04 The Importance of Guru Devotion for Realizations 6-Sept-2004

This teaching was given by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Lama Tsonkhapa Institute in Italy as part of the Ganden Lha Gyama retreat between September 3-30, 2004.00:00:54 Lama Zopa Rinpoche introduces Calling the Guru from Afar, a profound text by Phabongka Rinpoche that contains lamrim and tantric path.00:02:53 Without a guru, one cannot achieve realizations and enlightenment, even if one knows many texts by heart. Devotion to the guru is the cause of receiving blessings and attaining realizations.00:11:51 When devotion is lost, it becomes difficult to benefit the mind and have realizations, even from hearing Lamrim teachings. Devotion needs to be stable and established by reasoning.00:19:09 The objective of one's life is not just happiness for oneself, but to achieve enlightenment in order to enlighten all sentient beings. This is the greatest profit and success.00:27:46 Lama Zopa explains the yoga of eating - making offerings with each bite of food and meditating that oneself and the food are empty. This becomes a means of collecting extensive merit.00:40:57 In reality, despite the diversity of phenomena, everything is empty. Things function while being empty. Our basic meditation should be on emptiness.Find out more about Lama Zopa Rinpoche, his teachings and projects at https://fpmt.org/