In the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra Buddha says that if we lack wisdom we are like a blind person, but if we possess wisdom we can see everything. Wisdom is the supreme eye that enables us to see all the different types of path. Ordinary eyes can see only external paths that lead from one external place to another, but wisdom eyes can also see internal paths. There are many different types of internal path. Some lead to rebirth in lower realms, some lead to rebirth in higher realms, and some lead to rebirth in Pure Lands. Some internal paths lead to liberation, others lead to enlightenment. Wisdom eyes can see all these different paths. Moreover, wisdom guides us to make correct decisions about which internal paths to follow. Without wisdom it is very easy to follow wrong paths. Because of our lack of wisdom, we have been following wrong paths since beginningless time. Although we have always sought happiness and contentment, hitherto our actions have resulted largely in suffering and dissatisfaction. This shows that we have been following wrong internal paths.
There are many different types of wisdom, such as wisdom arising from listening, wisdom arising from contemplation, wisdom arising from meditation, wisdom that realizes conventional truths, and wisdom that realizes ultimate truth. Each of these has many levels. If we want to be completely free from suffering and attain lasting happiness we definitely need to develop these different types of wisdom. Therefore we need to practise the Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa.
Wishing to eliminate our ignorance and increase our wisdom while ignoring or rejecting the Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa is a contradiction because Je Tsongkhapa is the Wisdom Buddha. Whereas most of the Tibetan Lamas prior to Je Tsongkhapa emphasized the attainment and display of miracle powers, Je Tsongkhapa saw his main responsibility as helping sentient beings to eliminate their ignorance through improving their wisdom. He understood very clearly that the development of wisdom is the only certain path that leads to freedom from suffering. Therefore, instead of revealing miracle powers, Je Tsongkhapa spent his whole life giving teachings, revealing clearly and unmistakenly the path to liberation. If we reject the practice of Je Tsongkhapa we will only increase our ignorance.
Just as we need to improve our wisdom, so we also need to improve our compassion and spiritual power. Since Je Tsongkhapa is an emanation of Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of compassion, and of Vajrapani, the Buddha of spiritual power, if we practise the Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa our compassion and spiritual power will naturally increase. Wishing to increase our compassion and spiritual power while ignoring or rejecting the Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa is also a contradiction. More detail on the practices of Migtsema and Ganden Lhagyema can be found in the commentary entitled Heart Jewel.
From the point of view of Highest Yoga Tantra, the Lord of the compassion lineage is Heruka, the Lord of the wisdom lineage is Yamantaka, and the Lord of the lineage of spiritual power is Guhyasamaja. To attain enlightenment swiftly, we must receive the blessings of these three Deities. When we practise the Guru yoga of Offering to the Spiritual Guide, the principal object of refuge and Field for Accumulating Merit is Je Tsongkhapa who, as an emanation of the Wisdom Buddha, is the same nature as Yamantaka. Within his body we visualize the thirty-two Deities of Guhyasamaja, and at the same time we generate ourself as Heruka. In this way we are able to receive the blessings of all three Deities and engage in all the essential practices of Highest Yoga Tantra within one session.
As already mentioned, the sequence for attaining enlightenment in one short human life is first to gain some experience of Lamrim, then to practise Lojong, and then to engage in Vajrayana Mahamudra. The Guru yoga of Offering to the Spiritual Guide includes all these practices. Because it contains all the instructions on the stages of the path to enlightenment, it possesses all the pre-eminent qualities of the Lamrim texts. Thus, by relying upon this practice we will understand that there are no contradictions within Buddha’s teachings, we will take all Buddha’s teachings as personal advice and put them into practice, we will easily realize Buddha’s ultimate intention, and we will naturally become free from the great fault and all other faults. Moreover, because this Guru yoga contains all the instructions on training the mind, it also possesses the pre-eminent qualities of the Lojong texts. Thus, as Geshe Chekawa says in Training the Mind in Seven Points ‘It is like a diamond, like the sun, and like a medicinal tree.’ More detail on the pre-eminent qualities of Lamrim and Lojong can be found in Joyful Path of Good Fortune and Universal Compassion.
