Author Archives: KPLBlog

Authentic gurus teach the path of devotion and faith not because they need our devotion or our faith, but because we do. Authentic gurus do not want or need our respect. They have no use themselves for our service. They do not want or particularly enjoy our wealth. This is because they have no hope or fear. Hope and fear are born of dualism. Authentic gurus are not dualistic, therefore, respect and disrespect and so forth are irrelevant to them. However the fact remains that while the guru may not need you, if you whole heartedly supplicate a guru who is authentically beyond dualism, you can achieve the same state as his in a single instant. In a single instant, you can achieve what we call “the mixing of the guru’s mind and your mind.” And it is this whole hearted open supplication that makes vajrayana the fastest possible spiritual journey.

The actual vajrayana approach to death and dying is something so simple that the most simple‑minded of human beings—someone who is even unable to comprehend basic meditation instruction—is still capable of implementing, because we are all capable of seeing our root guru. We know what our root guru looks like; we’ve seen his face. It does not take any special ability or technique to recollect the face of your root guru.

[From a teaching on Life of Guru Rinpoche by Bardor Tulku Rinpoche given in Seattle, WA, in April 2009. Translated by Lama Yeshe Gyamtso, transcribed by Linda Lee, copy-edited by Basia Coulter. Copyright 2009 Karma Thegsum Choling Seattle, Bardor Tulku Rinpoche, and Peter O’Hearn. All rights reserved.] In our practice, we depend upon our teachers […]