Discovering Buddhism 4 – The Spiritual Teacher · 2012-08-24 · Discovering Buddhism 4 – The Spiritual Teacher Reading 3: Relying by Thought This lesson introduces the first

Discovering Buddhism 4 – The Spiritual Teacher

Reading 3: Relying by Thought

This lesson introduces the first half of how to rely on our spiritual masters; namely, through the way we think about them. Since the point of relying on the guru is to develop our own qualities and realizations, the main part of this practice is internal; it happens in one's own mind.

The readings here are drawn from:

• Sessions Three and Four of DBaH course 4: "The Spiritual Teacher" by Ven. Constance Miller

• "The Kindness of the Guru" in The Heart of the Path: Seeing the Guru as Buddha by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, edited by Ailsa Cameron, Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive, 2009.

Also read for this class:

• Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, Day Eight: Devoting Yourself to a Spiritual Guide.

Meditation:

• Relating to the Spiritual Mentor in Thought

Excerpt from:

Session Three of DBaH course 4: "The Spiritual Teacher"by Ven. Constance Miller

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home: Awakening the limitless potential of your mind, achieving all peace and happiness; SUBJECT AREA 4, The Spiritual Teacher.

Why we need different levels of spiritual teachers

Let’s briefly review regarding the need for different levels of spiritual teachers. Let’s start with the first, the professor of Buddhism. Generally, as beginners to the Dharma we find ourselves seeking information, especially at first, when we don’t know anything. So a professor of Buddhism serves as a guide for us in unfamiliar territory, as if we’re tourists and we are wanting to see the sights. We need a guide to show us around. A professor of Buddhism can help us because of having greater knowledge than we do, even if that knowledge is academic in nature, with regard to the tradition that we’re interested in. He can help us to overcome our most basic errors: our misconceptions based on incorrect information about the spiritual path, about Buddhism.

Discovering Buddhism 4 – The Spiritual Teacher, Reading 3 1

The second level, the Dharma instructor, is more in the role of being a kind of initial role model, especially a role model for practice at the beginning of the path. In very real ways this person serves to keep us grounded. It’s often the case that people enter into a new spiritual undertaking with a lot of fantasies about realizations and meditation, thinking “I’m going to have all these really neat meditation experiences.” It is easy to have many, many fantasies about what practice means, what the results will be, how quickly the results will come, and all sorts of things like that. But by having a Dharma instructor, someone who has already experienced some Dharma practice, even if that person is not necessarily a highly realized individual yet is perhaps a few steps ahead of us, this helps us to stay grounded, away from all those fantasies, because we see just how quickly (or how not quickly) progress comes, how quickly we can expect results (or not), how practice works. Yet at the same time that person can be an inspiration, because by being a few steps ahead then you can also see the progress that has been made, and hear stories about that person’s life, and how their practice has gone, and the pitfalls that they’ve encountered. All of these things help to keep us grounded so that we don’t fall into the extremes of, on the one hand, fantastical ideas about the “mystical” journey we’re about to embark on and, on the other hand, getting overly discouraged and thinking, “I can’t possibly do this.” Because here’s someone who’s doing it, doing it in real life, and who is willing to help us do it, too.

Then, we have meditation and ritual trainers. I’m going to focus a little bit more on the meditation side than on rituals, but the same analogies can apply. When we learn a complex sport, like gymnastics or something of that kind, then in order that we don’t get hurt, in order that we train correctly, we need an expert coach who will take us through the motions, and that person will involve us in training sessions, in order to check and adjust our performance. Right? In the same way, meditation is like a complex training in mind athletics. It’s not really very different. We have to learn a lot of new skills. Some of them are quite delicate to learn – they’re not necessarily easy, sometimes they’re not even necessarily simple. Some of them are but others aren’t. And so, we need guidance from someone who is at least farther along than we are, who can coach us in that process. Who can guide us, who can keep us from going in the wrong direction, who can push us to work out, so that we don’t get lazy, so that we practice our meditation. If we train with an inexpert trainer, someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing, then first of all, just as in sports, this will most likely lead to failure. If you have a bad gymnastics trainer, you’ll become a lousy gymnast. But just as in sports, in meditation this can also be dangerous, because if you’re having experiences and that person doesn’t know what’s going on and gives you the wrong advice, then that can possibly send you off in the wrong direction. In sports you can get hurt. You can also possibly get hurt in your mind, so it’s important to find someone who is qualified and to be careful.

Then, the spiritual mentor – the most powerful and important level of spiritual teacher. The purpose of a spiritual mentor is to enable a disciple to strengthen and expand his or her collections of merit – that’s your positive spiritual energy that you’ve gathered – as well as your collection of wisdom. In that way, the disciple is enabled to gain well-being in this life, a favorable rebirth in future lives, and eventually, to eliminate all obstacles to liberation and enlightenment. That pretty much sums it all up, doesn’t it?


How to regard our spiritual teachers of the different levels

Just as there are different levels of spiritual teachers, there are also different ways to relate to and rely on them at the different levels. These ways of practicing with our spiritual teacher come from the different traditions of Buddhism. You may have Dharma teachers from all the four categories we have discussed; some may be teachers of the Great Vehicle (Mahayana) teachings and some may be Hinayana, or Individual Vehicle, teachers. These different traditions teach different ways to view those teachers of the different levels. Let’s first examine these different perspectives and then we’ll look more specifically at our own Mahayana/Vajrayana tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa.

How to regard your spiritual teacher in the context of the Individual Vehicle

According to the Individual Vehicle, any spiritual teacher at the Individual Vehicle level that you have should be regarded as a representative of the Buddha. This person should be seen as someone who holds those qualities, qualities that are in common with the Buddha. Therefore, this person should be regarded as an emissary of the Buddha, like a representative or an ambassador. You may have a very close relationship with such a person, or you might not. However, the personal relationship and the personality element in this kind of relationship is relatively unimportant. This may not be the case for you; I’m simply speaking in terms of what has traditionally been the case. But again, one should regard a teacher at this level with great respect. Everything that we have spoken about until now – the necessity to examine and check a prospective teacher thoroughly, the qualities of a teacher, one’s teacher as a source of inspiration and blessings – all of these things are to be applied here just as at the other levels of spiritual teacher. It’s important to focus on the qualities of the teacher and the kindness of the teacher. Those are the most important things to focus on in developing an appropriate attitude toward this person who you’re seeing as an emissary or representative of the Buddha.

How to regard your spiritual teacher in the context of Mahayana

Next is a spiritual teacher of the Mahayana, the Universal Vehicle. Here we are concerned with the Mahayana teachings, teachings on bodhichitta, on gaining enlightenment in contrast to the Individual Vehicle, which is more concerned with the teachings of liberation. So the correct view with regard to a Mahayana teacher is a little more complicated because it’s rooted in what’s called the principle of the dharmakaya, the truth body, of the Buddha. In the simplest terms we can think of the dharmakaya as the transcendent consciousness or mind of the Buddha. Thus, we develop the view of our Mahayana spiritual teacher as a vessel, or a conduit, for the expression of the dharmakaya, a vessel that enables the enlightened mind to express itself in the form of teachings. To the extent that our spiritual mentor is expressing the dharmakaya within, then to that extent that person is an actual manifestation of buddhahood. This is not to say that all Mahayana spiritual mentors are realized buddhas. In fact, you are not required, at the Mahayana level, to see your Mahayana spiritual teacher as a realized buddha. However, you should see that individual as a true vessel of the Buddha’s enlightened mind, the dharmakaya. It’s a fine line: We regard our Mahayana spiritual


teacher as if they were a buddha with full awareness of that person’s buddha-nature, that person’s manifest (no longer latent) buddha-nature. We can think of our Mahayana spiritual mentor as like a facsimile of the Buddha.

