My dear Anthony,
Thank you very much for your kind letter. I must apologize that I did not come to Kopan Monastery for the course. I will accept you as my disciple. Since you have taken the Chenrezig initiation and the Highest Yoga Tantra teachings, you are already my disciple.

Regarding your question about the quickest way to achieve realization and enlightenment for sentient beings, first of all, Lama Tsongkhapa asked Manjushri, “What is the quickest way to achieve realization and enlightenment?” Manjushri answered, “Pacify the obstacles to achieving realization, through Vajrasattva practice and so forth. Then, collect the necessary conditions, the merits to achieve realizations, such as through mandala offerings and so forth. Then, one-pointedly request to the guru, receive blessings from the guru. Then, use action of the body, by meditating on the path to enlightenment.”

One answer to your question about the quickest way to achieve enlightenment is through compassion for other sentient beings. You will be able to achieve enlightenment quickest by having the strongest compassion. Maitreya Buddha generated bodhicitta and became a bodhisattva much earlier than the Buddha, but the Buddha became enlightened before Maitreya. Why? Because the Buddha’s compassion was much stronger than Maitreya Buddha’s. When they were brothers, they went to the forest and saw a tiger dying from starvation. Both of them saw it, then they went back home. Guru Shakyamuni then went back and gave his body to the tiger to eat to stop its suffering of starvation. Maitreya Buddha saw the tiger, but did not offer his body to it. Therefore, because the Buddha’s compassion was much stronger, he became enlightened earlier than Maitreya Buddha, even though Maitreya Buddha had generated bodhicitta earlier than the Buddha. There are many other stories to prove this. If you have stronger compassion, it means that whatever you do is of greater service to others. It becomes more powerful purification and also the means to collect extensive merit in a short time. This is how it becomes the quickest way to achieve enlightenment.

Another answer is correctly devoting yourself to the virtuous friend—with devotion and effort for a long time, looking at the guru as the Buddha, with the correct reasoning, which is explained in Buddha’s teachings, as well as commentaries by great Indian pandits, holy beings, and also Tibetan holy beings. With that devotion, seeing the guru as Buddha, you do whatever the guru advises, and correctly devote your body, speech, and mind to the virtuous friend, cherishing the guru as much more precious than one’s own life. The minute you have that thought, seeing the guru as Buddha, you have no difficulties at all, and it is so easy to fulfill his or her advice. One is able to put all the advice into practice, whatever is given, and there are no difficulties, just bliss all the time, when you are able to do this. You don’t feel it as a burden. You feel so willing and happy. This is why Milarepa achieved enlightenment in a few years—through strong guru yoga practice, cherishing the guru and the guru’s advice more than his own life. Not only Milarepa, but Naropa, Tilopa, Gyalwa Ensapa —the disciple of Lama Tsongkhapa’s disciple—the great yogi Chökyi Dorje, and so many others also achieved enlightenment in one brief lifetime. All of this was due to their strong guru yoga practice, guru devotion, and cherishing the guru’s advice more than their own life. This becomes the most powerful purification, and the quickest way to collect extensive merit. You receive blessings from the guru. So, this is the other answer to the quickest way to achieve enlightenment.

You must study well the chapter on guru devotion in the Lamrim Chenmo, Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand and other texts. You should do meditation every day on guru devotion, no matter how many lifetimes it takes, until you achieve a stable realization that every single buddha is all the gurus and each guru is all the buddhas, seeing them as one. Every day, continue your guru devotion meditation based on the lamrim outline. Do some part of the outline one day, and then another part of the outline the next day. When you have finished, then go back to the beginning again. As much as possible, always abide in the guru’s advice. Always practice mindfulness. Whenever there is a danger for heresy and anger to arise, recognize that by thinking of it as your biggest enemy. Try to pacify it.

So, you should realize that obtaining and following the guru’s word is really wish-fulfilling, because by following his or her advice then you achieve everything, including enlightenment. How many times you fulfill his or her advice, the quicker and easier it will be to achieve enlightenment. Each word of your guru that you follow is more valuable than wish-granting jewels filling the whole sky. Remember always how precious and how important it is. Do not allow your mind to be under the control of delusion. And, as I mentioned before about compassion, practice having a good heart with everyone.

Regarding daily practice, if you have taken a Highest Yoga Tantra initiation, you must do six-session yoga. As daily practice, first generate a bodhicitta motivation toward all sentient beings, and, at the same time, you can chant the mantra OM MANI PADME HUM. In this way you have fulfilled your commitment. You can also do tong-len practice, taking on other sentient beings’ sufferings and giving one’s happiness to them, and you can recite OM MANI PADME HUM at the same time if you can. Then, do the practice for blessing speech. Then, perform prostrations by reciting the Thirty-five Buddhas’ names. That is extremely beneficial. Then, perform the Guru Puja, if you can, otherwise practice Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga. That would be very, very good. The Guru Puja contains so many important practices of sutra and tantra. You are unbelievably fortunate in being able to practice the Guru Puja. Every day, recite one lamrim prayer and one prayer of the graduated tantric path. These plant the seeds of the whole path to enlightenment every time you recite these two prayers. So, it is very important to read these two prayers. It prepares the mind for realization and to achieve the two kayas in the future. In the evening, recite Vajrasattva mantra, if possible one mala, half a mala, or 21 times, to purify the day’s negative karma, so that it does double by the next day. One should also take the lay vows. After finishing the lamrim prayer and Lama Chöpa, do lamrim meditation based on the Lama Chöpa lamrim prayer, expanding each topic from within that context.

First, study Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, if you have not studied it. The daily text to use is Advice from the Spiritual Friend: Essential Nectar. You should use that for daily lamrim meditation practice.

Please practice the following:

• five months on the graduated path of the lower capable being
• eight months on the middle path of lamrim
• 11 months on bodhicitta
• eight months on emptiness

This does not mean that you cannot meditate on other topics, but these are the main focus for some months of study before meditating. Then, consider your daily life as constituting break time, “break” here meaning a break from sitting meditation, not a break from Dharma. Also, try to live your life with the mind of bodhicitta, and with that, offer service to others.

With much love and prayer...