One very high lama from Drepung Monastery called Trehor Kyorpon Rinpoche, after he became a geshe lharampa, he finished studying in the monastery and, of course, while he was in the monastery he was not only intellectually studying the scriptures but also living in the practice at the same time. He was in the monastery meditating on what he learned, and trying to make his mind familiar with that, to transform his mind in the path to enlightenment, the sutra and tantra.

At a similar time he did the geshe examination in Lhasa during the great prayer celebration that was organized by Lama Tsongkhapa.¹ The geshes who had completed their study of the five major sutra texts—the Pramanavarttika, the text on logic; the Abhisamayalamkara, Maitreya Buddha’s teaching, which is a detailed study on the path to enlightenment; the Madhyamaka, extensive teachings on emptiness, the two truths, also on the path and the Vinaya, the extensive studies on all the different vows and especially the vows of the fully ordained ones; and the Abhidharmakosha, which has four or maybe eight chapters, I’m not sure. 

Anyway, for those who had finished studying, Lama Tsongkhapa organized during that time for the geshes to offer examination of what they had studied in their life, to give answers to any questions and to analyse the path. However, the basic subjects were the two truths; the path, method and wisdom; and the achievement, rupakaya and dharmakaya.

In the other sessions they did prayers and meditations to purify the negative karma, the obstacles, to actualize the realizations of the path to enlightenment and to be able to complete their study. As well as that, they also prayed for others who died and who were sick or those who needed help. So they did the prayers also for others. Many lay people came there to make offerings to the Sangha, to circumambulate, to make offerings, so there were many extensive offerings to the Sangha at the altar. They made food offerings, tea offerings, money offerings and so forth.

Lama Tsongkhapa organized that during those fifteen days, the Buddha’s miracle days. From the twelve holy deeds of Buddha there are fifteen days where the Buddha is performing miracles to subdue other different sentient beings, to bring them to full enlightenment.

During those days whatever practice we do [the merit is multiplied], for example, if we recite one Vajrasattva mantra, that becomes one hundred million Vajrasattva mantras. If we do one prostration to the merit field, to a statue of the Buddha or a stupa or scripture, that becomes one hundred million prostrations. One light offering becomes one hundred million light offerings. Whatever practice we do, Lama Tsongkhapa, because of his great compassion toward sentient beings, the skillfulness to cause others to collect extensive merit in a short time and to purify inconceivable defilements and negative karma, he organized this Great Prayer Festival during these fifteen days.

So, for monks to meditate and to discuss on the path, to do extensive analysis, and for lay people to make offerings during those times. And then during one of the sessions in the morning, Gaden Tripa, who was the regent of Lama Tsongkhapa, read the Buddha’s life story, the Jataka Tales, how for three countless great eons in the Buddha’s past life as a bodhisattva, he made charity himself for other sentient beings. He sacrificed his life for other sentient beings and practiced morality and patience and so forth. He collected two types of merit, the merit of wisdom and the merit of virtue, and achieved full enlightenment. With that experience he then revealed Dharma, so he led numberless sentient beings into enlightenment. He liberated and led them. He liberated them from the suffering of samsara and led them into the peerless happiness, full enlightenment.

In every second after enlightenment, especially after enlightenment, in every second, that’s what is happening. Buddha is liberating numberless sentient beings and bringing them to full enlightenment. To inspire others in how to practice Dharma or to be able to follow the Buddha’s example, how the Buddha bore so much hardship to benefit other sentient beings, to achieve enlightenment for other sentient beings, so to be able to follow the Buddha’s example. Lama Tsongkhapa put together so many things, he organized that to benefit sentient beings.

Trehor Kyorpon Rinpoche did an examination with Serkong Dorje Chang, a great yogi, one of the great lamas in Tibet who had completed the three [principal aspects of the path]—renunciation, bodhicitta, emptiness—on the basis of guru devotion, then he completed the two stages of tantra. That happened during the Thirteenth Dalai Lama’s time.

The Thirteenth Dalai Lama was very, very strict, so His Holiness Serkong Dorje Chang, this great yogi and great scholar, the great yogi-lama, was the one who was officially accepted by His Holiness the Thirteenth Dalai Lama as qualified to practice, to do those very high practices of tantra with the secret wisdom mother, to complete the tantric path. He’s one lama that the Thirteenth Dalai Lama officially, very happily, accepted, that His Holiness Serkong Dorje Chang can practice this.

