Tashi delek,

I hope my letter finds you well. You don’t know me and I live very far away from you but we both share one special trait – we are practising Buddhists, and have an interest in helping others. I hope that is enough for us to have a common understanding of one another, and to exercise a mutual respect for each others’ opinions

I live in a town where we are fortunate to have a diverse group of Buddhists, because we have a handful of Dharma centres who practise different traditions. For the most part, although we all follow Shakyamuni’s tradition, our paths don’t cross except on major Buddhist holidays like Saga Dawa. So my town’s Buddhists accept each other, and we have no problems.

I am thankful for this because I belong to a tradition that Tibetan politics does not agree with – the practice of Dorje Shugden – and I hear that many of my fellow Dharma brothers and sisters do not share the same privilege as I do. I am not writing to you because I want to convince you to remove the ban. I wanted to write to you, to let you know why I practise Dorje Shugden despite my unwavering love and respect for His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

I practise Dorje Shugden because he saved my mother’s life. Since she is the central figure in our home, it means Dorje Shugden also saved my family. One year, we were suddenly informed that my mother’s negative karma from past lives was going to fruition. This news came without warning and things were so urgent because there was a very real chance she could die. When my Lama told me this news, I believed him because in the recent times, she was always falling sick (even though she was normally very healthy), and had been getting into a lot of car accidents that could not be explained. So my Guru gave her the Dorje Shugden practice and she has been doing it ever since.

The effect was quite obvious. She stopped becoming sick and lost a lot of weight which she put on because of her illnesses. Her car accidents also stopped. She became a lighter and happier person. And because she is so important to my family, when she became happier, everyone became happier too. Dorje Shugden saved my mother’s life and I am sure he has saved many other people’s lives too.

He has never asked us for anything in return, which makes me feel that he cannot be bad. I just wanted to let you know about my experience with him because I feel it does not match what Tibetan politics says. From one Buddhist to another, I am not asking you for anything, I only want you to listen to my story. I truly hope you are well. May His Holiness the Dalai Lama live long to spread the teachings of the Buddha in the ten directions, and may your government continue to grow and prosper for the sake of your people.

My best wishes and deepest prayers,
~ Clare Sanderson ~

“The Great Prayer Festival is dedicated to the long life of holy Gurus of all traditions, for the survival and spread of Dharma to the minds of all sentient beings and for world peace”

It is so wonderful to see the scenes from Shar Gaden at their Monlam 2011 festival. Monks young and old joined together in the celebration.

[1:51-1:53] Many young monks making khata offerings to the erudite Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche.

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Long horns are being played by the monks. The sound of the long horns mimic the trumpeting of the elephants. Long horn music is also used to welcome high lamas coming to teach or give a discourse. It is similar to how Buddha Shakyamuni was welcomed wherever he went with a lot of fanfare and pomp.

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The monks are in a procession during the Monlam festival 2011 singing the Gaden ‘Migtsema’ tune. The melody of the conch signifies the gentle spreading of the dharma. Buddhism is not spread through the use of force. The video concludes when the monk procession returns back to Shar Gaden Monastery.

This is a collage of photos of Serpom Monastery – first, we see the altar which has a very grand Lama Tsongkhapa statue which is flanked by Shakyamuni Buddha and Medicine Buddha. There are beautifully made torma offerings in front.

There are also beautiful scenic views of Serpom Monastery at dawn, at sunset and when the lights are switched on during the night.

Pictures of the Monlam Festival at Serpom Monastery in 2011, set to Buddha Shakyamuni’s mantra, recorded by Asa Bennet and Kelsang Yangchan.

A Dharma Protector is an emanation of a Buddha or a Bodhisattva whose main functions are to avert the inner and outer obstacles that prevent practitioners from gaining spiritual realizations, and to arrange all the necessary conditions for their practice.

In Tibet, every monastery had its own Dharma Protector, but the tradition did not begin in Tibet; the Mahayanists of ancient India also relied upon Dharma Protectors to eliminate hindrances and to fulfil their spiritual wishes.

Though there are some worldly deities who are friendly towards Buddhism and who try to help practitioners, they are not real Dharma Protectors. Such worldly deities are able to increase the external wealth of practitioners and help them to succeed in their worldly activities, but they do not have the wisdom or the power to protect the development of Dharma within a practitioner’s mind.

