Palyul Changchub Dargyeling Dallas
Tibetan Buddhist Meditation and Study in the Nyingma Tradition
His Holiness Penor Rinpoche Spiritual Practice Advice PCD Dallas Teachers
Teaching Programs at PCD Dallas 2001 to Present
PCD Dallas Resources for Buddhist Study/Practice Buddha Nature by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Home Page About Us Nyingma Palyul Nam Chö Lineage Prayers and Mantras News and Events
2008 Dallas Meditation/Study Schedule Contact Us Donations Gratefully Accepted
Summer Retreats at Palyul Ling Upstate NY Retreat Center
Driving Directions to PCD Dallas: PLEASE Don't Leave Home Without Reading!
Seven Line Prayer, Mantras and Long Life Prayers for Teachers Link
Guru Yoga Teaching
A Teaching given by His Holiness Penor Rinpoche
in Berkeley, California July 19, 1996
from
www.palyul.org
Importance of the Oral Transmission
Regardless
of the particular level of teaching or practice that we are discussing in the
Buddhist tradition, whether it be Hinayana, Mahayana or Vajrayana, the process
of spiritual development is one of the student relying upon a teacher. We may
call that teacher a lama, a guru, or whatever, but the essential point is that
there is an oral transmission that takes place in which a teacher teaches the
student: the student listens to the teachings, absorbs their meaning and puts
them into practice.
There is a reason for this emphasis on an oral transmission. From the time of
the Buddha up to the present day, the buddha dharma has always been transmitted
and meant to be transmitted orally, ensuring that there is a living tradition
that is still embued with the blessing and power of the original teachings.
It also guards against the possibility of so-called teachers simply coming up
with their own ideas. Instead, the teacher passes on a proven tradition of teachings.
This makes the buddha dharma different from other kinds of learning where it
may be possible for people to innovate. In such realms of learning it may be
appropriate to come up with new systems of thought or to introduce new ideas.
But when we are talking about the buddha dharma, every teaching must connect
with the original teachings of the Buddha in order for a teaching to be valid.
The teachings cannot be something that someone is simply coming up with on their
own. The teachings are something that the teacher passes on.
Similarly, in other types of human knowledge it may be permissible to present
information in a manner as entertaining and pleasing as possible. But although
it is important for dharma teachings to be presented in a manner which is pleasant
to hear, it is most important that the transmitted teachings have the power
to bless and influence those who hear them in a positive way - not only in this
lifetime, but in future lifetimes as well. So even though the teaching of the
dharma should be elegant and well-presented, what is most important is the blessing
of the essential message.
The
teachings we know of as Buddhism were first taught by the Buddha Sakyamuni.
These teachings have been maintained by a lineage of living transmission up
to the present day by those who have been inspired to follow the example of
the Buddha and to study that path and transmit it to others. In any of the various
Buddhist traditions we find that there are countless numbers of people who through
their study and contemplation have become extremely learned and gifted with
spiritual power and realization. But the reason why they teach and the reason
why these individuals undertake to become learned in the dharma should not be
to indulge in self-aggrandizement. One does not become learned in dharma in
order to think of oneself as learned and to gain some special status. One does
not teach others from a sense of personal pride, either. Dharma is maintained
because it brings benefit to those who hear the teachings. That is the motivation
behind teaching.
In order to become an authentic teacher of the tradition, it is not sufficient
to simply read enough books to become very clever at the teachings and then
set oneself up as a teacher. Rather, it is the case that one's own teacher,
a particularly realized individual, must give one permission to teach. It may
also be the case that one will be graced with a vision of one's chosen deity
during which experience the deity will confer upon one the blessing and authority
to teach.
So it isn't simply a question of ordinary people developing enough cleverness
to be able to talk well about the dharma. The true benefit of the teachings
doesn't come about through an ordinary approach, because that more ordinary
approach tends only to feed one's own pride and conflicting emotions. No benefit
that can come out of that. It is only when the teaching is a selfless gesture
to benefit others based upon an authentic transmission that we really have the
benefit that is necessary for the dharma to be maintained.
