If you waste your life

If you waste your life now on endless minor tasks, you can be sure that at the time of death you will weep with regret and be stricken with intense anxiety, like a thief who has just been thrown into jail and anxiously anticipates his punishment. A person might find himself with nothing to eat, no clothes to wear, and no house to live in. But if his mind is filled with faith in his teacher and the Three Jewels, that person will both live and die with his heart always joyful and confident.

~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Buddhist psychology.

Buddhist psychology enumerates six fundamental delusions, which frustrate and disturb the peace of the human mind and cause it to become restless: attachment, anger, ignorance, pride, deluded doubt and holding distorted views. These are mental, not external phenomena. So, when Lord Buddha taught people how to overcome these delusions, he emphasized the necessity of understanding their nature, not simply belief and faith. Without investigating your mind and developing introspective knowledge-wisdom it is not possible to develop such understanding. 

~ Lama Thubten Yeshe

Our fundamental nature is intrinsic.

Our fundamental nature is intrinsic. No sane, intelligent human being is impeded from being in touch with this basic nature. There is no one standing between you and it, no one is appearing like a mara to perform dances of distraction. At any given moment, each one of you — even with no understanding of Buddhism — has the natural potential to realize you are completely and inseparably united with your intrinsic wisdom nature. You have never been separate from it for a moment. It is not a sometimes-there-sometimes-not quality or an adornment that’s been attached or added on to you.

~ Khandro Rinpoche

The Mind Is Like Space

The essential nature of the mind is like space. There is no such thing as a mind that truly exists or a mind that is inherently established even though we might find reasonings, scriptures, or experience to the contrary. Mind is empty. Our ordinary mind, however, becomes confused in thinking that things really exist. The nature of our mind is emptiness, but not a blankness, not the result of mere negation: emptiness is also radiant clarity, the basis for the appearances of both samsara and nirvana. The mind is like space and it also has a clear and knowing aspect, which allows us to say, “This is space.” Resting in mind’s empty, clear nature, we will be at ease as we move along the path of practice.

~ 17th Karmapa

Don't give up!

Unfortunately a number of practitioners have low self-esteem. They think, "It's impossible for me to achieve Buddhahood, it only happens to others. I have such a distracted mind, a mind full of disturbing emotions. There is just no way that I can achieve omniscience and benefit countless beings. It's just impossible for me to even contemplate such a thing."

There are numerous ways to overcome this low self-esteem. One such way is to read the biographies of the many past practitioners of Buddhism who've achieved Buddhahood. Many of them met with far more challenges in their lives than we're currently experiencing in ours.

Even Shakyamuni Buddha, before he reached enlightenment, had far worse rebirths than we're experiencing now. He also once had far stronger disturbing emotions than we currently have. He even once carried out far more destructive actions than we've ever done in this life. But based on his Buddha-nature he managed to achieve enlightenment.

We must develop great self-confidence, we must sincerely believe, "I have Buddha-nature. I can do it. If Shakyamuni Buddha did, so can I." Now this is very different from pride - that puffed up, arrogant state of mind that causes problems for ourselves and others. So while we have great self-confidence in the fact that we can become a Buddha, instead of pride, our actions must remain humble.

~ Chamtrul Rinpoche

The Original Pure Land

Padmasambhava is to be inseparable from the primordial nature.

His Copper-Colored Mountain buddhafield is the purity of your personal experience.

May everyone be born in this original pure land,

The uncontrived natural state of indivisible appearance and awareness.

~ Chokgyur Lingpa

Supplicating the Karmapa

 A long time ago Yeshe Tsogyal asked Guru Padmasambhava what could be done to help beings in the dark ages she foresaw. What could be done to alleviate their miseries in the time of the Kalpa of Great Conflict, the Kalpa of Weapons, and the Kalpa of Famine? 

Padmasambhava answered: 

“In order to help eliminate intense suffering in that dark time, make supplications to one who is now one of my twenty-five foremost disciples, and who in the future will bear the name Karmapa. Sincere supplications and devotion to that being will bring about harmony.”

Buddha pervades all phenomena.

With no centre and no boundary, the energy of each and every Buddha pervades all phenomena. Wherever we are, whatever we do, their all-knowing and all-loving energy is always there.

