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Your donations will enable us to continue to grow our cache of translated open-source publications, ensure they continue to be openly accessible through a user-friendly platform, and support under-funded translators for their continued endeavours towards this worthy cause. THANK YOU Thank you for visiting Tib Shelf. We hope that Tib Shelf proves to be a useful and welcoming platform to all. One that encourages collaboration and appreciation for all contributors to what we believe, a very worthy cause. TRANSLATOR Lowell Cook Lowell is an independent scholar who translates and researches the entire breadth of Tibetan literature, from the ancient Dunhuang manuscripts to contemporary poetry. He completed his MA in Translation, Philology, and Textual Interpretation at the Rangjung Yeshe Institute in Nepal. He is the author of Tibetan Pure Land Buddhism and translator of Sangak Tenzin’s A White Conch Spiralling Toward Happiness: Poems of a Tibetan Master. His translations and writings have appeared on 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, High Peaks Pure Earth, The Los Angeles Review of Books’ China Channel, Lotsawa House, and other venues. TRANSLATOR Dr. Rachael Griffiths Dr. Rachael Griffiths holds a DPhil in Oriental Studies from the University of Oxford, with a thesis on the autobiography of Sumpa Khenpo Yeshe Paljor. Her research interests include life writing, monastic and intellectual networks, and Sino-Tibetan-Mongolian relations in the early modern period. TRANSLATOR Dr. George FitzHerbert Dr. George FitzHerbert currently teaches Tibetan Language, History and Literature at the University of Oxford (until 2022). He is also a member of the ERC-funded TibArmy research team based in Paris. He completed his DPhil on the Tibetan Gesar Epic in 2008 and his research spans various issues in Tibetan cultural and religious history. He has also worked as a journalist for the BBC and as a freelance researcher and ghostwriter. TRANSLATOR Patrick Dowd Patrick Dowd is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia. His research focuses on the culture of Tibetan language within the world of Tibetan Buddhism. His essays have been published by Tricycle, Lion’s Roar, and Buddhadharma, and his translations have appeared on Lotsawa House. Prior to beginning his doctoral work, he spent several years studying, researching, and collaboratively working with Tibetan communities in India, Nepal, and Tibet. TRANSLATOR Rinzin Dorjee Drongpa Rinzin was born in Tibet and studied at a Tibetan refugee school in India. He received his MA in philosophy from Delhi University. During his time at the university, he also got the opportunity to study Tibetan Buddhism and art. In 2018 he participated in a three-month intensive translation workshop conducted by the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. He is currently working as a freelance translator and continuing with his ngöndro practice (a preliminary practice in Tibetan Buddhism). Rinzin is also a self-taught pencil portrait artist and loves sketching in his free time. TRANSLATOR Michael Elison Michael is a professional Java Developer, as well as Full Stack Developer with experience in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, MongoDB, SQL. He also has a great interest in Tibetan Language and Culture. In 2019, he graduated from the University of Oxford as a Master of Philosophy in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies. For his Master’s thesis, Michael conducted research on the practice of Dream Yoga in Bon in comparison with Tibetan Buddhist traditions. TRANSLATOR Yeshe Khandro In addition to holding a bachelor's degree in science, Yeshe Khandro is a Buddhist nun who has completed over twenty years of Buddhist teacher training. Editing for accuracy of meaning in translation was a major part of her job during much of this time. More recently, she has begun to produce some short translations in her spare time. TRANSLATOR Dr. Nicole Willock Nicole Willock (Ph.D. in Tibetan Studies and Religious Studies, Indiana University 2011) is an associate professor of Asian Religions at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Dr. Willock’s research examines the intersections between Tibetan literature, Buddhist modernism, moral agency, and state-driven secularization projects in twentieth-century China. Her book Lineages of the Literary tells the story of how three Tibetan polymaths in the People’s Republic of China: Tséten Zhabdrung (1910–1985), Mugé Samten (1914–1993), and Dungkar Lozang Trinlé (1927–1997) crisscrossed religious and secular domains to revive Tibetan culture in the post-Mao era. She serves as co-chair of the Tibet and Himalayan Religions Unit of the American Academy of Religion. TRANSLATOR Marlevis Robaina In addition to teaching Spanish, following the completion of her Spanish as a Foreign Language Teacher (ELE) at the University of Nebrija, Marlevis is a collaborative content writer for websites and blogs. Closely holding discipline and dedication to her heart has helped her martial arts practice and language acquisition, leading her to study Japanese at the University of Havana. She followed this by earning a Bachelor's Degree in East Asian Studies at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and studying Sanskrit Language and Literature Studies (University Extension Course) at the University of Barcelona (UB). Inspired by Buddhist philosophy, Marlevis started studying the Tibetan language with Tibetan teachers and then continued with Easy Tibetan's online courses. In her free time, she loves to make origami and enjoy nature. TRANSLATOR Barbara Hazelton (Lama Rinchen Zangmo) Barbara Hazelton has a BA in Fine Art History, MA in Buddhist Studies, and is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Toronto. Her dissertation topic is on the Tibetan King Gesar of Ling Tibetan epic, focusing on its oral tradition and the singers of the tale, the epic bards. She has taught several courses at the University of Toronto and presently the collaborative program with New College. Her background in Tibetan visual imagery and ritual is based on studying with Tibetan scholars and ritual specialists as well as many years of meditation instruction and experience under great Tibetan Buddhist masters. She is a practicing artist training in the Karma Gadri painting tradition. A particular interest of hers is the sacred landscape of Tibet as the confluence of the imaginative world of landscapes, structures, rituals, pilgrimage routes, and literature. She is inspired by the popular genre of the liberation stories (rnam thar ), particularly the female models of enlightened activity exemplified by the great realized female practitioners called yoginīs, such as Yeshe Tsogyal and Niguma. TRANSLATOR Dr. Joseph McClellan Joseph McClellan received a Ph.D. from Columbia University’s Department of Religion. He then taught at colleges in the US, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Bhutan. He now lives in SE Asia focusing on translation and writing. TRANSLATOR Shengnan Dong Shengnan Dong is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History of Art and Archaeology at SOAS, London. She studies Buddhist art and architecture with a particular focus on depictions of mandalas and monumental multi-chapelled stupas built in central Tibet during the 12-15th centuries. Shengnan is also interested in the constructed sacred spaces at Buddhist sites across Central Asia and Northern China, as well as pictorial representation of landscape, cosmos and heavenly realms in the Buddhist context. Prior to her doctoral studies, she worked professionally as a photographer, illustrator and film editor. Published Translators

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Dalai Lama The Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Tubten Gyatso 1856–1875 BDRC P197 TREASURY OF LIVES LOTSAWA HOUSE The Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Tubten Gyatso, was born in 1876 in Langdun amidst auspicious signs, including mystical visions and his family home surviving an earthquake. Enthroned in 1879, he spent his early years in rigorous religious training before assuming full political power at 18. His leadership was defined by efforts to preserve Tibet’s independence, modernize its governance, and strengthen its defences. He navigated complex challenges, including conflicts with the British, Chinese incursions, and resistance to reforms from conservative factions. Inspired by his travels to Mongolia, China, and India, he introduced education systems, communication infrastructure, and military reforms, though these were often hindered by internal opposition. A deeply spiritual leader, Tubten Gyatso worked to preserve Tibetan Buddhism and its traditions while warning of external threats to Tibet’s sovereignty. Passing away in 1933, his legacy remains one of resilience, reform, and devotion to his people. Correspondence Eleventh Day, Ninth Month, Water Pig Year The Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso A rare collection of letters by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Tubten Gyatso, from the Water Pig year - now preserved in France, their recipients and original acquisition remain a mystery. Read Translated Works Mentioned In Menu Close Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate SUBSCRIBE Publications Watch People Listen

Translator Butön Rinchen Drub 1290–1364 BDRC P155 TREASURY OF LIVES LOTSAWA HOUSE HAR Butön Rinchen Drub (1290–1364) was a renowned Tibetan Buddhist scholar, abbot, and translator who significantly contributed to the development of the Tibetan Buddhist canon. Born into a family of Nyingma lineage, he received extensive teachings in sūtra and tantra from various masters, including his parents and other prominent teachers of the time. Ordained at eighteen, he mastered a wide range of texts, philosophies, and practices, including the Prajñāpāramitā, Madhyamaka, and various tantric traditions such as Kālacakra and Hevajra. In 1320, he became the eleventh abbot of Zhalu Monastery, where he expanded its facilities and established a college for the study of sūtra and tantra. Butön is especially known for editing and organizing the Tibetan Kangyur and Tengyur, though he controversially excluded Nyingma tantras. A prolific teacher and writer, his works include treatises on Buddhist philosophy, tantra, and history, most notably his History of Buddhism . He retired in 1356 and passed away in 1364, leaving behind a rich legacy preserved in later woodblock editions of his writings. Advice Essential Advice in Three Sets of Three Butön Rinchen Drub Butön Rinchen Drup's concise text outlines ascending qualities for sages, bodhisattvas, and Mantrayāna practitioners, mirroring the progression through Buddhism's three vehicles. Read Translated Works Mentioned In Menu Close Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate SUBSCRIBE Publications Watch People Listen