If we take into account all of the teachings of the Buddha, including all of
the commentaries on those teachings by the great mahasiddhas - the learned pundits
of the Indian, Tibetan and other traditions of Buddhism - it would be impossible
for a single individual to try and put all of that into practice. This does
not mean that there is any aspect of those teachings that are useless and have
no function. The Buddha Sakyamuni turned the wheel of the dharma in three successive
transmissions during his time in the world. In vajrayana when we consider the
thousands of volumes that collectively known as the buddha dharma, including
the 84,000 collections of the Buddha's teachings and the 6,400,000 texts of
tantra, it is obvious that no single person could absorb and practice all of
that.
So
this brings us to the topic of guru yoga. Let us look at the etymology of the
word 'lama' in Tibetan. The first syllable 'la' means 'that which is unsurpassable.'
The second word 'ma' literally means mother. This means that the attitude of
the teacher is like that of a mother towards her children. There is the implication
that the relationship with the lama carries with it a great deal of weight.
There is also tremendous potential for the student to benefit from that relationship.
This is why in the secret mantra path of the vajrayana teachings, it is emphasized
that from the outset it is important for the teacher and student to examine
one another. There must be a critical process whereby each one chooses the other.
For example, it is said in the tantras, if a lama is acquisitive, ambitious,
subject to conflicting emotions, full of pride, jealousy or competitiveness,
then it is not appropriate for a student to rely on such a teacher regardless
of who that lama may be. The lama must have the right kinds of qualifications,
including the quality of compassion. If the teacher does not have these basic
qualities, then it will be very difficult for such a lama to grant blessing
to the student in the way that is necessary for the lama/student relationship
to be effective.
In examining a lama's qualities it may be difficult for an ordinary person to
appreciate the qualities of that lama's mind stream, especially at first meeting
that teacher. But one crucial factor to be considered is the lineage that the
lama holds and whether that lineage has been maintained with pure samaya.
One cannot determine simply from a teacher's degree of learning whether they
have the kind of spiritual power that can transmit true blessing. If the teacher's
mind stream is not moved by an altruistic and compassionate quality - the quality
of Bodhicitta - but rather is one of pride and afflictive emotions, then there
is not going to be a beneficial relationship even if that teacher is very learned.
This is because the motivation of the teacher is not a proper one.
So initially it is important for the student to examine a prospective teacher.
Once the student has come to the decision to rely upon a given teacher, there
is no more discussion. The decision has been made. At that point it is important
for the student to rely wholeheartedly on the teacher. If one has gone through
the examination process of checking the teacher's qualities and determining
that this teacher is appropriate for oneself, then one will be able to maintain
a respect and a trust in the teacher.
Provided that the student then maintains an attitude of faith and devotion towards
a lama chosen in this way, there is no student that will not receive the blessings
of the Buddha directly in this living lineage. This is quite infallible.
The Story of the Shepherd-Lama
In
Tibet there was a family of nomadic herdsmen. They raised and sold animals for
a living. They were in no way knowledgable about the dharma. Their work was
of an essentially worldly nature.
One of the shepherds hired by this family would be given food when he took the
herds out every day. He would go to the bank of a river, let the herds graze
and sit down at midday to make tea and have his lunch. Where he was sitting,
there was a rock outcropping. Every day he would take the leftovers of food
and tea and put them on the rock. He was not motivated by any consideration
that this was either a good or bad thing to do. It was simply an idle habit
he had of placing leftovers on the rock.
This particular rock outcropping had three surfaces on which he used to put
the food. As it happened, these rocks were inhabited by certain local spirits.
One of these was a naga spirit, one was a mara spirit and the other was of a
class known as the tsen spirits. These three non-human spirits were very appreciative
of these "offerings" that this seemingly spiritual person and accomplished
practitioner was giving them on a daily basis. They discussed among themselves:
"One of us, at least, should do something out of gratitude. Who shall it
be?" And as they talked among themselves it was decided that the mara spirit
would be the one to help the shepherd. And so the mara spirit entered into the
body of the shepherd which caused him to undergo a complete transformation.
He actually became a very erudite and clever person.
When he returned home from the fields, he was a changed man. Instead of just
coming home as usual, he came home and began talking about dharma he began
teaching. Over time he came to have thousands of students. He was so impressive
as a spiritual teacher that he gathered a huge retinue of students around him.
He also wrote many books. He gained a wide reputation for being very learned
in the dharma. This continued over many years and his fame continued to grow.
