The Dorje Chang Thungma by Situpa Chamgon Kenting Tai

Author:Situpa, Chamgon Kenting Tai [Situpa, Chamgon Kenting Tai]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Mahamudra (Tantric rite), Dharma (Buddhism)
Publisher: Palpung Zhyisil Chokyi Ghatsal Publications
Published: 2010-02-19T02:00:00+00:00

Questions

Question: I have heard of a Gelugpa Mahamudra lineage in the Kagyu, is that correct?

Rinpoche: No, there is no such thing as a Gelug Mahamudra lineage in Kagyu. The Gelug Mahamudra lineage is in the Gelug. Of course there is a connection because Gampopa was a Kadampa monk before he became a disciple of Milarepa. We call it ka chag chuwo chig drel—Kadam and Mahamudra, ‘two rivers become one’. There are also many other historical connections between the Karmapa and other lineage masters. For example, Tsongkhapa received certain ordinations from Karmapa Rolpi Dorje before he became Tsongkhapa the Great and built Ganden monastery, after which the Kadampa then became the Gelugpa.

Question: During visualization, for example in Dorje Sempa, it often talks about nectar flowing to us from the visualized images. How should we visualize the nectar?

Rinpoche: Nectar is nectar. It is holy, sacred, ultimate, divine, pure nectar or amrita. It is like water or milk, it is divine and pure, filling you from your crown all the way [down]; so it has the nature of water. Visualization of water, visualization of fire, visualization of anything has to be… for example, if you have a thousand pots filled with water [which are reflecting] the full moon, you just look and there are a thousand full moons. Are the thousand moons there or not there? They are there and not there—there is only one moon in the sky. Visualization is like that—it is there and it is not there. All of the visualizations are like that but each one of them has different characteristics—fire burns, water washes etc. So in the form of nectar, amrita, which has a watery nature, it fills you from the top to your heart, and from your heart to the whole body; it will push away and wash away everything.

Question: When do we experience or realize the nature of mind, and can we get it wrong?

Rinpoche: You will not really have the realization of the nature of mind until you are ready to realize the nature of mind, so there will not be a wrong realization of the nature of mind. But of course, if somebody’s view or motivation is totally wrong then they will think that they have realized the nature of mind, but they won’t have; they will have realized something else. That can happen but it shouldn’t. It is because of that that we have the preliminary practices and so many other practices before so called ‘pointing out’ or ‘pointing in’ or whatever truly takes place. In Mahamudra practice, such as in the Ocean of Certainty, then the introduction of the nature of mind is practice chapter forty-five—until that there are so many practice chapters, and many more teaching chapters. Also some of the practice chapters have sub-practices, like ten, nine, twenty different practices. That way it will take years and years of very, very serious practice. Then when you reach the practice chapter number forty-five, then comes the introduction to the nature of mind.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.