“The secret mantra is different and one can achieve Buddhahood in this lifetime, or in 16 lifetimes or 60 lifetimes. The ability to achieve that depends primarily upon the guru. It comes from the kindness of the guru and from the blessings of the guru. For that reason, in the secret mantra, the guru is considered especially kind.”
“Keeping samaya and following, or serving, the guru is very closely connected and interdependent. So, one cannot pick or decide which one is more important, keeping samaya or serving the guru. If one follows a guru you have to keep the samaya, if you keep samaya, then you have to follow the guru, that is the way it is.”
“From one perspective, they were gurus, from another point of view in relation to their gurus they were disciples. So, the gurus, in terms of being a guru they were authentic gurus. In terms of being a disciple, they were authentic disciples. It is important to understand this.” –17th Karmapa (Day 7, Fifty Verses on the Guru)
Introduction
On Day 7 of the 17th Karmapa’s teachings on the Fifty Verses on the Guru, the 17th Karmapa continues with the third sub-topic among the four on making offerings, “why it is reasonable”:
• making offerings to purify disrespect
• offering everything you own
• why this is reasonable and
• how to continually keep the three samayas.
Using as reference points the commentaries in Sanskrit Je Tsongkhapa, 7th and 8th Karmapas, and Treasury of Knowledge by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, the 17th Karmapa explains the three root verses, which contain the reasons for the following three ways to make offerings and continually keep samaya with a qualified guru:
1. By continually keeping samaya
2. By continually offering to all the Tathagatas/Buddhas
3. By continually offering to the Guru
The Karmapa explained what these three ‘activities’ means by explaining the three root verses of the root text. Samaya generally means keeping the samaya of the deity and the vajra body, speech and mind, which means never denigrating one’s own, or others’ body, speech and mind in various, harmful ways.
The Karmapa also explained the difference in time and difficulty of the secret mantra path and how it is possible only for a blazing, brilliant, intelligent and diligent student to “be given” full awakening in one lifetime, or if not in one lifetime, in a few lifetimes compared to the uncountable eons it takes to achieve that on the other paths. So, the kindness of the guru is far more than any worldly relationship of lover, friend, spouse, children and so on. This is why the more realisations a student developed by practising and supplicating a qualified guru, the more faith and devotion arose for the guru, and they would sing about it in songs.
There was also some explanation of how to continually make offerings to the guru, even if it is only a small thing, and before eating and drinking.
The 17th Karmapa ended the teaching with how even great guru masters like 1st Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa saw themselves as owning hardly anything, and that they would continually make and offer their own offerings to their gurus, even after the guru passed away. The importance of knowing this is crucial to understanding how the guru themselves should be keeping samaya and offering gifts, devotion and reverence to their own gurus.
Personal observations
This final point struck me in particular. Considering the 17th Karmapa still has not got a monastery of his own in India or Nepal or Bhutan, despite all the land and monasteries created by or in dependence on the 16th Karmapa, yet there are several Karma Kagyu tulkus who have huge amounts of wealth and property all over the world. For me, this shows one of the main issues in the Karma Kagyu is that the heart sons and senior tulkus are simply not continuing to offer to their guru, now incarnated as 17th Karmapa, the same mind. I might be wrong, but that is how it seems. They see themselves and their moansteries, centre and activities as separate (and sometimes even superior to!) those of the Karmapa and his activities. Clearly, this is not correct though, as all their lineage, activities and so on arose from the root guru of the Karma Kagyu, the Gyalwang Karmapa.
Also, as students, I think we can look at how other masters and tulkus act in relation to their lineage gurus. Are they continually paying respect, service, practice and homage to them? Are they continually giving offerings to them? Or are they hoarding it for “their own” centres and communities, and even worse themselves and for their own private use?
The 17th Karmapa mentions the great danger of teachers and gurus living in rich, wealthy ways, especially when the majority of their disicples are not wealthy at all, and how this would give a bad impression. After all, as the 17th Karmapa taught, the 1st Karmapa left everything he owned to the monastery, and did not see himself as having any personal possessions other than his robes and a hand-mill to grind tsampa! How many gurus does one meet that can say and do the same thing? That is the question.
As I wrote before, I was surprised by the sheer amount of monks and nuns in Bodh Gaya eating at quite pricey foreigner/layperson restaurants, even worse having freshly slaughtered chicken to eat. Although this is not that ostentatious, their use of expensive iphones and hanging out in such layperson places, hardly gives a great impression to the laypeople there, some of whom have hardly anything, and are working 12 hours a day for next to nothing.
Also, some people have queried why I continue to offer my body, speech and mind to the root guru, 17th Karmapa with translations, research and transcripts, when I sometimes struggle to understand (or even accept) some of his conduct (and those of teachers and people connected to him). Well here is your answer, vajra samaya, devotion and gratitude and being a faulty human being! Without the 17th Karmapa I would never have encountered the Dharma, be on the path, have studied Tibetan, began translating, or any of the activities of Dakini Translations and more. How could I ever repay that profound kindness and love of the 17th Karmapa? Thus, my body, speech and mind offerings, completed all times of day and night, with the accompanying blissful passion of secret mantra, are predominantly due to him and my deepening respect, love and care for the Dharma, which he is teaching us all for free again and again, without any fee, payment or suggested donation. How kind and generous is that!
