Great Treasury of Merit. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

      When we visualize this Field of Merit, we visualize our root Guru in the aspect of Lama Losang Tubwang Dorjechang and regard him as the essence of all our Spiritual Guides. We should not feel that a Spiritual Guide cannot be our root Guru just because he is not ordained, or because he is not famous. What matters is that he or she helps us to tame our mind. Sometimes our Spiritual Guide will put difficulties in our way, as Marpa did with Milarepa, or even scold us, as Tilopa did with Naropa, but we should regard all these as special blessings that help us to purify our mind and eliminate obstructions.

      We visualize our Spiritual Guide as Lama Losang Tubwang Dorjechang by following the words of the sadhana:

      He is in the aspect of a fully ordained monk, with one face, two hands, and a radiant smile. His right hand is in the mudra of expounding Dharma, and his left hand, in the mudra of meditative equipoise, holds a bowl filled with nectar. He wears three robes of resplendent saffron, and his head is graced with a golden Pandit’s hat. At his heart are Buddha Shakyamuni and Vajradhara, who has a blue-coloured body, one face, and two hands. Holding vajra and bell, he embraces Yingchugma and delights in the play of spontaneous bliss and emptiness. He is adorned with many different types of jewelled ornament and wears garments of heavenly silk. Endowed with the major signs and minor indications, and ablaze with a thousand rays of light, my Guru sits in the centre of an aura of five-coloured rainbows. Sitting in the vajra posture, . . .

      We visualize the external aspect of our Spiritual Guide as Je Tsongkhapa. Altogether, there are eighty different aspects of Je Tsongkhapa. In this aspect, which is the one that Je Tsongkhapa revealed to Mahasiddha Dharmavajra, he appears as a fully ordained monk wearing a yellow Pandit’s hat. His right hand is in the mudra of expounding Dharma and his left hand, in the mudra of meditative equipoise, holds a jewelled bowl brimming with the three nectars. Between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand he holds the stem of an upala flower which blossoms at the level of his right ear. Upon this stands a flaming sword of wisdom similar to that held by Manjushri. This sword has the power to dispel ignorance from the mind of whoever beholds it. Between the thumb and forefinger of his left hand he holds the stem of another upala flower which blossoms at the level of his left ear. Upon this rests the Kadam Emanation Scripture.

      We may wonder why the sadhana specifically mentions the fact that our Spiritual Guide has one face and two hands, since this is perfectly normal! The reason is that we are visualizing our Spiritual Guide according to Tantra, and many Tantric Deities have more than one face and more than two hands. Heruka, for example, has four faces and twelve hands.

      Our Spiritual Guide’s body is white with a reddish tint, and his skin is as smooth as a lotus petal. He has a serenely peaceful face, with elongated eyes and a long, high-bridged nose. He gazes down upon his disciples with a smile of delight, as a mother would look at her dearest child.

      At Guru Tsongkhapa’s heart on a lotus and moon seat is Buddha Shakyamuni who has a golden-coloured body. His left hand, in the mudra of meditative equipoise, holds a precious bowl filled with nectar, and his right hand rests on his right knee with the tips of his fingers touching the seat. At Buddha Shakyamuni’s heart is Conqueror Vajradhara who has a blue-coloured body, one face, and two hands. In his right hand he holds a golden vajra and in his left a silver bell. His hands are crossed at his heart embracing his consort, Yingchugma, with whom he sits in sublime union, delighting in the great play of spontaneous bliss and emptiness. Both Conqueror Vajradhara and Yingchugma are adorned with various jewelled ornaments and wear garments of heavenly silk.

      As mentioned before, according to Highest Yoga Tantra we strive to attain the state of Buddhahood possessing the seven pre-eminent qualities of embrace. These seven qualities are embodied by Conqueror Vajradhara. All Tantras include methods for transforming attachment into the spiritual path by generating pure, uncontaminated bliss and then using that mind of bliss to meditate on emptiness. The four classes of Tantra are distinguished by the way in which bliss is generated in conjunction with a consort. In Action Tantra, bliss is generated by looking at a consort, in Performance Tantra by exchanging smiles with her, in Yoga Tantra by touching her, and in Highest Yoga Tantra by entering into union with her.

      Lama Losang Tubwang Dorjechang is endowed with the thirty-two major signs and eighty minor indications of a Buddha. His entire body is made of light and he sits with his legs crossed in the vajra posture amidst an aura of five-coloured rainbow lights, which are the nature of his five exalted wisdoms.

      At first it is difficult to visualize this in detail, and we should be satisfied with a rough image of Lama Losang Tubwang Dorjechang. What matters most of all is to understand the significance of this visualization so that we can develop faith. As it says in the sadhana, we should regard our Spiritual Guide as ‘the very essence of all the Buddhas’. To do this we need to recall the instructions from the stages of the path on relying upon a Spiritual Guide, where there are many scriptural citations, analogies, and logical reasons proving that our Spiritual Guide is a Buddha.

      According to Offering to the Spiritual Guide we regard our Spiritual Guide as an emanation of Je Tsongkhapa, who in turn is an emanation of Buddha Shakyamuni, who in turn is an emanation of Conqueror Vajradhara. We can be certain that our Spiritual Guide is an emanation of Conqueror Vajradhara because Conqueror Vajradhara himself said that in degenerate times he would appear in an ordinary form as a Spiritual Guide. Because Buddhas have completely abandoned self-cherishing they are necessarily non-deceptive; therefore we must believe what Conqueror Vajradhara says.

      In the golden age, when Buddha Shakyamuni was teaching, there were sentient beings who had a great deal of merit, and so they were able to see Buddha Shakyamuni directly. Some were even able to see him as a Supreme Emanation Body endowed with the major signs and minor indications. These days, however, when times are degenerate and sentient beings have little merit, we are not able to see Buddha’s form directly. Even if a Buddha endowed with the hundred and twelve signs and indications were present in front of us we would be unable to see him. Impure minds can see only impure forms. Therefore, to make themselves accessible to sentient beings in these impure times, the Buddhas have to appear in ordinary forms as Emanation Bodies who appear to take rebirth from ordinary parents and are apparently subject to ageing, sickness, and death. However, they still perform the functions of a Buddha.

      If we were to meet Buddha Shakyamuni directly, how would he help us? He would guide us by setting an immaculate example, teaching spiritual paths, and encouraging us in our practice. If we examine the actions of our present Spiritual Guide we will see that he or she is doing just this. Anyone who performs the actions of a Buddha must be a Buddha. Thus, although our Spiritual Guide appears in an ordinary form, we can be certain that he or she is a Buddha.

      Everyone who has attained enlightenment in the past has done so with the intention of helping sentient beings, and every Buddha has promised to continue working for the benefit of others until all sentient beings have reached enlightenment. Since it is inconceivable that Buddhas would break their promise, we can be certain that all the Buddhas are still working to help us. If we ask who is helping us right now, the answer is our Spiritual Guide. Therefore, it follows that our Spiritual Guide is an emanation of the Buddhas.