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Homage to Buddha Shakyamuni
Homage to Wisdom Warrior Manjushri
Homage to the loving lineage masters!
The unsurpassable profound Dharma
In hundreds of millions of eons is difficult to encounter,
I now see and hear it, receive and uphold it,
And I vow to fathom the Tathagata﹑s true and actual meaning.
In order to liberate all sentient beings, please generate the unsurpassable supreme Bodhichitta!
Now I give an explanation of the Seven-Line Prayer.
The multitude of the merits of the Seven-Line Prayer is explained in the text.
Now we will look into a brief literal commentary by Mipham Rinpoche.
Previously, we talked about the first four lines
of the Seven-Line Prayer. I have given you an explanation of the first four lines.
They are mainly about recognizing the person to whom we designate our supplication, Guru Padmasambhava.
Now we will look into the fifth, sixth and seventh lines.
I will explain the last three lines.
First, we should understand its literal meaning.
﹒This supreme vidyadhara, greatest of the great‧
This means Padmasambhava.
﹒is attended by the extraordinary disciples of the Secret Mantra.‧
﹒For a ring of infinitely numerous dakas and dakinis encircles him.‧
It﹑s the same image when we practice the field of refuge.
In order to benefit different sentient beings, the unsurpassable Padmasambhava is surrounded by
the illusory display of dakas, Dharma protectors
as well as his ordinary and supreme retinue.
He is surrounded by gatherings of holy beings.
When we practice the field of refuge, as we all know
the lineage masters are on the upper side, behind are the sublime Dharma texts, on each side are bodhisattvas and arhats,
all around are various Dharma protectors, male and female warriors and so on.
These are all his retinue.
﹒A ring of many dakinis encircle you‧
This line is explained as such:
﹒like the seeds in an opened pod of sesame, encircles him.‧
﹒In truth, he is surrounded by an unbounded ocean of the deities of the three roots and protectors.‧
If we can extend the limit of our visualization,
then these boundless fields of refuge as I﹑ve mentioned before
unbounded, extended to the end of vastness
all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and holy beings are all illusory displays of Padmasambhava.
All of them, as boundless as you can visualize
all of these retinues are inseparable
in the ultimate sense, or in terms of their ultimate nature.
﹒But since this entourage is but the illusory display of Guru Rinpoche﹑s own wisdom, which benefits beings according to their need,‧
If we explain this with Vajrayana﹑s Grand Net of Illusion or with the teachings of the Great Perfection,
then all the unbounded ocean of dakinis, or warriors, Dharma protectors
surrounding Guru Padmasambhava
are not distinct in nature from Padmasambhava.
They are but his illusory display.
It's like the sun: the sun can radiate infinite light,
yet the light and the sun are not distinct in nature, they are inseparable.
﹒He and his retinue are not distinct in nature‧
﹒and are the common object of our supplication.‧
So be it retinue, or the chief deity, when you visualize
they can be infinite and boundless.
If you need a generalization,
then you can visualize that they are inseparable from Padmasambhava in nature.
I think many of you often think that
if I visualize Padmasambhava, then won﹑t other Buddhas be unhappy?
Will Avalokiteshvara, who I often meditate on, be displeased? They won﹑t be.
As I said a while ago,
all Buddhas are inseparable in the ultimate expanse of Dharma.
So when we visualize one Buddha,
this Buddha and all other immeasurable Buddhas are inseparable.
So, when we practice guru yoga,
actually all other gurus, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
are not different from this guru in nature.
This is very important.
Last year, I taught the practice of guru yoga. Some people kept thinking
﹒Damn, I have seven or eight spiritual masters, I﹑ve been over this for a long time,
I think I am very grateful towards each of my spiritual masters.
If I practice one guru, then the others will not be pleased.
I will disappoint them. I feel really bad, and I can﹑t sleep at night. What shall I do?
Is there a way to practice all my spiritual teachers without distinction?
Shall I lay them above my head one on top of another?
Can I visualize that on top of each board sits a guru, and I will support them.‧
I said this is not necessary.
Because Buddhas and Bodhisattvas never taught us
any guru yoga that requires us to arrange our spiritual teachers on a wooden board.
If you have good feelings towards all your spiritual teachers, and you are devoted towards them all,
when you practice,
you only need to visualize one spiritual master and that his nature is that of all spiritual masters.
Padmasambhava is no exception.
When we visualize him, it is the same as visualizing all yidam deities.
