Spiritual Teachers

The Special Role of Oral Transmission in Tantra Oral transmission and inspiration from spiritual mentors play an even larger role in tantra than they do in sutra practice. This is evident from the structure of the tantric texts themselves and from the indispensable role of...

Preparation for Tantra Practice The practice of tantra needs to be done within the context of the four noble truths, which is the context of all the teachings of Buddha. It’s the most fundamental thing that Buddha taught. It was the first thing that Buddha taught, these four...

To purify ourselves of the various negative potentials that we have built up, it is necessary to do Vajrasattva meditation. To build up a great store of positive potential, there are the practices of guru-yoga, the methods to integrate with our spiritual master. These are the...

Visualizing the Spiritual Master When it comes to visualizing the objects of safe direction, of refuge, then we visualize the spiritual master in the form of the yidam (the Buddha-figure) or in the form of Shakyamuni Buddha. But more comfortable here would be in the form of...

Verses 5 through 8 When we recite the refuge prayer, we have the line, “By the force of my giving and so on…” It’s good to know that we can change this line to suit the occasion. So, if we are prostrating, we can say, “By the positive force of prostrating to the Buddhas and...

Paranoia and Vulnerability One of the most important aspects of healthy disciple-mentor relationships is for disciples to receive inspiration from their mentors. This can only occur if they are open to their mentors' uplifting positive influence. Some disciples, however, are...

Developing Trust and a Whole-Hearted Commitment in a Spiritual Teacher A whole-hearted commitment to a spiritual teacher is one of the most difficult and delicate Buddhist practices. Great care is needed so that it is properly established and maintained. Once set on a sound...

Questions about Initiations (Empowerments) You said that after the preliminaries or preparation, then we take the empowerment. Does that mean that we have to have completed our ngondro before receiving an empowerment? That’s a very good question. It depends on what level we...

Applying Sutra-Level Guru-Meditation to a Faulty or Abusive Teacher His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama had two regents during his minority. They taught him extensively and conferred upon him numerous tantric empowerments. They also engaged in a power struggle and had...

Nine Attitudes to Hold toward Ourselves in Our Relationship with Our Spiritual Teacher Might Rinpoche offer some advice about how we should approach our teachers and Dharma studies? The sutras describe nine types of attitudes to hold toward ourselves in our relationship with...