The Lama’s Instruction

When reading stories of the past lamas receiving instructions from their lamas, we might imagine these instructions to be something particularly deep or special, like unique visualisations or meditation techniques that we haven’t heard before.

Most of the time, however, it is not like that. So, how does it work?

Our lama is someone who watches over us, someone we trust and have faith in, such that we come to have a reverent fear of them.

When you stay with someone like this, you will naturally be very conscientious with regard to your conduct. You will be cautious of what you say, and what you think, thinking that your lama may know when you do something bad and be displeased with you. With this carefulness, you start to change yourself. You start to avoid doing what you know you shouldn’t do and do more of what you should. This positive transformation is given the name ‘blessing’.

This is how the lama's instruction works. It's not always as exotic or special as we might think.

30th June 2024, Thrangu Sekhar Retreat Centre, Nepal