Teaching relating to the Transmission of the Guru Rinpoche Prayer
Gyalwai Nyugu’s teaching during morning practice session on 25th Nov 2012. He recited the “Aspiration Prayer to take rebirth in Guru Rinpoche’s Copper-coloured Auspicious Mountain” to everybody online, then started his teaching.
Every sadhana practice includes a yidam deity, such as 21 Taras, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, Amitabha Buddha, Guru Rinpoche… All of these can be regarded as one’s personal yidam for practice purposes. When practicing the yidam, one should remember, that it is not enough to only visualize the deity.
After visualizing the deity, you should dissolve the deity into the Guru and finally dissolve the Guru into one’s own nature. The Guru, yidam deity and one’s own nature are merged into one, this is a pith instruction of Dzogchen (The Great Perfection). We can practice 100 yidam deities daily where all of these 100 deities will finally be absorbed into one’s nature. Everyone should use this pith instruction when you do your practice. Our minds, the nature of the Guru and the yidam deity will become closer and closer. This is the significance of performing the yidam practice.
We should not treat the Dharma practice like a rich person buying clothes. They purchase clothes worth thousands of dollars but before they are able to wear these clothes, they have already passed away. This Dharma text, that practice method, this Guru, and then that Guru… day and night we are busy with meaningless
distractions, and in the end when we die, not the slightest benefit from Dharma has been attained. None of the pith instructions have been mastered and accomplished. We have not made any significant or profound karmic connection with any of the teachers. In the end, one is like a blank page, and facing death in loneliness. We should have wisdom and utilize the methods for liberation in our daily life.
Just now, I transmitted the “Aspiration Prayer to take rebirth in Guru Rinpoche’s Copper-coloured Auspicious Mountain” to everyone. We should supplicate to Guru Rinpoche to help us to swiftly recognize the basic nature of our mind, so that we can rapidly proceed to the pure realm of the true nature of mind. Therefore, when we recite the “Aspiration Prayer to take rebirth in Guru Rinpoche’s Copper-coloured Auspicious Mountain”, we should rest our mind in the state that is inseparable from Guru Rinpoche. Guru Rinpoche and our nature should meld into oneness. While the mouth is reciting, the mind should rest in this way. Chanting and resting takes place simultaneously without conflict.
If we are able to merge our minds with Guru Rinpoche, inseparably, and rest in this state, chanting the supplication prayer to Guru Rinpoche, the blessing is greater. We should also visualize Lama Rinpoche in the same way. The external Guru and one’s own mind merges into one and all the external appearances are like a reflection in the mirror, without the slightest discrimination or attachment. If we can practice in this way, our mind will transcend samsara. Transcending samsara occurs at the moment of recognizing one’s basic nature. At the moment when one’s mind and the external appearances are inseparable without the slightest discrimination or attachment, yet clearly knowing all phenomena, we have the ability to transcend samsara.
A few days ago, I asked all meditation group leaders a question, “When death approaches, when the four elements (earth, water, fire, air) are beginning to dissolve, we have already lost our ability to hear our Guru’s voice, and do not have the mental energy to visualize our teacher, at this moment what should we do?” Many people answered quite well: “When the four elements dissolve, we should not be attached to anything, we should not desire or hanker after anything,
resting in that instant in the basic nature, we do not follow after any appearances of the bardo, the only thing is to rest in your basic nature.” If you truly have this kind of practice experience, it is truly inconceivable! However, many people replied voluminously, without the true understanding from their mind. When sleeping, the eyes and ears do not move, but during a nightmare, our mind starts to generate great fear and in this moment, there is no one to rely upon, but if there is the realization from Great Perfection, it is possible to be liberated. Therefore our practice is not a matter of quantity but it is more a matter of whether we possess the quality or not.
Of Buddha’s 84,000 methods of teachings, the Great Perfection (Dzogchen) is the essence of the essence and it is the method of Trekchod (Total relaxation), and we need this method very much and so everyone should strive to practice it. If you do not wish to continue revolving in samsara, then make efforts to practice. If you wish to continue revolving in samsara, that is your own business and we will not bother you. We should wake up! If you can’t wake up, look at the obscure and bleak road ahead in the future, everyone can see this clearly.
There are 269 people participating in this mornings practice. I rejoice very much! That we can continue our early morning group practice at 5 am is really due to Guru Rinpoche’s blessings.
If we keep motivating ourselves and supplicate continuously, coupled with the power of the Buddha Dharma and its infinite blessings, Lama Rinpoche’s compassionate blessings as well as the Lineage Gurus’ blessings, then even though we are still in samsara we will receive the Buddha’s blessings in an intangible way.
The interdependent arising is very favourable today. Through the blessing of Guru Rinpoche’s supplication prayer, everyone should have greater and firmer faith in the Dzogchen. The requirement of practicing Dzogchen is that one should have faith in the practice, in the Guru and in oneself. Just having faith in the Guru is not enough, because the Buddha nature is present in one’s mind. Therefore, we must have faith in ourselves, thereby giving rise to faith in the Guru.
Attaining Buddhahood is just an instantaneous matter, it is just that we don’t have the conditions to recognize our mind’s nature, but once the conditions are present, we can realize our mind’s nature. In the past, many Dzogchen practitioners did not go through many years of arduous practice, through their faith in Guru and faith in one’s own strength, their minds attained the realization of maha-shunyata (great emptiness).
Today is Sunday and everyone is free from work. You are free in the morning to listen to the teachings here but some people are still snoring in bed, some are still dreaming, dreaming of themselves listening to the Guru’s teaching. Many people complain that they do not have the time to practice dharma today, do not
have the time tomorrow (to practice dharma), something else is very important for today, and another thing is very important for tomorrow. In this way, this short life time of a few decades is totally wasted. One day when one finally understands, it will be too late to regret!
We have now met with the authentic dharma, although I do not have any realizations yet, at least I want to guide all of you to practice the authentic dharma! We have taken refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, but the main refuge is in the Dharma. Through the power of the Dharma, we can attain realizations. If all of you can attain realization, you would be able to further liberate many other sentient beings!! This is the merits of sentient beings! Especially those sentient beings with karmic connection to us, they are very pitiful! If you do not become Buddha, those sentient beings who are karmically connected to you cannot become Buddhas because these beings who have connections with you, do not have connections with other people. The relationship is just like this group leader has some
connection to his group members. Everyone’s connection is different so some people with karmic connection to us rely on us to liberate them. If you do not practice, make efforts and generate the right motivation, then those who have connections with you have no way to be liberated. Therefore, we should vow to attain Buddhahood, liberating ourselves and others.
Yesterday, many group leaders made aspirations, henceforth, to lead their group members to practice dharma without indulging in unrestrained disordered thinking. Not influencing other people negatively, not disturbing the Guru’s mind. We should rely on the Guru to attain Buddhahood, follow instructions and carry them out, practicing the Dzogchen teachings properly, relying on the step-by-step method to practice. When I see these group leaders making aspirations, I am extremely joyful. If this kind of faith can truly arise, then we are coming nearer and nearer to Buddhahood. All the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the ten directions and three times and the Guru will become more and more attuned to our self-nature.
This is my simple exposition for today. I have transmitted the Guru Rinpoche prayer to everyone, this can be said to be an offering to everyone. Thank you everyone!
