Time really flies and it is now already 16 years since I had followed my beloved teacher Lama Sonam Chokyi Gyaltsan (Guru Lau). Every time when Guru Lau came back to Hong Kong from Taiwan, I was very fortunate to be able to serve him personally and to receive his teachings in terms of body, speech and mind, as well as that of the outer, inner and secret meanings. At the same time, I could also listen to his messages deep in his heart.
The style of Guru Lau's teaching method was quite extraordinary. Except for those public lectures on Buddhism and meditation, as well as on giving initiations and the teaching of sadhanas, Guru Lau would personally like to use daily life experiences in teaching me and my husband about the impermanence of life, the merging of Buddhism into our daily life, the difficulties in spreading the Dharma, the skillful means used in both worldly and "other-worldly" matters, the setting-up of one's virtues and sentiments, the nurturance of compassion, as well as that of endurance and persistent effort in carrying through one's ideal, the protection

Photo 1.33 Guru Lau at Leisure.

of one's belief which comes from wisdom, the coolness and insight in differentiating between good and evil, the use of knowledge to broaden our perspective, the courage and wisdom to face all kinds of challenges, and the shouldering of both responsibilities and faults.
However, we will have to ask for Guru Lau's special instructions when it comes to the obstacles that we encountered during our practices of the Dharma; otherwise he would not talk about them. Sometimes, Guru Lau would use a humourous style in bringing out his points which are very useful throughout our lives. At the same time, he would show us by doing it himself and thus gave us a vivid example of how abstract thinkings can actually be integrated into real life experiences. The merging together of both virtual and reality can make life more solid and meaningful.
Guru Lau did not tell us how he came to have an important position in the army, but he mentioned to us how he used his wits, tactics and power to save lives which were in real danger. At one time, a strong mountain fire was approaching the living quarters and people were at a loss as to what should be done. With his wit, he immediately asked his fellow soldiers to deliberately set on fire those areas of about a mile in diameter around the quarters, and thus stopped the fire from burning into the quarters and saved a lot of people. Being high in position would automatically involve lots of complex human relationships, but Guru Lau would describe and analyze them to us vividly and with ease. All the historical events and figures became his teaching materials to us.
Indeed, Guru Lau's life had both ups and downs, and was full of legendary tales. He described..CONTINUE ..