Lama Zopa Rinpoche

uddhas. That is also mentioned in the Lamrim Chenmo and A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of
Life. I asked Jangtse Chöje, who thought it might be a minute but I think it’s a second.
These things are not small matters. Dolgyal destroys the root of the path to enlightenment,
correctly following the virtuous friend, the most important thing in our life. You should
know this. You should not think, “Oh, this is a Tibetan problem.” You have to know how
harmful it is, otherwise you can get drawn in and then you won’t know you are getting
cheated.
I have heard that Dolgyal followers in Singapore stick the Dolgyal mantra on their cars and
leave them outside. They actually believe that by putting the mantra on a car or reciting it
they can be successful in business.
We can very easily be cheated, so we must check everything. Guru Shakyamuni Buddha said,
Oh bhikshus and wise men, as one assays gold by rubbing, cutting and melting, so examine well my words
and accept them, but not because you respect me.
The Buddha himself said that. 78 We have to examine his teachings just as we would examine
a metal to see if it is gold, to see whether it is false, mixed or pure. There are three ways you
test for gold, by cutting it, rubbing it and burning it. He said we should accept his teachings
only after examining them and seeing they are correct. That means we are most welcome to
investigate whatever question we have. Once we have investigated and found the teachings
to be correct and, on the strength of that, have decided to follow them, then we are not
doing so through blind faith. It’s my view that, among all the religions, only Buddhism gives
us the opportunity, the freedom, to examine the path completely.
In the monasteries the special way of studying is debate. Acceptance of the Buddhadharma is
not just through belief but also through debate, through questioning—you can ask any
question and then decide for yourself whether the answer is correct or incorrect. Even if it is
correct, you can still debate. If you are good debater, even if somebody has given a correct
answer you can still try to change that person’s mind.
Buddhism is very logical, very perfect, and examination of it leads to a deep, clear
understanding of the teachings. We are not asked to accept something on blind faith. We are
never told we are not allowed to ask questions but must just accept what we hear. This is
how it can become when somebody doesn’t have an answer.
I’m bringing this up in the context of Dolgyal. What I’m saying is that if we are allowed to
check what has been revealed by the guru, then why not with Dolgyal? That is my question.
A Dolgyal practitioner might be an expert in debate but has never checked on Dolgyal. That
is very strange. Especially seeing how Dolgyal is clearly so harmful to the world, to
Buddhism, to the success of Tibet, to His Holiness’s wishes and, particularly, to Lama
Tsongkhapa’s teaching. This is extremely clear. That is what Dolgyal’s influence is like, even
for learned lamas and geshes. It leads many people to no longer follow His Holiness but to
follow Dolgyal instead, to go in the wrong direction.
If you are following Tibetan Buddhism, learning and practicing tantra, you have to
understand this. If, as a non-Tibetan, you think that this is purely a Tibetan problem, you are
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