faith

The fault in not having faith

~ DudjomTersarNgondro

People who lack faith are deprived of the good fortune of being able to practice the Dharma, and their not having faith is therefore an immeasurable defect. Just as a rock on the bottom of the ocean will never appear on the surface, without faith it is impossible to reach the dry land of liberation. Just as a ferry without a helmsman will never reach the other shore, without faith it is impossible to traverse the great river of suffering.

Without faith, it is as impossible to nurture good qualities in one’s being as it is for someone with no hands to pick up anything even if he were to find himself on an island of gold. Without faith, it is impossible for the shoot of bodhichitta to grow, for nothing can ever sprout from a burned seed.

Without faith, one is like a blind person who finds himself in a temple: it is impossible to see the light of the Dharma.

Without faith, however clever one is, one is trapped in the deep pit of cyclic existence: everything one does becomes an action that leads to cyclic existence, and it is impossible to ever attain the freedom of enlightenment. As the Sutra of the Ten Qualities puts it,

From roasted seeds
No greenery will sprout
In those who have no faith
No virtue will appear.

The benefits of cultivating faith

There are boundless virtues in cultivating and increasing one’s faith. It is the foundation for all virtuous practice. It clears away all the sufferings of cyclic existence and is the first step on the path to liberation. As a result of your faith, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will constantly keep you in mind.

You will have a sense of shame, a sense of decency, and wisdom. In all your lives, as soon as you are born, you will meet a sublime teacher, the sacred teachings, and spiritual companions, and you will thus be able to practice the Dharma. You will be protected by those gods who delight in virtue.

Falling asleep peacefully, in your dreams too you will have pleasant visions of encountering your teacher and the Three Jewels and practicing the Dharma, and you will wake in a happy frame of mind. You will accomplish all your wishes and die peacefully, guided by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

You will have none of the terrifying experiences of the intermediate state. You will be reborn wherever your aspirations lead you, and uphold the lineage of the Three Jewels. Swiftly, you will attain Buddhahood. Such are the infinite benefits of having faith, as we read in the Sutra of the Precious Lamp:

Though for kalpas one might venerate beings
Numerous as the atoms of the universes in the ten directions,
Bringing them every kind of happiness,
In comparison, nothing is more sublime
Than the merit of faith in this Dharma.

  • Dudjom Rinpoche – A Torch Lighting the Way to Freedom

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essence of refuge

~ DudjomTersarNgondro

refugeHAIR

The essence of the refuge practice is unshakable, unchangeable faith and devotion. Without this kind of faith and trust, your mind cannot open. When your mind opens, it becomes soft and receptive. Buddha’s compassion is like a hook which catches the ring of your faith and devotion. Without faith, there can be no real connection to dharma ~ not blind faith, but rather intelligent faith, free from any doubt or confusion because dharma is pure and faultless, Buddha’s mind is like the sun shining on a snow-covered mountain. With devotion, the rays of your faith can melt the snow of Buddha’s nectar of blessing. 

~  Lama Tharchin Rinpoche
Ngondro Commentary
© 2000 by Bero Jeydren Publications

tavish refuge 1
Refuge Ceremony ~ Tavish Nink with Lama Tharchin Rinpoche

photo source: Sonam  Famarin
with permission to post by Tavish Nink

Join Lama Sonam Tsering Rinpoche November 5th, 2020 10:30 am – 12:30 pm Pacific to receive the Dudjom Tersar Ngondro Lung (Oral Transmission) and series of Ngondro Teachings on the Preliminary Practices beginning with Refuge.

Visit the Vajrayana Foundation website at Vajrayana.org to receive the livestream link.

 

Practicing the Teaching without Sectarian Bias

~ DudjomTersarNgondro

Excerpt from:
A Discourse on the Importance of Practicing
with Trust and Devotion the Teachings
to which One Feels Drawn

I would like to say a few things to you, my vajra brothers and sisters, gathered here. We Tibetans are from a country where the Buddha’s teaching was deeply rooted. It may indeed be said that we were born in the buddhafield of the noble Avalokiteshvara, and we all understand, more or less, what is meant by Dharma. However, the factor that differentiates Buddhists from non-Buddhists is taking refuge in the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Those who take refuge are Buddhists; those who do not are non-Buddhists. Of the Three Jewels, the Buddha revealed the sunlight of the sacred teachings in the dark abyss of this world. He is our guide and benefactor, and indeed that of all living beings. He set forth inconceivable teachings of the supreme Dharma in order to lead us to the buddhafields and to liberation. The Dharma is our path. Those who uphold the Dharma by listening to it, teaching it, and practicing it are called the Sangha. These Three Jewels possess extraordinary qualities, and it is thanks to them that liberation from the suffering of samsara and the lower destinies, and the attainment of the everlasting joy of buddhahood, are possible. We must recognize what the Three Jewels are and take refuge in them. We become Buddhists by taking refuge. Now, the root, the factor that brings us to take refuge, is faith, and this, therefore, is the very foundation of Dharma. At the outset, faith and devotion are what impel us to take refuge; they enable us to assimilate it and make it part of ourselves. If there is no faith, there is no refuge, and without refuge, we cannot absorb the blessings of the Three Jewels. Therefore, with sincere trust in the Three Jewels, and with confidence that they are our unfailing and constant guardians, we should seek their protection, relying on them totally. This is what taking refuge means. Our faith should be as solid and unwavering as a mountain, as unfathomable and boundless as the sea. It should be constant. If it is unstable and we have only the appearance of faith, if we “take refuge” only when everything is going well and we feel fine, it will be hard for the blessings of the Three Jewels to penetrate our being. …

Dudjom Rinpoche Jigdral Yeshe Dorje
Counsels from My Heart
Shambhala