The Guru's Power of Blessing
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A certain story is widespread in Tibet:
A lama climbed up a huge tree where a beehive was found. The bees were buzzing around the lama, but the lama whispered to the bees, saying, `Don't sting me!` And interestingly, the bees ignored the lama and did not sting him at all!
Another lama who saw this was very puzzled, and wanted to know the secret of avoiding being stung by the bees. The lama who was not stung by the bees revealed that there was no secret to this except that he just told the bees not to sting him. The curious lama then climbed up the tree and spoke the same words `don't sting me!` to the bees, but the bees ignored his words and swarmed towards the curious lama and stung him fiercely. The poor lama screamed and begged for his life.
Why is it that the same words would bring different results? It is said that the first lama prayed to his guru for a blessing before climbing the tree, resulting in the bees listening to him, whereas the second lama followed the instruction without first seeking a blessing from the Guru, thus ending up being stung.
The Buddha epithets mentioned in the sutras of the Sutric tradition are available for recitation to anyone who comes to know them. There is little restriction over this chanting. But Tantric Buddhism approaches this differently. The practice texts of Tantric Buddhism are printed with the words, `Please do not refer to the text without first receiving the proper empowerment.` It is required that before the recitation of Tantric mantras, one must first receive the proper empowerment and blessing from one's guru. Otherwise, all chanting is void and fruitless, as it is tantamount to an act of fraud, a breach of the Samaya Pledge. Under this circumstance, no Dharma power would ever be invoked through the cultivation of mantra chanting.
Hence, it is only by taking refuge, receiving empowerment, and gaining the blessings of one's guru that cultivation can be authorized. Only then can the inherent Buddha Nature emerge from delusions, topsy-turvy events, discursive thoughts and attachments.
The Guru's power of blessing is the very key to attaining accomplishment through Tantric cultivation!