Music? How Deep is Your Love? by the Bee Gees, Free Money by Patti Smith, and For You and Matters of the Heart by Tracey Chapman. Here are two Youtube video clips I made (original Tibetan with specially created/translated English subtitles) of the Day 7 teaching: here and here.
Compiled and transcribed by Adele Tomlin, 16th April 2024.
Transcript, Fifty Verses on the Guru, Day 7, 17th Karmapa
To connect this with Je Tsongkhapa’s outline we are speaking about making offerings. Now in terms of the subtopics of making offerings, there are four:
• making offerings to purify disrespect
• offering everything you own
• why this is reasonable and
• how to continually keep the three samayas.
So yesterday, I spoke about the first two of these subtopics, which were the 16th and the 17th stanzas. If we correspond that to the quote from Maitreya’s Ornament on Mahayana Sutras, says which says “serve the spiritual friend with respect gifts service and practice.” These are related to serving the guru with gifts.
Why it is reasonable to make offerings: otherwise very difficult to attain Buddhahood in this lifetime
So, to continue with the topic of making offerings as is explained in the Fifty Verses on the guru I will speak on the topic of why this is reasonable. So, we have gone through the first and the second subtopic and today we have come to the third subtopic, on why this is reasonable? The Verse for this is:
“It is difficult to attain even in
Millions of uncountable eons.
So to those who strive for Buddhahood,
They give it in this very lifetime.” (tr. Adele Tomlin)
When we talk about the Textual Explanation of Following the Guru Sanskrit commentary, it says that the reason for teaching this is because it teaches the reason for being especially respectful of the guru. So, this verse teaches the reason for being especially respectful of the guru.
Je Tsongkhapa’s commentary says this is the reason you must please them by offering yourself even as a servant. So why should one offer everything from your own body upwards and ask them to own yourself, what is the reason for that? This is to answer that question. So that is the reason, why this is taught.
If we speak about the meaning of this, according to the Sanskrit commentary is that when it says for what reason, and then “difficult to attain” means that because “it is attained through hardship and suffering” and you have to disregard a lot of hardship and suffering it is difficult to attain. How long does it take? It says in 10 million aeons.
[The Karmapa digresses a little with how to count it]. There are some discussions of the differences in the counting systems in Tibetan one word comes earlier than the other. So it is 10 million uncountable eons. So, 10 million at a time is 10 to the 60th uncountable eons. So, it takes 10 million uncountable years and three uncountable eons to achieve Buddhahood, according to the Hinayana.
And if we want to count calculate how long a great eon is, how many eons does it take to do that? There are many different discussions of this in the greater and foundation vehicles and we talk about how long a great eon is, there is a lot to say about this and we do not need to go through that today. Tomorrow if we have time, we will go through that in terms of how we calculate a great eon. Perhaps it will be beneficial, it is not certain.
To the student who brilliantly strives with exceptional diligence, the guru will bestow blessings, and even awakening in this lifetime
So, when we talk about a “Buddha”, it means a someone who has the nature of the three kayas. Here, “someone who strives”, is one who continually practices with diligence, without interruption. It is necessary to be a person who meditates and practices continually. That person with continual diligence can achieve the state of Buddhahood in this lifetime, or the guru will give them the state of Buddha in this lifetime and that is why it says: “give in this very lifetime”.
In brief, what it says about this in Je Tsongkhapa’s commentary is that the state of Buddhahood that is so difficult for others to attain for countless eons no matter how hard they try; in the Vajrayana secret mantra, it is given in this very lifetime. So, for that reason, to the one who really strives diligently, the person who gives it to them in this lifetime is the guru. And so, for that reason you need to serve them with great effort and diligence.
Who do they give that to? They give it to supreme students whose diligence and effort blaze extremely brightly. The ones with extremely great effort, who strive hard. Those are the people whom they give it to. They do not give it to people who lack diligence.
So, this stanza is in general about serving through gifts or it is taught in connection with making offerings. However, in actuality, this stanza teaches the crux of why it is so important to serve the guru through gifts, respect, and service. Or in brief, it teaches in relation to giving up everything from your own life to serve the guru, the crucial point and the reason for this.
So, generally in the Mahayana sutras it is taught that the spiritual friend is very important. It is not just in Tantras, it is also taught in the Mahayana sutras that the spiritual friend is very important. The reason in the Mahayana sutras it is taught that the spiritual friend is so important, is if you do not have a spiritual friend, you will not know the methods for attaining Buddhahood. So, a spiritual friend is extremely important.
However, in the secret mantra Vajrayana following the guru is even more important than following a spiritual friend in the Mahayana Sutras. What is the particular reason for that? In the Prajnaparamita sutras it says that it is through the spiritual friend that one achieves Buddhahood but even for bodhisattvas with sharp faculties, it takes 3 uncountable eons to attain that. For those bodhisattvas with middling faculties it takes 7 uncountable eons, and for those with dull faculties it takes 33 uncountable eons. So, it takes an incredibly long time for them to gather merit and purify obscurations. Then, finally they are able to achieve that state of Buddhahood.
Yet, the secret mantra is different and one can achieve Buddhahood in this lifetime, or in 16 lifetimes or 60 lifetimes. The ability to achieve that depends primarily upon the guru. It comes from the kindness of the guru and from the blessings of the guru. For that reason, in the secret mantra, the guru is considered especially kind.
