A Dharma Teaching by His Holiness Rimay Gyalten Sogdzin Rinpoche

 

Section 15

 

To My Most Precious Root-Guru I Pray:

On the Four Heartfelt Subjects of Refuge, Mind, Path, and Faith

 

To the most kind Lord of Refuge, the Wish-Fulfilling Gem,

His Holiness Drubgen Yizhin Norbu Rinpoche:

Embodiment of all the Buddhas,

Inseparable from all Deities,

Holder of the true unbroken lineage,

I pray to your true compassion and kindness.

Allow me the special privilege of taking refuge in you,

Enjoyed as a result of my good deeds of the past,

A refuge extending far beyond this life,

May our minds never be apart.

Being with my supreme, precious and Holy Root-Guru

And of course H.H. Cho-je Ni-ma Rinpoche

Is the experience of an indescribable wealth beyond words.

Allow me to express my gratitude for this connection

And pray for the long life of all three inseparable Holy Beings,

And that this fortunate connection continues to grow.

May your blessings continue to shower me,

May your kindness continue to pour over me.

Let me not waste such opportunities,

Keep me on the right path

Until I become worthy of the

Empowerments, reading transmission, and precious teachings

That I sincerely request from you, for the benefit of all sentient beings.

In the mean time, may I continue to enjoy the special opportunities

To be of service to you and support the Three Jewels.

To be with and serve my Root Guru is the perfect union of wisdom and compassion,

Like two wings of a bird.

May I continue to rely on your skillful means

To destroy the obstacles I face,

As a result of my deluded mind attached to phenomena,

Unable to see its pure and empty nature.

And may I in this lifetime, and many more,

Continue to receive your blessings,

With your limitless patience and wisdom

Clear away this mind full of illusions.

 

To purify my mind I pray to you…

 

Lead me to the realization of the natural state of mind.

Grant me the knowledge of

The One that liberates all,

And enable me to be focused, undistracted,

That I may tame this poisoned mind

Full of attachment and illusion, fixated, and lost.

Point me in the right direction

So that I can see the non-dual nature of Samsara and Nirvana,

Beyond good and bad.

Turn my mind to pure Dharma,

That I may develop the mind of Mahāmudrā,

Equally deep and vast,

So I can see everything as pure,

The play of Dharmakaya,

That I may end the cycle of Six Realms,

No longer ignorant

No longer attached.

Lead me to the realization of Mahāmudrā,

I pray to receive your instructions,

So that my mind becomes pure

Turning my tendencies from destructive to constructive,

Reducing my desire and increasing compassion.

 

To keep me on the right path I pray to you…

 

All along my journey may I clearly recognized

The Nirmanakaya Body of Guru Rinpoche as the Body of my Root-Guru,

The mantra of Vajradhara as the Speech of my Root-Guru,

The Mind of the Buddha is inseparable with the Mind of my Root-Guru.

Give rise to the Bodhicitta within me

That I may have the compassion and wisdom I need

for benefiting others.

Let me have your blessings,

Fill me with the confidence, courage, and patience

for conquering the Maras, or demons, and the confused self.

Help me to be aware of my body, speech, and mind,

So as to minimize non-virtue.

When I am unable to see the true empty nature of my enemy

I ask you to arm me only with compassion to defend against them.

To guide me within the middle way, away from the extremes,

Until the realization of Mahāmudrā

To help me maintain proper motivation for all activities

Aiming to benefit others

And never be swayed from the right views

and reduce my attachments to meaningless worldly activities.

Grant me all that I need for Liberation

And enable me to let go of what I do not need.

Show me the true nature of my obstacles

And may wisdom be developed from them.

Let me be protected from evil spirits,

And may all be pacified.

To remind me of the impermanence of all things

And allow me to let go of attachments

Bringing me closer to realization,

Bless me with the opportunities to accumulate merit,

To increase compassion and wisdom

So that skillful means can be exercised.

Help me to minimize my destructive habits of body, speech, and mind

And to plant the seeds of good causes and conditions

Until the realization of emptiness dawns

Beyond causes and conditions.

 

To strengthen my faith I pray to you…

 

Guide me in the proper practice

With all the empowerments, transmission, and instructions

I am yearning to receive from you

That will remove all doubts, fear, and uncertainties.

To develop faith through the accumulation of merit

And to fill my mind with the Three Jewels and Three Roots,

While knowing everything is the play of my Guru,

Grant me the indestructible faith

That has no need to question what I have not yet understood.

And may this faith be Vajra-like, indestructible

within this life time and in all future lifetimes.

This kind of Guru-Devotion helps us to have pure faith and pure devotion, as well as pure confidence.  These three - faith, devotion and confidence - are like the life-giving waters to the tree of Dharma, or Buddha-Nature.  Without these one’s practice cannot grow and reach fruition.  With these, and the Sunshine of the Guru, one will travel the path of Dharma to complete realization.

Therefore we must practice and develop this genuine, indestructible vajra teaching.

So please keep practicing, until we reach Enlightenment.

By  H.H. Rimay Gyalten Rinpoche