Relying upon a Spiritual Guide

      the actual meditation

      The first meditation on the stages of the path is the meditation on relying upon our Spiritual Guide. This has two parts:

      1 The qualifications of a Mahayana Spiritual Guide and a Mahayana disciple

      2 The actual meditation on relying upon our Spiritual Guide

      the qualifications of a mahayana spiritual guide and a mahayana disciple

      Reliance upon a Spiritual Guide is called the ‘root of the path’ because all other spiritual realizations of Sutra and Tantra depend upon it. The many branches and fruits of our Dharma practice are sustained and nourished by the root of reliance upon our Spiritual Guide. Just as in our ordinary education we need to rely upon the help of well-qualified teachers to guide us from the level of nursery school to the completion of college or university training, so in the spiritual training that leads to full enlightenment we need to rely upon a well-qualified Spiritual Guide.

      Such a deep root cannot be planted hastily. We need to become acquainted with someone who has all the qualifications of a Spiritual Guide, and gradually gain confidence through their teaching and example so that we can rely completely upon their guidance. Our relationship with our Spiritual Guide is the very source of all spiritual attainments, therefore we must be sure that he or she possesses all the necessary qualifications. It is not sufficient that he is famous for his knowledge of Buddhism or that he is an attractive or charismatic personality. Even if he is an unusually kind and sympathetic person, this alone is not a sufficient basis for our devoting ourself to him completely.

      A fully qualified Mahayana Spiritual Guide is someone who possesses ten special qualities. According to Ornament for Mahayana Sutras these are:

      (1) A mind that is controlled by the practice of moral discipline.

      (2) A mind that has become peaceful and undistracted through the practice of concentration.

      (3) Reduced self-grasping through the practice of wisdom.

      (4) Greater knowledge than the disciple.

      (5) Delight in teaching Dharma.

      (6) A wealth of scriptural knowledge.

      (7) A deep and stable realization of emptiness.

      (8) Great skill in explaining Dharma.

      (9) Compassion and love for his disciples.

      (10) Enthusiasm for teaching Dharma, being free from discouragement or laziness.

      If we are not so fortunate as to know someone who has all these qualities we can rely upon a Spiritual Guide who at least practises moral discipline, concentration and wisdom, who has compassion and love for his or her disciples, and who has gained a realization of emptiness.

      To become a perfect Mahayana disciple we need to develop the following qualifications:

      (1) A mind that is balanced, free from strong attachment to worldly enjoyments and strong aversion.

      (2) The wisdom to discriminate pure Dharma teachings that will bring real benefit from teachings that are false. Without this wisdom a disciple is easily confused and led astray when listening to or reading mistaken teachings.

      (3) A strong wish to practise Dharma.

      (4) Great faith and respect for his or her Spiritual Guide and for Dharma.

      (5) The ability to listen to or read Dharma without laziness or distraction.

      It is said that when a fully qualified Mahayana disciple relies completely upon a fully qualified Mahayana Spiritual Guide the attainment of enlightenment is easy.

      the actual meditation on relying upon our spiritual guide

      The purpose of this meditation is to overcome any non-virtuous attitudes we may have towards our Spiritual Guide, such as feelings of dislike or thoughts of disrespect, and to cultivate the virtuous attitudes of faith and respect. When we succeed in cultivating these virtuous states of mind we continue to meditate to become more and more familiar with them, until they remain in our mind at all times.

      The meditation has four parts:

      1 The benefits of relying completely upon our Spiritual Guide

      2 The dangers of breaking our commitment to our Spiritual Guide

      3 How to rely upon our Spiritual Guide by developing faith and respect

      4 How to rely upon our Spiritual Guide by engaging in actions of service and devotion

      the benefits of relying completely upon our spiritual guide

      To generate a strong determination to rely purely upon our Spiritual Guide we contemplate eight main benefits:

      1 We progress towards enlightenment

      2 We delight all the Buddhas

      3 We are not harmed by demons and other evil influences

      4 We easily overcome our faults and delusions

      5 Our experiences and realizations of spiritual grounds and paths greatly increase

      6 We never lack spiritual friends in all our future lives

      7 We do not take rebirth in the lower realms

      8 All our wishes, temporary and ultimate, are easily fulfilled

      we progress towards enlightenment

      We meditate:

      If I rely completely upon my Spiritual Guide he or she will reveal what I have to practise to attain full enlightenment. By putting his advice into practice and receiving the merit and inspiration that come from dedicating myself completely to my Spiritual Guide I will accomplish my goal swiftly, in this very lifetime. Therefore I must rely purely upon my Spiritual Guide.

      We can also meditate on the following quotation from the Tantras:

      If we make offerings to even the tiniest hair pore of our Spiritual Guide we will receive greater merit than by making offerings to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the ten directions.

      Sakya Pandita said that if we practise the six perfections, such as giving and so forth, for a thousand aeons, we can accumulate a great amount of merit; but if we rely completely upon our Spiritual Guide we can accumulate the same amount of merit in just one moment. Since the collection of merit is the main cause of a Buddha’s Form Body, the more quickly we accumulate merit, the more quickly we progress towards attaining a Buddha’s Form Body. Conversely, the more we develop delusions, the more quickly we accumulate non-virtue which takes us swiftly towards the lower realms.

      In One Hundred Verses for the Tingri People Phadampa Sangye says that if we rely upon our Spiritual Guide he can lead us wherever we wish to go and so we should repay his kindness by offering faith and respect. If we wish to attain enlightenment our Spiritual Guide will lead us there, if we wish to gain the realization of the first spiritual ground he will lead us there, if we wish to attain liberation he will lead us there,