Buddhahood in one lifetime or countless eons?
Generally, there is some debate in the Sutras about whether one can or cannot achieve Buddhahood in one lifetime through the path of the Sutras. However, in general, the ability to achieve Buddhahood in one lifetime and one body is said to be a particular quality of the Unexcelled Highest Yoga Tantra.
As it is said in the Profound Inner Meaning by 3rd Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje:
“Bodhisattvas who benefit all sentient beings in three uncountable eons. Here by the distinction of the path of means of the path of prajnaparamita, by knowing the methods of that it is just 16 human lifetimes. With the yoga tantras it is 16 human lifetimes. Through the unexcelled highest yoga tantra, the diligent will definitely achieve it in one single lifetime.”
So, in the sutras, Bodhisattvas who spend three uncountable eons gathering merit will achieve Buddhahood. However, in the secret mantra, if we look at it in relation to the four classes of tantra, one can achieve it in sixty human lifetimes through the Kriya and Charya tantras. One human lifetime here means about 100 years that is what we consider that. So, it is sixty of these human lifetimes. In the yoga tantra, you can achieve it in sixteen human lifetimes. Through the unexcelled highest yoga tantra, if you are diligent, you can achieve it in a single lifetime and body. Or even in three years, three months, and three days, it is taught.
So, if you think about it from one perspective, whether you are able to achieve Buddhahood that quickly or not depends upon the degree of wisdom/prajna and diligence one has. However, primarily, in the unexcelled highest yoga tantra of the superior skilful methods, it is strongly related to a qualified guru who teaches those methods.
The great kindness of the guru: songs by devoted, faithful students
So, for example, first of all being able to enter the secret mantra is the kindness of an authentic guru. Once you have received the empowerments that ripen and the instructions that liberate it is also the guru’s kindness. And if because you practice those all properly your experience and realization qualities those increase and not being overcome by maras and obstacles, are all primarily based upon whether you see the blessings of the guru or not, on whether you have supplicated the guru or not.
That is what they depend upon. In the very end, when one attains awakening it is because of the guru that one awakens to Buddhahood. So, whether one recognizes the nature of mind or not, whether it be manifest or not, depends upon the guru. So, the due to the blessings of the guru they are extremely kind.
So, for this reason, in the biographies of many different gurus as their experience and realization begins to increase, even just a little bit, their faith in the guru grows even stronger. And then they sing songs remembering the guru’s kindness and sing them over and over again. We can see many of these in the lives of the masters of the past.
For example, when we think about it in terms of this lifetime, the parents who give us birth in this body, we consider them to be very kind. It is not a small kindness; that is a great kindness. Also, when we receive a secular education in this lifetime we are raised, that is also very important. It is primarily beneficial in this lifetime that we consider it to be important right? Similarly, when one has boyfriends, girlfriends, friends, or lovers, a husband or wife, no matter how much love they give each other in this lifetime, this benefits one in this lifetime only. But in other lifetimes then it is difficult for there to be of any benefit. And if things do not work out it is quite possible that they will be even more be more harmful in this lifetime, rather than beneficial.
However, because of an authentic guru, instead of waiting many lifetimes, in this very lifetime without spending a lot of time in this very lifetime, we can completely exhaust all the suffering in this lifetime and be brought to the unexcelled happiness of Buddhahood. There is no greater kindness in this world. No kindness more amazing than that in this world. So, when we contemplate these reasons, we are going to realize that the ways the Fifty Verses teach us to follow the guru really accord with the nature of things, and really bring us great benefit in this and future lifetimes.
If we do not have enough prajna wisdom and diligence to achieve Buddhahood in this lifetime, still the moment we have entered the profound path of the secret mantra Vajrayana we can supplicate the guru. If we are able to supplicate the guru and we are able to keep the vows, then there is a great hope that we can achieve Buddhahood within a few lifetimes. That is something we can hope for. We have an opportunity to do so. For that reason, it is crucially important that we do our absolute best to follow the guru and to keep our samaya this is extremely important. So, we need to do our absolute best and gather all of our power and energy together to do this, to follow the guru properly.
Continually maintaining/protecting samaya and making offerings to Buddhas and guru
Now the next verse talks about how to continually keep/protect your samaya. There are three verses on this topic. The first of the three verses says:
“Always protect your samaya,
Always offer to the tathagatas,
Always offer to the guru, who is like all the Buddhas.”
And this is the correspondence of the Sanskrit, Tibetan, and English:
[Transcriber’s note: here I translate, “they” as “this” and “same” as “like”.]
Now when we talk about the way to continually keep the samaya, there are three lines. These three lines are primarily connected to serving the guru with gifts.
The first verse teaches that if one is a yogi who practices secret mantra, what you primarily must practice are three main things you must always practice. Among these three, the first of them one of them is always keeping your samaya. The second, is always making offerings to the tathagatas. One needs to do that. The third one is that you must always make offerings to the guru. So, we can talk about make offerings or give gifts. This is very important.
Now, the remaining stanzas teach that that among the three types of samaya, It is especially important to make offerings to the guru. It also explains that among the things and enjoyments one offers you should offer the nicest, the best the finest offerings to the guru. Now if we speak about the meaning of each of these three stanzas in detail.
