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General Buddhism => General Buddhism => Topic started by: hope rainbow on August 11, 2011, 09:03:06 AM
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There is no safer place than my guru devotion.
My guru embodies the three jewels, and there is no higher refuge than the three jewels.
There is nothing more worthy I could do than practice the Dharma, revere the Sangha and become a Buddha.
I write this here so I can read it again when my mind obscured and confused falls into the trap of worldly thoughts and entertain doubts as an excuse to indulge in my attachments.
How annoying, tiring and frustrating it is not to be enlightened yet!
Samsara is such hard work for no other result than making me and others suffer.
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There is no safer place than my guru devotion.
My guru embodies the three jewels, and there is no higher refuge than the three jewels.
There is nothing more worthy I could do than practice the Dharma, revere the Sangha and become a Buddha.
I write this here so I can read it again when my mind obscured and confused falls into the trap of worldly thoughts and entertain doubts as an excuse to indulge in my attachments.
How annoying, tiring and frustrating it is not to be enlightened yet!
Samsara is such hard work for no other result than making me and others suffer.
Hope Rainbow... I do like what you have written here very much...
It is not often that we reflect on the seemingly hopelessness in our samsaric existence and wanting to break the cycle strongly enough to actually make a dent in this lifetime. Most of the times we just barely scratch the surface. It is all important that we trust and have faith in our Guru as he/she only wants the best for you.
At times it may seem that the Guru is not apparent and doubt sets in... but I know that when this happens to me I try to think of a dark, steep and treacherous tunnel of existence I am in that is illuminated only by the compassionate guiding light of my Guru. At times I may even question why he is not in front of me guiding the way but I need only to look behind me, and see him right behind me, still shining the light over my shoulder so that I may see the way in front of me. In my Guru's infinite wisdom he knows it is best that I find my own way as opposed to following blindly a person in front and he knows if I should fall, he is there to catch me!
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Guru devotion is the total opposite of servitude, it means freedom.
The Guru makes one think for himself and take responsibility.
The Guru makes one grow up, it makes one think, it makes one free.
The Guru makes one compassionate and wise.
The Guru makes one enlightened.
Every place in samsara is deceptive.
In fact, every time we come across as samsaric experience that seems NOT to be deceptive, it is only because we have come across some beings acting out of Dharma, whether consciously or not. It is only because we have experience some level of compassion, love, wisdom or altruism that we find samsara somehow bearable, but then we are not clear in our mind, samsara is NOT bearable, it is Dharma that is the cause of happiness.
The Guru does not teach samsara with a bit of Dharma diluted in it, The Guru teaches and practices Dharma totally.
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When I first get to know Guru Devotion, I am quite taken a back. I don't understand the reason for a guru.
After studying into Vajrayana more, I now know the reasons for a guru, and I'm glad to have a guru near me :)
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I would like to add to the first line of what hope rainbow beautifully wrote here.
Vajrayana is often described as the quick path to enlightenment . In the practice of Guru Devotion it also provides us the safest path. Safe in the sense that we get real practice which yield positive results. No matter how many books we read, or how many talks we attend,when it comes to practice, there is no substitute for a Guru who knows us in and out and therefore can prescribe what we need and keep us on the path.
On our own, trying to apply teachings and advices which are centuries old and from different backgrounds entails a lot of trial and error. Without on the spot guidance, chances are we will keep making and repeating mistakes until making mistakes become a habit ! It is only our big ego and wrong view which think that we ordinary people during this degenerate times can figure out the profoundity of dharma and practice by ourselves. Without a Guru guiding us, we are like the blind without a walking stick and bump into trouble all the time.
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Guru devotion is following our Lama and have faith and trust. Most important thing is being sincere. We always say we trust our Guru, but when given instruction and practice, we tend to be selective, accept advise which only convenient us, then we are not sincere at all.
It also means that if we are facing any problems and hardship while carrying out our Lama's instruction we should not give up. Having a Guru is to have full liberation and not to just rely on the Guru blindly. A Guru will create a situation for us to make us think deeper, sometimes can be peaceful, sometimes can be wrathful, sometimes outwardly can be seen as unreasonable but it is a training for us and a test to our mind how strong we hold our ego.
