Introduction to Tantra: The Transformation of Desire by Lama Thubten Yeshe, Philip Glass Page B
Authors: Lama Thubten Yeshe, Philip Glass
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have to understand why it is both necessary and possible to abandon our ordinary, limited view of ourselves and generate in its place the enlightened self-identity of a fully evolved being. We have to realize that our low opinion of ourselves, which keeps us trapped in the cycle of perpetual dissatisfaction, only arises because we are ignorant of our basic, essentially pure nature. By generating the prerequisite renunciation, bodhichitta, and wisdom, and by delving into the clear nature of our mind, we create the space in which true self-transformation can take place.
Yet it is not enough merely to know why such self-transformation is necessary and possible; we must also generate the strength and confidence that will enable us to follow this radical approach to fulfillment. In other words, we need to be inspired. We have to know that the attainment of enlightenment —completion, buddhahood, totality, or whatever we want to call it—is not only a theoretical possibility but something that people like us can and do actually achieve. In the Buddhist tantric tradition the source of this inspiration is the guru (or lama, in Tibetan): our teacher and spiritual guide. And the root of the tantric path is unifying oneself with this source of inspiration through the practice of guru yoga.
At the moment, we are temporarily incapable of dealing effectively with the problems created by our egotistical mind. To help solve this problem, Shakyamuni Buddha taught methods for breaking out of our ego-prison and identifying ourselves with the enlightened beings of the past, present, and future. Such enlightened beings have achieved a state in which there is no separation or distinction between high and low; there is only the complete equality of the enlightened experience. The practice of guru yoga prepares us to enter this unified experience of complete fulfillment. Through seeing ourselves as one with our spiritual guide we banish the self-pitying thought: “The buddhas are so exalted and I am nothing in comparison.” Instead, we learn to identify our innermost mind with that of our guru, who is seen as inseparable from everyone who has already achieved complete awakening.
It is through the practice of guru yoga that our limited wisdom grows to completeness. The guru’s energy of great compassion, great love, great wisdom, and great skill take seed in us so that we ourselves come to embody these limitlessly beneficial qualities. We ourselves become the guru and, as such, can give immeasurable and inexhaustible help to all beings. If we do not generate the qualities of a true guru within us, how can we provide ultimate benefit for anyone else? We cannot even help ourselves properly.
TH E I NTERNAL AND EX TERNAL GURU
The tantric texts often mention that all realizations come from the guru. This is true, but we have to understand that “guru” has two different levels of meaning. The relative, objective guru is the teacher who, by communicating with us in different ways, shows us how to act so that we can discover our own totality. But on a deeper, more subjective level, our guru is none other than our own inner wisdom, our own fundamental clarity of mind.
Look at the different ways in which people respond to the same spiritual teachings by the same teacher. One person may not even intellectually understand the concepts contained in the teaching. Another may be able to understand them but be unable to penetrate their inner meaning. And there are those who can reach beyond the mere words and concepts and experience total unification with the teacher’s wisdom and compassion. These reactions are all due to the various individuals’ having achieved different levels of intellectual and spiritual evolution. The more in touch they are with their own internal guru, the more profound their understanding of the teachings will be.
Practically speaking, there is only so much the relative, external guru can do for
Yet it is not enough merely to know why such self-transformation is necessary and possible; we must also generate the strength and confidence that will enable us to follow this radical approach to fulfillment. In other words, we need to be inspired. We have to know that the attainment of enlightenment —completion, buddhahood, totality, or whatever we want to call it—is not only a theoretical possibility but something that people like us can and do actually achieve. In the Buddhist tantric tradition the source of this inspiration is the guru (or lama, in Tibetan): our teacher and spiritual guide. And the root of the tantric path is unifying oneself with this source of inspiration through the practice of guru yoga.
At the moment, we are temporarily incapable of dealing effectively with the problems created by our egotistical mind. To help solve this problem, Shakyamuni Buddha taught methods for breaking out of our ego-prison and identifying ourselves with the enlightened beings of the past, present, and future. Such enlightened beings have achieved a state in which there is no separation or distinction between high and low; there is only the complete equality of the enlightened experience. The practice of guru yoga prepares us to enter this unified experience of complete fulfillment. Through seeing ourselves as one with our spiritual guide we banish the self-pitying thought: “The buddhas are so exalted and I am nothing in comparison.” Instead, we learn to identify our innermost mind with that of our guru, who is seen as inseparable from everyone who has already achieved complete awakening.
It is through the practice of guru yoga that our limited wisdom grows to completeness. The guru’s energy of great compassion, great love, great wisdom, and great skill take seed in us so that we ourselves come to embody these limitlessly beneficial qualities. We ourselves become the guru and, as such, can give immeasurable and inexhaustible help to all beings. If we do not generate the qualities of a true guru within us, how can we provide ultimate benefit for anyone else? We cannot even help ourselves properly.
TH E I NTERNAL AND EX TERNAL GURU
The tantric texts often mention that all realizations come from the guru. This is true, but we have to understand that “guru” has two different levels of meaning. The relative, objective guru is the teacher who, by communicating with us in different ways, shows us how to act so that we can discover our own totality. But on a deeper, more subjective level, our guru is none other than our own inner wisdom, our own fundamental clarity of mind.
Look at the different ways in which people respond to the same spiritual teachings by the same teacher. One person may not even intellectually understand the concepts contained in the teaching. Another may be able to understand them but be unable to penetrate their inner meaning. And there are those who can reach beyond the mere words and concepts and experience total unification with the teacher’s wisdom and compassion. These reactions are all due to the various individuals’ having achieved different levels of intellectual and spiritual evolution. The more in touch they are with their own internal guru, the more profound their understanding of the teachings will be.
Practically speaking, there is only so much the relative, external guru can do for
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