“Guru Yoga is very profound, and is celebrated by all the great masters. In one voice they proclaim that even if you have high realization, you should still keep it as an integral part of your practice. The lineage instructions state that even if you have practiced Phowa without seeing any signs of accomplishment, if you do Guru Yoga five times a day you will have no difficulty when death comes—you will easily handle and merge with the last moment of your life. The great Kagyu master Gyalwa Gotsangpa in particular said that practicing Guru Yoga five times a day is the equivalent of Phowa. This means that sincerely practicing Guru Yoga will take care of all of your spiritual needs, in this life, in the next life, and in between.

The essence of Guru Yoga is devotion. If your devotion wanes, your Guru Yoga practice will become dry and your meditative stability will erode. Even if you have attained some realization, with weak or wavering devotion you won’t be able to handle obstacles well. The great masters always say, and Shigpo Dudtsi says it here, that swift and lasting realization completely depends on the strength of your devotion. Therefore reconnect again and again with your root teacher, who is the embodiment of all enlightened beings, in the form of Guru Padmasambhava. With folded hands and with great faith, visualize Guru Padmasambhava and chant supplication prayers, keeping your heart and mind on the meaning of the words. If you practice like this, awareness free from duality conceptions will burst forth from within you, and you will swiftly realize your buddha-nature.”

 

Venerable Khenpo Rinpoches
The Beauty of Awakened Mind (pg 65)

Beauty of Awakened Mind: Dzogchen Lineage of Shigpo Dudtsi