Tergar Shrine Hall,
17 March 2025

The nuns and their teachers gathered in the shrine hall at 2.00pm for the Gyalwang Karmapa’s final teaching session during the 9th Arya Kshema. This was followed by a final Grand Debate.
The All-Night Grand Debate [ མཚན་ཕུད་དམ་བཅའ་ཆེན་མོ་] is the traditional conclusion of monastic debate gatherings; in some Tibetan Buddhist schools it still lasts all night. However, the Kamtsang tradition is to end the debate before midnight.
It was a final opportunity for the nuns to demonstrate the skills they have developed in debate in front of the whole assembly. and included debates on all three topics presented this year—Dupa, Lorig and Tarig.
As this is the celebratory conclusion of all the debates during the Arya Kshema, the nuns wore ceremonial robes and the three responders wore the tsesha, the yellow pointed hat.



Verses 11-15: The After-Effects of Disrespecting the Guru’s Persona and Wishes

17 March 2025

The Gyalwang Karmapa opened the teaching session on the Fifty Verses on the Guru (Skt: Gurupañcāśikā) with kind greetings and announced the extension of the ongoing spring teaching season.

Then he laid out the outline established by Lord Tsongkhapa in his commentary Fulfilling All the Student’s Hopes: An Explanation of the Fifty Verses on the Guru (Tib. བླ་མ་ལྔ་བཅུ་པའི་རྣམ་བཤད་སློབ་མའི་རེ་བ་ཀུན་སྐོང།).

The manner of serving the guru has two parts:1. Abandoning disrespect, and 2. How to be respectful. The first (abandoning disrespect) has four points: 

1.Abandoning criticism and denigration (which has two parts a. general and b. specific)

• Abandoning criticism in general (taught in the previous session) 
• Specific explanation of abandoning criticism and denigration

2. Abandoning upsetting the guru
3. Explaining the unseen negative results
4. A summary of those

Verse 11 – Abandoning criticism and denigration: The Visible Negative Results

Those great fools who criticize

The guru’s feet will die from plagues,

Disasters, fevers, evil spirits,

Contagions, and from poisons. (11)

What is the after-effect of criticising and having one’s mind and heart intent on denigrating the guru?

Verse 11 According to the Textual Commentary on Serving the Guru (Skt. Gurvārādhana-pañjikā):

Calamities (Skt. īti) denotes being tormented by lightning strikes, floods, gales, famines, executioners and so forth. Dangers (upadrava) are dangers that arise from ghosts, hungry ghosts, monsters, demons, snakes, carnivorous beasts and so forth. Enemies (caura) means enemies with whom you have something like feuds or a blood feud.  Evil spirits (graha) are the sun and the rest of the nine [Ed. This is a reference to the nine heavenly bodies that influence human life on earth according to traditional Vedic astrology: the Sun, Moon, the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, and the two nodes of the Moon], or the twelve mamos such as Nandā and so forth. Because they take away sentient beings’ complexion and strength, they are graha (grasping). Fevers (jvara) are illnesses. Because they create pain in sentient beings, they are called fevers. To sum them up, there are four: wind, bile, phlegm, and the combination. To divide them further, there are many kinds. Poisons (viṣa) – though there are manifold poisons, they are generally classified as four—plant, animal, concocted and transformed. Plant poisons are such as kālakūṭa. Animal poisons are those from snakes and so forth. Concocted ones are those which are prepared. The transformed ones come from thought.

The great fools who criticise the guru’s feet will die from these – all of these will take away the life or destroy the life force of an individual who has criticised the guru.

[Note: The English verse follows Tibetan commentaries which do not exactly match the Sanskrit. The Karmapa explained the verse according to the Sanskrit Textual Commentary first, followed by the explanation of the somewhat different Tibetan version.]

Verse 11 According to Tibetan Commentaries:

Plagues (ཡམས་) refers to epidemics, like the COVID-19 was. Disasters (འཚེ་བ་) are dangers, like dangerous wild beasts. Fevers (ནད་) refers to various types of illnesses. Evil spirits (གདོན་) includes the mahoragas and other types of spirits. Contagions (རིམས་) means illnesses difficult to cure. Poisons (དུག་) like poisonous plants or those concocted by people and so forth.

Great fools who criticise the guru are great fools because they are utterly unaware of the gravity of such deeds. They will die from plagues and so forth.

Verse 12 – Abandoning criticism and denigration; The Visible and Unseen Negative Results

Tsongkhapa’s commentary Fulfilling All the Student’s Hopes outlines the categories of visible and the unseen negative results. The visible – manifested in this life – are listed in the Verse 11 and the first three lines of the Verse 12. The unseen – to be manifested in the following lifetime – are described from the last line of the Verse 12 onward.

They will be killed by tyrants, snakes,

Water, fire, ḍākinīs, bandits,

And vighna and vinayaka spirits,

And then they will go to the hells. (12)

Verse 12 According to The Sanskrit Textual Commentary on Serving the Guru:

The tyrants (rājadaṇḍa) will kill them resulting in their rebirth in the hell realm. A king is someone with the power to rule the land. Or it could be understood as great kings like Vaiśravaṇa and others or the great master of the guhyaka spirits. So, it could be understood as human kings, yakṣa kings and other beings taught in the Secret Mantra Vajrayana, the lords of the Secret Mantra. Fire (anala) means fire itself. Forces of nature like fire and water, mean themselves. Snakes (vyāla) refers to all deadly venomous animals. Ḍākinī refers to the flesh-eating and blood-drinking ḍākinīs. Water (jala) here means water itself. Bandits (taskara) are those who steal from you. Vighna spirits include Brahma, divine spirits, nāga spirits and so forth. Vinayaka spirits are false guides, like Gaṇapaṭi, and include kiṃnaras (kinnaras) and mahoragas.

Once they are killed by any of these dangerous beings or elements, the one who criticises the guru will go to the hells. Therefore, you should not criticise the guru – not even in your dreams.

Verse 12 According to Tibetan Commentaries

King (རྒྱལ་པོ་) refers to the punishment of a king, or a tyrant. These days there aren’t many kings, but it can be understood as experiencing harm which comes from violating the law, like judicial executions and so forth. Fire, water and the rest can kill you, and after an untimely death, one is reborn in the hell realm.

