A Short Daily Sadhana

Some people don’t know where to start, or what to include in their daily sadhana. This blog post is to help those who need a bit of guidance for a “basic” structure. I have noted the areas within this sadhana where you can insert other deity prayers/praises/mantras.

It is very good and beneficial to do a daily sadhana. It is very easy and can be “customized” to your time and convenience. Some days you might have a bit more time, so you can do more mantras, and on some days when you might not have that much time, this “basic” structure will be more than good enough.

This ‘template’ will help give you a bit more flexibility, while still covering all the important prayers.

Tsem Rinpoche

 

Multiplying Mantra

OM SAMBHARA SAMBHARA VIMANA SARA MAHA JAVA HUNG
OM MARA MARA VIMANA SARA MAHA JAVA HUNG (7x)

 

Blessing the Rosary

OM RUTSIRA MANI PRAWA TAYA HUNG (7x)

 

Taking Refuge

NAMO GURU BEH
NAMO BUDDHA YA
NAMO DHARMA YA
NAMO SANGHA YA (3x)

I take refuge in the Guru
I take refuge in the Buddha
I take refuge in the Dharma
I take refuge in the Sangha (3x)

 

Generating Bodhicitta

SANG GYE CHO DANG TSOG KYI CHOG NAM LA
JANG CHUB BAR DU DAG NI KYAB SU CHI
DAG GI JIN SOK GYI PAY SO NAM KYI
DRO LA PAN CHIR SANG GYE DRUB PAR SHOG (3x)

I take refuge until I am enlightened in the Buddhas, the Dharma and the Sangha. By the positive potential I create by practising generosity and the other far-reaching attitudes, may I attain Buddhahood in order to benefit all sentient beings. (3x)

 

The Four Immeasurables

SEM CHEN TAM CHE DAY WA DANG DAY WAY GYU DANG DEN PAR GYUR CHIG
SEM CHEN TAM CHE DUG NGEL DANG DUG NGEL KYI GYU DANG DREL WAR GYUR CHIG
SEM CHEN TAM CHE DUG NGEL MAY PAY DAY WA DANG MI DREL WAR GYUR CHIG
SEM CHEN TAM CHE NYE RING CHAG DANG NYI DANG DREL WAY DANG NYOM LA NAY PAR GYUR CHIG

May all sentient beings have happiness and its causes,
May all sentient beings be free of suffering and its causes,
May all sentient beings never be separated from sorrowless bliss,
May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free of bias, attachment and anger.

(At this point, one may also add other preliminaries.)

Eight Verses of Training The Mind

by Kadampa Geshe Langri Tangpa (1054 – 1123)

With the determination to accomplish
The highest welfare for all sentient beings
Who surpass even a wish-granting jewel
I will learn to hold them supremely dear.

Whenever I associate with others I will learn
To think of myself as the lowest among all
And respectfully hold others to be supreme
From the very depths of my heart

In all actions I will learn to search into my mind
And as soon as an afflictive emotion arises
Endangering myself and others
I will firmly face and avert it.

I will learn to cherish all beings of bad nature
And those pressed by strong sins and sufferings
As if I had found a precious
Treasure very difficult to find

When others out of jealousy treat me badly
With abuse, slander, and so on,
May I suffer the defeat
And offer the victory to them

When one whom I have benefited with great hope
Unreasonably hurts me very badly,
I will learn to view that person
As an excellent spiritual guide.

In short, I will learn to offer to everyone without exception
All help and happiness directly and indirectly
And respectfully take upon myself
All harm and suffering of my mothers.

I will learn to keep all these practices
Undefiled by the stains of the eight worldly conceptions
And by the understanding of all phenomena as like illusions
Be released from the bondage of attachment.

 

The Nine Attitudes of Devotion to the Guru

1. That of a filial child. Like a filial child, one thoroughly carries out the instructions of the Guru without the slightest deviation.

2. That of a Vajra. Like a Vajra that cannot be split apart, even when facing division created by devils or bad associates, one will never split away from the Guru.

