During the Red Vajrasattva drubchen this spring at Rig- dzin Ling, H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche gave the participating sangha some specific advice on practice. In particular, Rinpoche emphasized the value of intensive group practices like drubchens. The following is an edited transcript of his teaching.
We are very fortunate to have this opportunity to come together and put the teachings that we have received into practice. In general, we hear teachings, then contemplate and meditate upon them. There is an appropriate time for listening, for contemplation, and for meditation. Now is the time for meditation, for putting into practice what we already understand. Ideally, when you come into a situation like a drubchen, you work with what you know. Whatever you might not know isn’t the issue; the point is to put what you do know into practice.
Since I moved to the Southern Hemisphere, I’ve encountered obstacles to my health and wondered whether I would be able to return to the United States in this lifetime. So I am very glad to meet with all of you again. Wherever I go, my main concern is that the activities of the dharma flourish— that’s what inspires me. When I see the dharma flourishing, my heart rejoices.
In returning, I find that Lama Drimed, my son Tulku Jigme Rinpoche, and the other lamas are helping my other students maintain the centers and carry on the work of the dharma. I am inspired when I see that all that I sought to establish in this country has not fallen away but continues to be held. We instituted the annual drubchens, not only here at Rigdzin Ling but at other centers as well, for a number of important reasons. Now people have many opportunities to practice together.
Lamas and students coming together and practicing in this concentrated way lends power to each individual’s practice; we derive far more benefit than we would by practicing on our own. So it’s important that we understand the uniqueness of this opportunity. If you cannot fulfill your personal aspiration to undertake a long retreat, don’t feel that you will never get anywhere with your practice. If each year you take the time to come to a drubchen or a similar group retreat in which everyone can reinforce each other’s practice, then you can derive enormous benefit. This is an opportunity to make real progress in a very short time. My hope is that in the future these opportunities will continue— both here and wherever there are teachers able to guide motivated students, wherever people wish to gather to help dharma activities flourish. We are here because we want all that is positive to flourish.
As practitioners, we can develop our positive qualities, accumulate merit, and deepen our experience of timeless awareness. There are many ways to do this. Some pertain more to one’s own individual liberation, others to the bodhisattva path, and some to the Vajrayana path.
In drubchen, we apply the methods of the skillful, profound, and very direct path of the Vajrayana. In the Vajrayana, there are extensive, historical lineages; more direct lineages of the terma teachings; and the profound dag nyam, or pure vision, transmissions. This cycle of Red Vajrasattva is from the terma tradition— a tradition of profound treasures revealed specifically for these times.
The drubchen practices we do here incorporate terma teachings of three great masters of recent times: H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche (Jigdral Yeshe Dorje), H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and the great terton Padgyal Lingpa. Because of the enormously powerful blessings and the benefit of these teachings, and because they have been revealed in our generation, it is imperative that we uphold these lineages through diligent practice.
This Vajrasattva practice is useful for us because, from beginningless time, we have all wandered in samsara, experiencing relentless suffering. This is not because our sources of refuge lack the power to purify us, but because our minds are bound by karma.
The blessings of Vajrasattva are particularly powerful for purifying our minds of the effects of harmful actions and obscurations. Your motivation for undertaking this practice is very important. You shouldn’t practice to benefit only yourself. Nor should your concern for others be based upon your attachment or aversion. If you are practicing with proper motivation, those who are your enemies or who hinder you are the most worthy objects of your compassion. Your motivation should be altruistic and compassionate—not just that of benefiting beings in the short term, but of bringing about the lasting benefit and happiness of enlightenment. That is why you request and receive empowerments that ripen you, teachings that liberate you, and oral trans- missions that support your practice. Having received all of this, it is important that you not waste it. Don’t let one minute go by without putting what you have received into practice.
This practice environment, this center, is quite special. Since we acquired this property, there have been many positive signs and indications that it would be a place where the enlightened activity of the buddhas could flourish and benefit beings. Many lamas and masters with insight have affirmed this. Practitioners have had meditation experiences, dreams, and other signs of the very special nature of this place. And since its inception, Rigdzin Ling has been blessed with the presence of many holy masters who have come here and given teachings.
Why do we practice, and what are we doing when we practice? We need to understand that our true nature is buddha nature— what the tantras refer to as the timelessly pure state of awakened buddhahood. But because of superficial obscurations, we fail to recognize our true nature and continue to wander in samsara. Those who have attained the total freedom of buddhahood and embody the timeless awareness of enlightened mind have completely realized their buddha nature. All positive qualities of enlightened form, speech, and mind are fully evident in those who are awakened.
As pure embodiments of enlightenment, deities manifest in various ways and under different circumstances to meet the needs of individual beings. All deities, fully imbued with such qualities as wisdom, loving kindness, compassion, spiritual power, and the ability to grant refuge, are worthy objects of our prayers. Vajrasattva, more than any other, is the embodiment of all deities. We pray with faith and devotion to Vajrasattva as the union of all sources of refuge, and meditate upon and recite Vajrasattva’s mantra in order to purify superficial but obscuring distortions that prevent us from realizing our own true nature.
When we practice in this way, any physical activity we engage in becomes part of our practice. The best way to practice is with your body on your seat and your mind in your body, focused on what is virtuous and positive. Always pay attention to your posture. There is a saying that when the body is straight, so are the subtle channels and the subtle energy moves smoothly, allowing the mind to focus. There is a direct connection between your state of mind and whether your subtle energy is agitated or smooth. Good sitting posture can support and benefit your practice. The more you calm the disturbed, agitated energy in the channels and release blockages, the more your mind settles, reducing afflictive emotions and concepts.
When you recite mantra, you are giving voice to the vajra speech of all buddhas. The compassion and blessings inherent in mantra are identical to those inherent in the deity. When you recite mantra with this understanding, you purify your mindstream of the effects of eons of harmful actions, obscurations, faults, and failings. All negativity is refined away and purified. All buddhas and great masters attest to this. The effort you make physically purifies you on the level of body; the effort you make with your voice purifies you on the level of speech; and the effort that you make mentally purifies you on the level of mind.
