The Merit of Offering Service to the Guru

My most dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling ones,

I want to give you this advice.

Lama Tsongkhapa said:

By correctly serving the guru, the virtuous friend,
The karma one has to experience the evil-gone realms,
Instead, one experiences it as a small harm to the body and mind in this life,
Or even in the dream, and in this way the karma finishes.

This means that all the heavy karma that otherwise would have resulted in you being born in the lower realms for so many eons gets finished by serving the guru.

It is mentioned in the Ksitigarbha Sutra:

By correctly following the virtuous friend, we purify all the heavy negative karmas that would otherwise cause us to wander in the evil migratory realms for an inconceivable time (ten million eons), or to experience harm to the body and mind in this life through epidemics, disease, famine and so forth. Those heavy negative karmas are totally purified by receiving a scolding, being teased or even having a bad dream.

This means we purify all those heavy negative karmas that would have otherwise resulted in [rebirth in the lower realms or harm in this life].

What happens if we are not aware of the most unbelievable benefits of correctly following the virtuous friend? If we are not aware and not thinking, then we regard this [small harm in this life] as very bad. But by recognizing and knowing these points we understand that it is the most incredible purification and way of collecting merits and actualizing the path. It makes it so easy to actualize the path and to achieve enlightenment easily and quickly. This is something to rejoice in and to feel incredible happiness about.

Also remember Sakya Pandita’s advice:

Even though sunbeams are very hot,
Without a magnifying glass they can’t produce a fire.
It is the same with the blessings of the buddhas:
Without the guru, they cannot enter the disciple.

Just like that, without the guru, the buddhas’ blessings cannot be received. In that way by pleasing the guru, we please all the buddhas.

Each of you are doing things that I have asked, such as making every single offering with so much devotion and respect for the Triple Gem. The whole thing is serving the guru, so every single thing that you do, and also other kinds of service, such as being director, past and present, or translator, editing books and so forth, everything that you do is offering service.

By pleasing the guru, this pleases all the buddhas. You have to remember this every day. That is what you are doing, day and night, in every single thing that you do. It is so unbelievable. What more is there to do? It is unbelievable. You can rejoice in the skies of merits.

Of course, I am not saying I am a buddha at all. This is just an example of how I think about my gurus.

Also:

The one who embodies all the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha is the guru.
To you I go for refuge.

The second quotation by Sakya Pandita says:

All the merit you accumulate by practicing the paramita of charity for a thousand eons—giving to other sentient beings not only your head and limbs but even the merit you receive by offering your body in this way—is accumulated in an instant with the path of the guru. Therefore, offer service and feel happy.

Therefore, you should rejoice all day and night, by being here for even one second, then for however many seconds you are here in the daytime and at nighttime. Even when you are sleeping, which is taking care of yourself in order to serve the guru, in order to practice Dharma for sentient beings. So you can even rejoice in the nighttime.

If you understand this, you can’t imagine, it is most unbelievable, most unbelievable, every second what happens is that you collect the most unbelievable benefits and merit. Therefore, serve and rejoice.

The tantric text Drop of Mahamudra says:

Just as fire burns wood and turns it to ashes in one second.
Like that, if we please the glorified guru,
Our negative karma is burnt in one second.
(This means all the incredible heavy negative karmas collected in the past.)

This is the quickest way to achieve realizations of the path and to achieve enlightenment, so you should enjoy your life.

Since all the houses and centers are very much involved in making offerings to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, and making offerings to holy objects, it is good to also know this.

Guru Shakyamuni Buddha explained to Bodhisattva Undefeatable:

The Brahmin lady named Paldema offered one handful of sandalwood powder and sprinkled that on the holy feet of the Tathagata.

The Buddha then asked Bodhisattva Undefeatable, “Did you see that?”

Then the Buddha said to Bodhisattva Undefeatable, “Because of the merits that Brahmin Paldema collected by making this offering, she will not be reborn in the lower realms for 840 million eons.”

You have to understand that this is not only referring to offering sandalwood to the Buddha. Your understanding should expand to include all the rest of the different offerings that you do every day. For instance, there are so many different water offerings and light offerings at the houses and centers. There are flower offerings, incense offerings and so forth, and from every single offering— the water bowls, lights, incense and flowers—that is made to the Buddha, you get this much benefit.

It’s important to understand this quotation from the root text of Manjugosha:

Manjushri said to Buddha:

“At the moment, the object sentient beings make offerings to and collect merit with is you. After you pass away, what can they do? Please give advice.”

The Buddha replied:

“There is not the slightest difference if my four surrounding beings (getsul, getsulma, gelong, gelongma) make offerings to me now or make offerings to my statues in the future. It is equal in merit and the ripening aspect (result).

“That is due to the blessings of the Buddha. Undeveloped (ordinary) beings don’t know this and that is why there are no Buddha statues in their world.

"Where are there no statues? In the outlying barbarian countries and where the teachings of the Buddha have degenerated (stopped). Therefore, non-Buddhists and animals do not see buddha statues.

“Therefore, the statue is a manifestation of Buddha.”

So you can see, for each of you it is most unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable. Every day it is so unbelievable. You collect so much merit every day, even just in one day, with so many different offerings. You can create the karma to not be reborn in the lower realms for 840 million eons with each offering. You get benefits relating to this. This is without even mentioning you are creating the cause of enlightenment with every offering. There are so many causes of enlightenment each day. This is without the need to mention that making offerings becomes the cause of enlightenment, by offering to every single thangka, painting or statue of Buddha. It is unbelievable, unbelievable, most unbelievable. There is no time for depression, no space.

This quote by the Buddha is from the Sutra Requested by Lodro Gyatso:

The thought of complete enlightenment, preserving Dharma, practicing Dharma and having love and compassion for living beings: these four dharmas have infinite qualities—the limit of their benefits is not seen by the Victorious Ones. It is said that preserving Dharma and protecting the lives of living beings has limitless benefits.

This quote is related to having compassion for animals and insects, including the worms, and liberating them carefully. Each time we do this we create the most unbelievable good karma, limitless. This brings us to full enlightenment, besides bringing so much happiness and peace to the insects and worms.

This is making all the buddhas and bodhisattvas most pleased and happy. This is the best meaning of our life.

So here, every week you liberate the fishing worms, also at the Washington retreat house you are making charity to the ants’ nests, now almost one hundred. You are also giving food and water to the birds, you are making charity to the birds. [The Buddha] cannot finish explaining the benefits of this for eons. The Buddha didn’t see the end of these benefits, so there is no end.

The Buddha said:

For any sentient being, who during the period of my teachings
Makes charity well (even if the material is the size of a hair),
For 80,000 eons will experience the great result of great enjoyment:
No pain, no disease and enjoyment of happiness.
Like that, you will be enriched with the desirable things.
At the end you can actually achieve the result—the peerless cessation and completion (enlightenment).

You should keep this in your daily prayer book and read it regularly.

With much love and prayers ...