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In such a degenerate time like this, finding a guru is rare, being close to and being able to serve your guru is even rarer for we have accumulated so much negative karma that something good is always pushed away.
To me what is guru devotion is that you carry out all the orders and commands of your guru(s) flawlessly, you serve your guru wholeheartedly, without and doubt and support him in every way possible, tirelessly assisting him for he is here for only one reason - to spread the Dharma and benefit others. Therefore guru devotion, is assisting your guru in every way possible so that he is able to fully focus and continue to do what he is meant to do.
Your guru should have more respect from you than anyone else. You should 100% listen to your guru for he guides you in this life and all future lives until you attain liberation. He is a messenger of the Buddha, he presents Buddha's message and teachings to us, he guides us, so that we make the bests of yourselves and not waste the chance of us having gained the precious human life. Shouldnt he then receive the highest respect from you for he is your antidote to all your sufferings.
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Guru devotion is following our Lama and have faith and trust. Most important thing is being sincere. We always say we trust our Guru, but when given instruction and practice, we tend to be selective, accept advise which only convenient us, then we are not sincere at all.
There is indeed a difference between the understanding of why Guru devotion is essential to an efficient spiritual practice and the actual practice of Guru devotion itself.
One should watch how one's mind works so that the practice of Guru devotion remains firm, especially through what looks like "bad weather". An essential thing is never to loose the aim: the 3rd Noble Truth.
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What I understand from "Guru Devotion" is that it's how we treat our Guru.
Mindful is one of the key of how we treat or respect our Guru as a teacher.
We do not treat out Guru as an ordinary person so every single action towards our Guru has to be treated as a precious one.
Being loyal is important as if you believe or you experience the Guru's teaching that have benefited you then you should hold your faith strong with the Guru.
The Guru doesn't really need anything from the students but is us that we need to have him for our growth and eventually for others.
The kindness and compassion of a Guru is unmeasurable> you only can see & feel through their action.
What is a Guru want more from the student but just to transform our mind for benefiting others.
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"There is indeed a difference between the understanding of why Guru devotion is essential to an efficient spiritual practice and the actual practice of Guru devotion itself."
The actual practice of having the right attitude is an important criteria of Guru Devotion. One must have the nine attitudes of devotion to the Guru:
1. That of a filial child. Like a filial child, one thoroughly carries out the instructions of the Guru without the slightest deviation.
2. That of a Vajra. Like a Vajra that cannot be split apart, even when facing division created by devils or bad associates, one will never split away from the Guru.
3. That of the Earth. Like the Earth carrying everything in the world, one shoulders all assignments ordered by the Guru.
4. That of the Iron Circle of mountains. Like everlasting mountains, while abiding under the patronage of the Guru one endures hardships and sufferings without ever swaying in one's determination.
5. That of a servant, even when one is obliged to carry out very difficult assignments one holds no grudges in one's heart.
6. That of a sweeper. Like a humble sweeper, one renounces self-pride and regards oneself as inferior to the Guru.
7. That of a rope. Like a continuous rope, one rejoices in carrying on the Dharma activities of the Guru, regardless of its degree of difficulty and heaviness of load.
8. That of a domestic dog. Like a loyal dog, even when the Guru ridicules, irritates or ignores one, one never responds with anger.
9. That of a boat. Like a ferry one goes back and forth on the Guru's assignments without any discontent.
May I take this practice of nine attitudes of devotion to my Guru to heart and may I always be under my Guru's guidance from life to life.
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I was told if we want to achieve enlightenment, we have to have faith and complete trust in our guru. At mt level now, I think guru devotion is about the faith and complete trust.
Our guru's only objective is to guide us to enlightenment, free us from sufferings. He knows what is good for us and how to make us progress further in our spiritual practice. Sometimes he might want us to do something that does not make sense to us, that is because we are not at the level to understand yet, but by trusting our guru and following his instructions, when we have gained enough merits and knowledge, we will know why. By remembering our Guru will never harm us and want only the best for us, we will be able to generate strong guru devotion.
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Yet, what is the basis for our faith in our Guru?
What is the basis for it? What justifies it?
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Yet, what is the basis for our faith in our Guru?
