Guru Devotion – From a Consultation with Jetsunma

The following transcript was found while cleaning under an altar in Jetsunma’s house. Jetsunma has agreed to allow the teaching to be shared so others may benefit:

Teaching – September 8^th in the early 2000’s

Question: Is the reason that the Vajrayana works so well… in following the Guru’s instruction without opinion (In regards to breaking down conceptualization allowing the Wisdom mind to BE – i.e., responding to Jetsunma’s previous instructions (teaching on the microcosm and the macrocosm being the same, inner and outer being the same, no distinction)

Jetsunma (from taped teaching): …that helps you let the Wisdom mind de-obscure or open up and be and assert itself in a way if you don’t make those discriminations. Then the Wisdom Mind begins to assert itself and you practice that by letting the Wisdom Mind_, in the form of your teacher, assert itself in your life. It’s just the perfect practice, really because it’s so nuts and bolts you won’t long get away with faking it. It will come up one way or the other so to practice closely with your Guru like that is very, very important, even if you only get to do it a couple of times a month when your Guru tells you, look, I see what your mind is doing. Here’s what it is. Take advantage of this information. Practice like that. Do exactly what I say. You won’t get that any place else. That’s the value of being close to your teacher. See what I’m saying?

Student: I clearly hear what you are saying. Every time I hear you say something like that I feel so bad about how I haven’t.

Jetsunma: Well, you can go to guilt but now listen. You can go to guilt but I have found that just ends up with useless emotion that just shakes you up and gets you totally off point. Guilt is a pretty useless and time consuming emotion. You know. It’s just very rarely useful. Once in a while when you have to really take a look at yourself. But these times are for something different, instead of going to guilt you just have to follow it like a river. Just like, oh my teacher just put me in the water, pushing me. Now I’m going to swim in just that direction exactly. See what I’m saying? That’s exactly what you should do. It’s so much more fruitful. Don’t you see the logic of that?

Student: Absolutely.

Jetsunma: If you want to be guilty, do it another time.

Student: Even if the instruction was given a while back, you can start now?

Jetsunma: Exactly, exactly. The thing is not to make a big deal of that. It’s like if the teacher pushes you off, in that moment, in that space, and you are there, swim exactly the direction he/she pushes you. Just go exactly that way. You won’t get there anywhere else—it’s priceless in samsara—other than from your own Root Guru. Trust me.

Student: Who else could we trust?

Jetsunma: Right, of course. So if you want to practice being open-hearted and free of contrivance and letting that Wisdom flow and the Bodhicitta flow in your life, that is the moment to practice it. Right then. Do it like that with the Guru Yoga.