There is no greater good fortune than to be able to receive the transmission of the oral instructions of Mahamudra, Gen-la Dekyong said this morning during her teaching. She explained that a transmission is In dependence upon these lineage blessings and sincere practice we can accomplish enlightenment in one life “easily without any difficulty”, she said, quoting Venerable Geshe-la. Je Tsongkhapa’s disciples accomplished this, as did the disciples of our Lineage Gurus Phabongkha and Trijang Rinpoche. Now we have the same opportunity.

Actually, Gen-la said, quoting Geshe-la, we have more opportunity than in the past and can accomplish these realisations more easily. Why? Because our conditions for the development of Dharma in our hearts and in the world are wonderful.

Here at the Festival, it is easy to see how wonderful our conditions are. Who gave us these great conditions? Our Spiritual Guide has of course supplied us with everything we need to practice Dharma, including these Oral Instructions. But at the festival we can also see that we are giving these wonderful conditions to each other. Here everyone is serving everybody else, volunteering to perform the roles that support us all.

The temple stewards guide us to our seats. The cooks, food choppers, carriers, and servers keep us well-fed. The pot washers clean up our mess. The ground patrollers look after our safety. The cleaning and restocking is constant. The video and sound crew enable thousands of us to hear and enjoy the teachings. At the cafes the many volunteers keep the coffees, teas and cakes coming. Playful adults keep the kids entertained so the parents can attend the classes, and behind the scenes, so many people are working hard to keep everything flowing smoothly.

As these International Festivals are a key condition for the flourishing of Dharma globally, we are, all together, supplying the conditions for Dharma for everyone. The festival is a beautiful dependent arising, arising from our collective good hearts. No wonder the result is an environment that engenders faith in the possibility of a pure land, a pure joyful loving experience of the world. This opportunity to create and participate in something so good and meaningful is Venerable Geshe-la’s gift to all of us and to our world. Wonderful conditions indeed!