with.

To make it short, in this world, for example, even in this area, there is somebody who has greater compassion than anybody else. In this whole world, there is somebody who has greater compassion than the majority of the people. That means there is somebody whose mind is totally developed in compassion, with nothing more to learn, nothing more to develop. Their mind is fully developed, fully trained in compassion; they have compassion for every single living being who is obscured and suffering. That is logical.

Similarly, even in this area there is somebody who has greater knowledge than most people. It’s the same thing in the world, there is somebody who has greater knowledge than most people. Like this, there is somebody who has omniscience, who knows everything directly, all the past, present and future. And similarly, there is somebody who has perfect power, with nothing more to develop.

There is somebody whose mind is free from all the mistakes, from all the defilements. Without that, we cannot have omniscience and the mind completely trained in compassion and perfect power. That is very logical. That is the Buddha. The Buddha has great compassion for us, for all sentient beings including us. There is omniscience, knowing all the methods, knowing all our problems, defilements, all our needs, and there is the perfect power to reveal all the methods, because the Buddha is bound with infinite compassion to us and to all sentient beings. Therefore, definitely there is no question that the Buddha will guide us, no question. For example, when we ourselves feel compassion for somebody very strongly, we take responsibility to help them. We can use this as an example for the Buddha.

Because there are numberless buddhas, not just one, we can expand this. There is Guru Shakyamuni Buddha and there are numberless buddhas. Guru Shakyamuni Buddha himself promised, he made five hundred prayers in the past when the other thousand buddhas of this age chose to discount this quarreling time, choosing not to take care, not to guide sentient beings who are in this quarreling time, which is now, our time. Because we sentient beings of this time are so difficult to tame, the other buddhas left us out, but Guru Shakyamuni Buddha particularly chose this quarreling time, this most difficult time, to guide us sentient beings, to subdue us, to tame us. He made many prayers. He made a vow to guide us sentient beings. Like that there are many quotations that show how the Buddha chose to guide sentient beings in these degenerate times, in our time.

There are numberless buddhas who definitely guide sentient beings, including us, but we are so obscured, so full of mistakes, that we cannot see the guru in the aspect of the Buddha. If they manifested in their pure form, in the aspect of the Buddha, we could not see them; we could not communicate with them. We could not receive guidance directly from the guru in the aspect of the Buddha because we could not see the guru in that aspect. We could not see all these deities at the moment, because our mind is defiled. And if they were to manifest as animals, as lower beings, we could not recognize them and it would be difficult to guide us. Therefore, the only way to guide us sentient beings is by manifesting in an ordinary form, not in the aspect of the Buddha. They can only manifest in an ordinary form. That is the only way we can receive direct guidance from them, the only way they can communicate with us, only through this ordinary aspect.

What does “ordinary aspect” mean? His Holiness Dalai Lama explained this during the Guru Puja commentary that we requested many years ago in the Dharma Celebration. His Holiness said the definition of ordinary aspect is “having mistakes.” That is the ordinary aspect. Therefore, to guide us they have to manifest in an ordinary aspect, which means having delusions, having mistakes, having sufferings.

If they didn’t manifest in this ordinary aspect for us, we would have no guide. Our life would be totally lost. We would be totally lost in samsara without a guide. We would be like a baby left in the hot desert, with nobody looking after it, or in a forest surrounded by tigers, by all these vicious animals at night, without light, with nothing. We would be so pitiful, totally lost.

Therefore, manifesting in this ordinary form is unbelievably kind, unbelievably precious; it is the most kind, the most precious. That we are able to see and communicate [with the Buddha] showing this ordinary aspect becomes the most important thing in our life, the most precious thing. Every second of showing this ordinary aspect to us is more precious than the whole sky filled with jewels, filled with billions of dollars or gold, diamonds, even wish-granting jewels. The whole sky filled with wish-granting jewels is nothing in comparison.

Showing this aspect in every second is unbelievably precious. This aspect reveals the path to us and brings us to a higher rebirth. With this ordinary aspect, the guru shows the path and guides us to liberation from samsara; then they show us the path and guide us to enlightenment. This is most precious. How kind they are.

