(Having taken refuge,) you should see that the root cause excellently propitious for as great a mass of good fortune as possible for this and future lives is proper devotion in thought and action to your sublime teacher who shows you the path (to enlightenment). Thus you should please your teacher by offering your practice of exactly what he or she says, which you would not forsake even at the cost of you r life. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. You who also seek liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way.
- Lama Je Tsong Khapa's Lines of Experience, Verse 9
Rely on a spiritual guide who is
Subdued, pacified, most pacified,
Who has more qualities than you,
Perseverance, a wealth of scripture,
Realization into suchness,
Who is a skilled speaker, has love,
And has given up disappointment
[In the disciple's performance].-Maitreya's Ornament to the Sutras