However, that great yogi, His Holiness Serkong Dorje Chang, passed away, then he reincarnated, studied in the monastery and passed away in Nepal, where he lived for many years. After Rinpoche escaped from Lhasa, he lived in Swayambhunath, Nepal, for many years. Serkong Dorje Chang was exactly the same as those ancient yogis, like Tilopa, Naropa, Marpa and Milarepa. However, Serkong Dorje Chang was the embodiment of Marpa, as he himself told one monk. When it was the right time and the right person then Rinpoche would talk about his own experience or life stories, when it was the right time and the right person. Anyway, he was the embodiment of Marpa.

The son of Serkong Dorje Chang, whose holy name is His Holiness Tsenshap Serkong Rinpoche, is someone from whom I received many initiations and teachings, many hundreds of sets, two hundred sets of initiations and many teachings. He was unbelievably kind, always taking care of me, always thinking of my needs and always trying to help in the understanding of the teachings or things.

His Holiness Tsenshap Serkong Rinpoche was the son of Serkong Dorje Chang’s past life incarnation,² the one who practiced the secret wisdom mother. Serkong Dorje Chang said that His Holiness Tsenshap Serkong Rinpoche was the son of Marpa, called Darma Dodé. He was the son of Marpa, who was the guru of the Tibetan great enlightened being, Milarepa.

Then there’s one incarnate lama whose past life was His Holiness the Dalai Lama guru’s guru. His Holiness Ling Rinpoche and His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche, many of those high lamas, their guru was Tsechog Ling Rinpoche. So he passed away and reincarnated. That one is said by Serkong Dorje Chang to be Milarepa, the incarnation or embodiment of Milarepa. So that Serkong Dorje Chang passed away in Nepal and has now reincarnated and is studying in Ganden Monastery.

Whenever I went to see His Holiness Serkong Dorje Chang,³ the one who was in Nepal, whenever I was in his presence, there was no doubt that this was really Yamantaka, that this was a real deity, the extremely wrathful aspect of Manjushri, Yamantaka. There was not one single doubt; it was very natural to feel that in his presence. So I regard Serkong Dorje Chang, Rinpoche, as my guru. The reason why I regard Rinpoche as my guru is just because of this teaching that he gave, just one instruction.

I heard about Rinpoche when I was living in India at Buxa, the concentration camp, where I lived eight years. There were about one thousand monks who escaped from Lhasa, from Tibet. There were supposed to be 1,500 monks. They were the monks who wanted to continue their study in the monasteries of Lama Tsongkhapa’s tradition, at Sera, Ganden, Drepung, these monasteries. Then there were monks from other traditions, Kagyü, Nyingma, Sakya, but a small number. They all lived in one place, in what used to be a concentration camp before, when India was under the control of the British.

I heard about the incredible qualities or life stories of Serkong Dorje Chang when I was there, so I had a great wish to meet the great yogi, the Tibetan lama, Serkong Dorje Chang. So after we met the first student from Russia, Zina, we went to Nepal. We were going to go to Sri Lanka, because she wanted to start a Mahayana center there in Sri Lanka, so that was the plan. However, at that time there was not a good relationship between Russia and India, and the Indian government suspected that she might be a Russian spy. Anyway, Lama suggested to go to Nepal because I was born in Nepal, at Solu Khumbu, so Lama thought to go to Nepal.

So we went to Nepal, and then one day we went to see His Holiness Serkong Dorje Chang at what is called by tourists the Monkey Temple, or Swayambhunath, where there’s this very holy, precious stupa. When we reached there, a very simple monk came from upstairs to the steps.

Then I asked, “Where is Serkong Dorje Chang?” The monk said, “Wait a little bit.” Then we went upstairs. I’m not sure whether we waited or not, but anyway we went upstairs. We went inside the room, and the simple monk that we saw before who said to wait some time, actually, that was Serkong Dorje Chang. He was sitting in the room on the bed.

Anyway, that time, Zina, the first student, whenever there were high lamas she often liked to go to see them and talk to them. Sometimes we helped her. Lama helped to make questions for her to ask those lamas; he helped her to make Dharma questions. That time, His Holiness Serkong Dorje Chang gave an answer to her. I'm not sure, I don’t remember the question, but Rinpoche’s answer was on the guru devotion. It was very profound, very strong, but what I can remember, with Rinpoche’s voice it was unbelievable, he just had a very deep voice.