Seeing the guru as a fully realized buddha

And then we come to Tantrayana. Previously, we talked about how you take on a tantric teacher, what the steps are to do that. At the level of tantra, this spiritual mentor is a buddha, period. You regard your tantric teacher as a fully realized buddha. This is not just an idea, a fantasy, or a way to get you to follow tantric teachers without any question. This way of seeing your guru is clearly rooted in the Buddha’s teachings. First of all, we can point to many scriptural references. For example, when Shakyamuni Buddha gave the teachings on tantra, he manifested as Vajradhara. On those occasions, Vajradhara taught very clearly that one should see the spiritual teacher, the tantric master, as a realized buddha, as Buddha himself. So this is one of many authoritative scriptural bases for seeing one’s tantric guru as fully enlightened.

The logic of seeing the guru as a buddha

There are also other logical reasons that justify this way of regarding our guru that we can contemplate. These may be easier for you to relate to than references to the scriptural words of the Buddha. We’ve talked about emptiness, yes? We’ve talked about that everything is empty of inherent existence. When we say everything, that means us, us as individuals, the people around us, as well as everything in our environment. So everything is empty of inherent existence. And because all of us are empty of inherent existence, then we are, to merely say it in a different way, mere imputations on a base. Right? There is a body/mind base on which we place the imputation, the label, the name … in my case, Connie. Alternatively, we place many different labels on this base – such as person, or female, or nun, or any number of imputations, right? Okay.

In tantra, we focus quite purposefully on the nature of our consciousness – more specifically, on the clear light nature of our mind which we understand to be our buddha-nature. And in our tantric practice, we identify with that buddha-nature in a special way. So on the base of our buddha-nature, we can legitimately designate, or impute, “buddha,” which is ultimately undifferentiated from the dharmakaya. On our own body/mind base we can impute ourselves as a buddha (as in when we do our Shakyamuni Buddha meditation practice and we dissolve our body/mind into emptiness and then reappear as Shakyamuni Buddha ourselves). In this very same way, we impute “buddha” on to our spiritual mentor on the basis of his or her buddha-nature, i.e., the pure clear light nature of mind that becomes the dharmakaya.

The path of tantra is known as the resultant path, and so we can designate that we are a buddha, the result of our practice, on the base of our current buddha-nature. And in the same way, on the basis of our teacher’s buddha-nature, we impute “buddha.” Why? Because within tantric practice is the practice of pure view. It’s essential. And because tantra is the resultant path, wherein we’re practicing the result in the present, rather than only practicing the causes, we’re actually trying to experience the results right now. And this is why tantra is so rapid, so quick as a method to bring us to enlightenment. But at the same time, it’s not easy; it’s actually very difficult.


In order to practice tantra, you still need all of the fundamentals, all of the sutra teachings that we’ve been talking about – an understanding of impermanence, of suffering, of karma, of emptiness, a realization of bodhichitta – you need all of these things in order to be able to practice tantra. So I’m clearly not saying, “Leap tall buildings at a single bound.” But, tantra brings us to the essence, and this is why it is essential when one takes on a tantric teacher, to see that individual as a buddha. Seeing the guru as buddha is very clearly and simply rooted in the way things are, in reality. And there is something very special about it. What is so special? Well, at the beginning, your practice of seeing the guru as buddha is artificial; it’s a way of trying to see the world that isn’t natural to you at first. What’s very special about it is that this pure view eventually becomes a kind of inner intuitive insight into the imminent present, the imminent nature of the buddhas. Imminent means “right here and now,” “always present.”

So your clear view of your teacher as buddha develops in you an intuitive awareness that the buddhas are indeed always with you; they are everywhere, no exceptions. It’s not at all that the buddhas reached enlightenment and then went away. They didn’t disappear or abandon us; they’re right here, right now. They are present, they are in some ways omnipresent, everywhere, and can be called on. And this insight then brings with it an incredibly deep experience of openness toward your spiritual mentor and to the transformative blessings that simply start to flow into you, almost as if they’re coming at you from the universe. Because what else is there in the universe but your spiritual mentor and the buddhas, who are imminently everywhere. And who very specifically are present for you in the form of your teacher.

For truly insightful and profound teachings on how to see your spiritual teacher as buddha, be sure to read the teachings from Lama Zopa Rinpoche in the Discovering BUDDHISM Required Readings for this module.

The guru as kinder than all the buddhas

I want to go back just for one second to the kindness of the teacher. It is mentioned in the scriptures that our spiritual gurus, our spiritual mentors, are kinder than all the buddhas. If you think about this when you contemplate the kindness of your teacher, this idea can be quite thought provoking. Wow, that’s quite a thought … kinder than all the buddhas! Why do the scriptures say this? Well, the buddhas have attained enlightenment and are out there in the universe in their dharmakaya/rupakaya light bodies, sending their blessings to sentient beings. True, it is not exactly that they are “out there”; in fact, they are all around us. But can we relate to them directly? Can we have a conversation with them when we are confused? On the other hand, our spiritual mentor is here in flesh and blood, having the appearance of slogging through life just like we are and appearing to have all the difficulties that having a human body brings – all the difficulties of being born, growing up, getting sick, getting old, which you can well imagine. Taking a human body to benefit sentient beings is much more difficult than remaining in the ethereal, transcendent state of the dharmakaya and blessing sentient beings in that way. Neither way is better or worse, more or less valid. Just taking on a form, taking on a human body, coming back to this earth to benefit us, with all the difficulties of a human body – such incredible kindness to endure this world of suffering … for us!


So, with regard to the guru, the guru has taken a form. And depending on the level of spiritual teacher that you’re relating to, you see that person in a different way, just as we’ve just talked about. But here, when we say “kinder than all the buddhas,” we are referring to the fact that your guru is with you, oftentimes day in and day out, or week in and week out, helping you to deal with your problems, your ups and your downs, your highs and lows, and all of those things, with you. That person is participating in your life. Even if your guru’s mind has completely transcended samsara, is completely out of cyclic existence, yet that person came back and took a suffering form. Even if his mind isn’t suffering, his body is exhibiting for us the difficulties of being in samsara. So therefore that person is kinder than all the buddhas.

Excerpt from:

Session Four of DBaH course 4: "The Spiritual Teacher"by Ven. Constance Miller

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home: Awakening the limitless potential of your mind, achieving all peace and happiness; SUBJECT AREA 4, The Spiritual Teacher.

How to relate to one’s spiritual teacher in thought

So in taking on a spiritual mentor and in that way yourself becoming a disciple, you first conduct a thorough examination of that prospective mentor. We’ve talked about this and it will certainly come up again. As you are examining your teacher, your teacher is at the same time possibly examining you. Only when that prospective teacher has passed your examination, lived up to your expectations and your criteria as a qualified spiritual mentor of a Mahayana level – as a refuge or vow preceptor or as a Mahayana master – only then should you feel comfortable to take that person on as your teacher, to become their disciple.

