(From a teaching on buddha nature by Bardor Tulku Rinpoche, Tampa (FL) 2009. Translated by Lama Yeshe Gyamtso, transcribed by Ann G. Shaffer, edited by Basia Coulter. Copyright Bardor Tulku Rinpoche and Peter O’Hearn. All right reserved.) We are afflicted by a serious illness called samsara [ed: cyclic existense]. Like any serious illness, it requires […]
I would like to clarify the issue of samaya. Nowadays, some people think that samaya is something that you should be afraid of, that it is some kind of threat that is hanging over our heads. Here [in the Clear Guide for the Generation Stage], samaya is explained as all included within the person of the guru, and it is divided into the guru’s body, speech, mind, qualities, and activities. Why do we say that samaya is all included within the body, speech, and mind of the guru? As it is said, “The guru is the buddha; the guru is the dharma, the lord; the guru is glorious Vajradhara, the creator of all.” The meaning of this is that the guru’s body is the sangha; the guru’s speech is the dharma; and the guru’s mind is the buddha. And that is why in vajrayana, we refer to the guru as the overlord of all mandalas.
Simply getting angry does not constitute mentally abandoning beings, but when we form the resolution to never help them in the future, that is mentally abandoning them. When we experience conflict with others, we need to remember that there is a great deal of difference between dharma and practitioners of dharma. Dharma itself is pure and unafflicted. Whether we are thinking of dharma as tradition (the buddhas teachings) or dharma of realization, they are both free of affliction. So when someone acts inappropriately and we become outraged, or we think they are acting inappropriately and we become outraged, we first of all have to remember that they are acting in contravention of dharma, not in accordance with it. And if they are fellow practitioners, then this should inspire our compassion rather than our resentment, because they are acting against the course of what they have chosen to do with their life. If you can view it that way, then instead of feeling so much resentment towards the person, you will make the compassionate aspiration that you will be able to help them in the future. In that way a situation of potential conflict can become a source of great compassion that will fuel your bodhichitta.
