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January 26, 2010
The following is a compilation of messages composed by Tsem Tulku Rinpoche on Twitter. Follow Rinpoche on Twitter to receive these and more... LIVE!
Buddha Shakyamuni has passed away; you never met Him. It is through your guru's kindness that you are in Dharma and understand the Dharma. It is not Shakyamuni who directly brought you into the Dharma, it is the hard work of your guru. Once your guru gives you Dharma knowledge, your perspective on life, goals and current situations dramatically change for the better.
Don't make things difficult for your teacher because you will slow the Dharma down. It is a fine line between devotion and being fanatical. It depends on your motivation after you have examined your teacher and accepted him. Changing one's motivation is very hard. But not changing is harder in the long run AND it gets worse. Read the 'Wheel of Sharp Weapons'. Not trusting your guru in the beginning is natural, but not trusting him forever signifies something deeper.
Guru devotion can be strange to Westerners. But that doesn't make guru devotion invalid. Study, and understanding solves that. A lack of guru devotion can be strange to the Tibetan mind, but then again, devotion can be manifested differently in the West compared to Tibet.
Remember the kindness of your teacher. Devotion to the teacher arises in a stable manner when you contemplate regularly how they have really changed your life. If you make your teacher do all your work, it takes time away from what they really need to do. Contemplate that and serve sincerely. Serving your teacher isn't slavery or being taken advantage of. We have been slaves to fashion, money, partners, alcohol for so long.
Devotion to your teacher isn't something new. We've been devoted to materialism, music, partners, cars, entertainment, etc. Change your focus. When your mind transforms and you see how your life has changed for the better, devotion to the teacher will arise clearly. If your mind doesn't transform, it is not your teacher's fault, so never lay your laziness on them to justify your lack of change.
The biggest Buddha in the world is the one inside of you: the Buddha potential.
Kindness is subjective, but the Dharma bestowed upon us is beyond any normal or subjective kindness.
Guru devotion is the KEY, but how you enact it is cultural and subjective.
Trust the Dharma that your teacher gives you. Trust the Dharma all the way in order to get any kind of results. Trust arises from tasting the results you get from Dharma practice, so it is very important to start practising. Conceptual Dharma and actual Dharma are different. One is knowledge and one is results. Both are important.
#TsemTulku
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