Dzogchen Rinpoche had
a practice of guru yoga with which he visualized his guru and Padmasambhava as the same entity.
I﹑ve read this sadhana. Basically it says
that all Buddhas and all spiritual masters are no different from Padmasambhava that you are practicing.
Through this, one can gain true blessing.
Many people from cities, and those who are new to Buddha Dharma
have many kinds of conflicts in their minds. It﹑s as if they have to practice all Buddhas.
This Buddha is sublime, that yidam is special,
or that lama is very compassionate.
They don﹑t want to offend any field of refuge. They try to build a good relationship with each.
But in fact, while doing so
they think that these holy beings are different entities.
Like it is said in valid cognition,
the nature of fire, water, wind, stone
are all separate,
then fire and water are incompatible, they can﹑t become one.
Such thinking is due to the stubborn habit of conceptual thinking of ordinary human beings. Such thinking is wrong.
Therefore, when we practice,
the spiritual teacher and the Buddhas are the same in terms of their luminosity whose appearance and emptiness are inseparable.
In the relative perspective, they appear as Manjushri, or Padmasambhava.
But they are not different from one another.
Or you can practice Avalokiteshvara during the day and Padmasambhava at night.
That﹑s fine too.
When Padmasambhava went to Chamaradvipa, he left a teaching to those with fortunate karma:
there was a line that
goes more or less like this:
During the day, practice Avalokiteshvara, recite the six syllable mantra of compassion,
at night, practice me, Guru Padmasambhava, recite the Vajra guru mantra.
One practice during the day and another practice at night are not contradictory.
Even in one evening, you can practice differently during one or two meditation sessions. This isn﹑t contradictory.
So when you meditate, know that all Buddhas
are no different from the Buddha-figure you are practicing, including the retinue that you visualize.
In the future, if we will have the opportunity to study Grand Net of Illusion
we will learn that in the Grand Net of Illusion,
there is a special teaching about whether the principal deity and his retinue are one.
If the principle deity and his retinue are not different,
then all the retinue are the emanation of the principal deity.
If so, then the object of our supplication, observed from a superficial perspective
has for example Buddha Shakymuni in the middle, surrounded by the eight Bodhisattvas.
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are somewhat different in the level of their enlightenment.
But in fact, the mind of the chief deity and his surroundings are not different.
Regarding this, there are specific practices and theories.
But because nowadays most people lack a solid foundation
they still think that different deities, holy beings are different entities.
This is an erroneous thought.
Because it is said here that their ultimate natures are not different.
This is the object of our supplication.
So in what way should we supplicate?
We supplicate with confident faith. To supplicate with confident faith should be like this:
for wish-fulfilling qualities of the protectors
motivated by vivid faith, eager faith and confident faith
we pray or prostrate with our body and speech.
Padmasambhava and his retinue are no different than the wish-fulfilling jewel.
Those who have vivid faith and eager faith, or the irreversible confident faith
will more or less
receive the accomplishment and blessing.
Therefore, while we make the supplication, we must be sincere.
Such sincere faith should be shown both physically
and verbally.
You will be reciting with melodious sound,
you will supplicate with your body by joining your palms and prostrate
﹒And in your footsteps practicing we follow you.‧
The sixth line is saying
I follow you, Guru Padmasambhava, and your retinue.
From today on, I will devote myself to Dharma practice.
not just by appearance, not just by words, not just a formality,
I must practice with confident faith.
We must acknowledge the quality of these fields of refuge.
If we supplicate,
then Padmasambhava and his retinue are no different than a wish-fulfilling jewel.
They will without a question give us their blessings and their merits.
Any other worldly matter should be abandoned like chaff.
Yearning with my whole heart,
I and sentient beings will follow your footsteps, inseparate from you, and practice.
﹒And in your footsteps practicing we follow you.‧
In other religions in the world
like Catholicism, Christianity,
some take refuge in God,
some in Indra, or Isvara and so on.
These are not the ultimate fields of refuge.
You will not gain ultimate happiness by relying on them.
Maybe the eight classes of spirits can temporarily give us health and wealth
to some degree,
but the most ultimate field of refuge, the one that can uproot the extreme sufferings of cyclic existence
is you, the one and only Guru Padmasambhava. You can relieve beings of all sufferings.
So we entrust everything to you.
In such spirit, visualize
that all sentient beings and I are inseparable from Guru Padmasambhava.
We will never grow apart from you, and we will follow your steps to practice.