He was continuing these activities when another lama who was traveling in the
area heard about him. Due to the visiting lama's authentic psychic powers, he
was aware of the fact that the shepherd-lama was not someone who really had
genuine qualities. He realized that the shepherd-lama's teaching ability had
been imparted by the possession of a mara spirit.
And so the visiting lama said to one of his attendant monks: "I want you
to take this incense down to where this other lama is teaching and I want you
to burn it and waft the smoke through the area so that the lama and all of the
students smell the smoke. Can you do that for me?"
The monk said "No problem," and he took the incense down and burned
it. He went through the crowd of thousands of people who were listening to this
shepherd turned teacher. As soon as the shepherd smelled the smoke, the mara
spirit left his body. The poor shepherd sitting on his throne looked around
at the great crowd of people and said "Where are my sheep?"
The point of the story is that even though a teacher may be clever, famous and
capable of speaking about the dharma, that does not determine authenticity.
You need to examine clearly what it is you are looking for in a teacher.
When you have gone through this examination process as a student and have come
to the decision that you want to rely upon a given teacher, then you have no
problem relating to that teacher straightforwardly with a sense of faith and
pure view. Then, when you take teachings from that teacher, you are completely
receptive to what that teacher has to offer.
Some
of the most important questions you should ask yourself are: Does this teacher
have the experience of becoming free of suffering and delusion to be able to
impart that kind of freedom to me? Is this teacher motivated by Bodhicitta or
not? Is this teacher truly compassionate in his or her concern for me as a student?
This is something we find in all of the teachings of the sutras, of the tantras
and particularly in the mind teachings of the mahamudra and great perfection
schools: It is extremely important to examine the qualities of a lama to determine
his or her before relying on that teacher.
The whole point of the examination process is not to critically judge a teacher
in some public forum or in an abstract sense. Instead, it is to evaluate the
teacher from a very personal level to determine whether or not that relationship
with that teacher will be beneficial for you as a student. Does this teacher
have qualities and teachings to offer that you, in receiving those teachings,
can benefit from? It is entirely from your own point of view and not from some
conceptual perspective.
Relying upon a teacher is absolutely crucial in order for the student to purely
receive the transmission of the teachings. This is particularly true in the
case of the Great Perfection ("Dzogchen") teachings. You can only
receive the pure transmission of the Great Perfection ("Dzogchen")
from a living teacher. There is no source of transmission other than that of
working with an authentic teacher.
And again, it is important that the lama or lamas upon whom you rely not be
individuals who are motivated by selfish desires for personal gain; that they
not be in any way tricky or deceitful people; that the way they speak the teachings
not be contradictory or counterproductive; that they not be proud of their own
qualities and constantly talking about or demonstrating their qualities in a
competitive or self-aggrandizing manner. Any and all of these types of qualities
in a teacher are to be avoided.
On the other hand, when you encounter a lama or teacher who has a very noble
character, who has excellent qualities, who is skilled and insightful concerning
the practice of the Buddhist teachings in general and the Vajrayana path in
particular, whose mind stream is motivated by Bodhicitta, who is extremely loving
and compassionate in his or her concern for others, and who has him or herself
realized the fundamental nature of phenomena in a very authentic and direct
manner, when we meet someone who embodies all of these qualities, then we have
the ideal case of someone upon whom you should rely as a teacher. This person
meets all of the qualifications of a good and authentic teacher.
Therefore, when we speak of someone who is truly a lama, we are not simply speaking
of someone who has the title or who is some general or ordinary sense considered
a lama. Only when we speak of someone who really has these authentic qualities
are we truly speaking of a qualified and authentic lama, i.e. someone upon whom
it will only be beneficial for you to rely. Your practice and your experience
in the dharma will only grow as result of a connection with someone who is truly
worthy of the title "lama."
When the student's attitude toward his or her lama is one of such faith and
devotion that the student really sees the teacher as an actual Buddha, or as
the very emodiment of the dharmakaya Vajradhara, or as the very embodiment of
the student's yidam - when the student has that kind of complete trust and faith,
without any doubt, without hesitation - then the blessings and qualities of
the enlightened form, speech and mind of all buddhas and bodhisattvas are transmitted
through the lama to the student.
There are also cases in which one encounters a lama with whom one has a connection
over many lifetimes. The kind of indication you will have of this is that simply
hearing the name of the teacher is an arresting experience for you: every hair
on your body stands on end. It is something which happens quite automatically
and is not a contrived experience.
