teachings: the long lineage of the oral instructions of the Kama, the short lineage of the profound terma, and the extremely short lineage of pure visions. Tukdrub Barchey Künsel belongs to the profound teachings of terma. There are different kinds of termas: earth treasures, mind treasures, treasures revealed through remembrance, and treasures revealed through a rediscovered terma. This is an earth terma, which Chokgyur Lingpa discovered as a yellow scroll in Da-Nying Khala Rong-Go, when he was twenty-five-years old. Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo also revealed these teachings as a mind terma, called Tukdrub Deshek Dupa, which he considered to be almost the same in terms of both words and meaning as the earth terma of Tukdrub Barchey Künsel; so he then decided to bring those two termas together.
These teachings originally came about as follows: The precious master Padmasambhava was residing at Samye in Central Tibet, invited by the Dharma King Trisong Deütsen. One day, in the turquoise-covered chamber of one of the temples, Padmasambhava sat with nine of his closest disciples: the king; his three sons (the three princes); the consort appointed by the vajra command, the dakini Yeshe Tsogyal; the great master Vairotsana, whose realization was equal to that of Padmasambhava himself; the monk Namkhai Nyingpo; and the Ngakpas Dorje Dudjom and Nubchen Sang-gye Yeshe. Together, they supplicated him many times, offered a mandala, and made other offerings. Wholeheartedly and earnestly, they asked these questions: “When there are hindrances and obstacles for enlightenment, at this time and in future times, what are the methods to dispel these obstacles? When the hindrances are cleared, how does one reach attainment? What are the ways for that to happen?”
The Precious Master replied: “Right now, at present and in future generations, there will be countless varieties of obstacles for enlightenment and attainment on the path. The one single method that suffices for clearing away all obstacles and hindrances is to call upon your guru—from the core of your heart. That itself will remove every type of obstacle. Once hindrances are cleared away, attainment is reached, right at that moment.” In short, it’s exceedingly important to supplicate your guru.
This could be one of the most important sentences Padmasambhava has said. It is found in the first volume of Barchey Künsel and in the text called Sheldam Nyingjang, the essence manual of all instructions. It says to call upon the guru, one’s personal guru, who shows the path to enlightenment. One’s personal guru may have every virtue equal to all buddhas of the three times; still, in terms of kindness, one’s personal guru is kinder than all other buddhas. Due to the power of incredible aspirations and merit made by a buddha in the past, another buddha manifests, awakening to true and complete enlightenment and teaching the 84,000 sections of the Dharma. In our aeon, the Buddha Shakyamuni has done so, but we did not have the fortune to meet him and receive his teachings.
For us, our individual root guru is the person who shows what to adopt, what to avoid, and how to follow a true path. Having a root guru is the same as a blind person getting an eye operation and then being able to see. Therefore, the person who shows us the path in an authentic way, the master who teaches the Dharma, is our personal root guru, our primary teacher. That kindness has no equal. To appreciate that with respect and trust from the core of one’s heart, from the marrow of one’s bones, is exactly what is needed. Without that trust and devotion, the plant of progress in the Dharma is, one can say, rotten from the root.
These days, many teachers give us teachings, empowerments, and advice. It’s fine to have many teachers, and it shows earnestness and sincerity in finding and understanding the Dharma. However, we need to have one particular person who opens up and clarifies the path, saying that is the way to go. We need to have a personal teacher and to know who that is. This is not a simple matter. It takes a lot of combined merit and noble wishes from many, many lifetimes to be able to connect with one person and have that trust and devotion. We shouldn’t think it’s easy.
When you look at the life stories of past masters, often you see that after having done a lot practice, yidam practice for example, he or she may have had a vision of the wisdom deity, who makes a prediction that such-and-such person is their root guru. Meeting such a person transforms one’s experience completely, and that is one of the sure signs of having found the personal root guru.
For example, in the Nyingma tradition, Prahevajra’s root guru was Vajrasattva, and Manjushrimitra’s root guru was Prahevajra, and so forth. Each of these had very clear indications pointing to his or her primary master. So this is how we have one after the other in an unbroken lineage. In the Kagyü lineage, we have lists of masters: Vajradhara, Tilopa, Naropa, Marpa, Milarepa, and so forth. We can count them, one after the other; they are called the Golden Rosary of the Kagyü masters. When you read their biographies, you will understand. For example, Naropa was already a great, learned master, a pandita, when he had a vision of a dakini who told him he must meet Tilopa, in order to attain the supreme siddhi of Mahamudra. Naropa set out to find him, and after finding Tilopa, he was forced to undergo many very difficult trials. At the end, he attained realization of the supreme accomplishment of Mahamudra. In all of these biographies you see that the Kagyü lineage masters found one outstanding person who was their unique, personal master. Read their biographies, think about them, and gain some understanding of this point.
According to the tantras, there are four different kinds of gurus: the guru from whom one receives empowerment, the guru who explains the meaning of the tantras, the guru who gives oral transmission, and so forth. These are counted in different ways, according to the degree or profundity of kindness, whether it’s a triple, double, or singular kindness. But the root guru who introduces us to the view of Mahamudra or Dzogchen, bringing us face-to-face with our mind’s nature—not only pointing out the state of pure knowing, but also infusing our being completely with the blessings to realize and recognize the true state of Mahamudra or Dzogchen—that is called the extraordinary root guru. That kindness is inconceivably great. When someone who is completely caught within the web of emotions, ignorance, and karma is shown, in one instant, the awakened state of all buddhas, which can halt and end samsara, how can there be any greater kindness given? If we have stayed in a dark dungeon for countless aeons, and then a person comes and switches on the light, dispelling all the darkness in a single moment, how amazing! In essence, we are brought face-to-face with our own nature, the dharmakaya nature of all buddhas. What greater kindness could there possibly be? If one has a root guru like that, great! If one doesn’t, make sure to get one, because without such a guru, there is no way to be enlightened.
According to the sutras, the guru is a spiritual friend or guide, who shows us what to do and what not to do, so we can progress. But according to the Mantrayana or Vajrayana, empowerment is the entrance door to practicing the tantras. Of the four empowerments, the most important is the fourth, which empowers us so the play of pure knowing ripens. Without having a guru to point this out, so we can recognize this basic nature, there is no way to practice Vajrayana.
Here in this text, Padmasambhava says, “When a person wants to practice the Dharma in an authentic and true way, he or she needs to follow a guru. When following a guru, trust, real trust from the core of one’s heart, from the marrow of one’s bones, is of utmost importance; otherwise, the root of Dharma practice has rotted.” What does it mean for a root to be rotten? It means something is wrong, like when the seed of a flower or plant becomes spoiled, preventing growth. No petals, leaves, or plant will come out of it. The Three Precious Ones are present as the root guru, so without a root guru something really important is missing. Moreover, the guru is the root of blessings, so without a guru and devotion to a guru, there will be no blessings and no inspiration. Whether we have trust or not depends upon our mind; but without having a true object of trust, a person we have properly identified and in whom we place our trust, there is absolutely no way to attain enlightenment.
The lama is the root of blessings, the yidam is the root of accomplishments, and the dakinis and dharma protectors are the roots of activities. Those are the Three Roots. Actually the Three Roots are all gathered into the lama. The title of this practice refers to the lama, indicating that this is a practice to accomplish the lama. If we are able to merge our mind with