What is the basis for it? What justifies it?
for me it's his kindness and compassion coupled by the skills and wisdom that he has to help me out of different situations. And most importantly he is stable and firm. That is the one thing i find lacking in samsara. Of course all of these can only be gotten through observation on how he treats his students and people that he meets, as well as his actions etc. We're supposed to check our Guru before taking him as our Guru. If he has the qualities as described in the texts, he is fit to be a spiritual guide that will never let go of us even when times go bad or when our minds become unstable for whatever reason but still endeavor to help us. That is a very important quality, i think.
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Yet, what is the basis for our faith in our Guru?
What is the basis for it? What justifies it?
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for me it's his kindness and compassion coupled by the skills and wisdom that he has to help me out of different situations. And most importantly he is stable and firm. That is the one thing i find lacking in samsara. Of course all of these can only be gotten through observation on how he treats his students and people that he meets, as well as his actions etc. We're supposed to check our Guru before taking him as our Guru. If he has the qualities as described in the texts, he is fit to be a spiritual guide that will never let go of us even when times go bad or when our minds become unstable for whatever reason but still endeavor to help us. That is a very important quality, i think.
Ensapa, what you said is very true. We are supposed to check our "Guru"out before we take refuge in him, obviousy the Guru we take refuge in pocess the qualitites we admire to achieve, on top of that, the Guru is stable and consistent in what he is doing.
Sometimes I can relate this Guru/Disciple"s relationship to a Mother/child"s relatonship. It is like a mother will never tell a child to do anything that is not beneficial to the child, so same applies to the Guru to the disciple. And many times, we may not like to listen to our mothers becasue we think we know better, so same applies here to the Guru/disciple's relationship, we disciples may not comply to what the Guru tells us to do for many reasons....like it is too difficult, or we have a better method, or we know what we are doing and we think we are in control of the situation...or we know better.....
The irony is that when the child comes across a problem and cant resolve it, the child will always go to his mother for help. So same applies here of the disciple to the Guru.
In view of this, we should at all times, develop full faith in the Guru we have taken refuge in, because, there is nothing the Guru wants from us , except for our eternal happiness and liberation, just like what the mother wants from her child.
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To me guru devotion in this century can be very rare. If you practice guru devotion like the ancient monk, most of the people will think you are crazy and may be you brain wash by someone who got bad intention into you, another wrong view always people think is this person may disturb by spirit!!!! It is sad to know the fact how people seem guru devotion are, however this is a truth.
I knew guru devotion not much but got some basic knowledge because I always like to hang around with group of friend who is senior dharma practitioner. They had gave me a lot idea how guru devotion work on into our spiritual growth. They always asked me go to read through 50 verses of guru devotion, yes this is a very good reference to understand the fundamental of guru devotion. The Varjayana practitioner really work hard to practice guru devotion in their life. While they take refuge to the guru, they will not give up forever until gain enlightenment.
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While they take refuge to the guru, they will not give up forever until gain enlightenment.
And this is key: realize that the 3rd Noble Truth is REAL! That enlightenment is possible and possible QUICKLY.
Then Dharma knowledge, experience analyzed with Dharma knowledge, a wish for a Guru and an extraordinary meritorious karma would bring along a Guru.
Then this opportunity is like a bullet train that only stops once on our platform, better take it quick before it leaves... for it might not come back and we'd have to walk the railroad by foot!
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It appears to me, please correct me if I am wrong, that Guru Devotion is about what the Guru can do for "me". And if the Guru's qualities can benefit "me" he is the Guru.... Sound more like Student Devotion???
Check out the Guru? Who are we to have this right? Who am I to have the superiority to "check out the Guru"?
The Guru is Buddha in human form who comes to save us pathetic samsara addicts.
Guru Devotion is HOW we can serve the Guru, and if we are worthy gain the merits not to be reborn as a cockroach.
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It appears to me, please correct me if I am wrong, that Guru Devotion is about what the Guru can do for "me".
And if the Guru's qualities can benefit "me" he is the Guru....
Sound more like Student Devotion???
Guru devotion means the devotion a student has towards his/her Guru.
So a student would refer to his "Guru devotion" with the above meaning.