Because of the complex details in visualization, development stage practice may seem rather difficult. But don’t think that you are not practicing correctly if you can’t visualize every detail. The key to development stage practice is to understand that all visual appearances are the form of the deity— vajra body, the unity of appearance and emptiness. All that is audible is by its very nature the unity of sound and emptiness, vajra speech. All thought, memory, and awareness— all that arises in the mind— is the display of timeless awareness, vajra mind. If you have that certainty, then you are truly practicing, even if not all the details are there. By focusing in this way, you will invoke and receive blessings, your obscurations will be removed, and your abilities to benefit others will increase.
No matter what other connections we may have with each other, we are all here because we love the dharma. Therefore, we try to receive as many teachings and study as much as we can, and then contemplate what we have heard in order to come to a clear understanding of what those teachings mean. Don’t waste that effort. Put into practice whatever you feel you have understood. That is the training. The more we learn, the more we will have to put into practice.
Don’t fool yourselves by pretending to be better practitioners than you are—that won’t get you anywhere. Use the teachings as they are meant to be used, as a taming process. Tame your afflictive emotions and negative karma, the root of samsara. Do this by hearing, by contemplating, and, especially, by putting the teachings into practice. Only you can decide whether you are a practitioner or not. Be honest with yourself; if your negative emotions are diminishing, then you are practicing.
I also would like to reiterate that life is impermanent. It’s important that we understand what is really worthwhile and not waste the opportunity we have. The nature of our mind is buddha nature just waiting to be discovered, like a jewel that we already hold in our hands. Yet we repeatedly put it down and go running after something else. Wouldn’t it be better to appreciate the value of that jewel?
None of the wealth, power, and success that we may acquire in this life will be of ultimate benefit, because we cannot take any of it with us. When we die, our mind will slip out of this life like a hair out of butter, leaving behind everything we thought was so important. Remember what is important. You have the opportunity to bring about extraordinary benefit for both yourself and others. Use it wisely. I want all of you to be mindful of this. The blessing of a sangha lies in its undivided and harmo- nious focus on what is virtuous and positive. That is how the sangha should function. If you have reached a level of practice where you can see through the ordinary bonds of ignorance or the afflictive emotions, this is all the more reason to help others who may still need help or guidance. That is what lamas are for, to help others work out their confusion and negativity. I ask you all to do your best. Don’t waste any time.
Always be witness to your own mind. Be mindful, alert, and heedful. There is a Tibetan saying that sangha members maintain their own discipline the way a cow uses her tail to ward off flies. Nobody keeps your rules for you or imposes anything on you. Vow to uphold your own discipline and live up to your own expectations. A powerful, focused occasion such as this has the great potential to magnify everything that you do— the good and the bad; so do what you can to behave in a positive and virtuous way and avoid harmful activities.
During a drubchen, there are formal practice sessions and there are breaks. The breaks aren’t a time to waste or to forget about the practice; use them to practice and create merit in other ways. We need to apply the threefold bond to our practice. The first bond is the preparation—establishing the motivation with which we undertake anything. The second is focusing without distraction upon the practice. The third bond is the conclusion, in which we dedicate the merit of what we have undertaken for the benefit of all beings.
Ideally, you dedicate the merit of your practice from the point of view of threefold purity: understanding the essential nature of the one who is dedicating, the beings to whom the merit is dedicated, and the merit itself. If you don’t feel you can do that, then dedicate by emulating all of the buddhas and bodhisattvas. Say to yourself, “Just as all buddhas and bodhisattvas have given rise to pure motivation, undertaken something virtuous, and dedicated the merit for the benefit of all beings, so do I.” That is an entirely sufficient dedication.
During the Red Vajrasattva drubchen this spring at Rig- dzin Ling, H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche gave the participating sangha some specific advice on practice. In particular, Rinpoche emphasized the value of intensive group practices like drubchens. The following is an edited transcript of his teaching.
We are very fortunate to have this opportunity to come together and put the teachings that we have received into practice. In general, we hear teachings, then contemplate and meditate upon them. There is an appropriate time for listening, for contemplation, and for meditation. Now is the time for meditation, for putting into practice what we already understand. Ideally, when you come into a situation like a drubchen, you work with what you know. Whatever you might not know isn’t the issue; the point is to put what you do know into practice.
Since I moved to the Southern Hemisphere, I’ve encountered obstacles to my health and wondered whether I would be able to return to the United States in this lifetime. So I am very glad to meet with all of you again. Wherever I go, my main concern is that the activities of the dharma flourish— that’s what inspires me. When I see the dharma flourishing, my heart rejoices.
In returning, I find that Lama Drimed, my son Tulku Jigme Rinpoche, and the other lamas are helping my other students maintain the centers and carry on the work of the dharma. I am inspired when I see that all that I sought to establish in this country has not fallen away but continues to be held. We instituted the annual drubchens, not only here at Rigdzin Ling but at other centers as well, for a number of important reasons. Now people have many opportunities to practice together.
Lamas and students coming together and practicing in this concentrated way lends power to each individual’s practice; we derive far more benefit than we would by practicing on our own. So it’s important that we understand the uniqueness of this opportunity. If you cannot fulfill your personal aspiration to undertake a long retreat, don’t feel that you will never get anywhere with your practice. If each year you take the time to come to a drubchen or a similar group retreat in which everyone can reinforce each other’s practice, then you can derive enormous benefit. This is an opportunity to make real progress in a very short time. My hope is that in the future these opportunities will continue— both here and wherever there are teachers able to guide motivated students, wherever people wish to gather to help dharma activities flourish. We are here because we want all that is positive to flourish.
As practitioners, we can develop our positive qualities, accumulate merit, and deepen our experience of timeless awareness. There are many ways to do this. Some pertain more to one’s own individual liberation, others to the bodhisattva path, and some to the Vajrayana path.
In drubchen, we apply the methods of the skillful, profound, and very direct path of the Vajrayana. In the Vajrayana, there are extensive, historical lineages; more direct lineages of the terma teachings; and the profound dag nyam, or pure vision, transmissions. This cycle of Red Vajrasattva is from the terma tradition— a tradition of profound treasures revealed specifically for these times.
