THE GURU IN MY MIND & HEART HUN LYE
If there is anyone whom I naturally think of when I cultivate guru yoga or read about devotion to the guru as the path, I think of two teachers. When I first met Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen Rinpoche more than thirty years ago, he said to me, “I don’t have students or disciples; these are my dharma friends and members of the center.” A reluctant teacher for a reluctant disciple, I thought. About six years later, Rinpoche had me deliver a letter to the head of our line age, His Holiness Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang Rinpoche. Although I don’t know if the letter had anything to do with me, that meeting turned out to be the start of my discipleship under His Holiness.
A supplication commonly used by all lineages of Tibetan Buddhism says:
Glorious root guru, precious one,
Abide on the lotus-seat in my heart,
Look upon me with your great compassion,
Grant me the attainments of body, speech, and mind!
Often, “on the lotus-seat in my heart” is replaced with “on the lotus-seat above my head,” depending on context. I use this supplication in its two variations to remember the guru both in my mind and heart. Inviting the guru to remain above my head is to deliberately have someone hang over me like a heavy rock held by a string.