The heart of the matter lavishhere is that, if you criticize the Three Jewels in general, and in particular, if you disrespect and criticise the guru with whom you have a Dharma connection – it is a grave offense. Moreover, the teachings of Secret Mantra talk about the 10 kinds of beings to be destroyed, the great enemies of the teachings – and criticising the guru or the Jewels qualifies one for that list. Among the four types of activities, this is the wrathful activity. If you turn into such an enemy of the teachings, then it's very difficult to hope for any experience, realization, qualities and the like.

There are stories about this. 

The Tibetan Students Who Disrespected Their Foreign Guru Phamthingpa

Once in Tibet, there was the Chal lineage. This was an important family lineage which produced a great number of translators. Among them was Chal Sonam Gyaltsen. He was a student of Phamthingpa, a famous Nepalese student of Nāropa, who was renowned for translating the Hevajra Tantra and other texts. Initially, Chal was a student of Tanak Gö Lotsawa. But Chal didn’t have great wealth to make abundant offerings to Tanak Gö Lotsawa. In the olden days, great lamas and especially great translators, did not give empowerments and so forth without lavish offerings. Since Chal could not afford this, he didn’t receive the Guhyasamāja Tantra empowerment and its teachings from Tanak Gö Lotsawa. 

Pressed with such circumstances, he ventured south to Nepal to study Dharma. Upon arrival, he inquired about a learned Dharma teacher there. People said that Pal Jigme Drakpa (probably the name of Phamthingpa), a direct disciple of Nāropa, was a siddha who had received all the teachings like “filling a vase” and could be found in Pipi-harana. Chal Sonam Gyaltsen went to find him. 

In order to make a formal request to be accepted as a student, a tsogkhor (Skt. gaṇacakra), a ritual feast, had to be prepared. Chal took the lead among the other potential adepts, gathered the necessary materials and made the arrangements. During the feast, some of his Dharma brothers, intoxicated with chang (barley beer), sang a derogatory song about the guru because he had a dark complexion, was lower caste, and didn’t know Tibetan.

"This guru, they call him Newari Phamthing, when unseen, the sound is great. When seen and approached, he looks like an old cow covered with silk,” they sang in Tibetan, feeling confident that the guru would not understand them.

But because of this, a breach of samaya occurred. Immediately, the torma (ritual cake) jumped into the sky. The guru, even though he did not understand Tibetan, now realized that something was wrong, and they were not suitable vessels. He scolded them and the singers fled in such shame that they couldn’t even find the door. 

Chal was not among them. He did not sing. Although he didn’t find the guru to be particularly attractive, he didn’t have a problem with that. He did not lose faith and did not breach his samaya. Therefore, when he requested to be accepted as a disciple – the guru gladly accepted him. 

He bestowed the empowerments of Nairātmyā, Hevajra and others and taught him all the twelve commentaries on the Hevajra Tantra. Following this, Chal’s activities flourished far and wide. 

The guru’s appearance is not significant; the essence of the story is that even a slight criticism can lead to a breach of samaya – and the interdependent connections are disrupted! The Karmapa commented that this happens due to the great power of the Secret Mantra.

The Chant Master Who Disrespected the 16th Karmapa

The 16th Karmapa traveled across the world, east and west. In the countries without Buddhism he was able to invoke faith in many people that he was an actual buddha. There are famous stories of this incredible guru who appeared.

Even so, within his own monastery, in Rumtek, there were a few people who did not respect the 16th Karmapa, who even despised him or looked down on him. There were a few people who even criticized him, usually behind his back. One of them was the umdze [chant master]. He was rather learned but he had a bad streak in him. Karmapa Rigpe Dorje developed diabetes in the latter part of his life, which forced him to need the bathroom frequently. One time, during a Vajrakīlāya puja, Rigpe Dorje kindly requested the umdze to finish the session quickly, but the umdze intentionally chanted even more slowly. The Karmapa’s body was too weak to endure this and it was said that he even lost control of his bladder on the throne. 

In another puja, it was said, Rigpe Dorje told the same umdze that the way he played the cymbals was not quite right. The umdze snapped back at the 16th Karmapa, “You have no more education than an old tea server.” It was direct scorn because the old tea servers had a very low standing at Rumtek. At that moment, Rigpe Dorje’s face darkened, and he said sternly: “May I never have anything to do with people like you again”. 

Later, the umdze went into retreat. There, it happened that he suffered what was believed to be a mental breakdown. One day, he suddenly left the retreat center and was never seen again.  No one ever found out what happened to him. His fate remained a mystery – whether he was dead or alive, no one knew. 

The Attendant Who Criticised the 16th Karmapa

There was also an attendant, Luktuk. From the time he was little, people said he looked like a sheep, so they gave him the unkind nickname of Luktuk (which means Touches Sheep).  For his entire life, he denigrated Rigpe Dorje, and later in life, he became insane, they say. 

The After-Effects

These stories are not taught with the intent to instill fear, but we must be fully aware that our actions bring consequences. To nonchalantly disregard the possibility of dire outcomes can lead to eventual misfortune. 

We ought to remember that things always turned out well for the people of faith and a pure view of the guru – even if they started with multiple difficulties. Disrespecting the guru may seem profitable in the short term and one may appear successful among people but, in the end, their life can take a bad turn.

During the Cultural Revolution there were many people who fought against the gurus, destroyed statues and so forth. But when those people died, during the “sky burial” ceremonies, the vultures refused to eat their corpses, they would not even touch them. There are many testimonies of such occurrences all over Tibet.

This is something truly worth considering.

Verse 13 – Abandoning Upsetting the Master: Unseen Negative Results

You must never rile the mind

Of the master. A fool who does

Will certainly be cooked in hell. (13)

If criticising and denigrating the guru results in such great problems, then how bad would it be to actually upset the guru’s mind? This, without a doubt, is a great offense.

Verse 13 According to Tsongkhapa’s commentary Fulfilling All the Student’s Hopes: An Explanation of the Fifty Verses on the Guru

Tsongkhapa quotes from the Secret Moon Essence Tantra (Tib. ཟླ་གསང་ཐིག་ལེ།):

You should never, at any time, disparage or upset the Vajra Master. If one happens to be so extremely foolish, they will be cooked and burnt in hell. That karma is extremely powerful, so it will certainly or definitely produce a result. 

Though it is karma that is definitely experienced, the great commentary on the Eight Thousand teaches that it can be purified through the four powers. This can be known from the extensive teachings on the stages of the path. 

The true Dharma has various methods and ways, the Karmapa clarified. Even if you've done something terrible but you truly regret it – there is a way. You can confess it and make a firm resolve from the bottom of your heart to not do it again. If you can truly do this, then you can purify the misdeed.

