Without Buddha's kindness we would not know the real causes of happiness or the real causes of suffering.
Buddha taught us how all happiness and suffering depend upon the mind.
He showed us how to abandon those states of mind that cause suffering and cultivate those states of mind that cause happiness.
In other words, he taught us perfect methods for overcoming suffering and attaining happiness.
No one else taught us these methods. How kind Buddha is!
It is for this reason that Kadampa Buddhists begin every practice by reciting a special prayer to Buddha composed by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.
Liberating Prayer
PRAISE TO BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI
O Blessed One, Shakyamuni Buddha,
Precious treasury of compassion,
Bestower of supreme inner peace,
You, who love all beings without exception,
Are the source of happiness and goodness;
And you guide us to the liberating path.
Your body is a wishfulfilling jewel,
Your speech is supreme, purifying nectar,
And your mind is refuge for all living beings.
With folded hands I turn to you,
Supreme unchanging friend,
I request from the depths of my heart:
Please give me the light of your wisdom
To dispel the darkness of my mind
And to heal my mental continuum.
Please nourish me with your goodness,
That I in turn may nourish all beings
With an unceasing banquet of delight.
Through your compassionate intention,
Your blessings and virtuous deeds,
And my strong wish to rely upon you,
May all suffering quickly cease
And all happiness and joy be fulfilled;
And my holy Dharma flourish for evermore.
Composed by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso at Manjushri
Centre, England, June 2001
© Geshe Kelsang Gyatso and New Kadampa Tradition 2001
Kadampa Buddist Centers usually perform as their daily puja Heart Jewel, which is the Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa combined with the condensed sadhana of his Dharma Protector. A puja is simply recited prayers. This is generally combined with a short mediation on Lamrim.
This puja includes two practices revealed by the Wisdom Buddha Manjushri. The first is a special Guru yoga in which we visualize our Spiritual Guide as Je Tsongkhapa, who himself is a manifestation of Manjushri. By relying upon this practice, we can purify negativity, accumulate merit, and receive blessings. In this way, we will naturally accomplish all the realizations of the stages of the path of Sutra and Tantra, and in particular we will attain a very special Dharma wisdom.
The second practice is a method for relying upon the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugdän. Through this, we can overcome obstacles to our practice and create favourable conditions so that we can nurture and increase our Dharma realizations.
If we rely upon the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugdän sincerely, our faith in Je Tsongkhapa will naturally increase and we will easily gain experience of the pure Buddhadharma transmitted directly to Je Tsongkhapa by the Wisdom Buddha Manjushri.
These two practices are the very essence of the New Kadampa Tradition of Mahayana Buddhism. If we practise them regularly and sincerely, we will reap a rich harvest of pure Dharma realizations, and eventually come to experience the supreme joy of full enlightenment.
An extensive explanation of this sadhana can be found in the book Heart Jewel, by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.
In our previous lives, while under the influence of deluded minds, we created a great deal of negative karma. As a result, we now experience difficulties in developing faith and conviction in Dharma, and in making progress on the stages of the path to enlightenment. Since these transgressions and downfalls seriously obstruct our spiritual development, it is essential that we purify them.
One of the best methods for purifying downfalls is recommended by Shantideva in Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, where he advises us to practice the Sutra of the Three Superior Heaps, also known as The Bodhisattva’s Confession of Moral Downfalls. The three ‘heaps’ are collections of virtue: prostration, purification, and dedication.
In this practice, we visualize the Thirty Five Confession Buddhas and practice purification in their presence through a series of prostrations, one for each of the Buddhas. At the end, we dedicate any merit we have collected to the attainment of enlightenment so that we will be able to benefit all living beings.
Offering to the Spiritual Guide
All schools of Buddhism agree that the practice of relying upon a Spiritual Guide, or "Guru Yoga", is the root of the spiritual path and the foundation of all spiritual attainments.
In Kadampa Buddhism, Guru Yoga is practiced in association with Je Tsongkhapa, an emanation of the Wisdom Buddha Manjushri who is the father of New Kadampa Buddhism.
The principal Guru Yoga of Je Tsongkhapa is Offering to the Spiritual Guide, which is an extensive practice that is usually performed twice a month on special, blessed days.
Offering to the Spiritual Guide is a special Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa that is related to Highest Yoga Tantra.