Author & Poet Döndrub Gyal 1953–1985 BDRC P5110 TREASURY OF LIVES TREASURY OF LIVES Döndrub Gyal is considered the first modern Tibetan poet to break through traditional Tibetan formalist elements. He is widely regarded in Tibet as the founder of modern Tibetan toetry. An accomplished scholar, writer, poet, and patriot, he committed suicide in 1985 when he was only 32. Poetry Waterfall of Youth Döndrup Gyal Döndrup Gyal's free-verse poem, written as Rangdröl, visually cascades down the page like a waterfall, its rhythm and form mirroring the flowing dynamics of youth. Read Translated Works Mentioned In Menu Close Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate SUBSCRIBE Publications Watch People Listen

Dentik Monastery preserved Buddhism during tenth-century persecution, where Lachen Gongpa Rabsal received ordination and later transmitted the Vinaya lineage back to Central Tibet, sparking the Later Transmission. Dentik Monastery: The Sacred Place Where the Ashes of Dharma Rekindled in Domé Dentik Shelgyi Yang Monastery [ 1 ] is located about thirty miles east of Bayan [County Seat] and is under the jurisdiction of Sershung Township, Bayan County in Domé. [ 2 ] Dentik Monastery is situated on the northern side of the Ma River, amid the majestic and precipitous Ama Drakmoché Mountain .[ 3 ] This monastery is one of the oldest in Tibet, having been constructed in the latter part of the ninth century. Dentik’s monasterial estate encompassed the three villages of Ché, Pa, and Kha as well as the twelve villages of Upper and Lower Kho Yan. [ 4 ] When King Langdarma suppressed Buddhism in the ninth century, Tibet’s famous Three Great Scholars came and stayed at the Palchen Chuwori Meditation Center, where they engaged in study and meditation .[ 5 ] Being aware of the suppression of Buddhism [in Central Tibet], the Three Great Scholars: Mar Śākyamuni, Yo Gejung, and Tsang Rabsal, brought the Vinaya Scriptures to Dentik Monastery on the back of a mule and resided there for a long time. [ 6 ] Today, the meditation building where these three excellent ones practiced is known as Gomchen (Main Meditation Hall). One day, due to merit acquired through Buddhist practice in former lives and karmic imprints, a child called Müsu Salwar from Gyazhu Village turned up at Dentik Monastery. [ 7 ] He developed a strong faith in Buddhism and asked to take monastic vows. So, Tsang Rabsal acted as abbot and Yo Gejung presided as master to administer vows to the young boy. He was given the ordination name Gewa Rabsal, taken from the names of the abbot and master. [ 8 ] Since the boy’s heart was so generous, he became known as Gongpa Rabsal. [Years later] he was given full ordination with the name Lachen Gongpa Rabsal. [ 9 ] Ten men from Central Tibet, including Pakhor Yeshé Yungdrung, came to Dentik to pay homage to the Great Lama Gongpa Rabsal. [ 10 ] They wore monks’ attire, took full ordination vows, and listened to teachings, such as those on the Vinaya. When the ten men returned to Central Tibet, [they shared all they acquired], beginning the Later Transmission of the Dharma. Consequently, it is said that the rekindling of the Dharma started in Domé. Today in Dentik Monastery’s Gomchen, there are many statues and images of the Three Great Scholars, Lachen Gongpa Rabsel, and the ten men from Central Tibet. In the sixteenth century when the Third Dalai Lama, Gyalwa Sönam Gyatso, was forty-one years old in the Water Sheep Year (1583), he went to Kumbum and Jakyung Monasteries on the invitation of the leader of a local tribe called Shingkyong Nang So. [ 11 ] From there, he went to the power place of Dentik to practice meditation in a cave for some time. While dwelling in this cave, which is now called Drubchen or “The Cave of Spiritual Accomplishments,” he composed a few sections of teachings on The Five Deities of Cakrasaṃvara, [ 12 ] after a vision of Śrī Cakrasaṃvara. Physical imprints left after his meditation sessions can still be seen today. These imprints, which look like prints left in clay, are in the shape of his hat, the back of his body, and his head. On the cave ceiling, there are many impressions left from poking his finger into the clay above. There is also a hoofprint from Palden Lhamo’s donkey in the rock. In the eighteenth century, the great master Arik Geshé Gyaltsen Öser lived at Dentik Monastery and performed many spiritual accomplishments in the retreat hut. [ 13 ] In the thirty-first year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign, the Fire Pig Year, (1767), Tseten Khenpo Palden Gyatso and Shabdrung Jamyang Drakpa commanded the construction of the main assembly hall, Sang-ngak Darjeling. [ 14 ] [In the nineteenth century,] the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Tubten Gyatso, bestowed great blessings when he consecrated many religious objects over a seven-day period and left handprints on many religious paintings in the assembly hall. [ 15 ] Over ten of these blessed religious paintings can still be seen today. Famous sites which can be visited today include Rāza Cave, [ 16 ] where Prince Siddhārtha stayed for twelve years engaging in the arduous intention of a bodhisattva, Amnyé Lügyal Temple, naturally manifesting religious images of Maitreya, and naturally manifesting images of the Twenty-One Tārās and the Sixteen Arhats. In addition, Buddha images painted in the Dunhuang style, said to date back to the Tibetan Imperial period, are visible on the rocks above [Amnyé Lügyal Temple] and the path from the main temple to [Yangtik] at Tepa. [ 17 ] Approximately seventy monks currently reside at Dentik Monastery. The Fourteenth Incarnation of Tseten Khenpo, the Honorable Ngawang Lobsang Tenpé Gyaltsen, and the Seventh Tseten Shabdrung, the Honorable Lobsang Jampal Norbu, [ 18 ] both oversee the three main tasks ensuring the proper running of Dentik Monastery: adhering to laws and customs, carrying out seasonal prayer obligations, and following monthly religious practices. Hence, Dentik Monastery is a practice center praised by all in all aspects of its function. COLOPHON N/A NOTES [1] dan tig shel gyi yang dgon, BDRC G314 [2] ba yan; Ch. Hualong zhen; gser gzhung; Ch. Jinyuan xiang [3] Ma chu; Ch. Huanghe ; a ma brag mo che; This is part of the southern branch of the Tsongla Ringmo Range (Ch. Laji shan). [4] dpyid, pa, kha; kho yan stod smad; The original Tibetan document reads kho yar, which has been revised to kho yan/ya. [5] rgyal po glang dar ma, BDRC P2MS13219 ; mkhas pa mi gsum; dpal chen chu bo ri sgom grwa [6] dmar śākya mu ne, BDRC P4643 ; g.yo dge ba'i 'byung gnas, BDRC P4339 ; gtsang rab gsal, BDRC P4642 [7] mu gzu gsal bar; rgya zhu sde grong (now Xunhua County) [8] dge ba rab gsal [9] bla chen dgongs pa rab gsal, 832?–915?, BDRC P1523 [10] dbus gtsang; spa khor/pa gor gong ye shes g.yung drung, BDRC P3899 [11] rgyal ba bsod nams rgya mtsho, 1543–1588, BDRC P999 ; sku 'bum dgon pa, BDRC G160 ; bya khyung dgon pa, BDRC G161 ; zhing skyong nang so [12] bde mchog lha lnga [13] The original Tibetan states that he arrived in the seventeenth century, however, this individual was born in 1728. a rig dge bshes rgyal mtshan 'od zer, 1728–1803, BDRC P4235 [14] mkhen po dpal ldan rgya mtsho; zhabs drung 'jam dbyangs grags pa, BDRC P1893 ; gsang sngags dar rgyas gling [15] ta la'i bla ma 13 thub bstan rgya mtsho, 1876–1933, BDRC P197 [16] rwa dza/rA dza [17] yang tig; this pa [18] ngag dbang blo bzang bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan; tshe tan zhabs drung 07 blo bzang 'jam dpal nor bu Further Reading: Ronald Davidson. Tibetan Renaissance: Tantric Buddhism in the Rebirth of Tibetan Culture . New York: Columbia University Press, 2005. Imre Galambos and Sam van Schaik. “The Valley of Dantig and the Myth of Exile and Return.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 78, no. 3 (2015): 475–491. Luciano Petech. “Tibetan Relations with Sung China and with the Mongols.” In China Among Equals: The Middle Kingdom and Its Neighbors, 10th-14th Centuries , edited by Morris Rossabi, 173–203. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983. Heather Stoddard. “Rekindling the Flame: A Note on Royal Patronage in Tenth Century Tibet.” In The Relationship between Religion and State (chos srid zung 'brel) in Traditional Tibet , edited by Christoph Cüppers, 49–104. Lumbini: Lumbini International Research Institute, 2004. Nicole Willock. Lineages of the Literary: Tibetan Buddhist Polymaths of Socialist China . New York: Columbia University Press, 2021. Photo Credit: Snow Lion Tours Published: December 2021 BIBLIOGRAPHY Dan dou si jian shi ( Dan tig dkar chag ) [A brief history of Dentik monastery]. Bilingual Chinese and Tibetan with sections translated into English by Nicole Willock (rigs pa'i chos 'dzin; Ni ke). [n.p.]. Retrieved at Dentik Monastery, 2008. A portion of information for this publication was derived from: Tshe tan zhabs drung 'Jigs med rigs pa'i blo gros. “Mdo smad grub pa'i gnas chen dan tig shel gyi ri bo le lags dang bcas paʼi dkar chag don ldan ngag gi rgyud mngas.” Gsung 'bum 'jigs med rigs pa'i blo gros, Par gzhi dang po, vol. 3, Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2007, pp. 279–402. BDRC W2DB4565 — Gsung 'bum 'jigs med rigs pa'i blo gros, vol. 5, Mthu Ba Dgon, 2007, pp. 141–319. BDRC W1PD94 Abstract Dentik Monastery figures prominently in Tibetan Buddhist history because it is where the Vinaya monastic codes were maintained and restored when Buddhism was persecuted in Central Tibet in the tenth century. This piece, written and published by a collective at Dentik Monastery in the mid-2000s, tells this history based on local accounts and a text written by the Sixth Tséten Zhabdrung. The historical record is so fragmented that the actual events may never be known. However, according to local history, Dentik was not only the place where Lachen Gongpa Rabsal received ordination from the Three Polymaths in the tenth century, but it is also where he ordained the "ten men" responsible for bringing the Vinaya lineage and Buddhist teachings back to Central Tibet to start the historical epoch called “Later Transmission of Buddhism.” SOURCE DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 05:41 TRADITION Geluk FOUNDED 911 REGION Amdo ASSOCIATED PEOPLE Mar Śākyamuni Yo Gejung Tsang Rabsal Lachen Gongpa Rabsal Pagor Yeshé Yungdrung The Third Dalai Lama, Sönam Gyatso Arik Geshé Gyaltsen Öser Tseten Khenpo Palden Gyatso Shabdrung Jamyang Drakpa The Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Tubten Gyatso Ngawang Lobsang Tenpé Gyaltsen The Seventh Tseten Shabdrung, Lobsang Jampal Norbu TRANSLATOR Nicole Willock INSTITUTION Dentik Monastery INCARNATION LINES Tseten Shabdrung Tseten Khenpo AUTHOR Various Dentik Monastery: The Sacred Place Where the Ashes of Dharma Rekindled in Domé VIEW ALL PUBLICATIONS NEXT PUBLICATION > < PREVIOUS PUBLICATION Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate Subscribe to our newsletter Support Tib Shelf's ongoing work & Subscribe Today! Name * Email* Submit Tib Shelf is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to translating, presenting and preserving primary source Tibetan texts across a vast array of genres and time periods. We make these literary treasures accessible to readers worldwide, offering a unique window into Tibet's rich history, culture and traditions. Tib Shelf has been accredited by the British Library with the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2754–1495 CONTACT US | SHELVES@TIBSHELF.ORG © 2024 Tib Shelf. All rights reserved.

