The Grace of the Lama

For those who practice the Vajrayana, either the phases of creation or of completion of the meditation, or even Mahamudra, it is extremely important to open to the grace of the lama.

Indeed, the lama is viewed as the union of the Three Jewels and the Three Roots.

Or,
The lama is the Buddha, the lama is the Dharma.
The lama is also the Sangha,
In front of the lama, who is the union of the Three Jewels,
I prostrate.
The lama’s body: the Sangha,
The lama’s speech: the Dharma
The lama’s mind: the Buddha.

The lama’s body: the lamas
The lama’s speech: the dakinis and protectors,
The lama’s mind: the yidams.

Why is so much importance granted to the lama? The sun emits great light and heat, nevertheless this heat is too diffuse for a piece of paper or cloth to catch fire. On the other hand, when one uses a magnifying glass to focus the rays, they become more powerful and burn the paper, yet the nature of the rays has not changed. In the same way, the lama also focuses the grace of Awakening in order to transmit it to the disciple. When one considers the master as the union of the Three Jewels and the Three Roots, when one prays from the depths of the heart, this grace will consume ignorance, conflicting emotions, faults, and veils.

Importance of the lama

The Tibetan term lama is composed of two syllables, each possessing a definite meaning.
– Ia means “the highest,” or “unsurpassable,” precisely as a canopy (/a-dray, Tibetan) is the highest (Ia) piece of cloth (dray) in the temple. The lama is for his or her disciples, the highest being.
– rna signifies mother, implying that a lama looks upon all beings with the love of a mother for her only child.
For the disciple, the source lama is more important than all the Buddhas. If you rely on the Buddhas to reach Awakening, this requires much time. On the other hand, it is said that if one prays to the lama from the depths of the heart, one will very quickly attain Awakening.

The grace of Buddhas and bodhisattvas resembles the radiance of the sun. Even in the hot season, the sun cannot make a piece of paper on the ground catch fire, but if you have a magnifying glass, the paper will easily burst into flames. The Vajrayana consists of inserting the magnifying glass of the lama between the grace of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas and the mind of the disciples

There is the story of an Awakened being called Lekyi Repa. After having prayed to his lama for six months without interruption, he gained the realization of Mahamudra and other powers such as the ability to pass through rocks.

When one accomplishes the practice of a yidam, one always must keep in mind that the yidam is one with the source lama. Thus, one receives both the grace of the yidam and that of the lama and quickly makes progress toward liberation.

The importance of the source lama is great. It is said that one can stop making offerings to the Buddhas and keep only making those to the lama, because these offerings will be incomparably powerful in accumulating merit and wisdom.

Each lineage offers meditations relating to the great masters of the past, whether it is Padmasambhava for the Nyingmapas, Marpa, Milarepa, and Gampopa for the Kagyupas, or Tsongkhapa for the Gelukpas. When one practices these meditations, these masters of the past are, in essence, not considered as different from the source lama.

– Kalu Rinpoche–Secret Buddhism/Vajrayana Practices