The drubchen practices we do here incorporate terma teachings of three great masters of recent times: H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche (Jigdral Yeshe Dorje), H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and the great terton Padgyal Lingpa. Because of the enormously powerful blessings and the benefit of these teachings, and because they have been revealed in our generation, it is imperative that we uphold these lineages through diligent practice.
This Vajrasattva practice is useful for us because, from beginningless time, we have all wandered in samsara, experiencing relentless suffering. This is not because our sources of refuge lack the power to purify us, but because our minds are bound by karma.
The blessings of Vajrasattva are particularly powerful for purifying our minds of the effects of harmful actions and obscurations. Your motivation for undertaking this practice is very important. You shouldn’t practice to benefit only yourself. Nor should your concern for others be based upon your attachment or aversion. If you are practicing with proper motivation, those who are your enemies or who hinder you are the most worthy objects of your compassion. Your motivation should be altruistic and compassionate—not just that of benefiting beings in the short term, but of bringing about the lasting benefit and happiness of enlightenment. That is why you request and receive empowerments that ripen you, teachings that liberate you, and oral trans- missions that support your practice. Having received all of this, it is important that you not waste it. Don’t let one minute go by without putting what you have received into practice.
This practice environment, this center, is quite special. Since we acquired this property, there have been many positive signs and indications that it would be a place where the enlightened activity of the buddhas could flourish and benefit beings. Many lamas and masters with insight have affirmed this. Practitioners have had meditation experiences, dreams, and other signs of the very special nature of this place. And since its inception, Rigdzin Ling has been blessed with the presence of many holy masters who have come here and given teachings.
Why do we practice, and what are we doing when we practice? We need to understand that our true nature is buddha nature— what the tantras refer to as the timelessly pure state of awakened buddhahood. But because of superficial obscurations, we fail to recognize our true nature and continue to wander in samsara. Those who have attained the total freedom of buddhahood and embody the timeless awareness of enlightened mind have completely realized their buddha nature. All positive qualities of enlightened form, speech, and mind are fully evident in those who are awakened.
As pure embodiments of enlightenment, deities manifest in various ways and under different circumstances to meet the needs of individual beings. All deities, fully imbued with such qualities as wisdom, loving kindness, compassion, spiritual power, and the ability to grant refuge, are worthy objects of our prayers. Vajrasattva, more than any other, is the embodiment of all deities. We pray with faith and devotion to Vajrasattva as the union of all sources of refuge, and meditate upon and recite Vajrasattva’s mantra in order to purify superficial but obscuring distortions that prevent us from realizing our own true nature.
When we practice in this way, any physical activity we engage in becomes part of our practice. The best way to practice is with your body on your seat and your mind in your body, focused on what is virtuous and positive. Always pay attention to your posture. There is a saying that when the body is straight, so are the subtle channels and the subtle energy moves smoothly, allowing the mind to focus. There is a direct connection between your state of mind and whether your subtle energy is agitated or smooth. Good sitting posture can support and benefit your practice. The more you calm the disturbed, agitated energy in the channels and release blockages, the more your mind settles, reducing afflictive emotions and concepts.
When you recite mantra, you are giving voice to the vajra speech of all buddhas. The compassion and blessings inherent in mantra are identical to those inherent in the deity. When you recite mantra with this understanding, you purify your mindstream of the effects of eons of harmful actions, obscurations, faults, and failings. All negativity is refined away and purified. All buddhas and great masters attest to this. The effort you make physically purifies you on the level of body; the effort you make with your voice purifies you on the level of speech; and the effort that you make mentally purifies you on the level of mind.
Because of the complex details in visualization, development stage practice may seem rather difficult. But don’t think that you are not practicing correctly if you can’t visualize every detail. The key to development stage practice is to understand that all visual appearances are the form of the deity— vajra body, the unity of appearance and emptiness. All that is audible is by its very nature the unity of sound and emptiness, vajra speech. All thought, memory, and awareness— all that arises in the mind— is the display of timeless awareness, vajra mind. If you have that certainty, then you are truly practicing, even if not all the details are there. By focusing in this way, you will invoke and receive blessings, your obscurations will be removed, and your abilities to benefit others will increase.
No matter what other connections we may have with each other, we are all here because we love the dharma. Therefore, we try to receive as many teachings and study as much as we can, and then contemplate what we have heard in order to come to a clear understanding of what those teachings mean. Don’t waste that effort. Put into practice whatever you feel you have understood. That is the training. The more we learn, the more we will have to put into practice.
Don’t fool yourselves by pretending to be better practitioners than you are—that won’t get you anywhere. Use the teachings as they are meant to be used, as a taming process. Tame your afflictive emotions and negative karma, the root of samsara. Do this by hearing, by contemplating, and, especially, by putting the teachings into practice. Only you can decide whether you are a practitioner or not. Be honest with yourself; if your negative emotions are diminishing, then you are practicing.
I also would like to reiterate that life is impermanent. It’s important that we understand what is really worthwhile and not waste the opportunity we have. The nature of our mind is buddha nature just waiting to be discovered, like a jewel that we already hold in our hands. Yet we repeatedly put it down and go running after something else. Wouldn’t it be better to appreciate the value of that jewel?
None of the wealth, power, and success that we may acquire in this life will be of ultimate benefit, because we cannot take any of it with us. When we die, our mind will slip out of this life like a hair out of butter, leaving behind everything we thought was so important. Remember what is important. You have the opportunity to bring about extraordinary benefit for both yourself and others. Use it wisely. I want all of you to be mindful of this. The blessing of a sangha lies in its undivided and harmo- nious focus on what is virtuous and positive. That is how the sangha should function. If you have reached a level of practice where you can see through the ordinary bonds of ignorance or the afflictive emotions, this is all the more reason to help others who may still need help or guidance. That is what lamas are for, to help others work out their confusion and negativity. I ask you all to do your best. Don’t waste any time.