The first of them according to the interpretation of the Sanskrit commentary said “always keep your samaya” means that students must always perform activities, and always means continuously practice. So “always” means continuously. So, at all times continuously you must practice or protect your samayas.
“Always offer to the Tathagatas”
When speaking about the word “Tathagata” there are two different ways that is described in the text in the Sanskrit commentary. One is that “they have gone to suchness” and come from there. So, they are the tathagatas. Alternately, they have become the cause of being benefit for sentient beings, and having come having thus benefited beings, they are called the Tathagatas. So, these are the two different explanations. In any case the word Tathagata, means Buddhas and one should always offer to the Buddhas. So always, means every day, with various offerings. So always offer to the gurus means at all times.
The guru means the master. You need to make offerings and so you need to offer and give the gifts. Now if there are Buddhas and bodhisattvas, then why we must also offer to the guru? It says you have to offer to the tathagatas, Isn’t that enough, why do you have to offer the guru separately what is the reason for that?
It says: “they are the equals of the Buddhas” or are the same as all the Buddhas. So, they mean the guru. Equal to or the same as all the Buddhas means that they are like all the Buddhas, the same and equal to the Buddhas. So, in this passage in the Sanskrit commentary gives several reasons why the guru and the Buddha are equal or the same, but we do not need to speak about those today.
Later, there is a passage on viewing the guru as a Buddha, and I think if we explain it then it is more related to that and more logical to discuss it then. So, I will explain it at that point. So, this is the explanation in the Sanskrit commentary on the first of these stanzas.
Je Tsongkhapa’s interpretation: Keep the samayas of vajra body, speech, and mind
What is Lord Tsongkhapa’s and the great Tibetan masters of the past’s interpretation? “Always keep your samaya” means the yoga of the body, speech, and mind of the special deity, or the samaya of the body speech and mind. He is saying that always means that you must always remain within the exhaustible virtue. You need to stay within the vows. To keep your vows is what he is saying.
The seventh Karmapa, Chodrag Gyatso, states that always keep your samaya means that you have to keep the samaya of body, speech and mind.
What is the samaya of body, speech and mind?
What is a samaya of body speech in mind? There is a passage in the Treasury of Knowledge that speaks about the passage on the mantra vows of the awareness holders of the Vidyadharas.
The way it describes the samaya of the body is because all sentient beings are by nature the vajra body, speech, and mind. So, whether they are male or female, you should never denigrate or bully/scorn them. And never denigrating them is the samaya of the vajra body.
Likewise, to not make oneself or other sentient beings depressed, stressed, or let down. [The word the 17th Karmapa uses here is lo pham, which means to really deflate or depress one’s own or other’s mind]. To make oneself and other people regret, to never harm one’s own and other sentient beings’ minds and cause pain, is the samaya of the vajra mind.
Similarly, giving up harsh and harmful speech. So, when you speak to people instead of saying words that harm other people or that are unpleasant to their ears, say words that the people enjoy hearing, and abandon harsh speech, this is the samaya of vajra speech. The source he gives for this is the Ornament of Vajra Essence Tantra (Vajrahṛdayālaṃkāratantra, Dorje Nyingpo).
Now the Ornament of Vajra Essence Tantra, is actually among the different tantras that are sources for the Fifty Verses on the Guru, it is an important source. So here, it says “always keep your samaya.”
The Treasury of Knowledge interpretation: Interdependence of samaya and relation of guru and student: cannot have one without the other
If we understand it as taught in the Treasury of Knowledge as the samaya of body, speech, and mind then I think that is a good way to understand it. Now just as it talks about how it is important to follow the guru, so it talks about keeping the samaya. The reason is that they depend upon each other. The root/basis of the secret mantra samaya is the guru and if you do not keep samaya, then there is no way that you are going to be able to provide the guru with service, or have a beneficial relation with them. Keeping samaya and following, or serving, the guru is very closely connected and interdependent. So, one cannot pick or decide which one is more important, keeping samaya or serving the guru. If one follows a guru you have to keep the samaya, if you keep samaya, then you have to follow the guru, that is the way it is.
Always offer to the Tathagatas: Vajrasattva and mandalas
The second is “always offer to the Tathagatas.” This can mean offering to the mandala of Vajrasattva. So, when we say Vajrasattva here, on one hand, normally we think about the deity who is well known to purify misdeeds and obscurations, we call him Vajrasattva. One can understand him like that, that is fine.
Another way to understand Vajrasattva is that it does not mean a particular deity. Instead, in terms of the unexcelled secret mantra, the word Vajrasattva can also refer to the level of Vajradhara. So, if one practices the secret mantra Vajrayana, we always need to continually invite the deities to the mandala as a field of merit and make offerings to them.
Alternatively, one can go through the stages/rites of the ground, the preparation, the actual practice and so forth perform a mandala like this, and do an extensive grand puja, and then we do the actual practice and so forth. We do this, and make the offerings and the praises as elaborately as possible. These days, people do not have time, and they get bored when reciting such a long text and so forth. Actually, the longer the offerings and praises the better it is a way to perfect the accumulations, as many gurus have taught in their teachings on the generation stage.
Likewise, it is through the mandala rituals that one does the self-entry/visualisation (dag-jug) right? It is taught that the self- entry is extremely important as a way to purify breakages of samaya, in the tantras and Sanskrit texts.