When it is a certainty in your mind that this is truly the Buddha, this is truly
the dharmakaya Vajradhara, or that this is truly Guru Rinpoche
that you are encountering and relying upon in your lama, and when you pray with
that certainty in your mind, then you definitely receive the blessings from
that connection. But this also implies that you, as a student, guard your own
attitudes towards the teacher and ensure that you are always respectful and
receptive to what the teacher is saying. Do not give in to your own ordinary
habits of pride or self-aggrandizement or in any way undermine the relationship
with the teacher by contradicting what the teacher says or by attempt to thwart
the teacher's efforts. Any and all of these attitudes are to be avoided since
they do not support the trusting and open relationship that is necessary for
the blessings to flow from the teacher to the student.
In the tantras it is stated again and again the importance of relying upon the
lama as the source of blessings in one's practice. Regardless of the particular
prayer that the student offers to the lama, regardless of how small or seemingly
insignificant it may be, if it is based upon the student's complete trust and
faith in the lama, then the blessings of the lama are always accessible to the
student. In the Tantra of the Ocean of Timeless Awareness, it states
that it is far better to recite one small prayer to one's lama out of pure faith
and devotion than it is to perform hundreds of millions of recitations of deity
mantras. The effect of prayer is far more powerful when it is truly an expression
of one's own faith and devotion in one's lama.
When one has established a connection with one's lama based
upon trust, faith and devotion, there are different ways of relying upon that
relationship through which various kinds of accomplishment can come about. If
a student intends to attain the most sublime accomplishment of enlightenment
itself, the student identifies the lama with Vajradhara - the dharmakaya buddha.
If the student is particularly motivated to develop deeper wisdom, the student
identifies the lama with Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom. In order to encourage
his or her own love and compassion, the student meditates upon the lama as inseparable
from Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. To gain greater spiritual
power the student focuses upon the lama as inseparable from Vajrapani, the bodhisattva
of spiritual power. To overcome various kinds of fear and anxiety one relies
upon the lama as the very embodiment of the venerable Tara. To promote one's
own longevity one meditates upon the lama inseparable from Amitayus. To overcome
illness and disease one meditates upon the lama as the Medicine Buddha. To promote
one's own wealth and prosperity one meditates upon the lama as inseparable from
Vaishravana, Jambhala, or any of the wealth deities. To purify the effects of
harmful actions and to purify obscurations of one's body, speech and mind, one
meditates upon the lama as inseparable from the deity Vajrasattva. To increase
one's own personal glory, wealth and opportunity, one meditates upon the lama
as inseparable from the Buddha Ratnasambhava, the buddha of the jewel family.
To increase one's power - one's ability to exercise a powerful and beneficial
influence over the world - one meditates upon the lama as inseparable from Amitabha
or a deity such as Kurukulla. If one wishes to enact wrathful activity, one
meditates upon the lama as inseparable from Vajrabhairava or any of the more
wrathful yidams. If one wishes to adopt the approach that combines all of these
qualities in a single form, one meditates upon one's lama as inseparable from
Guru Rinpoche. In each of these cases, one's attitude is that of one's own root
lama being the very embodiment of one or another of these aspects of enlightened
being.
The Great Master Padmasambhava
The
universal approach which subsumes all of these aspects is meditation upon one's
lama as the very embodiment of Guru
Rinpoche. Guru Rinpoche should not be thought of in this case as simply
an historical figure, i.e. as an individual who appeared after the Buddha Sakyamuni
in our particular time and space. The actual essence of Guru Rinpoche predates
the Buddha Sakyamuni by eons. The enlightened mind stream that is the enlightened
mind stream of Guru Rinpoche is the single expression of the innate compassion,
blessings and wisdom of countless buddhas from countless eons in the past all
focusing in this single mind stream that is the mind stream of the great master
Guru Rinpoche.
If we think of the buddha dharma as being divisible into the teachings of the
sutras and the tantras, the teachings that we know of today as Buddhism are
those which were spoken and taught by the historical Buddha Sakyamuni. In the
greater sense, however, the teachings of the buddha dharma, and particularly
the teachings of the secret mantra path are not limited to the expression of
that single buddha. This is where the activity of Guru Rinpoche is considered
to be so universal and so far reaching. Wherever the Vajrayana teachings have
been given by any buddha in the past, or are being given or ever will be given,
wherever a spiritual teacher is transmitting those teachings, the essence of
Guru Rinpoche is embodied there - in that buddha, in that teacher, in that lama.