﹒Unfailing protector, you are the personification of limitless great compassion.‧
﹒Please do not abandon
me and all sentient beings like me, drifting in the ocean of three kinds of sufferings.‧
When we pray
we must be particularly sincere.
Some spiritual teachers said that when you supplicate
if you can, then you should visualize Padmasambhava;
if not,
place a thangka, a photo, or a statue of Padmasambhava in front of you.
In front of such field of refuge, supplicate with utmost respect and devotion.
When you do, think that
unfailing Padmasambhava, for you are bound with compassion, you will without a doubt take me as your disciple.
I and sentient beings like me have been drowning in the the three realms of samsara. O how pitiful we are!
So you must give me your blessing
I pray to you, so that the inconceivable secret of your body, speech and mind
like the golden touch of Midas
blesses the body, mind and speech of me and sentient beings who seek refuge.
So I entreat your body, mind and speech.
Padmasambhava, you and your retinue﹑s body, speech and mind have inconceivable
secret meaning, or wisdom. Your blessing is like the touch of Midas
turning iron into gold.
Similarly, through such supplication with devotion,
our very ordinary minds
addled with five poisonous mental afflictions like desire, anger and ignorance
are inspired by the blessing of Padmasambhava﹑s inconceivable wisdom
which merges into my mental states in its entirety.
As a result, my ordinary mind is completely transformed into the wisdom luminosity.
You should think like this.
Because we are pitiful sentient beings who count on him, who look for him, who rely on him,
the body, speech and mind of us miserable sentient beings receive all blessings of Padmasambhava.
Even though you reside in the Glorious Copper-Coloured Mountain of Chamaradvipa, or in whichever nirmanakaya buddhafield,
come, in the great skillfulness of your compassion, and be with us.
﹒To grant your blessings, come, we pray.‧
Although you, Guru Padmasambhava, appear to be residing in Chamaradvipa,
we fortunate sentient beings
of Jambudvipa entreat you with strong yearning,
like an only child calling for his mother, we supplicate you with reverence.
With your incredible compassion, and your past aspiration,
like the sun or the moon
projecting its light onto a clear pond,
when we the fortunate pray to you
your blessing, your empowerment and all of your qualities
merge into our hearts without exception.
Actually, a lot of you here might still have strong karmic hindrances accumulated in previous lives.
So no matter how much you try, you can﹑t seem to arouse conviction in Padmasambhava.
If that is the case,
then you will meet with obstacles in receiving merit in your mental continuum.
Some have good karma from previous lives, and they have encountered fortunate circumstances in this life.
With such a condition as causal origination, whichever Dharma you practice, you will find it easy.
In the biographies of some spiritual teachers I﹑ve read,
wherever they go, solitude in a quiet place or among throngs of people,
whatever Dharma they practice, they will instantly receive signs of realization, and give rise to faith instantly.
Certain individuals might have strong devotion,
but never receive any signs of realization.
Some think that Padmasambhava and Buddha Shakyamuni
are no different from ordinary human beings. So they can﹑t give rise to devotion.
But when you talk about gods, spirits or dragons, they immediately have faith.
This is indeed due to some causes in previous lives
and the merit of this life.
Some Buddhist often told me that when he was practicing guru yoga, 00:20:03:10 00:20:07:22 he found it quite difficult to visualize his spiritual teacher
as a holy being who is free of any faults.
In fact, this creates obstacles for your Dharma practice.
According to the teachings of our lineage masters,
if you really can﹑t visualize, or if you can﹑t perceive your Lama as a pure being,
then it is very important to recite many Vajrasattva mantras.
Actually, some spiritual teachers don﹑t have any faults.
You are only creating hindrances for yourself with your own discursive thoughts.
Failure to generate pure perception is a huge hindrance.
When you take a retreat, or during your daily Dharma practice,
you must practice visualization.
At least you can practice guru yoga. Anybody can do it.
In Tibet, there﹑s a saying:
Right now I can﹑t manage to practice any Dharma, but if I just sit there and practice guru yoga,
I am in fact already a middling practitioner.
For example, the impermanence of life, or the rarity of human body,
is quite difficult for some people to practice.
But reciting the guru mantra every day, and chanting the prayer of guru,
are in my opinion not so difficult.
Of course, when you do recite, sometimes you can manage to visualize with clarity,
and sometimes not. Even if you can﹑t visualize clearly
in fact, praying to an object than can bestow blessing still brings forth great merit.