Pleasing the guru will grant you genuinely distinctive blessings from the mind of the guru. It is like receiving blessings that are different from those you receive from the buddhas and the bodhisattvas. Generally, pleasing the guru increases the potential for receiving the guru’s compassion and blessings, more than anything else, so the Eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje wrote in his prayer “By these, my roots of virtue of the three times…”:

No matter what I do, whether virtuous, evil, or neutral, may I only please him. May I never do anything that displeases him even for an instant.

In order to please the guru and not displease them, one must make aspirations. The reason is that, if the guru is pleased, you are creating the basis for receiving their compassion and blessings. Conversely, if the guru is displeased or upset, there is basically no hope of any blessings or siddhis. 

But there is an important distinction to be made. One thing is to make the guru angry in a more temporary, trivial manner such as not having the job done properly or not moving your hands quite right. In such instances, the guru might scold you or possibly even get angry with you. But truly upsetting or disappointing the guru is another matter entirely. This happens when your intentions and aspirations are fundamentally mistaken. This latter kind of cause is what is meant here.

The Incessant and Vajra Hells

The Incessant Hell appears in both the sutras and the tantras. In the sutras, the designation “Incessant Hell” appears as the actual name of the lowest of the eight hot hells. However, the Kālacakra does not mention the Incessant Hell as one of the eight great hells. Likewise, the term “Vajra Hell” is not listed among the eight great hells in the tantras, but it does appear frequently. 

Karma Trinleypa and some scholars define the term “Vajra Hell” as a general designation for the hells. But other scholars maintain that it is the eighth of the eight great hells listed in the Kālacakra and other tantras under the name “Vajra Point of the Needle Hell”.

So, are the Vajra Hell and the Incessant Hell one and the same? Explanations vary. In brief, most Kadampas and the Single Intent of the Drikung school equate them. Other scholars say that the Vajra Hell contains suffering even more intense than the suffering of the Incessant Hell, and that is how they differ.

Understanding the Heart of the True Guru as the Basis of Accomplishment

The guru in question must be understood as the one who is endowed with all the characteristics, the Gyalwang Karmapa reaffirmed. The indispensable trait among those characteristics is his great compassion. Therefore, it is impossible that such an authentic guru, endowed with great compassion, would say anything except that which would help us. They are filled with compassion and so they only think about our benefit, never harm. If we do something which contradicts the Dharma or makes the wrong interdependent conditions – this is what upsets them. The compassionate guru is not upset because their own purposes were not fulfilled but because disciples obstruct themselves from bringing benefit to the teachings.

All of the above – the service, the samaya and so forth – it all comes after the master and student have examined each other; the student has already deemed the master to be someone endowed with all the characteristics and the master has accepted the student.

The Mahayana Sutra tradition also speaks about offering one’s three doors –body, speech and mind – to the buddhas and bodhisattvas and then giving up the non-virtue of those. Giving one’s body, speech and mind to sentient beings means using those three doors for actions which benefit sentient beings. So, one says: “I must engage my three doors in a meaningful way, but I don't know how to do this myself. That is why I'm going to give my body, speech and mind to those who know how to do it, the buddhas and bodhisattvas. Then, I will perform the activity of a bodhisattva and benefit beings just as they did.” This is the meaning of offering the body, speech and mind.

The Karmapa drew a parallel to the teachings of the Secret Mantra which also speak of giving your body, speech and mind to the guru, and then accomplishing what the guru says. This can be understood in the same way. The guru who has great compassion and other characteristics will only tell you to do things which accord with the Dharma, only those things which help you accomplish your practice. If you can follow that, then this is a way to bring yourself to the level of liberation and understanding without any difficulty. This is the crux of the matter.

Honouring the 16th Karmapa’s Testament for the Fellowship of the Sangha

Following the passing of the 16th Karmapa Rigpe Dorje, many events happened within our Karma Kamtsang lineage. Before he passed, prior to his departure for Hong Kong and USA, he told everyone:

 "You must get along together. You should all be like birds in a nest. You must get together, work together and be harmonious. If you do that – no one will be able to harm you."

That was his will and testament. Yet, it did not happen. Even while he was still alive, there must have been some signs of discord, but his majestic presence overwhelmed everything. Those with negative intentions really couldn't act on them much. But after his passing, people thought: "Well, now we have the opportunity." And they started acting out.

 A guru who is like a buddha, like Gyalwang Rigpe Dorje, can pass into the pure land but still actually see us with the eye of compassion. We should be aware of that even though his physical body is no longer present and continue to be just as careful as when he was residing here. But forget about being careful, there was no one to stop them! People thought: "I'm going to do what I want." And it led to the conflict. The result was that the gurus and the monasteries split into two camps breaking one lineage into two factions – and we gained a bad reputation internationally.

People continue to think: "I did this for the sake of the guru. I did this for the sake of the Dharma." Thinking like this is nothing other than fooling ourselves. The fact is we couldn't have done anything worse for the guru or for the Dharma. From the time of Düsum Khyenpa to the present, the Karma Kagyu lineage stood fast for over 900 years, but we are the ones who have created a great stain on that history. No one else has done it before.

 And whose fault was it? Whose mistake was it?

We can't point the finger at others – we must point the finger at ourselves. We say: "I'm not wrong. I'm right. They made all the mistakes," and point only at other people. There's a never a time when we look at our own faults.
With regard to that, the great spiritual friend Langri Thangpa  said:

 "No matter what profound scripture I open and read,
 they all say that all the faults are my own.
 All the qualities belong to sentient beings.
 And because of this point, I need to give all profit and victory to others
 and take all loss and defeat on myself.
 I can't find anything else, any other way to understand it."

We need to look inside and see our own mistakes. What shortcomings do I have? What is my problem?

From the vantage point of all other lineages, this is the public view: “The Kamtsang lineage – they're all infighting.” The other lineages won’t really know the details of who-did-what-to-whom. What they see is that the Karma Kamtsang heart sons don't get along. Many innocent people who don’t actually know who did what have been sullied and stained by that conflict which has undeniably brought terrible difficulties to all of us.

To expand on the issue of inner conflict, the Karmapa recalled an ancient story from the Epic of Gesar. 

The Internal Conflict of Shenpa and Dhenma

Once, in the Gesar kingdom of Ling, there was a general named Gyatsa Shalkar, the elder brother of King Gesar. His best friend was Minister Dhenma. During the war in the land of Hor, Gyatsa Shalkar was killed by Shenpa, the leader of Hor. 

