Today
is the 10th day of Tibetan Calendar, which is slated for Guru
Rinpoche Puja Day. We did a Guru Rinpoche Prayer under the guidance of Acho
Rinpoche. After the prayer, Acho Rinpoche continued to explain the difference
between practice and study. He cited the 17th Karmapa Urgyen Trinley,
who also stressed on the importance of a balancing act between the practice and
study, for Sakyamuni Buddha taught the same. Karmapa said that a Buddhis
Academy is a place of learning, whereas a retreat center is a place of
practice; a student must learn, contemplate and practise the teachings by
according equal weight to all three aspects of training. A student must not
just ignore any of the three aspects of training or he is blaspheming the
Buddha’s teaching and therefore committing the Five Great Sins. A person who
studies in a Buddhist Academy must not just learn and contemplate the teachings
without practising them, or he is just pretending to be a Buddhist. “Turning
one’s mind towards the teachings and turning the teachings towards the path of
enlightenment” means entering the path of practice without being distracted by the
worldly pleasures.
Acho
Rinpoche also shared with us about a teaching given by Asong Rinpoche of Yaqing
Monastery in the Sichuan Province of China that clearly showed how serious they
are in doing the practice. Asong Rinpoche led a big group of his ordained
students in doing a one month retreat in a mountain, doing solely the unique preliminary
practice of the Great Perfection and Superior Wisdom Practice (大圆胜慧正行之不共前行修法). However, there are two very strict admission
criteria to be complied fully by a participant, to be qualified for the
practice. First, he must have already completed his Five Foundations Practice.
Second, he must be an ordained person. So, a layman Buddhist is not qualified
to join the retreat. However, there is another retreat being planned in the
pipeline by Asong Rinpoche on the practice of “Guidance for Dharmata Bardo” (法性中阴引) which is opened to the layman Buddhists too,
which is a one-month retreat of intensive training.
He instructed his students
to update him on their spiritual progress but told them that he will not be pleased
even if a student had a vision of one hundred deities, for he will be more
pleased by an old man who came to seek his teachings. This old man was hit by a
road accident earlier and came to seek help from the monastery. When he was
introduced to the precious teachings at the monastery, he felt so grateful to
the accident which brought him to the monastery and helped him find the most
precious purpose in life. Later, when he returned to his hometown to visit to
his family and relatives, he felt like a stranger in this once familiar surroundings.
At that juncture, he realized that his real home was actually - Yaqing
Monastery! Asong Rinpoche was very pleased with the mindset change of this old
man because this is the sign of a practitioner who has made a true spiritual
progress. A practitioner who has severed his attachment to the secular
relationship with his family has truly entered the door of the Buddhadharma;
the one who has yet to do so continues to wander outside the door. Acho
Rinpoche felt the same too that when a practitioner has finally eradicated his
five poisons of lust, hatred, ignorance, arrogance and suspicion, including severing
his attachment to the secular relationship with his family and relatives, only
then will he be able to attain the state of enlightenment. He commended highly of
the serious attitude of the Yaqing practitioners in their spiritual pursuits, under
the guidance of Asong Rinpoche.
Next,
Acho Rinpoche shared with us a dream that he had last night. It was indeed a
very special and auspicious dream that made us feel extremely joyful after
hearing it. Finally, we ended our prayer by reciting the names of
the Buddhas under the guidance of Acho Rinpoche, and dedicated the merits to
all sentient beings - may all sentient beings be happy, free of sufferings and
attain enlightenment one day.
Reported
by Sun Moon KFS on 30-9-2017 @Singapore
