Great Treasury of Merit. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
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Название: Great Treasury of Merit
Автор: Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Здоровье
isbn: 9781910368213
isbn:
As already mentioned, the sequence for attaining enlightenment in one short human life is first to gain some experience of Lamrim, then to practise Lojong, and then to engage in Vajrayana Mahamudra. The Guru yoga of Offering to the Spiritual Guide includes all these practices. Because it contains all the instructions on the stages of the path to enlightenment, it possesses all the pre-eminent qualities of the Lamrim texts. Thus, by relying upon this practice we will understand that there are no contradictions within Buddha’s teachings, we will take all Buddha’s teachings as personal advice and put them into practice, we will easily realize Buddha’s ultimate intention, and we will naturally become free from the great fault and all other faults. Moreover, because this Guru yoga contains all the instructions on training the mind, it also possesses the pre-eminent qualities of the Lojong texts. Thus, as Geshe Chekawa says in Training the Mind in Seven Points ‘It is like a diamond, like the sun, and like a medicinal tree.’ More detail on the pre-eminent qualities of Lamrim and Lojong can be found in Joyful Path of Good Fortune and Universal Compassion.
Offering to the Spiritual Guide is also a preliminary practice for Vajrayana Mahamudra and includes all the stages of the generation stage and completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra. If we engage in this practice regularly and sincerely we will receive special blessings, so that when we finally engage in a three year retreat on Vajrayana Mahamudra we will find it very easy to gain realizations. Many of Je Tsongkhapa’s followers such as Mahasiddha Dharmavajra, Gyalwa Ensapa, and Khedrub Sangye Yeshe have attained enlightenment in three years through relying upon this special Guru yoga. Unlike Milarepa, who did not have access to this practice, they did not have to undergo great hardships to gain realizations but were able to progress smoothly and swiftly through the stages of Vajrayana Mahamudra by relying upon this Guru yoga. This is the uncommon quality of Je Tsongkhapa’s Guru yoga. Therefore, if we want to attain enlightenment swiftly and easily we definitely need to develop faith in Je Tsongkhapa and practise his Guru yoga sincerely.
The extent to which we receive the benefits of this Guru yoga depends upon our faith in Je Tsongkhapa. To increase our faith we need to contemplate again and again why we need to practise the Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa. Then, if we follow Je Tsongkhapa’s tradition purely without mixing with other traditions, and rely upon his Dharma Protector, Dorje Shugden, our faith in Je Tsongkhapa, and therewith our realizations, will naturally increase. If we follow this advice – to develop deep, unchanging faith in Je Tsongkhapa, to follow his tradition purely without mixing, and to rely sincerely upon the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden – we will definitely receive great benefits. If a Teacher encourages us to do these things it is we who experience the benefits, not the Teacher. There is nothing partisan about this advice; it is given only for our benefit. Experience shows that realizations come from deep, unchanging faith, and that this faith comes as a result of following one tradition purely – relying upon one Teacher, practising only his teachings, and following his Dharma Protector. If we mix traditions many obstacles arise and it takes a long time for us to attain realizations.
Baso Chokyi Gyaltsen
The Origin and Lineage of these Instructions
The lineage of this instruction, known as the ‘Uncommon Whispered Lineage’, was transmitted from Buddha Vajradhara to Manjushri and from Manjushri directly to Je Tsongkhapa. From Je Tsongkhapa it has been passed down to the present Teachers through exactly the same lineage as the Mahamudra of the Virtuous Tradition. It has already been explained that there are two main Guru yogas related to Je Tsongkhapa: The Hundreds of Deities of the Joyful Land, or Ganden Lhagyema, and Offering to the Spiritual Guide, or Lama Chopa. Both of these were transmitted by Buddha Manjushri to Je Tsongkhapa in a special scripture which is known as the Kadam Emanation Scripture. This scripture also includes instructions on Vajrayana Mahamudra, as well as six sadhanas of Manjushri: Accomplishing Outer Manjushri, Accomplishing Inner Manjushri, Accomplishing Secret Manjushri, Accomplishing Manjushri’s Body Mandala, Accomplishing Wheel of Dharma Manjushri and Accomplishing Solitary Manjushri.