The decision to become a disciple of a particular teacher, to establish a bond with that person as your teacher, is something that happens in your mind. Once you have made this decision in your mind, once you have entered into this relationship, then what follows are the actual practices of learning how to rely on your spiritual mentor. This includes the meditations and ways of thinking that reinforce and accompany that relationship. There are meditation practices at the sutra level that you can engage in, in which first you start by focusing on the qualities of the teacher.

Contemplating the qualities of the spiritual mentor

Meditating on the qualities of the teacher rather than on the teacher’s perceived faults and shortcomings is called “relying on the teacher in thought.” You develop a strong respect and devotion for your spiritual mentor by thinking and meditating in this way. This step – relying on the teacher in thought – is common to all levels of reliance on the teacher.

It is important to be clear here that we are not denying that the teacher has any faults or shortcomings. But think about the following analogy: If you look out a regular window and you see a person pass by on the street, you will probably see them from, say, the


waist up. That may be all you see. And because that’s all you see, that’s what you focus on. That doesn’t mean that in your mind you think that they don’t have any legs or feet. They do, clearly. You’re not stupid, you know that they have legs and feet, but that’s not what you’re focusing on. The feet and legs are simply there, but on the one hand they’re not an object of your focus and on the other hand you are not denying their existence. They are just minimized in terms of what your mind is paying attention to. This is one way, and I think a very useful way, to think about focusing on the qualities of the teacher. If we focus on the faults and shortcomings, we don’t get anywhere. There is no benefit. We get depressed, we get unhappy, perhaps we even get angry. But we don’t benefit. And so part of the process of relying on the teacher in thought is to focus on the person’s qualities, to understand them, to be convinced that they’re there, and to develop strong faith, belief, and conviction that those qualities are actually possessed by one’s teacher.

It is important to meditate on relying on our guru in thought, to practice these meditations. When we’re in meditation, we’re not distracted by all sorts of things … at least we try not to be distracted. Let’s say that at the very least we are less distracted. Our mind is not so scattered or all over the place; we are more concentrated and focused; and we’re actually able to develop and generate attitudes and feelings that we have more difficulty cultivating when we are more distracted. And so, the first thing that we do in meditating on our relationship with our teacher is, again, to focus on the person’s qualities.

When judgmental and resentful thoughts arise, when we start to focus on perceived faults in our mentor, we can work with these negative thoughts in several ways. First of all, we can relate to these thoughts in the same way that we relate to disturbing thoughts when we are meditating on the breath or on the mind –we can again simply let them go. We don’t think, “Oh you’re bad, you’re terrible, go away, you don’t exist.” We don’t do any of those things. We let them come and go, because in this way they naturally pass through our attention. This is how we react – or more accurately, don’t react – when we think we perceive faults in our teacher.

Alternatively, we can spend time in our meditation thinking deeply about the advantages and benefits of cultivating a proper relationship with a spiritual mentor and the great disadvantages of undermining or breaking that relationship. This can help us to diminish these negative thoughts that can poison our inner respect and devotion for our spiritual mentor. What we’re trying to do is to train our minds; what we’re trying to do is get the most benefit out of this relationship. So how do we do that? We understand the qualities that are important to us. That’s step number one.

The significance of “to have good qualities”

The second step is to actually think about what it means “to have good qualities.” What does it mean for our spiritual mentor to have these good qualities that we’ve been able to distinguish and focus on? One element is that good qualities are aspects of buddha-nature, of that individual’s buddha-nature. And we all have buddha-nature. Good qualities are manifestations of the intrinsic potentials that we all have, of our pure clear light mind, whether these good qualities are minimally or fully developed. In our spiritual mentor these potentials have blossomed, they’re highly developed and evolved.


That’s one aspect of what it means to have good qualities.

The second aspect is to consider the meaning of the Tibetan word for quality, yönten. There are three significant aspects to yonten. First, yönten indicates not just a quality but a definitely positive quality. Second, yonten also includes the underlying meaning of “to correct a deficiency.” So in this case, having good qualities means first of all, recognizing one’s own faults, and second, putting effort toward correcting those faults.

Then third, this process of self-improvement is actually possible on the basis that we have the intrinsic positive potentials that can be developed and stimulated and caused to blossom by such a process. Thus, it’s not that we are entirely starting from scratch; we have these intrinsic potentials, but we have a collection of faults that are obstructing them. So as we eliminate those faults, at the same time we stimulate those potentials to come out. Given all this, we can understand that because our spiritual teacher has good qualities and they are manifest, then he or she must have previously gone through that process. Our teacher, who possesses the intrinsic potentials as part of his or her buddha-nature, acknowledged and understood his or her own shortcomings and then put in the effort to overcome those faults in order to develop the qualities that are there. So what this tells us is that if our teacher, who has buddha-nature, was able to undergo this process of personal self-examination and develop into such a wonderful person with such highly evolved qualities, then we ourselves, who also have buddha-nature and these same intrinsic potentials, can do the same, by practicing and putting effort in the same way. So what does that tell us? We can do it too! And we reach this conclusion just from contemplating our teacher’s good qualities. That’s a big message!

We all have positive potentials. In the case of our spiritual teacher, however, he or she has fulfilled those potentials; our teacher has actualized and perfected her positive qualities and overcome her faults and shortcomings. And if she can do it, we can do it too.

Contemplating the benefits of having good qualities

So now at this point in our meditation we focus on the benefits that follow on as a result of those qualities that our teacher has developed, the benefits that we accrue and the benefits that come to others because our teacher possesses these extraordinary qualities of kindness, wisdom in imparting the teachings, patience, compassion, and so on. Once someone has cultivated those actual qualities, has developed them so that they have become manifest, then what are the results of those attainments? Here, we examine the results in terms of the benefits that you gain as the disciple, and the benefits that others receive as well.

So to recap, first of all, we all have the same positive potentials. Second, we do have the ability to apply the appropriate effort in our practice, if we’re not lazy. Third, we can clearly see the benefits of these qualities: the benefits to ourselves and the benefits to others. From these contemplations can arise within us several different aspirations. For example, the aspiration to achieve bodhichitta can arise, because we can see the benefits of helping others as a result of the benefits of the qualities of our own teacher. Also, a strong determination to practice the Dharma can grow, because here, in the form of our wonderful teacher, is the living result, and we generate the wish to achieve that result ourselves. What is important here is that the positive enthusiasm and determination to


achieve those same qualities arises in your mind.

The benefits of contemplating the qualities of our spiritual mentor

Remember, this is a meditation process. This is the thought process that you apply in your analytical meditation. So when you reach this point in your meditation, there are many benefits. Let’s examine some of these benefits. You become free of indecision, because you gain a clear determination of what you’re going to do and where you’re going to go in your Dharma practice. You become free of arrogance. Arrogance is pride; pride refers to an attitude that thinks, I know more than you, or I’m better than you, or I’m superior to you. In other words, there is nothing I can learn from you. So, in the face of someone toward whom we feel, again, this healthy sense of awe – since it is very clear that they’ve progressed considerably farther than we have in their spiritual practice – then our arrogance is greatly diminished. We become free of naivete because, again, we’re clear about what we have to do and we’re clear about our place, our role, who we are in relationship to others around us, and especially in relation to our spiritual mentor.