Such praying is bound to be meaningful, is bound to accrue merit.
Some people nowadays have strong faith to whichever Dharma they practice.
Some can﹑t seem to generate faith.
The reason might be because they lack diligence.
A couple of days ago, I met an old man. A few years ago,
in front of an old khenpo of our monastery,
he vowed to recite 100,000,000 mantras of Avalokiteshvara.
A while ago, he finished reciting it. Then he asked the khenpo to dedicate the merit for him.
Sometimes, courage manifests itself in different ways.
There are many people around us who have finished 100,000,000 times﹑ recitation of the mantra of Avalokiteshvara.
But nowadays, in the city,
old or young
those who have finished 10 million, or 100 million recitations of the mantra is still a rarity.
So some practitioners really don﹑t have the ability to study, contemplate and practice,
I think you can recite the mantra.
Reciting the mantra of Padmasambhava is very significant.
If you can recite the mantra 100 million or 1 billion times within this life,
then you will not be hindered by any evil spirits throughout your future lives.
If you can manage to recite 1 billion times﹑ mantra of Avalokiteshvara,
this merit is inconceivable.
I told you that in the future, I wanted to talk about the qualities of reciting certain mantras.
But some people don﹑t recite mantras, nor do they practice visualization.
They fill their days with meaningless chatter. This is an enormous waste of life.
It﹑s wrong to waste such a precious human body
never reciting any mantra or meditating.
Don﹑t spend your life like a pig--
wake up, eat, and sleep long hours.
In the morning, everyone else is up and gone to work,
while a few are still in a trance (of sleep).
At the very least, practice guru yoga. This is very important.
In Tibet, there﹑s a master who specifically taught the Seven-Line Prayer.
He said that if there﹑s no time or condition,
just repeat the Seven-Line Prayer thrice at the beginning.
Then recite the Vajra guru mantra, 1000 times per session.
Just now, we practiced together for a while.
At least recite 1000 times. After that you can dedicate the merit.
Therefore the practice of Padmasambhava
is very simple in many spiritual teachers﹑ sadhanas.
Of course, if you prefer an extensive practice,
in the sadhana practices of eight herukas that we usually practice
sometimes Padmasambhava assumes a peaceful form, and sometimes wrathful.
So sometimes, in the world,
people don﹑t understand the truth of Padmasambhava
and think that he was an ordinary lay person.
I once read a book that said that Padmasambhava was a layman.
Because he was a layman, under his influence,
all abbots of Tibetan monasteries have wives.
Later, I thought that this writer made quite some
contributions to Buddhism, and he has acquired very good knowledge in Buddhism,
but people who have come to Tibet can tell you that
to say that ﹒all‧ Tibetan abbots have wives
is called non-certainty and non-pervasion in Buddhist logic.
There are so many Sanghas in Tibet.
In the prefecture of Garze, there are about 18 counties, according to government statistics, there are about 50,000 monks and nuns.
18 Small counties alone have so many monks and nuns.
There are many monks and nuns in Tibet that keep pure precepts.
Having a few hundred or thousands of clergy in a monastery is very normal.
So those who lack understanding judge Tibetan Buddhism.
And many people take it as a fact. This is against logic.
It is wrong to consider Padmasambhava
as an ordinary human being.
Because Guru Padmasambhava did
subdue all kinds of local spirits, savage non-humans
in Tibet, laying the groundwork
for a land where Buddhism is still so prosperous.
Such activity is beyond the capacity of an ordinary human being.
Plus, in Tibet, if you add up all the volumes of terma texts
together, I think it will be far more copious than
the Chinese collection of tripitaka, and Qianlong Tripitaka.
Each terton has multiple volumes,
In each volume, there are different sadhanas.
If you understand these, then you will say:
Oh, my original assessment of Padmasambhava
was actually a sign of ignorance.
So when you don﹑t know the facts,
just rumours,
or jump to a conclusion by your own speculation,
you will regret it.
So I really hope that Dharma friends of the Chinese Buddhist tradition
get to know Tibetan Buddhism first, and how we value the Hinayana precepts.
You should really find out how the various Buddhist institutes in Tibet
teach precepts as a course for beginners.
Like I said yesterday,
what the Chinese Buddhists learn in C玉turvarg疒ya-vinaya
is also taught in the precepts classes in the Tibetan monasteries.
In Tibet, very few Tantric practices
can be practiced with a consort,
but generally speaking, you will definitely not find this kind of practice
in Tibetan monasteries with very strict discipline.
