Fortunate Me

I was so happy to be able to attend the teachings by Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche in Bartsham, Tashigang (from 20^th December 2013-10^th January 2014). I rejoice more in the fact that I could take my mother along. As we sat next to each other, hearing nothing but Rinpoche’s voice, I could feel a very deep sense of gratitude to her and I had moments when I could so lucidly pray for her (and all my mothers of past lives). I am grateful to my office for granting this long leave to make it possible.

The teaching was on ‘Terton Pema Lingpa’s zapter’ – and he began by telling us that it is important to preserve and uphold his teachings. Rinpoche emphasised that meditation is the key. He said, ‘Do not meditate for a very long moment. Start meditating for three or five minutes a day. But be consistent. Meditate everyday.’ He said, if we did that, there will come a time when we will be habituated to it and we will feel something amiss or a discomfort the way we feel when we do not wash our face in the morning. Once it becomes a habit, it will be easier to attune our mind easily. He recommended meditation to even fight addiction to drugs and other intoxicating substances.

And in doing all this, what we need is our root guru. He said that we must first make sure that we choose our guru correctly and once we have chosen him/her, we must have unfaltering devotion and faith in him/her. In Vajrayana Buddhism, the only way to open the door to the truth is through faith and prayers to our guru.

For this wisdom and truth, I thank the Rinpoche and I pray that his teachings flourish for the benefit of the enlightenment of all sentient beings.