The Guru As Buddha Orlike Buddha?

RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TEACHER the guru as buddha orlike buddha? Photo Peg Michie HIS HOLINESS SAKYA TRIZIN had some surprising answers to JULIA HENGST'S questions about devotion to one's teacher. She traveled to Pullawari, India to meet with him in February. ou commented in the March 2000 issue of Mandala that But in Vajrayana, in order to realize the nature of the in the sjrayana tradition the guru is seen as the Buddha, whereas mind, you need the blessings of the guru and accumulations of in the s s yana tradition the guru is seen as being like the Buddha, the merits. Without these, you cannot realize the nature of the not st is the Buddha. Can you expand on this so that students mind, even through studies, logic, reasoning or examples. You can understand the difference? can get an idea about it, but you can't realize it without the In every school, Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana, the guru's blessings. For example, the sun is shining everyday, all guru is very important. Even in an ordinary sense, without a the time. But without specific instruments, you can't use the teacher you can't learn things. Every level in each of the energy of the sun. Like that, the Buddha's blessings are shining schools emphasizes how important the master is. But in the all over sentient beings all the time without any interruption. lower vehicles, Hinayana and especially in the Mahayana, Though the Buddha's blessings are showering all over the although the teacher is very important, the teacher is not the place to all sentient beings without any discrimination, due to Buddha. He is as important as Buddha, but not a real Buddha. our own lack of merits, we can't see the Buddha. We don't have PAGE 16 MANDALA • JUNE - AUGUST 2002 RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TEACHER the fortune to see the Buddha or to hear the Buddha, and there- that sees the guru like this. But in reality one should see the fore we can't receive his blessings directly. guru as the Buddha. The guru, who appears like an ordinary person, acts like For example, if you see the reflection of the moon in the instrument between the sun and the earth so that, through muddy water, you see the moon as not clear, too. But it is not the guru, you can hear the teachings of the Buddha, and you the moon's fault, it is the muddy water's fault. If the water is can also receive the blessings of the guru directly. So therefore, clear, the moon is also clear. If the water is muddy, then you in the Vajrayana, the one who gives you the major empower- don't see the moon. So in this way, even though you have neg- ments, teachings, tantric teachings and the pith instructions, ative thoughts, one should try to change it and see the guru like even though he does not appear like a Buddha, he is to be seen in ancient times like many great masters like Shawaripa who by the disciples as the Buddha. Even though your guru is not was a hunter and Luipa who was a fisherman. They were very perfect, and has faults, if you consider your guru as the real great high mahasiddhas, but in the eyes of the ordinary people Buddha, you can receive the blessings of the Buddha. Because they did many wrong things. But it is all due to the eyes of the after all, everything is mind, and every sentient being possesses common impure vision. But in reality, whatever they did, they the Buddha nature. So even if your guru is in the hell realm, but were beyond the bounds of karma. if from the disciples' point of view you consider him as the guru, If we have negative thoughts towards the guru, you said we should you can receive the blessings of the guru. Isn't it? try to change them. Should we use ordinary antidotes, like loving- The level of blessing in the Vajrayana path is more power- something like meditation on ful. That's why, through the general Mahayana path, there is no kindness to overcome anger, or possibility to attain enlightenment within one lifetime. Even emptiness? for those who have the best wisdom and best endeavour, it Whatever method you use, it doesn't matter as long as you can change your thoughts. And mostly you should takes three countless eons. But in Vajrayana, those who are superior persons and have very superior merits can attain change through reading the biographies of the lineage gurus enlightenment within this lifetime. — how people like the mahasiddhas in ancient times seem- ingly did very wrong things, but the disciples who lost the Guru devotion, expressed in tantric terms, is the most difficult for faith did not have the realizations. Those disciples that stick Westerners; and while we don't want to get angry with the guru, on the to faith and continuously develop the devotions, even other hand we sometimes have doubts about their actions. It is common though the gurus did many strange things, got the realiza- for Westerners to see the guru sometimes as less than perfect because tions. But for this I think the best antidote, especially for the we come from a rational scientific background. How do we make the Westerners, is that they should not accept the guru straight leap forward and really see the guru as Buddha? away. First they should study the basic teachings, especially Actually, nobody can force you to believe this — nobody can how to examine the guru and disciple — how to establish the force you to accept the guru. The Buddha himself said his teach- link between the guru and disciple, and very carefully go ings should be examined thoroughly and only after convincing through this. Once you're convinced that this teacher is yourself that they're genuine teachings then should one take them acceptable and he has more qualities and less faults, and — not just by mere faith. Similarly, according to the teachings, one once you have taken the Vajrayana empowerments and should not start the master-disciple relationship straightaway. teachings, then I think it is very important to continuously First the guru should examine the disciples — their sincerity develop the devotion. and their qualities and so on, and the disciples should examine Your Holiness, in the West many people get excited about wanting to the guru. One should accept the guru very carefully. There are take tantric initiations. specific texts, like the Fifty Verses of Guru Devotion, which Yes, and I think this is not so healthy because tantric initi- clearly mentions how important it is to examine each other. So ation is not very easy. Not only that but tantric initiations have only after you convince yourself that this guru is acceptable, many satnayas, many vows, many rules one is taking, so one has then once you have received the teachings and empowerments, to be very careful to be capable of keeping all these samayas and then I think one should try to — at least try your best — to see guru devotions. I think the best solution is that one should the guru as Buddha. know about all these and examine from both sides. Of course nowadays it is almost impossible to find the perfect guru. If you find the guru who has lesser qualities and How does it affect the guru's life if we take all these vows but don't more faults, that kind of course right from the beginning one know what they are and therefore break them? should avoid! But if you see the person who has more quali- If you do not keep the vows and break the samaya, it affects ties and lesser faults, then one should accept them as your many things but in particular the guru. The guru is here partic- guru. And once you've accepted them and once you have ularly to help the sentient beings, so if the sentient beings do received the teachings, then even though there are certain not get the benefit — if the disciples do not keep the vows and actions that you don't like or don't agree with, you should try do the wrong things — then there is no purpose for the guru to to see that it is due to one's own impure vision, impure karma remain in this world, so therefore it affects the guru's life. MANDALA • JUNE - AUGUST 2002 PAGE 17 RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TEACHER is Holiness the Dalai Lama is said to advise Tibetans Every guru is not Buddha. As I said, nowadays it's almost Pend as • as 13 years (complete Tibetan calendar cycle and an impossible to find a perfect guru, but we should try to compromise a year) g the lama's teaching and testing the prospective with the lamas who have more qualities and lesser faults. vajra master. Is this appropriate or necessary for a Westerner? Yes I think so. As I said, this is very important to examine The gurus appear as physical beings, but one of the jobs of the very carefully. The students can receive the ordinary teachings, outer guru is to introduce us to the inner guru. How do we know the basic teachings, without receiving high tantric teachings, and it's our inner guru speaking to us instead of our delusions? And start the virtuous friend relationship — you can have the friend. So does the inner guru manifest as something tangible — a certain on the basis of that you can receive many teachings.

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