The Guru already has devotion, he has devotion to his Gurus, and he has devotion to benefiting all sentient beings and in particular his students. Why his students in particular? Not because they are more worthy than other sentient beings, but because they have the karma and merits to make faster progress with that Guru than other sentient beings. Thus the Guru focus on them in paticular and onto all sentient beings in general always and whatever.
Some sentient beings have so little merit that all the Guru can do for the meantime is to implant imprints in their minds to awaken something in future more conducive existences. It is very little merit, but it is merit already to be able just to receive imprint from a Buddha.
Check out the Guru? Who are we to have this right? Who am I to have the superiority to "check out the Guru"?
We must check our Guru, the lamrim states this. But we must do this before he/she becomes our Guru.
Once we have engaged in a Guru/disciple (Teacher/student) relationship, we do not keep on checking and checking. If we keep on doing that it means we were not certain when we engaged with our Guru in the first place and we should not have done so hastily.
Yet, after we have engaged in a Guru-disciple relationship, we can acknowlegde confirmative behavior and confirmative facts that our Guru is a valid object of refuge and we can use these facts to build-up the same mind set in seekers currenty in the process of "checking out" our Guru.
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Yet, what is the basis for our faith in our Guru?
What is the basis for it? What justifies it?
The basis of my faith in my Guru is the knowledge and acceptance that my Guru IS the manifestation of all Buddhas. On a practical level, we trust in the Buddha and his Teachings and yet we are nowhere close to fully understanding all that the Buddha taught and how to effectively apply it. Without a Guru it would take an extremely long time to be effective.
It is upon the Guru that we build all our good qualities. Without his teaching, advice, training, scolding, friendship and love we are building on quicksand.
What justifies my faith is the result I see in myself and the others who follow the Guru devotedly. In addition, the end results are also the high attainments that High Lamas and Lineage Gurus achieved as a result of practicing strong Guru Devotion.
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According to the Buddhist teachings,our spiritual journey,the teacher is essential for us to develop our inner qualities.We need to have a grand ,magnificient attitude.Devotion should be grand and if you have guru devotion,every thing can be taken as manifestation of your guru.
This is a quote from Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
"From guru devotion,we receive the blessings of the guru in our heart,and from those blessings,realisations of the path to enlightenment manifest from within our mind.Our devotion makes it possible for us to achieve enlightenment.This ,then enable us to do perfect work for the numberless other sentient beings.
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The 1st time I read 50 Stanzas of Guru Devotion, I got scared. The part where they said die a horrible death, Avichi Hell, plagues and etc. It took time for me really understand the whole text as I was very new in Buddhism and trust me, it was totally different from what I thought I knew.
It was well written, explained with examples and valid points about the causes for receiving tantric paths in the future if we can follow them and have complete faith. We are truly blessed for it is our Guru's love, devotion, kindness, compassion and care that will help our deluded mind and prepare us for much bigger and important matters.
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If one self have selected a 'Guru' than we should not have any more doubt towards our Guru as he or she is our Buddha. This is very important, always check your Guru first. And if we claimed that He/She is our Guru than we should believed in Him/She with no doubt we should obey what they says. Be loyal, practice, listen, learn, follow, obey and respect as the Guru is guiding us to the path of enlightenment. Always remember our Guru is the Buddha so be loyal.
Everyone should always read the 50 Stanzas of Guru Devotion so that we able to remind ourselves frequently to have those quality to be able to serve our Guru. Trust and summit ourselves to the Guru completely as only them are be able to guide us away from the samsara.
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From guru devotion comes correctly devoting to the virtuous friend with thought and action, and everything comes from that. The guru is White Tara for long life; the guru is Manjushri to achieve wisdom; the guru is the yidam, from which through prayers one achieves attainments; the guru is also the protector from whom you receive protection, who dispels interferers; the guru is also Dzambala, from whom with devotion, seeing him as the Buddha and correctly devoting oneself, then one gets all wealth, all prosperity, for one’s own conditions needed to help other sentient beings, to teach them; the guru is the controlling deity, like Hayagriva or Mahakala, eliminating obstacles, to control your mind, the delusions, and to achieve enlightenment, the subtle mind, and then to benefit other sentient beings.
The guru is everything. From guru devotion, you achieve everything—that’s the main cause, the main source. It’s like a big department store where you can get everything! So, the guru is everything.