It is this inner Dharma – the experiences of great compassion, bodhichitta, the wisdom realizing emptiness, and so forth – that is most important and that needs to be protected; outer conditions are of secondary importance.

Although their motivation is good, worldly deities lack wisdom and so sometimes the external help that they give actually interferes with the attainment of authentic Dharma realizations. If they have no Dharma realizations themselves, how can they be Dharma Protectors?

It is clear therefore that all actual Dharma Protectors must be emanations of Buddhas or Bodhisattvas. These Protectors have great power to protect Buddhadharma and its practitioners, but the extent to which we receive help from them depends upon our faith and conviction in them. To receive their full protection, we must rely upon them with continuous, unwavering devotion.

Buddhas have manifested in the form of various Dharma Protectors, such as Mahakala, Kalarupa, Kalindewi, and Dorje Shugden. From the time of Je Tsongkhapa until the first Panchen Lama, Losang Chökyi Gyaltsän, the principal Dharma Protector of Je Tsongkhapa’s lineage was Kalarupa. Later, however, it was felt by many high Lamas that Dorje Shugden had become the principal Dharma Protector of this tradition.

There is no difference in the compassion, wisdom, or power of the various Dharma Protectors, but because of the karma of sentient beings, one particular Dharma Protector will have a greater opportunity to help Dharma practitioners at any one particular time.

We can understand how this is so by considering the example of Buddha Shakyamuni. Previously the beings of this world had the karma to see Buddha Shakyamuni’s Supreme Emanation Body and to receive teachings directly from him.

These days, however, we do not have such karma, and so Buddha appears to us in the form of our Spiritual Guide and helps us by giving teachings and leading us on spiritual paths. Thus, the form that Buddha’s help takes varies according to our changing karma, but its essential nature remains the same.

Among all the Dharma Protectors, four-faced Mahakala, Kalarupa, and Dorje Shugden in particular have the same nature because they are all emanations of Manjushri.

However, the beings of this present time have a stronger karmic link with Dorje Shugden than with the other Dharma Protectors. It was for this reason that Morchen Dorjechang Kunga Lhundrup, a very highly realized Master of the Sakya tradition, told his disciples, “Now is the time to rely upon Dorje Shugden.” He said this on many occasions to encourage his disciples to develop faith in the practice of Dorje Shugden.

We too should heed his advice and take it to heart. He did not say that this is the time to rely upon other Dharma Protectors, but clearly stated that now is the time to rely upon Dorje Shugden. Many high Lamas of the Sakya tradition and many Sakya monasteries have relied sincerely upon Dorje Shugden.

In recent years the person most responsible for propagating the practice of Dorje Shugden was the late Trijang Dorjechang, the root Guru of many Gelugpa practitioners from humble novices to the highest Lamas. He encouraged all his disciples to rely upon Dorje Shugden and gave Dorje Shugdän empowerments many times.

Even in his old age, so as to prevent the practice of Dorje Shugdän from degenerating he wrote an extensive text entitled Symphony Delighting an Ocean of Conquerors, which is a commentary to Tagpo Kelsang Khädrub Rinpoche’s praise of Dorje Shugden called Infinite Aeons.

(Source: http://www.wisdombuddhadorjeshugden.org/dorjeshugden-about.php)

Every one of us has universal responsibility. If you have a good heart, loving kindness-compassion, then in your daily life, numberless living beings, including the people around you, animals, insects, in fact, all other living beings, do not receive harm from you.

If you develop a good heart, loving kindness-compassion, not only do other sentient beings not receive harm from you, they also receive benefit and help.

That absence of harm means peace and happiness in this life, happiness in all the coming future lives, and the ultimate benefit of bringing all sentient beings into total liberation from the entire ocean of samsaric sufferings by ceasing its cause, delusion and the karma.

Not only that, but by having compassion, you benefit numberless other sentient beings by bringing them into great liberation, the non-abiding sorrowless state of full enlightenment, which is total cessation of not only the gross, but even the subtle mistakes of mind, the subtle defilements; the subtle negative imprints left by the disturbing thought, the simultaneously-born ignorance, grasping at the I, the aggregates and all other phenomena as inherently existent, the subtle negative imprint that projects the hallucination, the dual view, of inherently-existent appearances. The cessation of all this is the great liberation.

