Teachings by Bardor Tulku Rinpoche

As for the authenticity of the treasures of Barway Dorje, we have the testimony of every great master of our tradition, starting with the 14th Gyalwa Karmapa, Thekchok Dorje, and including great masters such as Khenchen Mipham and others. Many of those masters not only made statements testifying to the authenticity, but also composed liturgies, prayers, aspirations, and so on, for the propagation of these teachings. So, we can be certain that Terchen Barway Dorje was not a charlatan who made this stuff up.

(From a teaching on buddha nature by Bardor Tulku Rinpoche, Tampa (FL) 2009. Translated by Lama Yeshe Gyamtso, transcribed by Ann G. Shaffer, edited by Basia Coulter. Copyright Bardor Tulku Rinpoche and Peter O’Hearn. All right reserved.) We are afflicted by a serious illness called samsara [ed: cyclic existense]. Like any serious illness, it requires…

I would like to clarify the issue of samaya. Nowadays, some people think that samaya is something that you should be afraid of, that it is some kind of threat that is hanging over our heads. Here [in the Clear Guide for the Generation Stage], samaya is explained as all included within the person of the guru, and it is divided into the guru’s body, speech, mind, qualities, and activities. Why do we say that samaya is all included within the body, speech, and mind of the guru? As it is said, “The guru is the buddha; the guru is the dharma, the lord; the guru is glorious Vajradhara, the creator of all.” The meaning of this is that the guru’s body is the sangha; the guru’s speech is the dharma; and the guru’s mind is the buddha. And that is why in vajrayana, we refer to the guru as the overlord of all mandalas.