In different realms, in different universes, under different names, in different
forms, the manifestations of Guru Rinpoche have appeared and continue to appear
in countless numbers. There are any number of accounts in the traditional literature
that attest to this manifold display of Guru Rinpoche's activity.
In our particular time and space - as we experience the legacy of Buddha Sakyamuni
as one of the one thousand buddhas who will appear during this age in which
we live - all of these thousand buddhas and all the activity of these thousand
buddhas including the Buddha Sakyamuni are all manifestations from a single
source. They are all different aspects of activity that derives from a single
source of blessing and a single source of transmission. Throughout this enormous
universe and this vast expanse of time, all of the hundreds of millions of manifestations
of buddhas and teachers that appear are manifestations of Guru Rinpoche's energy.
Therefore, the expression of Guru Rinpoche's blessings cannot be limited to
a single time frame and a single region such as India or Tibet.
The accounts of Guru Rinpoche's miraculous birth in India and his journey to
Tibet to bring the teachings there are simply one small aspect of the blessing
and activity that is the totality of Guru Rinpoche. Even the accounts of Guru
Rinpoche's life that we have do not speak of a single figure, but of eight manifestations
of Guru Rinpoche by way of expressing the enormous scope of Guru Rinpoche's
blessing and activity. This blessing and activity continues to manifest in all
of the great teachers and masters who are emanations of Guru Rinpoche. Guru
Rinpoche has not died. Guru Rinpoche has not passed away. Guru Rinpoche continues
to demonstrate this miraculous activity for the benefit of beings now and on
into the future.
None of this teaching contradicts any of the teachings that were transmitted
by the Buddha Sakyamuni. The third turning of the wheel by the Buddha was the
wheel of teachings concerning the definitive nature of reality and it is in
this turning of the wheel that the basis of the Vajrayana teachings is found.
However, in our particular time and space, it is Guru Rinpoche who was most
instrumental in developing and presenting these teachings of the Vajrayana.
In our ordinary perceptions what we perceive to be the phenomenon of the Buddha
Sakyamuni was someone who was born as a prince in what was then the north of
India, the son of King Shudodena and Queen Mayadevi. He grew up and attained
enlightenment, turned the wheel of the dharma, passed into nirvana with his
remains being cremated leaving relics that are still with us to this day.
The essence of Guru Rinpoche is birthless and deathless. It is not something
that we can limit to an entity that came into being at one point and passed
out of existence at another point in time. Guru Rinpoche's body is not a body
of flesh and blood. Guru Rinpoche's presence is not based upon any physical
basis. It is ever present. It always has been and always will be, because it
is not subject to the limitations of any corporeal form. There are many occasions
upon which kings and ministers in India would attempt to assassinate Guru Rinpoche.
In one instance his body was committed to flames. An ordinary person would have
been killed instantly, but Guru Rinpoche was never physically harmed in any
way because his embodiment was not of an ordinary nature.
When Guru Rinpoche came to the Land of Snows and the king of Tibet prostrated
to him, the king bowed and touched his head to what he thought was the knee
of Guru Rinpoche seated in front of him. However, his head passed through Guru
Rinpoche's body and touched the carpet underneath. When Guru Rinpoche departed
from Tibet to the realm of the cannibal demons, he didn't die in any ordinary
way, passing from his body. He actually left the land of Tibet in a miraculous
fashion - something that was witnessed by everybody present on that occasion.
However, I have heard that in the West there are people who are in the business
of selling relics of Guru Rinpoche! There are said to be hairs, for example,
from the head of Guru Rinpoche. There is one case of a terma revealed by Jatsön
Nyingpo which is referred to as a hair of Guru Rinpoche, but it is more like
a filament of rainbow light - there isn't really any hair there.
To meditate upon one's root lama as the very embodiment of the essence and blessings
of Guru Rinpoche means that any practice you undertake of any deity, or any
activity that you intend to enact in your practice - be it pacifying, enriching,
magnetizing, or wrathful - in any and all of these ways your practice will be
successful and fruitful. If you pray to your lama as inseparable from Guru Rinpoche
with your mind full of faith and devotion, Guru Rinpoche is never separate from
you.