Always be witness to your own mind. Be mindful, alert, and heedful. There is a Tibetan saying that sangha members maintain their own discipline the way a cow uses her tail to ward off flies. Nobody keeps your rules for you or imposes anything on you. Vow to uphold your own discipline and live up to your own expectations. A powerful, focused occasion such as this has the great potential to magnify everything that you do— the good and the bad; so do what you can to behave in a positive and virtuous way and avoid harmful activities.
During a drubchen, there are formal practice sessions and there are breaks. The breaks aren’t a time to waste or to forget about the practice; use them to practice and create merit in other ways. We need to apply the threefold bond to our practice. The first bond is the preparation—establishing the motivation with which we undertake anything. The second is focusing without distraction upon the practice. The third bond is the conclusion, in which we dedicate the merit of what we have undertaken for the benefit of all beings.
Ideally, you dedicate the merit of your practice from the point of view of threefold purity: understanding the essential nature of the one who is dedicating, the beings to whom the merit is dedicated, and the merit itself. If you don’t feel you can do that, then dedicate by emulating all of the buddhas and bodhisattvas. Say to yourself, “Just as all buddhas and bodhisattvas have given rise to pure motivation, undertaken something virtuous, and dedicated the merit for the benefit of all beings, so do I.” That is an entirely sufficient dedication.
During the Red Vajrasattva drubchen this spring at Rig- dzin Ling, H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche gave the participating sangha some specific advice on practice. In particular, Rinpoche emphasized the value of intensive group practices like drubchens. The following is an edited transcript of his teaching.
We are very fortunate to have this opportunity to come together and put the teachings that we have received into practice. In general, we hear teachings, then contemplate and meditate upon them. There is an appropriate time for listening, for contemplation, and for meditation. Now is the time for meditation, for putting into practice what we already understand. Ideally, when you come into a situation like a drubchen, you work with what you know. Whatever you might not know isn’t the issue; the point is to put what you do know into practice.
Since I moved to the Southern Hemisphere, I’ve encountered obstacles to my health and wondered whether I would be able to return to the United States in this lifetime. So I am very glad to meet with all of you again. Wherever I go, my main concern is that the activities of the dharma flourish— that’s what inspires me. When I see the dharma flourishing, my heart rejoices.
In returning, I find that Lama Drimed, my son Tulku Jigme Rinpoche, and the other lamas are helping my other students maintain the centers and carry on the work of the dharma. I am inspired when I see that all that I sought to establish in this country has not fallen away but continues to be held. We instituted the annual drubchens, not only here at Rigdzin Ling but at other centers as well, for a number of important reasons. Now people have many opportunities to practice together.
Lamas and students coming together and practicing in this concentrated way lends power to each individual’s practice; we derive far more benefit than we would by practicing on our own. So it’s important that we understand the uniqueness of this opportunity. If you cannot fulfill your personal aspiration to undertake a long retreat, don’t feel that you will never get anywhere with your practice. If each year you take the time to come to a drubchen or a similar group retreat in which everyone can reinforce each other’s practice, then you can derive enormous benefit. This is an opportunity to make real progress in a very short time. My hope is that in the future these opportunities will continue— both here and wherever there are teachers able to guide motivated students, wherever people wish to gather to help dharma activities flourish. We are here because we want all that is positive to flourish.
As practitioners, we can develop our positive qualities, accumulate merit, and deepen our experience of timeless awareness. There are many ways to do this. Some pertain more to one’s own individual liberation, others to the bodhisattva path, and some to the Vajrayana path.
In drubchen, we apply the methods of the skillful, profound, and very direct path of the Vajrayana. In the Vajrayana, there are extensive, historical lineages; more direct lineages of the terma teachings; and the profound dag nyam, or pure vision, transmissions. This cycle of Red Vajrasattva is from the terma tradition— a tradition of profound treasures revealed specifically for these times.
The drubchen practices we do here incorporate terma teachings of three great masters of recent times: H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche (Jigdral Yeshe Dorje), H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and the great terton Padgyal Lingpa. Because of the enormously powerful blessings and the benefit of these teachings, and because they have been revealed in our generation, it is imperative that we uphold these lineages through diligent practice.
This Vajrasattva practice is useful for us because, from beginningless time, we have all wandered in samsara, experiencing relentless suffering. This is not because our sources of refuge lack the power to purify us, but because our minds are bound by karma.
The blessings of Vajrasattva are particularly powerful for purifying our minds of the effects of harmful actions and obscurations. Your motivation for undertaking this practice is very important. You shouldn’t practice to benefit only yourself. Nor should your concern for others be based upon your attachment or aversion. If you are practicing with proper motivation, those who are your enemies or who hinder you are the most worthy objects of your compassion. Your motivation should be altruistic and compassionate—not just that of benefiting beings in the short term, but of bringing about the lasting benefit and happiness of enlightenment. That is why you request and receive empowerments that ripen you, teachings that liberate you, and oral trans- missions that support your practice. Having received all of this, it is important that you not waste it. Don’t let one minute go by without putting what you have received into practice.
This practice environment, this center, is quite special. Since we acquired this property, there have been many positive signs and indications that it would be a place where the enlightened activity of the buddhas could flourish and benefit beings. Many lamas and masters with insight have affirmed this. Practitioners have had meditation experiences, dreams, and other signs of the very special nature of this place. And since its inception, Rigdzin Ling has been blessed with the presence of many holy masters who have come here and given teachings.
Why do we practice, and what are we doing when we practice? We need to understand that our true nature is buddha nature— what the tantras refer to as the timelessly pure state of awakened buddhahood. But because of superficial obscurations, we fail to recognize our true nature and continue to wander in samsara. Those who have attained the total freedom of buddhahood and embody the timeless awareness of enlightened mind have completely realized their buddha nature. All positive qualities of enlightened form, speech, and mind are fully evident in those who are awakened.
As pure embodiments of enlightenment, deities manifest in various ways and under different circumstances to meet the needs of individual beings. All deities, fully imbued with such qualities as wisdom, loving kindness, compassion, spiritual power, and the ability to grant refuge, are worthy objects of our prayers. Vajrasattva, more than any other, is the embodiment of all deities. We pray with faith and devotion to Vajrasattva as the union of all sources of refuge, and meditate upon and recite Vajrasattva’s mantra in order to purify superficial but obscuring distortions that prevent us from realizing our own true nature.