First, by showing an ordinary aspect that can communicate with us, they can guide us. Second, they guide us to future lives with all the happiness, and then to liberation and enlightenment. In that way, they liberate us from the oceans of samsaric suffering, from the oceans of each realm’s suffering.

The kindness of guru is explained in The Essential Nectar. The points from that are very good to bring here. “Like a boat.” The guru is like a boat that helps us to cross the samsaric ocean. “Like a doctor,” healing our sickness, all the delusions. In The Essential Nectar there are quite a number of these analogies, which are very good for contemplating the kindness. All those are very good to count, like reciting OM MANI PADME HUM, how this ordinary aspect helps.

After this, we do the analysis. Without being able to communicate with us, what would happen to us? The lower animals cannot recognize them and so they cannot be guided. It is mentioned that this is exactly according to karma. We can be guided, so this is most precious. Think, how kind this is, how precious this is, how kind this is, how precious this is. By focusing on this, how kind and precious this is, it is very good to repeat this for twenty-one or fifty malas. The guru devotion meditation develops strong devotion by realizing the kindness. Then, by analyzing all the guidance, thinking how it is so kind, we count the repetitions, focusing on that single-pointedly.

This is extremely good. It leads to the realization. The more we do that, the more our guru devotion is stabilized. In that way, we are again fully protected from all negative thoughts such as anger and heresy and we gain successful realizations of the path to enlightenment. Our merits are not destroyed. All the merits that are the cause of all happiness and all realizations are not destroyed. Our realizations are not put off for many hundreds—many thousands—of eons through having heresy or anger arising. That doesn’t happen to us. 
One split second of heresy or anger arising can cause us to be reborn in the hell realm for thousands of eons—it’s explained as a thousand eons in Lama Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo,  and it’s even greater if it is a bodhisattva. If a thousand eons of merit are destroyed getting angry at a bodhisattva, it is so much heavier here. Anyway, none of these problems, these shortcomings, happen. We don’t experience them; we have successful realizations. Then, the purpose of our life—to achieve enlightenment and to liberate numberless sentient beings from the oceans of samsara and bring them to enlightenment—this goal of our life happens.

I’ll just say one quotation then I’ll finish. This is the last one! The very last of the last one!

That is a very important quotation. I think it is by Gyalwa Ensapa, who achieved enlightenment in a brief lifetime, like Milarepa but much easier.

[Rinpoche quotes in Tibetan]

This is how to practice.

May I be able to keep this instruction of how to look at the true or the valid guru, who is originator of all realizations. Reflect only on the qualities of the guru; do not look at the guru as having mistakes. Keep this instruction as the heart practice. This is the most important practice in daily life. May I be able to complete such a commitment.

Gyalwa Ensapa himself practiced like this and achieved enlightenment. That is why it is a very special guru yoga practice. Because he was devoted to his guru more than his own life, he achieved enlightenment so easily in that life, within a few years. This came from his own experience.

Anyway, I’ll stop there otherwise the Vajrasattva initiation will be in a dream!

Do you need a pipi break?

VAJRASATTVA INITIATION

[Rinpoche chants in Tibetan]

I have mentioned this in the past. In this organization, the FPMT, there are many teachers that I have made connections with. After doing a lot of checking, divinations and so forth, I made a Dharma connection with the many teachers that I have. I have more than twenty-five gurus. I did a lot of analysis before I made the Dharma connection. Usually, the teachers who guide this organization, the gurus I have received a Dharma connection from, are all fully qualified teachers, with all the qualifications to reveal the paths of the Lesser Vehicle, the Mahayana Paramitayana path and the tantric path. Therefore, they are invited to teach in the organization. Many may have already passed away, but those living are invited to give teachings in the organization.

