There is a story about this. At one time a Sakya geshe was in retreat on the banks of the Zangpo River. Central to his practice was making the prayer “May all the suffering of others and may all my own previous negativity ripen for me right now.” One evening this geshe became extraordinarily thirsty, much more so than he had ever been before. The miserable thirst that he experienced that evening is said to have been unlike human thirst at all. He knew he had a cup with water in it on his table, but when he reached over to take a sip, the cup was empty. There was not a drop of water in it. He knew he had a container of drinking water in his retreat cabin, but when he went to get it, it too was completely empty. The geshe thought he had better fetch some water from the river and, desperately thirsty, he went outside. When he arrived at the river, it was completely dry. This river, called the Zangpo in Tibet, is the Brahamaputra River when it reaches India, and it is a very big river. Now it was completely dry. The geshe could see all the stones, pebbles, and sand on the bottom of the dry riverbed. When he saw this, he could not believe it. He thought something must be wrong, so he tied one end of his monk’s shawl to a tree and lowered himself into the riverbed. Sure enough, there was not a drop of water anywhere in sight. The tree itself was completely dry. Everything was dry

By now he was almost dying of thirst, but there was absolutely no water to be found anywhere. He went back up into his retreat cabin and prayed, “May I take onto myself the karma of all the beings who experience this kind of thirst, especially pretas. May only I have to experience this.” This prayer somewhat relieved his suffering of thirst, and finally he was able to go to sleep. When he awoke the next morning, he no longer felt thirsty. He looked at his cup and it was full of water. He looked at his water container and it was full. He went outside; the Zangpo was full to overflowing. In fact now he could not even get his shawl back, since it was still tied to the tree, but the tree was now submerged in the flowing river. The geshe went to his teacher and told him what had happened. The teacher explained that in a previous lifetime the geshe had accumulated the karma that would otherwise have definitely led to his rebirth as a hungry ghost, and that because of the power of his aspiration, instead of having an entire lifetime of such suffering, he merely had to experience it for that one evening, because in doing so he had used up all of that karma.

The next chapter of this text is called simply "The Cooling Shade." It describes how to place others under the protection or the refuge of the Three Jewels. It begins with the invocation NAMO RATNA TRAYA YA, which means "Homage to the Three Jewels."

The topic is introduced using the image of a parasol that shades one from the burning rays of the sun, with the parasol representing the compassion of the Three Jewels. The top part that sticks up like in an umbrella is here an ornamental, golden peak, representing the precious and abundant qualities of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Below that peak is the actual silken fabric of the parasol itself, which is like divine silk because it has the power to protect all beings. This power comes from compassion combined with the aspiration made by the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

This parasol of the protection of the Three Jewels is something that you hold over others' heads to protect them from the burning rays of the sun. You hold up this parasol by the golden handle of devotion, allowing it to shade others and protect them from the heat of samsara. The methods that are described in this chapter can be used to protect or to pray for either the living or the deceased. These methods work because, as we have seen, buddhas are constantly regarding all sentient beings all of the time. Buddhas never stop regarding and benefiting beings. The manner in which buddhas regard all beings is utterly impartial. They have the same consummate loving-kindness for each and every being that they would if that being were their only child.

From Volume 1, Chapter 12
The Guru Yoga That Is a River of Blessings Guru Yoga in Deity Practice

The practice of guru yoga, through which faith and devotion are generated, is the most important form of practice. At the same time, without faith and devotion, you cannot effectively practice guru yoga. If someone with no faith and devotion attempts to practice it, nothing much will happen.

The “jewel of many colors” is a legendary jewel that will adopt the color of the surface on which it is placed. Here it is used as an analogy for the way devotion to the guru can be used in conjunction with deity practice. The jewel is the guru and one’s devotion to the guru. Placing the jewel on a surface that transforms its color is like visualizing the guru as a deity.

In the same way, by visualizing the glorious guru in the form of whichever deity you wish, you will receive the blessing of that form on which you are meditating. The point here is that the effectiveness of any deity meditation depends upon considering that visualized deity to be your root guru taking that particular form. For any deity practice to be effective, it has to be a form of guru yoga.

