The cold, snow, and winds threaten and weaken everything. However, with great strength of mind and a faith in the Dharma that is as unchanging as a vajra, the people are not intimidated by the cold. It is difficult to comprehend the extent of their dedication to the Dharma.
The essence of Guru Rinpoche is the same as the essence of Buddha Shakyamuni. In Sutrayana there’s Buddha Shakyamuni. In Tantrayana there’s [Buddha] Padmasambhava.
To be able to remove obstacles it’s important to pray, to think of, and to practice Guru Rinpoche, to recite Guru Rinpoche mantra.
The kind Buddha taught again and again that the era when desire, anger, and envy are widespread is a degenerate era.
The mahāyāna teaches that we should see all beings as our parents and we should always care from them with love, compassion, and the precious bodhicitta. Moreover, it teaches that the attainment of liberation and enlightenment cannot be attained except through meditation on love for all beings.
It is evident that within Buddhism there are those who say one can eat meat and those who say that one should not.
At this time, we have obtained a human body that has a human existence in this world. When we have the pleasant and unpleasant experiences of human beings we express different states of happiness and unhappiness. We are like children who wander through happiness and unhappiness, laughing and smiling one moment and crying the next.
To recite the mantra is not enough and we have to develop Bodhicitta. One has to do that not only for oneself but also for others. Bodhicitta is a kind of motivation. “Bodhi” means “enlightened” and “cita” is “heart”. “Bodhicitta” is “enlightened heart”. What is “enlightened heart”?
Once you transfer your consciousness as syllable SHRI into Amitabha’s heart, Amitabha’s mind, then you dissolve into Amitabha’s heart, you are not here anymore.
At the same time, when you meditate on Guru Rinpoche, or Guru Yoga, “yoga” also means “practice” or “meditation”. So “Guru Yoga” is meditation on Guru. It’s high meditation.
