Fourth Emanation: Guru Padmasambhava, The Lotus-born Part 4: Bodhicitta and the Practice of Guru Padmasambhava

Fourth Emanation: Guru Padmasambhava, The Lotus-born
Part 4: Bodhicitta and the Practice of Guru Padmasambhava

In historical terms, Guru Padmasambhava was born eight years after Buddha Shakyamuni’s mahaparinirvana. Yet when he came to Tibet in the eighth century, he was still young. As I said earlier, we cannot comprehend enlightened activities within the limits of our ordinary conceptions. We cannot fathom these stories because our knowledge is very restricted and will not accept what the mind perceives as contradictory. For example, there are teachings which say that Guru Padmasambhava came to Tibet when he was 3000 years old. In ancient India they employed a system which counted the waxing moon as one month and the waning moon as another month.

That way, one year becomes two. But this still means he was at least 1500 years old when he came to Tibet. It is very difficult to fit this statement in with the rest of our knowledge. Occasionally you will see people over one hundred on television and invariably, they appear very old. It is often difficult for them to move. Most of us would be surprised if a 100 year old man could walk through the doorway of his house, never mind a 1500 year old man crossing the Himalayas!

When Guru Padmasambhava became immortal, he completely transformed all the gross elements into their subtle wisdom forms. These wisdom elements are free from decay, decline and change. Liberation from these notions gave him the flexibility and openness to perform many incomprehensible activities. This also applies to wisdom dakini Mandarava. She too, is a totally enlightened, immortal being who has appeared again and again in many different forms. Mandarava was only the first of these incarnations. The second is known among the Gelugpas, the Sakyas and Kagyus as the Queen of Accomplishment. In another incarnation, she is a famous long-life Buddha emanating from the Padma family. Around the tenth century there lived a great yogini named Machig Lapdron who was yet another emanation of the wisdom dakini Mandarava.

It is important to understand that all the activities of Guru Rinpoche are designed to break through the rigidity of dualistic concepts and conventions. He is beyond the limits of worldly views and traditions. In one sense, these conditional forms are very important and special, but in another way, they are just conceptual systems developed to solve certain problems, none of which apply to the realization of the true nature. Our view of things is a creation or product of our conceptualizing. Guru Padmasambhava’s activities transcend these definitions and indicate that in order to become enlightened we have to go beyond mundane approaches.

Guru Rinpoche has appeared in the world in the guise of kings and queens, royal ministers, peasants, children, and even as animals. He continues to appear in many different ways in order to help beings break down the walls of dualistic conceptions which restrict understanding, liberating them into the vastness of equanimity. That is the focus of Guru Rinpoche’s activity. As the embodiment of ultimate bodhicitta, he uses many different forms to communicate.

Bodhicitta is available to every sentient being all the time, throughout the day, from year to year throughout all our lifetimes and on into the future forever. It is something that is very special for every one of us. In developing bodhicitta, we don’t have to make any particular effort to remove negative qualities, such as anger and jealousy. The generation of bodhicitta naturally removes these obstacles, just as darkness naturally disappears the moment the sun rises in the eastern sky. Compassion is one of the primary roots of spiritual practice. Every spiritual discipline must be based upon compassion and for that reason Guru Padmasambhava taught that if you don’t have compassion, then the root of your spirituality will be rotten. It might even start to smell.

Everybody needs love and compassion all the time. There is nobody who will refuse the gift and benefits of love and compassion. These qualities are well symbolized by the lotus flower or padma which is always fresh and lovely. Everyone can appreciate its beauty. Sambhava means essence or identity. This means that the essence of all blessing and benefit for beings in samsara is bodhicitta. It is the essence of real spiritual practice and we should continually develop it in ourselves.

Practicing on Guru Padmasambhava will help us cultivate bodhicitta and transform negativity. So begin meditating with the bodhicitta attitude and then visualize a small sphere of white light which has a reddish glow. This transforms into the transcendental wisdom body of Guru Padmasambhava with one face, two arms and two legs.

His complexion is a rich white and his demeanour is very peaceful. He is wearing a red monk’s hat. Sometimes I wear the same kind of hat when I give empowerments.

It is tall and pointed. He sits on a lotus surmounted by sun and moon discs. His right hand is making the protection mudra, while his left hand holds a skull-cup filled with amrita or long-life nectar. During the practice, imagine that the wisdom blessing of this nectar flows out to you and all sentient beings, purifying negative emotions, mental obscurations, diseases, external obstacles and so forth. Do this until you feel that everything has been completely transformed into the purity of the original sphere of primordial wisdom.

You can do this meditation anytime, but it is particularly effective when your mind feels disturbed, tired, and crowded with too many conceptions, over-busy with stressful thoughts and heavy attitudes. Of course, you can also do other practices at such times, but when you need to transform or regenerate your energy, it is especially good to meditate on Guru Padmasambhava. It will revitalize your life force and help balance the essence elements of the body. Feel deeply into his presence with love and compassion, and arouse bodhicitta. When you excel in the practice on bodhicitta, you are filling your whole body, your heart, all your channels and wind systems, with the energy of love, compassion and wisdom. This brings a calm and peaceful state of relaxation and helps create a nice atmosphere for other sentient beings, harmonizing both internal and external environments.

While clearly visualizing Guru Padmasambhava, begin reciting the Vajra Guru Mantra. Open your heart and mind until you are full of love, compassion and wisdom and chant in that mood for as long as you have time. When you are finished, dissolve the visualization into a sphere of white light with a reddish tinge around the edges and draw it into your heart center. Meditate for awhile in that non-dual disposition and then dedicate the merit to all sentient beings.

This completes four emanations, so we have four more to go.

🌿 End of Part 4

📚 Source
The Eight Emanations of Guru Padmasambhava
Taught by Venerable Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche
English translation: Venerable Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche

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