A True Father Speaks ...

The Essence of Guru Yoga

When thoughts arise, we imagine ourselves once more as Vajrayogini, with Guru Rinpoche above our head. There is no need to do an elaborate visualization of the retinue and all the other details. Simply maintaining the presence of the guru above our head, we carry a strong feeling of devotion throughout all our daily activities.

The essence of Guru Yoga is simply to remember the guru at all times: when you are happy, think of the guru; when you are sad, think of the guru; when you meet favorable circumstances, be grateful to the guru; and when you meet obstacles, pray to the guru, and rely on him alone. When you are sitting, think of the guru above your head. When you are walking, imagine that he is above your right shoulder, as if you were circumambulating him. When you are eating food, visualize the guru at your throat center and offer him the first portion. Whenever you wear new clothes, first offer them to the guru, and then wear them as if he had given them back to you.

At night, when you are about to fall asleep, visualize Guru Rinpoche in your heart center, the size of the first joint of your thumb, sitting on a four-petalled red lotus. He is emanating countless rays of light, which fill your whole environment, Guru Yoga melting the room and the entire universe into light, and then returning to absorb into your heart. Then the guru himself dissolves into light. This is the state in which you should fall asleep, retaining the experience of luminosity. If you do not fall asleep, you can repeat the visualization again.

When you wake up in the morning, imagine that the guru emerges from your heart and rises up to sit again in the sky above your head, smiling compassionately, amidst a mass of rainbow light.

This is how we can remember the guru and apply devotion during every activity. And should death come suddenly, the best practice then is to blend our mind with the mind of the guru. Of all the sufferings of the three intermediate states, the most intense is the suffering of the moment of death. For this moment there are practices of Phowa, or the transference of consciousness to the buddhafields. The practice of Guru Yoga is the most profound and essential way of doing Phowa.

Finally, this practice of Guru Yoga is sealed with a profound prayer:

May I and all sentient beings

reach the ultimate goal of the path:

the realization of the absolute nature!

Having obtained this human body,

met the teacher,

received his instructions,

and put them into practice,

May we make the seeds

of the four empowerments blossom

into the four kay as, so dispelling the four veils!

By accomplishing the four kayas,

may we achieve ultimate enlightenment!

It is with this wish-fulfilling prayer and many others like it that we should put the ultimate seal on all our practice.

In brief, and to conclude, Guru Yoga is the essence of all practices and the easiest on which to meditate. It entails no danger and it is endowed with boundless blessings. It has been the main object of practice of all the enlightened beings of India and Tibet, and in all the different schools. Through the Guru Yoga practice, all obstacles can be removed and all blessings received. And through merging our mind with the mind of the guru, and remaining in the state of inseparable union, the absolute nature will be realized. This is why we should always treasure Guru Yoga and keep it as our foremost practice.

In general, as I mentioned at the beginning, any practice or activity that we undertake must be governed by the Three Noble Principles. The first is to practice not for ourselves alone, but for all sentient beings, and therefore we generate the most precious attitude-that of wishing to guide all beings to the state of enlightenment.

Second, the main part of the practice is to practice onepointedly as we go through each step of the preliminary practice: the four thoughts, refuge and bodhicitta, the Vajrasattva practice, the mal).c;lala offering, and Guru Yoga. Actions performed with the body, recitation of the speech, and concentration of the mind should all be done one-pointedly and without distraction. While we concentrate on what we are doing with the body, we must not let our speech drift into ordinary conversation. When we recite with our mouth, we must not let our mind wander away from the practice. The main part of the practice then is to be single-mindedly focused and to be free from any clinging, so that the benefit of our practice will not be carried away by outer circumstances. For more advanced practitioners this second point means to dwell constantly in the realization of the emptiness of all phenomena.

The third Noble Principle is to conclude by dedicating the merit of the practice. Whatever merits we may have accumulated in the past, and may accumulate in the future, we dedicate to all sentient beings so that they may achieve buddhahood. Our aspiration when we dedicate should have the same expansive and generous attitude as that with which the vast merit of the buddhas and bodhisattvas is dedicated.

Conclusion

This particular Guru Yoga practice belongs to the tradition of the Longchen Nyingtik. However, this does not mean that it is in any way limited because it belongs to one particular lineage. Although here we find Guru Rinpoche at the center of the practice, and in the new translation traditions the Buddha Vajradhara, or Dorje Chang is the central figure in the Guru Yoga, they are identical in nature. The main point is to practice the Ngondro preliminary practice in a genuine way. It is the prerequisite for having a sound foundation for the main practice. Without the Ngondro, the main practice will not resist deluded thoughts, it will be carried away by circumstances, it will be unstable, and it will not reach its ultimate goal. It will be like building a beautiful mansion on a frozen lake. No main practice should start without the foundation of the preliminary practice. And as it says in the concluding verses of this text by Jikme Lingpa:

Through accomplishing this preliminary practice, you will eventually be reborn in the paradise of Zangdopalri, the Glorious Copper Colored Mountain.

So, at present you may be living in a country distant from the land where the Buddha's teaching was born, yet thanks to your good fortune you have been able to meet the Dharma and start practicing. This is a sign that you have a good connection. But in order to progress along the path you need to find a qualified teacher, otherwise all your efforts will be wasted. Having found a teacher, you should then practice in accordance with his instructions, remembering that within the preliminary practice all the vital points of the paths of sfltra [sutra] and tantra are included, and that you are truly fortunate to be able to practice them.

I received these teachings many times from my teacher Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, as well as from Shechen Gyaltsap Rinpoche, and now I have shared the essence of them with you.”


~ H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche — Guru Yoga According to the Preliminary Practice of Longchen Nyingtik: https://amzn.to/3Qyh8LA