This way, there is protection for the students, there is guidance, to meet the perfectly qualified guru who doesn’t mislead at all, who can correctly reveal the Buddha’s teachings, both sutra and tantra. There is no danger of misleading or cheating. Although I myself have no quality, nothing, I feel this is of benefit to others. Therefore, I feel I have been of some benefit because I have introduced all those incredible great masters to the many students so they can follow them, receiving teachings of sutra and tantra. I think in that way I have maybe been a little bit of benefit, I have been able to make a little contribution to the students in the various parts of the world.

I myself have nothing; I have been hardly any benefit to others, but I think through this I have made a Dharma connection to these teachers and then introduced them to others to follow them and receive teachings. I feel that is a great protection for the students. It is a real benefit because of their realizations of sutra, tantra—vast like the sky—and their experience of the path, how they are learned, pure and good-hearted, all those qualities.

I thought to mention that just by the way, since I made quite a bit of noise about guru devotion!

Venerable told me that you have gone very extensively through the meditation on karma. I’m very happy with that; that is so important. The fundamental teaching of the Buddha is karma, so it is very important. We came here to learn what is right and what is wrong. To make it simple, right is that which brings happiness to yourself and to others, which benefits yourself and others; and wrong is that which brings suffering to yourself and to others. We came here to learn about that so that we can help ourselves and help others in the correct way. For that we need to learn about karma.

Now here is the Vajrasattva jenang.

As I have explained during the past days, first, we don’t always live our life with anger, only sometimes. I mean, some people have a more angry nature, so of course, for them anger arises quite often. But what arises most of the time is attachment clinging to this life. Many of us live our life with that, with the nonvirtuous thought, attachment clinging to this life. Then, all our activities from morning to night, twenty-four hours a day—eating, walking, sitting, sleeping, even when we try to practice Dharma, doing meditation or something—even that becomes service to attachment, so it becomes nonvirtue. Even meditating, studying Dharma or doing prayers, if it is done just for this life’s happiness, to get power, to get reputation, to become famous as a meditator or so that other people know, again all these activities become negative karma. So, done with that attitude, our twenty-four hours’ activities become negative karma, and then like that weeks, months and years go by, from birth up to now, from beginningless rebirths. We collect so many negative karmas with this attitude, with the ten nonvirtuous actions.

I told you last night during refuge, that each complete negative karma has four suffering results, and with creating the result similar to the cause, it goes on and on, and because of creating the result similar to the cause, the four suffering results are endless, unless we purify that negative karma by actualizing the path that can remove karma and delusions.

There have been so many of the ten nonvirtuous actions, so many complete negative karmas committed from beginningless rebirths, such as gossiping or covetousness. Each time we go shopping, if our mind is not living in the lamrim when we go shopping, if our mind does not have renunciation, bodhicitta, right view, then there is only attachment, covetousness. Then, when we come back home from shopping, we have big piles of the negative karma of covetousness, huge piles of the negative karma of covetousness.

There are many things we haven’t finished experiencing, which we haven’t purified from beginningless rebirths, and on top of that, we have taken the bodhisattva vows and broken them and taken the tantric vows and broken them. Then, there is the particularly very heavy negativity of harming the holy body of the guru, breaking the guru’s advice or disturbing the holy mind. All these we have been doing from beginningless rebirths. There are many harms like that. These are obstacles for happiness, not only temporary happiness but ultimate happiness, liberation and enlightenment, and obstacles to causing all the happiness for sentient beings, up to enlightenment. We need to purify these negative karmas. That’s why there is a great need for the Vajrasattva practice. For that, we need the jenang, the permission to practice.

It is mentioned in Pabongka’s teachings that for an ordained person to be careless and commit even the small vices—not even breaking the root vows, the four root falls—and thinking it doesn’t matter, the karma is heavier than a lay person killing human beings or a hundred horses. I don’t know why Pabongka uses horses. Anyway, a hundred human beings or a hundred horses. That’s how heavy the negative karma is for an ordained person being careless of even small vices, like a lay person killing a hundred horses or a hundred human beings.

In Mongolia there are many millions of horses, three times more than the number of human beings. I think there are only two million people but many millions of horses. Tibet has a lot of horses as well.