When it comes to deity practice, we may find judgments arising in our mind saying,
for example, that this deity is better that this deity, or this deity is more
powerful than another deity, or this blessing comes more quickly with this deity.
These types of ordinary thoughts are not really appropriate when we are dealing
with something of this nature. The only qualifying factor is the devoted interest
and faith in the student's mind. It may be that under certain circumstances,
your faith is stronger in a given deity and therefore that deity practice is
more effective for you. But that does not mean that at a more ultimate level
there is any distinction to made between these various aspects of enlightened
being. They all arise from the single vast expanse of timeless awareness as
equally authentic manifestations of blessing and power. There is no hierarchy,
so to speak, among the deities. It is not the case that some are more powerful
than others, or some more blessed than others, or some more productive of benefits
than others. It is rather a question of the degree to which you as a practitioner
are motivated in a given direction.
If you are concerned about the degree to which you are receiving blessings from
your deity or from your practice, it would be far more useful to examine the
degree to which you yourself are developing faith and devotion toward that yidam
and toward your practice. The more our minds entertain doubt and anything other
than a truly firm and lucid faith in our practice, that much are we confusing
ourselves. We obscure our own minds with that doubt, vacillation and lack of
certainty and trust. It is on that level that we can say there is no blessing
in the practice. Not because the deity has no blessing. Not because the lama
has no blessing. But because the student is closed to that blessing by his or
her doubt and confusion.
The
actual way in which you carry out the meditation of guru yoga is to visualize
yourself in the form of a deity, in this case the feminine deity Vajrayogini.
Meditate that in the space above your head, about a cubit in length above your
crown (it would be about the length of your forearm), there is a seat formed
of three lotuses, one above the other - a white, red and dark blue lotus. Resting
upon this threefold lotus seat, you visualize the flat disk of the full moon.
Above this you meditate the form of Guru Rinpoche, considering him to be the
quintessence of all of the blessings of all buddhas and bodhisattvas united
in this single form. Even though the manifestation of Guru Rinpoche's form takes
on a certain appearance with specific posture, gestures, ornaments and garments,
his essence is inseparable from the essence of your root lama. Praying with
this conviction is the basis for guru yoga practice.
The particular form of Guru Rinpoche is white in color with a reddish tinge.
He has one face and two hands and his expression is described as semi-wrathful
in the sense that it is basically a peaceful expression with a just a slight
hint of wrath - not an overtly wrathful expression. The form of Guru Rinpoche
is marked with the 32 major and 80 minor marks of physical perfection so that
there is nothing about the form that is any way displeasing, disproportionate,
lacking or unsatisfactory to the mind of one who beholds such a form. The hair
of the figure of Guru Rinpoche is flowing over his shoulders and back. On his
head Guru Rinpoche wears the lotus crown that confers liberation upon all who
behold it.
The form of Guru Rinpoche is wearing a rich cloak that is referred to as the
Cloak of the King of Sawok. The origin of this cloak refers back to a particular
event when Guru Rinpoche was staying in the area now known as Tso Pema to the
Tibetans or Rewalsar in India. The king of that region offered his cloak to
Guru Rinpoche. In recognition of this worldly king offering the symbol of his
majesty of Guru Rinpoche, the form of Guru Rinpoche is clad in this outer cloak.
Additionally, Guru Rinpoche wears a formal monastic robe emblematic of the Hinayana
disciplines. He is adorned with jeweled ornaments such as earrings, necklace,
bracelets and anklets. The right hand holds a five prong vajra to his heart
center. The left hand is in his lap in the gesture of meditative equipoise,
holding a skull cup filled with nectar in which there is a vase filled with
the nectar of immortality.
In the crook of the left elbow Guru Rinpoche cradles a trident which is a veiled
reference to feminine principle, the aspect of Vajra Yogini. Various consorts
such as Yeshe Tsogyal and Mandarava are associated with Guru Rinpoche. Given
that they were all essentially of the same nature of Vajra Yogini, this then
is the significance of the trident in the crook of the left elbow.