When we practice in this way, any physical activity we engage in becomes part of our practice. The best way to practice is with your body on your seat and your mind in your body, focused on what is virtuous and positive. Always pay attention to your posture. There is a saying that when the body is straight, so are the subtle channels and the subtle energy moves smoothly, allowing the mind to focus. There is a direct connection between your state of mind and whether your subtle energy is agitated or smooth. Good sitting posture can support and benefit your practice. The more you calm the disturbed, agitated energy in the channels and release blockages, the more your mind settles, reducing afflictive emotions and concepts.
When you recite mantra, you are giving voice to the vajra speech of all buddhas. The compassion and blessings inherent in mantra are identical to those inherent in the deity. When you recite mantra with this understanding, you purify your mindstream of the effects of eons of harmful actions, obscurations, faults, and failings. All negativity is refined away and purified. All buddhas and great masters attest to this. The effort you make physically purifies you on the level of body; the effort you make with your voice purifies you on the level of speech; and the effort that you make mentally purifies you on the level of mind.
Because of the complex details in visualization, development stage practice may seem rather difficult. But don’t think that you are not practicing correctly if you can’t visualize every detail. The key to development stage practice is to understand that all visual appearances are the form of the deity— vajra body, the unity of appearance and emptiness. All that is audible is by its very nature the unity of sound and emptiness, vajra speech. All thought, memory, and awareness— all that arises in the mind— is the display of timeless awareness, vajra mind. If you have that certainty, then you are truly practicing, even if not all the details are there. By focusing in this way, you will invoke and receive blessings, your obscurations will be removed, and your abilities to benefit others will increase.
No matter what other connections we may have with each other, we are all here because we love the dharma. Therefore, we try to receive as many teachings and study as much as we can, and then contemplate what we have heard in order to come to a clear understanding of what those teachings mean. Don’t waste that effort. Put into practice whatever you feel you have understood. That is the training. The more we learn, the more we will have to put into practice.
Don’t fool yourselves by pretending to be better practitioners than you are—that won’t get you anywhere. Use the teachings as they are meant to be used, as a taming process. Tame your afflictive emotions and negative karma, the root of samsara. Do this by hearing, by contemplating, and, especially, by putting the teachings into practice. Only you can decide whether you are a practitioner or not. Be honest with yourself; if your negative emotions are diminishing, then you are practicing.
I also would like to reiterate that life is impermanent. It’s important that we understand what is really worthwhile and not waste the opportunity we have. The nature of our mind is buddha nature just waiting to be discovered, like a jewel that we already hold in our hands. Yet we repeatedly put it down and go running after something else. Wouldn’t it be better to appreciate the value of that jewel?
None of the wealth, power, and success that we may acquire in this life will be of ultimate benefit, because we cannot take any of it with us. When we die, our mind will slip out of this life like a hair out of butter, leaving behind everything we thought was so important. Remember what is important. You have the opportunity to bring about extraordinary benefit for both yourself and others. Use it wisely. I want all of you to be mindful of this. The blessing of a sangha lies in its undivided and harmo- nious focus on what is virtuous and positive. That is how the sangha should function. If you have reached a level of practice where you can see through the ordinary bonds of ignorance or the afflictive emotions, this is all the more reason to help others who may still need help or guidance. That is what lamas are for, to help others work out their confusion and negativity. I ask you all to do your best. Don’t waste any time.
Always be witness to your own mind. Be mindful, alert, and heedful. There is a Tibetan saying that sangha members maintain their own discipline the way a cow uses her tail to ward off flies. Nobody keeps your rules for you or imposes anything on you. Vow to uphold your own discipline and live up to your own expectations. A powerful, focused occasion such as this has the great potential to magnify everything that you do— the good and the bad; so do what you can to behave in a positive and virtuous way and avoid harmful activities.
During a drubchen, there are formal practice sessions and there are breaks. The breaks aren’t a time to waste or to forget about the practice; use them to practice and create merit in other ways. We need to apply the threefold bond to our practice. The first bond is the preparation—establishing the motivation with which we undertake anything. The second is focusing without distraction upon the practice. The third bond is the conclusion, in which we dedicate the merit of what we have undertaken for the benefit of all beings.
Ideally, you dedicate the merit of your practice from the point of view of threefold purity: understanding the essential nature of the one who is dedicating, the beings to whom the merit is dedicated, and the merit itself. If you don’t feel you can do that, then dedicate by emulating all of the buddhas and bodhisattvas. Say to yourself, “Just as all buddhas and bodhisattvas have given rise to pure motivation, undertaken something virtuous, and dedicated the merit for the benefit of all beings, so do I.” That is an entirely sufficient dedication.
During the Red Vajrasattva drubchen this spring at Rig- dzin Ling, H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche gave the participating sangha some specific advice on practice. In particular, Rinpoche emphasized the value of intensive group practices like drubchens. The following is an edited transcript of his teaching.
We are very fortunate to have this opportunity to come together and put the teachings that we have received into practice. In general, we hear teachings, then contemplate and meditate upon them. There is an appropriate time for listening, for contemplation, and for meditation. Now is the time for meditation, for putting into practice what we already understand. Ideally, when you come into a situation like a drubchen, you work with what you know. Whatever you might not know isn’t the issue; the point is to put what you do know into practice.
Since I moved to the Southern Hemisphere, I’ve encountered obstacles to my health and wondered whether I would be able to return to the United States in this lifetime. So I am very glad to meet with all of you again. Wherever I go, my main concern is that the activities of the dharma flourish— that’s what inspires me. When I see the dharma flourishing, my heart rejoices.
In returning, I find that Lama Drimed, my son Tulku Jigme Rinpoche, and the other lamas are helping my other students maintain the centers and carry on the work of the dharma. I am inspired when I see that all that I sought to establish in this country has not fallen away but continues to be held. We instituted the annual drubchens, not only here at Rigdzin Ling but at other centers as well, for a number of important reasons. Now people have many opportunities to practice together.