What I can remember and translated, only the part that Rinpoche said, is that if the guru is sitting on the floor, then think that the Buddha is sitting there. From the short advice, the very profound advice that Rinpoche gave, only that part I remember. Then Zina asked him to read a Dharma text. Rinpoche had some Dharma texts piled next to his bed where the pillow was. And then Rinpoche said, “No, no. I’m completely ignorant.” He said, “I don’t know anything, I’m completely ignorant.” So that’s what happened.

Later, there’s one Gelugpa monastery near Boudhanath Stupa where they were doing nyung-nä, the Compassion Buddha practice, the two days of intensive retreat. The benefactor wanted to invite another Rinpoche, Drubtob Rinpoche, who lived on the same mountain, Swayambhunath, but the monks wanted to invite Serkong Dorje Chang to give the eight Mahayana precepts in the morning during nyung-nä.

What happened was that the monks invited Serkong Dorje Chang, so Rinpoche gave precepts in the morning. Sorry, Rinpoche came, so that morning everybody gathered—the lay people and the monks who are going to do nyung-nä. Rinpoche came and sat down. He had brought the text of the eight Mahayana precepts, to give the eight Mahayana precepts.

He opened the text and said, “If you want to practice Dharma, if the guru says to lick that hot kaka, excrement, then lick it.” If the guru says, “Lick that hot kaka,” then you should be able to go there, you should be able to go there immediately;  you should be able to lick the hot kaka. You should be able to lick it immediately.

That’s all Rinpoche said. He said that, then he closed the text and he left. So that was it. That was his motivation for giving the eight Mahayana precepts during nyung-nä. After that he covered the text and then left. So that’s it. Then we took the eight Mahayana precepts. Because the monks didn’t want to take them from the other Rinpoche, we took the precepts from the altar.

Anyway, that was extremely effective. That advice was like dynamite, like an atomic bomb, extremely powerful. So I regard Rinpoche, His Holiness Serkong Dorje Chang, as a guru.

Now, the main thing is not about His Holiness Serkong Dorje Chang, but about the other one, Trehor Kyorpon Rinpoche. Because they did examination together, so this story just happened, but then what I am going to tell you is that Trehor Kyorpon Rinpoche, after he did the examination, he left the monastery. He went to the mountains, to a very high mountain near Lhasa, you always see it with clouds on the top. He carried the monk’s yellow robes, those needs, and one Lamrim Chenmo text, and just that. He went with his attendant, who was also a great practitioner, to look for caves on this very high mountain.

As he was going up on the mountain to look for a cave there was a stone dropping, a stone falling down, so he followed that up to the place from where the stone had fallen down and after some time he saw a cave. By following from where the stone had fallen down he saw a cave and in this cave was a skeleton meditating, sitting like this, in the cave. So then Rinpoche sat down and offered a mandala.

After he had offered a mandala, the skeleton sitting like this in the cave collapsed. So then Rinpoche decided to live in that cave to actualize the path, to meditate on lam-rim. Then gradually his disciples came to meditate, to experience, to have realization of the lam-rim. They did retreat, not very near, with quite a distance, one there, one there, one there—scattered, like that.

After Rinpoche fled from Tibet then at Dalhousie, which is near Dharamsala, he started a group. There are incarnate lamas and geshes who have done study on those five scriptures, so he selected those who requested to be guided, to come to meditate there, to have lam-rim realization. Rinpoche selected only those who could really practice and have realizations.

All those ascetics, all those were living in pure Dharma, living an ascetic life, so he guided them for many years. He gave extensive teachings on lam-rim for the very top ones, including the very top learned lamas and geshes, those who were learned in Tibet, in Lhasa, in all the three monasteries. There were abbots, top learned lharampas, many incarnate lamas and many geshes. He gave extensive lam-rim teachings and also guided them. Then he passed away quite some time ago. I don’t remember whether there’s an incarnation or not, I haven’t heard.

Sorry, it has become a long story. So Trehor Kyorpon Rinpoche said “A person who has high intelligence, who has so much merit collected, who has collected so much imprint on the mental continuum, the imprint of teachings on emptiness, who has collected a lot of merit and imprints, who has collected a lot of imprint of teachings on emptiness, has no difficulties to realize emptiness. The person for whom it is difficult to realize emptiness is the one who has very small merit, very small imprint left on the mental continuum. So to realize emptiness is difficult for those people.”

This is the main point I was going to tell you, but I think I went for a vacation. Anyway, this is the point, what I meant. This is the point, but it became scattered or side talk.

