The-Tibetan-Book-of-Living-and-Dying

146 THE TIBETAN BOOK OF LIVING AND DYING
the passions. In brief, he is the equal of all the buddhas. To make
any connection with him, whether through seeing him, hearing his
voice, remembering him, or being touched by his hand, will lead us
toward liberation. To have fill confidence in him is the sure way to
progress toward enlightenment. The warmth of his wisdom and
compassion will melt the ore of our being and release the gold of
the buddha-nature within. 5
I have become aware of the blessings of my masters trickling
down to me almost imperceptibly and informing my
mind. Ever since Dudjom Rinpoche died, my students tell me
my teachings became more flowing, more lucid. Not long ago,
after hearing Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche give a particularly
astonishing teaching, I expressed my deep admiration for him
and said: "It's almost miraculous how effortlessly and spontaneously
these teachings flow from your wisdom mind." He
leaned toward me tenderly, with a teasing glint in his eye.
"And may your teachings in English flow in exactly the same
way," he said. Since then, through no doing of my own, I
have felt my ability to express the teachings grow more and
more natural. I consider this book to be a manifestation of the
blessing of my masters, transmitted through the wisdom mind
of the ultimate master and supreme guide, Padmasambhava.
This book, then, is their gift to you.
It is my devotion to my masters that gives me the strength
to teach, and the openness and receptivity to learn and go on
learning. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche himself never stopped
humbly receiving teachings from other masters, and often
those who were his own disciples. The devotion that gives
the inspiration to teach, then, is also the devotion that gives
the humility to go on learning. Gampopa, Milarepa's greatest
disciple, asked him, at the moment of their parting, "When
will be the time for me to start guiding students?" Milarepa
replied, "When you are not like you are now, when your
whole perception has been transformed, and you are able to
see, really see, this old man before you as nothing less than
the Buddha himself. When devotion has brought you to that
moment of recognition, that moment will be the sign that the
time for you to teach has come."
These teachings have been brought to you from
Padmasambhava's enlightened heart, across centuries, over a
thousand years, by an unbroken lineage of masters, each one of
whom only became masters because they had learned humbly
to be disciples, and remained, in the deepest sense, disciples of