In the biographies of great siddhas you can find such practices.
But there is another explanation for this
which is beyond what we ordinary human beings can perceive.
Therefore, we must understand Buddhism for what it really is.
While we do so, we should pray to Guru Padmasambhava.
His incredible force and blessing
can bring the light of wisdom that dispels the darkness
of the minds of sentient beings of the degenerate time.
Next, is the last line of the prayer.
Having thus invoked the Guru﹑s blessing, we recite his mantra.
What does this mantra of Padmasambhava contain?
The ﹒Guru‧ is the one who is ﹒heavy with perfect qualities,‧
because in terms of qualities,
Guru in Sanskrit means ﹒very heavy‧
What kind of heavy? It doesn﹑t mean the Guru﹑s body is so heavy that
when he falls to the ground, he makes a loud noise.
It means that the Guru is an extremely powerful object of actions, and has great qualities.
Therefore guru means the teacher unsurpassed.
﹒Padma‧ means lotus flower. It is the name of Guru Padmasambhava.
We say Pemajungn用 (Lotus-Born)
because Padmasambhava was born in a lotus lake
from a lotus blossom, so that﹑s why he﹑s named the Lotus-Born.
So ﹒Padma(Lotus)‧ is the name of Padmasambhava,
it is what he was originally called.
﹒Siddhi‧ refers to the supreme and ordinary accomplishments that are our goal.
There are eight ordinary accomplishments, whereas the supreme accomplishment means attaining Buddhahood.
With ﹒Hum‧, we implore him to grant us such accomplishments.
Siddhi means accomplishments, they carry the same meaning.
Having comprehended its meaning, we pray accordingly.
This is then how we pray to the great master of Orgyen,
embodiment of all the Buddhas.
When we recite ﹒Guru Padma Siddhi Hum‧
we know that ﹒Guru‧ means the spiritual teacher, ﹒Padma‧ means Padmasambhava,
﹒Siddhi‧ means accomplishments, ﹒Hum‧ means to grant.
This line means that we pray to you, Guru Padmasambhava,
to grant us temporary and ultimate, or supreme and ordinary siddhis.
The content of the mantra of Padmasambhava is quite simple.
So above is how we explain the meaning of ﹒Guru Padma Siddhi Hum‧
The first line of the Seven-Line Prayer reveals the place of his birth--
﹒In Orgyen﹑s land upon its northwest rim,‧
This tells us about his place of birth.
The second line reveals the manner in which he was born--
﹒On lotus, pistil-cup, and stem,‧
How did Padmasambhava come to this world?
He was not born from a womb, or an egg, nor was he water-born
Like a bodhisattva in the Land of Ultimate Bliss,
he was born in a lake, from a pistil-cup of a lotus blossom.
This is how he was born.
The third shows the extraordinary nature of his greatness--
﹒Wondrous, supreme mastery you found‧
When we came to this line previously, I gave you a detailed explanation
as to how he was born, how he was enthroned,
and how he abandoned the title, went to the charnel fields and benefited sentient beings
in both India and Tibet.
Some archaeologists who did research on Padmasambhava said
Padmasambhava lived in the ﹒earth‧ for over 1600 years
according to a paper I read before.
Anyway, in certain historical documents, Padmasambhava
was born eight years or some say over ten years after the Buddha went into nirvana.
At that time, he was born on the pistil-cup of a lotus flower.
Then he traveled all over India and benefited sentient beings with different displays.
Then he came to Tibet, before he finally left for Chamaradvipa.
So the supreme accomplishments that Padmasambhava displayed in front of sentient beings
are beyond the capacity of an ordinary human being.
A person can at best live 120 years.
When it comes to how Padmasambhava came to this human realm to benefit sentient beings,
some of us as his followers
have no good thoughts, but many bad thoughts.
They wonder if he really did exist or not.
For people with such conceptual thoughts, it is very important to learn and contemplate what you have learned.
I had an acquaintance.
At the beginning, he was burdened with judgmental thoughts about Tantric Dharma.
Later he saw some treasure texts,
and many sublime sadhanas of Tibetan Buddhism,
which completely dispelled his wrongful thoughts.
So for these people, even though they are skeptical at first,
through gradual understanding,
they still can hold the right views. This is also fine.
So the third line talks about the extraordinary nature of his greatness.
The fourth specifically reveals Guru Rinpoche﹑s actual name--
Pemajungn用, the Lotus-Born.