Therefore, when you meditate on emptiness, you don’t have the experience of what is emptiness, of realizing or seeing emptiness. When you see emptiness, how it appears to you, how it is the experience, seeing emptiness. What is the appearance to your mind during that time? How is it the experience of seeing emptiness, since you don’t have those ideas?

Those who have experienced it, then you just remember that experience that you just had, during the meditation on emptiness, the dharmakaya. For those who are doing a Highest Yoga Tantra sadhana or a lower tantra sadhana there is a point that you must meditate on emptiness. Of course, from the beginning of the sadhana you are supposed to be aware of emptiness; from the beginning to the end of the sadhana, because otherwise one mind practicing method and wisdom together doesn’t happen. So you don’t make your mind become a vajra mind, with the inseparability of the two, method and wisdom. If you missed emptiness then one mind is practicing method, but not practicing wisdom. So your mind does not become vajra, then also it does not become yana, because one mind practicing method and wisdom together, which  becomes the vehicle that brings you to enlightenment, that doesn’t happen.

However if you have some experience of that one, then you remember those points. Whichever emptiness you’re going to meditate on—emptiness of the I, emptiness of the aggregates, emptiness of form, sound, smell, taste, tangible object, emptiness of whichever phenomena—so you bring that experience there, the experience that you had before. That’s the way, perhaps it’s the most powerful way, to meditate on emptiness. What made your mind see emptiness that time, with that kind of meditation techniques, you can use. That shows it may be a more powerful technique for your mind, so you could use that same technique to meditate on the emptiness of other phenomena.

However, if you don’t have those experiences, if you don’t have any experience of seeing or realizing emptiness, then since you don’t have any experience, it’s very important to rely on and to take refuge in the correct words, the correct presentation of emptiness.

If you’re meditating on the emptiness of I, whether you meditate on emptiness by using logic, that this I is a dependent arising, or whether you meditate that this I is non-inherently existent [it brings the same result.] When you use logic, think that this I is dependent arising, or you can meditate that this I exists in mere name, being merely labeled by thought relating to the base, the aggregates, the collection of the five aggregates—form, feeling, cognition, compounding aggregates and the consciousness—the collection of these five, the association of the body and mind. So the I exists being merely labeled, the I is merely labeled from the side of the mind. The I is merely labeled from the side of the mind relating to the base, the aggregates.

When you meditate on the extremely subtle dependent arising, the way the I is existing, the extremely subtle, most subtle way, the extremely subtle dependent arising, by meditating on that, then it brings the same conclusion that the I is empty. As a result it gives the understanding that the I is empty, that it does not exist; it is empty of independence, it does not exist from its own side. It does not exist from its own side, it’s totally nonexistent, empty from its own side.

Or, by using the logic, to be able to see the I is empty maybe using the logic that the I is dependent arising; or that this I is non-inherently existent, that the I is non-inherently existent.

So, this can be an effective meditation also in your daily life. Do something short like this, thinking this way.

If we have very strong guru devotion to all the gurus from whom we have received a Dharma connection, even an oral transmission of a mantra or whatever, so to everyone, we look at them as a buddha from our side. From their side whether they are a buddha or not; from our own side we look at them as a buddha, using the quotations that the Buddha explained, that Buddha Vajradhara explained. We can also use our own personal experiences, the special experiences that we have had, that support the quotations and the reasoning.

By looking at the guru as a buddha, then we see him as a buddha. We look at the guru as a buddha, using the quotations by Buddha Vajradhara and Guru Shakyamuni Buddha and the reasoning that is explained in the Buddha’s teachings. We can use the reasoning of Lama Tsongkhapa and those valid lamas from other traditions, such as Milarepa and so forth. We can use the experiential explanations of guru devotion of those very highly attained valid lamas, so our mind enters that kind of state.

It’s not a dry mind where there’s no wetness of devotion. It’s not like a desert, a hot desert place where there’s no water and nothing grows. It’s not like that. Our mind is filled with devotion by seeing everyone that we have a connection with as a buddha. Our mind is very much in a positive state, it’s a positive mind toward them, a pure mind toward them, like that.

The stronger devotion there is, then the experience of other meditations—whether it’s emptiness, whether it’s compassion or whether it’s impermanence, anything—is very easy to experience, very easy to feel. When our mind has strong guru devotion then also the prayers like Guru Puja and so forth, any prayer, any meditation or lam-rim prayer, that we didn’t have any feeling before; when our mind is in a great devotional state toward the guru then the same prayer that we have been saying for many years, for a long time now, with every single word we find great taste. With every single word we find great taste, great meaning, it’s very rich. While we’re saying the prayer, we feel the meaning in our heart.

