“Formally” asking a lama to be one’s root guru?

[YesheDronmar]

Konchog-la,

Bathe and put on nice clothes. Then go to the Teacher you want to formally become the student of. Do three prostrations. Offer a nice kathag on the table before them. In other words, don't put it directly in their hands. You want the Teacher to accept and keep the kathag, not immediately give it back to you. Tell the Lama you want to formally become their disciple. Then tell them you offer them your body, speech, and mind. That should do it.

All the responses about not asking a Lama to become your Root Guru are correct, but I actually think you are asking something different regardless of the words you used.

Good luck & best wishes.

This is indeed wonderful and useful advice.

Also, perhaps be prepared for the Teacher to test your resolve a little, ask you to do something unexpected, or beyond your means. It doesn't always happen, yet sometimes it does.

[Toenail]

root guru in Nyingma means he or she introduced you to the nature of mind (and you got it)
root Guru can also mean you received a major empowerment (such as Kalachakra, Guhyagarbha etc) from her or him

uneducated lay people call all kinds of lamas their root guru. Tibetans as well. Most tibetans will call Dalai Lama their root guru. Maybe there is benefit in that for them since Dalai Lama is the actual buddha, but in reality they often have not even entered the gate of Tantra etc., they have no root guru. You don't get samayas and empowerments by holding picnics etc. No shade but this is the truth. So your question is based on a misconception of what the term means.

[Terma]

Konchog-la,

Bathe and put on nice clothes. Then go to the Teacher you want to formally become the student of. Do three prostrations. Offer a nice kathag on the table before them. In other words, don't put it directly in their hands. You want the Teacher to accept and keep the kathag, not immediately give it back to you. Tell the Lama you want to formally become their disciple. Then tell them you offer them your body, speech, and mind. That should do it.

All the responses about not asking a Lama to become your Root Guru are correct, but I actually think you are asking something different regardless of the words you used.

Good luck & best wishes.

This is indeed wonderful and useful advice.

Also, perhaps be prepared for the Teacher to test your resolve a little, ask you to do something unexpected, or beyond your means. It doesn't always happen, yet sometimes it does.

This is sometimes the case. When I first met one of my teachers. I had to travel out of town to see meet him for the first time, and when I requested lung he said sure, but to wait until we saw each other again in which case I had to travel about 1 month later to see him again. It wasn't super far, maybe 6-8 hour drive's worth, but enough to perhaps test my sincerity or resolve a little.

Considering what Tibetans and Indians had to do to go see their teachers, a short little weekend trip is certainly not too much to ask!