[Students chant first line of Praise to Chenrezig.]

Thank you so much for the inspiration.

[Rinpoche chants first part Praise to Shakyamuni Buddha in Tibetan (3x).]

So, good evening. So before the talk we’re going to do, pay homage to kind compassionate Guru Shakyamuni Buddha and paying homage to the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, and then the meditation, reading the Heart of Wisdom, okay, then, yeah, then Lion-face Dakini, those things, then the seven-limb practice, by visualizing Thousand-arm, -eye, Chenrezig, and we do the seven-limb practice and the short mandala, so the request.

So before the talk, okay. Thank you.

[Rinpoche continues from second verse of Praise to Shakyamuni Buddha in Tibetan.]

The Heart Sutra in English you can read.

[Group reads the Heart Sutra in English; Rinpoche recites Prayer to the Lion-face Dakini in Tibetan, with recitation of many mantras.]

[Group starts to recite the seven-limb prayer in English.]

No, stop. Just a minute. Slowly, slowly. Sl-o-wly, slowly.

So, yeah, since there’s beautiful offerings set up, quite a bit of offerings arranged, so I think it’s a very good opportunity for us to do the meditation of blessing and collect extensive merits, as much as possible, by making offering.

So we can visualize Thousand-arm Chenrezig, Thousand-arm, -eye Chenrezig, those who have found a guru then think, inseparable, the Compassion Buddha, Thousand-arm, guru, from one’s own side, inseparable oneness, so one meditate like that. Then, if one doesn’t, somebody who doesn’t have found a guru yet, then if you have devotion to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, if you like His Holiness the Dalai Lama or you have faith to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, so that is Compassion Buddha, that itself is Compassion Buddha, in this world which appears to us, most of us human beings, manifest to us or which we see, in human form, so one can think that. So however, so most have met His Holiness the Dalai Lama, met, have received teachings, so anyway, so that’s inseparable, oneness with the guru, so can think that.

So as it is mentioned in the texts, in the guru yoga teachings that by great yogi, enlightened being, Khedrup Sangye Yeshe mentioned that, before the guru, what is called buddha, there’s not even the name of the buddha. Before the guru there’s no even the name what is called buddha. So that means all the buddhas exist or happened by depending the guru. All the buddhas, can say all the buddhas came from the guru, manifestations, came from the guru or manifestations of the guru.

So, the guru has conventional guru and absolute guru. So this refers to here, all the buddhas came from the guru, so this, the subject is based on the originator or the root, dharmakaya, the absolute guru, the dharmakaya, that which has no beginning and no end, dharmakaya, which has no beginning, no end, and pervades all the phenomena. And then, because it is bound with, that dharmakaya, that enlightened, the holy mind, the transcendental wisdom, so because it is bound with infinite compassion towards us sentient beings, the obscured, whose mind’s obscured and experiencing suffering, so that holy mind is bound with infinite compassion that embraces to us, all living beings, each and every single living being, including every one of us. Every one of us. So, whenever a sentient being’s karma is ripened, the minute the karma’s ripened [snaps fingers], without delay even a second, so that dharmakaya, that absolute guru takes form, manifests to that sentient being, just right there wherever the sentient being is, just right there in front of that sentient being, without delay even a second. So that’s a special capacity of buddha, can do that. When the karma of a sentient being ripened, just in that second [snaps fingers] manifest out in the form that it fits exactly according to the level of mind of that sentient being, according to the characteristics, karma, the level of intelligence, so exactly according to that, then manifest and show that form, that being can see according to that being’s karma or…. Then reveal the, give guidance, show methods.

So like this, from happiness to happiness guide to liberation, ultimate happiness, total cessation of all the sufferings, the suffering of the cycle of death and rebirth, all those sufferings, and all the sufferings that which are experienced between death and rebirth and all the problems. So however, cessation of all the suffering of pain and all the temporary samsaric pleasure, that which is nature of suffering of change, and pervasive compounding suffering from where those two others, those two previous other sufferings rise, pervasive compounding suffering. So total cessation of all the three sufferings of samsara, so all the whole entire problem of life, suffering, so which comes in three, the suffering of pain and suffering of changes and pervasive compounding suffering, so bring that sentient being to that ultimate liberation and to the great liberation, the non-abiding sorrowless state, the full enlightenment.

