In Day Three of the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje’s teachings on Fifty Verses on the Guru (March 2025), the 17th Karmapa first emphasises again the importance of the Guru being qualified and having the essential characteristics and qualifications. The advice given in the Fifty Verses on the Guru only applies once one has carefully and thoroughly examined a guru and decided they are genuinely qualified, and whose qualities are superior to one’s own in the most important aspects.
The reasons for doing this are not just because of the negative consequences (for the teacher and student) of following someone who is unqualified, such as going to the lower realms and becoming even worse than when you met them. But also, on the positive side, because the major benefits of a qualified guru meeting a receptive vessel, qualified student, is the instanteneous downpour/pile on of blessings that will descend from the guru to the student, naturally, as the nature of things.
To aid with the study of the 17th Karmapa’s teachings on this important text, here are two video clips I have created on these two topics from Day Three. If I have time to do a transcript of the whole teaching, I will do so.
The first is about the important summaries by great Tibetan Buddhist masters of Je Gampopa, 1st Karmapa, Je Tsongkhapa and Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, of the three or five main characteristics a Vajrayana Guru must have to be considered qualified. The 17th Karmapa explained that:
“There are many characteristics of a guru taught in the treatises and if we can’t really get our head around the main points, it becomes a cause of confusion and does not really help that much. So, it is good if we can summarize the characteristics.
So, for example, Dagpo Gampopa was someone who practiced the union of the teachings on the Kadampa path of the instructions and the instructions of practice Je Milarepa. He himself primarily spent his entire life practicing in Retreat and inspired his students to practice. At one point, he became like the great founder of the Tibetan practice lineage. So, his words are not like just mere words. He taught them in connection with his own experience of actual practice. They are very beneficial. He also summed up the characteristics of the guru and it is important for us to see how he summed up these characteristics of the guru.”
Also, the 17th Karmapa explains that in addition to these, as most people think of a Guru as the one who gives the Varjayana empowerment. The 17th Karmapa also explains the three main qualities a Guru who bestows empowerment also must have.
The second clip is about why it is so important to follow a qualified guru, and examine them, not only due to the negative issue of going to the lower realms if they are unqualified (and even worse become very ‘negative’ and unethical people) but on the positive, because if a suitable, qualified “vessel” student meets a qualified guru, then it is taught that all the blessing of the lineage, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the teachings and so on will be instantly accomplished and all the qualities of the guru will “pile on” top of the student in a single instant.
The video clips are in the original Tibetan audio, with English subtitles translated and created by Adele Tomlin/Dakini Translations.
Fifty Verses on the Guru 17th Karmapa (Day 3 2025) Transcript of first video clip
“Three Characteristics of a Qualified Guru
Je Gampopa
There is a set of Dharma Talks by Je Gampopa called The Excellent Deeds. What it says in this is that there are many characteristics of a guru in both the Sutras and the Tantras. If we want to sum up what is in them, they can be summed up as three characteristics. What are they? They must have:
- an unbroken, existing lineage .
- excellent character (inner way) and great compassion.
- given up the lesser attitudes and be a basis for rousing devotion.
So, if one summarises all the characteristics of a qualified guru in the Sutra and Tantras, these three are a summary.
1st Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa
Also, Je Dusum Khyenpa, 1st Karmapa said this in a Dharma talk. He said there’s not a single scripture in the secret Mantra that does not talk about the characteristics of a guru. There are a lot taught about them. However, if one wants to say the main point it is like as Gampopa said: One needs someone who has cut the ties that depend on this life, who guides others on the path with a great prajna and who because of great compassion does not forsake their students.
So, if you want to sum it up in these three, it is:
- cutting the ties of this life,
- being able to guide others on the path with great prajna wisdom, and
- having great compassion and not forsaking beings/students.
So, these words of Dagpo Rinpoche although very brief, as they are based on actual experience, are something really beneficial for practice for us.
Je Tsongkhapa
Also, Je Tsongkhapa was a great scholar in all of the texts on Sutras and Tantras. Whenever he taught anything, he looked for the source in the Sutras and the Tantras and other the commentaries and he always looks for a source when he talks. In his own commentary on the Fifty Verses, he says if one is going to sum up the characteristics of a guru, they are:
- great compassion.
- stable, unshakeable faith in in the Mahayana.
- know the common and special vehicles well.
- thoroughly skilled in the steps of guiding disciples.
- tamed their students by restraining them from negative actions of the three gates.
These are the five qualities, or characteristics a Guru must have. So if you find someone who has those, this is someone that intelligent people should know that is worthy of being taken as a master. I think that is really important for us to study there.
Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye
Now, another one is Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye the First. For example in Tibet, if you think about among all the masters, there was no Dharma that he had not studied and he had the widest learning. Jamgon Kongtrul wrote in his “Treasury of Knowledge” about the characteristics of Guru in summary, that primarily:
- First, their lineage must be unbroken from Vajradhara to the present, and it must be unstained by faults of samaya.
- Second, they should be abiding in the discipline of their vows and Samaya.
- Third, they must have the pith instructions that have been passed down in a pure lineage.
- Fourth, they must know the meaning of the Buddha’s words and the treatises and tantras.
- Fifth, they must have a compassionate altruistic love.
These are the five characteristics Kongtrul says that a guru of the Secret Mantra should have.
Likewise, when we say “Lama, Lama” or guru, probably when thinking about the secret mantra what we mean is, generally, as I said before, there are six different types of gurus.
However, what is most well-known in our society when we talk about a Guru, is the Guru from whom ones receive an empowerment from. That is what we primarily mean by Guru. So what are the minimum characteristics a guru who is giving an empowerment should have?
Je Tsongkhapa wrote in his Great Stages of the Path of Mantra, and also before Je Tsongkhapa there had been many great Masters and Siddhas, and these great masters all said and basically generally agreed among themselves that they must have the following:
- Received the empowerment in full and dwell within the samaya and their vows.
- Have seen the practice of the lineage of the gurus, and through that know the ten suchnesses, and be knowledgeable about the rituals of giving empowerment.
- Completed the approach to the deity and be allowed to, or not prohibited by the deity.
They must definitely have these three qualities, and this is what most of the great scholars and Siddhas say.
This is what Je Tsongkhapa wrote in his Great Stages of Path of Secret Mantra. These summaries of the characterstics are also what Je Gampopa and Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye wrote and these are also really great summaries. So when we think about the characteristics of a Guru we take an empowerment from should have, we the most well-known Tibetan scholars speak about it like that.”