..续本文上一页lity, Lord Buddha led Gawo into a celestial realm. Having arrived, the Buddha pointed to the most beautiful goddesses imaginable and asked Gawo, “Who is more beautiful, Pundarika or these goddesses
” The moment Gawo caught sight of these women, his attachment to his wife vanished and he did not even take the time to answer the question that Lord Buddha asked - that is how overwhelmed he was. This is the idea behind meditating peaceful and beautiful yidams; it is also the purpose of meditating on wrathful deities too, namely, in order to tame and eventually overcome one”s own emotional mind that is so disruptive and harmful. These instructions deal with the outer form of the yidam.
During visualization practice, the environment is also perceived differently in that a yidam”s realm of existence is visualized as a pure palace and the environment as a pure land. Visualizing the outer form of a yidam is practiced so that the veils and distortions arising from ceaseless struggles about one”s own environment are overcome. Visualizing the pure palace and environment of a yidam reduces mental constructs about one”s home and surroundings. Both aspects of meditation give rise to wholesome qualities in one”s mind. By becoming accustomed to visualizing the outer form of a yidam and the environment as peaceful and pure - instead of succumbing to emotional urgencies - one eradicates frustrating states of mind and develops insight into the true nature of reality, which is and always has been free of any emotional stains and discursiveness that arise. If you have any questions, please ask.
Questions
Student: What does it mean when a disciple sees his or her master as the deity that the master realized, for instance, some disciples saw Lotsawa Marpa as Buddha Chakrasamvara
Thrangu Rinpoche: This kind of vision that appears quite clearly in the mind of a very devoted disciple is similar to pure perception. It can arise on account of intense faith and devotion in the Guru and his or her yidam, but it is not what is referred to as realizing one”s true nature that is always and already present within.3
Student: It is said that a Buddha has no mental form, but it is said that everyone else has a mental form in the bardo.4 What is a mental form and how does it relate to the yidam
Does yidam practice transform the mental form
And what happens if one doesn”t reach buddhahood
Rinpoche: A bardo being has a mental body that only exists as a feeling, a perception; it is merely a projection of former habits. Other than that image, there is no physical body. So, it is very important to focus one”s mind on the right path while alive, and Dharma certainly teaches us to turn our mind towards the right path, towards what matters most, which is virtue and goodliness. Dharma is the healing nectar, amrita in Sanskrit, the pure medicine that can transform everything into peace and harmony. Dharma can only cause one to be good and will not bring the least harm to oneself or to other living beings.
The Dharma is very important for oneself, for family members, for societies at large. If people are hypocritical, if people are not sincere and everyone in a group or community is ambitiously concerned about himself or herself, then problems and difficulties will arise and persist. If people are kind and caring, then relationships will be very harmonious and all involved will be happy and content. It only takes the presence of one self-centred and selfish person in a group to contaminate others - as a result nobody will be happy. The Dharma is the source of happiness for oneself as well as for smaller and larger groups. Seen from every angle, Dharma is the healing nectar that eliminates suffering and pain and brings lasting peace and joy.
But what do we do wit…
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