05 Devotion Is The Sublime Treasure 12-Apr-2004

Lama Zopa Rinpoche details the deep meaning of the mudras and explains that the essence of the merit field is the absolute guru. There’s no deity separate from the guru.He reminds us of how precious it is to be born human and to hear the teachings. Yet, even once we hear them, there are still a lot of hardships. To understand and have faith depends on how much merit we’ve collected. For some, it’s very easy to attain realizations. For others, it doesn’t happen even over many lifetimes. It’s a question of how much your mind is purified. It’s the same with realizing that the guru is the Buddha. For some people, the minute they hear guru devotion, realization happens. For others, it’s difficult to change. If the mind is purified, everything happens. It’s like a mirror covered by dust; the more you clean away, the clearer the reflection. If we don’t continuously collect merit, even if we have faith, we may lose it. Rinpoche advises us to follow Buddha’s instruction on guru devotion and generate pure vision. He warns that even one small criticism or sign of disrespect towards the guru becomes very heavy negative karma, which will make it difficult to achieve realizations. Conversely, having unchangeable, indestructible devotion brings limitless skies of benefit. By looking at our guru as Manjushri or Maitreya Buddha, we create the cause to meet a guru exactly like Manjushri or Maitreya Buddha in the next life. Even for a person who has no intelligence, if they have the most important thing in life—unchangeable, indestructible devotion—this brings all success and fortunate intelligence.Rinpoche explains that without devotion, realizations don’t happen. Like the seed that is burned, the sprout cannot arise. If devotion to the guru is lost, no matter how much you try to meditate, the mind remains very dry. It’s like a stone under the ocean; the water doesn’t go inside. Any experience that you had up to that point vanishes instantly. Having devotion protects and increases all the qualities. Thus, devotion is the sublime treasure. By having devotion, you can achieve any realization or happiness of future rebirths, liberation, and enlightenment. Like the hand collects grains, devotion collects extensive merits.From April 10 to May 10, 2004, Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave extensive teachings during the Mahamudra Retreat at Buddha House in Australia. While the retreat focused on Mahamudra, Rinpoche also taught on a wide range of Lamrim topics. This retreat marked the beginning of a series of month-long retreats in Australia. Subsequent retreats were held in 2011, 2014, and 2018, hosted by the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion in Bendigo.Find out more about Lama Zopa Rinpoche, his teachings and projects at https://fpmt.org/