~ Chamtrul Rinpoche

Guru Yoga by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

In Guru Yoga, we pray and direct our devotion towards the master who arouses in us the greatest feeling of devotion. Here, we let him appear in the form of the Lotus-born Guru, Guru Rinpoche, who made a solemn promise that for anyone in this degenerate age who has great confidence in him and devotion to him, his blessing would be swifter than that of any other buddha. In his own words: "Those who accomplish me, accomplish all the buddhas; Those who see me, see all the buddhas."

This is his promise, a promise which can never deceive. For although Guru Rinpoche's compassion is the same for all sentient beings, it is particularly swift and powerful for those who live in this decadent age. Reflecting on our own root master, we will see that his qualities have the same nature as those of all the buddhas, and yet his kindness is even greater than theirs because he has come now, at the time when we need him. Take a group of people, for example, who are equally rich; the kindest is the one who uses his or her wealth to help the poor and those who need it most. It is just the same with the master.

If we practice Guru Yoga, perceiving that our root guru is inseparable from Guru Rinpoche, then the blessings we will receive will be both powerful and swift. When an enlightened master who has wisdom and compassion meets a disciple who has faith and diligence, it is as if the sun's rays were suddenly concentrated through a magnifying glass and focused onto dry grass, causing it to burst into flames at once. In the same way, the blessings we receive will correspond directly to the intensity of our devotion.

---

Guru Rinpoche himself made this pledge: "If you have strong faith and confidence in me, I will look on you with compassion: this is my promise, And never will I deceive you."

Without this kind of faith and confidence, we cannot receive any blessings, but if we pray to Guru Rinpoche with unfailing confidence and devotion, then there is nothing we cannot accomplish. Being a fully enlightened buddha, he has the power to manifest his wisdom, his loving-kindness, and his strength. And remember that he will never, never desert us, for this was his promise.

---

When the celestial dakinis sang the Seven Vajra Verses, the letter HRIH, emanating from the heart of Buddha Amitabha, descended upon a red lotus blossom on the Lake of Milk" in the northwest of the land of Oddiyana, and transformed into an eight-year-old child-Guru Rinpoche, the Lotus-born. Later, at the time when Guru Rinpoche was meditating in the Eight Great Cemeteries, the dakas and dakinis sang this Seven-Line Prayer to invite him and to request him to turn the Wheel of Dharma.

The Seven-Line Prayer carries the essence of all Guru Rinpoche's blessings. As Guru Rinpoche said: "To this very prayer, you can give your whole mind, in devotion. When a disciple calls upon me with yearning devotion, And with the sweet-sounding song of the Seven-Line Prayer, I shall come straightaway from Zangdopalri, Like a mother who cannot resist the call of her child."

Do not ever think that the buddhafields are far away, or doubt whether the buddhas may or may not come. For as Guru Rinpoche said: "I am present in front of anyone who has faith in me, Just as the moon casts its reflection, effortlessly, in any vessel filled with water."

---

By thinking only of the guru, a fervent devotion will arise, and our eyes will fill with tears. As Guru Rinpoche said: "Complete devotion brings complete blessing; Absence of doubts brings complete success."

If we can pray with real fervor to Guru Rinpoche, he will remove all obstacles and enable us to progress along the path. All buddhas have the same compassion and the same love for sentient beings, but Guru Rinpoche has for countless kalpas made powerful prayers to benefit the beings of this difficult, decadent age, who are the victims of so much torment. If we pray fervently to him, he will look on us as his only child, and he will come at once, from the land of the raksasas in the southwest, to appear before us.

Whenever we pray to Guru Rinpoche, we should not just mouth the words, but pray one-pointedly from the core of our heart, from the marrow of our bones, and with a devotion that consumes our mind.

We should constantly keep in mind that Guru Rinpoche is our sole refuge, whether in happiness or in sorrow, whether in the higher realms of samsara or the lower. Without any second thoughts, we should give our whole mind to him, like throwing a pebble into a lake.

We need to turn to Guru Rinpoche, the perfect buddha who vowed especially to help the beings of these decadent times, and call out to him with ardor and with longing: "There is no other hope for me but you! Unless you take me under your protection, I shall sink even deeper into samsara's ocean of suffering." This is how the sun of Guru Rinpoche's compassion, concentrated now through the magnifying glass of our devotion, will set fire to the dry grass of our ignorance and destructive emotions.

