The following is from a public talk offered by the Venerable Gyaltrul Rinpoche
First of all, it’s important to understand that the term Buddhism means the inner pursuit, turning inside rather than outside. What we look at within ourselves is the nature of our own mind. We engage in the inner pursuit to root out the delusions and to actualize our highest potential. Once we have decided to engage in this inner pursuit, we may find we need guidance, that we need a teacher.
The teacher we choose should be one who has already realized the nature of his or her mind and is liberated from the round of cyclic existence. Otherwise, if we follow a teacher or teachings that arise from someone who is still in the world, still worldly, then, because such a person is no different from us, it is not possible for him to help us in a meaningful way. When we engage in the inner pursuit, which means the spiritual pursuit, we do so because we want to improve our inner self. So it’s important that the teacher we find has already accomplished the result that we want to achieve.
How do we know that a teacher is qualified in this way? According to the Buddhist path, it is an accepted fact that Lord Buddha Shakyamuni is such a teacher. Born Prince Siddhartha, and destined to be the most powerful king of India at that time, he renounced all of his worldly power and wealth because he saw that the nature of cyclic existence is suffering. Wishing to understand the true nature of life and the true nature of reality, he pursued the spiritual path until he attained the state of full enlightenment, the state of awakening, which is characterized by tremendous compassion and concern for all living beings and their awakening.
Biography of Venerable Gyaltrul Rinpoche
Biography of Vidyadhara Kunzang Sherab – Venerable Gyaltrul Rinpoche is Kunzang Sherab’s current incarnation.
