Rev. Danny Fisher

Today’s quote is from our friend and former Naropa University prof Lama Sarah Harding. Sarah is a lama in the Shangpa Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, who in 1980, under the supervision of H.E. Kalu Rinpoche, completed the very first three-year retreat ever for westerners. Her published translations include Creation & Completion: Essential Points of Tantric Meditation,Machik’s Complete Explanation: Clarifying the Meaning of Chöd, and the brand new Niguma, Lady of Illusion. She’s also a complete delight, the bee’s knees — one of my favorite people. This is it — from Sarah’s introduction to her translation of Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé’s Treasury of Knowledge, Book Eight, Part Four: Esoteric Instructions, A Detailed Presentation of the Process of Meditation in Vajrayana, pg. 17:

Esoteric Buddhism is the precious crown jewel of spiritual practice in Tibet, a land once distinguished as a repository of all levels and approaches of Buddhism. The multi-layered complex of philosophical and contemplative practice opens up into a distinct spiritual path for everyone. The vast wealth of eclectic knowledge is the context that supports the profound teaching of tantra, or esoteric Buddhism. These teachings are said to offer a quick and easy way to discover one’s own nature through a variety of curiously effective techniques. The esoteric or secret quality of the tantras, however, is only revealed by direct contact with masters who embody an awakened state of mind. Then the practitioner sees directly the living teaching, and is in turn seen by the guru in his or her unique capacities and needs. It is this relationship that powers the development of spiritual growth. For that reason the direct instructions transmitted within such relationships are the most prized of all the Buddha’s doctrines.