Later, Shenpa surrendered to King Gesar. Knowing that the defeated Shenpa could be beneficial to the prosperity of the land, King Gesar appointed him as one of the ministers of Ling. It was an unlikely decision, but Gesar did so because he believed that Shenpa would be useful in the future when they entered the war against Jang (today’s Lijiang).

But Minister Dhenma, who had lost his best friend, could not bear the thought and contested King Gesar’s decision ferociously. He was adamant about having his revenge: he wanted Shenpa dead. Conflict was about to break out and Gesar couldn’t do anything to stop it.

Gyatsa Shalkar, the late brother of Gesar and Dhenma’s best friend, was now a divine being who was able to see the strife from beyond. He descended from heaven and appeared in the sky in front of them. He told Dhenma: "You're not allowed to do this. You need to listen to whatever Gesar says and do as he advises. Gesar needs Shenpa. He is instrumental for an important mission in the future.” 

Only then did Minister Dhenma temper his attitude. His mind was completely changed from that time on. He did whatever King Gesar said. Shenpa and Dhenma started to get along, which led to a fruitful alliance.

An Honest Attitude is the Key

If the 16th Karmapa were actually to come back and appear to us again, what would we all do?

We probably wouldn't dare to go to see him immediately. We’d think: “I can’t go and see him. He will criticise me. He will scold me. He is going to be offended by our actions. We have disappointed him.” 

Very few people would dare to lift up their faces and look at him.

The Karmapa advised: “We need to look deep into our hearts. We should understand the faults and the mistakes we are making. But we don’t admit to our mistakes. Most think until the time of their deaths: "I haven't done anything wrong." However, when death comes, only then does it come up. In life, they won’t acknowledge their own mistake at all.”

The 16th Gyalwang Karmapa Rigpe Dorje is our root guru, the master of our teachings – but we have disappointed him. We have upset him. We have done a lot of things that caused this.

But even now, those people just won't give up their own selfish intentions. They continue to provoke and act mistakenly.

In the future, we all need to look the 16th Karmapa in the face, consider the honour of the Kamtsang teachings and think about what will be beneficial for this life and the next. If we want to be able to face the people of our country, it's important for us all to come together and to work harmoniously – together. Continuously placing the blame over and over back and forth will keep us in the loop with no exit.

We need to change this course and think: "Is this what the 16th Karmapa would want? Is this fulfilling his wishes?"

It's not.

When we realize that – then and only then – we can understand the situation.

Verse 14 – Explaining the Unseen Negative Results

It’s taught that those who criticize
The master will stay in the Incessant
And other terrifying hells. (14)

Verse 14 According to Lord Tsongkhapa’s commentary Fulfilling all the Students’ Hopes:

Tsongkhapa writes, extracting from the 14th chapter of the The Tantra of the Ornament of the Vajra Essence (Skt. Vajrahṛdayālaṃkāra-tantra) and the 1st chapter of the Net of Illusion Tantra (Skt. Māyājāla-tantra): 

They will all go to hells refers to the hells taught in the sutras and tantras, such as Incessant Hell and others, like the Extremely Hot. Terrifying means those realms with the greatest suffering. Those who criticize the master must dwell in them for a long time, experiencing suffering.

The 5th Chapter of the root tantra of the Secret Assembly (Skt. Guhyasamāja-tantra) says:

Those beings who have done heinous acts

Or other terrible misdeeds

Can practice the supreme path,

The great ocean of the Vajrayana. 
Those who criticize the guru from their heart,

May practice but will not accomplish anything.

The Brightening Lamp (Pradīpoddyotana), the commentary on Guhyasamāja-tantra, explains the above:

Those who kill their parents or an arhat, draw blood from a tathāgata, or reject the Dharma—who commit a heinous act because of which they will fall into hell immediately after dying—or, included in the word “other”, the near heinous acts, great misdeeds, or the fourteen root downfalls, if they  receive the completion phase through their guru’s kindness, can accomplish buddhahood. 

Though someone might have committed a heinous act; it is still possible for them to achieve the results through the Secret Mantra. However, if someone starts following a vajra master as their guru and later criticise them from the bottom of their heart – will not accomplish anything. Thus, it is taught to be a greater misdeed than rejecting the Dharma and committing heinous acts.

Verse 15 – The Summary

Therefore, you should put all your efforts
Toward never disparaging at all

The greatly intelligent vajra master,

Who keeps their virtues fully concealed. (15)

Verse 15 According to Lord Tsongkhapa’s commentary Fulfilling all the Student’s Wishes:

Because the bad results of criticizing the guru are extremely serious, you should put all your efforts with any capacity you have to never disparaging at all the vajra master with great intelligence—who has broad knowledge—and who keeps their great virtue concealed or hidden. 

So, this is loving advice to students in general and, in particular, those who request the profound Dharma: be very careful never to disparage the teacher who is a hidden yogi and who hides their great knowledge and virtues. In addition, helping others to criticise their gurus is also a great impediment to achieving your own accomplishment, as explained before.

His Holiness elucidated:

In terms of human dharmas – there's no one who has been kinder to us than our parents. In terms of the divine true Dharma – there is no one who is kinder than the guru and spiritual friend. In terms of the Secret Mantra of Vajrayana – the guru is the root of samaya, the foundation of all practice and the source of all accomplishment.

It is crucial for us to be very attentive, to respect them and be wary of not following them properly. It is unsurprising that irreligious, worldly people complain about lamas and trulkus, because they don't really understand what's important. But if monastics, and in particular, those who practice the secret mantra, openly oppose the guru’s actions, this is not good.

If we didn’t have a Dharma connection with them – it might not be so bad. Although, if you think: "I don't have a Dharma connection," and then say whatever you want, that is not right either. You just don't know who's a great being and who's a bodhisattva. It's possible that even an old dog or a cow outside might be a bodhisattva. We don’t even know that.

Criticising brings about the possibility of committing a great offense. For example, businesspeople and storekeepers need to be very careful because they don't know who is rich or not. These days, rich people often dress like beggars. If they aren’t treated well, the opportunity for a big sale is lost. Similarly, we have no idea who is a great being or a bodhisattva based on their appearance alone.

Now, if you do have a Dharma connection with a guru, it is even more serious than that, you must not complain about them.

Our Human Guru

Then Karmapa reiterated: a true guru with all qualities and absolutely no faults is difficult to find. It is possible that the guru will have some faults. We can accept a few. Too many faults and big problems would mean a setback. First of all, it is for you to look at them closely. Contrast faults and qualities against each other, weigh them before entering into the samaya.

