Spiritual Teachers

Categories in Tantra  Conceptual thought involves categories. How is that relevant in tantra? There are categories with these Buddha-figures, so there is the category Chenrezig, Avalokiteshvara. There can be many different forms of that deity, with four arms, with two...

My First Meeting with Serkong Rinpoche and His Initial Advice I first met Serkong Rinpoche in Bodh Gaya in January 1970. Sharpa and Khamlung Rinpoches, two young reincarnate lamas who had studied English in America under the guidance of Geshe Wangyal, had recommended him to...

Fear of "A Breach of Guru-Devotion" Almost every classical text on the disciple-mentor relationship includes a section on the hellish suffering that follows from what is usually translated as "a breach of guru-devotion." The material derives mostly from Ashvaghosha's vivid...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Stages in the Contemporary Life Cycle In New Passages, Sheehy explained that the stages of the human life cycle vary according to socioeconomic class and the conditions of the times. Using this thesis, she discovered a new paradigm for the adult life cycle of contemporary,...