Tonight Acho
Rinpoche shared with us the quintessential teaching of the Vajrayanaya – view
one’s teacher as a Buddha. This is a unique teaching of the Vajrayana, not
found in the Sutrayana nor the Hinanyana. Sutrayana has the view that a
practitioner must go through a long period of time (three eons) before
attaining Buddhahood, whereas Hinayana has the view that the highest level of
spiritual attainment is the Arahat. However, Vajrayana has the view that a
practitioner who views his teacher as a Buddha, can obtain inconceivable and
the most supreme form of blessing from the Buddha, which could help him swiftly
attain Buddhahood in the present life. Acho Rinpoche also observed that there
are more Sutrayana teachers who have started acknowledging the possibility of
attaining Buddhahood in the present life. A Vajrayanist who regards his teacher
as a Buddha will receive the blessing of a Buddha, regardless of whether his
teacher is yet to attain Buddhahood or has already attained Buddahood. This is a very profound teaching
incomprehensible by ordinary beings but the benefits of which can indeed be
reaped by one who truly embraces it in practice. The past patriarchs of the
Vajrayana repeated the same teaching generation by generation, including Guru
Padmasambhava, thus testifying the truth in the teaching. A Vajrayanist who
fails to personalise this teaching has indeed wasted a golden opportunity of
attaining Buddhahood through this means. Acho Rinpoche fully embraced this
teaching in his practice right from the beginning.
He also pointed
out that the most crucial segment of our daily sadhana (prayer) lies in the
middle segment, among the three stages of preliminary, middle and final
segments. The middle segment deals with Samadhi. A practitioner who aspires to
attain Buddhahood must master the skill of entering the state of Samadhi, which
is a state where one’s body, speech and mind are totally quiet. One’s body will
rest in a state of quietness by sitting in a Vairocana’s Seven Sitting
Postures. One’s speech will become silent when not reciting any sutra or
mantra. One’s mind will rest in a state of quietness when not doing
visualisation. It is most difficult to quiet one’s mind. In Vajrayana, there is
a practice called “trekcho” which can cut off one’s thoughts, allowing a
practitioner to attain the state of enlightenment – “togal”. Our thoughts are
the source of all anxieties. A practitioner should try to keep a simple mind free
of the numerous thoughts, which may appear “dump”, and try not to appear “smart”
with his mind constantly engaged in the numerous thoughts. Keeping a mind free
of thoughts for a long period of time will finally bring one to the ultimate
state of quietness – at this juncture, the greatest blessing power of the
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will naturally appear to help the practitioner swiftly
attain the state of “togal” – transforming his existence into light and helping
him to attain the state of ultimate freedom.
Some people asked,
“There seems to be 5 sects in Tibetan Buddhism nowadays, in addition to the usual
4 known in the past viz. Nyingma, Kagyud, Sakya and Gelug?” Reason being, there
is a new group of lamas donning green lama robes who called themselves the “New
Kadampa”. This group practises “Dorje Shugden”, which is forbidden by the Dalai
Lama and the rest of the Tibetan Buddhism sects. A practitioner of Dorje
Shugden will no doubt develop strong spiritual power but it is, however, a wrong path. Recently,
Sodargye Khenpo appeared on an Internet video footage, advising everyone not to
practise “Dorje Shugden”. There are indeed wrong teachers who can mislead the
practitioners onto the wrong path leading to hell; some of them could even have
tens of thousands of followers. Hence, choosing a right teacher is of paramount
importance to a practitioner who aspires to walk the true path to
enlightenment.
4-7-2016 Reported by Sun-Moon-KFS
