.As so vividly expressed by Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche in his Mountain Retreat: "The great profundity of this Dharma (Great Prefection) carries obstacles with it in the same way that great profit goes together with great risk. The reason for this is that all the accumulated bad karma of your past lives will, by the power of the instructions, arise outwardly as the abstacles and apparitions of Mara….In reality, you might actually be subjected to attacks, quarrels, thieves, robbers, diseases and other unexpected hazards….You will be falsely accused even though innocent; you will acquire a bad reputation; close friends will turn into enemies, and so on. So, various undesirable circumstances may well arise, outside and inside."
Then Rinpoche continuds, "Ho! These are crucial points of eruption. You must recognize them. Here is the frontier between benefit and danger…. So, with pure samaya and persistent unwavering fervor, give your faith and heart to the Guru, praying ardently with complete confidence in whatever he may do…. (In this way) Confidence in the Guru and his instructions will grow as never before…. Ho! This is the point of solution. By bringing the circumstances onto the path, the critical points have been settled. A la la! This is exactly what we old fathers want." Rinpoche's advices to us are so refreshing and enlightening, reminding us that these are the sure ways that one can have the chance of becoming liberated.
Thus, all kinds of negativities and obscurations can be a very good method to train oneself on the path, to increase one's own wisdom, meditational power, perseverence and the adherance of disciplines. It is well said in a Chinese poem: "Without a strong and severe winter, the chill of which penetrates into the bones, one cannot smell the fragrance coming from the blossoming plumrose flowers in spring time." Such is the case of the phoenix arising from the ashes. In this way, Guru Lau brought me

Photo 1.62 Guru Lau with Yeshe Thaye at leisure in 1979.

along in his travel of life's long journey, which had both good and bad memories. This is, indeed, the realization of the true nature of lift, as well as of the path that all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have shown us, and upon which Guru Lau had so kindly and compassionately led me through all along!
In real practice, Buddhism teaches one "to diligently practice discipline, meditation and wisdom, and to refrain from greed, anger and ignorance", Guru Lau had set a good example for us to follow. Though his whole life is full of ups and downs, he cared less by insisting to stick to his own principles. Working ceaselessly and tirelessly on his own ideal of "spreading the Dharma for the benenfit of all sentient beings", Guru Lau is indeed a Bodhisattva in personage! What would worldly people think of him, anyway?
The Swiss philosopher H.F. Amiel has claimed that the value of a Great Man depends not on his wealth or the works that he has done, but it depends on the virtues of the person as well as the light that shines from within himself. A Great Man is actually an "actualized person", one who naturally completes his wishes in lift. He is no different from any ordinary people, except that every step that he takes in his lift is concrete and solid. Furthermore, no matter what conditions he is in, whether it be rich or poor, high or low, favourable or unfavourable circumstances, his mind will not waver or change, realizing that his ideal is the road that he should take all along, and he will not sacrifice it for something lesser. Indeed, a genuine man, a genuinely Great Man is one who is true to himself and to his ideal!
This is a true reflection of the lift of Guru Lau which, through his virtues and the light that shines from within him, carries all the characteristics and strengths of a genuinely Great Human Being, or in Buddhist term a Bodhisattva in personage! Here is a lift example that we, as students of the Bodhisattva Path, should follow in his footsteps. Here, I earnestly and sincerely pray that Lama Sonam Chokyi Gyaltsan (Guru Lau) will be swiftly reborn into this world to turn the Wheel of the Holy Dharma for the benefit of all our motherly sentient beings!

SARWA MANGALAM ..CONTINUE ..