Padmasambhava mudra
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The Dalai Lama's Cat: Buddhist compassion in action
In Tibetan Buddhism, guru-yoga is the foundation of our practice. There are many reasons why. Straightforward ones like it is the guru who makes the Dharma relevant by focusing on those insights that are helpful to us, here and now. And it is the guru who, like a tennis coach, music teacher or other mentor, doesn’t simply transfer information but embodies the wisdom, walks the talk, and inspires us to want to have a bit of what they do.
Venturing into less obvious territory, when sitting with more realised beings we have a sense of transmission, of the Dharma being communicated at a deeper level than words alone. It is like having the door opened to a hidden reality - paradoxically, ever-present – that in the presence of our guru can be felt. Guided meditations led by our guru can take us places we haven’t been before, to experiences that are ineffable.
Reading about such encounters between students and gurus, we naturally long for such a connection. Guru-yoga is defined as yoking our mind to that of the guru. Which spirit
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History of Tibetan Buddhism
See also: History of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism
Buddhists, predominantly from India, first actively disseminated their practices in Tibet from the 6th to the 9th centuries CE. During the Era of Fragmentation (9th–10th centuries), Buddhism waned in Tibet, only to rise again in the 11th century. With the Mongol invasion of Tibet (1240 onwards) and the establishment of the MongolYuan dynasty (1271–1368) in China, Tibetan Buddhism spread beyond Tibet to Mongolia and China. From the 14th to the 20th centuries, Tibetan Buddhism was patronized by the Chinese Ming dynasty (1368–1644) and the ManchurianQing dynasty (1644–1912) which ruled China.
The Gelugpa school, founded by Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), rose to (political) prominence under Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (1617–1682), the 5th Dalai Lama (in office 1642–1682), who invited the Mongols to intervene in the Tibetan civil war of 1639–1642. The Mongols invested him with the political power of Tibet, leading to the dominance of the Gelugpa until the 20th century. In the 19th century the Rimé movement provide
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Lama Zopa Rinpoche News and Advice
Lama Zopa Rinpoche consecrating the new stupa in Thame, Solu Khumbu, Nepal, from afar, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, June 2021. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche continues his video teachings on thought transformation from Kopan Monastery in Nepal. Here is a summary of the most recent teaching:
Rinpoche begins this teaching by reminding us of the motivation he established last session, particularly for the Sangha. He emphasized requesting the guru for blessings to be able to generate a strong wish to be liberated from samsara, quoting verse 87 of Lama Chopa. Rinpoche adds that for this teaching’s motivation, we can look to verse 88 from Lama Chopa:
Having renounced the thought seeing samsara,
Which is difficult to bear like being in prison, as a beautiful park,
Please bless me to hold the three higher trainings, the treasure of the exalted beings’ wealth,
And then to uphold the victory banner of liberation.
In this way, the motivation is to renounce the thought of seeing samsara as a beautiful park. You don’t want to
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