December 14, 1993

Oral transmission of the Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga

One of the practices is guru yoga practice, the practice of guru devotion that allows us to receive the blessings of the guru. From the blessing, the realizations of the path to enlightenment come. That is the purpose of practicing guru yoga. It is a very important preliminary practice and the root of the path to enlightenment. We can practice guru yoga with any buddha but here we are practicing guru yoga with Lama Tsongkhapa, the guru yoga practice [where we see the Buddha as] inseparable with Lama Tsongkhapa.

There are eight particular benefits of doing the Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga practice, as explained by Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo, the great enlightened being who taught Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, the commentary on the stages of the path to enlightenment.

The first benefit is that it establishes the root of all the collections of goodness. (That sounds like “my goodness!”)[Laughter] It establishes the root of all the collections of goodness of this life and future lives, which means happiness in this and future lives, temporal happiness and ultimate happiness: liberation from samsara and even highest enlightenment.

The second benefit is that whatever we do—listening, studying, reflecting, meditating—becomes effective, beneficial. Everything we do takes our mind in the right direction, diminishing the self- cherishing thought and so forth. Whatever Dharma study we do benefits to our mind.

The third benefit is that we don’t get harmed. We don’t receive obstacles, interferences.

The fourth benefit is that we are not harmed by nagas, spirits. For example, many diseases such as arthritis and cancer are related to naga harm; the outside condition is to do with nagas. Different types of spirits [bring different harm] such as paralysis or epilepsy. But we are protected because the Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga is not just Tsongkhapa’s aspect alone but an integration of the three deities, Manjushri, the Buddha of Wisdom; Chenrezig, the Compassionate Buddha; and Vajrapani, who is the embodiment of all the buddhas’ power.

The fifth benefit is that it brings all of us all our wishes.

The sixth benefit is that we see our own guru as inseparable from Lama Tsongkhapa. This is the particular benefit of doing this guru yoga. It transforms our mind into this pure thought of guru devotion, looking at our own guru as inseparable with Lama Tsongkhapa, integrated in these three deities, and in particular Manjushri. It is a common experience that through this guru yoga meditation people are able to develop [the seven] wisdoms: great wisdom, clear wisdom, profound wisdom, quick wisdom, the wisdom of explaining Dharma, debating wisdom and writing Dharma. It is a common experience that by doing this guru yoga practice related to Lama Tsongkhapa, people are able to develop wisdom, even just through doing a one- or two-month retreat.

The seventh benefit is that from life to life we are able to meet Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings. There are special benefits from meeting the sutra and tantra teachings, but this is one of the very special benefits. One of the special qualities of Lama Tsongkhapa’s teaching is that they clearly show the most subtle points of the Dharma, in both sutra and tantric practice, ones that many famous meditators make mistakes with. Lama Tsongkhapa made very clear, detailed explanations, explaining what are the mistakes and what are the correct teachings, the right path to be practiced.

For example, in the calm abiding meditation, shamatha, there are two obstacles to having perfect single-pointed concentration: attachment-scattering mind and sinking mind. To achieve calm abiding, the special concentration that is achieved through the extremely refined rapturous ecstasy of mind and body, we must completely overcome these two obstacles, both of which have gross and subtle aspects. It is very difficult to recognize subtle sinking thought and there are many meditators who believe this subtle sinking thought is perfect meditation. It is impossible to ever achieve perfect calm abiding while holding this misconception.

Lama Tsongkhapa especially made extensive clarification of the subtle points of emptiness, the right view, giving an extremely detailed explanation, showing what were the wrong understandings of emptiness, the wrong meditations on emptiness, and explaining the extremely subtle dependent arising, the Prasangika’s view of how everything is a dependent arising, existing by being merely labeled by mind and at the same time empty of existing from its own side. This very subtle emptiness or dependent arising is the only path that can directly cut the root of samsara.

He also showed how to achieve the illusory body in tantra, something many meditators make mistakes with. Lama Tsongkhapa made extensive clarification on all those subtle points where many meditators make mistakes, believing they were doing the right meditation or achieving such and such a realization.

