25 Seeing Beyond Appearances: Realizing That the Guru is the Embodiment of All Buddhas 15-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, 2004.00:00:00 Even if you practice tantra with great hardship for eons, you cannot achieve enlightenment if you make mistakes in devoting to the guru.00:03:06 Rinpoche mentioned the story about Milarepa recognizing Padampa Sangye who had manifested as a flower to test him.00:05:21 Padampa Sangye advised the people of Tingri that if they treat guru as more special than the Buddha, they will achieve realizations and enlightenment in one life.00:09:03 Since the Je Drubkangpa's mind was so obscured that he couldn't generate devotion to one of his gurus, he never achieved realizations despite meditating on lamrim for many years.00:32:32 The main objective of guru devotion is to see the guru as a Buddha. The more stable this devotion is, the more one is able to see the guru as a Buddha regardless of the guru's external appearance or behavior.00:52:14 Since due to obscurations, disciples cannot see the guru's qualities, the guru has no choice but to appear in an ordinary form to guide disciples. This ordinary appearance is therefore the guru's utmost kindness.01:12:13 The conclusion is that the real guru is the embodiment of all the Buddhas' qualities. Recognizing this is the realization to strive for in guru yoga practice.Find out more about Lama Zopa Rinpoche, his teachings and projects at https://fpmt.org/