Manifestation of the Guru

How to Understand

"Everything is the Manifestation of the Guru"

Question: Pay homage to the Grand Master! Disciples are very busy every day and make a lot of vows and practices. Therefore, when chanting Buddha's name and chanting mantras, they are often anxious about quantity and ignore quality. May I ask, Grand Master, how can we achieve quantity while ensuring quality?

Grand Master: The most important thing in practicing Dharma is the growth of confidence and compassion, so you don't need to ensure the quantity.

Question: Namo Shakyamuni! Pay homage to the Grand Master! I would like to ask: Can I eat the offerings for Dharma protectors myself?

Grand Master: There is no such rule in Tibetan Buddhism. The wine and other items offered to protect the Dharma should be offered separately, and it is best to offer items that other small animals can eat so that it is easier to give.

Question: How to use the rituals for offering manzas in [Opening the Path to Liberation] and [The Wonderous Path of Omniscience Wisdom] to offer seven piles of Manzas?

Grand Master: While reciting the ritual, offer Manzas.

Question: Namo Shakyamuni! How can we do this without attaching any form or initiating any thought?

Grand Master: Live in a quiet place and gradually you can do it. Your idea is very good, but it is difficult to do it in a place without serenity.

Question: Pay homage to the Grand Master! Regarding the order of the five preliminaries, should we practice them in different orders (mainly Manzas and Hundred-Character Ming) according to the foundation of living beings, or should we practice them in the order of morning classes?

Grand Master: All is fine.

Question: Pay homage to the Three Jewels, Master! I am 47 years old and work for a railway power supply company. I have 13 years left before my official retirement. My working hours are not fixed, so I cannot practice regularly every day and there are interruptions. How can I practice in this situation?

Grand Master: Try to fix the time for practicing the Dharma in the morning and evening, but trivial matters such as opening and closing doors are also ways to practice the Dharma.

Question: Pay homage to the Grand Master! Using a liquid butter lamp or a solid butter lamp in front of the Buddha is better than a plug-in lamp?

Grand Master: If you have pure intentions, it’s the same.

Question: I feel that the demons in my heart are many and heavy, and the obstacles at home are also heavy. I want to generate great bodhicitta to save sentient beings in the Dharma Realm. What should I do? Please guide me.

Grand Master: You should pray to Padmasambhava Rinpoche more and recite the prayer to remove obstacles. If you have a strong intention to practice the Dharma, these obstacles can be overcome.

Question: Hello, Grand Master! How can we keep our minds in a pure state of mind when we practice, and prevent worries and delusions from interfering with our chanting?

Grand Master: You should pay more attention to the guidance on Dharma practice, read more books, listen more, think more, and regenerate your clear understanding and righteous thoughts.

10.

Question: How do we correctly understand that "everything is the manifestation of the guru"?

Grand Master: It needs to be understood from two aspects. From a secular perspective, firstly, when encountering obstacles and unfavorable conditions, think that this is eliminating karma for me by the Guru; secondly, when encountering joyful things, think that this is the blessing bestowed upon me by the Guru. On the other hand, from the perspective of ultimate truth, the ultimate guru is the Buddha-nature, so all the external phenomena are transformed phantoms and manifestations of the Guru.

11.

Question: Many tiny white bugs fly around the electric lamp provided on the Buddha's altar. The next day, many dead bugs will be found on the Buddha's throne. Do you still dare to light the lamp in such a situation?

Grand Master: You should pay attention to this. When offering lamps in the Tibetan area, they will be covered with lampshades. This is better. It would not be good if bugs died because of the light supply. In summer, there are more bugs, so it’s okay not to use lights at night.

12.

Question: I would like to ask the Grand Master to enlighten me. If I meditate in Vajra lotus position, should spending time of meditation tomorrow be the same as today? Can spending time only increase but not decrease? Sometimes it's easy to reach the prescribed time, but sometimes my legs hurt so much that it's hard to stick to it.

Grand Master: When meditating, you can do either double Vajra lotus or single Vajra lotus. Although double Vajra lotus is better, it doesn’t matter if you can’t do it. The main thing is to relax and keep your mind stable and not distracted. The calmer the better.

13.

Question: Pay homage to the Grand Master! I have a habit of smoking. I know that smoking is bad in every aspect, but I never have the perseverance to quit. Knowing my Grand Master’s admonitions for smokers, I feel very uncomfortable and painful. May I ask, Grand Master, what can I do to stop smoking?

Grand Master: If you need to smoke twenty cigarettes on the first day, then smoke nineteen on the second day. In this way, you will gradually reduce the number, and eventually not smoke at all. Although you will have a habit of smoking for a while, you can get rid of it gradually.

14.

Question: Pay homage to Grand Master. If I only have money to acquire a Buddha statue, is it better to use the money to acquire a Buddha statue to Prostrate and make offerings, or is it better to use the money to release lives and benefit sentient beings?

Grand Master: They are all doing good deeds, it depends on your own motivation and vow.

15.

Question: Does the bardo body belong to the six realms of beings? Which group of sentient beings does it belong to?

Grand Master: There are teachings about the seven realms of sentient beings in the scriptures. According to this, the bardo body counts as the seventh realm. But if a sentient being is a human before death and is in the bardo realm after death, this being will still think himself a human being. At the end of the bardo realm, the next reincarnation will appear, and then he will begin to belong to the sentient beings of the next realm. In this way, still six realms of beings.

16.

Question: You practice diligently, but others say you are superstitious. How do we deal with this obstacle?

Grand Master: You can tell the people around you that there is no point in always talking about or thinking about eating and drinking in a busy environment, so you want to practice the Dharma diligently and not waste your precious human life.

17.

Question: Sometimes evil thoughts arise involuntarily. This is not one’s true intention, nor does it lead to a firm mind after making a decision. For example, if the thought "I no longer have bodhicitta" arises, does it violate the Vajrayana or Bodhisattva vows?

Grand Master: If this thought only appears occasionally, it is a sudden affliction. You should pray to Padmasambhava Rinpoche well, repent seriously, and not increase this affliction.

18.

Question: How to comply with the dharma rather than people?

Grand Master: If a person is very famous, it would not be good to explain the meaning of the Dharma casually based on his own thoughts of discrimination. You should observe and think about the principles of the Dharma and believe in the Dharma, not trust individuals easily.

19.

Question: What does it mean not to think of good and not to think of evil?

Grand Master: This is the state of abiding in Dzogchen, and it is not appropriate to answer it in public.

20.

Question: If someone invites you to a gathering during the [Eight Precepts Retreat], how should you refuse in the right manner (without lying)?

Grand Master: Just respond skillfully and conveniently, and don’t tell major lies.

21.

Question: Sometimes I feel that my thinking is not very clear, and my slowness and stupidity affect my daily choices, listening, and thinking. Is this karma? What should be done?

Grand Master: Recite more [The Prayer that Removes All Obstacles from the Path], release lives more, and recite Manjushri Bodhisattva's mantra more.

22.

Question: Pay homage to the Grand Master! What is the difference between unlucky conditions and karma? To get rid of unlucky conditions, what is the difference between praying to Padmasambhava Rinpoche and praying to Tara?

Grand Master: The karmas are what have already been made before, and obstacles (unlucky conditions ) are what come unexpectedly. You can pray to whomever you have faith in.