In Dharma, one of the most important jobs we have is to fight and pacify our inner poisons. They are our inner demons, and that is the work. At the same time we must enrich and grow our virtue, our good qualities. This is a mirror to the way Guru Padmasambhava entered Tibet.
When Guru entered Tibet he was met with Demons and local demi-gods. The Bon religion existed there and these demons were associated. Guru Rinpoche defeated all of them with debate and miraculous powers, including flying above them. He won over some demons and made them holy protectors. Those unwilling to be oath bound were destroyed.
Then Guru Padmasambhava could enter Tibet. There he gathered translators and worked. Guru Rinpoche translated Dharma from Sanskrit to Tibetan. Due to His power, purity and virtue Tibet became a great land of Dharma.
We must do the same thing in our own minds. Conquer our own demons and make the way for Dharma to take root. Then move forward and develop.
So Dharma is not a bland tutti-frutti faith and path. Vajrayana is meant to change one’s habits, non-virtues, so it is powerful. It can cut!
Vajrayana is potent, and should not be mixed with anything else. It cannot be changed or it loses its potency. And I can tell you it is not for the weak. It requires self-honesty and pure intention. It requires us to abandon the mentality of materialism and ordinary view.
Self-honesty can be brutal. Ask ANY recovering alcoholic. We are all addicts to samsara. We like the hit, the buzz, all of it. So there is real inner work to be done. Can’t just sit and contrive “blissing out”- anyone can do that. The idea is this IS relative reality.
We ARE experiencing old age, sickness and death. So there MUST be a remedy SO POWERFUL to awaken us to Buddhahood! It ain’t Kansas anymore.
Spiritually we must break lifetimes of habit and confusion! That takes work, a dedicated life. That is why Guru Padmasambava said Vajrayana is the right way for THIS time called Kaliyuga, the time of degeneration. And Enlightenment is more easily gained. As samsara is thick, so is the door of Liberation more firmly opened to those who work it.
This is the essence of THIS method. If you were my very own babe I would not, could not tell you different. This is the wisdom and clarity of the great Bodhicitta, the milk of awakening. From the very heart of Dharma, the Precious Guru, it is offered to you.
Om AH HUNG BENZAR GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUNG! Samaya EH MA HO.
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