Page:Dudjom Rinpoche A Torch Lighting the Way to Freedom.pdf/20

• to listen without sincere respect and devotion to the master and the teaching; • to listen without a genuine commitment to the path of Dharma; • to listen with the mind distracted by external factors; • to listen with the six senses excessively withdrawn so that one does not understand the words or the meaning of what is being explained; • and to listen with a sad and weary mind. Rid yourself of these and listen with the right kinds of qualities, as described in the Sutra Requested by Subahu: Consider the teacher proclaiming the Dharma as a priceless treasure. Consider the teaching as a wish-fulfilling jewel. Consider that to hear the teaching is extremely rare. Consider that to hold the teaching and reflect on it is most precious and beneficial. Consider that a discerning understanding of the Dharma is something you will not find in a hundred lifetimes. Consider that those who give up seeking the teachings have thrown away nectar and can only enjoy poison. Consider that those who listen and reflect will achieve their aims. and so on. So with a correct attitude and perfect mindfulness, meditate as follows: The place where we are is arrayed with the ornaments of all the Buddhafields and endowed with boundless good qualities, and on this ground is the building we are in—no ordinary building, but the Palace of Great Liberation, bedecked with the “jewels of the Essence of Space,” 2 a measureless palace formed from the self-radiance of primal wisdom, d utterly perfect in proportions and design. In its center, seated on a jeweled throne of indestructibility and on the anthers of the king of lotuses, is the teacher, in whom the compassion and activities of all the Buddhas of the past, present, and future are combined; who embodies the net of the magical display of primordial wisdom; whose activity is such that simply hearing the teacher’s name brings liberation from cyclic existence and the lower realms; who is the sole glorious protector of samsara and nirvana. Visualize him or her as the Universally Good Lake-Born Diamond Bearer in person, with his consort.e From his mouth the words of the teaching stream forth in the form of rays of light with syllables made up of the vowels and consonants. Visualize the men listening to the teaching as the reddish-yellow TikshnaMañjushri,f holding an utpala flower upon which are a sword and a volume of the teachings. Visualize the women listening to the teaching as the goddess Tara, who is green and holds an utpala flower. The ears of both male and female listeners are sixteen-petaled blue utpalas, through which the words of the teaching enter, lightly dissolving 3 into the lotuses in our hearts and dispelling the darkness of our ignorance. Consider that the lotus of knowledge blooms and that the meaning of the teaching is clearly understood and perfectly retained through the power of unforgetting