In addition, we have gone through a process of clear analysis, so that we have begun to go beyond any kind of fantasy view we may have had of who our spiritual mentor is. We’ve focused very clearly on what their qualities are, who they are, and how they benefit us. Our naïve fantasies about all of this have been dispelled. We’re free of depression. This is, I think, a really important result, especially for many Westerners. Depression tends to come from hopelessness. And this new perspective that we have come to is nothing else if not hopeful. If one of our main problems, one of our little or big neuroses, is, “I’m so bad, I’m so full of negativities. It’s too hard, it’s just too much, and I’m just a horrible person. I’ll never be any different, blah blah blah blah blah…,” then with time this meditation can definitely undermine that depressed view. You have a living example in front of you of someone who’s not only not depressed but who has made tremendous progress and is holding out his or her hand to you, to bring you to that same place, showing you that you’re worth it, showing you that you have everything you need and that you can do it, just like he did. That’s not to say that someone who’s deeply depressed sits down and in one meditation session it all goes away. Maybe it does or maybe it takes some time, but it works. It truly works.

Contemplating the spiritual mentor in this way brings to us a sense of value and values: a sense of appreciation and esteem for those positive qualities that we’ve been focusing on, and for the individuals who possess them. We begin to develop greater respect for others who actually demonstrate the positive qualities that we’ve been observing and focusing on. And again, we come back to healthy awe of our teachers. Now that doesn’t mean we cower in a corner when they walk into the room; this means deep respect and admiration which brings, again, a sense of scruples, a sense of wanting to be better, wanting to behave better, feeling a sense of horror or mortification with the thought of behaving badly in a such way that might embarrass us or shame us in front of them.

Recognizing the kindness of the teacher

Usually when we think of kindness, we think of very personal kinds of things, very personal kinds of contacts. That may not be the case here. It may be that your


relationship with some of your spiritual mentors does not necessarily involve those kinds of personal kindnesses and contacts. Your relationship with your spiritual mentor, some of your spiritual mentors, because you may have a number, may be in some ways very impersonal. Sometimes it may be only in the context of receiving teachings. With some of your teachers you may never have a personal interview, or even a personal conversation. One of the things that I remember Alex Berzin said in his book is that he spent years and years and years as attendant and translator for his root guru in Dharamsala and traveling around the world giving teachings as well, and he said never once, never once, in their years and years and years together, did he ever have a conversation with Rinpoche with regard to his family, his background, his personal anything. Never, not once. He used to describe their relationship as “impersonal personal.”

So, when you think of meditating on appreciating the kindness of your spiritual mentor, you have to think about it somewhat differently. We’re talking about your spiritual mentor, not your therapist and not your best friend. You may have a spiritual mentor who is all of those things to you, but here we’re focusing exclusively on the qualities of the spiritual mentor in that specific role as your spiritual guide. In that role, the most important kindness is giving you the teachings and showing you the path. That’s what we’re talking about, your spiritual journey. And getting you to enlightenment.

Some of you might find it difficult to meditate on the kindness of our spiritual mentor. If that kindness is impersonal, if it doesn’t involve the type of kindnesses that we usually think of as kindness in our culture and in our normal way of thinking, it may be difficult to generate a kind of love and cherishing and strong appreciation for the kindness of a teacher who simply teaches us. It’s a real shift in our thinking, and it’s going to depend on to what degree we value the Dharma teachings, to what degree we regard them as the most precious thing in our lives.

More about the kindness of the teacher

Think about your teacher’s kindness as a distinct aspect of all the characteristics of your spiritual teacher. Apply this meditation to your specific spiritual teacher of this lifetime, or teachers, if you have more than one. Contemplate deeply that kindness. This can be a time-consuming and deep process. If we only think superficially about it, then we won’t receive the benefits of developing true devotion toward and reliance on our spiritual teachers. When we meditate on our teacher’s kindness, it’s important to actually generate some feeling in our hearts, some real feeling of appreciation for the extraordinary kindness of our teacher.

If you’re drowning and somebody saves your life, think of the kind of gratitude, the tearful overwhelming gratitude, that you would feel toward that person who possibly even risked their own life to save you. Now, shift that feeling … See if you feel that depth of gratitude and appreciation for your spiritual guide. That’s the intensity of feeling that it behooves us to reach with regard to our spiritual teacher.

If you don’t yet have a teacher, that’s also okay; you can use this same meditation to start to understand and appreciate the benefits and the qualities of your spiritual teacher of the future, whom you have yet to find. If you have not yet found a spiritual teacher that you regard as your own, these meditations can still be of great benefit to


you. It is important to recognize that the fact that we are here today, that we have great interest and even commitment and dedication to the Dharma, that we come here every week … all of this shows clearly that we have a connection with the Dharma and that we have had spiritual teachers in our past lives, who have guided us on this path. Our connection shows this. Something has sparked in us, and therefore the kindness of those spiritual teachers in our past lives has brought us here. We have made progress already, the qualities that we have of kindness, of generosity, of equanimity, of compassion toward others, all of those qualities we’ve developed over time because of having engaged in some kind of spiritual practice. We have the seeds and the potentials, but just as the flower seeds in our garden need fertilizer, sunshine, soil, water, and so on, our positive karmic seeds need our spiritual practice, our effort, the teachings, and the blessings of our gurus and the buddhas and bodhisattvas to ripen and grow. Thus, all of the positive qualities that we have are, in some way or another, because of our spiritual teachers of the past. Even the external benefits that we have in our life – of wealth, a favorable rebirth, just the fact that we are here in a human body – all of these things are due to our spiritual actions in the past, our having created the causes. Creating the causes comes from a spiritual practice. And a spiritual practice comes from following a spiritual teacher.

So as you can see, when we contemplate deeply the kindness of our spiritual teachers, it becomes quite a far-reaching meditation. We should think about their kindness in not only this life but in our past lives and our future lives as well. So having navigated the various steps of the meditation – (a) recognizing our guru’s positive qualities and kindness, (b) contemplating all the ramifications of what it means to have positive qualities, and (c) contemplating how our spiritual teacher, who manifests the positive results of spiritual practice, serves as strong inspiration for us to practice the Dharma seriously – at this point in our meditation we actually request inspiration and the blessings of our spiritual teacher from our heart.

Excerpts from

The Kindness of the Guruby Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Chapter 14 of The Heart of the Path: Seeing the Guru as Buddha by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, edited by Ailsa Cameron, Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive, 2009.

Developing respect by remembering the guru’s kindness

The second major division of devoting to the guru with thought is developing respect by remembering the guru’s kindness. Actually, the Tibetan word gü-pa doesn’t mean simply respect but something more like reverence. This outline has four sections:

(a) The guru is kinder than all the buddhas

(b) The guru’s kindness in teaching Dharma

(c) The guru’s kindness in blessing our mindstream

(d) The guru’s kindness in inspiring us to practice Dharma through material gifts


The guru’s main kindness is in teaching Dharma.

When remembering the kindness of our gurus we should recall their kindness in guiding us not only during this life but during beginningless lives. Our gurus are the absolute guru, the dharmakaya; therefore, our present gurus are all the gurus from our beginningless past lives who have guided us to the point of our present perfect human body and they are the same ones who, in our future lives, will guide us to enlightenment. Each of our gurus has been kind to us during beginningless samsaric lifetimes, is kind to us in this life and will also be kind to us in the future, until we achieve enlightenment. Recognizing our guru’s past, present and future kindness deepens our appreciation of his kindness.

