Guru Yoga · According to the Preliminary Practice of Longchen Nyingtik

The practice of guru yoga, merging with the mind of the master, lies at the very heart of the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition of Tibet. Why is it so important? Because, with the help of the outer teacher, we can discover the inner teacher, the true nature of our own mind. Until that time, if we wish to progress towards enlightenment, we need the guidance of a qualified master, while we seek to rid ourselves of ignorance and free ourselves from the tyranny of ego. The hallmark of the guru yoga practice, in fact the very practice itself, is a lucid, pure and intelligent devotion. Through the power of devotion and the blessing of the master, a moment will come when a transformation takes place, in which the student recognizes the Wisdom mind of the guru to be no different from his or her own mind, and boundless realization is born. As Khyentse Rinpoche says,

Through the guru yoga practice, all obstacles can be removed and all blessings received. And through merging our mind with the mind of the guru and remaining in that state of inseparable union, the absolute nature will be realized. This is why we should always treasure guru yoga and keep it as our foremost practice.

This particular guru yoga comes from the famous Longchen Nyingtik revelation of the eighteenth-century visionary master Rigdzin Jikme Lingpa. It was during a summer retreat in France in 1984 that Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche gave these beautiful teachings at the request of Sogyal Rinpoche, author of *The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying*.

Kyabje DILGO KHYENTSE RINPOCHE (1910-91) was one of the twentieth century's greatest spiritual figures, and the teacher of many of the Tibetan masters of today, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Head of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, a peerless master of the Dzogchen teachings, and revealer of the treasures of Padmasambhava, he was also a champion of the non-sectarian movement, revered and loved by countless students in Tibet and throughout the world.

During the final fourteen years of Khyentse Rinpoche's life, his personal assistant was MATTHIEU RICARD, who has been a Buddhist monk for eighteen years. The translator and editor of numerous books on Tibetan Buddhism, he is highly regarded for his scholarship and knowledge of Tibetan religion.