Making extensive offerings and self-entry practices
To tell a story about this there is a lama of the Phagdru tradition named Chen-nga Sonam Gyaltsen . In his notes, he wrote that in the Luipa tradition of Chakrasamvara, just that one tradition, he did the self-entry 230 times. He did the self- entry of the Chakrasamvara of the Krishna tradition 180 times. And he did the self-entry of the Ganthapa tradition 350 times. So, there is that story, which is just an example.
Likewise, in Tibet there are certainly many lamas and monks who have done countless pujas, mandala rituals and taken the self-entry many times. There an incredible number of people who do this. Similarly, there are all the monasteries of all traditions hold grand pujas and they do the self-entry practice and the reason is the same. It is not just that you are spending the whole day reciting, there is a reason for it, and it is important that we understand that.
Second Verse on “continually offering”
Next, is the second of the stanzas, which says:
“As for those who desire the inexhaustible;
Anything that is a little suitable/attractive,
or extremely fine/distinguished,
They offer to the guru. “ (tr. Tomlin).
[Transcriber’s note: I translate these words differently based on the Tibetan and the 17th Karmapa’s teaching: “anything” as “a little” or “merely”. “The most superior” as “extremely fine/distinguished”, and “want” as “attractive/suitable for the mind”.]
The meaning of this, according to the Sanskrit commentary, is that the second verse is taught in order to instil enthusiasm for offering to the guru. When it says “anything that is desirable” according to the Sanskrit commentary, it says “always keep your samaya, always offer to the Tathagata.” So, it says: “Those who desire offer that which is merely/just attractive, or even the most fine/distinguished” in the Fifty Verses on the Guru.
Now according to the Sanskrit commentary, it says offer merely anything as much as you are able to. It says the words, gang, gang, twice. So, it refers to things, wealth, grains and so forth. So, anything here “anything and everything”.
So the words “even slightly attractive”. In the Fifty Verses on the Guru it says “attractive”/desirable (yi-ongwa) but in the Sanskrit commentary, it says that which fits/suits (thug la phaba) the mind. I think this is a better. So, we can say it is attractive. If it means what is attractive to oneself, or what is attractive to the guru, it is not clear. It is something that is pleasing to them, is something that pleases the guru. So, the question of saying it is desirable to the guru and pleasing to the guru, not to oneself, it is not something that you like yourself. Something that is desirable and pleasing to the guru. Whenever you make an offering, it is a question of whether it is desirable and pleasing to the guru or not.
When it says: “even the extremely fine/distinguished” means something that is excellent, fine and wonderful things. The most extremely important and finest things
Aim of the offering: Desiring/Seeking the inexhaustible
The aim or reason for the offering, is as it says, “those who desire/seek the inexhaustible”. Now what it says in the Sanskrit Commentary is a little bit better and easier to understand because it means “just this that is inexhaustible.” So “just this” here means something which is pleasing to the guru, also which is extremely suited to the mind of the guru. And separate from that is “inexhaustible” which means like infinite, or cannot be exhausted. And “those who want” means those who wish or seek to please the guru means the students. Basically, it means any of the different things they offer will increase without ever being exhausted in this, or future lifetimes. So, if you offer to your guru then the virtue, or the result of this, will also be inexhaustible in future lifetimes and always increase more and more. So, in the Fifty Verses root text it says “anything that is desirable,” whereas in the Sanskrit commentary it says “just what is desirable” that cannot be exhausted. It is not quite as fluent in the standard Tibetan translation.
Lord Tsongkhapa says that “inexhaustible” means the dharmakaya of the Buddha. And “those who desire/seek” means those students who desire to achieve the state of the dharmakaya. They should offer things that are attractive/desirable, means it should be what is desirable to you. What is desirable to you means that which you would be disappointed to give away, what you treasure and things that are even just a little bit superior/better. So, if you do not have anything to offer but you have even a small treasured thing, or if you have a wonderful, superior thing, whatever it is you should offer it to the guru. The guru should then also, in order to counteract the student’s craving for that thing, accept them.
From the first chapter of the second book of the Samphuta tantra, it says that the guru has to take it in order to overcome the students’ fixations. So, if the student has attachment to the thing, this is important and significant, this is like the best thing, the most beautiful thing because they have that when they offer to the guru. Then the guru in order to take it, in order to counteract the student’s attachment to it, is taught in the first chapter the second book of the Samputa Sutra. I do not need to read the full stanza.
Third Verse on “continually giving”: gathering the merit
As for the third verse on this topic, it says:
“To give perpetually is itself to perpetually give to all Buddhas. By giving one gathers merit and, from the accumulations becomes the supreme siddhi/accomplishment.”
So here are the corresponding words again:
To explain this third verse according to the Sanskrit commentary, “to give” here is giving reasons why it is inexhaustible, it cannot be exhausted. So, if you give it to the guru, the thing or the enjoyment of the merit becomes inexhaustible. So here it is teaching why it becomes inexhaustible. Why the merit will continue to increase. The reason for that is giving to the gurus is like giving to all the Buddhas and Tathagatas. It is the same as offering that. So, what do we know? Aren’t the gurus and the buddhas different? The guru is the guru, the Buddhas are Buddhas, they are not the same, are they? So how can giving to the guru be giving to all the Buddhas? Offering to the gurus is the same as offering to other gurus, so how is it logical that this can be so? The reason is because the gurus and the Buddhas “are indivisible.” They “are indivisible” here, means that the Buddhas and the gurus and the bodhisattvas are indivisible in essence. They have different forms, but in actuality, there is no difference between them. If that is so, then no matter what you offer to that guru, it is similar to offering to the Buddha.