Here it helps to understand the meaning of “unified primordial savior” [Tib: zung jug dang pöi gön po], an expression found in one of the requesting verses in Guru Puja.1 It describes the all-pervasive Vajradhara. If we keep in mind the real meaning of guru, we can see all our past-life gurus as just one. All our gurus—those who gave us vows and teachings in all our past lives, the gurus we have now and those we will have in the future—are just one being: the unified primordial savior, the primordial dharmakaya.

All our past, present and future gurus are just one, and they guide us through the conventional guru, who appears in accordance with our karma. This is the aspect we can see and receive direct guidance from. This is all our past-life gurus, all our present gurus and all our future-life gurus.

That unified primordial savior, that dharmakaya, that absolute guru, is bound by infinite compassion that embraces every single one of the numberless sentient beings. Why is the absolute guru working for us sentient beings? Because of compassion for all sentient beings. Compassion is like a pilot who flies a plane to different places, taking people to wherever they wish to be. The absolute guru is bound by perfect compassion, by compassion for all sentient beings, without excluding even one.

When meditating on the kindness of the guru, it is good to read the relevant verses in The Essence of Nectar (see appendix 5) and the first few lines of the abbreviated Calling the Lama from Afar (see appendix 2) and relate these verses to each of our gurus. Those who have studied Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand can use the section in The Essence of Nectar to expand their meditation on the kindness of the guru; those who haven’t had the chance to study Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand can use The Essence of Nectar to guide their meditation on the kindness of the guru and their practice of pleasing the guru with action. I find these verses very effective for my mind.

The words of The Essence of Nectar are profound and effective, as in the verse at the end of the requesting prayer to the lineage lamas:

The compassion of all the numberless Victorious Ones Manifested in the holy body of the supreme virtuous friend who reveals the path. To the kind root guru, I request,

1 Arising from the play of omniscient pristine awareness, You are the essence of ten million mandala cycles. Pervading lord of a hundred buddha families, foremost vajra holder, Unified primordial savior, I make requests to you. (V. 51.)


Please bless my mental continuum.

(a) The guru is kinder than all the buddhas

This section has two parts:

(i) the guru is kinder than all the buddhas in general

(ii) the guru is kinder than Guru Shakyamuni Buddha in particular.

While in terms of good qualities the guru is equal to all the buddhas, in terms of kindness the guru is much kinder than all the buddhas of the three times. More specifically, the guru is kinder than even the present founder of the Buddhadharma, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, who is also kinder than all the buddhas of the three times.

(i) The guru is kinder than all the buddhas in general

The Essence of Nectar says,

Not only are these, my saviors, Of the essence of all the Victorious Ones; In constantly guiding me with the nectar of holy Dharma, Their kindness is much greater than that of all the Victorious Ones.

Also, as mentioned in the requesting prayer in Guru Puja,

To those untamed by countless past buddhas,The unruly migrators of this degenerate age who are difficult to subdue,You show unmistakenly the good way of those gone to bliss.Compassionate refuge savior, I make requests to you.2

During our beginningless rebirths, countless buddhas have descended and led numberless sentient beings to enlightenment but we have been left out, unable to be guided by them. In his lam-rim teachings, Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo gives us some idea of how many buddhas have appeared in this world.

Between Buddha Mahashakyamuni and Buddha Rashtrapala, 75,000 buddhas appeared in this world but we were not subdued by them. This doesn’t mean that we didn’t exist in samsara at that time but that we didn’t have the karma to be subdued by those buddhas. As explained in the vinaya teachings, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha made offerings to these 75,000 buddhas in the first countless great eon of his following the path to enlightenment.

Next came Buddha Bhadrakara, and between Buddha Bhadrakara and Buddha Indradhvaja, 76,000 buddhas appeared in this world but again we didn’t have the fortune to be guided by any of them. When each of these buddhas descended, numberless other sentient beings had the karma to be led in the path to enlightenment and enlightened by them but we were left out; we didn’t have the karma to be subdued

2 V. 46.


by them. Guru Shakyamuni Buddha made offerings to these 76,000 buddhas in the second countless great eon of his following the path.

Then, between Buddha Dipamkara and Buddha Kashyapa, 77,000 buddhas appeared in this world; but even though each of these buddhas subdued numberless sentient beings and led them to enlightenment, we didn’t have the karma to be subdued by them. We were left out once more. Guru Shakyamuni Buddha made offerings to these 77,000 buddhas in the third countless great eon of his following the path.

According to the general sutra vehicle, the kind founder, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, accumulated merit by serving and making offerings to all these buddhas for three countless great eons, but specifically according to the Mahayana, as explained in Sutra of the Moon Lamp and other Mahayana sutras, Buddha offered service to countless times ten million buddhas, equal to the number of sand grains of the Ganges River. Even though such an incredible number of buddhas appeared, we were unable to be subdued by any of them. Yet we, who were unable to be subdued by all those previous buddhas, are now being guided by our present gurus.

Of the one thousand buddhas of this fortunate eon, three buddhas descended prior to Guru Shakyamuni Buddha. In this present eon, when the length of life of human beings in this world was 80,000 years, Buddha Krakucchanda appeared in this world and, by revealing Dharma, subdued countless sentient beings and led them to liberation and enlightenment, but we were left out, unable to be guided by him. When the human lifespan had decreased to 40,000 years, the second Buddha, Kanakamuni, appeared and, by revealing Dharma, subdued numberless sentient beings and led them to enlightenment. However, we were left out; we didn’t have the karma to be guided by this buddha. When the human lifespan had decreased to 20,000 years, Buddha Kashyapa appeared and, by revealing Dharma, subdued numberless sentient beings and brought them to liberation and enlightenment. Again we were left out. Even though these buddhas appeared, revealed Dharma and enlightened countless sentient beings, we didn’t have the fortune to be subdued by any of them. Our present gurus, however, are now guiding us—what could be kinder than this? In this way, our present gurus are kinder than all those numberless buddhas.

It’s as if our gurus give us food when we are starving and about to die, while the buddhas give us food when we already have plenty to eat. Or our guru is like a guide who suddenly, unexpectedly, appears and leads us to safety when we are terrified, lost and alone in a dark and dangerous place surrounded by packs of savage animals, whereas the buddhas are like those who come to guide us in the daytime when we are walking happily and fearlessly in a beautiful flower garden. In other words, when we have accumulated the merit to be able to see buddhas, our mind is already in a high state that is not greatly disturbed by delusions and defilements.

In Calling the Lama from Afar Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo says,

Thinking of how you show the excellent unmistaken path to me, an unfortunate wretched being, abandoned by all the buddhas—reminds me of you, Lama.


There have been numberless buddhas in countless universes, but we haven’t been subdued by any of them. During our beginningless past lives, we didn’t have the fortune to receive teachings directly from those buddhas and become enlightened. Numberless other sentient beings who were wandering in samsara with us have become enlightened, but we still haven’t achieved any realizations. Like this, we are pitiful. We are like the bone in meat, which can’t be eaten and has been cast aside. We are like the student who has been kicked out of school because he is impossible to help.

