Devotion

Devotion (Tib. mögü, Wyl. mos gus) —

Sogyal Rinpoche writes:

It is essential to know what real devotion is. It is not mindless adoration; it is not abdication of your responsibility to yourself, nor undiscriminating following of another's personality or whim. Real devotion is an unbroken receptivity to the truth. Real devotion is rooted in an awed and reverent gratitude, but one that is lucid, grounded, and intelligent.

When the master is able to open your innermost heart and offers you an undeniably powerful glimpse of the nature of your mind, a wave of joyful gratitude surges up in you toward the one who helped you to see, and the truth that you now realize the master embodies in his or her being, teachings, and wisdom mind. That uncontrived, genuine feeling is always rooted in repeated, undeniable, inner experience—a repeated clarity of direct recognition—and this, and this only, is what we call devotion, mö gü in Tibetan. Mö gü means "longing and respect": respect for the master, which grows deeper and deeper as you understand more and more who he or she really is, and longing for what he or she can introduce in you, because you have come to know the master is your heart link with the absolute truth and the embodiment of the true nature of your mind.

Teachings Given to the Rigpa Sangha

• Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Lerab Ling, France, 10 September 2011
• Sogyal Rinpoche, Dharma Mati, Germany, 20 May 2013

Further Reading

• Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, revised and updated edition (Harper San Francisco, 2002), 'The Alchemy of Devotion', pages 139-143.