Thus, by developing compassion, you collect extensive merit, and through that you are also able to develop wisdom and cease all the defilements. In this way, you are able to bring all sentient beings into the peerless happiness of full enlightenment.

Thus, you can see how you can bring all these various levels of happiness to other sentient beings. So whether or not numberless sentient beings receive all this happiness from you is in your own hands; it depends upon what you do with your mind.

It’s up to what you do with your mind—whether you generate the good heart, loving kindness-compassion, towards all the sentient beings or not. Therefore, every one of us has complete responsibility for all the happiness of sentient beings from this life’s temporary happiness up to that of full enlightenment.

Fulfilling this responsibility to bring happiness and benefit to other sentient beings is the purpose of your life, the reason you are alive. In order to liberate the numberless sentient beings from all their suffering and its cause, and bring them all happiness up to that of full enlightenment; to accomplish such perfect work for all sentient beings, first you need to achieve full enlightenment yourself.

In order to be able to heal all the sicknesses of others, to give them the happiness of freedom from disease, you need to be a fully qualified doctor, knowing how to diagnose illness and what all the various treatments are.

In the same way, then, to free others from all suffering and its cause and lead them to the peerless happiness of enlightenment, first you need to become fully enlightened yourself. Of course, getting enlightened doesn’t happen without cause—you have to actualize the path to enlightenment.

Therefore, without creating the cause, completing the general path, you cannot achieve enlightenment. Also, the path you actualize has to be an unmistaken path; if it’s a mistaken path, you cannot achieve enlightenment.

Furthermore, you have to complete that unmistaken path. Just having a few realizations isn’t enough for you to achieve enlightenment. You have to complete all the realizations of the path to enlightenment.

Now, achieving full enlightenment depends on actualizing the graduated path of the being of greatest capacity. That depends on actualizing, as a preliminary, the path of the being of intermediate capacity and the common graduated path. And that depends on actualizing, as a preliminary, the path of the being of lowest capacity and the common graduated path.

Success from the beginning of the path—the graduated path shared in common with the being of least capacity, which starts with realization of the perfect human rebirth, this precious human body qualified by eight freedom and ten richnesses—all the way up to the end, enlightenment, depends on the root of the path to enlightenment, first analyzing prospective gurus and, having found the right one, correctly devoting yourself to him through thought and action.

In his commentary to the Fifty Verses of Guru Devotion, Lama Tsongkhapa explained the different qualities of the guru according to the various teachings he quotes (see The Fulfillment of All Hopes, Wisdom Publications, 1999, p. 41 ff. See also Geshe Ngawang Dhargye’s commentary here: http://www.lamayeshe.com/otherteachers/dhargyey/index.shtml).

According to one explanation, the guru should [1] have stable devotion in the Mahayana teachings, [2] be learned in the different levels of the teachings—the Lesser Vehicle, Paramitayana and tantra—[3] be skillful and wise in guiding disciples along the path to enlightenment, [4] have strong compassion for others and [5] be subdued in his three doors of body, speech and mind. One set of five qualities is explained like that.

Then, in his Mahayanasutralamkarakarika, Maitreya Buddha explained the ten qualities of a Mahayana guru. The first three he mentioned were having his three doors [1] subdued, [2] pacified and [3] highly pacified.

The first one means the higher training in morality—abstaining from vice, protecting himself from creating negative karma. The second one, pacified, means having controlled his mind, his disturbing thoughts, through having developed shamatha, the realization of calm abiding; in other words, having the higher training in concentration. The third one, highly pacified, means having the realization of great insight, emptiness; the higher training in wisdom.

The fourth of the ten qualities is [4] having greater knowledge and higher qualities than the disciple. He should also [5] have perseverance and [6] his holy mind should be enriched with scriptural understanding and the lineage of the teachings. He should [7] have realized emptiness.

Even though this realization has already been mentioned as the third quality, here it specifically means having the realization of emptiness according to the view of the Prasangika, the highest of the four schools of Buddhist philosophy. The previous mention of great insight meant the realization of emptiness according to any of the Buddhist schools; here it means specifically the Prasangika view.

The remaining three qualities are [8] skill in explaining Dharma, [9] compassion for the students and [10] never feeling too discouraged or upset to explain Dharma, to guide and benefit the disciples. Anyway, if there’s strong compassion, there’s no way a mind feeling lazy or too tired to guide the disciples can arise.