Numberless other sentient beings have become enlightened during our beginningless rebirths but we have been left out, which shows very clearly how selfish and unsubdued our mind has been. Even though our mind is like this and we are so pitiful, our guru has shown us the complete and unmistaken path to the happiness of future lives, liberation and enlightenment. Even if each guru hasn’t personally revealed the whole path, all our gurus together have shown us the complete path. Therefore, they are unbelievably kind, and without wasting this opportunity, we must practice this path, on the basis of correctly devoting ourselves to our virtuous friends.

(ii) The guru is kinder than Guru Shakyamuni Buddha in particular

The wheel-turning king, Aranemi, had one thousand sons, who will be the one thousand buddhas of the fortunate eon. When they generated the altruistic mind of bodhicitta, each of them vowed to subdue a particular field of sentient beings. Except for the son called Brahma Samudraraja, who would later become Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, all the rest of the one thousand sons made prayers to guide sentient beings in good times in this world. We were left out because those bodhisattvas were unable to generate the altruistic mind in relation to us. Guru Shakyamuni Buddha was the only one who specifically vowed to guide the sentient beings of the quarreling age, when the lifespan would be one hundred years and life would be very difficult because of the explosion of the five degenerations, with many wars, famines and other disasters. When Brahma Samudraraja generated bodhicitta, he made five hundred great prayers in front of his guru Buddha Ratnagarbha to be able to descend during the quarreling age and subdue the sentient beings of this time, who are so difficult to subdue and have been left out by all the other buddhas. The devas then praised this bodhisattva, saying, “You are like a white lotus among the one thousand buddhas.”

In this quarreling age, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, the founder of the present Buddhadharma, appeared in this world in the country of the aryas, India, revealed the Dharma and enlightened numberless sentient beings.

When Magadhabhadri invited Guru Shakyamuni Buddha from very far away to her house in Magadha with the invocation prayer “Protector of all beings without exception…,”3 Buddha took the time it takes to stretch out an arm to come from where he was to her house. Even during that short period of time Buddha liberated seven thousand sentient beings in the roads and forests along the way. This was just one occasion—there were so many others. However, on all such occasions, even though so many sentient beings, including animals, were liberated, we were unable to be subdued

3 Protector of all beings without exception; Divine destroyer of the intractable legions of Mara; Perfect knower of all things: Bhagavan and retinue, please come here.


by Guru Shakyamuni Buddha.

Guru Shakyamuni Buddha taught Dharma in Rajghir and many other places but we didn’t have the fortune to be his direct disciples and hear teachings directly from Buddha, achieve realizations of the path and become enlightened along with his other disciples. We were left out; we didn’t have the karma to be subdued by Guru Shakyamuni Buddha. Now, when the Buddha’s teaching is setting like the sun and everything is about to become dark in this world, our gurus are guiding us by revealing the Dharma. While Guru Shakyamuni Buddha is kinder than all the other buddhas of the three times, our virtuous friends are even kinder than Buddha.

After Guru Shakyamuni Buddha passed away, many great yogis and pandits appeared, like stars in the sky. The Seven Patriarchs—the Hearer Kashyapa, Ananda, Upagupta and so forth4—guided so many sentient beings, leading them in the path to liberation and enlightenment. However, we didn’t have the karma to be subdued by them. Even the one arhat, Upagupta, offered unbelievably extensive benefit to sentient beings. Each time one of his disciples became an arhat, Upagupta put one stick in a huge hole, twelve cubits square by six cubits deep, that he had dug in the ground. He completely filled that huge hole with sticks. Upagupta had 1,800,000 disciples who directly perceived emptiness. Even this one arhat liberated so many sentient beings but we didn’t have the karma to be liberated by him at that time.

The Six Ornaments—Nagarjuna, Asanga and so forth5—beautified the world and the Two Sublime Beings—Shakyaprabha and Gunaprabha—appeared, as did the Eighty Mahasiddhas: great yogis such as Saraha, Tilopa, Naropa, Indrabhuti and so forth.6

Each one of them brought unbelievable benefit to sentient beings by leading them in the path to liberation and enlightenment. Even though all these pandits and yogis appeared and ripened the minds of so many sentient beings, we didn’t have enough merit to be subdued by them. We were left out by all these pandits and yogis.

Even in Tibet, there were many, many great yogis. In the early times in Tibet, the trio of the Abbot (Shantarakshita), the Master (Padmasambhava) and the Dharma King (Trisong Detsen) appeared. Padmasambhava had twenty-five special followers, who achieved high realizations. They subdued great numbers of sentient beings and led them in the path to liberation and enlightenment but at that time we didn’t have the karma to be guided by them.

Many great yogis appeared from the Nyingma, Kagyü and Sakya traditions. At Drak Yerpa, a holy place near Lhasa, eight great Nyingma yogis who practiced secret mantra appeared. Kunga Nyingpo and the other great pandits known as the Five Sakya Lords benefited an unimaginable number of sentient beings by leading them in the path to liberation and enlightenment. Marpa, Milarepa and many other Kagyü lamas also appeared. One teaching explains that even among the disciples of Milarepa, twenty-eight became enlightened in one life, like Milarepa himself, and thousands of others actualized the clear light and illusory body as well as other realizations of the path to

4 The Seven Patriarchs are Kashyapa, Ananda, Shanavatsa, Upagupta, Dhitika, Krishna and Mahasudarshana.

5 The Six Ornaments are Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Asanga, Vasubandhu, Dignaga and Dharmakirti.6 For details of the Eighty Mahasiddhas, see Buddha’s Lions: The Lives of the Eighty-Four Siddhas.


enlightenment. So many great yogis appeared in Tibet but we didn’t have the karma to be subdued by any of them. We were left out.

We also didn’t have the karma to see and receive teachings from Lama Atisha or any of the Kadampa geshes. We didn’t have the karma to see and receive teachings even from Lama Tsongkhapa and his disciples, founders of the new Kadampa tradition. An inconceivable number of sentient beings received teachings from Lama Tsongkhapa and his disciples and were led to liberation and full enlightenment. But we were left out; we didn’t have the karma to be subdued by them.

Like stars in the sky, an inconceivable number of holy beings—buddhas, bodhisattvas, highly attained pandits and yogis—have appeared in India, Tibet and other places and have liberated numberless sentient beings, but we didn’t have the karma to receive teachings from or be subdued by them. Having created negative karma, we were wandering in the lower realms and didn’t have the fortune to be subdued by them. So far, during beginningless rebirths, we have been permanent residents in samsara, especially the lower realms.

Like a discarded bone, we have been cast aside by Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, all the Indian pandits and all the great Tibetan yogis. However, since our present gurus are guiding us, they are much kinder than all those other holy beings. If we hadn’t met our present gurus we would be completely ignorant. We would be called a human being simply because we have the external form of a human. If we hadn’t met our present gurus we would have had no opportunity at all to practice Mahayana Dharma, to create the cause of temporary and ultimate happiness and to abandon the cause of suffering. We would have had no opportunity to make preparation for the happiness of future lives, liberation and enlightenment.

If our present gurus weren’t guiding us, what would happen to us? We would be completely lost. There would be nobody to guide us on the path to the happiness of future lives and especially to liberation and full enlightenment. Therefore, our gurus are extremely kind, kinder than all the buddhas before Guru Shakyamuni Buddha and kinder than even Guru Shakyamuni Buddha. We should think, “How extremely kind my gurus are to guide me.”