So, this benefit is not just having met Lama Tsongkhapa’s teachings, which have these special qualities, the extensive, clear explanations, the clarification of these subtle points; it also allows us to have a successful practice with correct understanding, where we are protected from obstacles to quick enlightenment.

The eighth benefit of practicing the Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga is that even if we do not become enlightened in this life, when death comes we can reincarnate in the pure realm of Tushita, Lama Tsongkhapa’s pure realm. Once there, we will have the opportunity to practice tantra and complete the path and become enlightened.

So, these are particular benefits of practicing the guru yoga, seeing one’s own root guru as inseparable from Tsongkhapa, like that.

Think, “At any rate I must achieve enlightenment quickly and more quickly for the sake of all sentient beings, to free them from all suffering and lead them to enlightenment. Therefore, I am going to take the oral transmission of the Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga.

[Rinpoche gives the oral transmission]

Along with this guru yoga, there is also the lamrim prayer, the oral transmission of the prayer of the steps of the path to enlightenment, which is extremely important to recite every day to leave the imprint of the whole path to enlightenment. Reciting this prayer each day leaves the imprint of the whole path to enlightenment, which means that each day we become closer to the realization of the path to enlightenment. Each day we become closer to enlightenment, and that means each day we become closer to freeing all sentient beings from all suffering and leading them to enlightenment. Therefore reciting this lamrim prayer at least once a day is the fundamental practice; it is more important than just spending time reciting mantras or doing a breathing meditation or so forth. It makes our life very rich; it makes each day life very rich. Then, whatever other practice we do on the basis of reciting this one lamrim prayer mindfully, even meditating on the lamrim, if it’s done mindfully, it leaves an imprint. So this is the very fundamental practice, whether we recite mantras or meditate on the lamrim or do tantric sadhanas or whatever.

For beginners who cannot do a long guru yoga practice or long prayers, there is a condensed meditation that I put together, a short everyday practice on how to meditate on the lamrim, on the steps of the path to enlightenment. There is a short preliminary, then the lamrim prayer and then the dedication. You can recite whatever mantras you have to, to heal a disease or solve problems, whatever it is. You can do those mantras after that. Then, you can meditate on the lamrim. And for those who can do the practice, there are many other practices like the Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga, the Guru Puja and so forth.

[Rinpoche chants]

This is requesting the transmission. This should be done before the lamrim prayer.

[Rinpoche chants]

Dedications

Then, we dedicate the merits.

“Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by me, and collected by the buddhas and bodhisattvas, may bodhicitta, which is the source of all happiness and success, be generated in my mind and in the minds of all the other sentient beings, and in those who have bodhicitta, may it be developed.

“Due to all these merits, may I and all sentient beings be guided by Lama Tsongkhapa, and may Lama Tsongkapa be our direct guru in all our lifetimes. May we never be separated from the pure path that is highly admired by all the buddhas, the pure path of Lama Tsongkhapa.” You can include your own family and anybody you wish to pray for. You can include them here and then the rest of the sentient beings.

[Rinpoche chants]

“Due to all the three-time merits accumulated by me, and collected by the buddhas and bodhisattvas, due to all those merits, may I and all sentient beings, my family and all sentient beings, be guided in all our lifetimes to only meet the perfectly qualified Mahayana virtuous friend. From my side and the side of all sentient beings, may we only see the virtuous friend as the Buddha and only do actions pleasing to the holy mind of the virtuous friend. May I be able to fulfill his holy wishes immediately by myself, and may it be the same for each sentient being.”

So, this prayer is the cause of all the success.

[Rinpoche chants]

“Due to all the three-time merit accumulated by me and by all the buddhas and bodhisattvas, all these merits that are empty from its own side, may the I, who is empty from its own side, achieve Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment, Lama Tsongkhapa’s enlightenment, that is also empty, and lead all sentient beings, who are empty, to that enlightenment as quickly as possible by myself alone.”

[Rinpoche chants]

I received the lineage of the Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga practice from His Holiness Zong Rinpoche and from His Holiness Ling Rinpoche. I also might have received it from other lamas, I don’t remember. Then, yesterday morning, the very powerful purification practice, Dorje Khadro, the offering burning practice, that we did, I received the lineage of the oral transmission here at Kopan many years ago from Lama Yeshe.

That’s all. Thank you very much.