Also, as it is mentioned in the Guru Puja (Lama Chöpa) and other texts, there are further qualities of the guru who reveals the tantric teachings—the ten outer qualities of the guru who teaches the lower tantras and the ten inner qualities of the guru who teaches Highest Yoga Tantra.

However, the very essence of all these qualities is that the guru should emphasize cherishing others. If the guru does not exhort the students to cherish others, it becomes an obstacle to their developing a good heart and actualizing bodhicitta, the realization required to enter the Mahayana path to enlightenment.

But if the guru does not emphasize that, at least he should emphasize liberation from samsara, attainment of ultimate, everlasting happiness. And if not that, at the very least he should emphasize that the happiness of future lives is more important than the happiness this life. That is the very bottom line—it is more important to work for happiness of future lives than for the happiness of this life.

If the teacher does not emphasize this, the disciples’ attitude for practicing Dharma will not become Dharma. Whatever they do—meditation, retreat, any other activity—there’s danger that they will waste their whole life.

Whatever they do will not become Dharma, will not become virtue. Everything they do will be done with pure attachment, pure non-virtue, seeking only happiness of this life. Whatever the student does—meditation, prayer, all twenty-four hours’ activities—becomes non-virtue, negative karma.

That’s the danger of having a guru who does not teach the importance of working more for future lives than this. You can waste your entire life if your teacher doesn’t emphasize detachment from the pleasures of this life and to work for long-run happiness, the happiness of all the coming future lives; not just one future life’s happiness but that of all future lives.

So, whether the teacher is ordained or lay, the very essence is who emphasizes these things, especially bodhicitta. In that way, the teacher is able to bring the disciple to enlightenment.

By emphasizing liberation from samsara, the teacher can bring the disciple to liberation. By emphasizing letting go of attachment, not clinging to this life, and emphasizing to work for happiness of all the coming future lives, the teacher allows the disciple to achieve happiness in future lives. This is how various teachers guide their disciples.

The other fundamental quality that a teacher needs is to emphasize ethics, morality. In that way, the teacher is able to guide the disciple away from negative karma and protect the disciple from creating negative karma, the main obstacle to achieving enlightenment, liberation from samsara and the happiness of future lives.

It is important, therefore, at the beginning, before making a Dharma connection with a teacher, to analyze that person well. After thinking well, then establish a Dharma connection. The tantric teachings explain that in degenerate times such as these, it is difficult to find a teacher that has all the qualities as they are explained in the teachings.

If that is so, still, your teacher should have eight of them, or five, or at least four. At least the teacher should possess the basic qualities that I mentioned before. This will help you avoid trouble in future, avoid creating very heavy negative karma, such as rising heresy, anger, many negative thoughts, and also, after having made a connection, giving up. Checking carefully will help you avoid all these dangers.

The Meaning of Guru

The holy mind of all the buddhas, the Dharmakaya, the transcendent wisdom of non-dual bliss and void, which is eternal, which has neither beginning nor end, which pervades all existence—that is the real meaning of guru.

When you think of your guru, when you visualize your guru, when you see your guru, when you hear you guru, this is what we should come into your heart and mind. When, in your daily life, you see, hear, visualize or remember your guru, the real meaning, or understanding, should come into your heart. The word is guru, but the real meaning is that.

When you have a stable realization of guru devotion, always in your heart, your recognition of guru is that. From the side of the disciple who has a stable realization of guru devotion, when you see or think of Buddha, it’s your guru.

There’s no other Buddha; there’s no Buddha separate from your guru. You don’t see that. Your realization is the oneness of guru and Buddha. Even when you visualize yourself as Buddha, it’s guru. Because you’re the deity, the guru. Even when you visualize the deity in front of you, it’s the guru. This understanding is in your heart.

Even when you see statues and thangkas, you think, “My guru has manifested in these forms to allow me to purify my mind and collect merit.”

Also, this is such an easy way of purifying and creating merit. It does not depend on your generating virtuous motivation; it happens without your mind becoming Dharma.

Even if your motivation is not Dharma, just by seeing, circumambulating, prostrating to, making offering to these holy objects, immediately your actions become the cause of enlightenment, liberation from samsara, happiness for hundreds of thousands of future lives.

If that’s so, then there’s no question that that powerful merit also affects this life. Since you purify so much negative karma, of course it reduces the problems of this life—relationship problems, sicknesses, cancer; all such things.