So, as it is mentioned in the Guru Puja, in the Lama Chöpa, Guru Puja, this most extensive guru yoga practice, the Highest Tantric practice, very secret and Highest Tantric practice, that which gives enlightenment, great liberation, full enlightenment, within one life, not just within one life, by achieving immortality or causing long life, to live for a thousand years and then achieve enlightenment, not like that. But to achieve enlightenment in a brief lifetime of degenerated time, like Milarepa within a certain number of years, like those ?Thukchen Chökyi Dorje and Lama Tsongkhapa’s disciple’s disciple, Gyalwa Ensapa and so forth, those who have achieved full enlightenment within a few number of years. So many Indian yogis and many Tibetan great yogis who achieved enlightenment within a few number of years, who gave, which practice made them to be enlightened within a few number of years. So whereas without tantra if one practice only the Mahayana Paramitayana, only sutra, where one need to collect merits for three countless great eons, you need to collect merits over three countless great eons, so which takes a long time to achieve enlightenment, that which means the sentient beings they have to suffer for a long time. Longer you take time to achieve enlightenment then longer the sentient beings have to suffer, for such a long time. Three countless great eons, however, such an incredible length of time.

So here, so since one feel, one has great compassion feeling so unbearable that one’s own kind mother sentient beings, so even suffering a minute, not an hour but even a minute, it’s like, you can’t stand, can’t bear this. Can’t bear this, it’s like suffering for eons, you can’t bear even one minute that they’re suffering in samsara. So, with such unbearable compassion then, yeah, then so with that type of mind, motivation, such purest attitude, the very strong compassion to others then one practice the Highest Tantras, such as this Guru Puja, those Highest Tantric practice, such as this extensive guru yoga. So then able to achieve, cherishing more than one’s own life such as this practice, then one is able to achieve full enlightenment, the unified state of Vajradhara, or full enlightenment, within a brief lifetime of degenerated time, within a few number of years.

So it is mentioned there, chö nam rang zhin…khor chä sheg su söl [v 16]. Kyab gön dam pa khor chä sheg su söl, the refuge savior, the holy refuge savior, with the entourage, with the surroundings, [pause] in the nature of the phenomena, chö nam rang zhin dro ong kün dräl yang, in the very nature of the phenomena there’s no coming and going, all these things, there’s no coming and going, all these activities, all these functions, nature of the phenomena is devoid of coming and going, all these activities, but manifesting in any form, chir yang chhar wäi, so manifesting in any form, taking in any form, exactly according to the ?dül ja, the object to be subdued, the sentient beings who are object to be subdued, tamed, who are object to be guided or who are object to be subdued, according to the various sentient beings who are object to be subdued, their mind, so exactly according to the various sentient beings who are object to be subdued, their mind. That having, chir yang chhar wäi khyen tsei thrin lä chän, then having omniscience, perfect understanding, no slightest mistakes, seeing everything, past, present, future, while seeing past seeing future, present, there’s no limitation, there’s no resistance in the knowledge, directly seeing everything all at once, at the same time.

We cannot think, while we’re thinking of the past, we cannot think at the same time of the future. While we’re thinking about one person, at the same time you can’t think of another person at the same time, about the person, thinking about the person while we’re thinking of that one particular person’s life, cannot think at the same time somebody else’s, another person’s life at the same time. But whereas Buddha directly can see, all the conventional phenomena can see directly, at the same time able to see ultimate truth, while seeing directly all the conventional truth, able to see directly all the absolute truth, so can see both truths at the same time. So that’s a special quality of the Buddha. While the Buddha’s holy mind is in equipoise meditation, meditating on emptiness, equipoise meditation on emptiness of this mug, so able to do equipoise meditation in emptiness, emptiness of this mug, so at the same time, the wisdom directly seeing the emptiness of this mug, this cup, mug, wisdom oneness with the emptiness, like having put water into the water, not temporarily stopped or absorbed the dual view but completely having cut dual view, so the truly existent appearance, and subject, object, that ?dual as well. So Buddha’s wisdom directly seeing emptiness of this, the emptiness of this, ultimate nature of this mug, that wisdom in equipoise meditation in the emptiness of this mug, so at the same time able to see this conventional truth, this mug.

So Buddha’s holy mind directly seeing emptiness of all the phenomena and is in equipoise meditation in the emptiness of all the phenomena, at the same time seeing all the conventional truth, at the same time manifesting various forms even to guide one sentient being. There’s so many forms even to guide one sentient being. Then, reveal various methods, not only giving teachings but various methods and then those, who has only karma to see blind, then shows blind. Who has karma to see only limped person, limped; then who has karma then deaf, showing; who has karma to see only form of beggar, show beggar like that. So, whatever form, or somebody only karma to see form of animal, so then manifests as animal, dog and cat. So some of our dogs, we love our dogs and cats, so I think maybe some of the dogs, cats, could be manifestations of Buddha.