While we’re saying the prayer we feel the meaning of it in our heart. While we’re doing the prayer, our mind feels the meaning of the prayer. Before it was just words, but now with this strong guru devotion, while we’re saying the prayer our mind feels the meaning of the prayer. We experience the meaning of the prayer. Then we feel the prayer that we have been reciting is so precious, such a precious one, we feel that.

Any meditation we do, it’s easy to feel, so there’s no gap between the lam-rim prayer or any other meditation or prayer that we recite. In our heart there’s no gap, there’s no separation. There’s a connection, we can feel oneness. Our heart and the prayer that we say are oneness, our heart is transformed by the meaning, so our mental state is like that. At the same time, with this strong guru devotion we’re collecting extensive merit, and it’s a very powerful practice of purification.

With this positive mind, with this devotional mind, we are correctly devoting to the virtuous friend with thought. Then the other one is action. Obtaining advice is the main thing; then there are actions such as doing service, physical service, for the virtuous friend. With body, speech and mind, whatever, doing service. Of course, with that devotional mind there is no heresy, no anger arises, no negative thoughts arise, so we don’t create heavy obstacles or negative karma to achieve realizations. We don’t create heavy obstacles to achieve realizations of the path to enlightenment. So it becomes unbelievable protection in our own life, unbelievable protection for our own mind and our life.

However, if not that, the main thing is obtaining the advice, then doing powerful, intensive purification by doing Vajrasattva practice, prostrations by reciting the Thirty-five Buddhas’ names and so forth. It’s unbelievably powerful purification. And also by doing mandala offering and so forth. With this strong devotional thought then making mandala offering and so forth is a method, a means to collect extensive merit. When all these things are done, they are the cause, all these are necessary conditions to collect extensive merit and purify the defilements, the negative karmas.

When we do all these things, it’s like pouring water on seeds which we have cultivated in the ground. We are making them wet, so then they can produce the stems. That is devotion toward the virtuous friend. It makes the mind wet by the devotion. The devotion causes us to receive the blessings of the guru, so that is making the mind wet, like pouring water on the seeds. So we are receiving the blessings of the guru to our own mind.

When all these things are happening, then the words don’t have to be very many pages or something. When our mind is ready, even two words expressing what is false, what is the object to be refuted, what is false, the false object in our view. Even just two words can easily affect us when our mind is like this. If all the cause and conditions, if all these things are together, then change is very easy. The change of the mind, the transformation of the mind is very easy due to the blessing, the wetness, the blessing received from the guru, which comes from our own devotion.

For example, even two or three words, if we can click; [Rinpoche snaps fingers] it’s a question of click, clicking the mind. The defilements, not having devotion, at other times the difficulty is not having realization, our mind is not having that strong, pure devotional thought, not that. The mind is very dry, so then there’s nothing to receive blessings, nothing to become wet, and there’s no intensive collecting merit and purifying the defilements. So nothing clicks, however many teachings we read or texts we read, it doesn’t click.

What we have to realize is empty, we see all the time. What we have to realize is empty is always there in our view. Wherever we look, when we think of I, twenty-four hours when we think of I, it’s there. Twenty-four hours when we think of I, it’s there, twenty-four hours it’s there, what we have to realize is empty. On the aggregates and form, sound, smell, taste, tangible object, on the five aggregates, on everything, twenty-four hours what we have to realize is empty, the false object, or the object which is to be refuted, the gag-cha, so when we look at form it’s there, on the form. When we hear sound it’s on there. When we smell, it’s on the smell. When we smell that false smell or the object to be refuted, gag-cha, it is there on the smell. And on the taste, when we taste, the false taste which doesn’t exist, the object to be refuted is there. When we contact the object, again the false object of contact, which doesn’t exist, that which is to be refuted, is there. So even the mind, even the phenomena which are not the object of other senses but only the mind, again on those phenomena there’s the false object, there’s the object to be refuted.

This covers the whole phenomena. Even when we think of enlightenment, from the side of our mind it is merely imputed enlightenment. But right at that time we don’t see that. We’re not aware that enlightenment is merely imputed by our own thought and hell is merely imputed by our own thought. It doesn’t appear back as merely imputed by our own thought, it appears back as if it’s nothing to do with our mind, as if it never came from our mind, and it exists. That’s how it appears back to our mind. When we think of enlightenment or hell, just right now it’s merely imputed by our own thought, but when it appears back it doesn’t appear back to us as merely labeled by the mind. It appears back to our mind as not merely labeled by our mind, not merely labeled. When it appears back to us, it appears back to us as not merely labeled by the mind.