Lamas and students coming together and practicing in this concentrated way lends power to each individual’s practice; we derive far more benefit than we would by practicing on our own. So it’s important that we understand the uniqueness of this opportunity. If you cannot fulfill your personal aspiration to undertake a long retreat, don’t feel that you will never get anywhere with your practice. If each year you take the time to come to a drubchen or a similar group retreat in which everyone can reinforce each other’s practice, then you can derive enormous benefit. This is an opportunity to make real progress in a very short time. My hope is that in the future these opportunities will continue— both here and wherever there are teachers able to guide motivated students, wherever people wish to gather to help dharma activities flourish. We are here because we want all that is positive to flourish.
As practitioners, we can develop our positive qualities, accumulate merit, and deepen our experience of timeless awareness. There are many ways to do this. Some pertain more to one’s own individual liberation, others to the bodhisattva path, and some to the Vajrayana path.
In drubchen, we apply the methods of the skillful, profound, and very direct path of the Vajrayana. In the Vajrayana, there are extensive, historical lineages; more direct lineages of the terma teachings; and the profound dag nyam, or pure vision, transmissions. This cycle of Red Vajrasattva is from the terma tradition— a tradition of profound treasures revealed specifically for these times.
The drubchen practices we do here incorporate terma teachings of three great masters of recent times: H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche (Jigdral Yeshe Dorje), H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and the great terton Padgyal Lingpa. Because of the enormously powerful blessings and the benefit of these teachings, and because they have been revealed in our generation, it is imperative that we uphold these lineages through diligent practice.
This Vajrasattva practice is useful for us because, from beginningless time, we have all wandered in samsara, experiencing relentless suffering. This is not because our sources of refuge lack the power to purify us, but because our minds are bound by karma.
The blessings of Vajrasattva are particularly powerful for purifying our minds of the effects of harmful actions and obscurations. Your motivation for undertaking this practice is very important. You shouldn’t practice to benefit only yourself. Nor should your concern for others be based upon your attachment or aversion. If you are practicing with proper motivation, those who are your enemies or who hinder you are the most worthy objects of your compassion. Your motivation should be altruistic and compassionate—not just that of benefiting beings in the short term, but of bringing about the lasting benefit and happiness of enlightenment. That is why you request and receive empowerments that ripen you, teachings that liberate you, and oral trans- missions that support your practice. Having received all of this, it is important that you not waste it. Don’t let one minute go by without putting what you have received into practice.
This practice environment, this center, is quite special. Since we acquired this property, there have been many positive signs and indications that it would be a place where the enlightened activity of the buddhas could flourish and benefit beings. Many lamas and masters with insight have affirmed this. Practitioners have had meditation experiences, dreams, and other signs of the very special nature of this place. And since its inception, Rigdzin Ling has been blessed with the presence of many holy masters who have come here and given teachings.
Why do we practice, and what are we doing when we practice? We need to understand that our true nature is buddha nature— what the tantras refer to as the timelessly pure state of awakened buddhahood. But because of superficial obscurations, we fail to recognize our true nature and continue to wander in samsara. Those who have attained the total freedom of buddhahood and embody the timeless awareness of enlightened mind have completely realized their buddha nature. All positive qualities of enlightened form, speech, and mind are fully evident in those who are awakened.
As pure embodiments of enlightenment, deities manifest in various ways and under different circumstances to meet the needs of individual beings. All deities, fully imbued with such qualities as wisdom, loving kindness, compassion, spiritual power, and the ability to grant refuge, are worthy objects of our prayers. Vajrasattva, more than any other, is the embodiment of all deities. We pray with faith and devotion to Vajrasattva as the union of all sources of refuge, and meditate upon and recite Vajrasattva’s mantra in order to purify superficial but obscuring distortions that prevent us from realizing our own true nature.
When we practice in this way, any physical activity we engage in becomes part of our practice. The best way to practice is with your body on your seat and your mind in your body, focused on what is virtuous and positive. Always pay attention to your posture. There is a saying that when the body is straight, so are the subtle channels and the subtle energy moves smoothly, allowing the mind to focus. There is a direct connection between your state of mind and whether your subtle energy is agitated or smooth. Good sitting posture can support and benefit your practice. The more you calm the disturbed, agitated energy in the channels and release blockages, the more your mind settles, reducing afflictive emotions and concepts.
When you recite mantra, you are giving voice to the vajra speech of all buddhas. The compassion and blessings inherent in mantra are identical to those inherent in the deity. When you recite mantra with this understanding, you purify your mindstream of the effects of eons of harmful actions, obscurations, faults, and failings. All negativity is refined away and purified. All buddhas and great masters attest to this. The effort you make physically purifies you on the level of body; the effort you make with your voice purifies you on the level of speech; and the effort that you make mentally purifies you on the level of mind.
Because of the complex details in visualization, development stage practice may seem rather difficult. But don’t think that you are not practicing correctly if you can’t visualize every detail. The key to development stage practice is to understand that all visual appearances are the form of the deity— vajra body, the unity of appearance and emptiness. All that is audible is by its very nature the unity of sound and emptiness, vajra speech. All thought, memory, and awareness— all that arises in the mind— is the display of timeless awareness, vajra mind. If you have that certainty, then you are truly practicing, even if not all the details are there. By focusing in this way, you will invoke and receive blessings, your obscurations will be removed, and your abilities to benefit others will increase.
No matter what other connections we may have with each other, we are all here because we love the dharma. Therefore, we try to receive as many teachings and study as much as we can, and then contemplate what we have heard in order to come to a clear understanding of what those teachings mean. Don’t waste that effort. Put into practice whatever you feel you have understood. That is the training. The more we learn, the more we will have to put into practice.
Don’t fool yourselves by pretending to be better practitioners than you are—that won’t get you anywhere. Use the teachings as they are meant to be used, as a taming process. Tame your afflictive emotions and negative karma, the root of samsara. Do this by hearing, by contemplating, and, especially, by putting the teachings into practice. Only you can decide whether you are a practitioner or not. Be honest with yourself; if your negative emotions are diminishing, then you are practicing.
