The Guru
Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 7:56 pm
The actual method of cultivating the correct attitudes towards the spiritual master is to practice contemplative meditation upon the guru's good qualities and the beneficial effects that he or she introduces into one's life. By reflecting again and again on the great kindness the guru performs, a confidence suitable for spiritual training under him or her is born. This process of reflecting on the role of the guru is important in the beginning as well as in the higher practices, for as we sit in contemplation we become faced with a stream of reactions, which if understood at an early stage can clear the mind of much doubt, confusion and superstition.
The spiritual master is the source of all spiritual progress. In this context, Geshe Potowa once said, "If even those who want to learn a common worldly trade must study under a qualified teacher, how much more so must we who seek enlightenment? Most of us have come from the lower realms and have no background or experience in the paths and stages to enlightenment; and, if we wish to gain this experience, why should we not study with someone qualified to teach us the methods that develop it?"
In the beginning of his Great Exposition, Lama Tsongkhapa writes, "The root of spiritual development is to cultivate an effective relationship with a master." This means that we must cultivate the correct attitudes and then demonstrate them correctly in action. This is the root that, if made strong, supports the trunk, branches, leaves and flowers of practice. When the roots of a tree are strong, the entire tree becomes strong, whereas when the roots are weak, the entire tree will remain weak.
...We should engender respect such that we see the guru as a Buddha. If we can do this, then we experience the guru as we would a Buddha and consequently are sufficiently inspired to practice what he or she teaches. The instruction to see the guru as a Buddha is not unreasonable, for in many ways the spiritual master is Buddha himself.
--from The Path to Enlightenment
The spiritual master is the source of all spiritual progress. In this context, Geshe Potowa once said, "If even those who want to learn a common worldly trade must study under a qualified teacher, how much more so must we who seek enlightenment? Most of us have come from the lower realms and have no background or experience in the paths and stages to enlightenment; and, if we wish to gain this experience, why should we not study with someone qualified to teach us the methods that develop it?"
In the beginning of his Great Exposition, Lama Tsongkhapa writes, "The root of spiritual development is to cultivate an effective relationship with a master." This means that we must cultivate the correct attitudes and then demonstrate them correctly in action. This is the root that, if made strong, supports the trunk, branches, leaves and flowers of practice. When the roots of a tree are strong, the entire tree becomes strong, whereas when the roots are weak, the entire tree will remain weak.
...We should engender respect such that we see the guru as a Buddha. If we can do this, then we experience the guru as we would a Buddha and consequently are sufficiently inspired to practice what he or she teaches. The instruction to see the guru as a Buddha is not unreasonable, for in many ways the spiritual master is Buddha himself.
--from The Path to Enlightenment