3. That of the Earth. Like the Earth carrying everything in the world, one shoulders all assignments ordered by the Guru.

4. That of the Iron Circle of Mountains. Like everlasting mountains, while abiding under the patronage of the Guru one endures hardships and sufferings without ever swaying in one’s determination.

5. That of a servant. Like an obedient servant, even when one is obliged to carry out very difficult assignments one holds no grudges in one’s heart.

6. That of a sweeper. Like a humble sweeper, one renounces self-pride and regards oneself as inferior to the Guru.

7. That of a rope. Like a continuous rope, one rejoices in carrying on the Dharma activities of the Guru, regardless of its degree of difficulty and heaviness of load.

8. That of a domestic dog. Like a loyal dog, even when the Guru ridicules, irritates or ignores one, one never responds with anger.

9. That of a boat. Like a ferry one goes back and forth on the Guru’s assignments without any discontent.

(For an extended version, with commentary, click here)

 

Guru Yoga / Gaden Lhagyama

(For a full description of the visualization of Tsongkhapa and other Tsongkhapa-related teachings, click here)

INVOCATION

GA-DEN HLA-JI NGON-JYI THUG-KA NEY
RAP-KAR SHO-SAR PUNG-DEE CHU-DZIN TSER
CHO-KYI GYEL-PO KUN-CHEN LOZANG DRAG
SEY-DANG CHE-PA NE-DIR SHEG SU SOL

From the heart of the Lord of the Gaden devas (Maitreya Buddha)
emerges a brilliant white cloud, like a great mass of fresh yoghurt.
Atop sits Tsongkhapa all knowing, King of Dharma;
we request your coming to this place along with your great disciples.

REQUESTING TO STAY

DUN-JYI NAM-KHAR SING-TI PEE-DEE TENG
JE-TSUN LA-MA JYEH-PI DZUM-KAR CHYEN
DAG-LO DE-PE SO-NAM SHING-CHOG TU
TAN-PA JYEH-SHIR KAL-DJAR JUG-SU SOL

My Lord Guru is seated before me upon a lion-throne, lotus and moon cushion.
His body is white and he smiles blissfully.
Please remain many eons and serve as the great merit field for the growth of my mind’s faith,
and for the increase of Lord Buddha’s teachings.

PROSTRATION AND PRAISE

SHE-JYEH CHON-KUN JAL-WEY LO-DO THUG
KAL-ZANG NA-WEY JYIN-JUR LIK-SHEY SUNG
DRAG-PI PEL-JYI HLAM-MER DZEY-PI KU
THONG-THO DRAN PI DON DHAN LA-CHAG TSAL

His omniscient wisdom-mind encompasses all that is existent.
His voice is a profound teaching, which ornaments the ear of the fortunate pupil.
His body’s beautiful radiance evokes wondrous admiration.
To Lama Tsongkhapa whom merely viewing, hearing or contemplating earns one great merit, I make prostration.

OFFERING

YIH-WONG TCHO-YON NA-TSOG ME-TOG DANG
DRI-JEM DUG-PO NANG-SAL DRID-CHAB SOG
NGO-SHAM YIH TUL TCHO-TIN GYA-TSO DI
SO-NAM SHING-CHOG CHE-LA CHO-PA BUL

I present to you, great field of merit, Tsongkhapa,
beautiful offerings, water, a display of flowers, fragrant incense,
butter-lamps, perfumes and more both physical and mental offerings,
vast as the clouds and wide as the ocean.

CONFESSION

DAG-GI TO-MEY DU-NEH SAG-PA YI
LU-NGAG YIH-KYI DIG-PA CHI-JYI DANG
CHEY-PA DOM-PA SUM-JI MI-TUN SHO
NYING-NEH JO-PA TRAH-PO SO-SOR SHAG

The unwholesome actions of body, speech and mind,
which I have accumulated over a measureless period,
especially actions contrary to the three vows (Vinaya, Bodhisattva, Vajrayana),
I regret extremely from the depths of my heart, and I reveal each and every such action.

