Dear friends near and far

I hope you are all well wherever you may be. On this precious Guru Rinpoche Day, the first in 2015, I would like to share with you all some quotations from The King of Samādhi Sutra, a very profound teaching given by Buddha Shakyamuni.

In the eleventh chapter of the sutra, Buddha explains:

When blessed with clarity, you will come to know the genuine limit.
And when you understand the genuine limit, there is nothing you cannot explain.
By knowing this one thing, you come to know all.
By seeing this one thing, you come to see all.

What these lines are teaching is that when you are blessed with clarity (this same word is often translated as mindfulness and in this instance refers to the blessings of the buddhas), you will come to know the genuine limit (the genuine limit meaning emptiness). And when you understand emptiness, the genuine limit, there is nothing you will not understand or will be unable to explain. By knowing this one thing, emptiness, you come to know and see everything. So these lines demonstrate the importance of seeing (meaning to directly experience and understand) emptiness and the fact that emptiness is seen through the blessings of the buddhas.

In the same chapter, Buddha further explains:

Through cultivating generosity, discipline,
Learning, and patience,
And by following an excellent spiritual guide,
Enlightenment will be swiftly realized.

In order to realize the true nature of things and thereby reach enlightenment, all of these qualities must be present. If you foster these qualities within you they will act as the conditions for swiftly realizing the state of enlightenment.

In the ninth chapter, Buddha says:

Learned ones live by loving kindness.
They live by compassion and sympathetic joy
And in a constant state of equanimity towards samsaric existence.
By thus training in samādhi they reach enlightenment.
Having realized peace free of sorrow—awakening—
One sees the sickness, ageing, and anguish of sentient beings.
Compassion for beings then dawns within
And the ultimate discourse is taught.

Learned ones, those rich with knowledge and understanding, live in a state of loving kindness. Based on loving kindness, they arouse compassion and sympathetic joy. These are qualities that we all need to cultivate. With these qualities, if you then train in equanimity towards samsara and habituate yourself to this samādhi then enlightenment will swiftly come about. And having awakened, you will see the terrible sufferings of sentient beings and compassion will dawn from deep within you. And as a result, you will expound the ultimate discourse, meaning you will teach the definitive, ultimate teachings to others through a variety of skillful means. This is one of the great benefits of realizing enlightenment and boundless compassion.

Likewise, in the same chapter it says:

Ascertaining the four truths,
The childish claim to have seen the truth.
Yet seeing the truth is free of all presumptions.
Freedom from presumptions is the truth, so the victors taught.

Freedom from presumptions means to be free of any attachment or grasping whatsoever. It is something extremely important. For the blessings to enter us and for samādhi to dawn within us, we need to gather the conditions of bodhicitta and the four immeasurables and with these as the basis to develop our understanding of emptiness, the ultimate nature of things. When contemplating the four truths of noble ones, we should be free of presumptions, free of any conceptual notions. This is a very important point.

Those were a few lines of Buddha’s profound teaching, The King of Samādhi Sutra to contemplate on this tenth day of the lunar month. Please continue to practice well and remember to encourage yourself and your friends in dharma practice. Do not view the dharma as a pressure or burden; rather remember the amazing qualities of the dharma and practice joyfully. If you can keep the dharma in your heart each day, it will bring you true happiness and peace.

Also, please keep accumulating the Vajra Verse in Six Lines (Dusum Sangye) and register your accumulations on my website. You have accumulated 8,552,720 recitations so far and I’d like you to reach 100,000,000 by the end of this year. Guru Rinpoche is the embodiment of all buddhas and this supplication to him is very blessed. It is especially effective for clearing away obstacles and fulfilling wishes so please chant this as much as you can while praying that all the illness, famine, drought, and conflict in the world be eliminated.

With prayers and aspirations.

Sarva Mangalam,

Phakchok Rinpoche