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When you don’t perceive the harmonious relationship linking all of life, a sense of dissatisfaction and isolation can pervade our experience. Things may seem out of balance, our daily life a struggle. Having a spiritual perspective of this dilemma reveals to us our common goodheart nature. We are all deeply spiritual beings and can discover this easily in
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meditation. Being mindful means looking closely for our true nature. If we look, we will see. If we see it, we will recognize it, for it is the basis of life.
ESSENTIAL METHODS IN TIBETAN BUDDHIST PRACTICE
The practice of Great Perfection is best begun after having practiced an essential group of methods to remove our delusion and thereby prepare us reveal mind’s true nature. Lama Zangpo will introduce those methods, specifically the topics of impermanence, precious human birth, karma, suffering, refuge, the awakening attitude of a bodhisattva, purification, and the accumulation of merit—all of which prepare us for the main topic of Guru Yoga. Many practitioners mistake these preliminaries as something to be finished early on the practice. In fact, they are the basis for the entire Buddhist path.
GURU YOGA IN THE VAJRAYANA TRADITION
Having focused in spiritual development for over a millennium, Tibetans emphasize that the student-teacher relationship, called Guru Yoga, is the most effective way to develop spirituality. Having focused on material and technological development, Westerners sometimes don’t understand how the blessings of the guru cultivated through devotion can uproot delusion and reveal mind’s true nature. This is possible because devotion disarms our negativity and limited view of reality.
The guru is the principle of truth and represents the sense of possibility that we can’t otherwise embrace. By invoking the outer guru, we find the inner guru---the nature of mind -- powerfully and confidently. With that blessing, the tight bond of concepts dissolves. Everything becomes clear.
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