Samye Ling 2018: Questions and Answers on Choosing a Lama

Since there was a large pile of questions on translator Kunga’s table this morning, Drupon Rinpoche decided to spend the day’s first teaching session giving answers to them.

The questions ranged from science and the primary status of mind in relation to phenomena, to how to encourage keen 5-year old would-be Dharma practitioners, and from the benefits of suffering to the necessary qualifications to look for in a lama.

As for the latter question, Drupon Rinpoche summarised the prerequisites as two-fold: one should ask oneself “Has the lama done a thorough study of the Dharma? (and) Are they likely to caringly and conscientiously teach me or not?” If the answer to these two questions is “Yes!”, then whether they be famous or not, good-looking or not, male or female, lay or monk is of no consequence, he said. He stressed that we should not imagine that we can just swap lamas if it doesn’t seem to be going well with the one we have. Therefore we need to be extremely careful with our choice at the beginning.

Shared from the Akong Memorial Foundation.