There are Four Roots: Guru Yoga is the first Root. Guru Yoga practice with Guru Rinpoche. Lineage is always important. Guru Rinpoche initially introduced Buddhism to Tibet. You meditate and this practice is very close and important to you. There are four levels: outer, inner, secret and very secret. Guru Rinpoche practice is a short meditation practice to do all these levels. What is very important is that you remember that Guru Rinpoche is all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas. All other Tibetan lineages come from Guru Rinpoche. This is why Guru Yoga is very important.

The second Root is called “yidam”. In this case it is Manjusri. Yidam Manjusri is Wisdom Buddha and Bodhisattva. He is the Wisdom Mind of all Buddhas. On the inner, we do Manjusri practice and become more knowledgeable, intelligent and have more wisdom. This is important for children and anyone studying. It also allows everyone to have more Wisdom and our minds to be Peaceful.

The third Root is Dakini. Dakini’s remove obstacles on the inner, outer and secret levels. Tara is the Dakini. There are 21 Taras and we will focus on Green Tara. She can also help with quieting fears and clearing obstacles in our daily life. With doing her practice, these difficulties can be removed more quickly. When you believe in Tara, she is like your shadow and always with you.

The fourth Root is Protectors and we will focus on King Gesar. King Gesar is an incarnation of Guru Rinpoche and his wisdom, compassion and power. King Gesar is the best protector. He is different from other Dharmapalas, that is protectors, because he encompasses all wisdoms, compassion and power of all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. When no other protectors can be helpful, King Gesar always can be.

These four Roots are very, very important for meditation practitioners. Guru Yoga is linked to our body; the Yidam is linked to our speech; the Dakini is linked to our mind and the Protector is linked to our activity.

This is my lineage and my heart teaching.

By Khenchen Lama Rinpoche