A teaching by H.H. Penor Rinpoche

Although we would like to practice the Buddhadharma, we fail to live up to the real teachings of the Buddhadharma on account of the worldly fetters. And when suffering the death throes at the end of our lives, we come to realize that we have missed the timing for our Dharma practice. What shall we do then?

When following tantric teachings, we rely entirely on our guru, absorbing all of his inner virtues into our mindstream. All the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas of the three times attain Buddhahood by relying upon the gurus. To practice Guru Yoga is therefore crucial.

Four methods which transform the mind are preliminary to the practice of Guru Yoga. They are: taking refuge, making the bodhicitta resolve to practice, mandala offering and Vajrasattva confession practice. When taking refuge, we shall contemplate on the objects of refuge. Next, realizing that all sentient beings within the six realms were once our parents and loved ones, we make the resolve to practice to deliver them from Samsara. Thereupon, we move further to develop the Aspiration Bodhicitta and Engaging Bodhicitta.

And then we practice the Mandala Offering, which is the supreme yet easiest way to accumulate one’s blessings and wisdom. After we have contemplated on the objects of refuge, we visualize that in order to get rid of the evil karma we have accumulated from our previous lives, all the offerings such as the various treasures, the eight auspicious symbols and the seven precious substances are all turned infinite and offered to the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas for the purpose of gathering blessings and wisdom.

After that, we engage in Vajrasattva confession practice to eliminate the karmic effects of our evil karma and afflictions. We visualize Vajrasattva luminous over our head, from whose toes the amrita nectar flows into our crown and our heart, that all our past evil karma is dispelled.

Finally we shall be allowed to practice Guru Yoga. While practicing Guru Yoga, we visualize our Root Guru overhead. The Root Guru is the emanation and also the embodiment of the body, speech and mind of all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten directions.

We visualize that the immense rays of light radiating from our guru’s body, speech and mind merge into our body, speech and mind, and eliminate all our past evil karma, that the virtues and achievements of our guru’s body, speech and mind are identical with ours. In the end, we dedicate all the merits and virtues of our past, present and future times to all sentient beings.

Even though Dzogchen (ultimate completion) is recognized to be supreme, the most essential thing is still that we must clear away all our inner vexations before we can become fully awakened to Dzogchen. The guru with virtue and the disciple with virtue are two must-haves in regard to the practice of Dzogchen. When the two reach accord with each other, the disciple will certainly fully comprehend the teachings of Dzogchen.

Whoever would like to follow Vajrayana teachings must stay as pure-minded as they can—not to think too much, not to get angry easily and not to have many wandering thoughts. Stay pure-minded and you will succeed in practicing the Vajrayana teachings.

Of the human evil karma, self-grasping, the tenacious focus on the ego, is the most grievous one. If we have always allowed arrogance and self-grasping to rise up in us, our Dharma practice will simply get nowhere. In this turbulent period of the Dharma Ending Age, from now on to the time when the average human lifespan is only ten years of age, the Vajrayana teachings will flourish more and more. But even if the Vajrayana teachings will thrive, we still need to practice the Dharma diligently.

I hope you all will make endeavors to practice the Buddhadharma, without stirring up the thoughts of greed, hatred, ignorance and so forth. The truth is that we have deep afflictions inside; we not only discriminate between gurus but also between dharmas. If we practice the Buddhadharma with such an attitude, we will achieve nothing in our practice. Therefore, to succeed in our Dharma practice, we need to get rid of all the wandering thoughts and practice with steadfast faith.