From a Worthy Wise ...

At the moment, we have all sorts of fixations on what we see, hear, taste, smell—everything we experience. Our experience of ourselves and of the outer world is the result of these fixations, which are the source of all our delusions. Understanding the nature of mind frees us from them and the suffering they cause. But fixations exist in various areas of the Dharma as well. Lama, buddha, yidam really do exist, and it is because of them that we can receive their blessings, realize the attainments, and realize mind’s nature.

Nevertheless, their true existence is not material like that of crystal, gold, iron, or stone. Their essence is emptiness, their nature lucidity, and their appearance the expression of unobstructed wisdom. It is vital for us to think of them this way, and not think that they exist as something physical. Understanding them like this, we can have real faith in them, join our mind with theirs, and remain absorbed. Some people go astray in their practice; they have faith in the lama, the Buddha, and think that they actually exist and have form, hearing, sense of taste, and so on. This point is extremely important to understand, but these days such understanding is rare.

There is a famous saying: If we become attached to them, There is no greater fetter than the divine states. If we fixate on them, There is no greater obstacle than the attainments. If we become attached to divinity, it will hold us captive, and we will remain bound by it. Likewise, if we are attached to attainments in practice, they become huge obstacles. Attachments to the things of this world are like straw chains; attachment to things of the Dharma are like chains of gold; their value is not the same, but the straw ones are easier to break. 

– Kalu Rinpoche