In his requesting prayer, the great bodhisattva Thogme Zangpo says,

You liberate the extremely foolish and stubborn ones,Unable to be liberated by the many Gone to Bliss,From the ocean of samsara so difficult to cross:To you, precious Lord of Dharma, I make request.

Relate this verse to yourself. Because you are so deeply ignorant, stubborn and difficult to subdue, you have been left out by all the buddhas. Think of yourself, recognizing your own nature, then think of the kindness of your guru in liberating you from the ocean of samsara that is difficult to cross.

As mentioned in the requesting prayer in Guru Puja,

At this time when the sun-like teachings of the Sage are setting, You enact the deeds of a conqueror


For the many beings who lack a savior refuge. Compassionate refuge savior, I make requests to you.7

At this time the teachings of the Buddha are like a setting sun, about to disappear from this world. However, when sentient beings are completely lost, the gurus—sole saviors and objects of refuge for us and other sentient beings—perform the actions of all the buddhas. By remembering this verse, meditate on the kindness of the guru.

None of the previous buddhas and great yogis were able to subdue us; we were abandoned, like a child left alone in a jungle full of wild animals on a dark moonless night. Imagine being a child lost in an unknown place on a pitch-black night; you would be terrified. With no light and nobody to ask for help, you would be in a pitiful state. While you were lost and terrified, somebody’s suddenly appearing in front of you with a light would seem like a miracle. If this person was someone who you could trust and who could guide you out of the jungle, you would regard this person who saved your life as incredibly kind and precious.

This person’s kindness, however, is nothing compared to the kindness of our gurus, who save us from all the sufferings of samsara, including the unimaginable sufferings of the lower realms. We have been wandering, lost, in samsara, in the darkness of ignorance with no light of Dharma wisdom and attacked by many samsaric sufferings. We have been without a guide, left out by all the previous buddhas, including even Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, and by all the past pandits and yogis. At this most difficult time, our present gurus are showing us the light of Dharma wisdom and guiding us to liberation and enlightenment. There is no greater kindness than this.

At this time when we are deeply ignorant and unable to see any buddhas or bodhisattvas, our present gurus are unimaginably kind in manifesting in ordinary forms, which accord exactly with the level of our mind. It is only through these present ordinary aspects that we can receive the guidance of all the numberless buddhas of the three times. In showing ordinary aspects, our gurus are extremely kind because they thus enable all the buddhas to guide us to enlightenment. These ordinary aspects are extremely precious because without them we have no way to receive guidance from any of the numberless buddhas.

I think that even the aspects of the gurus with whom we have a karmic connection is an essential point in this meditation—we receive the guidance of all the buddhas through the aspect of this person with whom we have a karmic connection from the past. If there were no karmic connection with this particular person, he couldn’t benefit us in this way. We can understand this from our own individual experiences: when we have no karma with somebody we never establish a connection by meeting or hearing Dharma from that person.

Without these ordinary aspects, we have no way to receive teachings, no way to put them into practice and no way to achieve liberation from samsara or enlightenment. Without these ordinary aspects, we would be completely lost. We would have nobody to take care of us, nobody to guide us on the correct path to the happiness of future lives, liberation and enlightenment. This is the only way that we can achieve enlightenment

7 V. 47.


and then bring all sentient beings to enlightenment. Therefore, these ordinary aspects with faults are extremely kind and precious.

Keep on developing respect by remembering the guru’s kindness. The emphasis here is not so much on external respect but on respect in our heart, on devotion. This meditation on the guru manifesting in ordinary aspect also becomes part of remembering the kindness of the guru.

[Read the rest of the kindnesses in the book The Heart of the Path.]

. . .

The kindness of the guru in Guru Puja

In the prostration section of Guru Puja,8 first the qualities of the guru are described and then the kindness. It is very effective to meditate on each verse in relation to the kindness of each of our gurus.

Your compassion grants even the sphere of great bliss,The supreme state of the three kayas, in an instant.Guru with a jewel-like body, vajra holder.I prostrate at your lotus feet.

Our gurus give us all the teachings of the whole path to enlightenment, both lam-rim and tantra, as well as initiations; they teach us all the most secret, profound means of achieving enlightenment in this brief lifetime. By practicing these, we can become enlightened in this life. This is like achieving enlightenment in an instant, compared to one day in even the first category of the hot hells, Being Alive Again and Again, which is equivalent to nine million human years. Compared to the duration of beginningless time and one day of a hell-being’s life, our gurus grant us enlightenment in an instant. Our teachers are extremely kind in revealing to us the teachings of the entire path, which can grant us enlightenment, the sphere of great bliss, the supreme state of the three kayas, in a moment.

You are the wisdom-knowledge of all the infinite conquerorsAppearing in any way that subdues.With supreme skillful means, you manifest as a saffron-robed monk.Holy refuge-savior, I prostrate at your feet.

This second verse is talking about the kindness of the guru in manifesting in whatever form suits our mind. Even though there are numberless aspects of buddhas, since we can’t see buddhas in the form of buddhas, we can’t receive teachings from them in that form. Therefore, the guru is extremely kind in manifesting in his present form, which accords with our level of mind, and guiding us by giving the various teachings.

You eliminated all faults and their instincts

8 Vv. 18–22.


And are a treasury of infinite precious qualities.Sole source of benefit and bliss without exception,Perfect, pure guru, I prostrate at your feet.

In this verse, when we recite the line about eliminating all faults and even their imprints, it is good to think about all our delusions, every single one of them, and to remember all the negative actions we have done out of them. We should then remember in detail all the suffering of the six realms that has resulted from these negative karmas. For example, we should remember all the various problems of human beings that result from negative karma—not only old age, sickness and death, but famine, epidemic disease, relationship problems and the many other problems. Who is it that totally eliminates all our problems and their cause, negative karma and delusions? Our gurus.

We should think especially of eliminating the negative actions and delusions that result in the unimaginable suffering of the eight hot and eight cold hells, as well as the branch hells. No matter what pain we experience from heat and cold in the human realm, it is pleasurable compared to the sufferings in the hells. Who ends all our suffering in the hot and cold hells and its cause? Our gurus.

We should also think of the hungry ghosts, whose sufferings we couldn’t bear. We couldn’t survive without food or even a drop of water for seven days, yet hungry ghosts experience such great suffering for hundreds of years. Who completely ends the immense suffering we have to experience as a hungry ghost? Our gurus.

We should then think of all the animals, who are extremely foolish, suffer from heat and cold and eat one another. A human being couldn’t bear the suffering that animals experience; there is no way a human could bear even the hardship of not being able to explain her needs. Through giving us teachings, our gurus are the only ones who can completely end for us all the karma and delusions that bring this animal suffering.

When we recite the line, Sole source of benefit and bliss without exception, we should remember that every single merit we create is the action of the guru; it comes through the guru’s kindness. Who gives us every single happiness of past, present and future and every single quality of a buddha’s holy body, speech and mind? Who gives us all the merit that we receive? Our gurus. All the good things that we have now and will receive in the future, up to enlightenment, come through the kindness of the guru. Our gurus are treasures of inconceivable merit, source of all happiness and benefit, and the panacea of peace. This is why we prostrate at the holy feet of our gurus.