“That precious wish-fulfilling jewel, although it has no thought, if it is placed on top of a victory banner, will rain down jewels, food, and clothing. In the same way, that precious guru, when he is placed at the top of the victory banner and supplicated with intense devotion and yearning, will rain down both common and supreme attainments.” The guru is like the legendary wish-fulfilling jewel that, if properly supplicated, will produce whatever is needed or wanted without thought of preference or partiality. Just as the wish-fulfilling jewel has to be placed on a victory banner for the blessings to be received, in the same way, supplication with devotion causes the blessings of the guru, and therefore all common and supreme attainments, to arise spontaneously, just as supplication of the wish-fulfilling jewel causes the rain of food, clothing, and wealth.

Whatever form of guru yoga you practice, whether outer, inner, or secret, it has to be sincere. Sincerity means that it is practiced with a degree of yearning and devotion that is almost intolerable. Eventually you will get to the point where you cannot think about anything except the guru. At that point, you will come to a very different and far superior understanding of the relationship between your root guru and all other buddhas and teachers.

You will recognize that all buddhas and bodhisattvas throughout the universe are merely the emanation of the guru, because you will see that the guru is the embodiment of them all. At that point, all sense of preference and partiality will be swept away, and when you hear about accomplished individuals, rather than thinking of them as an object of jealousy or competitiveness, you will see them as emanations of your guru. When you hear about the power or blessing of deities, such as the Dharma protectors and dakinis, you will no longer think that they are something outside or other than your guru. Instead you will recognize that they are the emanation of your guru, emanated for the purpose of activity.

The meaning of this is that as long as we have not properly practiced guru yoga, we will have a sense that the guru is just a person and that the deities are somehow superior. When you properly practice guru yoga, you recognize that all of the deities, Dharma protectors, and so forth are merely emanations or displays of the qualities and activities of your guru. They are not superior to the guru; in fact they are not other than or outside the guru.

Ultimately you will recognize that the guru is the embodiment of all buddhas. Once you have completely resolved within the depths of your heart that the guru is the embodiment of all of the Three Jewels, there will be no limit to your devotion, and you will never be satisfied with your veneration of the guru. You will never think, “I have offered the guru enough. I have praised the guru enough.” Even were you to offer your own flesh and blood as an offering to the guru, it would still not be enough for you.

Whenever you think of the guru and supplicate him, you will cry uncontrollably. There is actually a saying about this, “If your eyes are dry, you are not a Kagyupa.” You will think that you are going to explode with devotion, as though your flesh and bones were going to blow up. It is more than you can stand. When devotion reaches that degree of intensity, even if you try to prevent meditation experience and realization from occurring, you will not be able to. Regardless of how little interest you have in their arising, because of your devotion they will arise automatically.

In most of your meditation experience and throughout your dreams, you will continually meet your guru, receive empowerments and transmissions from him, receive predictions from the guru and instructions on how you should avoid certain problems or impediments, how you can enhance your practice, and so on. When you dream of the guru, his particular expression and gestures will indicate what you should do and what is going to happen.

In many tantras, such as The Display of Ati, it says that the precious and kind guru should be visualized above your head or in the midst of your heart. By doing so, you will attain all of the qualities of a thousand buddhas. Since the essence of the visualization of any deity is the guru, by visualizing the guru, you will also attain the blessing and the qualities of a thousand buddhas.

“Better than millions of recitations of any mantra is one supplication to the guru.” This does not mean that the recitation of mantra is meaningless or has no benefit. What is being contrasted is the recitation of deity mantras based on a misunderstanding that they are somehow other than your guru, and the simple act of supplicating your guru with a recognition that he is the embodiment of all buddhas and all deities.

If you think that the deities you meditate on are other than or better than your guru, then you will get less out of millions of deity mantras than you will get out of one moment’s supplication to your guru. If you have confidence when you are supplicating the guru that he is the embodiment of all deities, and if you recognize that the deity is nothing other than your guru displayed in that form, then automatically the recitation of the mantra is supplication to the guru, and this distinction does not apply.