His Holiness the 43rd Sakya Trizin, Gyana Vajra Rinpoche, graciously bestowed the Five-Deity Avalokiteśvara Gyalwa Gyatso Initiation on November 15, 2025, at the request of Sakya Thupten Dargye Ling (the Minnesota Sakya Center) in New Brighton, Minnesota, U.S.A. Before and after the initiation, His Holiness offered the practitioners the guidance and advice presented in this teaching.
Why do we practice? And what, exactly, are we hoping will change?
This teaching was given in the context of an Avalokiteśvara initiation, but much of what it asks us to look at is very close to ordinary life: what we hope for, what we worry about, what drives us, and how we see the world around us.
At the heart of it is a simple invitation—to look more carefully at the mind we bring to everything we do.
Source: This teaching was obtained from CHIME MN Youtube.
Before you begin, you might keep one question in mind:
How much of what we experience comes from what is happening around us—and how much comes from the way we see it?
If changing the outside world does not necessarily change how we experience life, then what is it that really needs to change?
You do not need to answer these questions now. Just keep them with you as you read.
This Dharma teachings e-library is made possible by a grant from Sachen Foundation, and the generous donations of the Yueh Family Charitable Fund, and the Chan Family.