The reason and need to offer to a guru
There is also a great necessity to offer things to the guru. What is that necessity? By giving to, or pleasing the guru, or giving something that is extremely fine and distinctive, through doing this one gathers merit. Merit here means when we talk about among the two accumulations we talk about accumulation of merit; we talk about gathering the accumulations of merit and primordial awareness. When you gather accumulations, then you can achieve the siddhis/accomplishments.
There are two types of siddhis: the mundane and the supreme. So, there is the ordinary and the supreme. Here it is talking about the supreme siddhi of mahamudra, the siddhi of completely perfect awakening of Buddhahood. This is the principle one among all of them. So, that is the interpretation in the Sanskrit commentary.
As for Je Tsongkhapa’s interpretation, he explains the benefit of making offerings to the gurus is because always making offerings to the guru is the same as always making offerings to the Buddhas. For that reason, one will gather the accumulation of merit. Because of gathering great accumulations, one will then achieve the supreme among siddhis, Buddhahood. So, if you achieve that, why bother speaking about other siddhis. We do not need to mention them. For this reason, the guru is the superior field for gathering the accumulations of merit and wisdom.
For example, and also from the Five Stages of Blessing Oneself:
“To abandon all offerings and begin to offer properly to the guru. By pleasing them you will achieve supreme omniscient wisdom.”
So, this is saying you do not need to offer to anyone else. Offering to the guru is the best way to make offerings. And it is the most supreme excellent offering is what it says.
Also, Je Tsongkhapa says that, as I mentioned before: “you should put all your efforts” from verse 15 to here “comes from the accumulations”. These stanzas, except for the sixth of these, the rest of them are all found in the first two parts of the Shri Pharam tantra.
For example, the seven stanzas in the Fifty Verses where we are at, “for you to put all your efforts” to “comes from the accumulations”, there are seven stanzas there. Among those seven stanzas except for the sixth stanza, the rest of the other six stanzas are fine, but the sixth stanza is not taught in the Sri Pharam tantra but the others all are taught in the first two parts, of the second part of the Sri Pharam Tantra.
Likewise, also in the seven stanzas in the Fifty Verses from “therefore you put all your efforts… to “come from the accumulations” the first and the fifth stanza also appear in the 13th chapter of the Panjula Tantra. So, this is giving the sutra source.
Practice is the best offering for a qualified guru
After this, I should explain to summarize this all concisely basically whether we are talking about your material wealth and what you cherish, what is dear to you, what you like, what you treasure most of all or something that whether you are offering something that pleases the guru or if there is something that is really precious really valuable. If there are any things like that in any case and you need to offer and should offer them all to the guru.
So, primarily here we are speaking about serving the guru through gifts. In that context it says we have to make offerings to the guru. So, in general, in the world when in our lifetime, if we want to benefit other people there are many different ways we can do so. There are many different ways to benefit beings, but among them the easiest way or the most convenient, or the most important among them, the most important is being generous. Such as giving the material things and wealth. Such as giving dharma, or giving safety. All of these are generosity, right?
For this reason, Chandrakirti taught in “Entering the Middle Way” that: “All beings desire happiness and human happiness does not exist without enjoyments. Knowing that enjoyments come from being given, the Buddha first taught about generosity.” For this reason, he taught how important generosity is.
So, for this reason, generally, what pleases an authentic guru, one who has all the characteristics, what pleases them most is not offering material possessions. Actually, what pleases them most is not the material possessions. What they are most happy about is when you practice the dharma. That is what pleases them the most, not offering material possessions.
For the student, also there are many ways to serve the guru. The most important way to do this is to practice the instructions that the guru has practiced as they taught. That is the most important thing, right? However, for the time being there are times when pleasing the guru and accumulating merit recalling the guru’s kindness, expressing gratitude. Among the different ways, one way is to make offerings to the gurus as like a sign of your gratitude to make an offering. And they talk about this is an easy way. That this is can be really meaningful right?
However, when we talk about making an offering to the guru, we speak about this quite a bit but it might sound like it is a way for the guru to accumulate wealth. They get a lot of things and offerings and they enjoy themselves. And when someone is living this way, then it seems to contradict the Buddhist teachings on contentment with little and being satisfied with what you have, and avoiding the extremes of indulgence and social pleasures. There is a danger that it might seem like that. Moreover, in addition, even worse, or even uglier than that, is when the gurus live happily in luxury and the followers live in poverty, and if someone looks at it, it just does not look good. That is something that people are going to criticize, that people are going to complain about. So, this is a danger that will happen. It is possible this will happen and we all know clearly that this is so.
In terms of lamas and tulkus, it is important that offerings are made to be meaningful. For the sponsors who make the offerings in order to complete the accumulations themselves in order to benefit sentient beings. At the very least, if it does not benefit the Dharma and sentient beings, at the very least, it must not harm themselves or others. If we think about it in terms of the guru, or we think about it in terms of the student, this is very important.
