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Lama Zopa Rinpoche pausing to look at a group photo from an early Kopan Course with Khen Rinpoche Geshe Chonyi and Ven. Thubten Tendar, Kopan Monastery, Nepal, August 2020. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche continues his video teachings on thought transformation from Kopan Monastery in Nepal. Here is a summary of the most recent teaching:
This video begins with the precious opportunity for us to hear from Max Mathews, known affectionately as “Mummy Max,” who met Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 1968 and was instrumental in establishing and funding Kopan Monastery in the 1970s. We invite you to take a moment to get to know this remarkable person and listen to her talk about this formative time in FPMT history.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche begins his teaching explaining that without the body and mind, there is no “I.” Believing that there is a real “I” without depending on the continuity of consciousness and body is totally mistaken. The real “I” is not there. If you look for it scientifically or through meditation, you can’t find it. This is the most important subject for Western science to check and to realize because all suffering comes from the ignorance that believes in a real “I.”
Rinpoche then turns the teaching toward a discussion of bodhichitta, the wish to attain enlightenment in order to end the suffering of all sentient beings. In your bodhichitta motivation, not one sentient being in numberless universes is left out. That means everyone, not just nice sentient beings!
Rinpoche then discusses the actions of the buddhas and the guru. The buddhas are manifesting as the guru, doing actions for every single sentient being in numberless universes. Because your mind is so obscured, you cannot see any buddha in the aspect of a buddha. We are so fortunate to be able to see the guru in human form, rather than as a donkey or mouse! This is the kindness of the guru, appearing in ordinary aspect for your benefit.
Keep in mind, whatever the guru does, this is the action of all the buddhas. Without a guru, you cannot be liberated from samsara, and your mind cannot receive the actions of the buddhas, the guidance of the buddhas. It is the most important relationship you have. The guru is more special than even Vajradhara because you learn the qualities you need to achieve enlightenment in this life.
Rinpoche then offers a small teaching on prostrations (starting at 1:19:48 in the video), including the meaning of the prostration mudra, how to do prostrations and the significance of touching different parts of the body, what to think when you touch the different parts of the body, how to do a proper full length prostration, an explanation of why you should do short five-limb prostrations when taking pratimoksha vows, and what to meditate on as you are lying down during prostration.
Rinpoche then gives the lung of The Array of Sukhavati Pure Land. (The section on the lung begins at 1:33:18 in the video).
We invite you to go deeper into the topics presented here, plus many others, by watching Rinpoche’s video and reading the full transcript of Rinpoche’s teaching.
Watch Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teaching “All the Buddhas Manifest as the Guru in Ordinary Aspect to Guide You”:
https://youtu.be/CDxzLWejlSI
- Read the transcript of Rinpoche’s teaching
- The Array of Sukhavati Pure Land: A Concise Mahayana Sutra
- Many of the stories Max Mathews refers to can be read in Big Love: The Life and Teachings of Lama Yeshe.
- Dedication verses for COVID-19 Crisis Teachings
Watch more from the video series Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Teachings on Thought Transformation during the Time of COVID-19 and find links to videos in translation, transcripts, MP3s, additional practice advice, and more:
https://fpmt.org/fpmt/announcements/resources-for-coronavirus-pandemic/advice-from-lama-zopa-rinpoche-for-coronavirus/
Practice advice from our teachers, Dharma study-from-home opportunities, and more can be found on the page “Resources for the Coronavirus Pandemic.”
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.