Guru Yoga

The Profound Path of Guru Yoga

~ DudjomTersarNgondro

“Wether our teachers present in person are ordinary beings or emanations of Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, if we are able to pray to them considering them as the Buddha, there is absolutely no difference between them and the Buddha or Bodhisattva or yidam deity in person, because the source of blessings is devotion. So whichever profound practice we are undertaking, whether the generation phase or the perfection phase, we should begin by making the teacher’s blessings the path. There is no more to it than that. But as long as we have not received the blessings, we will not be genuinely on the path. It is said that if disciples who keep the commitments give themselves wholeheartedly, with devotion, to an authentic diamond master, they will obtain the supreme and common accomplishments even if they have no other methods. But without devotion to the teacher, even if we complete the approach and accomplishment practices of the yidams of the six tantra sections, we will never obtain the supreme accomplishment. And we will be unlikely to accomplish many of the ordinary accomplishments either, such as those of long life, wealth, or bringing beings under one’s power. Even if we do manage to achieve a little, it will have necessitated a lot of hardship and will have nothing to do with the profound path. When unmistaken devotion takes birth in us, obstacles on the path will be dispelled and we will make progress, obtaining all the supreme and ordinary accomplishments without depending on anything else. This is what we mean by the profound path of Guru Yoga.”

~ Dudjom Rinpoche, Jigdral Yeshe Dorje
A Torch Lighting the Way to Freedom
Complete Instructions on the Preliminary Practices
Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group
Shambhala Publications

Publication of Dudjom Rinpoche’s biography was
made possible through support of
Jnanasukha Foundation

 

Recognizing our True Nature …

~ DudjomTersarNgondro

Devotion to the guru, or wisdom lama, is our primary support for training our minds and receiving blessings in meditation. In this video, Lama Tharchin Rinpoche recalls Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche’s words of advice that immersing one’s mind in the wisdom mind of the guru is the highest form of meditation. Through connecting with the guru’s mindstream, the wisdom of the Great Perfection is realized. Lama Tharchin Rinpoche gives a profoundly clear and lucid step-by-step approach to Guru Yoga, meditation, and realization of pristine awareness. Truly a treasure, this video contains the essential instructions for recognizing our true nature through the simple practice of guru yoga, given by a disciple whose entire being has been permeated by his faith, devotion, and his lama’s blessings. Meditating in the state of inseparability with the lama’s wisdom mind transforms our ordinary confused mind, ripening it into our original ground of undefiled, undeluded wisdom.

In early 2002, Lama Tharchin Rinpoche gave a teaching on the practice of guru yoga to his heart students from his home in Aptos, California. We are happy to share this teaching on YouTube through the end of October.

https://www.youtube.com/@LamaTharchinRinpoche

Photo: Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche with Lama Tharchin Rinpoche at Kunzang Gatshal, Delhi, New York, c. 1998.

A Repost: by Heart Teaching by Lama Tharchin’s Guru Rinpoche Day post from Facebook.

By visualizing and merging with the guru’s wisdom, compassion, and qualities, as practitioners, we receive blessings and inspiration to awaken our enlightened nature, which strengthens our devotion, and deepening our connection with the guru, which accelerates our spiritual progress.

Thinley Norbu Rinpoche (1931–2011) was a renowned Nyingma master, scholar, and teacher, and the eldest son of Dudjom Rinpoche. He was known for his deep understanding of Tibetan Buddhism, prolific writings, and the transmission of the Dudjom Tersar lineage. His teachings and works, such as The Small Golden Key and A Cascading Waterfall of Nectar, have inspired countless practitioners worldwide.

Lama Tharchin Rinpoche (1936–2013) was a respected Tibetan Buddhist teacher and a Dzogchen master of the Nyingma lineage. Born in Tibet, he trained under great masters, including Dudjom Rinpoche. After leaving Tibet, he settled in the U.S. and founded the Vajrayana Foundation at Pema Osel Ling in California. Lama Tharchin was known for his accessible teachings, emphasizing Dzogchen practice, and his dedication to preserving the Dudjom Tersar lineage.

Specific Points on the Different Stages of Receiving Blessings ~ Part 2

~ DudjomTersarNgondro

Chatral Sangye Dorje, Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, Dilgo Khyentse

Continuation from August 23rd  ~ b. In particular
On the outer level, having gained the certainty that the triply kind teacher is the embodiment of all refuges, to pray with intense yearning, faith, and devotion is the approach.

On the inner level, the Secret Mantra Vehicle method of purifying ordinary appearances, sounds, and thoughts, which are based on deluded attachment, into the great, infinitely pure display of the teacher’s three secrets is the accomplishment.

On the secret level, to take the ultimate, absolute nature—the primal wisdom that is the essence of the empowerment—as the path and to grasp the ultimate accomplishment, the desired goal, is the activity.

One begins by clearly visualizing the support for empowerment, according to the text. One then condenses the essential points of accumulation, purification, and increase by accumulating merit and purifying one’s mindstream with the seven branches. With intense faith and devotion, one prays one-pointedly and invokes the teacher’s mind by reciting the mantra. Finally one receives the blessings—the wisdom of the four empowerments—in the path empowerment, with the emanation and dissolution of rays of light. By the force of one’s devotion, the support for empowerment melts into light and dissolves into one. The teacher’s mind—the wisdom devoid of thought—blends indistinguishably with one’s own mind, like water added to water, and one rests in evenness, maintaining, without tension or effort, the very nature of the Buddhas’ wisdom, the great self-manifestation free of bias.

~ Dudjom Rinpoche Jigdral Yeshe Dorje
A Torch Lighting the Way to Freedom
Shambhala