Twentieth-century yoginī Tamdrin Lhamo, daughter of treasure revealer Nakla Jangchub Dorje, practiced at Nagla Gar, a Nyingma monastery in Chamdo. A Biography of Tamdrin Lhamo Tamdrin Lhamo [ 1 ] was born to a noble family in 1923, the Water Pig Year of the fifteenth sexagenary cycle, at a place called Nyakla Gar [ 2 ] in Rachukado [ 3 ] in the district of Gonjo in Chamdo. [ 4 ] Her father was Nyakla Jangchub Dorje, and her mother was Drimé Wangmo. [ 5 ] Tamdrin Lhamo received and practised her father’s treasure teachings, including The Compendium of the Ocean of Dharma , [ 6 ] consisting of some forty large volumes, along with their empowerments, transmissions, and pith instructions. In particular, having continuously engaged in the instructions on the winds from her father’s treasure teaching of Vajravārāhī, in seven-day cycles over some twenty-one weeks, she remained for a week distilling the essence of space. Specifically, she practised the quintessence of her father’s treasure teachings, the Yangtik Nakpo Sergyachen . [ 7 ] This ḍākima had the manifest ability to remove cataracts by using [a single strand of] her hair. Her breast milk was the best for purifying eye diseases, drib diseases, [ 8 ] and other ailments. She was not the least bit familiar with the usual attachment felt towards relatives and friends nor animosity towards foes. [As a result], she cared for many disciples, such as monks and laypeople. On the morning of the twenty-seventh day of the second month of the Tibetan Earth Sheep Year, 1979, in her fifty-seventh year, within a state in which the two purposes are accomplished spontaneously, she called upon all her disciples and relatives, such as those from Serka and Tserong, [ 9 ] who were close to her residence and issued a statement: ‘You shouldn’t be sad now — there is no end to birth other than death. Even though my [original] lifespan was fifty-two years because of my Lama Rinpoche’s care and due to having given birth to my young daughter, I was able to prolong my life by a few years. Also, I have seen the face of Vajravārāhī on a few occasions. Now, I must go to the Paradise Arrayed in Turquoise Petals [ 10 ] for a while. Do not hold onto my body out of attachment.’ This, amongst other things, is what she said. That night, her mind departed for the sake of others. Her relics were kept for seven days, and nothing remained of her entire body other than a form measuring twenty-six centimetres or just over one handspan,[ 11 ] as the rest dissolved into light. In that area, a crowd numbering thousands all saw that display of passing away plainly before their very own eyes. Many of the people who previously apportioned blame to her requested forgiveness. COLOPHON None NOTES [1] rta mgrin lha mo, 1923–1979, BDRC P210 [2] nyag bla sgar, BDRC G596 [3] ra chu rka do [4] chab mdo go 'jo, BDDRC G2182 [5] nyag bla byang chub rdo rje, BDRC P211 ; dri med dbang mo [6] bka' 'dus chos kyi rgya mtsho [7] yang tig nag po gser gyi rgya can [8] grib nad is a type of disease brought about by planetary spirits that causes states of unconsciousness, strokes, and other symptoms, such as pimples. [9] gser rka; rtse rong [10] G.yu lo bkod pa'i shing is the Buddhafield of Tārā. [11] mkhyid lhag gang tsam is the distance between a thumb and little finger. Photo Credit: Himalayan Art Resources Published: November 2021 Edited: April 2022 BIBLIOGRAPHY don rdor and bstan 'dzin chos grags. 1993. “rta mgrin lha mo”. In mi sna, pp. 1022–1024. par gzhi dang po, bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang. BDRC W19803 Abstract Tamdrin Lhamo was a twentieth-century yoginī of the Nyingma monastery Nagla Gar in Chamdo. Her father was the treasure revealer and Dzogchen master Nakla Jangchub Dorje. BDRC LINK W19803 DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 02:52 TRADITION Nyingma INCARNATION LINE N/A HISTORICAL PERIOD 20th Century TEACHERS Nagla Changchub Dorj e TRANSLATOR Yeshe Khandro INSTITUTION Nyagla Gar STUDENTS Unknown AUTHORS Döndor Tenzin Chödrak A Biography of Tamdrin Lhamo VIEW ALL PUBLICATIONS NEXT PUBLICATION > < PREVIOUS PUBLICATION Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate Subscribe to our newsletter Support Tib Shelf's ongoing work & Subscribe Today! Name * Email* Submit Tib Shelf is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to translating, presenting and preserving primary source Tibetan texts across a vast array of genres and time periods. We make these literary treasures accessible to readers worldwide, offering a unique window into Tibet's rich history, culture and traditions. Tib Shelf has been accredited by the British Library with the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2754–1495 CONTACT US | SHELVES@TIBSHELF.ORG © 2024 Tib Shelf. All rights reserved.

Khenpo Ngawang Palzang's devotional prayer to Jowo Je Atiśa and his successors captures the essence of spiritual lineage while embodying profound Buddhist devotion. A Prayer to Lord Atiśa and His Spiritual Sons ན་མོ་རཏྣ་ཏྲ་ཡ་ཡ། Namo ratnatrayaya! རྒྱལ་སྲིད་སྤངས་ནས་དཀའ་བ་བརྒྱ་ཕྲག་གིས། ། བླ་མ་བརྒྱ་དང་ལྔ་བཅུ་རྩ་བདུན་བརྟེན། ། ཤེས་བྱ་ཐམས་ཅད་ཡང་དག་ཐུགས་སུ་ཆུད། ། རྒྱལ་བ་གཉིས་པར་གྱུར་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། Having abandoned your kingdom ,[ 1 ] taking on hundreds of hardships, You took the support of 157 gurus. [ 2 ] Everything there is to know, you perfectly mastered. Second Buddha, [ 3 ] to you I pray! རྒྱལ་བའི་མདུན་ན་རྒྱལ་སྲས་བཟང་པོ་སྐྱོང། ། ཁ་བ་ཅན་དུ་དཔལ་ལྡན་མར་མེ་མཛད། ། དགའ་ལྡན་གནས་སུ་ནམ་མཁའ་དྲི་མ་མེད། ། ཡིད་བཞིན་ནོར་བུ་ཁྱེད་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། In the Victor’s presence, you nurture [ 4 ] your noble spiritual sons. [ 5 ] Glorious Illuminator [ 6 ] of the Land of Snows, Stainless Sky in Tuṣita, [ 7 ] Wish-fulfilling jewel, to you I pray! སྒྲོལ་མས་ལུང་བསྟན་རྒྱལ་བུ་དཀོན་མཆོག་འབངས། །ཐུབ་བསྟན་ཡོངས་སུ་རྫོགས་པའི་མངའ་བདག་མཆོག། ། ལྷ་ཆོས་བདུན་ལྡན་ཇོ་བོ་བཀའ་གདམས་པའི། ། རྒྱལ་བའི་འབྱུང་གནས་ཁྱེད་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། རྒྱལ་ཚབ་དབང་བསྐུར་ར་སྦྲེང་དཔལ་གྱི་གནས། ། རྒྱུད་པ་བདུན་ལྡན་ཇོ་བོའི་མན་ངག་གིས། ། ཞིང་འདིར་ངུར་སྨིག་འཛིན་པས་མཛེས་པར་བྱས། ། གངས་ཅན་མགོན་པོ་ཁྱེད་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། [Dromtönpa [ 8 ]] Prince Könchok Bang, [ 9 ] prophesied by Tārā, Sublime master of all the Sages’s teachings,Gyalwe Jungne ,[ 10 ] victorious source of the Jowo Kadampa teachings [ 11 ] Brimming with the sevenfold divinity and doctrine, [ 12 ] to you I pray! Invested as the regent of the glorious site of Reting, You beautified it with the pith instructions of the Jowo steeped in the seven lineages ,[ 13 ] And by dressing this realm in saffron robes. [ 14 ] Protector of the Land of Snows, to you I pray! དད་གུས་ཏིང་འཛིན་སྤྱོད་པའི་གཞུང་དྲུག་ལ། ། ཐོས་བསམ་སྤྱོད་པས་བཤད་སྒྲུབ་ཟུང་དུ་འབྲེལ། ། བཀའ་གདམས་གཞུང་པ་ཞེས་གྲགས་པུ་ཏོ་བ། ། འཇམ་དཔལ་གཞོན་ནུ་ཁྱེད་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། [Putowa] You united theory and practice by studying, contemplating, and practicing The six books associated with faith, respect, meditation, and conduct. [ 15 ] Renowned as the encyclopedia of Kadam—Putowa, Youthful Mañjuśrī, to you I pray! [148] ཤེས་རབ་ཕ་རོལ་ཕྱིན་པའི་མངོན་རྟོགས་ཀུན། ། བདེན་པ་བཞིའི་ལམ་གྱི་རིམ་པ་ཡི། ། གདམས་པའི་ཉམས་མྱོང་བརྒྱུད་འཛིན་སྤྱན་ལྔ་བ། ། ཐུགས་རྗེ་ཆེན་པོ་ཁྱོད་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། [Chen-ngawa] Holder of the experience lineage in the instructions [ 16 ] For all the manifest realizations of the perfection of wisdom[ 17 ] And the graduated path of the four truths—Chen-ngawa, Great Compassionate One,[ 18 ] to you I pray! མན་ངག་གསང་བ་ཐིག་ལེ་བཅུ་དྲུག་གིས། ། ངོ་མཚར་བརྒྱུད་པ་བདུན་ལྡན་སྲོལ་མཛད་པ། ། རྟེན་འབྲེལ་དབང་འབྱོར་དགེ་བཤེས་ཕུ་ཆུང་བ། ། གསང་བའི་བདག་པོ་ཁྱེད་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། [Puchungwa [ 19 ]] With the secret oral instruction of the sixteen drops [ 20 ] You blazed a trail [ 21 ] for the wondrous sevenfold lineage. [ 22 ] Master of interdependence, [ 23 ] spiritual friend Puchungwa, Lord of Secrets, [ 24 ] to you I pray! སྐུ་མཆེད་གསུམ་ལས་རིམ་པར་འཕེལ་བ་ཡི། ། གཞུང་གདམས་མན་ངག་བསྟན་པ་གྲུ་བཞི་ཏུ། ། འགལ་མེད་སྐྱེས་བུ་གསུམ་གྱི་ཉམས་ལེན་གྱི། ། བཀའ་གདམས་བརྒྱུད་པའི་བཤེས་གཉེན་དམ་པ་རྣམས། ། གསོལ་བ་འདེབས་སོ་ཐུགས་རྗེས་བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས། ། From the Three Brothers ,[ 25 ] the Kadam lineage Of the three scopes, [ 26 ] harmonious practices, Gradually spread on the four bases of treatise, instruction, pith instruction, and exegesis. [ 27 ] Holy spiritual friends of this lineage— I pray to you! Please grace me with your compassion! མི་ཚེ་ལོས་འཛད་ལོ་ཟླ་ཞག་གིས་འཛད། ། སྐད་ཅིག་མི་སྡོད་འཆི་བའི་ཆོས་ཉིད་ལ། ། རྟག་འཛིན་ཚེ་འདིའི་འཁྲི་བ་སྐྱེ་བའི་ཚེ། ། གསོལ་བ་འདེབས་སོ་རྒྱལ་བ་ཡབ་སྲས་གཉིས། ། བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས་ཤིག་དགེ་བཤེས་སྐུ་མཆེད་གསུམ། ། བཀའ་གདམས་བརྒྱུད་པ་རྣམས་ཀྱི་ཐུགས་རྗེས་ཟུངས། ། Life runs out year by year. Years and months slip away day by day. Not a moment lasts. It is the nature of things to die. When I want things to last forever, when I’m tangled in this life, I pray to you, victorious father and son! [ 28 ] Please bless me, Three Brothers, my spiritual friends! [ 29 ] Masters of the Kadam lineage, please hold me in your