This is the true name of Padmasambhava.
The fifth line mentions
the Guru﹑s retinue, the dakas and dakinis who are in truth none other than the display of his compassion
to whom we also pray -
﹒A ring of many dakinis encircles you‧
The fifth line talks about those to whom we subject our prayers:
Padmasambhava and his retinue.
The sixth shows us how we should pray.
﹒And in your footsteps practicing we follow you.‧
How should we practice? By following the footsteps of Padmasambhava, you.
We do not follow heretics, nor atheists.
Of course, you don﹑t need to follow Padmasambhava literally.
You don﹑t have to literally follow him, going wherever he goes,
saying ﹒Guru, don﹑t abandon me!
I have to hold on to you.‧
as if Guru Rinpoche had a really long tail.
By following him, it means that we need to practice the Dharma after the footsteps of Padmasambhava.
The sixth line shows us how to pray.
The seventh line and the mantra
﹒To grant your blessings, come, we pray. Guru Padma Siddhi Hum‧
These two lines say that having beheld the Guru﹑s qualities, we turn our hearts to him and pray with irreversible faith,
we long for the ultimate accomplishment--attaining the state of Padmasambhava.
Finally, I have obtained this mantra and all contents.
I have found Guru Padmasambhava﹑s practice.
I must attain the same state of being as you.
Thus we express our devotion both physically and verbally.
By such an invocation, our minds are blessed and we will gain accomplishments.
If we have devotion when we pray to Guru Rinpoche
who abides in an undying body of wisdom in the natural nirmanakaya buddhafields
the blessings of his compassion will immediately and certainly enter us.
The key here is whether you have such conviction or not.
Of course people have different karma. I often think that
for example, when I give you the teachings on the practice of Padmasambhava,
because each of you has different merit and devotion,
you will receive different gains.
Although from a superficial perspective,
for example, if we hand out money today, 100 yuan per person,
I don﹑t mean I am really giving you money,
if we hand out money, each person will receive 100 yuan equally.
But Dharma practice is completely different.
Although I gave everybody the same teaching,
because of your own devotion and diligence,
in the end you will gain different results.
As I have mentioned before, when His Holiness Jigme Phuntsok went to the Chamma Buddhist Institute,
he followed Thuga Rinpoche for six years
Some people followed Thuga Rinpoche for a much longer period, some for 12 years,
but when it comes to receiving the qualities from the Lama﹑s heart,
few could surpass His Holiness.
So if you read their biographies, you will see that the Venerable Jigme Gyalwai Nyugu
did not stay for a very long time with his Lama, Jigme Lingpa.
But each time he went to visit, he was full of joy and devotion.
He saw his Lama as the true Buddha, his devotion was beyond expression.
Then the mind-to-mind blessings of his Lama, as well as all his qualities
are completely poured into his disciple
like water flowing over a full vase.
So when people reach the same teaching together,
even in ordinary classes,
sometimes very smart students fail.
The knowledge of their teacher doesn﹑t come in handy.
Some students who weren﹑t so brilliant
succeed later on.
So when we study the Dharma, our merit and devotion
are the main factors.
So I hope you can put efforts into praying.
When you do, recite the verses with devotion.
When you recite the Guru Padmasambhava﹑s mantra, apply strong devoted faith.
If we do so, our minds will be different from ordinary people,
heavily laden with desire, ignorance,
hatred, jealousy and arrogance.
The blessings of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will gradually change the power of your mind.
Thus whatever Dharma we practice will progress without a hitch.
Without the blessings of Lama and the Three Jewels
with the conceptual thinking of ordinary beings
I think it﹑s rather difficult to succeed in any Dharma practice.
So we need to apply devotion when we practice.
About how to pray with conviction,
in the Seven-Line Heart Essence, a treasure text revealed by Guru Chokyi Wangchuk,
Guru Rinpoche himself describes the way in which we should confidently pray to him:
﹒I bow in homage to the yidam deity! If you, my noble child, the happy offspring of a future age,‧
﹒Would take me, lord of Orgyen, as your refuge, Stay in solitude and let your heart be filled‧
At the beginning of the treasure text is an homage and a prayer made to the yidam deity of the practice.
Then Guru Padmasambhava said, fortunate nobles ones in the generations to come,
if you seek me, Padmasambhava﹑s protection,
you have to meet the following requirements:
live in solitude in a quiet room of a holy place,
﹒With sadness at this passing world, And--this is a crucial point--be weary with samsara.‧
First, generate the thought that all worldly fame, position, the so-called eight worldly concerns
are devoid of any meaning, give rise to a strong mind of renunciation.