There is another example, but I don’t remember exactly, something like being heavier than a lay person engaged in the ten nonvirtuous actions for a hundred years, something like that. I don’t remember well. Once we come to know [we have broken a vow,] we must purify it immediately, otherwise the negative karma increases day by day.

It is said that if we kill a tiny insect today, if we don’t purify, it becomes double the next day and then increases four times the next day, and then eight times, and so forth. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche explained it in that way, but I don’t remember a hundred percent. However, Pabongka explained that the negative karma of having killed an insect or whatever, after fifteen days, if we don’t purify, it multiplies day by day and becomes as heavy as having killed a human being. After eighteen days it increases one hundred thousand times, then thirty-one thousand, then seventy-two. I have been saying that for a long time! For many years, and it still hasn’t changed. From what I saw in Pabongka’s teachings, having killed an insect today, after eighteen days it increases a hundred thousand and thirty-one thousand and then seventy-two.

Anyway, at the time of death it becomes like an atom increasing to become like a mountain, like the size of this earth, so huge. Then, in future lives, no matter unbearable it is, we have no choice; we have to experience the result. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche explained that the way it increases is to always double. I think, that means maybe on the second day it’s double, on the third day it’s eight times, something like that. Anyway, the practice of purification becomes so important. We need the help of Vajrasattva so much.

By reciting the long Vajrasattva mantra twenty-one times or the short one, OM VAJRASATTVA HUM, twenty-eight times at the end of the day, we purify any negative karma [done in the day] and stop it multiplying the next day. This is explained by Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, my root guru.

The short one is OM VAJRASATTVA HUM, but there is also OM VAJRASATTVA AH. However, Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche said it is better to recite OM VAJRASATTVA HUM. If we are going to recite the short one, by reciting it twenty-eight times we purify today’s negative karma and stop it multiplying the next day. Even reciting a small number like that has power to purify, if it is done with the four remedial powers, not only to stop it multiplying the next day but also to purify today’s negative karma and also our past negative karma. So, it is very, very important.

[Rinpoche speaks to the Tibetan monks and nuns in Tibetan]

According to Theravada, the Hinayana tradition, the way of devoting to the virtuous friend is that we don’t look at them as the Buddha but we treat the abbot as the Buddha and we obey them. We respect them and treat them like the Buddha but we don’t look at them as the Buddha. In the Mahayana tradition, we look at the virtuous friend as the Buddha, but in tantra, the basis of tantra practice is practicing pure thought and pure appearance. Everything is pure; the place is the mandala, we ourselves are the deity, others are deities, and there is pure action and pure enjoyment, like when we actually become a buddha, there is pure place, the pure deity’s holy body, pure action and pure enjoyment. The deity we will achieve when we become enlightened, we visualize that now, as if it is happening now. We look at it as pure. That’s why it becomes secret mantra, the mantra that protects the mind. When we look at everything as pure, those negative emotional thoughts that cause negative karma do not rise. Without practicing pure appearance, having impure appearance, all the many superstitions, the many negative emotional thoughts arise.

That’s how tantra protects us. Looking at everything as pure protects our mind from engaging in negative karma, the cause of samara. The great skill of looking at everything as pure becomes the quick path to enlightenment. Therefore, the secret mantra protects the mind, because if we practice it secretly, without exposing it to those who are not suitable, keeping it away from them, keeping it secret, it has more power and we achieve the realization more quickly. That is why it is secret mantra.

Therefore here, it involves not only looking at the lama who gives the jenang as Buddha Vajrasattva but also in the aspect of Vajrasattva. We have to visualize the lama in the deity’s aspect. I’m not saying I am Vajrasattva, but this is part of the practice, to visualize that way. It has the special purpose for the disciple to achieve enlightenment. Then, we offer our body, speech, mind and merits. We transform the various offerings that decorate the entire mandala, the entire universe. We offer like that.

Short mandala.