The Hundreds of Deities of the Joyful Land was passed by Je Tsongkhapa to his disciple, Je Sherab Senge. This great Lama lived and practised at a place called Se in Tibet, and he and his two principal disciples later became known as the ‘Segyupa Father and Sons’. The lineage of the practice of The Hundreds of Deities of the Joyful Land is known as the ‘Segyu Lineage’. More information on this lineage can be found in the book Heart Jewel, and a profound explanation of how to practise Vajrayana Mahamudra in conjunction with the Guru yoga of the Segyu lineage can be found in Mahamudra Tantra.
The lineage of Offering to the Spiritual Guide developed as follows. After Je Tsongkhapa passed away, his tradition was preserved and promoted by his two principal disciples, Khedrubje and Togden Jampel Gyatso. Khedrubje, who was an emanation of Vajrapani, became Je Tsongkhapa’s successor at Ganden Monastery. While he remained there, he gave extensive teachings to large numbers of disciples, just as his Spiritual Guide, Je Tsongkhapa, had done. He was particularly skilled at logic and debate and was able to answer all questions regarding Je Tsongkhapa’s teachings and to resolve misunderstandings concerning them. So sharp was his wisdom, and so incisive his reasoning, that he was compared to the great Indian Buddhist Master Dharmakirti, an emanation of Manjushri who revealed the essential instructions on logic and reasoning.
Je Tsongkhapa transmitted all the essential instructions on Vajrayana Mahamudra to Khedrubje, who practised them sincerely. Because he was charged with the great responsibility of ensuring that Je Tsongkhapa’s precious teachings continued to flourish, Khedrubje would often make requests for guidance and inspiration to Je Tsongkhapa after he had passed away. On five separate occasions Je Tsongkhapa appeared directly to Khedrubje, each time in a different form. On one occasion, when he was reflecting on the extraordinary kindness of Je Tsongkhapa, Khedrubje was so overcome with sadness at the loss of his Spiritual Guide that he began to weep. With his eyes filled with tears, he started to compose a praise to Je Tsongkhapa in which he expressed his deep yearning to see him again. As soon as he had finished composing the praise, Je Tsongkhapa appeared before him riding on an elephant, surrounded by an aura of light. Je Tsongkhapa asked Khedrubje why he was crying and Khedrubje replied that it was because he was thinking of Je Tsongkhapa’s kindness. He asked Je Tsongkhapa where he had been since he passed away and Je Tsongkhapa replied that he was abiding in a Pure Land in the north-east. They continued to talk for a long time before the vision of Je Tsongkhapa finally absorbed. At other times Je Tsongkhapa appeared to Khedrubje in other manifestations, such as Manjushri riding on a lion, and a Yogi riding on a tiger.
Whereas Khedrubje remained at Ganden emphasizing Je Tsongkhapa’s tradition of giving clear and unmistaken teachings, Togden Jampel Gyatso spent most of his life in isolated forests and mountain caves emphasizing Je Tsongkhapa’s tradition of meditation retreat. By practising sincerely the instructions on Vajrayana Mahamudra, he attained great enlightenment in three years. Although both Khedrubje and Togden Jampel Gyatso received the lineage of the Emanation Scripture from Je Tsongkhapa, it was Togden Jampel Gyatso who passed it on to others, and so it is he who is regarded as the next lineage Guru after Je Tsongkhapa.
Togden Jampel Gyatso passed the lineage of these instructions to Khedrubje’s younger brother, Baso Chokyi Gyaltsen. Baso Chokyi Gyaltsen spent his entire life practising these instructions and realized them fully. He transmitted them to Mahasiddha Dharmavajra, a great meditator who spent his whole life in retreat in mountain caves. At one time Mahasiddha Dharmavajra was in retreat in a cave high up on a mountain called Chumo Lhari, which is near Tashi Lhunpo СКАЧАТЬ