Driven by such a mind of renunciation, Dharma practice will be successful.
Start your practice with the desire of abandoning samsara.
If we haven﹑t abandoned samsara,
and you think, Ok, today I will practice Padmasambhava,
so that my business will make rain.
I will be rich, and I will enjoy life.
I will sleep in a five star hotel every day, enjoying the pleasures of life.
While you think about this, you pray with very strong devotion,
hung orgyen yul gyi nubjang tsam, pema gesar dongpo la
With such a mindset, your Padmasambhava practice might not succeed.
Hence the first requirement is the mind of renunciation.
This is just like if you want to grow crops, first you have to open up a waste land,
then you can plow
plant your seeds and hope for cultivation.
It﹑s not proper to practice with a frame of mind that isn﹑t in accordance with Dharma.
therefore that﹑s why many people say
first give rise to the mind of weariness, or renunciation,
and practice the Dharma in this frame of mind. This is very important.
There are some people who really think that
there﹑s no real significance to this way of life,
or to cyclic existence.
Of course, our modern society accentuates the word ﹒development‧,
personal development, development of a larger group.
If we say
we should be weary of this society, be disinterested in everything,
people will think of it as a negative mentality and it is not commended by people nowadays.
But sometimes, genuine Dharma practice
conflicts with ordinary ideology.
As it is mentioned in the Words of My Perfect Teacher, these two dogmas are the antithesis of one another
one has this life in mind, the other one is about the life after.
If a person doesn﹑t care about the next life,
then his goal is limited to the happiness of this life.
So while we practice the Dharma, we have to make observations regarding this
and build our practice on the ground of the mind of renunciation. Then what?
﹒Then give to me your mind, your heart, the very vitals of your being,‧
﹒Regarding me, the Lord of Orgyen, As the one in whom to rest your hope, the perfect refuge.‧
Rely on Guru Padmasambhava with your heart and soul.
When we rely on Padmasambhava, we should think that
all the other fields of refuge--the three roots, Dharma protectors, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
are all perfected in the mandala of Padmasambhava, or his practice.
﹒Rely on me in all your hopes and griefs. No need for wealth, no need for offerings and praises!‧
﹒Simply with devotion in your body, speech and mind,‧
﹒Invoke me with this prayer of seven lines. Thus pray to me again and yet again.‧
We rely entirely on you, Padmasambhava,
to decide and to fathom for us the happiness and griefs in this life.
Actually, when we truly pray to the Guru and to the Three Jewels,
we should not be praying to gain happiness.
Happiness or grief, it doesn﹑t matter.
Hardship is your blessing, happiness is also your blessing.
This is a crucial part of training the mind.
Nowadays, many people think that
happiness is your blessing,
but sadness is your fault. Why don﹑t you give me your blessings?
Everyday, I recite the Buddha﹑s name, why don﹑t you care for me? Why am I suffering so much?
Some people are ridiculous.
Of course, in the future, when you will be learning the Mahayana mind-training, you will know
when we ceaselessly make offerings to him and laud his qualities,
we should try our best to avoid the motivation to accumulate wealth.
Pray with the Seven-Line Prayer by applying devotion of the body, speech and mind.
Pray again and again, without stopping.
﹒Hum, In Orgyen﹑s land upon its northwest rim, On lotus, pistil-cup, and stem,‧
﹒Wondrous, supreme mastery you found And as the Lotus-Born you are renowned.‧
﹒A ring of many dakinis encircles you, And in your footsteps practicing we follow you.‧
﹒To grant your blessings, come, we pray. Guru Padma Siddhi Hum.‧
Thus pray with the Seven-Line Prayer.
﹒With deep devotion, tears in your eyes. And when, through faith﹑s intensity, your mind is without thoughts,‧
﹒With ﹐Ha!﹑ exhale, and settle in a state of limpid clarity, Watching undistractedly the free and stainless purity!‧
If we recite with intensive devotion
towards Padmasambhava, up to a certain point,
we will be unable to restrain our tears from falling.
With such devotion, your body will shake.
When a person has given rise to genuine devotion, he will show such signs.
Then, with such devotion, abide naturally
in a primordial state of limpid clarity.
After repeated efforts of praying,
when you finally give rise to intense faith,
abide naturally, and observe the nature of your mind.
