Before the supreme Sages appeared, without yet the name of Buddha, even the Buddhas of the Thousand Ages depended on the lama. (p. 220)
Lady Tsogyel asked the master (Padmasambhava):
How should we regard the master possessing the oral instructions from whom we request teachings?
The master replied in verse:
You should know that the master is more important
Than the buddhas of a hundred thousand aeons,
Because all the buddhas of the aeons
Appeared through following masters.
There will never be any buddhas
Who have not followed a master.
The master is the Buddha, the master is the Dharma.
Likewise the master is also the Sangha.
He is the emodiment of all buddhas.
He is the nature of Vajradhara.
He is the root of the Three Jewels.
Keep the command of your vajra master
Without breaking even a fraction of his words.
If you break the command of your vajra master,
You will fall into the Unceasing Vajra Hell
From which there will be no chance for liberation.
By serving your master you will receive the blessings.
(pp. 103-4)