compassion! གར་འཆི་ངེས་མེད་གར་འཆིའི་རྐྱེན་མ་ངེས། ། སུ་དང་འགྲོགས་ཀྱང་འཆི་བའི་ངང་ཚུལ་ཅན། ། འབྱོར་རྒུད་མཐོ་མན་འཆི་ལས་མ་འདས་ཀྱང། ། འཆི་མེད་ལྷ་བཞིན་གཡེངས་བས་འཁྲུལ་བའི་ཚེ། ། གསོལ་བ་འདེབས་སོ་རྒྱལ་བ་ཡབ་སྲས་གཉིས། ། བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས་ཤིག་དགེ་བཤེས་སྐུ་མཆེད་གསུམ། ། བཀའ་གདམས་བརྒྱུད་པ་རྣམས་ཀྱི་ཐུགས་རྗེས་ཟུངས། ། No one knows where they will die, and how ones dies is not set in stone. No matter who keeps me company, I am marked for death. [ 30 ] [149] Rich or poor, high or low, no one escapes their demise. When I am confused from letting my mind wander like an immortal god, I pray to you, victorious father and son!Please bless me, Three Brothers, my spiritual friends! Masters of the Kadam lineage, please hold me in your compassion! འཆི་བའི་དུས་ན་ཕ་མ་ཕུ་ནུ་དང་། ། གྲོགས་དང་ལོངས་སྤྱོད་དགྲ་གཉེན་རྗེས་མི་འབྲང་། ། ངེས་པར་ཕན་གནོད་དགེ་སྡིག་གཉིས་ལས་མེད། ། དོན་མེད་ཆོས་མིན་བྱ་བའི་བྲེལ་བའི་ཚེ། ། གསོལ་བ་འདེབས་སོ་རྒྱལ་བ་ཡབ་སྲས་གཉིས། ། བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས་ཤིག་དགེ་བཤེས་སྐུ་མཆེད་གསུམ། ། བཀའ་གདམས་བརྒྱུད་པ་རྣམས་ཀྱི་ཐུགས་རྗེས་ཟུངས། ། When death calls, my father, mother, siblings, companions, Enjoyments, enemies, and friends will not come with me. I know that help and harm only stem from my positive and negative actions; So when I am caught up in pointless activities that take me away from Dharma, I pray to you, victorious father and son!Please bless me, Three Brothers, my spiritual friends! Masters of the Kadam lineage, please hold me in your compassion! སྐྱབས་ཀྱི་མཐར་ཐུག་བསླུ་མེད་དཀོན་མཆོག་གསུམ། ། ཡིད་ཆེས་དད་པས་སྐྱབས་སུ་ལེགས་བརྟེན་ནས། ། རྒྱུ་འབྲས་ཕྲ་མོའི་སྤང་བླང་མ་ནོར་བ། ། སྐྱེས་བུ་གསུམ་གྱི་ལམ་གྱི་རིམ་པ་བདུན། ། རྟོགས་ནས་ཚུལ་བཞིན་འཇུག་པར་བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས། ། Undeceiving Three Jewels—my ultimate sources of refuge— I take shelter wholeheartedly in their protection, And I do not err in the subtleties of what to do and not do in light of cause and effect. Once I have understood the seven stages of the three scopes’ paths, [ 31 ] Please bless me to apply them in the right way! མང་དུ་ཐོས་པས་ལོག་པའི་དྲི་མ་སེལ། ། རྣམ་དག་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་གཙང་མས་གཞི་བཟུང་ཞིང་། ། བྱམས་དང་སྙིང་རྗེས་བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་འབྱོང་ནས། ། ལྟ་སྤྱོད་རྣམ་པར་དག་པར་བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས། ། Studying widely, I clear away misguided distortions. With pure moral discipline, I have set my foundation And, with love and compassion, I train in bodhicitta. [150] Now, please, bless my view and conduct to be utterly pure! གཉེན་གྲོགས་ལོངས་སྤྱོད་ལའང་ལྟོས་མེད་པར། ། ཕྱི་ཚེས་གྲབས་ཤོམས་བློ་སྣ་ལིང་གིས་བསྐྱུར། ། [32] ཉམས་ལེན་ཟབ་མོའི་དོན་དང་མི་འབྲལ་བར། ། རྡོ་རྗེ་གསུམ་པོ་མངོན་དུ་འགྱུར་བར་ཤོག། ། Unconcerned with friends and felicities, I have completely given up on future plans. Never parting from the profound meaning of practice, May the three vajra convictions unfold in me![ 33 ] དམ་ཆོས་སྒྲུབ་ལ་འདུན་པ་གཅིག་ཏུ་དྲིལ། ། གྲོགས་དང་ཕུགས་སྟོང་མཐའ་གཉིས་མི་ལྟུང་པར། ། བྱང་ཆུབ་སྒྲུབ་ལ་ཚེ་མཐར་ཕྱིན་པ་ཡི། ། གཏད་པ་བཞི་པོ་མཐའ་རུ་འཁྱོར་བར་ཤོག། ། [34] Fused with the will to practice holy Dharma, With no friends or goals, keeping out of the two extremes, [ 35 ] My whole life spent accomplishing enlightenment— May I arrive at the end of the four ambitions! [ 36 ] མི་ཆོས་སྒྲུབ་པའི་ཁྱུ་ནས་ལིང་གིས་བུད། ། ཆོས་བརྒྱད་བྲལ་བའི་སྤྲང་པོའི་ངང་ཚུལ་གྱིས། ། བཀའ་གདམས་གོང་མའི་རྗེས་སུ་སྙོགས་པ་ཡི། ། བུད་སྙོགས་ཐོབ་པ་གསུམ་ལ་དབང་འབྱོར་ཤོག། ། Having banished myself from ordinary pursuits, As a derelict divorced from the eight worldly concerns, Joining up with the Kadam forebears, May I master banishment, joining, and achievement! [ 37 ] མདོར་ན་གེགས་ཀྱིས་ལང་བས་ཆུས་རྫོགས་ཞིང། ། [ 38 ] ལྷམ་སྣ་བསྒྱུར་བས་བན་གཞིས་རྫོགས་པ་ཡི། ། བྱ་བྲལ་རྒྱལ་པོ་ཚེ་འདི་བློས་ཐོང་བའི། །དབེན་པའི་གནས་སུ་སྒྲུབ་པ་མཐར་ཕྱིན་ཤོག། ། In short, motivated by hindrances, I am done with plans. Hitting the road, I am done with monks and townspeople. As a king of nothing to be done, letting go of this life, In solitude, may I reach the end of accomplishment! བདག་ཀྱང་འདི་ནས་ཚེ་འཕོས་གྱུར་མ་ཐག། ། དགའ་ལྡན་ཡིད་དགའ་ཆོས་འཛིན་གྲོང་ཁྱེར་དུ། ། རྒྱལ་བ་ཡབ་སྲས་རྣམས་ཀྱི་རྗེས་བཟུང་ཞིང། ། རྫོགས་སྨིན་སྦྱང་བ་རྒྱ་མཚོ་མཐར་ཕྱིན་ནས། ། བསྟན་པའི་བདག་པོ་ཁྱེད་བཞིན་འགྱུར་བར་ཤོག། ། As soon as I, like everyone, pass from this life, In the city of the Delightful Dharma-Den Wonderland, [ 39 ] Under the care the Victorious One and his spiritual sons, Having reached the end of the ocean of completion, [151] maturation, and training, [ 40 ] May I become like you, a master of the teachings! COLOPHON དེ་ལྟར་ཇོ་བོ་ཡབ་སྲས་ཀྱི་གསུང་གླེགས་བམ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་ལས་གསུང་བ་བཞིན་བཀོད་པའི་དགེ་བས་བླ་མ་རིན་ཆེན་འདིས་ཚེ་འདི་བློས་ཐོང་ཆགས་ཆེན་འཁྲི་བ་ཆོད་རི་དྭགས་རྨས་མ་རྒྱ་ལས་གྲོལ་བ་བཞིན་མི་མེད་དབེན་པའི་གནས་སུ་རང་གཞན་གྱི་དོན་གཉིས་འགྲུབ་པ་བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས་རིན་པོ་ཆེས་རླན་གྱིས་ཞེ་སྡང་གི་མེ་གསོད་པའི་མཐུན་རྐྱེན་དུ་ཇོ་བོ་ཡབ་སྲས་ཀྱི་རྣམ་ཐར་ལ་མོས་པ་ཆོས་སྨྲ་བའི་བཙན་པ་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་རྒྱ་མཚོས་བྲིས་པ་དགེའོ། ། Through the virtue of this arrangement that reflects the words in the precious volumes of the teachings of the Lord and sons, considering the spiritually nourishing conditions of this precious guru who gave up on this life, cut the fetters of attachment, and who, like a wounded deer escaping from a trap, in a remote place with no people, accomplished his own and others’ benefit and extinguished the fire of hostility with the moisture of precious bodhicitta, this was written by the monastic Dharma teacher, Tsultrim Gyatso, in devoted admiration of the stories of the enlightened lives of the Lord and his sons. NOTES [1] Like Buddha Śākyamuni, Atiśa Dīpaṃkara was born into royalty in Bengal, but he renounced his birthright to pursue spiritual practice. For his biography, see Apple, Atiśa Dīpaṃkara , 2019. [2] According to James B. Apple, “Traditional accounts mention that he had twelve root gurus” (Apple Atiśa Dīpaṃkara , chap.1). The five main gurus from Atiśa’s early life are “the brahmin Jitāri, the scholar-monk Bodhibhadra, the contemplative-monk Vidyākokila, and the tantric yogis Avadhūtipa and Rāhulaguptavajra” (Apple Atiśa Dīpamkara , chap.1). His most important teacher was Serlingpa (a.k.a., Dharmakīrtiśrī) who he met on his travels to Sumatra. Upon his return to India, he studied with Ratnākaraśanti and Kamalarakṣita. In addition to those teachers, biographies say that “the great adept Nāropa instructed him in the vision of emptiness, Doṃbipa in yogic discipline, Balinācārya in tantric ritual, Mahājana in miraculous abilities, Bhutakoṭi in the worship of Vajravārāhī, Paramaśva in the special instructions of Nāgārjuna, Prajñābhadra in the awakening mind, [and] Ratnākaraśānti in the meaning of the commentaries” (Apple Atiśa Dīpaṃkara , chap.1). In Apple’s summary of Atiśa’s traditional biographies, it is said that he “studied the extent of the Buddhist knowledge with one hundred fifty-seven spiritual teachers” during a period of intensive training after he took ordination in the Mahāsāṃghika order at the age of twenty-nine in Bodhgayā. [3] Or, “second victorious one [of our age]” ( rgyal ba gnyis pa ). This epithet is also commonly applied to Nāgārjuna, Guru Rinpoche, and Tsongkhapa. [4] “Nurture” ( skyong / skyong ba , pala ). This is possibly a play on the Sanskrit word pala since Atiśa came from a royal lineage in the Pala Empire, whose leaders took the name. [5] In this line, there is a play on the terms rgyal ba ( jina , “victorious one/conqueror”) and rgyal sras ( jinaputra , “son or daughter of the victorious ones”). In Buddhist contexts, these terms usually refer to buddhas and bodhisattvas. Just above, Atiśa was referred to as the “Second Buddha,” and his sons are his main students who are evoked in the verses that follow. Rather than dwell on the “victor” root of each term here, we translated them more loosely for the sake of elegance and syllabic economy. [6] “Illuminator” ( mar me mdzad , dīpaṃkara ) the second part of Atiśa’s name. [7] When Atiśa passed away, he informed his students that he would next take birth as a son of a god in Tuṣita Heaven named Stainless Sky [ dri med nam mhka’ ] (Apple Atiśa Dīpaṃkara , chap. 2). [8] For Dromtönpa’s biography, see Gardner, “Dromton Gyelwa Junge,” 2010. [9] Prince Könchok Bang. One of Dromtönpa’s twenty-two prior birth stories recorded in the Book of Kadam (Jinpa 2013, 655, n. 484). For a brief summary of this story, see Roesler A Palace for Those Who Have Eyes to See , 134). [10] “Victory’s Source” or “victorious source” ( rgyal ba’i ’byung gnas ), an epithet for Dromtönpa. For Dromtönpa’s biography, see Gardner, “Dromton Gyelwa Junge,” 2010. [11] Jowo ( jo bo ) is an honorific title akin to “lord” or “venerable.” It is particularly applied to Atiśa, who is often referred to as Jowo Je (“venerable lord”). Kadampa refers to a member of the Kadam lineage founded by Atiśa. [12] “Sevenfold divinity and doctrine” is a term for the core teachings of the Kadam tradition. These include teachings related to four main divine figures (Tārā, Avalokiteśvara, Buddha Śākyamuni, and the protector Acala) and the three sections or piṭakas of the Buddhist canon (Vinaya, Sūtra, Abhidharma). According to Thupten Jinpa, “A fifteenth-century history of the Kadam order offers four different explanations of the name. First, Kadam may be defined as ‘those for whom the essence of the entire Buddhist scripture is integrated within the path of the three scopes—the spiritual aspirations of initial, intermediate, and advance capacities—and for whom all the scriptures of the Buddha appear as personal instructions.’ A second interpretation of the meaning of Kadam suggests that the tradition is so called ‘because the Kadam founding father, Dromtönpa, chose, in accordance with the sacred instruction of Master Atiśa, the sevenfold divinity and teaching as his principal practice.’ ‘Sevenfold’ refers to the threefold teaching (the baskets of monastic discipline, discourses, and knowledge) and the four divinities (Buddha, Avalokiteśvara, Tārā, and Acala). A third interpretation is that when Master Atiśa was residing at Nyethang his disciples accorded great authority to his sacred words, so they came to be known as ‘Kadampas’—those who hold the sacred words as binding. The final interpretation is that the Kadampas are guided by the three baskets of scripture in their overall Dharma practice and approach Vajrayana teachings and practices circumspectly (Jinpa Wisdom of the Kadam Masters , intro). [13] These seven are most likely the same as the “sevenfold divinity and doctrine” in note thirteen. [14] Saffron robes ( ngur smig , kaṣāya or kāṣāya ), a metonym for the monastic tradition in general. [15] These are: (1) Asaṅga’s Bodhisattva Levels ; (2) Maitreya’s Ornament of Mahāyāna Sūtras ; (3) Śantideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life and (4) Compendium of Trainings ; (5) Āryaśūra’s Garland of Birth Stories ; and (6) the Collection of Aphorisms , attributed to the historical Buddha. The study of these treatises is complemented with further Indian Buddhist classics like Nāgārjuna’s Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way , his Seventy Stanzas on Emptiness , and Atiśa’s Entry into the Two Truths and An Instruction on the Middle Way (Jinpa 2008, 9). See also Gardner 2009. [16] According to Thupten Jinpa (2008, 9), “Chengawa’s Kadam lineage of pith instructions [ man ngag, upadeśa ] emphasizes an approach whereby Atiśa’s essential instructions, rather than classical treatises, are the key basis for practice.” For Chengawa’s biography, see Sonam Rinchen “Chennga Tsultrim Bar,” 2020. [17] Perfection of wisdom ( shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa , prajñāparamitā ) carries a rich range of meanings. In his annotations to The Book of Kadam , Thupten Jinpa provides the following gloss: “One of the six perfections that lie at the heart of the practice of the bodhisattva. The term refers also to a specific subdivision of the Mahāyāna scriptures that outline the essential aspects of the meditation on emptiness and their associated paths and resultant states. The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines, the Heart Sutra, and the Diamond Cutter are some of the most well-known Perfection of Wisdom scriptures. In The Book of Kadam the term is often used as an epithet for Perfection of Wisdom Mother, a feminine divinity that embodies the perfection of wisdom of a fully awakened buddha” (Jinpa 2008, 673). [18] An epithet of Avalokiteśvara. [ 19] For Puchungwa’s biography, see Gardner 2009c. [20] The sixteen drops are: (1) the drop of the outer inconceivable array; (2) the drop of this World Endured; (3) the drop of the realm of Tibet; (4) the drop of one’s abode and the drawn mandala; (5) the drop of Perfection of Wisdom Mother; (6) the drop of her son, Buddha Śākyamuni; (7) the drop of Great Compassion; (8) the drop of Wisdom Tārā; (9) the drop of her wrathful form; (10) the drop of Acala, their immutable nature; (11) the drop of Atiśa; (12) the drop of Dromtön Gyalwe Jungne; (13) the drop of the vast practice of the bodhisattva; (14) the drop of the profound view of emptiness; (15) the drop of the inspirational practice; (16) the drop of great awakening (Jinpa 2008, 13–14). On these practices, Thupten Jinpa writes, “The idea of the sixteen-drops practice is fairly straightforward. Like a powerful camera lens zooming from the widest possible angle to a progressively smaller focus and, finally, to a tiny point, the meditation becomes increasingly focused, moving from the entire cosmos to this world in particular, to the realm of Tibet, to the practitioner’s own dwelling, and finally culminating within your own body. Within your body, you then visualize inside your heart the Perfection of Wisdom Mother, within whose heart is her son, Buddha Śākyamuni. Within the Buddha’s heart is Great Compassion Avalokiteśvara, within whose heart is Tara, and so on, continuing with wrathful Tārā, Acala, Atiśa, and Dromtönpa. Within Dromtönpa’s heart you then visualize Maitreya surrounded by the masters of the line age of vast practice. In his heart you visualize Nāgārjuna surrounded by the masters of the lineage of profound view; and within his heart you visualize Vajradhara surrounded by the masters of the lineage of inspirational practice. Finally, inside Vajradharas heart, you visualize yourself as a buddha, embodying all three buddha bodies, and within your heart is a white drop the size of a mustard seed. This seed increases in size and turns into a vast radiant jewel container at the center of which your mind is imagined as a yellow drop the size of a pea. This, in turn, increases in size and turns into an ocean of drops the color of refined gold; the ocean is transparent, smooth, resolute, vast, and pervasive, and it reflects all forms. You then rest your mind, without wavering, upon this drop of great awakening, fused, and free of any sense of subject-object duality” (Jinpa 2008, 14). [21] “Blazed a trail” renders srol mdzad pa , the honorific form of the verb srol ’byed pa , which has the sense of initiating a new way within an already established tradition ( srol gtod pa ). According to Thupten Jinpa, “Phuchungwa is most revered as the founder of the ‘Kadam lineage of pith instructions’ and as the inheritor of Atiśa and Dromtönpa’s teachings enshrined in the Book of Kadam . He is also credited with being the source of the mind-training practice known as the ‘heart of dependent origination,’ a text of which can be found in Mind Training: The Great Collection ” (Jinpa 2013, part I.3). [22] Again, this refers to the “sevenfold divinity and doctrine” seen above. [23] As mentioned, Puchungwa specifically transmitted the Kadam pith instructions ( man ngag , upadeśa ) on interdependence/dependent origination (Jinpa 2008, 9; Jinpa 2013, part I.3). [24] An epithet of Vajrapāṇi. [25] The Three Brothers ( sku mched gsum ) are Putowa, Chen-ngawa, and Puchungwa. [26] Three scopes (skyes bu gsum). According to Thupten Jinpa, “The three scopes refer to the practitioners of initial, intermediate, and advanced scopes or capacities. Atiśa’s Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment presents the entire Buddhist path to enlightenment in terms of meditative practices appropriate to these three differing capacities—the initial, who seeks only a refuge from the fears of rebirth in the lower realms; the intermediate, who principally seeks freedom from cyclic existence; and the advanced, who seeks full awakening for the benefit of all beings” (Jinpa 2008, 676). [27] We do not find this fourfold grouping elsewhere in the literature. It seems that Khenpo Ngaga means that the Kadam teachings continued to develop through the media of (1) treatises ( gzhung )—root texts laying out a key theme); (2) instructions ( gdams pa ) or oral instructions ( gdams ngag ) that have passed down through the lineage for generations; (3) upadeśa , or pith instructions ( man ngag ), which are personal, practical oral instructions from guru to disciple; and (4) exegesis ( bstan pa ), a general term for teachings, but often with the sense of commentarial or exegetical literature, as in the Tibetan Tengyur ( bstan ’gyur ), the translated commentaries of the Indian Mahāyāna masters. The first line of this stanza contains the word rim pa (stage/gradual), which may be a nod to the Lamrim ( lam rim , “Stages of the Path”) literature influenced by the Kadam approach of careful, deliberate contemplation and meditation. Famous examples of this genre include Gampopa’s Ornament of Precious Liberation and Tsongkhapa’s Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path . [28] Atiśa and Dromtönpa [29] Putowa, Chen-ngawa, and Puchungwa. [30] “Marked for death” renders ’chi ba’i ngang tshul can . A more literal translation might say, “I have a disposition to die.” [31] The “seven stages” in this line are difficult to identify with certainty. The term is not used in Atiśa’s original Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Atiśa 1973) or Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (Dowd 2021), nor does it appear in The Book of Kadam (Jinpa 2008) or the teachings compiled in Wisdom of the Kadam Masters (Jinpa 2013). The most fitting reference we find is to a seven-step contemplation discussed in Tsongkhapa’s Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path , vol 2. Tsongkhapa calls this teaching the “seven