sense of weariness in teaching even the most difficult of disciples.
Westerners sometimes think monks and nuns are holy. We’re not holy; we’re just trying.
LAMA YESHE
When I met my guru, Lama Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche, I was particularly taken by his abject humility, which is such an integral part of his whole being. And there is a special kind of joyousness in the way he speaks – laughter is never far from the corners of his eyes and mouth. I was quite bowled over, and I also felt rather humbled.
I had brought to our meeting all the negative baggage of a lifetime’s worth of posturing and self-cherishing. There was a skepticism within me borne of the conviction that “I had seen it all …” – the kind of arrogance you find in anyone who has tasted success, power, and wealth. I really was rather full of myself! And I smoked like a chimney.
Lama Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche.
In Bodhgaya I was politely requested not to smoke in the presence of the high lama, and I recall slinking to the back of the building to light a cigarette every few hours. But here is the miracle. Soon after I returned from India I never touched another cigarette, and I have not smoked since. It was several months later that I realized that quitting smoking had something to do with meeting Lama Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche. Yet when I attempted to thank him, he did not even acknowledge that he had anything to do with it – that is the extent of his humility. Later there were many instances of Rinpoche’s clairvoyance and his seemingly effortless ability to read my mind and know what I was about to say, before I gave voice to my thoughts. Yet each time I make reference to his “powerful magic,” he will roar with laughter.
Since then I have come to realize that this is the way of high lamas. They are so incredibly humble that they never acknowledge their yogic powers. They create all kinds of phenomena, offer wise advice, demonstrate incredible clairvoyance, create cures, and heal many hearts by advising on spiritual practices, prayers, and mantras – yet they never take credit for the miraculous results that ensue. Lam Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche is always happy, no matter what time of the day or night and what problems have been placed before him. His mind is never troubled. And I have never seen him refuse to help anyone.
At first I developed a genuine respect for Rinpoche’s awesome knowledge of the Dharma and his obvious goodness, but over time I came to see him as something much more than just a teacher. Each time he speaks to me, it is as if the Buddha is speaking directly to me:
The guru is the root of the path
He is the source of all my good.
Finding a lama and taking yourself to him in the correct way is the first step on the spiritual journey to enlightenment. It is like building a house: when the foundations are strong, the house is solid and lasts a long time. Or like a tree: when the roots are planted firmly in the ground, the tree grows steadily and strong, producing healthy fruit and flowers. Think seriously about this.
Perhaps one of the most wonderful lamas of our contemporary age is His Holiness the Dalai Lama, whom Lama Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche reveres as an emanation of the Compassion Buddha, Chenrezig (see Chapter 5). Speak to anyone who has ever been in the presence of His Holiness and they will describe the aura of purity and goodness that emanates from him. He appears so humble and ordinary, so approachable and full of happiness, and yet the world knows the sufferings he has had to endure on behalf of his people. Yet he is unswerving in his conviction that violence and animosity are not the way to deal with problems. The Dalai Lama truly exhibits all the qualities of the Compassion Buddha.
A modern thangka painting showing Lama Tsongkhapa (left), Shakyamuni Buddha (center), and His Holiness the Dalai Lama (right).
Let me share with you a story that I heard about the Dalai Lama. Once, when he was teaching in America, one of the questions posed to him was “You must be a most highly realized person. Some say you are the Buddha Chenrezig – can you confirm this?” And His Holiness replied, “I am but a humble monk.” Hearing this, the questioner replied sadly, “If that is all you are, then what hope is there for the rest of us? How can we ever reach the state of high realization – let alone enlightenment – if you, such a high being, are still only a humble monk?”
Seeing the genuine dejection in the eyes of the student, His Holiness seemed to reflect for a moment before saying, “Well, sometimes when I contemplate, it seems that I remember the time I drove the chariot that took Buddha on the tour of the city … the time he met up with old age, sickness, and death …”
That was as much as His Holiness said on the subject, and those of us who heard this story have often wondered how many other high lamas once lived with the Buddha in Bodhgaya and were among those who attained enlightenment under his teaching.
* enemies of the mind.
Chapter 2 Five Tantric Buddhas for Spiritual Transformation
To find happiness and avoid suffering We should learn about those factors that bring happiness so we can practice them, And those factors that bring about suffering, So we can avoid them.
LAMA KYABJE ZOPA RINPOCHE
The Dhyani Families
In mystical Buddhism there are five buddha families in the cosmos, led by five transcendent buddhas, or tathagatas, who symbolize the purity of the five associations of body and mind (form, feeling, recognition, consciousness, and conformation, or compound aggregates).
These are the Dhyani buddhas (exalted ones) who preside over the five elements, the five directions, the five colors, and the five wisdoms. They manifest the vitality of Buddhism transcending space and time. These cosmic buddhas have distinct appearances and colors, but we can also think of them as separate manifestations of the one Buddha, each representing an aspect of the total experience of enlightenment that are involved in spiritual transformation.
In the abstract, we can imagine these buddhas taking form in response to the meditative creativity of Buddha’s disciples and, over the centuries, becoming popular images for enlightenment. Like white light refracting through faceted crystals to produce a rainbow of colors, so from the single white light of Buddha comes a spectrum of hues, which imbues each of the Dhyani buddhas with attributes that give existence to humankind.
Traditionally, when you have been initiated to Tantric Buddhism (a branch of Mahayana Buddhism), you enter into
