Dzokden

There is a reason why great spiritual teachers, from Rumi and Osho to many others throughout history, speak so much about love: the path to realization is the path of the heart. All of tantra is simple—it’s contained, from start to finish, in the path of devotion to the Guru. In modern times, we often want to know and understand everything, to elaborate and dive into details. For this, we have highly elaborate Tantras. But if you want to cut to the heart, to the essence, and follow the simplest and most direct path, then that is the path of Guru devotion. You can start with the Guru, but no matter what form of Tantra you choose to practice, and no matter where you begin, you are guaranteed to end up with the Guru.

All Vajrayana traditions may have significant doctrinal debates, but when it comes to the path of Guru devotion, there is absolute agreement. There is no debate between traditions because this path has been proven through centuries of experience.

A scholar who is currently the most respected and highly regarded at Larung Monastery, and whom Khentrul Rinpoche deeply respects, says:

“Unconditional love is the highest form of desire.
Ultimate Bodhicitta is Buddha-nature, the Guru.
As we increase this Love and Bodhicitta, our awareness increases.
Devotion to this cause is devotion to the ultimate Guru, the ultimate love.
Devotion is simply keeping the view.”

In Vajrayana, if you have the View, you have the key to everything. When you truly love your beloved, everything happens naturally and spontaneously. Does a mother need to think about whether she should try to save her dying child? No, she just acts out of love and attachment. This love and desire are incredibly powerful. If a mother can feel that love for her child, imagine how powerful that feeling could be if you have that same love for your Guru.

We all know that the most powerful force in the human mind is love, and there is no Buddhahood without ultimate love. Guru devotion means loving the Guru unconditionally and dedicating yourself to that path. In tantra, we integrate everything from our life experience into the spiritual path. We may not have direct life experiences with gods or Buddhas, but we can have direct experiences with the Guru. By doing so, we bring the path closer to us in our everyday lives through the human Guru. The most profound connection a human can have is the divine love for the Guru. Devotion is a process that helps uncover all of our limitations and self-cherishing, while also opening the door to a downpour of incomparable blessings.

This course will explore what it means to take devotion as the path.