Tashigar South March 22 2013

Good day for everybody everywhere.  So here we are in Tashigar South and the retreat is starting.  We are doing a retreat to learn how to do the practice of Simhamukha. Very often we use the two practices of Guru Dragphur and Simhamukha.  For that reason, I thought it might be a good idea that we use this teaching of Simhamukha for this retreat. Then it becomes easier for everyone, instead of learning something complicated each time. When we use one practice we concentrate to learn how to integrate it. This is very important for practitioners to learn in general.

Most people are going after different names and titles. There are infinite titles and practices. If we are not interested in the essence of the teaching, we are not getting into the real sense of the teaching. For that reason it is also important to learn the essence of the Simhamukha practice and dealing with that. Of course, if the practice is presented in different ways that means there are also different transmissions. If you receive different transmissions of the same practice, that is good, it is not bad at all.  But you are only learning different ways of doing practices and then you lose the essence, because there is no difference in the real sense.

I will give you an example. In Vajrayana teaching, for example, you know about lower Tantra of Kriya and Ubaya Tantra; there are hundreds and hundreds different kinds of practices. When we go to a little higher level, there are Chakrasambhava and Kalachakra. When you go after names, then you might think, “Oh maybe Hevajra is better than Chakrasambhava”, for example. For that reason people concentrate outside instead of integrating and going inside. Then they chase different kinds of teachings everywhere. 

If you are a teacher who is carrying a lineage, then it is important you receive different kinds of transmissions, because in that way you can give transmissions for others if there is some request. If you have not received the transmission, you cannot give it. Sometimes people come to you and say, “Oh I received this Yamantaka teaching”, and they give you a book and ask that you give them the transmission. When I looked at this book I realized that I never received that transmission. Even though I am considered a teacher, I could not give that transmission. For giving transmission you should have received it, should have practiced it, you need to have that knowledge, and then you give it. So this is useful if you are becoming something like the maintainer of the tradition of the school.  I don’t think you are interested in that. Maybe you are interested for having realization, doing any kind of practice.