However, simply by existing, these holy objects make it so easy for us sentient beings to create merit and purify our minds. With most other activities, first we have to put great much effort into making our minds Dharma — pure, unstained by ignorance and attachment and, in particular, the self-cherishing thought. Only after we make a great effort can our actions become virtue and result in happiness. In that way, we have to work hard for happiness.

But the existence of holy objects makes it easy for us sentient beings to purify our heavy negative karmas and collect extensive merit, creating the space in our mind that enables us to gain the realizations of the path to enlightenment.

The thing to understand or realize here is that all these holy objects exist through the kindness of the guru. That they make it so easy to purify negative karma and defilements, gain realizations and freedom from the ocean of samsaric suffering and achieve enlightenment is due to the kindness of the guru manifesting in this way.

You can understanding or realize this by understanding that the meaning of the guru is Dharmakaya, the holy mind of all the buddhas—all these holy objects happened through the kindness of guru manifesting in these aspects to liberate you from samsara and bring you to enlightenment.

If the absolute guru, the Dharmakaya, all the buddhas’ holy mind, manifests in an aspect more pure than I am able to see, in an aspect more pure than my karma allows me to see, I cannot see that aspect until I make my mind purer than it now is.

At present, your mind is so heavily obscured that even though Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, Nagarjuna, Lama Tsongkhapa and all the other great enlightened beings have explained the complete path and that there’s no inherently existent I — there’s no real I, in the sense existing from its own side, there’s no such thing; that such a thing is totally non-existent; that I is totally non-existent, empty, right there, from where it is appearing, from where it is appearing as a real one, existing from its own side, it is totally non-existent; it is totally non-existent right there, totally empty right there — even though all those great enlightened beings explained that by analyzing you cannot find that I, it is totally empty, still you cannot see, cannot realize, the truth of this. Even though that’s the reality, your mind cannot see it; you are unable to see that is totally empty.

Similarly, all these sense objects do not have the slightest even atom of inherent existence either. They, too, are totally empty. But you cannot see even that emptiness.

Even though all causative phenomena are in the nature of impermanence, they do not last for even a minute or a second, are in a constant state of decay, you cannot see or realize them as such. You are so obscured that you cannot see what’s going to happen tomorrow, in an hour’s time hour, even in a minute’s time. With respect to such things, your mind is totally dark.

Even if you have some sickness in the body, you have to go to hospital to get x-rayed to see it. You can’t even see the back of your own body. As His Holiness Song Rinpoche often used to say when talking about reincarnation, just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. You cannot use your not seeing something as a reason for its not existing. For example, he would say,

You can’t see the back of your head. Does that mean it doesn’t exist?

Anyway, your mind is heavily obscured. There are numberless phenomena that exist but you can’t see. Therefore, all the buddhas’ holy mind, the absolute guru, bound with infinite compassion that embraces you and all other sentient beings, manifests in an ordinary aspect, which by definition has delusions, a suffering body, mistaken actions and so forth.

The Dharmakaya manifests like this and through this aspect gives commentaries, oral transmissions, vows — pratimoksha, bodhisattva and tantric — initiations and tantric teachings. In Tibet, we used to say that if you are learning the alphabet order to study Dharma, the person who teaches you the alphabet is also a guru, a manifestation of the Dharmakaya.

Even one verse of oral transmission, one stanza of teaching, can definitely brings you to enlightenment. By leaving a positive imprint, it can cause you to understand the teachings and realize the aspect of the path it contains; that verse can cease certain defilements and bring you to enlightenment. That one verse of oral transmission given by that guru definitely brings you to enlightenment. Therefore, there’s no question that other, more extensive teachings do so too.

Therefore, the meditation to do at this point is to think, If these are not the actions of Buddha, guiding me to enlightenment, then there’s no other action I could point to as that of Buddha liberating me from suffering and bringing me to enlightenment.

So, these are definitely Buddha’s activities; activities of the Dharmakaya. This is one reason to use in meditation, to realize that these actions are those of the Buddha; for you to realize from your own side, from the side of the disciple, that these are Buddha’s actions.

Also think, “If any of these gurus are not Buddha, because I see them as ordinary, because I see faults in them” — you might see small faults in some and great faults in others, but you see faults in all of them. Then, if none of these gurus are buddha, if they are ordinary beings, if these are ordinary beings who are bringing me to enlightenment, what are the buddhas doing?