It was compiled by the first Panchen Lama, Losang Chökyi Gyaltsän, as a preliminary practice for Vajrayana Mahamudra. Although the main practice is reliance upon the Spiritual Guide, it also includes all the essential practices of the stages of the path (Lamrim) and training the mind (Lojong), as well as both the generation stage and completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra.
Guru yoga is a special method for receiving the blessings of our Spiritual Guide. Here, the term 'Guru' does not imply that our Spiritual Guide should be Indian. Our Spiritual Guide is any spiritual Teacher who sincerely leads us into spiritual paths by giving correct instructions.
Thus our Spiritual Guide can be oriental or western, lay or ordained, male or female. These days, for example, it is quite possible to meet a Spiritual Guide who is a western lay female. The term 'yoga' in this context indicates a special way of viewing our Spiritual Guide.
If we want to acquire special skills, become proficient at a particular sport, or learn to play a musical instrument well, we naturally seek a qualified teacher to instruct us. By following our teacher's example and sincerely applying his or her instructions, eventually we accomplish our aim and become just like our teacher.
If reliance upon a qualified teacher is necessary for mundane achievements such as these, how much more necessary is it for spiritual attainments such as liberation or enlightenment?
There are two main streams within Buddhism: the Hinayana and the Mahayana and the practice of relying upon a Spiritual Guide is fundamental to both.
According to the Hinayana, we should regard our Spiritual Guide
as being like a Buddha and, with a mind of faith and devotion, offer gifts and
service to him and repay his kindness by following his advice and practicing
his instructions.
According to the Mahayana, however, we should regard our Spiritual Guide as
an actual Buddha and, with a mind of faith, rely upon him sincerely in both
thought and deed.
A pure Spiritual Guide must have authentic spiritual attainments, hold a pure lineage, cherish the Buddhadharma, and with love and compassion give unmistaken teachings to his or her disciples. If we meet such a Spiritual Guide we should consider ourselves to be very fortunate. We should develop faith in him and rely upon him sincerely by practicing purely what he teaches. Geshe Potowa says that if a pure disciple meets a pure Spiritual Guide it is not difficult for him or her to reach enlightenment.
Our mind is like a field, our Spiritual Guide's instructions are like seeds sown in that field, and our faith in our Spiritual Guide is like water that germinates these seeds. If these three come together we will quickly and easily harvest a rich crop of Dharma realizations. If we do not have these conditions at the moment we should pray that we will find them in the future.
Once we have met a qualified Spiritual Guide, the way to rely
upon him is basically very simple. All we have to do is to develop faith in
him and put his instructions into practice to the best of our ability. If we
do this, our Dharma realizations will naturally increase and we will quickly
attain enlightenment.
We develop faith in our Spiritual Guide by regarding him or her as a living
Buddha, the synthesis of all objects of refuge. Even though our Spiritual Guide
may appear to us in an ordinary aspect we should avoid seeing faults in him
and learn to see him as a Buddha instead.
We need to develop deep faith in our Spiritual Guide and always keep a pure view of him. We should try to feel close to him, maintaining a happy and affectionate mind towards him at all times. We should regard our Spiritual Guide as our mother who cares for us and cherishes us, as our father who provides us with all we need and protects us from danger, as the moon that cools the heat of the delusions in our mental continuum, as the sun that dispels the darkness of ignorance in our mind, and as a kind benefactor who gives us the priceless gift of Dharma.
To meet a fully-qualified Spiritual Guide is infinitely more meaningful than to possess external wealth. Our Spiritual Guide is our real benefactor. He gives us the inner wealth of moral discipline, concentration, and wisdom, and eventually leads us to the supreme bliss of full enlightenment.
Even if we have vast material wealth, if we lack these internal realizations, in reality we are impoverished. On the other hand, if through relying upon a Spiritual Guide we develop the realizations of the stages of the path to enlightenment within our mental continuum, we shall be truly rich, even if we have no material possessions. Therefore, we should not be preoccupied with external wealth and development but should put all our energy into relying sincerely upon a fully-qualified Spiritual Guide.
Putting our Spiritual Guide's instructions into practice is the supreme offering. According to Je Tsongkhapa's tradition, a qualified Spiritual Guide will be more pleased with his disciples' Dharma practice than with receiving material offerings.
Even if we make prostrations all day long, or regularly give presents to our Spiritual Guide, such practices will have little power if we are not following the spiritual path he has taught us. On the other hand, if we practice our Spiritual Guide's instructions purely and with deep faith, even if we are unable to make physical prostrations or material offerings, we shall be continuously making offerings that delight our Spiritual Guide.