[The students offer the short mandala]

The place where you take the jenang is also not an ordinary place but the celestial mansion of Vajrasattva. Think like that. Also visualize where the torma is as the actual Vajrasattva, as it was visualized during the preparation time. Think of the lama as Vajrasattva and the torma as Vajrasattva. Above the lama there are all the lineage lamas of this Vajrasattva initiation. I have received this from His Holiness Zong Rinpoche at Vajrapani Center in America. I think I maybe also received it from Lama. This is Lama Yeshe’s text.

Vajrasattva is not Kriya Tantra but Maha-anuttara Yoga Tantra, Vajrasattva with the wisdom mother. Some people have difficulties understanding why the aspect is like that. For some people it is very easy, but some have difficulty understanding it, seeing the statue like that and visualizing like that. I think there is a Chinese girl living in Los Angeles who went to Vajrapani and took some initiation, Guhyasamaja, I think, but had this difficulty visualizing Guhyasamaja father and mother. She had a lot of difficulty with that, so I phoned her to clarify its purpose, why it is like that. To develop the essential path of highest tantra, Maha-anuttara Yoga Tantra, there is the transcendental wisdom of nondual bliss and voidness, which is like an atomic bomb; it is the quickest, most powerful way to cease the defilements, the dualistic view. To develop that experience, you need this meditation, the father and mother in union. Actually, it is one being, not two separate beings, not a couple, but it manifests in this form.

The Buddha’s holy mind, the dharmakaya, is bound with infinite compassion; it embraces all sentient beings. Therefore, for the quickest enlightenment, to achieve the enlightenment in the quickest time, it should be done with development of this experience. For that, you need this condition, the meditation on father and mother. The deity is one being, it just manifests like that for the practitioners of Maha-anuttara Yoga Tantra, those who have the greatest good luck, the most merit and intelligence. In this method, the dharmakaya, the holy mind of the Buddha, the absolute guru—these are all synonyms—manifests or takes the form of male and female aspect like this. So, doing this meditation helps you to experience the path and be able to cease defilements in the quickest time.

The whole idea is to achieve enlightenment in the quickest time so that you can liberate the sentient beings from the oceans of samsaric suffering and bring them to enlightenment in the quickest time. That is the main goal; this skill is done for that. Of course, the person who practices has to be fortunate, having high intelligence, great merit, otherwise it cannot fit the mind.

OK, so above [the lama in the aspect of Vajrasattva] there are all the lineage lamas, then buddhas, bodhisattvas, dakas and dakinis, with the Dharma protectors around, like clouds gathered in the sky. Then you make request like this thinking, “I am taking the bodhisattva vows.” Those who have taken bodhisattva vows in the past, by taking them again, it makes them pure; it revives them. Those who have not taken the bodhisattva vows in the past, if you cannot take them now, the bodhisattva vows have two aspects: the entering vows and wishing vows. With the entering vow, you abstain from the eighteen root falls and sixty-six vices.

Those who can’t do the entering vows can do the wishing vows which is avoiding four black dharmas and practicing four white Dharmas. What is that? It is not telling lies, not deceiving sentient beings, opening the heart to the Guru, praising the bodhisattvas and sentient beings, people who rely on you, inspiring them to engage in the Mahayana path to achieve enlightenment. These are four things to practice. Four black dharmas to be abandoned are telling lies to the guru, deceiving sentient beings, criticizing bodhisattvas, and the other one is when you see other sentient beings practicing Dharma—collecting merit, learning the Dharma, where they are actually able to learn more than you, or able to do more retreats than you or able to practice Dharma better than you—you feel unhappy; you regret it. That is the fourth black dharma to be abandoned.

Even if you are unable to take the wishing vows, what I normally suggest is those who can’t take any of those vows, you should think, “From now on I am going to be a better person; I am going to practice more compassion toward others.” This is normally what I say in order to be a worthwhile basis for receiving this blessing.

[Rinpoche confers the jenang]

Those who are taking the vow, whatever vow you are taking, think you have received it and feel great happiness. If you have taken the entering bodhisattva vows, every second you collect limitless skies of merit as explained in the benefits of bodhicitta, in a Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life. Collecting limitless skies of merit, all the time makes life most productive, most meaningful. After having taken the bodhisattva vows, every day when you collect merit, when you engage in good karma, it increases millions of times, so again your life becomes so meaningful, so beneficial for sentient beings.