Teacher of gods and all, in nature all buddhas,The source of 84,000 pure dharmas,You tower above the whole host of aryas.Kind guru, I prostrate to you.

With this verse, we should think that each of our gurus is all the buddhas; each guru is Manjushri, Tara, Vajrapani and all the other buddhas. And because each guru is all the buddhas, each guru is the source of all the Dharma, of all the 84,000 teachings. Without


each of our gurus, there is no Buddha, there is no Dharma, there is no Sangha.

To gurus dwelling in the three times and ten directions,The Three Supreme Jewels and all worthy of homage:With faith, conviction and an ocean of lyric praise,I prostrate, manifesting as many bodies as atoms of the world.

The objects of prostration include not only living beings, but statues, scriptures, stupas and all other holy objects. Here we should remember that without the guru there is no Triple Gem with which we can accumulate merit. Without the guru, there is not even one statue to which we can make offering and with which we can accumulate merit; there is not even one scripture we can study to leave an imprint of the path; there is not even one stupa with which we can purify and accumulate merit. Any merit we accumulate with any holy object comes solely by the kindness of each of our gurus.

In relation to holy objects, we can think, “The guru manifested in these forms to enable me to purify my mind and collect merit.” It is such an easy way to collect merit, as it doesn’t even depend on our having a virtuous motivation. Even if our motivation is not Dharma, simply seeing, circumambulating, or prostrating or making offering to holy objects immediately becomes the cause of enlightenment, liberation from samsara and the happiness of hundreds of thousands of future lives. And, of course, it also affects this life. Because we purify so much negative karma, it reduces the problems of this life.

The existence of holy objects makes it so easy for us to purify our heavy negative karmas and collect extensive merit, enabling us to have realizations of the path to enlightenment. We should also understand that all these holy objects exist due to the kindness of the guru. By understanding that the meaning of guru is the dharmakaya, the holy mind of all the buddhas, we see that these holy objects happened through the kindness of the guru, or through the guru manifesting in them, to liberate us from samsara and bring us to enlightenment.

As mentioned in these verses, the guru has done the work of giving us all the teachings of the complete path to enlightenment, from beginning to end. If we had practiced these teachings, if we had followed the guru instead of our selfish mind, we would already have become enlightened, or at least had some attainment of the graduated path to enlightenment.

As mentioned here and in Six-Session Guru Yoga, it is definite that our gurus give us enlightenment in an instant; the fault is only that from our side we haven’t followed them. Our gurus have been unbelievably kind in giving us vows, thus helping to protect us from negative karmas and enabling us to accumulate merit. In this way, each of our gurus is leading us from our present state to the state of enlightenment. Each of our gurus is extremely kind.

This is the way to meditate on the kindness of the guru with these verses from Guru Puja. It is very effective to read or chant these verses slowly, meditating on their meaning.


Meditation on Relating to the Spiritual Mentor in Thought

by Ven. Constance Miller

Preparation:

Start by taking just a minute or two to focus on your physical body, finding the most beneficial position with your spine straight and erect, a position in which you can be aware and awake, but not stiff or rigid. Become present in the moment and place where you are.

Continue with a 5-minute breathing meditation. Focus the attention on the sensation of the breath flowing in and out at the opening of the nostrils. Let all thoughts go, like clouds in the sky. If distractions arise, be aware of them without getting involved and without judgment, then gently bring the attention back to the breath until your mind is peaceful and clear.

Motivation:

Create an altruistic motivation for the meditation session. Without a spiritual guide, there is no way at all to escape from the ocean of cyclic existence and thus to reach full enlightenment. A spiritual guide is the foundation of all the paths to liberation from samsara and enlightenment; it is essential to achieving these states. So think that you are meditating not just for your own well-being or peace of mind or good reputation, but you are taking the time now to meditate and accumulate vast stores of merit to be able to find a qualified spiritual guide in order to reach the state of enlightenment where you can most skillfully benefit all beings.

The main body of the meditation:

Step one: If you like, visualize your spiritual teacher in the space in front of you. Think about the essential good qualities of your spiritual mentor (either of the spiritual mentor in general, if you do not yet have a spiritual guide, or of the person whom you regard as your spiritual mentor). Focus on these qualities clearly and with some concentration. Generate a strong conviction or belief that your teacher has these qualities. This purifies the mind of disturbing emotions and attitudes towards the teacher, such as arrogance or doubt.

Step two: Next, think about what it means to “have good qualities.” First, good qualities are aspects of buddha-nature, that is, they are intrinsic potentials of the clear light mind (our purest level of mind). Also, in this case, a “quality” is something that corrects a deficiency. Therefore, even though all of us have the same potentials within us, fully realizing them comes from strengthening our natural abilities in order to overcome our shortcomings. Therefore, these qualities have arisen in our teacher through following cause and effect, training the mind, body, and speech in positive ways to overcome negative faults. Also, focus on the wonderful ways that your teacher is able to help you and others because of these qualities. In this way, generate faith based on reasoning.


Step three: Go on now to think that (a) we all have these same positive potentials of our buddha-nature, (b) we too can apply the appropriate effort, and (c) we can clearly see how developing these same qualities brings extensive benefit to ourselves and others. In this way, generate a strong determination to practice the Dharma and an aspiration to attain bodhichitta. As you meditate more deeply, positive enthusiasm arises in you to gain these same good qualities.

Step four: Reflect now on the great kindness of your spiritual teacher, especially in teaching you the methods and path to eliminate your suffering and reach the incredible goal of enlightenment. Think that your spiritual teacher is kinder than all the buddhas, and why this is so. Contemplate the immense value and rarity of the gifts you have received from your teacher due to that person’s extraordinary kindness.

Step five: With your mind suitably prepared and open to the inspiration of your spiritual teacher, from your heart, first offer the seven-limb prayer (either abbreviated or extensive), then from your heart make strong requests for blessings and inspiration in your Dharma practice, to overcome any specific obstacles or problems you may be having, and to gain the realizations of the path to enlightenment as quickly as possible. Request from your heart to be able to meet and recognize your spiritual teacher as soon as possible, in whatever guises he or she may appear, and to be able to receive and follow your teacher’s sage advice. Strongly request the blessings of all the buddhas and bodhisattvas throughout the universe that all of these things may come to pass in your life as quickly as possible.

Visualize that from your spiritual teacher come beams of light and nectar that flow through your crown and into you, bringing you all the blessings and inspiration of the path, eliminating all obstacles and wrong views and granting all realizations. Concentrate strongly on this with the conviction that this is truly taking place.

Then your spiritual teacher melts into light, which absorbs into your heart, remaining with you, present, always.

Dedication:

Dedicate the merits gained from this meditation to deepening your faith in being able to relate perfectly with your spiritual mentor as well as to being able to find (if you have not already) a perfectly qualified spiritual mentor in this life to lead you quickly to enlightenment. May all sentient beings have this same good fortune and be able to progress quickly along the path to enlightenment. May I and all sentient beings never be separated in all our lives from the perfect Dharma teachings and from a kind spiritual mentor who teaches it to us and kindly guides us on the path.


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Discovering Buddhism 4 – The Spiritual Teacher · 2012-08-24 · Discovering Buddhism 4 – The Spiritual Teacher Reading 3: Relying by Thought This lesson introduces the first