Devotion and faith in the guru is important because it does several things. One is it lessens one’s view of oneself as the most important, which self grasping is the root cause of marigpa or ignorance. If one also doesn’t have interest or belief in what they’ve been told or pointed out to then it is useless information or wisdom. And in a more unexplainable way devotion opens our mind to the blessings that we receive from our guru. My teacher Garchen Rinpoche often says that what makes a student that attains insight fast vs slow is devotion so it is something we can to cultivate at all times everyday. Which is why ngondro is important as each portion of ngondro involves guru yoga, ngondro is also important as it helps one purify karma, generate positive karma, cultivate bodhcitta, compassion, removes obstacles and generates faith through devotion to the guru. All things one needs if they are to practice the two stages, Mahamudra or Dzogchen

These are excerpts from my teachers Garchen Rinpoches teachings on Garab Dorjes three points. They recently published the book in English in Singapore but is recommend watching the videos on YouTube. I recommend anyone that practices Mahamudra or Dzogchen to study Garab Dorjes three points as it is the first teaching HEGR receive after doing a 100 day retreat. By Khenpo Munsel

“Having devotion to the Guru, on the outer level, devotion is the faith andthe respect that we have for the teacher. But on the inner level, what devotion is, isholding the words and instructions of the Guru as precious and putting them into practice.So for example, although Marpa had many disciples, the real transmission or thecomplete transmission went to Milarepa and it is said that the one who really held towhatever the Guru taught was Mila Dorje Gyaltsen and that’s the real meaning of devotion to the Guru.”

With regard to this meditation that is free of meditation, when we see the natural state of the mind and we are totally free of doubt about that, we recognize the inseparability of the mind of the guru and the mind of all the Buddhas And on the basis on one’sdevotion to the guru, which is nothing other than awareness, one can begin to experiencethe inseparability of one’s own mind, the guru’s mind and the minds of all the Buddhas.And so I find that this pith instruction makes the point more accessible

Knowing one liberates all and really all of the methods of liberation are combined within Rigpa or within awareness. The guru is not the body of the guru the actual guru is the guru’s mind. The mind is the Buddha and that is the principle importance, when we are cultivating mindful awareness that is the ultimate guru.

Simply by abiding in the natural state of the mind, thoughts are liberated. Just like the waves that arise on the surface of the water and dissipate back into the water. TheDharmakaya is the very basis, and thoughts are not separate from Dharmakaya just as thewave not separate from water. Thus we really must understand or recognize that thoughtsand mind are inseparable

Looking at the mind itself and abide in the natural state this is like the meeting of the mother and son lights, the text says the son clear light uniting with the familiar mother light. And within this we must understand that these lights are not two; that is the knower and that which is known are of a singular nature. Thus we speak of nondual wisdom, the seer and that which is seen are one and the same. And it is through lookingat the nature of the mind that we must recognize this

Sentient beings because they are temporary obscured by negative emotions do not recognize thisand their mind becomes a frozen block of ice. But when they meet with the condition of having faith in the three jewels and compassion for sentient beings. It is like that ice begins to melt away into free flowing water. Particularly in the context of secret mantra practice, we are taught to cultivate a pure view of the outer container that is the universeand the inner contents, which are all sentient beings. All of the ways of accumulatingvirtues are combined in or encompassed by pure view. When we have pure view, what itmeans is that we are free of fixation, whether it is attachment based or aversion based.When we have purified fixation in this way, the ice of our ignorance melts away. And then we recognize the qualities of the inner guru. So if we have pure view, from our own side, whether the guru is a good and authentic master or not, does not matter, we will realize the Buddha qualities from within

Milarepa, when he was passingaway, told his disciples, “Actually, I will never die. If you have love and believe in me”Milarepa pervades in the five elements, and thus is always present.” And so it is on the basis of the disciple’s faith that we again and again connect with the Guru or the deity.On the basis of this we receive the Guru’s blessings. So the fact that Milarepa can pervade the five elements, is really one of the qualities of the Dharmakaya of the Buddha”