All phenomena, whatever we think of, the object of our six senses, the false object is there, the object to be refuted is there. It has completely covered the whole phenomena including the I, in our own view, our perception, in our own view. Anything that exists, exists in mere name; it is merely imputed by the mind relating to the base. It’s relating to the base, because of the base, because there is a base and whatever the base is, so for example, the I, how the I exists is in mere name. How? It is merely imputed by the mind. It is merely imputed by the mind or from the side of the mind.

In the texts it is said, merely imputed by the mind and sound. However, I will just make it simple by saying the I is merely imputed from the side of the mind, relating to the aggregates, this association of body and mind that we have. Now these aggregates, how they exist is in mere name; they also exist in mere name. This base also exists in mere name, merely imputed from the side of the mind relating to having gathered the body and mind, or the five aggregates.

Now the mind, the base—what makes our mind to make up the label, the aggregates—even this base is merely imputed from the side of the mind, relating to the body and the mind. The mind also exist in mere name; it is merely imputed from the side of the mind relating to the phenomenon which is formless, having no color, no shape, whose nature is clear and perceiving objects. This base receives the label “mind,” the body and mind, the mind.

There’s today’s mind, there’s this life’s mind which depends on the number of years, which is merely labeled relating to all these years, all these number of years of continuity of the mind, that phenomenon. Then this year’s mind is merely imputed by depending on the twelve months’ continuity of that phenomenon. One month, that mind depends on thirty days of that phenomenon. One day’s mind depends on the twenty-four hours of that particular phenomenon, which has a nature that is clear and perceiving objects. Then one hour, that mind is merely imputed relating to the sixty minutes of that phenomenon which is clear, perceiving objects. Then one minute of mind is merely imputed from the side of thought relating to how many seconds? Sixty. Oh. Sixty seconds. So one second of mind is merely imputed by thought relating to the many split-seconds of the phenomenon which is knowing, she-pa, knowing, clear and perceiving objects. So like this.

There may be different schools’ views, for example, the atom existing with particles or without particles, like that, so it can also be similar with the continuation of consciousness. However, everything, starting from the I down to the seconds of consciousness, the seconds of the mind, the split-seconds of the mind, everything exists being merely imputed by the mind. Everything exists being merely imputed by the mind.

As well as the I, the general aggregates, then the body, the parts of the body, down to the atoms and particles of the atom—everything is imputed by depending on the base. Everything exists in mere name. Starting from the I, everything exists in mere name. Everything came from the mind, is merely imputed by the mind. Therefore, starting from the I, the split-seconds of consciousness, the particles of the atoms of the body, everything does not have slightest atom of inherent existence. They don’t have even the slightest atom of inherent existence.

Even though we have hallucinations or projections on all these phenomena merely imputed by the mind, thinking they are inherently existing; even though we have this projection from our mind, in reality all these phenomena do not have even the slightest atom of inherent existence. Everything is totally empty, totally empty, starting from the I to all the rest of the phenomena. The split-seconds of consciousness or the particles of the atoms and so forth, everything is totally empty. They are totally empty.

We will just meditate here a little bit on how everything exists in mere name. Practice awareness, concentrate, that everything exists in mere name.

Now think that everything is totally empty. As a result, by meditating on how everything exists in mere name, that brings us to the conclusion in our heart, that everything is empty. Again to emphasize, look at all these things as empty.

In reality there’s not the slightest atom of inherent existence. Everything is totally empty, starting from the I, the aggregates, everything. All the rest are totally empty from their own side. Totally empty, because they do not have inherent existence.

Notes

¹ The Great Prayer Festival, Mon-lam Chen-mo, was established by Lama Tsongkhapa at the beginning of the Tibetan New Year, as a two-week celebration of prayer, debate, ritual and teachings. The tradition continues in the present day. [Return to text]

² The first great yogi, Serkong Dorje Chang, lived in Tibet and Tsenshap Serkong Rinpoche was his son. Later, when Serkong Dorje Chang was reborn, Tsenshap Serkong Rinpoche became his teacher. [Return to text]

³ Read more about Serkong Dorje Chang in The Joy of Compassion, pp. 62-68. [Return to text]