I have been asked to write a little bit about Guru Devotion. It’s a huge subject and not easy to write about briefly for me. I saw in my minds eye this morning when thinking of it visually like this somewhat: The Guru is like the Sun and or the Stars and the radiance from Them going out everywhere, helping us.
I got the unbelievable good fortune of my life to be an attendant to a great Lama in Boston in the late 80’s to early 90’s with another lady whom is now a Nun and meditating and doing retreat alone in her own little house she built near Lawudo in Nepal. This Lama, Geshe Lobsang Jampa, was the Lama at Kurukulla Center in Boston before the current Lama, Ven. Geshe Tsulga. Geshe Jampa got very sick and ended up passing away from stomach cancer, and so this caring for the Lama was very life changing for me. All of this was due to Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche appointing Ven. Kate and I to be the attendants to Geshe Jampa. All of my highest merits I’ve created in this life are due to Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s kindness to me. This is literally true. The Guru sees our minds, and what we are capable of and gives us tools and ways to enhance that beyond our wildest imagination.
Lorne and I offered our lives to Lama Zopa Rinpoche to serve Him however Rinpoche wanted us to. To make the Guru happy is to make all the Buddhas happy, and in turn we are happier.
The latest thing is to follow Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice given this morning as best we all can. Any advice we get sent like this directly from Lama Zopa Rinpoche is like nectar and we are so lucky to get it. It’s like an emergency right now to help the Tibetans however we can to make things better for them; to repay the infinite kindness to them they’ve given to us through passing on the most precious teachings we are receiving. With the Olympics coming up this year in China, and all this happening right now, it’s our chance to make a big difference however we can.
When Ven. Khensur Rinpoche Geshe Lobsang Jampa comes back to our area They will be staying with Lorne and I at our place. Any of you whom read this whom want to know more about ways to help, ways to learn more about Guru Devotion, or anything I possibly can help you with can write to me personally and I’ll do my best. The thing is that we all have our own kinds of things we excel in, ways of thinking, etc., so I’d be happy to help any of you if I can to be able to flourish with your own innate Buddha natures by helping you to be able to serve the Guru as best you can in regards to your own talents and things you are good at, etc. My email address is: Terry at guhyasamaja.org (substitute the ‘at’ with an @).
My personal new wish to help Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche with as far as projects go is on this site here you can read about yourselves: www.lawudo.com
The subject of Guru Devotion is the most profound, most sacred of all teachings. It’s the most glorious, most happy, most meaningful part of my life, and all of my dharma brothers and sisters lives whom also help our Gurus.
Like Ven. Khensur Rinpoche told us last visit, we students are literally living in Shakyamuni Buddhas’ Pure Land right now.
All my love to all of you.
Terry Griffith-Ladner
— Posted by Terry Ladner
- For more information about Lama Zopa’s advice and what you can do to help the Tibetan people, please see Supporting Tibet through the practice of Engaged Buddhism.
Guhyasamaja Center Blog 
We welcome you to share your experiences with your spiritual teachers. Write about their special qualities, or ways in which you have cared for them, or ways in which they’ve cared for you, etc. No matter how simple or even ordinary your experience may seem, it’s a blessing that we can all learn from.
Thanks!
Dina Li
Spiritual Program Coordinator