REJOICING

NIK-MI DU-DIR MANG-THO DRUP-LA TSON
CHO-JYED PANG-PI DAL-JOR DON-YO SHYE
NGON-PO CHEY-KYI LAP-CHEN DZE-PA LA
DAG-CHAG SAM-PA TAG-PEH YI RANG NGO

We totally rejoice in your magnificent achievements, my Lord,
who received numerous teachings and performed the practices with utmost diligence,
who abandoned the eight worldly objectives
and made the most meaningful use of the eighteen opportune conditions during these degenerate times.

REQUEST TO TURN THE WHEEL OF DHARMA

JE-TSUN LA-MA DAM-PA CHEY-NAM KYI
CHO-KU KA-LA CHEN-TI TIN-TIK NEY
JI-TAR TSAM-PI DUL-SHIH DZIN-MA LA
ZAB-JI CHO-KYI CHAR-PA WHAP-TU SOL

All you holy Gurus, unerring in conduct,
may you precipitate a rain of realisation of Bodhicitta and Shunyata
from the clouds of all-knowing compassion which fills the Dharmakaya sky,
providing for the field of disciples precisely what is needed.

REQUESTING TO REMAIN

NAM-DAG WO-SAL YING-LEY JING-PA YI
ZUNG-JUG KU-LA CHAR-NUB MI-NGA YANG
THA-MAL HNANG-NGOR ZUG-KU RAG-PA NYI
SEE-THEE BAR-DU MI-NUB TAN-PA SHUG

May the Vajra body of Tsongkhapa created from the purity of clear light,
free of the rising and setting of cyclic existence
but visible to the ordinary viewer only in its unsubtle, physical form,
stay on unchanging, without waning, until Samsara ends.

DEDICATION

DAG-SOG JIN-NYEH SAG-PA GE-WA DEE
TAN-DANG DRO-WA KUN-LA GANG-PHAN DANG
CHE-PA JE-TSUN LO-ZANG DRAG-PA YI
TAN-PI NYING-PO RING-DU SAL-SHEH SHOG

May this merit accumulated by myself and others,
beneficially serve all sentient beings and the Buddhadharma
and especially may the essential teachings of the unerring master Tsongkhapa,
become clear and enduring.

MIGTSEMA (MANTRA OF JE TSONGKHAPA)

This can be recited anytime, anywhere, as many times as possible. It has the benefits of receiving the blessings of Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri and Vajrapani.

MIG-MEY TZE-WEY TER-CHEN CHENREZIG
DRI-MEY KHYEN-PI WANG-PO JAMPAL YANG
DU-PUNG MA-LU JOM-DZEY SANG-WEY DAG
GANG-CHEN KE-PEY TSUG-GYEN TSONGKAPA
LO-SANG TRAG-PEY SHAB-LA SOL-WA DEB

(Recite 21x or more, depending on time)

Je Tsongkhapa, crown jewel of the holy Masters of the land of snows,
You are Avalokiteshvara, great goldmine of Compassion untainted by ego’s delusion.
You are Manjushri, great Master of stainless wisdom.
You are Vajrapani, great subduer of all the gatherings of demons.
At your feet, famed Lobsang Drakpa,
I humbly bow and earnestly request that all sentient beings achieve Enlightenment.

(Recite 21x or more, depending on time)

LAMA TSONGKHAPA SHORT MANTRA

OM AH RA BA ZA NA DHI (1 mala, followed by 1 mala recitation of the last syllable “DHI”, under one breath)

DISSOLVING JE RINPOCHE INTO OURSELVES

PAL-DAN TSA-WEY LA-MA RINPOCHE
DAG-SOG CHI-WOR PE-ME DAN-JUG LA
KA-DRIN CHEN-PO GO-NEY JE-ZUNG TE
KU-SUNG THUG-KYI NGO-DRUP TSAL-DU SOL

Dear worthy root Guru, please ascend the lotus seat
atop the head of myself and the other beings,
and in your great kindness please remain with us.
Bestow upon us the blessings of your body, speech and mind.