---

Our master, Guru Rinpoche, and the mantra are inseparable. So when we utter the name of the guru by reciting the mantra, it's as if we are calling out repeatedly to someone who simply cannot fail to reply. The guru cannot but turn his compassion towards us, and so, if we pray one-pointedly like this, there is absolutely no doubt that Guru Rinpoche will come at once to grant us his blessings. When rain falls on the earth, it falls evenly everywhere, but only the good seeds will germinate, not the rotten ones. In the same manner, the compassion of Guru Rinpoche is unbiased; it is directed universally to all beings, and yet his blessings will be swifter for those who have devotion and faith.

It is only through the blessings of a buddha that we can achieve realization. So a prayer like this, one that invokes Guru Rinpoche's very name, must go out from the marrow of our bones, from the core of our heart; then gradually our devotion will become spontaneous and unceasing. Remember that without faith, there will be no accomplishment.

This shows how important it is to have a faith that is very pure and genuine. And so, as a support, we visualize our outer environment as Zangdopalri, the beings around us as dakas and dakinis, ourselves as Yeshe Tsogyal, and above our head Guru Rinpoche, surrounded by his retinue. Then we pray, reciting the prayer in seven branches and the other prayers in the practice, with the confidence and trust that by so doing, accomplishment will surely blossom.

---

The essence of Guru Yoga is simply to remember the guru at all times: when you are happy, think of the guru; when you are sad, think of the guru; when you meet favorable circumstances, be grateful to the guru; and when you meet obstacles, pray to the guru, and rely on him alone. When you are sitting, think of the guru above your head. When you are walking, imagine that he is above your right shoulder, as if you were circumambulating him. When you are eating food, visualize the guru at your throat center and offer him the first portion.

At night, when you are about to fall asleep, visualize Guru Rinpoche in your heart center, the size of the first joint of your thumb, sitting on a four-petalled red lotus. He is emanating countless rays of light, which fill your whole environment, melting the room and the entire universe into light, and then returning to absorb into your heart. Then the guru himself dissolves into light. This is the state in which you should fall asleep, retaining the experience of luminosity. If you do not fall asleep, you can repeat the visualization again. When you wake up in the morning, imagine that the guru emerges from your heart and rises up to sit again in the sky above your head, smiling compassionately, amidst a mass of rainbow light.

This is how we can remember the guru and apply devotion during every activity. And should death come suddenly, the best practice then is to blend our mind with the mind of the guru. Of all the sufferings of the three intermediate states, the most intense is the suffering of the moment of death. For this moment there are practices of Phowa, or the transference of consciousness to the buddhafields. The practice of Guru Yoga is the most profound and essential way of doing Phowa.

Through the Guru Yoga practice, all obstacles can be removed and all blessings received. And through merging our mind with the mind of the guru, and remaining in the state of inseparable union, the absolute nature will be realized. This is why we should always treasure Guru Yoga and keep it as our foremost practice.

Learning, reflection and meditation

Such is the strength of delusion and habitual tendencies that practicing Dharma might initially seem very hard; but these difficulties will gradually subside. Once you have understood the essential point of the teachings, you will experience no hardship or difficulty with the practice. Your efforts will bring you joy. It is like developing any skill - as you master the important points, it becomes progressively easier, you gain increasing confidence, and your capacity and endeavor keep on growing.

Whatever meditation or reflection you have done, it will never be wasted. The benefit it brings will be present in your mindstream at the time of your death, and will help you be reborn in a place where the Dharma flourishes, near an authentic spiritual teacher. Life after life, you will evolve from a mediocre into an average practitioner into an excellent one. The essence of learning is reflection, and the essence of reflection is meditation. As you go deeper into the meaning of the teachings, the wondrous qualities of the Dharma will become ever clearer, like the sun appearing ever brighter the higher you fly.

The sign that you have fully assimilated your learning of the Dharma is that you become peaceful by nature. The sign that you have assimilated your meditation is that you are free of obscuring emotions. As learning leads to reflection and reflection transforms into meditation, your eagerness for the deluded activities of this life will relax, and you will yearn for the Dharma instead.