I also would like to reiterate that life is impermanent. It’s important that we understand what is really worthwhile and not waste the opportunity we have. The nature of our mind is buddha nature just waiting to be discovered, like a jewel that we already hold in our hands. Yet we repeatedly put it down and go running after something else. Wouldn’t it be better to appreciate the value of that jewel?
None of the wealth, power, and success that we may acquire in this life will be of ultimate benefit, because we cannot take any of it with us. When we die, our mind will slip out of this life like a hair out of butter, leaving behind everything we thought was so important. Remember what is important. You have the opportunity to bring about extraordinary benefit for both yourself and others. Use it wisely. I want all of you to be mindful of this. The blessing of a sangha lies in its undivided and harmo- nious focus on what is virtuous and positive. That is how the sangha should function. If you have reached a level of practice where you can see through the ordinary bonds of ignorance or the afflictive emotions, this is all the more reason to help others who may still need help or guidance. That is what lamas are for, to help others work out their confusion and negativity. I ask you all to do your best. Don’t waste any time.
Always be witness to your own mind. Be mindful, alert, and heedful. There is a Tibetan saying that sangha members maintain their own discipline the way a cow uses her tail to ward off flies. Nobody keeps your rules for you or imposes anything on you. Vow to uphold your own discipline and live up to your own expectations. A powerful, focused occasion such as this has the great potential to magnify everything that you do— the good and the bad; so do what you can to behave in a positive and virtuous way and avoid harmful activities.
During a drubchen, there are formal practice sessions and there are breaks. The breaks aren’t a time to waste or to forget about the practice; use them to practice and create merit in other ways. We need to apply the threefold bond to our practice. The first bond is the preparation—establishing the motivation with which we undertake anything. The second is focusing without distraction upon the practice. The third bond is the conclusion, in which we dedicate the merit of what we have undertaken for the benefit of all beings.
Ideally, you dedicate the merit of your practice from the point of view of threefold purity: understanding the essential nature of the one who is dedicating, the beings to whom the merit is dedicated, and the merit itself. If you don’t feel you can do that, then dedicate by emulating all of the buddhas and bodhisattvas. Say to yourself, “Just as all buddhas and bodhisattvas have given rise to pure motivation, undertaken something virtuous, and dedicated the merit for the benefit of all beings, so do I.” That is an entirely sufficient dedication.
During the Red Vajrasattva drubchen this spring at Rig- dzin Ling, H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche gave the participating sangha some specific advice on practice. In particular, Rinpoche emphasized the value of intensive group practices like drubchens. The following is an edited transcript of his teaching.
We are very fortunate to have this opportunity to come together and put the teachings that we have received into practice. In general, we hear teachings, then contemplate and meditate upon them. There is an appropriate time for listening, for contemplation, and for meditation. Now is the time for meditation, for putting into practice what we already understand. Ideally, when you come into a situation like a drubchen, you work with what you know. Whatever you might not know isn’t the issue; the point is to put what you do know into practice.
Since I moved to the Southern Hemisphere, I’ve encountered obstacles to my health and wondered whether I would be able to return to the United States in this lifetime. So I am very glad to meet with all of you again. Wherever I go, my main concern is that the activities of the dharma flourish— that’s what inspires me. When I see the dharma flourishing, my heart rejoices.
In returning, I find that Lama Drimed, my son Tulku Jigme Rinpoche, and the other lamas are helping my other students maintain the centers and carry on the work of the dharma. I am inspired when I see that all that I sought to establish in this country has not fallen away but continues to be held. We instituted the annual drubchens, not only here at Rigdzin Ling but at other centers as well, for a number of important reasons. Now people have many opportunities to practice together.
Lamas and students coming together and practicing in this concentrated way lends power to each individual’s practice; we derive far more benefit than we would by practicing on our own. So it’s important that we understand the uniqueness of this opportunity. If you cannot fulfill your personal aspiration to undertake a long retreat, don’t feel that you will never get anywhere with your practice. If each year you take the time to come to a drubchen or a similar group retreat in which everyone can reinforce each other’s practice, then you can derive enormous benefit. This is an opportunity to make real progress in a very short time. My hope is that in the future these opportunities will continue— both here and wherever there are teachers able to guide motivated students, wherever people wish to gather to help dharma activities flourish. We are here because we want all that is positive to flourish.
As practitioners, we can develop our positive qualities, accumulate merit, and deepen our experience of timeless awareness. There are many ways to do this. Some pertain more to one’s own individual liberation, others to the bodhisattva path, and some to the Vajrayana path.
In drubchen, we apply the methods of the skillful, profound, and very direct path of the Vajrayana. In the Vajrayana, there are extensive, historical lineages; more direct lineages of the terma teachings; and the profound dag nyam, or pure vision, transmissions. This cycle of Red Vajrasattva is from the terma tradition— a tradition of profound treasures revealed specifically for these times.
The drubchen practices we do here incorporate terma teachings of three great masters of recent times: H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche (Jigdral Yeshe Dorje), H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, and the great terton Padgyal Lingpa. Because of the enormously powerful blessings and the benefit of these teachings, and because they have been revealed in our generation, it is imperative that we uphold these lineages through diligent practice.
This Vajrasattva practice is useful for us because, from beginningless time, we have all wandered in samsara, experiencing relentless suffering. This is not because our sources of refuge lack the power to purify us, but because our minds are bound by karma.
The blessings of Vajrasattva are particularly powerful for purifying our minds of the effects of harmful actions and obscurations. Your motivation for undertaking this practice is very important. You shouldn’t practice to benefit only yourself. Nor should your concern for others be based upon your attachment or aversion. If you are practicing with proper motivation, those who are your enemies or who hinder you are the most worthy objects of your compassion. Your motivation should be altruistic and compassionate—not just that of benefiting beings in the short term, but of bringing about the lasting benefit and happiness of enlightenment. That is why you request and receive empowerments that ripen you, teachings that liberate you, and oral trans- missions that support your practice. Having received all of this, it is important that you not waste it. Don’t let one minute go by without putting what you have received into practice.
