Khenpo Tsultrim Lodro
When one has sincere devotion and faith, one can meet one’s lama in dreams and
experiential visions; so there are still these opportunities to meet one’s
lama.
Usually any death, for instance the death of one’s parents, also produces
dreams. They appear in your dreams immediately after death for some time, but
that is different from this kind of dream.
For example, a lama might appear in your dream, and if you have made a mistake,
the lama would scold you or give you guidance. This kind of dream does occur.
Likewise, if you have performed great positive deeds, your lama might appear in
your dream and praise you. This kind of dream can also occur. If one encounters
difficulties or hardships in one’s life, or during one’s spiritual practice,
one’s lama may appear and bestow their blessing. This type also takes place.
Also, your lama can appear in your dream to help you tackle your doubts. If you
have challenges and doubts in your spiritual quest or regarding your tasks in
life, or you are facing a challenging dilemma and you are unsure what to do,
your lama can appear and offer you direction in your dream.
These phenomena are described in the secret tantras of Tibetan Buddhism; they
are not only descriptions given in texts, if you carry out sincere prayers and
practice, one may encounter these visions in one’s own spiritual experience.
Therefore when esoteric tantras advise us to seek out a lama, it does not mean
to do so for just this life, for just a single life, or for the next life. In
terms of worldly family existence, our parents, kin and relatives, we are
talking about a relationship that is within a single life.
The relationship between lama and disciple described in the secret tantras is
not a single life relationship. That physical existence might come to an end,
but the spiritual relationship does not end.
Therefore the lama appears to disciples in different forms, for example as a
human being or deity: the physical form changes, the form of life changes, but
the spiritual connection does not change.
