CONTEMPLATION 1
Relying on a Spiritual Master, the Root of All Paths
In order to become acquainted with the characteristics of a spiritual master, and in order to develop the capacity to faithfully attend one, follow these steps during the medttatton session: Observe the proper conduct preceding meditation by sitting cross-legged, straightening your posture, and so forth. Focus your attention on the buddhas and bodhisattvas who fill the expanse of space. Recite an expanded or abbreviated practice of homage and offering prayer as a preliminary; follow by reciting the seven-branch prayer from the "Aspiration Prayer of Samantabhadra" three times while reflecting on the meaning. Then, very high in the sky in front of you, visualize an immeasurable number of buddhas and bodhisattvas. Directly in front of them in the sky, visualize your root lama, surrounded by a dense gathering of all the lineage lamas. Supplicate them feverntly with the following prayer:
Buddhas and bodhisattvas throughout universe,
And perfect lama, good and truly virtuous master -
Please regard and bless me.
Please pacify my faults completely.
Please awaken genuine insights within me.
Please dispel all obstacles to practicing the Mahayana way.
After praying thus, make visualized offerings [to fhe field of accumulation in front]. The root and lineage lamas then enter into the crown of your head and come to rest in a pavilion of light at your heart. Think that the buddhas and bodhisattvas disappear into suchness. Dedicate the merit using verses such as the following:
May the roots of my virtuous practice become a cause for attaning the level of buddhahood for the sake of sentient beings.
or
By this virtuous activity,
May all beings perfectly gather merit and wisdom,
And obtain teh two sacred states
Born from merit and wisdom.
Between meditation sessions, do not examine the lama for faults; reflect solely on his good qualities. Reflect as follows:
I have not had the opportunity to actually meet the Buddha [Shakyamuni]. But the compassion of all hte buddhas who have existed throughout time has incarnated in the form of this spiritual master. Therefore, my lama is in truth the real Buddha. He has been kinder to me than all the Buddhas combined. Without concealing anything, he bestows the methods necessary to obtain whatever I wish — whether it be rebirth in the higher realms, freedom from suffering or buddhahood. If I develop a single good quality or suppress a single fault, it is due to my lama's kindness. How kind he is to impart these profound teachings that are so hard to come by!
I muse use my body and all my possessions for the sake of the lama. With my body, I will carry out whatever acts of respect, offering and service are in harmony with the lama's wishes. With my speech, I will praise the qualities of the lama's body, speech and mind and will converse only as a means of spiritual service. I will behave in a way that pleases his mind and will do whatever he asks.
Think in this way again and again and strive to practice accordingly.
To comment on the fourth line of the supplication at the beginning of the contemplation ["Please pacifiy my faults completely"], there are five faults: The fault being attached to this life, the fault of mistrusting the law of karma, the fault of clinging to cyclic existence as a source of happiness, the fault of thinking your own needs are most important and the fault of perceiving things and attributes as truly existent.
To comment on the fifth line ["Please awaken genuine insights within me"], there are five geneuine insights: The insight that the next life is more important than this one, the insight of trusting the law of karma, the insight that cyclic existence is a state of suffering, the insight that the needs of others are more important than your own and the insight that the ultimate truth is emptiness, and that the relative truth is that things are like an illusion.
With regard to the sixth line ["Please dispel all obstacles to practicing the Mahayana way"], there are three kinds of obstacles. The outer obstacles are harm inflicted by human or non-human forces. The intermediate obstacles are illnesses that afflict the physical body. The inner obstacles are profane thoughts and negative emotions. Pray that these three obstacles may be dispelled. The instructions above comprise one visualization sequence.
The second section of this text, the stages on the path for training the three types of person though contemplations, has three sections: (1) Training in the common stages for the person of lesser capacity, (2) training in the common stages for the person of average capacity and (3) training in the extraordinary stages for the person of greater capacity.