Anything you do that is in accord with the Dharma, however small or trivial it may seem, will be beneficial. As the 'Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish' says:

Do not take lightly small good deeds,

Believing they can hardly help; 

For drops of water one by one

In time can fill a giant pot.

~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Your mind, is your responsibility.

The teachings, the philosophies, the explanations of the Buddhist path really doesn't have any worth at all. The worth is all contained in the experiencing... Experience means that you can actually see and comprehend the teachings in your own mind. You must put the path into practice for yourself to receive any benefit. So please don't be lazy, thinking that someone outside of you is going to save your butt. Your mind, is your responsibility.

~ Phakchok Rinpoche

The Innate Beyond Subject And Object

Phenomena are the radiance of the innate absolute;

Mind's nature is the wisdom of the innate absolute.

The ultimate teacher - phenomena and mind merged in one taste -

Dwells naturally within myself. Ah ho! What a joy!

 ~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Primordial Buddhahood According to Vajrayana

According to the Nyingma School, the ultimate source of all buddhas is called Buddha Unchanging Light. This buddha is all-encompassing wakefulness, the realization of all the victorious ones throughout the three times without a single exception. This wakefulness is primordially beyond delusion, the original state of supreme and changeless great bliss that transcends the confines of mental constructs. It is also known as the dharmakaya Samantabhadra, the great forefather of all the buddhas.

The unceasing, natural expression of this wakefulness manifests as wisdom forms, free from obscuration. These wisdom aforms are Buddha Vajradhara, the victorious ones of the five families of sambhogakaya, and so forth who are endowed with the seven aspects of union. They can only be perceived by the great bodhisattvas on the ten levels.

The compassionate energy of the sambhogakaya buddhas appears as a magical display. This display is inexhaustible and unending, the incarnate emanations and the nirmanakayas of supreme enlightenment, such as Buddha Shakyamuni. This display of emanations appears unceasingly for as long as there are sentient beings to be benefited.

In this way all the infinite mandalas of the victorious ones in the ten directions and in particular in this Saha world-system, as exemplified by the thousand buddhas who successively appear during the Good Aeon, are of one identity in being the vast dharmadhatu of innate wakefulness. The magical display of emanations simply appears according to those who have the fortune to be influenced. Such buddhas are not ordinary people, who necessarily must attain enlightenment through traversing the path gradually.

If this is truly so, one might question the Mahayana sutras that say the Buddha first aroused the intent to attain supreme enlightenment, next he gathered the accumulations of merit and wisdom during three incalculable aeons, and finally he attained buddhahood while enacting the twelve deeds. The answer is that those Mahayana teachings were an exercise in expedient meaning for the benefit of ordinary disciples to communicate that each action yields a particular result.

Just like Buddha Shakyamuni, Padmasambhava was an emanation of all the buddhas. Padmasambhava appeared to convert the beings of the dark age, like the moonlight of compassion on the lake of the disciple’s faith. From this angle, the debates about whether he was born from a womb or appeared miraculously, whether he attained the level of an arhat, and whether he became enlightened within one lifetime or the like—all such refutations and affirmations are like a child trying to fathom the sky.

Most important and trustworthy are the words of the Buddha: “Rely not on the expedient but on the definitive meaning. Rely not on the conditioned but on the unconditioned. Rely not on the words but on the meaning."

The Lotus Born - Rangjung Yeshe Publications.

Visualise does not mean you should try to paint a picture.

Concentrate instead on evoking complete confidence that Guru Rinpoche or Vajradhara is present before you, vivid and vibrantly alive, surrounded by all the buddhas and bodhisattvas.

I must stress here that visualise does not mean you should try to paint a picture of the refuge tree in your mind; that would be impossible. Visualisation is very like thinking about the person who is closest to you in this life—your mother, for example.

Try imagining her standing in front of you right now. As you do so, I’m quite sure you are not thinking about the exact shape of her ear. Or whether or not her toes curl. Or how many moles she has on her back. In fact, that kind of detail has probably never even occurred to you. At the same time, I am equally sure that you have created a strong sense of your mother in your mind and that you are completely confident it really is her.

This is how you should visualise the objects of refuge, and the confidence you feel in your visualisation is of utmost importance.

~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche