Rare and precious teachings in Bristol by Lama Jampa Thaye
The end of September saw the fulfillment of nearly two years of teachings in Bristol and London from ‘Rain of Clarity – the stages of the path in the Sakya tradition’ by Lama Jampa Thaye. In this 9th and final part, people from across the UK enjoyed a detailed presentation of the vajrayana, the extraordinary and swift path to buddhahood. The chapter opens with the history and transmission, showing where the vajrayana comes from and how the path still has the warmth of blessings through an unbroken transmission from teacher to disciple. Before discussing how the path is different to the path of perfections in the ordinary mahayana, Lama Jampa then pointed out what is the same, that is the view – emptiness, endowed with luminosity and the motivation – the expansive heart of bodhichitta, the wish to achieve buddhahood for the sake of all beings.
Lama Jampa continued by explaining why the vajrayana is so powerful. Through countless transformative practices, the vajrayana is able to bring about enlightenment in this very life. To do this requires us having the right conditions in place: to have entered the vajrayana through initiation and received the transmission and instructions on the practice, along with keeping the supporting vows and pledges so the practices will work for us. To outline who is qualified to give such initiations and associated teachings, Lama Jampa quoted this important text by Bhavideva, ‘The Fifty Verses on the Guru’,
One who is stable, disciplined, possessing intelligence,
Tolerance, truthfulness, being without deceit,
Knowing the application of mantras and tantras,
Possessing kind affection, learned in the scriptures
The morning closed with a reminder of what ‘Rain of Clarity’ is for – to outline the journey from Refuge to buddhahood so we can traverse the path with confidence.
In a fitting end to the day, Lama Jampa Thaye gave the initiation for a rare form of Hayagriva from the collection of 100 sadhanas of Bari Lotsawa. This particular form is renowned for helping overcome both mental and physical obstacles to spiritual practice, a reminder that the vajrayana not only leads to the realization of buddhahood but also has many methods to help us when travelling the path.
To read more about ‘Rain of Clarity’ and Lama Jampa Thaye, click here.