An Interview with Khenpo Chodrak Rinpoche #4
19.04.1997

Q: When we receive empowerments, we may be asked to follow the recitation of certain prayers. And at the end of the empowerments, there are some commitments. When some lamas give initiations, we are just asked to chant and we will follow like parrots. Does this pertain to samaya ?
KR: It's not authentic. No. It could be that some lama gives this advice in the hope that it will have a positive effect on this person to do this recitation. It is a virtuous action and this would help the person to develop on the basis that this person has received some spiritual influence to practice. But it is not samaya.

Q: How many Root Guru can one have ?
KR: How could there be more than one because you do not need more than one to recognize the true nature of mind. Once you've recognized, you'd know it. So, there couldn't be more than one. However one can have many gurus in general. The great Khyentse Wangpo has 150 gurus.
However, for a beginner, it is not very constructive to take teachings from a lot of different teachers. It's a matter of not ending up with too many teachings and too much confusion. This was said by the Indian Buddhist master, Atisha. On a more advanced level, it's alright to have a lot of teachers because one has stabilized on oneself in the practice of the Dharma. He is no longer subjected to confusion in the same way as a beginner.

Q: Does it mean that even if a Guru who is not specifically giving instruction but the student perceives his own true nature of mind, that this guru is considered his Root Guru ?
KR: No. It would happen on the basis of the guru giving the instructions and the instructions having the effect on the student having a glimpse of the true nature of mind. It won't happen in the absence of instructions.

Q: Is this nature of mind that Rinpoche mentioned a state of Mahamudra ?
KR: No. It's different. That's why it's called a 'glimpse' of the true nature of mind because it's not a realization. It means that for a few moment, you catch a glimpse of mind's true nature but that vanishes. That's why you have to continue your practice. It meant that while receiving such instuction you may have become matured enough to, for a few moments, see the true nature of reality. However, that's not final realization. It's just the beginning stage. So the point is, once you have a preception of mind's true nature, then you know what it is. Then you can cultivate it. And to cultivate that perception so that it becomes a continuous perception, what people call meditation. But the word actually means to cultivate. So you familiarize yourself more and more with the nature of reality.

Q: If one is practicing Mahamudra in the Kagyu lineage, can we say that ultimately our Root Guru would definitely be Kamarpa being the head of the Karma Kagyu Lineage ?
KR: There has been a great Tibetan master, Karma Charme who went off to the land of Sukhavati. He didn't even leave his body behind. He seems to have said, that the Karmapa would not become each and every Karma Kagyu practitioner's Root Guru even though he is the main figure of the lineage. However, the Karmapa, was throughout Tibet's Buddhist history, referred to as Buddha Karmapa. So, he had been regarded as fully enlightened. Now, even if you have received instructions as to the true nature of mind from anyone else, it is according to Karma Charme, advisable to regard this teacher to be inseparable from the Karmapa himself. If one looks at the teacher in this way, it means one has the possibility of receiving the spiritual influence of the Karmapa. In these times, regarded as very degenerated, it's good to cultivate this kind of preception, says Karma Chame, because otherwise one will probably find faults with the Guru. But if you look at him as inseparable from the Karmapa, this will prevent you from finding faults with the teacher as well as being possible to receive the Karmapa's spiritual influence.