You must make offerings to your guru. There are three types of offerings to the guru. (1) Financial offerings: Always use your favorite things to make offerings to the guru. Those who are able can also make monetary offerings, but only as long as they do not affect family life. (2) Offering of body, speech and mind: Offer everything of body, speech and mind to the guru. You act as your guru, your words speak for your guru, and your thoughts reflect what your guru thinks. (3) Dharma offerings: After receiving the initiation, practice diligently according to the Dharma, and make offerings to the guru with tangible realizations and benefit to all sentient beings. Among the above three types of offerings, Dharma offerings are the highest grade, body, speech, and mind offerings are the middle grade, and financial offerings are the lower grade. There are two points to explain here: (1) A virtuous guru has no greed for property. The offerings made by disciples to the guru are not used by the guru for enjoyment. They are mostly used to build dojos, promote Dharma, or relieve sentient beings in need. If the living conditions of the guru are better than those of the general public, that is what is needed for the "dignity of the Dharma". Originally, the Buddha Dharma has no form, but ordinary people come to take refuge after seeing the majesty of the Buddha Dharma. (2) There is a tradition of empowerment in Vajrayana. Disciples often make financial offerings when seeking empowerment, but it should be understood that this is not the case where vajra masters treat the Dharma as a "patent" and ask for "transfer fees" from their disciples. The Vajrayana teachings are also called esoteric methods. The reason why they are esoteric is that these methods are extremely targeted. For disciples with different characteristics and aptitudes, the master provides targeted methods so that they can get the maximum benefit and achieve success as quickly as possible. If a person learns a Dharma that is not suitable for him, even if it is very profound, he will not get any real benefits and may even do great harm. Just as medicine for treating diseases must be suitable for the symptoms to be a good medicine, different methods of Buddhism should also be suitable for practitioners. This is one of the necessities of paying attention to empowerment. In this sense, initiation means empowerment. On the other hand, the guru holds constant blessings directly from the Buddha, and empowerment is the method by which the power of blessing is continuously transmitted, which is another necessity of empowerment. As for making financial offerings when seeking empowerment, its ultimate significance lies in the disciple's devotion, confidence and sincerity to the guru, so that the disciple's heart can be opened, the disciple can respond to the guru, and the blessing can be passed on. The amount of money a disciple offers to his guru depends not on the amount but on his motivation. A short story that happened to a world-famous living Buddha illustrates this point very well: At a large Dharma conference, among the hundreds of believers, there were people who offered various treasures and large sums of money, but he did not If you don’t notice, all the offerings are kept by the staff. One of the poor old men offered an old bowl with a missing mouth, but he personally took it and put one on his head, then placed it high to show respect - the missing bowl represented the old man. Complete and pure motivation! Those who have the conditions should also go on more pilgrimage trips with their guru. For example, taking on some responsibilities and even housework at the guru's house and taking care of the guru's daily life. This is also a kind of physical offering, and you can also take this opportunity to learn the noble character of the guru and listen to the guru's teachings. The tasks assigned by the guru must be for the benefit of all sentient beings, and we must try our best to do them well. If you fail to do it due to limited ability or conditions, you should report it truthfully to your supervisor and express your apology. It should be noted that one should not have a conceited mind due to always being around the guru or doing many things for the guru [19]. If you are arrogant towards your guru, then you will not get the guru's blessing even if you put your guru on your head every day! It should also be noted that if you often follow your guru, you will become accustomed to it and forget the rules of serving your guru, thus losing the respect you deserve. If this mentality develops seriously, it will destroy the samaya vows with the guru. Attachment 2: The rules that disciples should abide by their guru. There are many rules that a guru should abide by. Some people find them incomprehensible or even disapproving of them. In Vajrayana, there is trust, respect, support, and commitment to the guru, and the disciples are simply reduced to the minimum level. Why is this? This makes sense in two ways. On the one hand, the reason why people are ordinary people is all because of persistence. From persistence, fundamental troubles such as greed, anger, ignorance, suspicion, and incorrect views arise. Vajrayana has a special antidote, so it is called Vajra (indestructible). Having faith in, respecting, making offerings to, and carrying out deeds to the guru can all externally address people's fundamental troubles such as greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt. On the other hand, there is a deeper truth behind the appearance. Vajrayana is an inexhaustible secret method. Not every Buddha appears in the world to explain the secret method to all living beings, nor does the secret method live in the world every great kalpa. Only when the karma of sentient beings during a few great kalpas has matured and achieved sufficient merit can the secret dharma be passed down to the world. This is not because the Buddha refuses to teach, but because sentient beings are not blessed enough to practice Vajrayana, and only a few people have the foundation to practice Tantric Dharma.
