Lama Zopa Rinpoche

is the kind root guru. Then it starts from Vajradhara and all the lineage lamas and at the end
it mentions the root guru again. Why? That is very important.
Here, “guru” means that all these lineage lamas, including Vajradhara, Vajrayogini and so
forth, come from the root guru. As Padmasambhava said,
The root guru is the essence of all the three times’, ten directions’ tathagatas.
He is the originator of the heaps of the 84,000 teachings.
He is the possessor of all the arya Sangha.
To the holy mouth of my kind root guru I make offerings.
Tathagatas means all the numberless buddhas of the ten directions, all the past, present and
future buddhas’ holy body, holy speech and holy mind, their qualities and actions. The root
guru is the essence of all that. This is what Padmasambhava said. The second line says he is
the originator of the heaps of the 84,000 teachings, from where all the teachings come. Then
the quote says that whatever qualities the arya Sangha have, the root guru also has.
Finally, he says, “To the holy mouth of my kind root guru I make offerings.” This is before
we make offerings to Vajradhara and Vajrayogini. When we understand why this is so, we
can understand what the guru is. Otherwise we really can’t.
That we will be able to enlighten all sentient beings depends on the kindness of the guru.
Who is the guru? Who is the guru who has guided us from beginningless rebirths and will
guide us all the way until we reach enlightenment?
There are the ultimate, or absolute, guru and the conventional guru. The absolute guru takes
the ordinary form, the conventional guru. The conventional guru is just a manifestation but
the main thing is the absolute guru. The absolute guru is eternal; it is the primordial mind,
with no beginning and no end, free from all gross and subtle obscurations.
And next, it is very important to understand that the absolute guru pervades all existence.
We say that there is no place where there is no buddha—which is also stated in the sutra
teachings—therefore there is no place where there is no absolute guru. Just as we think of
the buddha, the omniscient mind, pervading all existence, so too does the ultimate guru.
The guru manifests everywhere to do the work of benefiting sentient beings, in a pure form
to those whose mind is pure and in an impure form to those sentient beings whose mind is
impure. The guru works to benefit every single sentient being, so it’s infinite.
For example, in this world only one sun rises, but whether it’s an ocean, a river, a spring or
just a drop, wherever there is water it can reflect the sun. As long as it’s not obscured, the
sun can be reflected in water everywhere. When the sun rises, its reflection also rises
everywhere, naturally and without effort, even in a drop of water.
A being needs to have motivation before becoming enlightened but after that there is no
need for effortful motivation. Until each and every single sentient being has been
enlightened—every hell being, hungry ghost, animal, human, god and demigod—until each
has been brought to enlightenment, the guru continuously works for sentient beings.
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