祈祷上师超胜祈祷本尊 ▏The merit of praying to the master could exceed...

《誓言庄严续》云：“念咒修法千万遍，不如祈师一遍胜。”如同供上师的功德超过供养诸佛，赞叹、祈祷上师的功德也胜过赞叹、祈祷诸佛。

有人怀疑：“本尊具有无与伦比的功德和加持，为何祈祷观修上师胜过祈祷观修本尊呢？”因为上师乃三宝三根本之总集，祈祷上师就是在修行本尊。对心相续不清净的众生来说，还不能现见本尊，只有经过长久修习现见本尊后，才能被本尊摄受，亲自赐予灌顶、传法等。

然而，上师就在我们眼前，直接为我们灌顶、传法，逐步引导我们，所以修上师瑜伽更为殊胜。

In The Tantra of Solemn Oath, it says, “The merit of praying to the masters for once could exceed the merit of reciting the mantras or practicing the Dharma for thousands of times”. Just like how the merit of offering to the masters exceeds the merit of offering to the Buddha, the merit of praising and praying to the masters exceeds the merit of praising and praying to the Buddha.

Given the above statement, the following question might be asked: If, in theory, the Buddha would give incomparable merits and blessings to the practitioners, how come following the masters is better?

That is because that the masters are the congregation of the three Jewels and three Roots, indicating that praying to the masters is equivalent to practicing with the Buddha. As the matter of fact, beings that are still struggled with mind stream and evil intentions are incapable of seeing the Buddha; only through tremendous hard work and long-term practicing could they be accepted and empowered by him.

On the other hand, the masters are right here, staying by our side. No matter how gradually, they are willing to guide, to impart wisdom and to empower us step by step. That’s the essential reason why following the masters is considered the better way to obtaining Buddhahood.