Offering to an authentic guru who does not have any attachment to material things
For this reason, when it says in the Fifty Verses that we need to make great offerings to the gurus, it means if there is a guru who has all the characteristics, someone does not have any greed or any attachment to the wealth or possessions. It is impossible for them to have the attachment if they are an authentic a guru. So, they always think “how can I benefit this disciple?” they only have the thought how they can benefit others, and they need to be someone who is only engaged in meditation practice. For such a guru, no matter how many offerings they receive they will use them in accordance with a dharma. So, making material and wealth meaningful. They need to use a way to make the material offerings that have been made in a meaningful way.
For example, there is a biography of the life story of Je Jigten Sumgon, A Religious history which says is that basically, he never had anything other than his three dharma robes in his arms. He did not have any other things that he thought of saying “this is mine.” He had no attachment or any fixation on anything. So, he did not have any material possessions, but he would use the auspicious connections of all the things that he had in order for other people to do this. He would take the offerings that people would offer him and not only would he take them, but he would not let them go to waste. He would make sure that the offerings were not wasted but he made sure that they were not used improperly as it is said.
So, for that reason, if you have a guru with all the characteristics, no matter what offering you give to them, instead of keeping it all for yourself, it is actually better and more meaningful than keeping them for yourselves. Likewise, the disciples should be beneficial to them in terms of counteracting their attachment.
For example, normally you might have some important things, some sacred things, and the things that you could not give to anyone else, or that you treasure so much you could not give them. But when you meet an important guru and if you think you feel great faith for them and you are saying I am going to give them this thing that is important to me and if you offer to them from one perspective this is beneficial for you and giving up your attachment and fixation. Another perspective is if instead of keeping it for yourself give it to the guru, If it is an authentic guru and who has great Prajna, as soon as it comes into their hands then there is actually nothing more meaningful. They can use it for ways that are more meaningful. There is an opportunity that it can become more even more significant.
So, for this reason, when you have a guru and a disciple who have all the qualifications come together then one should serve them as taught in the 50 verses about how to serve the off through gifts, through paying respect, through service and practice. All of these ways of serving the guru can happen, and they will definitely happen. Otherwise, if you do the opposite, if the guru spends all their time living in comfort and doesn’t practice, doesn’t keep their discipline, doesn’t keep their samaya and always make their students work, or makes them accumulate wealth, or make them do political things, or allows them to indulge in attachment and aversion, then there’s no way that this fulfils the proper characteristics of the guru-disciple relationship taught in Buddhism.
In addition, there is as taught by written by Rigden Pema Karpo in his text Approaching the Ultimate, says that such a teacher should be abandoned like poison or the hell realms. This is said in many other tantric texts and scriptures. So, this is also something we need to understand.
Likewise, also Je Tsongkhapa, within Treatise on the Stages of the Path talks about the three ways of pleasing the guru. It says that we have to make material offerings to the guru.
At that point, what it says is that that to the spiritual friend and so on, if you have some good things that you could offer but you give an inferior thing then it violates the samaya. However, if you only have inferior things, then the guru will be pleased with it. if instead they will be pleased with the so or either but if the guru will be more pleased by the inferior thing or you only have the inferior thing then that is fine. Likewise, from the student’s perspective, in order to gather the accumulations, they need to offer all the time. But from the guru’s perspective, the guru must not have any attachment or any craving for it. The source for this is cited is the Spiritual Friend Sharawa Chenpo: “a guru is one who is pleased by practice and does not look even a little bit at material offerings. The opposite cannot be a guru who guides you to liberation. What you need by an authentic guru is one who is happy when you practice dharma properly. If not and it is someone who likes offerings who likes things, that is not we mean by a guru. For that reason, an authentic guru is one who is pleased by practice by when you practice properly and does not care about small material offerings.
8th Karmapa on how gurus immediately gave offerings to their own guru
Likewise, when you think about the way that the guru and disciple should exchange offerings to show respect to each other, the 8th Karmapa, Mikyo Dorje writes in his Hundred Short Instructions that in the past the Kagyu masters once they began following a root guru, whatever possessions they had they would not hold on them just as being mine. As soon as they had been offered them, they would give them to the guru because whenever they got something from someone else and so if there is something that someone else considered precious and gave them to you. This primarily came about because of the kindness of the guru.
Now this happens that being there came from the guru The being offered came from the guru and so with complete firm commitment as soon as the received it they would give it to the guru. If the root guru was present, they could actually offer to them, right? But if the root guru was not present, they would take whatever they got, a little bit of resources or wealth and would use them for the anniversaries of the guru passing away. Or they would use it for, and take them to the guru’s monastery and offer to them. But otherwise, even if they are only drinking a glass of water before they would make an offering of it to the guru. If they only had like one small little piece of ?, or these days, just like only a piece of fruit, they would turn it towards the guru and offer it to the guru. Then place it facing towards the guru.
In brief, even if you have no attachment to things for the sake of the gurus, even if you only had like a small spoon to eat, or little few things, like the little counter on your mala, they have very nice ones, right? This is what it said.
So, for that reason, even if we are only speaking of the tradition of making an offering, even if we are only drinking. There is a really important point here. The reason is that even if all we are having is a cup of tea, it came because of the kindness of the guru and the three jewels. For that reason, we offer to the gurus the three jewels, and then with the blessings of that and out of the connection to this, we enjoy it and drink it ourselves. So, this is really beneficial for us to purify the obscurations of offerings.