Think about it: the gurus are just like us – beings made of flesh, blood and bones who have feelings of pleasure and pain. That is the very reason why we are able to associate with them. To be with them. Eat with them. Drink with them. Have conversations with them. That's what happens, right?

It isn’t possible for us to actually meet a guru with a fully undefiled kāya or body. There are buddhas and bodhisattvas so numerous that they may even fill all of space, but we can’t see them. We can't ask them questions, talk to them. It's basically the same as if they are not there.

Those who have ordinary appearances like us have feelings of pleasure and pain. Sometimes they're happy and at times they're sad. That is beneficial for us. If you're waiting for someone whom you can never see or speak to, that's not useful. You need a guru you can see, who can tell you: "You can't do this. You shouldn't do this." Who can take you by the hand and guide you along. That is beneficial for us, isn’t it?

We need someone with an ordinary appearance like we have, who has feelings of pleasure and pain. If we insisted on having someone greater than that, we wouldn't be able to receive any Dharma teachings from them. If we can’t even see them, then how could we receive teachings from them?

If someone has an ordinary appearance and apparent faults, that is a sign for us that we can gather the accumulation of merit. It works out for us.

But if they have a lot of faults, then that's something we need to be careful about, right?

The important thing is that initially you may find someone who appears to have no faults, but once you start following them, even if you determine that they're completely flawed, you can't just criticize them. In that case, you should separate yourself from them. Get some distance. Criticising, scolding them or complaining about them will disrupt the interdependence which would allow you to find a good lama in the future.

This is something we need to think about. It will be harmful.

With this, the Gyalwang Karmapa brought the teaching session to a close.

Following the Guru: Cultivating Devotion and Abandoning Pride

16 March 2025

The Essential Characteristics of a Qualified Guru

During the third day of the Spring Teachings, His Holiness the Karmapa pointed out that sometimes there are too many characteristics of a guru taught in the treatises, which can become a source of confusion if we cannot properly understand them or grasp the main points. 

He then gave a presentation of a few masters’ summaries of the essential characteristics of the guru. The first was Gampopa, who had practiced the teachings on the Kadampa pith instructions and the practice lineage of Milarepa in union, spending most of his life practicing in retreat. He became recognized as the great founder of the Tibetan Practice lineage. Karmapa emphasized, “Gampopa's teachings were not mere words, but were connected to his own experience of actual practice, making them particularly beneficial.”

In Gampopa's dharma talk called the "Excellent Deeds," (Tib. ཚོགས་ཆོས་ལེགས་མཛེས་མ།) which condensed the many characteristics of a guru taught in both sutras and tantras into three characteristics:

The first is that they must have an unbroken lineage of the word, the second is that they have a good character and great compassion, and third that they have given up lesser attitudes and are a basis for rousing devotion.

Lord Dusum Khyenpa said in a dharma talk:

There is not a single scripture in the secret mantra or the prajñāpāramitā that does not speak of the characteristics of a lama. In Gampopa’s words, “You need someone who has cut the ties of dependence on this life, who can guide others on the path through great wisdom, and who, because of great compassion, does not forsake their students.”

These concise words of Gampopa were considered extremely beneficial for actual practice.

Karmapa then turned to Lord Tsongkhapa, who was highly learned in all texts on sutras and tantras, and first looked for a source in the commentaries on the sutras and tantras when he taught. Tsongkhapa writes in his commentary Fulfilling All the Student’s Hopes: An Explanation of the Fifty Verses on the Guru  (Tib.བླ་མ་ལྔ་བཅུ་པའི་རྣམ་བཤད་སློབ་མའི་རེ་བ་ཀུན་སྐོང།): To summarize these points, intelligent students should take as their master someone who has five qualities: great compassion; stable, unshakable faith in the Mahayana; knowing the treatises of the common and special vehicles well; being thoroughly skilled in the steps of guiding disciples; and having tamed their senses by restraining from negative actions of the three gates.

These five qualities were considered essential for a guru, and finding someone with these qualities would make them worthy of being taken as a master.

Next, Karmapa referenced Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye, who had studied teachings across different traditions including Sakya, Gelug, Nyingma, and Kagyu. According to his Treasury of Knowledge (Tib. ཤེས་བྱ་ཀུན་ཁྱབ་མཛོད།), there are five characteristics of a guru:

The characteristics of a guru are that their lineage must be unbroken from Vajradhara to the present and they must have no stains of samaya; they should remain within the discipline of their vows and samaya; they must have pith instructions that have been passed down in the lineage; they must know the meaning of the word and treatises in general and in particular of the tantras; and they should have a compassionate altruistic mind.

Karmapa clarified that in the context of the secret mantra Vajrayana, although there are six different types of gurus, the common understanding of a guru primarily refers to one from whom one receives an empowerment. Regarding the minimum characteristics required for such a guru, we can refer to Tsongkhapa's Great Stages of the Path of Mantra (Tib: སྔགས་རིམ་ཆེན་མོ།):

The absolutely necessary characteristic as the Tibetan scholars say, is that they must have received the empowerments in full, dwell in samaya and their vows, and by seeing the practice of the lineage of gurus, know the ten suchnesses and be knowledgeable about the rituals of giving empowerment. They must have completed the approach, and be allowed or not prohibited by the deity. They definitely must have these three qualities.

Following a Guru

After outlining the stances of Gampopa, Tsongkhapa, and Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye, Karmapa pointed out two feelings that might arise. First, when we see the many characteristics of a guru that are taught, we realize an authentic guru is as rare as a buddha; we might then wonder to what degree we would be able to think of the guru as an actual buddha. 

The second feeling is the realization that finding a guru fulfilling all these characteristics as taught in Vajrayana would be incredibly difficult.

Karmapa then quoted from the Collection of Inspired Sayings (Udānavarga):

People are ruined by following the lesser. 

Following one’s equal, one remains the same.

Following the best, one gains the highest.

Therefore we must follow those who are the best.

This explains that a guru should be someone superior to ourselves in qualities, rather than someone of equal or inferior qualities. He pointed out that it would be difficult to find someone without any faults who possesses all the positive qualities. Karmapa said, “We need to measure them; it’s like putting them on a scale. If the faults are more, we should not follow them. If the qualities outweigh the faults, then following such a person as a guru will be appropriate.”
 
From The Ultimate Approach (Skt. Paramārthasevā):

Due to the age of strife, gurus have mixed qualities and faults. 
They are not entirely free of misdeeds.

