Just my two cents. I consider myself a relative beginner and I recognize that many things in the beginning ultimately are relegated to mere recitation. My lamas have made the point that we should both; make the effort to practice and be gentle with ourselves in the same. Little by little the details come and we can be continuously surprised at what our capacity and depth for such practices evolves into. Enjoy. I rejoice in everyone's efforts.Terma wrote: ↑Wed Jun 15, 2022 8:48 pmzerwe wrote: ↑Wed Jun 15, 2022 7:46 pmYes, as a recitation these times could be accurate. However, this is a complete practice and it should be done with effort (meditations, visualizations, recitations, etc...). One should try to seek out oral transmission, instructions, and commentary if possible. Some who offer this may want the student to commit to this being their HEART practice. Some gurus will stress that this is more important than practicing the sadhana. Also, more than one of my teachers' have often suggested that all of what the sadhana offers can be incorporated into 6-session guru yoga. In short, the entire core of the generation stage can be incorporated, as well as, completion stage practices. Personally, I devote 30-40 minutes minimum twice daily using the short version to complete my commitments and, to be honest, you could devote more time.Terma wrote: ↑Wed Jun 15, 2022 2:43 pm
This extremely concise prayer can function as a recitation of the six session guru yoga, but really it is more for last resort emergencies. The abbreviated version is barely adequate but is still doable and fulfills all requirements. It takes only about 5 minutes to recite 3 times- so that is only 10 minutes per day. The full version takes about 20 minutes for 3 recitations according to the instructions, and this is the best.
If I may say so, if one is just hoping to fulfill these samaya commitments by only reciting this very short prayer, then it probably doesn't seem important. These commitments should not be seen as a burden, but rather a way to lead us to ultimate liberation for the benefit of all beings.
I feel instead we should feel so fortunate to have not only heard the dharma, but the teachings of lower tantra. Even then, being able to even enter the mandala of Highest Yoga Tantra- so rare! Not to mention receiving such from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Please take some time to reflect on this.
The 3 versions of six session guru yoga are available from the FPMT store as a download, as well as a commentary by Lama Zopa Rinpoche on the elaborate version if you are interested in that.
Best wishes.
Shaun
Great post, actually.
This practice really does have everything you need and I am personally going to ask my local Geshe to give a set of teachings on this. Yes, I suppose one could just recite for the sake of filling the commitments, but that really isn't the point is it?
I'm glad you find the time to get the most out of this practice.
Shaun