When we find the reference of yab and yum (masculine/feminine consort or father/mother
consort) applied to deities, we shouldn't make the obvious mistake of assuming
that this has to do with male/female in the physical sense. The deities are
not male and female beings, but masculine and feminine energies. The bipolar
imagery of the masculine and feminine illustrates the primordial union of appearance
(or form) and emptiness. One of the descriptions of this imagery is that the
masculine aspect, the yab aspect, refers to phenomenal appearance while the
yum, the feminine aspect, is the expression of emptiness. So the way in which
the deities manifest is simply a direct expression of the fundamental nature
of reality as it is.
The dakini Yeshe Tsogyal is famous for having been the Tibetan consort of Guru
Rinpoche, but we should remember that her primary function as his consort was
to gather and codify his teachings. Her role is directly analogous to that which
the student of the Buddha, Ananda, performed after the passing of the Buddha
- to gather together the Buddha's teachings so that they could handed on to
future generations. This was exactly the function of Yeshe Tsogyal - to uphold
and codify and collect and gather the teachings of Guru Rinpoche. While the
dakini Yeshe Tsogyal did appear in human form as a woman in Tibet, her ultimate
essence was that of a dakini of timeless awareness. So there is no contradiction
in her manifesting that essence as a human woman or as a trident held in the
crook of the left elbow of Guru Rinpoche.
In addition, you meditate that the form of Guru Rinpoche above your head is
seated in the full vajra posture with the left leg on the right thigh and the
right leg on the left thigh. Meditate that the form is radiating brilliant rays
of light in all directions.
The inexhaustable adornment of Guru Rinpoche's form is the essence of the sangha
principle; that of his speech, the dharma principle; that of his mind, the principle
of buddha as a source of refuge. The qualities of Guru Rinpoche embody the chosen
deity principle of Vajrayana; his activity, that of the dakinis and dharmapalas
(the dharma protectors.) In brief, what appears initially to be simply the form
of Guru Rinpoche is understood on a more ultimate level to be the very essence
of all buddhas, yidams, dakas and dakinis, dharma protectors and the entire
vast array of the three jewels and the three roots all subsumed within a single
manifestation.
Regardless of the particular deity that you are meditating upon in your own
individual practice and regardless of the specific form that you are visualizing,
it is important that you visualize that form to be pure appearance without any
substantial or corporeal nature. You are not visualizing the deity as a body
of flesh and blood, but rather as a form that is completely insubstantial -
a form that is nothing but pure appearance without any solidity or any substantiality.
For example, when you are practicing ka-gye (the eight commands on sadhana practice),
if you are meditating on Vajrakilaya or Chemchog or any of the major herukas
of this cycle, the visualization in the more extensive practices involves the
basic visualization of your form as the form of the deity with whole mandalas
of deities appearing at points in your body associated with the concentration
of subtle energy. So you are not visualizing a form that has a skeletal structure,
a circulatory system, a digestive system or musculature. None of these ordinary
physical elements enter into the picture at all.
In our time and place Guru Rinpoche is the source for the lineages that we receive.
Even though the actual presence of Guru Rinpoche is not perceptable to us directly,
still we connect with that source through the unbroken lineage that has been
handed down from generation to generation. When we rely upon the lama as the
very embodiment of Guru Rinpoche and inseparable from Guru Rinpoche, we connect
directly with that unbroken source that has come down to us historically.
In the pinnacle pure realm of Akanishta, Guru Rinpoche received transmission
from the dakini known as Leche Wangmo, the powerful goddess of activity. The
process in which he received this transmission was of her transforming him into
a seed syllable hung which she swallowed. As the hung syllable passed through
the chakras of her body, he received the four stages of empowerment: the vase,
the body, the wisdom awareness and the fourth empowerment. She expelled him
through her secret organ and he reassumed his form. This is obviously not an
ordinary process of her swallowing something, digesting and excreting it.
This particular process finds its expression as well in the many abishekas or
empowerment ceremonies that are performed by vajra masters. These include similar
visualizations in which the student is transformed into a syllable, ingested
by the vajra master, transformed and brought forth into the world again as the
deity. These are processes whereby the vajra master, in transmitting the blessing
to the student, purifies the student's mind stream of the effect of harmful
actions and of obscurations and transmits the spiritual power of the empowerment.
