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Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching during the Kopan November Course, giving the oral transmission of the lamrim text Essence of Nectar, December 22, 2022. Photo by Ven. Lobsang Sherab.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche offered the complete oral transmission (lung) of The Essential Nectar of Holy Doctrine, also known as the Essence of Nectar, one of the eighteen great lamrim texts by Yeshe Tsondro. It was given over two teachings from the fifty-third lamrim meditation course at Kopan Monastery on December 22 and 23, 2022.
This is one of the most important texts for anyone sincerely studying the lamrim or who receives lamrim preliminaries from Rinpoche. All are welcome to take this oral transmission from the videos and receive it. As Rinpoche has explained, even if you don’t understand the words at all, even hearing the sound of Buddha’s teachings becomes a great purification and collection of merit. It is very important not to distract your mind or let it wander. There are three types of lungs one can receive—when we hear all the words and understand everything; when we hear it all but have a rough understanding of the meaning, that’s the middle lung; and then if we don’t understand but hear all the words, that is the last lung.
We should listen to each word of the oral transmission to benefit sentient beings, Rinpoche advises, “to achieve realization of the whole path, what is mentioned here, in your heart. And also each word that you hear to benefit the numberless sentient beings. And as they hear each word of this, sentient beings are able to achieve realization immediately in their hearts, especially bodhicitta, to actualize bodhicitta immediately in their hearts, and become free from lower realms, free from samsara, and achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible. Please dedicate like that, that you listening to this lung is useful to every sentient being. Listen to pacify war, famine, disease in the country, torture, and to pacify immediately all the dangers of earth, water, fire, and wind. So you are taking each word of the lung for the benefit of that.”
Rinpoche begins offering the oral transmission at 1:31:40 of the December 22 teaching and continues at 1:05:41 of the December 23 teaching.
While offering this oral transmission over the two teachings, Rinpoche also taught on other topics including the preciousness of every single sentient being, the power of having a good heart, how to bear hardships to practice Dharma, how we can receive great inspiration from the enlightenment stories of great yogis (rather than reading novels), how rejoicing keeps your mind in a happy place, how practicing patience causes a happy life, and many other important topics.
We invite anyone with interest to receive this very previous oral transmission from Rinpoche by listening to the two videos as Rinpoche has instructed. Final transcripts will be provided here once they are available. Unedited video recordings of the live transcription alongside Rinpoche’s teaching is also available to watch in Video 1 and Video 2.
Watch Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teaching “Rinpoche Begins the Oral Transmission of Essential Nectar”:
https://youtu.be/x2L7cLeeSDw
Watch Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teaching “Rinpoche Concludes the Oral Transmission of Essential Nectar”:
https://youtu.be/i-niRbs-q_M
This summary of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s teaching is by Carina Rumrill based on the transcript by Ven. Joan Nicell. Editorial input and additions by Justin Jenkins.
This summary is meant to highlight key topics presented by Rinpoche in the recorded video and is not intended to serve as a full representation of Rinpoche’s teaching, which is best received through watching the video.
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.