Offering to the Spiritual Guide is also a preliminary practice for Vajrayana Mahamudra and includes all the stages of the generation stage and completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra. If we engage in this practice regularly and sincerely we will receive special blessings, so that when we finally engage in a three year retreat on Vajrayana Mahamudra we will find it very easy to gain realizations. Many of Je Tsongkhapa’s followers such as Mahasiddha Dharmavajra, Gyalwa Ensapa, and Khedrub Sangye Yeshe have attained enlightenment in three years through relying upon this special Guru yoga. Unlike Milarepa, who did not have access to this practice, they did not have to undergo great hardships to gain realizations but were able to progress smoothly and swiftly through the stages of Vajrayana Mahamudra by relying upon this Guru yoga. This is the uncommon quality of Je Tsongkhapa’s Guru yoga. Therefore, if we want to attain enlightenment swiftly and easily we definitely need to develop faith in Je Tsongkhapa and practise his Guru yoga sincerely.
The extent to which we receive the benefits of this Guru yoga depends upon our faith in Je Tsongkhapa. To increase our faith we need to contemplate again and again why we need to practise the Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa. Then, if we follow Je Tsongkhapa’s tradition purely without mixing with other traditions, and rely upon his Dharma Protector, Dorje Shugden, our faith in Je Tsongkhapa, and therewith our realizations, will naturally increase. If we follow this advice – to develop deep, unchanging faith in Je Tsongkhapa, to follow his tradition purely without mixing, and to rely sincerely upon the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden – we will definitely receive great benefits. If a Teacher encourages us to do these things it is we who experience the benefits, not the Teacher. There is nothing partisan about this advice; it is given only for our benefit. Experience shows that realizations come from deep, unchanging faith, and that this faith comes as a result of following one tradition purely – relying upon one Teacher, practising only his teachings, and following his Dharma Protector. If we mix traditions many obstacles arise and it takes a long time for us to attain realizations.
Baso Chokyi Gyaltsen
The Origin and Lineage of these Instructions
The lineage of this instruction, known as the ‘Uncommon Whispered Lineage’, was transmitted from Buddha Vajradhara to Manjushri and from Manjushri directly to Je Tsongkhapa. From Je Tsongkhapa it has been passed down to the present Teachers through exactly the same lineage as the Mahamudra of the Virtuous Tradition. It has already been explained that there are two main Guru yogas related to Je Tsongkhapa: The Hundreds of Deities of the Joyful Land, or Ganden Lhagyema, and Offering to the Spiritual Guide, or Lama Chopa. Both of these were transmitted by Buddha Manjushri to Je Tsongkhapa in a special scripture which is known as the Kadam Emanation Scripture. This scripture also includes instructions on Vajrayana Mahamudra, as well as six sadhanas of Manjushri: Accomplishing Outer Manjushri, Accomplishing Inner Manjushri, Accomplishing Secret Manjushri, Accomplishing Manjushri’s Body Mandala, Accomplishing Wheel of Dharma Manjushri and Accomplishing Solitary Manjushri.
The Hundreds of Deities of the Joyful Land was passed by Je Tsongkhapa to his disciple, Je Sherab Senge. This great Lama lived and practised at a place called Se in Tibet, and he and his two principal disciples later became known as the ‘Segyupa Father and Sons’. The lineage of the practice of The Hundreds of Deities of the Joyful Land is known as the ‘Segyu Lineage’. More information on this lineage can be found in the book Heart Jewel, and a profound explanation of how to practise Vajrayana Mahamudra in conjunction with the Guru yoga of the Segyu lineage can be found in Mahamudra Tantra.
The lineage of Offering to the Spiritual Guide developed as follows. After Je Tsongkhapa passed away, his tradition was preserved and promoted by his two principal disciples, Khedrubje and Togden Jampel Gyatso. Khedrubje, who was an emanation of Vajrapani, became