PAL-DAN TSA-WEY LA-MA RINPOCHE
DAG-SOG NYING-KHAR PE-ME DAN-JUG LA
KA-DRIN CHEN-PO GO-NEY JE-ZUNG TE
CHO-DANG THUN-MONG NGO-DRUP TSAL-DU SOL

Precious, noble, root Guru, please occupy the lotus seat
within our hearts and in your great kindness remain with us.
Please grant us your blessings for our temporal success
and for the supreme attainment.

PAL-DAN TSA-WEY LA-MA RINPOCHE
DAG-SOG NYING-KHAR PE-ME DAN-JUG LA
KA-DRIN CHEN-PO GO-NEY JE-ZUNG TE
JANG-CHUB NYING-PO BAR-DU TAN-PAR SHUG

Beloved, noble, root Guru, please occupy the lotus seat
within our hearts and in your great kindness remain with us.
Please stay on until we achieve the great goal of Enlightenment.

(At this point, one may insert other deity prayers. These prayers may include: Medicine Buddha, Dzambala, Praises to The 21 Taras, A Song of Longing for Tara The Infallible, Gem to Increase Life and Wisdom (White Tara), Praise to Saraswati, Amitayus, Black Manjushri, Vajrayogini Tea Offering, Praise to Vajrayogini)

 

Dorje Shugden

This is a concise version of the prayer to Dorje Shugden, the Universal World Peace Protector who is extremely effective for our modern times. This prayer is based on the original Tibetan rituals that are performed daily in Shar Gaden and Serpom Monasteries to this day. You can opt to recite the prayers to Dorje Shugden or the prayers to Dharmapala Setrap (in the next section below). You may also recite the prayers of both Dharma Protectors for additional blessings and protection.

 

INVOCATION

HUM!
RANG NYI YIDAM HLAR SE WAY
DÜN DU MAR NAG ME LUNG Ü
PE NYI DRA GEG TZI PA YI
JIG RUNG NGAM JI SENGE TENG
TEN SUNG NYING GI NORBU CHOG
GYELCHEN DORJE SHUGDEN TSEL
KU LA RAB JUNG CHE KYI TZE
U LA TANG ZHA SER DOG SÖL
CHAG NA PU DRI DRA NYING TOG
DRUB PA PO LA GYE PAY TSÜL
TRO TUM DRA GEG DRÖL WAY NYAM
LE JE KACHE MARPO SOG
KOR TSOG GYATSÖ KOR WAR GYUR
DAG NYI TUG KAY ÖZER GYI
RANG ZHIN YING DANG TEN PAY NE
GAR ZHUG PODRANG SO SO NE
YESHE PA NAM KE CHIG LA
CHEN DRANG DAM YE YER ME GYUR

HUM!
Before myself as the yidam deity,
In the midst of a windswept dark red fire,
On a terrifying magnificent lion,
Trampling enemies and obstructers on a lotus and sun,
Is our supreme heart jewel, Dharmapala,
Mighty Gyalchen Dorje Shugden,
Adorned with robes of a monk on his body,
Wearing the golden domed hat on his head,
Holding a razor sword and an enemy’s heart in his hands,
With a manner of delight towards the practitioner,
And a fierce expression which destroys enemies and obstructers.
He is surrounded by an ocean-like host of retinue
Such as chief attendant, Kache Marpo.
Rays of light from my heart invite
From the natural sphere
And the individual palaces wherever they abide,
The wisdom beings who in one instant are invited
And become inseparable with the commitment beings.