They’re not doing anything; the buddhas are just keeping quiet. The buddhas not doing anything for me but these ordinary beings are being so beneficial by doing all these activities, such as giving teachings, vows and so forth, all those things that definitely bring me to enlightenment. These ordinary beings are bringing me to enlightenment but the buddhas are doing nothing to bring me to enlightenment. That’s the conclusion you have to come to.

Then you make the mistake of thinking, What’s up with the buddhas? What’s wrong with them? If none of these teachers are buddha and their activities are not buddha activities, what’s happened to the buddhas? They don’t have omniscient mind? They don’t have the perfect power to bring me to enlightenment? They don’t have compassion?

This is the way to meditate and analyze. In this way, you actually come to the conclusion that every one of your gurus is buddha. From your own side, you make that determination.

Therefore, they are extremely kind, manifesting in an ordinary aspect, having all the delusions, suffering and mistaken actions that exactly fit my mistaken mind, so that I can see and communicate with them; that they can do all the various activities, such as giving me guidance, teachings, initiations and so forth. They can do this for me only in an ordinary aspect.

They are extremely kind; so precious, manifesting like this, in an aspect having faults. This aspect showing faults is most precious in my life, because through this aspect, all the buddhas can communicate with me and guide me to enlightenment. This ordinary aspect is the most precious thing in my life.

Without this ordinary aspect manifesting suffering, faults and so forth, my life would be totally lost; I’d be totally lost; guideless, like a baby left alone in a hot desert or left in a dark, moonless jungle filled with wild, vicious animals.

Imagine being a baby left alone like that; how much fear and danger there would be. Just like that, without this aspect manifesting faults, I’d be completely lost, guideless.

Appearing in the aspect of having faults is the only way my gurus, all buddhas, can communicate with me. This is the only way that I can communicate with them. So, they are extremely kind to me, manifesting in this aspect of having faults.

This is Lama Tsongkhapa’s technique, where you use even the faults you see in your guru to develop guru devotion. You look at your guru as buddha and you see your guru as buddha.

Pabongka Rinpoche refers to this special technique of Lama Tsongkhapa in his extensive commentary on guru devotion, where you not only reflect on the qualities of the guru to develop guru devotion, the root of path to enlightenment, but also use the faults you see in the guru to develop your mind in guru devotion and receive the blessings of guru devotion. The blessings you receive help you gain realizations of the path to enlightenment.

One lama said in his teachings, Until you are free of defilements and negative karma, even if all the buddhas were to descend directly in front of you, you will not have the fortune to see the supreme holy body adorned the holy signs and exemplifications; you will have only your present view.” “Present view, or perception, means the view that comes from your ordinary, impure mind.

The logic here is illustrated by the story of Devadatta (Legpa’i Karma), Buddha’s disciple, who served Guru Shakyamuni Buddha for twenty-two years. Despite helping Buddha for twenty-two years, he never saw Shakyamuni Buddha as Buddha; he never looked at him from the side of his qualities. He always saw Buddha as a liar, he saw him only as having faults.

Because Devadatta didn’t have an omniscient mind or clairvoyance, whenever Lord Buddha would make prophesies, he’d think he was lying. Once, when the Buddha was on his alms round, one girl out food in his begging bowl and the Buddha predicted, “Due to the karma of this offering, in future you will become such and such Buddha.” I’m not sure which buddha was predicted, but one of the thousand buddhas of this fortunate age.

But Devadatta thought Lord Buddha was making a huge deal out of this little offering and praising her with some kind of ulterior motivation. But this was Lord Buddha often did, because he had an omniscient mind and could see even the far-distant future results of karma.

But Devadatta didn’t know that and for all the years he served him, didn’t see any good qualities and simply labeled Lord Buddha a liar. Even though Lord Buddha was enlightened inconceivable eons ago, Devadatta didn’t see him as an enlightened being, only an ordinary being riddled with faults.

Therefore, in the first stanza of his Foundation of All Good Qualities, Lama Tsongkhapa says,

The foundation of all good qualities is the kind and venerable guru;
Correct devotion to him is the root of the path.
By clearly seeing this and applying great effort,
Please bless me to rely upon him with great respect.