Then, the last thing you think, “The vow I have taken is my contribution to world peace, for all sentient beings’ peace and happiness, particularly in this world. This is my offering, my contribution, my dedication.” Thinking that is very good. Not only now but every day you should remember what you are doing with life. The best way of living is living in the bodhisattva vows, creating limitless skies of merit every second. Whatever merit you collect is increased millions of times. It makes it so easy, so quick to achieve enlightenment. You are living in the bodhisattva vows, the practice of compassion, for the peace of all the sentient beings in this world, including your family, those who are near you. So, feel great happiness.

[Rinpoche confers the jenang]

Now, chant a short mandala, offering thanks for having received the jenang of Vajrasattva father mother.

That’s it.

[Students chant a mandala]

The commitment is to recite Vajrasattva twenty-one times every day. I mean you can recite it more; it is up to the individual. Those who have taken any great initiation, it also becomes a sadhana, so at least reciting twenty-one Vajrasattvas a day becomes a daily practice. Those who can’t do that every day, the other way is to do a Vajrasattva retreat. Of course, the best way is to do both.

[Rinpoche and students chant in Tibetan]

DEDICATIONS

Please dedicate the merits to bodhicitta being actualized in the hearts of all of us here, in the hearts of your own family members and in the hearts of all the students and supporters and those who give up their life for this organization, doing service for sentient beings and the teachings of Buddha and in the hearts of all sentient beings. Then second, may bodhicitta be actualized in the hearts of the leaders of the world, and third is in the hearts of all the terrorists all over the world, those who have harmful thoughts to harm others.

Please dedicate all the merits to all the projects in the organization, for them to be actualized, whatever is planned and those particular projects that I mentioned a few times. May they receive all they need—the support, the funding, people’s help—everything. Each center has so many projects spreading the Dharma and other social services. May they have the opportunity to buy houses to expand. Quite a number of centers have these projects. And building the hundred thousand stupas, like Land of Medicine Buddha, and also building temples, things like that. In Bendigo in Australia there is a very large stupa, the great Gyantse Stupa, and there are many stupas, a hundred thousand stupas, and prayer wheels. Also in Australia, on Kangaroo Island, there is a stupa. Many places are building holy objects. Also here in Kopan, there is expansion of the nunnery, building their hall and things like that. And there are projects in Tibet, such as the eye operations in Kham and other projects. In Mongolia there are many projects, those that have started and those that haven’t yet started. So, dedicate for those to succeed immediately, by receiving everything they need.

Then, there are those various social services, like hospices in different parts of the world, and giving medicine to sick people, and food or schools, especially universal education, and the projects like Loving Kindness Peaceful Youth and the project to establish Buddhist drug rehabilitation. Within that, there are all these important things to help young people, to educate them, to protect them from problems and make their lives meaningful and useful for the world, to bring peace to the world and to their minds as well. There are many others. So, please pray for their success.

“Due to the three-time merits collected by me, the three-time merits collected by others, which exist but are empty, may the I, who exists but who is empty, achieve Vajrasattva’s enlightenment, which exists but which is empty, and lead all the sentient beings, who exist but who are empty, to that Vajrasattva’s enlightenment, which exists but which is empty, by myself alone, who exists but who is empty.

“I dedicate all the merits to be able to follow the holy extensive deeds of bodhisattvas Samantabhadra and Manjugosha, just as they realized. I dedicate all the merits the same as the three-time buddhas dedicate their merits.”

Then, dedicate for the teachings to be spread in all the directions, especially for Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings to flourish in this world, to spread the complete teaching in your heart and then to everyone in this world.

[Rinpoche and the students chant in Tibetan]

So, good night and good morning!

Thank you so much all those who are leaving. Thank you very much for all your dedication, all your learning and all your patience and for all the merit and purification you have done during this course, for all the preparation for enlightenment, the preparation to enlighten all sentient beings. I would like to thank you very much.