Like when you receive something whether it is good food, or whether it is a rich meal or a simple meal, you offer it. You do not think it is all for me. Instead, first you make an offering of it. And this is in order to purify the obscurations of offerings and also to make offerings to the gurus. So, this is the type of offering they make, right?
So, in this way in the biographies of many gurus it is said that whatever offerings we give should be offered to the guru in person, if they are there. If that is not possible, then we make offerings for the sake of fulfilling the guru’s intentions.
Example of the 1st Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa and Gampopa, and gurus continually offering to their own gurus
For example, when the first lord of Dharma, 1st Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa first met Gampopa he did not have much to give. Basically, he had a flower and like ten kata scarves, nothing else because he was like a mendicant, and he did not have anything to give. But in the later part of his life when he went to Kham, and Kampo Nenang and he went to his homeland, then his activities flourished and because of that many people gave him offerings. He took all of these offerings and even before he left for his homeland, Nepal, he sent a few of the offerings to Daglha Gampo for that monastery.
Finally, when he was already very old and in his 70s, he returned to central Tibet. One of the reasons why he went back to central Tibet was to take some of the offerings that he received and offer to them to the guru’s monastic seat. So that is why he went there.
Now at that time, the second time that 1st Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa, went from Kham to Daglha Gampo. At that time, the second time he went to central Tibet, Daglha Gampo was not there. Tom Sulu was not there, both of them had passed away, yet still Dusum Khyenpa offered 100 volumes written in gold, 100 dzo, 100 horses, a large turquoise and so forth, precious, and sacred objects that he offered. This is one story of making offerings to the gurus.
Likewise, Dusum Khyenpa on his own part, did not have any attachment to any things. There is another example about how that is. So Dusum Khyenpa, passed away on the third day of the tiger month in the year of the ox. So, he passed away in the third day. So, two days before he passed away, which means the first month of the tiger month, he gathered some of his most important disciples including Geshe Tsangtsowa, and he left his last testament to them.
What he said in this: “the only things that I possess, I do not have any, other than this robe that I am wearing my body, these clothes, and I have a hand mill for grounding tsampa”. I think that it was Gampopa who must have given him this hand mill. So, basically, he only had the clothes he wore and a hand mill for grinding barley flour. Other than that, everything else he had belonged to the sangha. He said “there is the 25 sang of this silver, turquoise, silk, brocade, dzos, and horses and cooking utensils and you should take them since you have to make them. So, in order to make tsampa you need barley and so sell all of them and buy barley. Then give that barley to the monks as a distribution to them. After that, you should stay here for a year or two after I stay there”.
At that time in Tsurphu, later it was considered to be a very remote place. During Dusum Khyenpa’s time, it was even more remote. It is like the remotest of remote places. So, because Dusum Khyenpa was staying, there were many people who were coming, but in general people usually did not come. They only came when Dusum Khyenpa was there. So, he specifically said in his last testament that “you need to stay here for a year or two”. When he said this, at that time Pon Drangtsen asked him, “Will people stay here? Are people going to come to a remote place like this out in the middle of nowhere?” When he said this, then Dusum Khyenpa came in, stood straight up, opened up his eyes and he looked and said: “Can’t you at least stay for one or two years?” he said. He said this very firmly and strongly. So, Tsurphu was an extremely remote location, and it was difficult for people to stay there, I think.
At that point, Dusum Khyenpa himself had had many people come and give him offerings. From his own perspective, the only things that he considered his own were the robes he wore and his hand mill for grinding tsampa flour. That is very clear.
Likewise, there was a Taglung Thangpa, Tashi Pel (1142 – 1209/1210). He was born in a rather wealthy family. When he went to see Phagmo Drupa Gyalpo, he had gold and other things to offer to him. Later, when he established the Taglung monastery and his activities flourished, a lot of people came and gave him offerings. He then made four great offerings that he sent to Phagmo Drupa. He made these great offerings four times it is said. He offered 100 sang of gold, that he offered as butter lamps. At the time of his death, he said that all of his belongings should be dedicated to the Phagmo Drupa monastery, so please give them to that monastery he said [2].
But the students requested him and said “Please keep a little bag so that you can fulfil your intentions.” Other than that, the rest of it was all sent to the monastery of Phagmo Drupa monastery. There are many of those such stories, such as Dusum Khyenpa, Drigung Jigten Sumgon, Taglung Dampa. From one perspective, they were gurus, from another point of view in relation to their gurus they were disciples. So, in terms of being a guru, they were authentic gurus. In terms of being a disciple, they were an authentic disciple. In that way, it is important to understand how this works.
Endnotes
[1] Taklung Thangpa Tashi Pal (1142–1210) is the Founder of the Taklung Kagyu lineage. The Taklung Kagyu lineage remains unbroken to this day. Taklung Thangpa Tashi Pal founded the Taklung Yarthang Monastery. He is considered one of the many immediate students of Pal Phagmo Drupa.
[2] The offerings he made were to Densatil is a Kagyu monastery that was founded in 1158 by Pakmodrupa Dorje Gyelpo to the east of Tsetang. As one of the seats of the Pakmodru Dynasty in the fourteenth century, the monastery acquired great wealth and included multiple spectacularly ornamented reliquary stupas.