07 Motivation for and How to Begin the Retreat 7-Sept-2004

This teaching was given by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Lama Tsonkhapa Institute in Italy as part of the Ganden Lha Gyama retreat between September 3-30, 2004.00:00:01 Before beginning a deity retreat, generate the proper motivation. Remember the impermanence of life by reflecting on how great beings of the past have passed away, leaving only their teachings and stories behind.00:16:57 No matter who we are, we will definitely die, perhaps even today. Use this awareness of impermanence and death to abandon negative karma and practice virtue.00:37:00 If we died last night without having purified our negative karma, we would be reborn in the lower realms. The wise thing to do is to practice Dharma - abandoning non-virtue and creating virtue to achieve happiness in future lives up to enlightenment.01:07:11 When generating the motivation for retreat, think that the purpose is to achieve enlightenment in order to liberate all sentient beings from suffering. Make the determination to practice with bodhicitta.01:45:48 The actual instructions for beginning the retreat: 1) Refuge and bodhicitta, 2) Guru yoga, 3) Mandala offering, 4) Vajrasattva purification, 5) Actual deity practice. Remember that yourself, the action of meditating, and the object of meditation are all empty of inherent existence.02:24:04 Within the refuge and bodhicitta prayer, one is practicing the three principal aspects of the path - renunciation, bodhicitta, and the right view of emptiness. This is the essence of how to practice during the retreat.Find out more about Lama Zopa Rinpoche, his teachings and projects at https://fpmt.org/