HUM
GO SUM GÜ PE GO NE CHAG TSEN ZHING
CHI NANG NYER CHÖ SHA TRAG TOR TSOG DANG
KYEM CHANG GYA JA CHE MAR O ZHO CHE
NGÖ SHAM YI TRÜL NAM KA KANG TE BÜL

HUM!
With devotion I prostrate with body, speech, and mind, and make offerings,
Both outer and inner, with flowers, incense, light, perfume, food, flesh and blood,
Collections of tormas, beer, tea, buttered tsampa, milk, and yoghurt,
Actually arranged and mentally visualised, filling the whole of space.


DAM TSE KANG TZE TEN TZE TÜN TZE DANG
CHI NANG SANG WAY CHEN ZIG SANG CHÖ CHE
NAM KA KANG TE BÜL GYI KOR CHE NAM
TUG DAM KANG ZHING NYAM CHAG SÖ GYUR CHIG

Samaya substances, fulfilment substances, basal substances, and mantric substances,
Outer, inner, and secret favourite visual objects and fragrant smoke offering;
With my offering of these, filling space, O entourage,
May you be satisfied and restore degenerated commitments!

DAG CHAG SAM JOR JA CHÖ NONG PA YI
TEN SUNG CHENPÖ TUG DANG GEL GYI KÜN
NYING NE SHAG SO NYUR DU JANG TZÖ LA
MA YI BU ZHIN TSE WE JE ZUNG TZÖ

All of our mistaken actions of body, speech, and mind,
Which have contradicted the mind of the great Dharmapala,
We confess from the heart; quickly purify them
And care for us with compassion like a mother for her child!

HLA CHOG KYE LA NYING NE KÜL WA NI
LOZANG GYEL WAY RING LUG DAR ZHING GYE
PELDEN LAMAY KU TSE CHAB SI PEL
GENDÜN DE NAM SHE DRUB PEL WAR TZÖ

This heart-felt exhortation of you, supreme deity,
Is to spread and increase the Victorious Lozang’s tradition,
To extend the life and dominion of the glorious Gurus,
And to increase the study and practice of the communities of Sangha.

DAG GI LÜ DANG DRI ZHIN MIN DREL WAR
GEL KYEN PAR CHÖ MA LÜ SEL WA DANG
TÜN KYEN DÖ DÖN YI ZHIN DRUB PA YI
SUNG KYOB NYER KA NAM YANG MI YEL TZÖ

Never separated from me, like my body and its shadow,
May you dispel adverse conditions and obstructers without exception,
Accomplish favourable conditions and desires as I wish,
And protect and care for me without ever breaking!

KYE PAR YI LA NAG PAY DÖ DÖN NAM
SAM PA JI ZHIN NYUR DU DRUB PA YI
LE ZHIY TRINLE NO NYUR TOG ME KYI
TU TSEL NGÖN SUM TÖN PAY DÜ LA BAB

Especially, the time has now come to show directly
Your unobstructed might in quick, decisive enlightened conduct
Of the four activities to swiftly accomplish
Our deepest heart-felt desires according to our wishes!

GYUN DRE DEN SHEN JE PAY DÜ LA BAB
MA NYE KA YOG SEL WAY DÜ LA BAB
NYAM CHUNG GÖN ME KYOB PAY DÜ LA BAB
CHÖ DEN BU ZHIN KYONG WAY DÜ LA BAB

The time has come to judge the truth in accord with the law of causality!
The time has come to clear the innocent of accusations!
The time has come to protect the humble who are without a protector!
The time has come to nurture Dharma practitioners like your children!

DOR NA DI NE JANG CHUB NYING PÖ BAR
LAMA HLA SUNG DÜ KUR NGA SÖL NA
NYIN SUM JA RA TSEN SUM MEL TSE YI
SUNG KYOB TRINLE NAM YANG MI YEL SHOG

In short, from now until attaining the essence of enlightenment,
Since we venerate you as the embodiment of the Guru and Protector,
May you protect us uninterruptedly with your enlightened activity,
And watch over us during the three periods of day and three of night!