cause-and-effect personal instructions [ rgyu ’bras man ngag bdun ] in the lineage descended from the Great Elder [Atiśa]” (Tsong-kha-pa 2004, 28). These seven stages are (1) recognizing all beings as your mothers; (2) recollecting their kindness; (3) wishing to repay that kindness; (4) love; (5) compassion; (6) wholehearted resolve; (7) bodhicitta , or awakening mind. (See also Sherburne 1983, 62, n. 2; Sopa 1976, xxii). On Khenpo Ngaga’s deep faith in Tsongkhapa, see Ngawang Palzang 2013, 47, 144, 153, 189, 216. [32] The term for “plans” in this line is usually spelled grabs gshom . Here the spelling is grab shams , which may be a regional variant, but is more likely simply a misspelling, since grabs and gshom pa are both etymologically related to “preparation.” We have amended the Tibetan here to grabs shoms since shoms is at least a valid form of the verb gshom pa . [33] Normally, the three vajras are the three doors of body, speech, and mind infused with wisdom. In the Kadam context, however, they refer to the “three vajra [convictions],” which, along with the “four aims” and the “three ranks or achievements,” make up the Ten Innermost Jewels of the Kadam tradition [ phugs nor bcu ] (See Zopa 2012, 169–188). The Kadam three vajras are (1) the uncaptured vajra ( thegs med rdo rje ): not allowing friends and family to get in the way of one’s single-minded practice; (2) the shameless vajra ( khrel med rdo rje ): not caring what people think or say about you in your pursuit of enlightenment; (3) the wisdom vajra ( ye shes rdo rje ), which Lama Zopa says, “means we resolve never to break the promise we have made to practice pure Dharma by renouncing this life. Completely turning away from all that is essenceless and meaningless, we make the firm, unshakable, indestructible determination to make our life equal with the holy Dharma” (Zopa 2012, 184). [34] Tibetan amended from phugs stong to phug stong . [35] The two extremes are nihilistic and eternalistic views. [36] The four aims, or ambitions, or entrustments ( gtad pa bzhi or gtad sa bzhi ), along with the three vajras and four achievements, make up the ten innermost jewels of the Kadam tradition [ phugs nor bcu ]. The Rangjung Yeshe Translation Group translates these four in the following way: “Aim your mind at the Dharma. Aim your Dharma practice at simple living. Aim at simple living for your entire life. Aim your death at solitude.” ( https://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/gtad_pa_bzhi ). See Rigpa Shedra’s entry for “Four Ambitions”; Jinpa 2013, intro; and Zopa 2012, 169–179). [37] Along with the four aims and three vajras, expulsion/banishment, joining, and achievement ( bud snyegs / snyogs thob gsum ) round out the ten innermost jewels of the Kadam tradition. (1) “Expulsion/Banishment” means the achievement of being self-ostracized from ordinary society and the ways of normal people ( mi gral nas bud ); (2) “joining” means joining the company of dogs ( khyi gral snyegs ), which should be respected for their loyalty and perseverance in the face of hardship and abuse; (3) “achieving” means achieving the rank of a divine (viz., enlightened) being ( lha gral thob ). See Zopa 2012, 184–188. [38] Unable to locate this prayer in the 2017 Sichuan edition of Khenpo Ngaga’s Collected Works , we have speculatively amended the Tibetan of this line, which reads geg gi lang bas in the original—a grammatically and semantically problematic phrase: geg is one word for cancer, which is then followed by a genitive particle, then the instrumentalized present tense of the verb lang ba (“to rise/get up”). Taking that literally is extremely awkward and would result in something like “With the arising of [the] cancer,” which would only make sense if the cancer were taken as a metaphor for disillusionment ( skyo shes ) with saṃsāra. We think it is much more likely that there are simply a couple of scribal errors in the line. Thus, geg is amended to gegs (“hindrance”) and genitive gi is amended to instrumental particle kyis according to spelling rules. This gives us a much clearer and predictable meaning, “persuaded/motivated/affected by hindrances.” [39] “Delightful Dharma-Den Wonderland” is a slightly more euphonious alternative to the more literal “Pleasant Doctrine-Bearing Joyous Place” ( dga ldan yid dga’ chos ’dzin ) (Gedun 1989, 143). The term refers to Maitreya’s abode adjoining Tuṣita Heaven. Geshe Gedun Lodö explains, “There is a place called the Joyous [ dga’ ldan ], which is one of the six areas of Desire Realm gods. There is in the Joyous a pure land called the Pleasant Doctrine-Bearing Joyous Place. The Protector Maitreya lives there. The Joyous itself is contained within cyclic existence because it is one of the six areas of dogs of the Desire Realm; it is not a pure land. However, the Pleasant Doctrine-Bearing Joyous Place is a pure land. It is in the Joyous but away from it, just as monasteries are within cities but at a distance from them” (Gedun 1989, 143). [40] Completion, maturation, and training ( rdzogs smin sbyang ) refer to completing the two accumulations, ripening or maturing beings, and training in pure perception (Ngawang Pelzang 2004, 111, 125, 183, 194, 254). Published: September 2023 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License . Photo credit: Tsadra Foundation BIBLIOGRAPHY SOURCE TEXT Lama Munsel Tsultrim Gyatso (bla ma mun sel tshul khrims rgya mtsho), and Khenpo Ngaga (mkhan po ngag dgaʼ). jo bo yab sras la gsol ʼdebs . In gsung ʼbum ngag dbang dpal bzang , vol. 3, 155–60. BDRC MW22946_493CEB . TIBETAN REFERENCES Atīśa. byang chub lam gyi rim pa . Leh, Ladakh: Thupten Tsering, 1973. BDRC MW1KG506 . ———. byang chub lam gyi sgron ma. In bstan ʼgyur ( sde dge ), edited by zhu chen tshul khrims rin chen, translated by rma lo tsA ba dge baʼi blo gros, vol. 111, 447–83. Delhi: Karmapae Choedhey, Gyalwae Sungrab Partun Khang, 1982–1985. BDRC MW23703_3947 . SECONDARY REFERENCES Apple, James B. Atiśa Dīpaṃkara: Illuminator of the Awakened Mind . Boulder: Shambhala, 2019. Ebook. Atiśa. A Lamp for the Path and Commentary . Translated by Richard Sherburne. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1983. Dowd, Patrick. 2021. “Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment.” Lotsawa House. 2021. https://www.lotsawahouse.org/indian-masters/atisha/lamp-path-enlightenment . Dowman, Keith, trans. Sky Dancer: The Secret Live and Songs of Yeshe Tsogyel . Ithaca: Snow Lion, 1996. Gardner, Alexander. “Puchungwa Zhonnu Gyeltsen.” Treasury of Lives. 2009. http://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Puchungwa-Zhonnu-Gyeltsen/6452 . ———. “Dromton Gyelwa Jungne.” Treasury of Lives. 2010. http://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Dromton-Gyelwa-Jungne/4267 . ———. “Potowa Rinchen Sel.” Treasury of Lives. 2021. http://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Potowa-Rinchen-Sal/5786 . Gampopa. Ornament of Precious Liberation . Translated by Ken Holmes. Boston: Wisdom, 2017. Gedun, Lodö. Calm Abiding and Special Insight: Achieving Spiritual Transformation Through Meditation . Translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins. Ithaca: Snow Lion, 1998. Jinpa, Thupten, ed. The Book of Kadam: The Core Texts . 1st ed. The Library of Tibetan Classics, v. 2. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2008. ——— . Wisdom of the Kadam Masters . Boston: Wisdom, 2013. Ebook. Ngawang Pelzang, Khenpo. A Guide to the Words of My Perfect Teacher . Translated by Padmakara Translation Group. Boston: Shambhala, 2004. Ngawang Palzang, Khenpo. Wondrous Dance of Illusion: The Autobiography of Khenpo Ngawang Palzang . Translated by Heidi L. Nevin and Jakob Leschly. Boston: Snow Lion, 2013. Pitkin, Annabella. Renunciation and Longing: The Life of a Twentieth-Century Himalayan Buddhist Saint . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2022. Rangjung Yeshe Translation Group. “gtad pa bzhi.” Rywiki.tsadra.org . https://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/gtad_pa_bzhi . Rigpa Shedra. “Four Ambitions.” Rigpawiki.org . https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Four_ambitions . Roesler, Ulrike. “A Palace for Those Who Have Eyes to See: Preliminary Remarks on the Symbolic Geography of Reting (Rwa-Sgreng).” Acta Orientalia Vilnensia 8 , no. 1 (2007): 123–44. Sonam Dorje. “Chennga Tsultrim Bar.” Treasury of Lives. 2020. https://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Chennga-Tsultrim-Bar/5820 Sopa, Lhundup and Jeffrey Hopkins. Practice and Theory of Tibetan Buddhism . New York: Grove, 1976. Tsong-kha-pa. The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment , 3 vols. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Boston: Snow Lion, 2014. Zopa, Lama. How to Practice Dharma: Teachings on the Eight Worldly Dharmas . Edited by George McDougal. Boston: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive, 2012. Abstract Khenpo Ngawang Palzang's heartfelt prayer dedicated to Lord Atiśa, affectionately referred to as Jowo Je, and his esteemed spiritual successors beautifully embodies the profound devotion inherent in Tibetan Buddhism, all the while imparting a profound understanding of the sacred lineage. BDRC LINK MW22946_ 493CEB DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 06:28 TRADITION Nyingma INCARNATION LINE None HISTORICAL PERIOD 19th Century 20th Century TEACHERS Lodrö Gyatso The First Drukpa Kuchen, Chöying Rölpe Dorje Nyoshul Lungtok Tenpe Gyaltsen Khenchen Gyaltsen Özer Nyoshul Lungtok Tenpe Nyima Sönam Palden Kunzang Palden The Fifth Dzogchen Drubwang, Tubten Chökyi Dorje The Fifth Shechen Rabjam, Pema Tegchok Tenpe Gyaltsen Sönam Chöpel The Third Mura, Pema Dechen Zangpo Tsultrim Norbu Dorzin Namdröl Mipam Gyatso TRANSLATOR Dr. Joseph McClellan INSTITUTIONS Palyul Monastery Katok Monastery Dzogchen Monastery STUDENTS Tulku Könchok Drakpa Adzom Gyalse Gyurme Dorje Khenpo Nuden Legshe Jorden Lama Drönma Tsering Khenchen Gyaltsen Özer Tsultrim Yönten Gyatso Chatral Sangye Dorje The Fourth Chagtsa, Kunzang Pema Trinle The Fourth Drutob Namkha Gyatso, Zhepe Dorje Khenchen Tsewang Rigzin The Second Dzongsar Khyentse, Jamyang Chökyi Lodrö Botrul Dongak Tenpe Nyima Jampal Drakpa Khen Dampa Pema Ribur Tulku Gyalten Ngawang Gyatso Tromge Arik Tulku Tenpe Nyima Nyagtö Khenpo Gedun Gyatso Lama Munsel Tsultrim Gyatso Gojo Khenchen Karma Tashi Gyara Khenchen Gönpo Orgyen Chemchok Yoru Gyalpo The Third Zhichen Vairo, Pema Gyaltsen Togden Lama Yönten Lakar Togden Polu Khenpo Dorje Khunu Rinpoche Tenzin Gyaltsen Nyoshul Khenpo Jamyang Dorje Lungtrul Shedrub Tenpe Nyima Khenpo Rinpoche Sönam Döndrub Khen Lodrö Khenpo Pema Samdrub The Second Palyul Chogtrul, Jampal Gyepe Dorje The Second Penor, Rigzin Palchen Dupa AUTHOR Khenpo Ngawang Palzang A Prayer to Lord Atiśa and His Spiritual Sons VIEW ALL PUBLICATIONS NEXT PUBLICATION > < PREVIOUS PUBLICATION Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate Subscribe to our newsletter Support Tib Shelf's ongoing work & Subscribe Today! 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Do Khyentse's final aspirational prayer from his Dzinpa Rangdröl treasures, concluding the Exceedingly Secret Enlightened Heart Essence of the Ḍākinī collection. The Truthful Words of a Sage ཨེ་མ་ཧོ༔ emaho Emaho! ཆོས་སྐུ་རྡོར་འཆང་ལོངས་སྐུ་རྡོ་རྗེ་སེམས༔ chöku dor chang longku dorjé sem Dharmakaya Vajradhara, Sambhogakaya Vajrasattva, སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་དྲང་སྲོང་དྲི་མེད་གསང་བའི་བདག༔ tulku drangsong drimé sangwé dak Nirmanakaya Stainless Sage Loktripala, [ 1 ] དགའ་རབ་ཤྲཱི་སེང་པད་འབྱུང་བཱི་མ་ལ༔ garab shri seng pejung bi ma la Garab Dorje, Shri Simha, Padmakara, Vimalamitra, ཀུན་འདུས་རྩ་བའི་བླ་མ་ཐོད་ཕྲེང་རྩལ༔ kündü tsawé lama tötreng tsal The embodiment of all— root Guru Totrengtsel རྩ་གསུམ་ལྷ་དང་དྲང་སྲོང་རིག་འཛིན་ཚོགས༔ tsa sum lha dang drangsong rigdzin tsok The deities of the three roots and the assemblies of sages and vidyadharas, བདག་གི་བདེན་ཚིག་འགྲུབ་པའི་དཔང་པོར་བཞུགས༔ dak gi dentsik drubpé pangpor shuk Remain here as witness to the accomplishment of my truthful words. ཐོག་མར་འཁྲུལ་པ་ནས་བཟུང་ད་ལྟའི་བར༔ tokmar trulpa né zung danté bar Since the dawn of delusion until this moment in time, སྲིད་འདིར་བདག་ལུས་གྲངས་མེད་བླངས་གྱུར་ཀྱང༔ si dir dak lü drangmé lang gyur kyang We have taken countless births in this [conditioned] existence. སྟོང་ཉིད་བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་ཀྱིས་མ་ཟིན་པས༔ tongnyi changchub sem kyi mazinpé Yet, as we have not seized the mind of emptiness-bodhicitta, ད་དུང་ཆགས་སྡང་འཆིང་བ་དམ་པོས་བཅིང༔ dadung chakdang chingwa dampö ching We are fettered by the tight shackles of attachment and aversion and བདག་ནི་མ་རིག་འཐིབས་པོས་བསྒྲིབས་ལགས་ཀྱང་༔ dak ni marik tibpö drib lak kyang Are still enveloped by the darkness of non-recognition. བླ་མའི་ཐུགས་བསྐྱེད་དུས་སུ་སྨིན་པ་ཡིས༔ lamé tukkyé dü su minpa yi But by the timely ripening of the guru’s kind aspirations, བདག་ཅག་ཡང་གསང་རྡོ་རྗེའི་ལམ་དང་ཕྲད༔ dakchak yangsang dorjé lam dang tré We have met the exceedingly secret indestructible path. ད་ནི་ཆགས་སྡང་སྒྲོག་ལས་གྲོལ་བར་ཤོག༔ dani chakdang drok lé drolwar shok May we be freed from the restraints of attachment and aversion this very instant. གྲངས་མེད་སྐྱེ་བར་ལས་ཀྱིས་འབྲེལ་པ་ཡི༔ drangmé kyewar lé kyi drelpa yi Connected by the karma of innumerable lives, ཐབས་ལམ་རྣམ་པར་རོལ་པའི་བདེ་ཆེན་གྲོགས༔ tab lam nampar rolpé dechen drok Companions who enjoy great bliss on the path of skilful means, བྱམས་དང་བརྩེ་བས་བསྐྱངས་བའི་ཕ་མ་དང་༔ jam dang tsewé kyangwé pama dang Mothers and fathers who nurture us with love and kindness, དམ་ཚིག་གཅིག་ཏུ་འབྲེལ་བའི་རྡོ་རྗེའི་མཆེད༔ damtsik chik tu drelwé dorjé ché Vajra siblings who are connected by sharing tantric commitments, གཙོ་གྱུར་མཁའ་ཁྱབ་སེམས་ཅན་ཐམས་ཅད་ཀུན༔ tso gyur khakhyab semchen tamché kün Essentially, all sentient beings pervading space— བློ་ལྡོག་རྣམ་པ་བཞི་ཡིས་རྒྱུད་བསྐུལ་ནས༔ lo dok nampa shi yi gyü kul né May we invigorate ourselves through the four [thoughts] that turn the mind [toward practice], རྩེ་གཅིག་དམ་པའི་ཆོས་ལ་བརྩོན་འགྲུས་བསྐྱེད༔ tsechik dampé chö la tsöndrü kyé Develop diligence that is single-pointedly focused on the excellent teachings, བསླབ་པ་གསུམ་གྱི་ཡོན་ཏན་མཐར་ཕྱིན་ཤོག༔ labpa sum gyi yönten tarchin shok And perfect the qualities of the three trainings! མ་ཧཱ་ཨ་ནུ་ཨ་ཏི་ཡོ་ག་ཡི༔ maha anu atiyoga yi May the ripening blessings and four empowerments of སྨིན་བྱེད་བྱིན་རླབས་དབང་བཞིས་རང་རྒྱུད་སྨིན༔ min jé jinlab wang shi ranggyü min Maha, Anu, and Ati yoga mature our mind-streams. བསྐྱེད་དང་རྫོགས་པའི་ལམ་མཆོག་མཐར་ཕྱིན་ནས༔ kyé dang dzokpé lam chok tarchin né May we perfect the supreme paths of the creation and perfection stages, མི་ཉམས་རྡོ་རྗེའི་དམ་ལ་གནས་པར་ཤོག༔ mi nyam dorjé dam la nepar shok And uphold the vajra commitments without any degeneration. བདེ་ཆེན་རང་ལུས་རྒྱལ་བའི་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་རྫོགས༔ dechen rang lü gyalwé kyilkhor dzok May we perfect the mandala of the victors within our own bodies of great bliss— རྩ་འབྱོངས་རླུང་ཆུན་ཐིག་ལེ་ལས་རུང་ཞིང་༔ tsa jong lung chün tiklé lé rung shing Train the channels, control the energy, and make the essences pliable, དགའ་བཞིའི་ཡེ་ཤེས་སྟེར་བའི་མཛའ་ན་མོར་༔ ga shi yeshe terwé dza namor Inseparably merging energy and mind through སྦྱོར་བས་རླུང་སེམས་དབྱེར་མེད་འདྲེས་པར་ཤོག༔ jorwé lungsem yermé drepar shok Uniting with the consort who bestows the primordial wisdom of the four joys. ལྟ་བ་འཕོ་མེད་ཆོས་སྐུའི་རྒྱལ་ས་ཟིན༔ tawa pomé chökü gyalsa zin May we seize the royal seat of the dharmakaya, the unshifting view, སྒོམ་པ་ཡེང་མེད་འཁྲུལ་གྲོལ་རེ་དོགས་བྲལ༔ gompa yengmé trul drol redok dral Meditate without hope, fear, distraction, and delusion, and སྤྱོད་པ་སྤང་བླང་བྲལ་བ་ཆོས་ཉིད་རྩལ༔ chöpa panglang dralwa chönyi tsal Conduct ourselves free of rejection and acceptance— ཁྲེགས་ཆོད་འབྲས་བུ་གཞི་ལ་རྫོགས་པར་ཤོག༔ trekchö drebu shi la dzokpar shok Resulting in the power of suchness completely cutting through to the ground. ཨ་ཏིའི་ལམ་གྱི་རྩ་བ་འོད་གསལ་གནད༔ ati lam gyi tsawa ösal né May we perfect the fundamental points concerning luminosity on the path of Ati, ཐོད་རྒལ་སྒྲོན་མ་བཞི་ཡི་ལམ་མཆོག་ལ༔ tögal drönma shi yi lam chok la [The meditational stages of] fluctuation, attainment, habituation, stability, and completion གཡོ་ཐོབ་གོམས་བརྟན་མཐར་ཕྱིན་རྩལ་རྫོགས་ནས༔ yo tob gom ten tarchin tsal dzok né Upon the supreme path of the four lamps of leaping-over; བློ་བྲལ་ཆོས་ཟད་ཆེན་པོར་སངས་རྒྱས་ཤོག༔ lodral chö zé chenpor sangye shok May we awaken to the great exhaustion of phenomena devoid of conceptualization. ལམ་ལ་མ་ཞུགས་འབྲེལ་པའི་སེམས་ཅན་ཀུན༔ lam la ma shuk drelpé semchen kün May all connected sentient beings who have not embarked on the path བདག་གིས་དུས་གསུམ་བསགས་པའི་དགེ་ཚོགས་དང་༔ dak gi dü sum sakpé gé tsok dang Awaken on the greatly glorious and blissful Mount Potala རྗེས་འཛིན་སྨོན་ལམ་དྲག་པོའི་མཐུ་ནུས་ཀྱིས༔ jedzin mönlam drakpö tu nü kyi Through the power of this caring and fervent aspiration prayer བདེ་ཆེན་པོ་ཊ་དཔལ་རིར་སངས་རྒྱས་ཤོག༔ dechen pota palrir sangye shok And my accumulated virtuous actions of the three times. བདག་ཉིད་སྐྱེ་ཀུན་རྡོ་རྗེ་སློབ་དཔོན་དང་༔ daknyi kyé kün dorjé lobpön dang May the vajra masters and vajra companions in all my lifetimes ཟབ་ལམ་དགའ་བཞིས་འབྲེལ་པའི་རྡོ་རྗེའི་གྲོགས༔ zablam ga shi drelpé dorjé drok Who are connected by the four joys of the profound path དམ་ཚིག་གཅིག་པའི་མཆེད་ལྕམ་རིག་འཛིན་ཚོགས༔ damtsik chikpé checham rigdzin tsok And the siblings and knowledge holders who share tantric commitments མི་འབྲལ་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་གཅིག་ཏུ་འཁོད་པར་ཤོག༔ mindral kyilkhor chik tu khöpar shok Never part but be established in the same mandala. སྣ་ཚོགས་ཐབས་ཀྱིས་སེམས་ཅན་དོན་བྱེད་ཅིང་༔ natsok tab kyi semchen dönjé ching May the innumerable billions of emanations སྤྲུལ་པ་བྱེ་བ་ཕྲག་བརྒྱ་གྲངས་མེད་ཀྱིས༔ trulpa jewa trak gya drangmé kyi Who benefit sentient beings through various means རང་རང་སྐད་དུ་ཐབས་མཁས་ཆོས་སྟོན་ཅིང་༔ rang rang ké du tabkhé chö tön ching Skilfully teach the doctrine in their respective languages, འཁོར་བའི་རྒྱ་མཚོ་དོང་ནས་སྤྲུགས་པར་ཤོག༔ khorwé gyatso dong né trukpar shok Dredging the depths of the ocean of cyclic existence. མཐར་ཐུག་ཡབ་ཡུམ་ཐབས་ཤེས་མཆེད་ལྕམ་སྲས༔ tartuk yabyum tabshé checham sé May the children of the father and mother—method and wisdom ལོངས་སྐུ་ཆེན་པོའི་ཉམས་ལེན་མཐར་ཕྱིན་ནས༔ longku chenpö nyamlen tarchin né Ultimately perfect the practice of the great sambhogakaya. ཆོས་དབྱིངས་འོག་མིན་གཞོན་ནུ་བུམ་སྐུའི་ཀློང་༔ chöying womin shönnu bumkü long May they be liberated as a