The reason that Lama Tsong Khapa stresses great effort is that seeing the guru as buddha doesn’t come from side of the object, the guru; it has to come from your own mind, and that takes great effort.

Also, in the lam-rim text Essential Nectar, it says [verse 122],

Therefore, all these apparently faulty aspects
Of my gurus’ actions must be either
Just my mistaken perception from negative karma,
Or alternatively, a deliberate manifestation.

As it says, the faults you see are either a projection of your own ordinary, mistaken mind or intentional manifestations for the benefit of yourself and other sentient beings. So, that’s another way to think; that your gurus manifest faults on purpose.

So, now, after this lengthy explanation, this is where you bring in those other gurus who practice the protector; then it’s easy to understand. One way—it’s the view of your mistaken mind—one way to think is like that. The other way to think is that they have purposely manifested in that way, showing faults, because it’s the only way they can communicate with you, guide you to enlightenment. So you can think either way.

Therefore, if you think like this, you’ll have no problem. You don’t have to criticize the gurus with whom you already have a Dharma connection and who practice the protector. In this way you’ll avoid conflict in your mind and will protect yourself from destroying your devotion.

Source: http://www.lamayeshe.com/index.php?sect=article&id=227

Watch this video of beloved Lama Gangchen Rinpoche, the holder of an ancient and unbroken lineage of Tantric Masters dating from the time of Shakyamuni Buddha. His Ngalso Tantric Self-healing is based on Buddha’s teaching but it’s suitable for modern people.

(From Trijang Rinpoche’s introduction to Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand- A Concise Discourse on the Path to Enlightenment By Pabongka Rinpoche, Edited by Trijang Rinpoche Translated by Michael Richards Wisdom 1991. All emphasis and formatting mine)

Trijang Dorjechang

Prasdrin pararia syaklutaki yanta,
Tray am guhyanatd tigolama eka,
Sudhi vajradharottarah muni aksha,
Prayachchha tashubham valdruga kota.

O Lama Lozang Dragpa,
One with Shakyamuni and Vajradhara,
O sum of every perfect refuge,
O mandala-guise complete With three mysteries of enlightenment,
Rain upon us ten million goodnesses.

About Pabongka Rinpoche

Kyabje Pabongka

O my guru, my protector, who, through the Supreme Vehicle, vanquished the extreme of selfish peace, who, unattached to worldly comforts, upheld the three high trainings and the teachings of the Victor, whose noble good works remained untarnished by the eight worldly concerns.

You were the very fountain-head of goodness. Everything you said was medicine to drive out hundreds of diseases; our childish minds were unfit vessels for so vast an ocean of teachings, so precious a source of qualities. How sad if these teachings were forgotten!

Here, I have recorded but a few. Immeasurable, countless numbers of Buddhas have come in the past. But unfortunate beings such as myself were not worthy enough to be direct disciples even of Shakyamuni, the best of protectors, who stands out like a white lotus among the thousand great Buddhas, the saviours of this fortunate aeon. First we had to be forced into developing even a moment’s wholesome thought; this took us to the optimum physical rebirth as a human.

We have been taught this most unmistaken path, which will lead us to the level of omniscience, at which time we shall gain our freedom. But, to be brief:

I was saved time and time again from infinite numbers of different evils, and was brought closer to an infinity of magnificent things.

My glorious and holy guru did this.

March 20, 2009 by truthaboutshugden (extracted from http://truthaboutshugden.wordpress.com)

The holy relics of the Buddha in Switzerland are carried by His Holiness Trijang Chocktrul Rinpoche, the reincarnation of Kyabje Trijang Dorje Chang, who leads the procession from the United Nations Plaza to their final destination – the exhibition hall where some prayers to Buddha Shakyamuni are then recited.

The founder of The Lama Gangchen World Peace Foundation (L.G.W.P.F.)

Since 1982, Lama Gangchen has traveled extensively, both healing and teaching worldwide, leading many pilgrimages to some of the most important holy places of different religious and spiritual denominations in the world.

Since many years Lama Gangchen promotes a very important project: the integration between Tibetan Medicine (an incredible and unlikely still unknown treasure of humankind) with allopathic medicine.

Lama Gangchen is the holder of an ancient and unbroken lineage of Tantric Masters dating from the time of Shakyamuni Buddha. His Ngalso Tantric Self-healing is based on Buddha’s teaching but it’s suitable for modern people.

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