LAMA TSONGKHAPA GURU YOGA GANDEN LHA GYÄMA TEACHINGS FROM TUSHITA RETREAT CENTRE, DHARAMSALA, INDIA, 1986 BY Lama Zopa Rinpoche Edited by Uldis Balodis Revised by Sandra Smith, September 2020 © Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche 2020 LAMA YESHE WISDOM ARCHIVE Table of Contents Preface .................................................................................................................................. 1 1. Motivation ...................................................................................................................... 2 2. The Benefits of Ganden Lha Gyäma Practice ............................................................... 2 3. Preliminary Prayers ........................................................................................................ 5 4. Seeing the Guru as Buddha ........................................................................................... 8 5. Guru Yoga ..................................................................................................................... 14 The meaning of the nine-line prayer to Lama Tsongkhapa ........................................................... 15 6. Karma ............................................................................................................................ 18 7. Refuge in the Three Jewels .......................................................................................... 26 Refuge in the Guru ............................................................................................................................... 30 Refuge in the Buddha ........................................................................................................................... 33 Refuge in the Dharma .......................................................................................................................... 34 Refuge in the Sangha ............................................................................................................................ 44 8. Preliminary Practices from Jorchö ............................................................................... 49 Refuge and bodhicitta (from Jörcho) ................................................................................................... 49 The four immeasurable thoughts ....................................................................................................... 50 Special bodhicitta .................................................................................................................................. 53 Dharmakaya meditation ....................................................................................................................... 53 Summary of the preliminaries ............................................................................................................. 57 9. Ganden Lha Gyäma: Part 1 .......................................................................................... 58 Visualization of the merit field ........................................................................................................... 58 Absorption of transcendental wisdom .............................................................................................. 62 Invocation .............................................................................................................................................. 65 Seven-limb practice .............................................................................................................................. 66 Requesting the merit field to remain .................................................................................................. 67 Prostration ............................................................................................................................................. 71 The two truths ....................................................................................................................................... 71 Offerings ................................................................................................................................................ 78 Outer offerings .................................................................................................................................. 80 Inner offering .................................................................................................................................... 81 Secret offering ................................................................................................................................... 81 Absolute offering .............................................................................................................................. 81 10. Ganden Lha Gyäma: Part 2 ........................................................................................ 83 Confession ............................................................................................................................................. 83 The power of the object .................................................................................................................. 85 The power of the remedy ................................................................................................................ 86 The power of repentance ................................................................................................................ 86 The power of turning away from the negative karma ................................................................. 89 Rejoicing ................................................................................................................................................. 94 Dedication .............................................................................................................................................. 99 Mandala offering ................................................................................................................................. 103 Specific requests .................................................................................................................................. 104 Migtsema .......................................................................................................................................... 104 Great wisdom .................................................................................................................................. 104 Clear wisdom ................................................................................................................................... 105 Quick wisdom ................................................................................................................................. 105 Profound wisdom ........................................................................................................................... 106 The wisdom of explaining ............................................................................................................. 106 The wisdom of debating ................................................................................................................ 106 The wisdom of composing ........................................................................................................... 107 Request to abide in the heart............................................................................................................. 108 Dedication ............................................................................................................................................ 111 11. Mandala Offering ...................................................................................................... 112 12. Prostration ................................................................................................................. 121 Benefits of the prayer to the Thirty-five Confessional Buddhas ................................................. 126 13. Water Bowl Offerings ................................................................................................ 128 14. Dedication ................................................................................................................. 131 Preface The subject matter of these teachings has been rearranged and collected under various topics. During the process of rearrangement and editing, material may have been lost and mistakes in interpretation been made—for this the editor apologizes. The material in the chapters titled Mandala Offering, Prostrations and Water Bowl Offerings is separate from the seven-limb practices within the Ganden Lha Gyäma chapter because it contains detailed instructions for performing ngondro, preliminary practices. The recordings were transcribed by Ingeborg Sandberg and Ven. Ailsa Cameron, and edited by Uldis Balodis. The transcript was first published by Uldis Balodis and Kopan Monastery in 1990. Lightly revised by Sandra Smith, September 2020. Tibetan terms checked and revised by Ven. Gyalten Lekden, September 2020. The prayers in this commentary have been updated according to FPMT’s Lama Tsongkhapa Guru Yoga practice booklet (2017 edition), and FPMT Retreat Prayer Book (2016 edition). Lama Zopa Rinpoche translated many of the verses and Tibetan terms in these teachings. Rinpoche’s original translations are enclosed in quote marks and set out beneath the latest FPMT versions of the prayers, which are indented in the text. In the transcript, Lama Zopa Rinpoche frequently refers to His Holiness