This practice environment, this center, is quite special. Since we acquired this property, there have been many positive signs and indications that it would be a place where the enlightened activity of the buddhas could flourish and benefit beings. Many lamas and masters with insight have affirmed this. Practitioners have had meditation experiences, dreams, and other signs of the very special nature of this place. And since its inception, Rigdzin Ling has been blessed with the presence of many holy masters who have come here and given teachings.
Why do we practice, and what are we doing when we practice? We need to understand that our true nature is buddha nature— what the tantras refer to as the timelessly pure state of awakened buddhahood. But because of superficial obscurations, we fail to recognize our true nature and continue to wander in samsara. Those who have attained the total freedom of buddhahood and embody the timeless awareness of enlightened mind have completely realized their buddha nature. All positive qualities of enlightened form, speech, and mind are fully evident in those who are awakened.
As pure embodiments of enlightenment, deities manifest in various ways and under different circumstances to meet the needs of individual beings. All deities, fully imbued with such qualities as wisdom, loving kindness, compassion, spiritual power, and the ability to grant refuge, are worthy objects of our prayers. Vajrasattva, more than any other, is the embodiment of all deities. We pray with faith and devotion to Vajrasattva as the union of all sources of refuge, and meditate upon and recite Vajrasattva’s mantra in order to purify superficial but obscuring distortions that prevent us from realizing our own true nature.
When we practice in this way, any physical activity we engage in becomes part of our practice. The best way to practice is with your body on your seat and your mind in your body, focused on what is virtuous and positive. Always pay attention to your posture. There is a saying that when the body is straight, so are the subtle channels and the subtle energy moves smoothly, allowing the mind to focus. There is a direct connection between your state of mind and whether your subtle energy is agitated or smooth. Good sitting posture can support and benefit your practice. The more you calm the disturbed, agitated energy in the channels and release blockages, the more your mind settles, reducing afflictive emotions and concepts.
When you recite mantra, you are giving voice to the vajra speech of all buddhas. The compassion and blessings inherent in mantra are identical to those inherent in the deity. When you recite mantra with this understanding, you purify your mindstream of the effects of eons of harmful actions, obscurations, faults, and failings. All negativity is refined away and purified. All buddhas and great masters attest to this. The effort you make physically purifies you on the level of body; the effort you make with your voice purifies you on the level of speech; and the effort that you make mentally purifies you on the level of mind.
Because of the complex details in visualization, development stage practice may seem rather difficult. But don’t think that you are not practicing correctly if you can’t visualize every detail. The key to development stage practice is to understand that all visual appearances are the form of the deity— vajra body, the unity of appearance and emptiness. All that is audible is by its very nature the unity of sound and emptiness, vajra speech. All thought, memory, and awareness— all that arises in the mind— is the display of timeless awareness, vajra mind. If you have that certainty, then you are truly practicing, even if not all the details are there. By focusing in this way, you will invoke and receive blessings, your obscurations will be removed, and your abilities to benefit others will increase.
No matter what other connections we may have with each other, we are all here because we love the dharma. Therefore, we try to receive as many teachings and study as much as we can, and then contemplate what we have heard in order to come to a clear understanding of what those teachings mean. Don’t waste that effort. Put into practice whatever you feel you have understood. That is the training. The more we learn, the more we will have to put into practice.
Don’t fool yourselves by pretending to be better practitioners than you are—that won’t get you anywhere. Use the teachings as they are meant to be used, as a taming process. Tame your afflictive emotions and negative karma, the root of samsara. Do this by hearing, by contemplating, and, especially, by putting the teachings into practice. Only you can decide whether you are a practitioner or not. Be honest with yourself; if your negative emotions are diminishing, then you are practicing.
I also would like to reiterate that life is impermanent. It’s important that we understand what is really worthwhile and not waste the opportunity we have. The nature of our mind is buddha nature just waiting to be discovered, like a jewel that we already hold in our hands. Yet we repeatedly put it down and go running after something else. Wouldn’t it be better to appreciate the value of that jewel?
None of the wealth, power, and success that we may acquire in this life will be of ultimate benefit, because we cannot take any of it with us. When we die, our mind will slip out of this life like a hair out of butter, leaving behind everything we thought was so important. Remember what is important. You have the opportunity to bring about extraordinary benefit for both yourself and others. Use it wisely. I want all of you to be mindful of this. The blessing of a sangha lies in its undivided and harmo- nious focus on what is virtuous and positive. That is how the sangha should function. If you have reached a level of practice where you can see through the ordinary bonds of ignorance or the afflictive emotions, this is all the more reason to help others who may still need help or guidance. That is what lamas are for, to help others work out their confusion and negativity. I ask you all to do your best. Don’t waste any time.
Always be witness to your own mind. Be mindful, alert, and heedful. There is a Tibetan saying that sangha members maintain their own discipline the way a cow uses her tail to ward off flies. Nobody keeps your rules for you or imposes anything on you. Vow to uphold your own discipline and live up to your own expectations. A powerful, focused occasion such as this has the great potential to magnify everything that you do— the good and the bad; so do what you can to behave in a positive and virtuous way and avoid harmful activities.
During a drubchen, there are formal practice sessions and there are breaks. The breaks aren’t a time to waste or to forget about the practice; use them to practice and create merit in other ways. We need to apply the threefold bond to our practice. The first bond is the preparation—establishing the motivation with which we undertake anything. The second is focusing without distraction upon the practice. The third bond is the conclusion, in which we dedicate the merit of what we have undertaken for the benefit of all beings.
Ideally, you dedicate the merit of your practice from the point of view of threefold purity: understanding the essential nature of the one who is dedicating, the beings to whom the merit is dedicated, and the merit itself. If you don’t feel you can do that, then dedicate by emulating all of the buddhas and bodhisattvas. Say to yourself, “Just as all buddhas and bodhisattvas have given rise to pure motivation, undertaken something virtuous, and dedicated the merit for the benefit of all beings, so do I.” That is an entirely sufficient dedication.