single mandala ཚོམ་བུ་གཅིག་ཏུ་དབྱེར་མེད་གྲོལ་བར་ཤོག༔ tsombu chik tu yermé drolwar shok In the Akanishta space of phenomena, the expanse of the youthful vase body. ཆོས་ཉིད་རང་བཞིན་རྣམ་པར་དག་པ་དང་༔ chönyi rangshin nampar dakpa dang May this aspirational prayer of truthful words be accomplished without obstruction, ཆོས་ཅན་རྒྱུ་འབྲས་བསླུ་བ་མེད་པའི་མཐུས༔ chöchen gyundré luwa mepé tü And the exceedingly secret teachings never wane but flourish far and wide བདེན་ཚིག་སྨོན་ལམ་གེགས་མེད་འགྲུབ་གྱུར་ནས༔ dentsik mönlam gekmé drub gyur né Due to naturally pristine suchness and ཡང་གསང་བསྟན་པ་མི་ནུབ་མཐར་རྒྱས་ཤོག༔ yangsang tenpa mi nub tar gyé shok The infallible power of the causes and results of [conditioned] phenomena. COLOPHON སྨོན་ལམ་དྲང་སྲོང་བདེན་ཚིག་འདི༔ ཡང་གསང་ཐུགས་ཐིག་མཐའ་རྟེན་དུ༔ དྲི་མ་མེད་པའི་གསུང་འཁྲུལ་མེད༔ པདྨ་ཐོད་ཕྲེང་བདག་གིས་ཕབ༔ བདེ་སྟེར་ཌཱཀྐཱིའི་ཁྱད་ནོར་མཛོད༔ ཡི་གེ་རིགས་ཀྱི་བུ་ཡིས་བྲིས༔ This aspiration prayer, The Truthful Words of the Sage, forms the conclusion of The Exceedingly Secret Enlightened Heart Essence. It is the stainless and unmistaken speech originating from Pema Totrengtsel. The words of the exceptionally valuable treasury of the bliss-bestowing dakini were written down by a son of a noble family. ཡང་གསང་ཐིག་ལེ་སྐོར་གསུམ་གྱི༔ བསྟན་པ་ཉི་འོད་ཀུན་ཁྱབ་ནས༔ རྩ་གསུམ་ཌཱཀིའི་བྱིན་ནུས་ལྡན༔ སྲུང་མའི་ཕྲིན་ལས་ཐོགས་མེད་ཤོག༔ May the three cycles of The Exceedingly Secret Enlightened Heart Essence pervade everywhere like the rays of the sun. May the powerful blessings of the three roots and the dakinis as well as the enlightened activities of the guardians be unbound. ས་མ་ཡཱ༔ གུ་ཧྱ༔ མངྒ་ལཾ། ཤུ་བྷཾ༔ Samaya. Guhya. Mangalam. Shubham. རྒྱ་རྒྱ་རྒྱ༔ ཨེ་མ་ཧོ༔ Gya gya gya. Emaho. ༈ ཆོས་ཚུལ་འདི་ཡང་ཉི་ཟླའི་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་བཞིན། ། chö tsul di yang nyidé kyilkhor shin May this teaching like the mandala of the sun and moon ཕྱོགས་ཀྱི་ཐ་གྲུ་ཀུན་ཏུ་གྲགས་གྱུར་ཅིང་། ། chok kyi tadru küntu drak gyur ching Be renowned throughout every region, བློ་གྲོས་སྣང་བ་རབ་ཏུ་རྒྱས་བྱས་ནས། ། lodrö nangwa rabtu gyé jé né Cause the light of intelligence to fully expand, and སངས་རྒྱས་བསྟན་པ་དར་ཞིང་རྒྱས་པར་ཤོག ། sangye tenpa dar shing gyepar shok The teachings of the buddhas to flourish and spread. ཤླཽ་ཀ་འདི་ཀུན་མཁྱེན་ཀློང་ཆེན་པའི་རྡོ་རྗེའི་གསུང་ངོ་། ། This stanza is the vajra words of the Omniscient Longchenpa. ༈ ངོ་བོ་འགྱུར་མེད་རང་བྱུང་རྡོ་རྗེའི་སྐུ། ། ngowo gyurmé rangjung dorjé ku May the teachings of the three vajras flourish and spread: རང་གདངས་འགག་མེད་བྱང་ཆུབ་རྡོ་རྗེའི་གསུང་། ། rang dang gakmé changchub dorjé sung The vajra body of the natural, unchanging essence, སྤྲོས་བྲལ་དབུ་མ་འཇའ་ལུས་རྡོ་རྗེའི་ཐུགས། ། trödral uma jalü dorjé tuk The vajra speech of the unimpeded, natural enlightened expressions, རྡོ་རྗེ་གསུམ་གྱི་བསྟན་པ་དར་རྒྱས་ཤོག ། dorjé sum gyi tenpa dargyé shok The vajra mind of the rainbow body, the middle way devoid of elaborations. རྒྱལ་དབང་ཉི་མས་བྲིས་སོ།། སརྦ་མངྒ་ལཾ།། Written down by Gyelwang Nyima. Sarva Mangalam NOTES [1] Loktripāla is a wrathful form of Vajrapāņi as found in a treasure text revealed by Nyangrel Nyima Ozer (1124-1192). Thanks to Adam Pearcy at Lotsawa House for his editing Published: December 2020 BIBLIOGRAPHY Ye shes rdo rje. 2009. Smon lam drang srong bden tshig. In Gter chos/_mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje, vol. 2. pp. 627–632. Khreng tu'u: Rdzogs chen dpon slob rin po che. BDRC W1PD89990 — 1974. Yang gsang mkha' 'gro'i thugs thig las:_Smon lam drang srong bden tshig. In Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje'i rnam thar, pp. 414–419. Gangtok: Dodrupchen Rinpoche, null. BDRC W18047 Abstract This aspirational prayer of Do Khyentse is the last text in his Natural Liberation of Grasping ( Dzinpa Rangdröl ) treasure cycle located within the Exceedingly Secret Enlightened Heart Essence of the Ḍākinī treasure cache. BDRC LINK W18047 DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 05:16 TRADITION Nyingma INCARNATION LINE Jigme Lingpa HISTORICAL PERIOD 19th Century TEACHERS The Fourth Dzogchen Drubwang, Mingyur Namkhe Dorje The First Dodrubchen, Jigme Trinle Özer Gyurme Tsewang Chokdrub Dola Jigme Kalzang Jigme Gyalwe Nyugu TRANSLATOR Tib Shelf INSTITUTIONS Mahā Kyilung Monastery Katok Monastery Dzogchen Monastery Tseringjong STUDENTS Losal Drölma Tsewang Rabten Nyala Pema Dudul The Second Dodrubchen, Jigme Puntsok Jungne Patrul Orgyen Jigme Chökyi Wangpo The First Dodrubchen, Jigme Trinle Özer Ranyak Gyalse Nyoshul Luntok Tenpe Gyaltsen Özer Taye Kalzang Döndrub Pema Sheja Drime Drakpa Kunzang Tobden Wangpo Gyalse Zhenpen Taye Özer Chöying Tobden Dorje Rigpe Raltri AUTHOR Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje The Truthful Words of a Sage VIEW ALL PUBLICATIONS NEXT PUBLICATION > < PREVIOUS PUBLICATION Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate Subscribe to our newsletter Support Tib Shelf's ongoing work & Subscribe Today! 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Butön Rinchen Drup's concise text outlines ascending qualities for sages, bodhisattvas, and Mantrayāna practitioners, mirroring the progression through Buddhism's three vehicles. Essential Advice in Three Sets of Three ན་མོ་བུདྡྷཱཡ། Namo Buddhāya! སྡིག་པ་ཆུང་ཡང་དུག་བཞིན་བསྲུང་། ། དཀའ་ཡང་དགེ་བ་འབད་པས་བསྒྲུབ། ། རྩ་བ་བདག་འཛིན་རྣམ་རྟོག་གཞོམ། ། འདི་གསུམ་ལྡན་ན་མཁས་པ་ལགས། ། To guard against even the smallest misdeed as if it were poison, To endeavour to accomplish virtue even when it’s difficult, To thoroughly destroy concepts at the root of self-clinging, To be endowed with these three is to be a sage. གཞན་གྱི་སྡིག་སྡུག་བདག་གིས་བླང་། ། བདག་གི་དགེ་བདེ་གཞན་ལ་གཏང་། ། སྟོང་ཉིད་སྙིང་རྗེ་རྟག་ཏུ་བསྒོམ། ། འདི་གསུམ་ལྡན་ན་བྱང་སེམས་ལགས། ། To take on oneself the misdeeds and sufferings of others, To give to others one’s own virtue and happiness, To constantly meditate on emptiness and compassion, To be endowed with these three is to be a bodhisattva. ཅིར་སྣང་སྒྱུ་མ་ལྷ་སྐུར་ཤེས། ། དྲན་རིག་བདེ་གསལ་མི་རྟོག་པ། ། བྱིན་རླབས་བླ་མའི་རྣལ་འབྱོར་བསྒོམ། ། འདི་གསུམ་ལྡན་ན་སྔགས་པ་ལགས། ། To know that whatsoever appears is the illusory body of the deity, To be mindfully aware of bliss, clarity, and non-thought, To meditate on guru yoga, the wellspring of blessing, To be endowed with these three is to be a Mantrayāna practitioner. COLOPHON གནད་ཀྱི་གདམས་ངག་གསུམ་ཚན་གསུམ་འདི་ནི་ཆོས་རྗེ་ཐམས་ཅད་མཁྱེན་པ་བུ་སྟོན་རིན་པོ་ཆེས། དྭགས་པོ་རིན་ཆེན་ལ་གནང་བའི་གདམས་པ་ཡིན་ནོ། ། “Essential Advice in Three Sets of Three” was composed by the All-Knowing Dharma Lord, Butön Rinpoche, and delivered to Dakpo Rinpoche. NOTES Photo credit: Himalayan Art Resources Published: June 2021 BIBLIOGRAPHY Rin chen grub. 2008. Dwags po rin chen la gnang ba'i gdams pa . In Gsung 'bum/ rin chen grub (bris ma). 28 vols. Beijing: Krung go'i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang, vol. 26, pp. 429–430. BDRC W1PD45496 Abstract As potent as it is pithy, this short text outlines three sets of qualities required respectively by sages, bodhisattvas, and practitioners of the Mantrayāna. There is obvious overlap in the advice contained at each level, particularly ascending from the initial to the final qualities, which mirrors the central training of the three Buddhist vehicles essential to the Tibetan tradition. The work was composed by the fourteenth-century Sakya master Butön Rinchen Drup, one of Tibet’s most prodigious scholars and the abbot of Shalu Monastery. BDRC LINK W1PD45496 DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 01:05 TRADITION Sakya INCARNATION LINE None HISTORICAL PERIOD 13th Century 14th Century TEACHERS Shongtön Dorjé Gyaltsen Sönam Drakpa Drakpa Shönnu Nyima Gyaltsen Yönten Gyatso Palden Senggé Sönam Senggé Rinchen Senggé Sanggyé Yeshé Tsültrim Palsang Sönam Gön Drakpa Gyaltsen Chö Palsangpo TRANSLATOR Patrick Dowd INSTITUTIONS Shalu Nartang Tsal Gungtang Nyang Tarpaling Sakya Monastery Ripuk Hermitage STUDENTS Drakpa Sherab Lama Dampa Sönam Gyaltsen Choklé Namgyal Rinchen Namgyal Palden Tsültrim Rinchen Sangpo Gyalwa Rinchen Jangchub Tsémo Püntsok Palsang Déchen Chöpal Drakpa Gyaltsen Gyatso Rinchen Shönnu Sönam Chökyi Palwa Jamyang Rinchen Chö Palsangpo Chökyi Gyaltsen Sönam Paldrub Sherbum Dönyö Palsang Yeshé Döndrub Rinchen Sanggyé Gön Gyalwa Chokdrub Tsültrim Nyingpo Rinchen Namkha Chokdrub Rinchen Tséwang Jamyang Karpo Kyabchok Pal Sönam Drub Döndrub Pal Degyal Rinchen Kyab Yakdé Paṇchen Tsöndrü Dargyé Gönpo Pal Drubpa Palsangpo Yungtön Dorje Pal Lodrö Gyaltsen AUTHOR Butön Rinchen Drub Essential Advice in Three Sets of Three VIEW ALL PUBLICATIONS NEXT PUBLICATION > < PREVIOUS PUBLICATION Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate Subscribe to our newsletter Support Tib Shelf's ongoing work & Subscribe Today! Name * Email* Submit Tib Shelf is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to translating, presenting and preserving primary source Tibetan texts across a vast array of genres and time periods. We make these literary treasures accessible to readers worldwide, offering a unique window into Tibet's rich history, culture and traditions. Tib Shelf has been accredited by the British Library with the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2754–1495 CONTACT US | SHELVES@TIBSHELF.ORG © 2024 Tib Shelf. All rights reserved.