Guru Question

[Mooch]

 Someone told me that whoever gives you your first Highest-Yoga-Empowerment is your Guru,Is this true?

[Bodpa Lhakpa]

Please to correct me if my understanding is wrong or excluded from the mainstream notion.

Firstly, GURU is referred to Lama, is it? I couldn't recall who told me that 'The one who teaches you basic Tibetan language at the begining should be regarded as your guru/Lama', and I believe this  is true! We know that all the precious teachings of Buddha had been kept in the form of letters, therefor, whoever wants to practice the dharma must be able to read and think, thus the most precious Lama for each one of us should be our teachers, especially the one who made us able to read and think!

 

[Mooch]

 Thanks for your reply. I guess I don`t get it, either I`m not looking deep enough into your response
 or I`m just a bit ignorant,probably the latter. No one ever taught me Tibetan.

[Mohani]

Dear Mooch

The way i understand it is your Guru is whoever you consider to be your guru, the person who you can develop faith in, preferably the teacher you consider to be the living buddha. Guru/Disciple relationship is dependent related, so it depends on the deciples faith. These days it is quite possible that a person might turn up to a HYT empowerment not really knowing what its all about, they might verbaly take vows and comitments but not really understand them, so there is not much genuine intention. So not much comitment.
Trying to understand the actual nature and function of the Guru is a very important part of the Guru/Disciple relationship.
I dont think i have actualy answered your question, but i hope it maybe helpful..

Mx

[Alexis]

Mooch,

No, it doesn't have to be your root guru. This lama is definetly going to be your guru, however. You might receive many HYT initiations from many lama. Eventually, you will feel such a strong connexion with one of them. This one is going to become your root guru. It doesn't have to the first one. However, this first one (and all the others), you will have to honor and respect until you die.

[beggar]

What's meant with 'teaching the Tibetan alphabet' etc is - we should respect and revere all of our teachers, even the one who 'only' taught us to read and write. It is said that if we have negative views of anyone we have received a teaching or initiation, we cannot gain attainments.
There are many beautiful descriptions of what root guru means, here is one - this is the teacher who definitely turns our mind to Dharma and gets us to practice.
Let's hear some of the poetic definitions and then i'll come back with with another practical one...
yours, beggar

[a friend]

In praise of Manjushri

I praise my Lord Manjushri
Among flowers and glancing
Upon us with enchanting grace,
Looking so close, with a smile
To steal our hearts, seated on
A lotus, holding scripture and sword,
Holding flowers, oh Manjushri,
Captivating Lord. So close to us
And so unfathomable, young sage,
Gentle voice, attractive one,
Just let me be close to you,
Day after day, life after life,
Until the wheel stops, until the end,
Until I become like you.

What wondrous fortune
Brought me to You,
Master of bliss,
From the abyss of countless worlds
Of pain and fear,
To your lotus feet,
To your refuge, to your protection,
To your inspiration?
Kind Guru, may all enjoy
Such good fortune!
From the depths of my heart
I send you my love and gratitude,
And beg You to stay with us
Life after life, beyond enlightenment.

[a friend]

Hi friends.

Just a quick note to congratulate practitioners for the annual big Lama day we have tomorrow.

Samsaric dramas unfold and we are part of it. We try to help as much as we can and we have to keep trying to help.

But in the end only our practice can truly help us and others.

With affection, your old
friend

[Alexis]

 How about happy 'Blissfully Bursted into Flames Enlightened Mahadeva' day?

[a friend]

 

Such a great day!
Let's wish many will enjoy such days very soon!
Thank you Alexis.

[ilikeshugden]

I believe that a guru is someone that changes your life to the better and makes you a better person. It is not only about initiations. Your guru is your spiritual guide. A spiritual guide that you trust and believe in so that your mind transforms.

[negra orquida]

Based on the 8 Verses of Thought Transformation, we could practice viewing everyone as our guru (especially those who didn't treat us nicely =p)

But yes I agree with ilikeshugden. Also, I think a root guru may not always be the person whom you take refuge or receive initiations from.. there are many instances where a guru comes and visits a country, gives initiations, then fly off to the next destination. But perhaps one of the persons who went to the guru for initiation did not transform internally after that, or understood what the initiation truly meant, or do the practices that relate to that initiation. In this case, the guru may not be that particular person's root guru..

[dondrup]

 Someone told me that whoever gives you your first Highest-Yoga-Empowerment is your Guru,Is this true?

We have a teacher or mentor in every aspect of our lives.  Our parents taught us how to walk and talk for example.  Our teachers in schools taught us languages.  We even need an instructor to teach us how to drive a car etc.  Looking deeper, we will realize that every experience we encounter in life is our Guru because it teaches us something.  There is a saying, “Failure is the mother of success”.  Even failure can become our teacher.
 
When it comes to spiritual practice, we also need a guru or spiritual guide. This Guru is any teacher who guides us along the spiritual path.  Our Dharma text is also our Guru because it teaches us Dharma!  A student may have many gurus.  The Guru whom you had taken initiation or highest yoga empowerment from is your guru. However, the guru who has the most impact on the student’s spiritual development is that student’s root guru. 
 
Up to this stage we have been talking about the outer guru.  Then there is the inner guru in us.  Our outer guru is guiding us so that eventually we discover our inner guru which is our true self, our original face, true nature of our mind or our Buddha Nature.

[DharmaSpace]

I feel there are so many things that teach us if we are observant, the 4 seasons can for example teach us about impermanence. If we open our hearts to learn there is so much we can learn about and so many sources we can tap into. Sometimes the best lessons are those that challenge us the most. 

[triesa]

In life, we have so many teachers(gurus) who teach us different aspects of life. All of them are precious.

When we come to spirituality, I was once told by a friend that the one who triggers our mind on the path of spirituality and start practising is our root guru. I was also told that even you have not taken any official ceremong with a lama, if you have taken him/her in your heart as someone who aspires you to embark on the spirituality journey and practise, he/she is also your root guru.

I think here it concerns a close relationship between the disciple(you) and the guru(the one you have taken great faith in). And that the esscence of a root guru is someone you will follow his/her advice from A to Z. Having said that, it is spoken even by Lord Buddha that one should examine the qualities of the lama carefully before one takes on a close disciple/guru relationship. This also applies to a lama when he takes someone as his student, he also have to observe the mind of the potential disciple to see if he/she is the suitable recipent.

I believe when a lama takes you as a disciple, he is there for us in all future lives to guide us until we gain the ultimate enlightenment.