Therefore, examine well whether they have more qualities, 

And then the children should follow them.

During this age of the five degenerations, gurus are a mixture of qualities and faults. Therefore, we need to compare their qualities and recognize that someone who has more qualities is worthy of following.

His Holiness emphasized, “You can’t just simply follow any lama. Not everyone who is called by the name of ‘lama’, who is able to hold a vase in their hand, is the sort of guru you should follow. The reason for this is because we follow the guru to fulfill our wishes not just for this lifetime, but also for our future lifetimes.”

Given this, he advised that we need to maintain an impartial or objective attitude and examine whether the guru has the characteristics. We should not follow someone merely because in the short term we have some sort of feeling, or because someone tells us, "This is a good guru" or, "This is a good lama." Neither should we follow a guru simply because our parents or elders instruct us to do so. Some people might insist that we must go along and take empowerment from a particular guru, but we should not just agree to it. 

He explained, “Before following a guru, we must be incredibly careful. Once we have started following a guru, we need to remain stable. No matter what circumstances occur, we need to keep our faith and samaya.”  Even if we become sure that the guru that we have started following does not have the necessary characteristics, we should simply distance ourselves from them instead of criticizing or speaking badly of them. Karmapa cautioned that this would ruin the circumstances that would allow us to meet a good guru in the future.

The Guru and Student Connection

Next, what benefit comes from finding a guru who has these qualities, and why should we look at all these characteristics? Gampopa said in his String of Pearls: A Collection of Dharma Talks (Tib: ཚོགས་ཆོས་མུ་ཏིག་གི་ཕྲེང་བ།):

Thus, when a qualified guru and a receptive student come together, all the qualities can be accomplished in just an instant.

Likewise, from Gampopa's Questions and Answers with Düsum Khyenpa (Tib. དུས་གསུམ་མཁྱེན་པའི་ཞུས་ལན།):

It is just the nature of things that when a guru with realization gives genuine blessings to an authentic student, all the qualities will arise as if being heaped on all at once. They will receive the blessings of all gurus of the three times. They will receive the blessings of all the baskets of scripture. They will receive the blessings of all the buddhas and bodhisattvas. All the dakinis and dharma protectors are included in that.

In general, all Mahayana dharma arises from blessings. Within that, all the dharma of the Secret Mantra arises from blessings. In particular, Naropa’s dharma, the Kagyu lineage, arises from blessings. This lineage of mine is a transmission of blessings of continual siddhas. The Kagyu have spread, and the earlier ripen and liberate the later. The later ones cherish the earlier like jewels in the crown or like eyeballs.

This demonstrates that even if we have no qualities, we can still become accomplished because the guru has all the characteristics and qualities. This is because it is the lineage of blessings.

In addition, Tsangpa Gyare said in a song:

If you do not lack devotion for the lord,

Even if you do not know the dharma, that’s enough.
Even without instructions, that’s enough.

Even if you can’t meditate, that’s enough.

As a substitute for the yidam, that’s enough.
As dakinis and dharma protectors, that’s enough.
For gathering the yakshas’ wealth, that’s enough. 
For sponsors and places, that’s enough.

As a precious jewel, that’s enough.

This shows how genuine devotion will give us everything. In general, the guru is important to the Secret Mantra. In particular, in the Kagyu lineage, the connection between guru and student is extremely important. The guru blesses the student, and the student arouses devotion for the guru. This relationship is incredibly significant, as can be seen from the lives of the previous Kagyu masters and their writings.

Karmapa asked, “If we find a guru who has these characteristics, what should we be careful about when following them?” He proceeded to explain this by combining the Fifty Verses with the outline given in Tsongkhapa's commentary Fulfilling All the Student’s Hopes.

The teachings on how to follow the guru have two parts: 1. Abandoning disrespect, and 2. How to be respectful.

The first of these has four different points: 1. Abandoning criticism and denigration, 2. Abandoning upsetting the guru, 3. Explaining the unseen faults, and 4. A summary of those.

Abandoning disrespect for the guru includes three aspects: denigration, criticism, and upsetting the guru.

Karmapa explained that once we find a qualified guru with all the characteristics previously discussed, and receive empowerments, transmissions, and teachings from them, we have formed a connection of guru and student.

He shared a story from the life of Drukpa Kunley. Some people asked Drukpa Kunley if he would go to a guru who was giving many empowerments. Drukpa Kunley replied, "If I can take the empowerment but don't have to keep the samaya, but will still reach enlightenment, then I'll go and take the empowerment. Otherwise, if I take the empowerment and then I have to keep the samayas that are explained in the tantras, I'm afraid that I can't keep the samaya." He added, "I can't just go and take empowerments from whatever lama comes by."

If we look at this from the outside, we think about keeping samaya as doing what the guru says or not having wrong views. Karmapa stressed that this is not so easy: “If we have to do what an authentic guru says, then doing anything that is not dharma is basically breaking their words.”

When we talk about the samaya of the Secret Mantra, there are tens of millions of them. However, the main aspect of samaya comes down to the guru. Gampopa said, “When following a qualified guru, this is the ultimate samaya of the path of the Secret Mantra.” Karmapa explained that we need to keep this samaya assiduously; it is incredibly important to keep the samaya of the guru's body, speech, and mind.

The need for keeping samaya is not like keeping the present day law of a country, where you will be punished if you do not follow the rules. There are many aspects to keeping samaya, making it complicated and difficult. Some people want to practice Vajrayana but worry about not being able to keep the samaya and therefore avoid the practice altogether.

Karmapa pointed out that, unlike human-made laws where breaking them leads to punishment, the precepts and samaya are connected to the student's own practice of the dharma. The scholars and siddhas of India and Tibet taught samaya according to their own experience. He explained:

They encountered difficulties because they didn’t keep samaya. It is actually linked to their own experience. It’s not like someone writing down what they thought and making up the rules. If we don’t keep samaya, difficulties arise; if we keep it, great benefits arise. This is why keeping samaya is assiduously emphasized.

He clarified that samaya is something both the student and the guru need to keep. Some people mistakenly think that samaya applies mainly to what students do, while gurus can do whatever they want. This is incorrect because the guru is also the student of another guru.

According to the first of the fourteen root downfalls:

Because the vajra holders said 
That accomplishment follows from the master, 
Therefore, to denigrate them 
Is taught to be the first root downfall.

Denigrating or criticizing the guru is the first root downfall of samaya. Likewise, in the Fifty Verses, the first thing taught is that we need to abandon denigrating and criticizing the guru. It then teaches how to follow the guru and provide them with service and respect.