Disciples who take refuge in Vajrayana should have unbreakable faith in their guru, treat their guru as a Buddha, and develop quiet and perfect confidence. If a disciple sees his guru saying or doing something that is not in line with the Dharma, it is the manifestation of karma in the disciple's heart, and the disciple should make deep repentance himself. Because the guru is an accomplished person, he sometimes performs various expedient methods to save sentient beings. However, disciples are ignorant and do not understand the true meaning, so they should not use their own opinions to doubt the tranquility and perfection of the guru, let alone slanderous words or actions that hinder the guru's promotion of Dharma. It is not easy to do this. Faith, respect, support and service to the guru are effective ways to cultivate these qualities. 1. Salute: When you see your guru, you should bow to your guru. If you are always at your guru's side, you should bow to your guru three times in the morning, noon and evening. You should bow before asking for Dharma or instructions. Buddha statues, sutras, blessings, and even a mouthful of food given by the guru should be received with obeisance. If you make any mistakes, you should bow to your guru and issue a confession note[20]. Praise: You should always praise your guru's noble character and merits in your own heart and in front of others. This is a way to promote Buddhism, and it is also a good way to seek blessings from the guru and to correspond with the guru. This is not the same thing as flattery and flattery. If you have the intention of flattery and flattery, it is against the Dharma. Offering: practice diligently and according to the Dharma, follow the instructions of the guru with body, speech and mind, and make offerings to the guru with things that please the guru or things you love. This is a good way to cultivate equanimity, respect, and seek blessings and blessings. Commitment: work hard to complete the tasks assigned by the guru, take care of the guru's life, take care of the guru's daily life, etc., and spare no effort to do it. 2. Do not slander: Do not make any slanderous words about the guru's body, speech, mind and everything in his mandala, otherwise it will damage or even destroy the samaya precepts. Don’t look down upon your guru: You should have Buddha thoughts towards your guru. Don’t think that “the guru is just such a person” just because you see him eating, drinking, sleeping, or even showing joy, anger, and joy like ordinary people. This kind of contemptuous thought is extremely harmful. It will damage or even destroy the samaya vows, lose the opportunity to receive blessings from the guru, and cut off one's own good roots. Not to hinder the teacher: For your own benefit, you must not do anything that hinders the guru's career of promoting Dharma and benefiting living beings, and you must not let the guru worry about these things. Otherwise, your merits will be greatly reduced, or you may suffer from illness or early death in this life. If you don't repent, you will go to Vajra Hell after death. 3. Respect the guru (1) Do not step on or step over the guru’s shoes, clothes, seats or other items. Do not take the guru’s things for your own use. (2) You should be as respectful to the guru's belongings as you are to the guru. You should also be respectful to the guru's family members and the attendants around the guru. (3) In front of the guru, do not cover your head, do not raise your feet, do not sit high, do not put your hands on your hips, do not stretch your legs, do not lean against the wall or the back of a chair, etc., do not scratch your head, do not curl your fingers, do not hit. Yawning, coughing, and sneezing should be avoided or covered with hands. (4) Disciples are not allowed to sit or lie down when the guru is standing, and disciples are not allowed to lie down when the guru is sitting. When sitting or lying down, when the master rises, the disciples will immediately follow him. If you are lying in bed due to illness and you see your guru coming in front of you, and you are unable to get up, you should still bow down to express your respect and apology. (5) When the guru lives nearby, do not sing, dance or make any noise. (6) Do not argue with others in front of the guru. Do not use disrespectful body or gestures when talking to your guru. When talking to the guru, the tone should be gentle and respectful. Do not interrupt the guru. When reporting to the guru, the language should be concise and should not take up too much of the guru's time, so that the guru can have more time to rest or benefit sentient beings. (7) Do not call the guru by his name directly in front of or behind his back. If you want to mention the guru's name, you should add a respectful title. (8) Dress neatly and appropriately in front of the guru, not revealing or too flashy, nor too shabby. (9) When walking, you should stay on the left and back side of the guru, do not walk in front of the guru, and do not step on the guru's footprints or shadow. The stairs going up the hill should be after the guru. When going down a hill or stairs, you should walk in front of your guru. If you don't have time to walk in front, you should wait until your guru has passed before going downstairs. If it is dark or the road is difficult to walk, the disciple should go ahead after informing the guru to ensure the safety of the guru. (10) When the guru has instructions or instructions, you should put your hands together and listen respectfully, understand it correctly in your heart, and do not interrupt the guru's speech. It is extremely impolite to interrupt the guru, and the disciple may lose valuable teachings that the guru may give. (11) When seeking Dharma from your guru, you should first bow. When the guru politely refuses, it means that the time is not yet ripe to teach the Dharma, so one cannot force it because the guru knows the cause and condition. Otherwise, the guru may reluctantly teach the Dharma out of compassion, which will harm the guru as well as the Dharma seekers. (12) When you receive the empowerment and blessing from your guru, make certain offerings.
It is best to have a khata representing a pure heart and appropriate money. This is a sign of respect for the Dharma and the guru, and is also an offering to the Buddha. 4. Caring about the guru (1) When the guru is practicing Dharma or meeting guests, do not disturb him, so as not to hinder his career of benefiting all sentient beings. (2) The guru often forgets about his own body because he is considering and dealing with things that benefit sentient beings. At this time, the disciples around him should care about the guru's health. (3) The guru shoulders the heavy responsibility of benefiting all sentient beings. He works hard every day to take care of the affairs of all sentient beings. When there is nothing very important, don’t take up the guru’s time, so that the guru can have more time to rest or practice.