I am already entering the domain of Vajrayana teachings here.
﹒What need is there to say that I protect the sons and daughters praying thus to me!‧
Those who pray to Padmasambhava like this
will definitely be protected and blessed by Padmasambhava.
﹒They become the offspring of the Buddhas of the triple time. Empowerment of awareness gained within their minds.‧
This kind of person will gain the empowerment of awareness.
This doesn﹑t mean Padmasambhava will personally give you an empowerment with a vase.
It means that because of your intense devotion towards Guru Rinpoche,
and you feel certain signs of such devotion,
Guru Rinpoche will give you an empowerment of the path, through which you will receive blessings, and the empowerment of awareness.
﹒Their concentration rests in steady strength and wisdom blossoms.‧
Then your strength of concentration will be firmer and firmer.
Your wisdom will grow.
﹒By force of great and self-arisen blessings, They will come to ripeness; They will drive away the sufferings of beings and their protectors.‧
Padmasambhava﹑s great and self-arisen luminosity will bless us
and our minds will be ripened.
Then we will have no difficulty helping and protecting others, relieving them of their pain.
So our devotion really matters.
If we can maintain a strong devoted faith towards Buddhas and our spiritual teacher,
we will meet no difficulties taming the defilements of our minds.
We should help the sick, the poor. We can even bless them.
Actually, when some ordained or lay practitioners
encounter sick people or people who are in pain,
if he asks you to bless him,
pray to Guru Padmasambhava and Buddhas
with genuine faith: Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, do bless his mind!
With such ingenuity,
the poor person will naturally be benefited.
﹒Themselves transformed, the experience of others they will also change, And thus bring forth the works of Buddhahood.‧
This is an established law.
When our minds change, the minds of others will also change.
For example, when I give this teaching today,
if I have extraordinary faith towards Padmasambhava,
then other people will also receive the benefit of my spreading the Dharma.
When I tell a Buddhist story,
if I myself am not moved, and I feel nothing in my mind,
and I talk about a mere theory that I have memorized
a mere memorization of facts,
and a repetition,
then it will enter your left ear and come out of the right one
like running water, leaving no trace in your mental continuum.
In fact, if I have strong faith and joy towards the moving stories of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,
when I tell them to you,
you will remember them.
And this will help the mental continuum of both you and myself.
I often tell Dharma teachers
that when they give Dharma teachings, see if it can move yourself first.
Pass it on to others when you feel something yourself.
The benefit you pass on is totally different.
Teaching with your heart and with your mouth are totally different.
Some spiritual teachers are not eloquent
but because they communicate directly to their disciples with the state of their minds,
whatever they communicate is always beneficial to their minds.
I used to quote this:
﹒Themselves transformed, the experience of others they will also change,
And thus bring forth the works of Buddhahood.‧
For example, today I pray to Padmasambhava to help sentient beings in a place
where, say, a tsunami or an earthquake just took place,
the prerequisite is that while I pray for others,
I must have already experienced some change or sensation physically or mentally while practicing.
Then, if I pray to Padmasambhava to help others,
they will definitely benefit from it.
Of course, this is not so easily achieved.
But we have to attach importance to this point.
Some say that everything is fake.
What Buddhists do is just a formality. That﹑s not true.
We have to receive the blessings in our hearts.
As long as you have achieved much through a Dharma practice,
then other people will definitely benefit from it when you communicate it to others.
If you have never received any gain,
then whatever you say to others will be futile.
So when we tell some stories,
or some principles of Buddha Dharma,
we should choose to provide them with the Dharma practice
from which we have benefited the most. They will definitely be benefited.
﹒In them all qualities will be perfected. May my heart-son meet and bring to light ‧
﹒This mighty instrument of ripening and freedom In the state of great enlightenment, the dharmakaya.‧
Back then, Padmasambhava made an aspiration that this Dharma practice may
encounter his heart-son.
﹒The Seven-Line Prayer, a practice endowed with extraordinary blessings, is extremely profound.‧
﹒May this secret text, the treasure of my heart,‧
﹒be found by Choekyi Wangchuk, compassionate and wise.‧
This was a prophecy
in which Padmasambhava said, may the compassionate Choekyi Wangchuk
encounter this practice. He will be uncovering this practice.
Later, great terton master Choekyi Wangchuk
did reveal this treasure text and made it widely known.
OK. We will stop here.
Next, I will be giving you a transmission of Guru yoga.