Verse 10 reads:

Those who, having become their student, 
Intentionally deride such lords 
Have denigrated all the buddhas. 
They'll reap perpetual suffering. 

Karmapa then explained this according to Tsongkhapa's commentary Fulfilling All the Student’s Hopes. Once we follow a guru with all the characteristics, we will experience perpetual suffering if we criticize or speak badly of that guru. Deriding the guru could be such as saying, "That guru is immoral; they don’t keep their discipline," or considering them lacking in diligence or qualities. If we think about it, making offerings to the vajra master has the same benefit as making offerings to all buddhas, but similarly, criticizing the guru is the same as criticizing all buddhas. Therefore, when we criticize the guru, it is an incredibly grave offence; when we are respectful of the guru, it brings many benefits.

The Importance of Devotion for the Guru

His Holiness gave an analogy to explain this. He recalled that when he was young, they would use flint to start fires by rubbing it on a rock, or some would use magnifying glasses to focus sunlight onto tinder. Similarly, the guru is like the magnifying glass, all the buddhas and bodhisattvas are like the sunlight, and the student's mindstream is like the tinder that can catch fire. The guru is the gateway to receive all the blessings of the buddhas and bodhisattvas. We have not yet reached the level where we can follow the buddhas and bodhisattvas directly.

The second reason is that the person who gives us the supreme and ordinary siddhis is the guru. Thus, if we criticize the guru, it is really a grave fault or offense. This is not just in the Secret Mantra, but is also sound in the teachings of the Foundation Vehicle. 

In the Treasury of Abhidharma (Skt. Abhidharma-kośa):

Although they are not noble, gifts

To parents, the ill, or Dharma teachers,

The Bodhisattva’s last rebirth

Bring yields surpassing any measure.

This talks about four types of fields: the fields of wanderers, suffering, benefit, and qualities. Among them, the guru and spiritual friend are taught to be the field of benefit. In Vasubandhu’s Auto Commentary on the Treasury of Abhidharma (Skt. Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya), he details that dharma teachers belong in the field of benefit, because they give beings blinded by ignorance the eye of prajñā. They also teach them how to practice virtue and give up non-virtue and perform all the activities of the Buddha. Thus, it is not just in the Secret Mantra, but it is also the same in the scriptures of the Foundation Vehicle.

Likewise, Gampopa asked many gurus whether it was truly possible to achieve Buddhahood in a single lifetime in a single body. While many lamas said it was possible but really difficult, when Gampopa asked Milarepa the same question, he replied, "When a guru with all the characteristics and a receptive student meet, the best will awaken in this lifetime. The middling will awaken in the bardo. And the least will awaken in the next lifetime."

Gampopa also asked many Kadampa gurus about the most powerful way to accumulate merit in order to reach buddhahood. 

When he asked Milarepa, he replied, “Doing what the guru tells you to do, just as they say to do it, and supplicating the guru with devotion and practicing properly is the greatest merit.”

In brief, the extent of devotion we have for the guru determines the extent of blessings we will receive. As Gampopa said, "The greatest blessings are for those with the greatest devotion,  middling blessings are for those with middling devotion, and the least blessings are for those with the least devotion."

Even before Gampopa first saw Milarepa, he already had strong devotion. Merely hearing Milarepa's name brought tears to his eyes and gave him goosebumps. Milarepa told Gampopa that in the future, he would develop even more uncontrived and genuine devotion, and at that moment, he would perceive the nature of the dharmatā. Karmapa explained that if we have uncontrived and strong devotion, it enables us to realize the nature of dharmatā. 

Earlier, we spoke on Gampopa’s explanation on the three characteristics of a guru: having the unbroken lineage, having great compassion for beings, giving up the lesser intentions and being a basis for rousing devotion. The third has two different parts: a good basis for oneself to develop devotion and for others to develop devotion.

If we think the guru does not have a lot of pith instructions or has lower realization than ourselves, thinking, “I have more blessings and higher realization,” then no matter how long we follow that guru, we will never receive blessings or develop realization. Thus, it is incredibly important to have devotion for the guru, and many faults will arise if we are disrespectful.

The Fault of Pride

Karmapa explained that one way faults arise is through pride. It is often taught in the Mahayana sutras that pride is a great impediment to the development of qualities. For example, in The King of Samadhis Sutra (Skt. Samādhirāja-sūtra), when the Buddha was a cakravartin, a universal emperor, he was able to gain power over all the countries up to the realms of the gods. When he got to the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, the lord of gods Śakra came to welcome him, and he felt great pride and competitiveness. Immediately, he lost his miraculous powers, fell back to earth, and his life ended. 

Likewise, the Gaṇḍavyūha-sūtra (The Stem Array Sutra) teaches nine types of cognition, including thinking of ourselves as inferior to the guru, such as being like garbage, rather than succumbing to pride.

Karmapa pointed out that sometimes when we get to know a guru too well, we start to think we are the same as them. We might think we eat the same food, have to wear clothes and use the bathroom; the only difference is the title. Similarly with friends, at first, there is some respect. Later, as people get to know each other, respect diminishes, and eventually, they just criticize each other.

He emphasized that we should never think of ourselves as better than the guru, but to always consider ourselves lower. As the Kadampa gurus of the past said, “The water of qualities cannot get into the balloon of pride.” To develop qualities and improve, we need to see our weaknesses and faults, and then take a humble position. We also need to improve by seeing other's qualities and continue studying. If we have a lot of pride, we cannot see our weaknesses or other's qualities. In addition, we start to denigrate others. So, for this reason, in Vajrayana, if we think that we are superior to the guru, then in addition to not being able to develop any of the qualities, we will lose all the ones that we already have. 

Another example is the great mahāsiddha of Cakrasaṃvara named Kṛṣṇapāda. His guru Jālandhara told him he was not ready to go into yogic conduct, but he went off and engaged in the conduct anyway. In the past, this meant going off into the forest with a consort. When Kṛṣṇapāda did this, his activity flourished and he gained several thousand students. One day he got on a ship heading for Sri Lanka. On the way, the ship capsized and sank in the ocean. All of his students drowned except for Kṛṣṇapāda, as he had miraculous powers and could walk on the water without sinking. He thought, "I have this miraculous power that even my guru doesn’t." At that moment of pride, he lost his miraculous powers and sank into the water. Jālandhara appeared in the sky and scolded him. Kṛṣṇapāda confessed to the guru, who then told him, "You're not going to achieve supreme siddhi in this life. But you should write some treatises, then in your next lifetime, you will achieve the supreme siddhis."