Once the student has been generated as the deity by the vajra master, the student
maintains identity with the chosen deity for the duration of the empowerment
ceremony. The student recognizes his or her essence to be the essence of that
deity manifesting in that particular form. The student's conception of him or
herself as the deity is the samayasattva, the commitment aspect, which the vajra
master imbues with the jnanasattva, the aspect of timeless awareness. The vajra
master then proceeds to use the various substances or articles such as the vase
and forth as the symbols that transmit ultimate blessing of the various levels
of empowerment. It is on that basis that the true transmission of spiritual
power and energy can take place.
This is simply an expression of a much larger principle. Whether we are involved
in activities of the dharma or whether we are involved in ordinary work, it
is our own mind that is the most important factor - how our mind is viewing
the situation, how our mind is relating to the circumstances. Both the lama
and the student have a responsibility here: in order for true transmission to
take place, both the mind of the lama and the mind of the student conceive the
situation in the appropriate manner. Then and only then can there really be
the authentic transmission of blessings in an empowerment.
Returning to the actual meditation of guru yoga: Having visualized the form
of Guru Rinpoche as the union of all buddhas and all sources of refuge above
the crown of your head, you meditate that the form is marked at the forehead
with a white om syllable, at the throat with a red ah syllable,
at the heart center with a dark blue hung syllable and at the navel center
with a green hri syllable. In addition you meditate that on the palms
and soles of Guru Rinpoche's form are the four syllables ha ri ni sa.
Rays of light shining from these syllables in all directions invoke the blessings
of all sources of refuge which return and are absorbed into his form above the
crown of your head. With one-pointed focus you begin the actual practice of
guru yoga which involves supplication to the lama and recitation of the vajra
guru mantra, the mantra of Guru Rinpoche.
Following the main body of the practice, you meditate first that from the white
om syllable in the forehead center of Guru Rinpoche there comes a white
ray of light, like a shooting star, that enters into your own forehead and completely
fills your body. The white light purifies you on the physical level of the effects
of obscurations and harmful actions, imbuing your form with the blessings of
enlightened form. By a similar process you meditate that from the throat center
of Guru Rinpoche, from the red ah syllable, there comes a red ray of
light that enters your own throat center purifying your speech. From the heart
center of Guru Rinpoche, from the dark blue hung syllable, there comes
a thread or filament of light like a wafting of incense smoke that is absorbed
into your own heart center purifying your mind. And finally, you meditate that
from all of the centers of Guru Rinpoche's form come rainbow rays of light of
five colors, white, red, yellow, green and blue, all of which are absorbed into
your own chakras purifying the last traces of obscuration and conferring the
fourth level of empowerment. In this way you receive the four levels of empowerment,
the vase, secret, wisdom awareness and the fourth empowerment. This establishes
the potential for your own realization respectively, of nirmanakaya, sambhogakaya,
dharmakaya and svabhavikakaya, the totality of the three kayas.
When you come to actually finish the session, you meditate that the form of
Guru Rinpoche above the crown of your head dissolves into light. This light
is absorbed into you and at that point you enter into the formless completion
stage of the practice. You meditate that Guru Rinpoche's enlightened form, speech
and mind are in no way separate from your own body, speech and mind. There is
complete non-dual union. You meditate in a formless state of mind, without any
frame of reference, without any conceptual elaboration, simply allowing your
mind to rest in that state of non-dual union for as long as possible. Following
that, you conclude with the prayers of dedication and aspiration.
There are a number of other specific ways in which the visualization of guru
yoga practice are presented according to specific lineages, specific traditions
and even specific situations. But the general principles that are described
in this presentation hold true in all cases: you visualize the lama above the
crown of your head. In this particular case you envision the form of Guru Rinpoche
as the form that embodies all sources of refuge. In others systems of practice
you may be instructed to visualize an actual crowd of the sources of refuge,
like a large assembly, above the crown of your head. Or you may be instructed
to visualize a lineage, with each figure of the lineage above the other, extending
vertically up above the crown of your head. There are different details to the
specific visualizations depending upon the system you are studying, but you
should understand that despite the seeming differences in the details, the essential
nature of the practice is the same in each case.
As I said before, the most important qualities to ensure the success of the
practice in the students' mind are faith, devotion, trust and pure view. If
a student is truly bent upon benefiting from his or her practice and his or
her association with the dharma, those qualities are indispensable.
Translated
by Chökyi Nyima (Richard Barron). Edited by Bill Speckart.
© Copyright
1995-2008 by Palyul Ling.
All rights reserved. Please do not reproduce without prior written permission.