Buddhists/Guru Yoga

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Expert: - 12/15/2009


Question
Hello again Alex, I have another question, I came across the name Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche after Matthieu Ricard mentioned his name. I found that he wrote a few books on Guru Yoga? I'm curious to know what this is and what the benefits of it are. Is it a form of meditation?

Thanks again
Tony

Answer
Hi Tony,
Yes, it is a form of meditation, or rather a huge "slew" of practices; Tibetan forms of Buddhism put a lot of emphasis on it. Mostly they involve, as usual, quite a lot of chanting and visualisation.
I essence, a Guru Yoga involves taking some form of "the guru" - often a key figure in the lineage of your practice, like Milarepa, or a Karmapa, or Tsongkhapa, Guru Rinpoche, or a form of the Buddha - and recognizing that the guru's mind, and the mind of the Buddha, and the mind of your personal teacher, and even, most importantly, the essence of your own mind, are not different.
So it has a lot to do with devotion, of course, and with relaxing into the recognition of the positive richness of your own mind, but in a very non-egocentric way.
I hope that makes some sense!

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Alex Wilding

Expertise

I have practiced and studied Tibetan Buddhism in the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions since the early 1970s, and have a good knowledge of theory, history and of the struggles of trying to practice the teachings, including meditation, while leading a normal, modern life. I am also available to provide background information for journalists.

Experience

I have been a practitioner since the early 1970s; have run a small Buddhist centre in the English Midlands and was vice-president of Kagyu Benchen Ling e.V. in Germany, for whom I managed three large Buddhist summer-camps. More importantly, I maintain a habit of personal practice. I am the "owner" of the Kagyu list at Yahoo.

Education/Credentials
My first degree was an M.A. from Oxford. I later obtained a Master of Philosophy degree for a research thesis in "Initiation in Tibetan Buddhism" from Leicester University. I also have engineering and educational qualifications.

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