Karmapa then continued with a story regarding the great Tibetan master, Milarepa. He had two main disciples, Gampopa who was like the sun, and Rechungpa who was like the moon. Rechungpa sometimes did not listen to what the guru said and did strange things quite a few times. 

Rechungpa went to India a few times, but one time he went he met Tiphupa, the Tree of Secret Mantra. He also met Machik Druppay Gyalmo, and received the incredible cycles of the teachings of the formless dakinis. On the way back, he met a non-Buddhist, who said to him, “Rechungpa, you are going to Tibet to spread, uphold, and protect the teachings. To protect them, these instructions of mine are indispensable, so if you have any gold, give it to me.” Rechungpa gave him a bit of gold and spent seven days studying sorcery with the man.

At that time, Milarepa was in retreat at Drakmar Chongling, and had a vision that Rechungpa was initially like a stupa with brilliant light, but because a non-Buddhist had taught him black mantras, that crystal stupa disappeared and became like a tornado. Milarepa began to feel a little bit uneasy, sensing his student might have a problem, so he left his retreat and went to Palmo Plain to welcome him.

The master and disciple saw each other coming on the plain from far away, and Rechungpa thought, “I went to India and I have received all these dharma teachings and pith instructions. Now the guru is probably coming to welcome me, right? So, if I prostrate to him, is he going to prostrate to me?" However, when they met, Rechungpa prostrated to Milarepa, but Milarepa did not return the favor. He just sat there without saying a word. Rechungpa didn’t know what to do.

Rechungpa then asked, "Guru, how are you? Are you well?" Milarepa replied, "There is nothing wrong with me. I am a yogi; nothing is ever wrong with me." Rechungpa then explained, "I worked hard. I went to India and brought back the dharma cycles of the formless dakinis. These are incredible empowerments. For these dharmas to flourish in Tibet, please see if it is suitable for you. If you think it is good, then you should praise this dharma and celebrate."

At that point, Milarepa realized that Rechungpa had become very proud, so he sang a song to reduce his pride. Milarepa then picked up the pack of Rechungpa’s books and set off very quickly. Since Rechungpa had already travelled a long way, he was exhausted and unable to keep up with the guru. He thought to himself, "If I can't keep up with him, he might give all my books to some pointless person." Rechungpa then ran after him and told the story about how he went through so much difficulty to get all these instructions and dharma teachings. Milarepa then sang a song, saying "I have a better and deeper connection to Tiphupa than you do. Compared to you, I have been with Vajravārāhī longer; she is an older acquaintance of mine than of yours."

Then as the master and disciple went further up Palmo Plain, Rechungpa had a wicked thought, “With other dharma practitioners, they always have dharma provisions. While doing retreat, they have a bit of food to eat. But my guru, forget about having food to eat, he doesn't even have a good house, a good place to sit, or a good bed for the night. Look at his body, it’s going blue and decaying. His hair has matted into locks like felt. He has spent his entire life wearing a single cotton robe. He says he has reached accomplishment, but I've never seen any signs of that. A siddhi would probably not be a beggar with bad karma.” Rechungpa was disappointed and unhappy since he had undergone a lot of hardships to bring back all the texts from India, but Milarepa acted as if he did not really care about them or want them. 

At that point, they came across a yak horn. Milarepa said, “Son, it is said that if you find unnecessary jewels, at some point they will become necessary, so carry that yak horn.” Rechungpa thought, “Sometimes my guru says that you need nothing at all. Like the saying, sometimes he is angrier than an old dog and greedier than an old man. What good is this yak horn? You can’t eat it, you can’t wear it.” Milarepa replied, “There will come a time when we need it.” A bit later Rechungpa asked again, “Do we really need this?” and Milarepa urged, “Carry it just a bit longer.”

It was a really beautiful clear day, but all of a sudden, the clouds gathered all at once and great hailstones the size of fists fell. Rechungpa threw down the yak horn and tried to run for shelter. But it was hailing so hard that he could not find any place to hide, so he just sat down and covered his head. He had no idea where the guru went and did not even think about it.

After a little while the hailstorm cleared, Rechungpa got up to look around. He looked everywhere, but he could not find the guru at all. Then, he heard the clear sound of a song. He wondered where it was coming from. As it seemed to come from the yak horn, he tried to pick it up. However, it was as heavy as a rock and he was unable to lift it, so he put his cheek down to the ground and looked inside the yak horn.

Without the yak horn getting any bigger, or without Milarepa getting any smaller, he saw Milarepa was way down inside the thinnest part of the horn. Not only that, he was doing yoga moves, and sang a song to Rechungpa. The main point is:

Rechungpa, sometimes your view is high, and sometimes it is low. Your meditation is sometimes clear and sometimes unclear. Your behavior is sometimes very relaxed and sometimes hurried. You aren’t stable. I’m in the thinnest part of the yak horn, there’s more room, so you should come into the wide part and stay with me.

Rechungpa wondered how to get in since even he could not fit even his knuckles into the horn. He then immediately supplicated the guru and gave a confession. Only then, Milarepa came out of the yak horn and gazed up at the sky. Immediately all the clouds just disappeared, and the sun shined really warm. All their clothes were wet from the hail, so they stayed there while they dried. 

Karmapa pointed out that Rechungpa was actually very fortunate because Milarepa helped him to subdue his pride. There are many stories like this illustrating the difficulties and experiences Rechungpa faced, due to not doing everything the guru said, and doing what he was told not to do.

The teaching concluded at this point. 

Tergar Shrine Hall
16 March 2025

Chöd is one of the central rituals in the Arya Kshema Spring Dharma Gathering. It is a practice regarded as of special importance for female practitioners. Its aim is to cut through attachment and ignorance, especially attachment to the body, ego-clinging and the dualistic idea of a self, and thereby lead to the realisation of emptiness. Of the Eight Great Chariots— the eight practice lineages of Tibetan Buddhism —Chöd is the only one originating with a woman, the 11th century Tibetan yogini, Machig Labdrön, who developed the practice. 

Traditionally, the Karmapas have a strong connection with the practice, and the text used at the Arya Kshema is called Chöd: A String of Jewels, which was composed by the third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje.

The Dorje Loppön, a senior nun, led the practice, supported by umdzes and musicians. The nuns sat in rows in the shrine hall, turning the special green Chöd drums in their right hands to one rhythm and ringing their bells with the left to a different rhythm - a difficult technique to learn!