Lama Zopa Rinpoche

nothing compared to the value of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and what they can do
for us. Kon-chog sum has a very deep meaning, but “Three Jewels” is very loose; it becomes
like a plastic apple.
I don’t know if they do this in the West, but in Pathankot 81 there is a shop that sells fruit.
Above the fruit there is a big mirror that reflects all the fruit back. From a distance it looks
like there is a lot of fruit but when you look closer you seen that the top part is only a
reflection. Anyway, it’s kind of like that.
It says in the teachings that even making offerings to the Three Rare Sublime Ones, kon-chog
sum, for three eons and saving the lives of ten of millions of creatures isn’t enough to achieve
enlightenment in this lifetime, but if we devote ourselves to the guru who has oceans of
qualities we can definitely attain both common and supreme qualities—“supreme” here
means mahamudra, enlightenment—in this lifetime.
The tantric text Yeshe Gyatso, Ocean of Transcendental Wisdom, says,
For the wise fortunate one, skill in doing activities for the guru is much more meaningful than doing
prostrations to all the past, present and future buddhas for ten million, six hundred thousand eons. If you
accomplish whatever your guru advises, all your desires will succeed. 82
Compared with doing prostrations to all the past, present and future buddhas for ten
million, six hundred thousand eons, being expert in serving the guru and fortunate and wise
enough to do so is much more greatly meaningful. If we can accomplish whatever the guru
advises us to do, all our wishes, our desires, will succeed just like that and we will collect
unimaginable merit.
Seeing apparent mistakes in the guru
There is also a very important practice to remember that helps you develop your mind and
prevents what has already developed from degenerating. A verse by the Fifth Dalai Lama
explains how important it is:
When mistakes appear in the guru’s actions you should recognize them as your own distorted, hallucinated
mind, which sees the opposite of reality. Understand these as your own mistakes and abandon such
thinking like poison. 83
This is such an important guru devotion practice. Our mind is hallucinated, distorted, and
sees the very opposite of reality. To that mind, our own faults appear as faults in the actions
of the guru. We must recognize this, understand how these are all our own mistakes and
abandon the mind that sees them as faults in the guru.
We must abandon that mind like poison. If we encountered poisonous food and knew that
by eating it we would die, we would immediately throw it away, without a second’s delay.
Like this, we must recognize the mistakes we see in our guru as results of our hallucinated
mind and abandon that mind immediately.
When we see an apparent mistake we cannot see that it is completely the reflection of our
own mistaken thinking. We are unaware of that and see it as coming from the guru’s side,
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