 

MANTRA RECITATION

RANG YIDAM DU SEL WAY TUG KAY SABÖN LE ÖZER TRÖ CHÖ KYONG GYELCHEN SUGDEN RIG NGA DRAG PO TSEL NAM KYI TUG KAR NYI DEN GYI TENG DU HUM YIG GI TAR NGAG TRENG RANG RANG GI KADOG DANG TSUNG PE KOR WA LA POG PE TUG GYU RANG WANG ME PAR KÜL TE CHI DÖ PAY ZHI GYE WANG DRAG GI LE TAMCHE TOG PA ME PAR DRUB PAR GYUR

From the heart syllable of myself visualised as the Yidam, light rays emanate. They strike the HUM syllables and surrounding mantra garlands which, matching each deity in colour, stand upon the sun seats at the hearts of Dharmapala Gyalchen Shugden’s five fierce families, exhorting them, without choice, to perform whatever desired peaceful, increasing, powerful, or wrathful activity, without obstruction.

Mantra to Attain a Combination of Siddhis
OM BENZA WIKI BITANA SOHA (Recite at least 108x)

Mantra for Healing
OM BENZA WIKI BITANA SHANTI SIDDHI HUNG (7x or more)

Mantra for Wealth
OM BENZA WIKI BITANA SOHA TSESO PALJOR
LONG CHO THAMCHED PUTRIM KURU OM (7x or more)

Entourage Mantra
OM DHARMAPALA MAHA RADZA BENDZA BEGAWAN
RUDRA PANTSA KULA SARVA SHATRUM MARAYA HUM PHAT! (7x)

Having recited however many mantras with the successive visualisations, finally recite the hundred syllable mantra.

OM BENZASATTO SAMAYA MANU PALAYA
BENZASATTO TENO PATITA DIDRO MAY BHAWA
SUTO KAYO MAY BHAWA SUPO KAYO MAY BHAWA
ANU RAKTO MAY BHAWA SARWA SIDDHI ME PAR YATSA
SARWA KARMA SUT TSA ME TISHTAM SHRIYAM KURU HUM
HA HA HA HA HO BHAGAWAN SARWA TATAGATA
BENZA MA MAY MUN TSA BENZA BHAWA MAHA
SAMAYA SATTO AH HUM PHET

 

KAWANG

HUM!
GANG GAY GYÜN TSUNG NYING TRAG CHÖ YÖN DRENG
NAM TRA WANG PÖ METOG DÜ TRIN TRIG
TRI CHEN DRI CHAB SHA RÜ KANG LING DRA
ZAG ME DÜTSI GYATSO GYE ZHIN ZHE
ZHEN YANG DÖ YÖN GYEL SI RINCHEN DÜN
CHANG SHE TA LANG JIG RUNG YAG LUG KYI
NGUR MIG LA GÖ SA TEN GO TRAB PUB
DA DUNG REL DRI CHI NANG SANG WAY TEN
JIG TEN DE DANG MA DE CHÖ TRIN GYI
DORJE SHUGDEN NANG SI DREG PAY TSOG
TUG DAM KANG ZHING NYAM CHAG SÖ GYUR CHIG
KYE PAR DAG CHAG MA RIG ZHEN WANG GYUR
GO SUM JA WAY NYE TSOG CHI CHI PA
SUNG MA KYE KYI TUG DANG GEL GYUR PA
THAMCHE NONG ZHING GYÖ PAY SEM KYI SHAG
ZHEN YANG TEN SUNG CHENPO KOR CHE LA
DAM TSIG LE DE NYEN DRUB CHÖ TOR SOG
NELJOR DAG CHAG NYAM CHAG CHI CHI NAM
KOR SUM MIG ME YING SU SHAG PAR GYI

HUM!
Heart’s blood drinking offerings set out like the flow of the Ganges,
Flowers of the sense organs blossoming and clouds of smoke gathering,
Human bile perfume, flesh and blood, and the sound of thigh bone trumpets,
Please accept these as well as an ocean of undefiled nectar!
Also, sensual objects and the seven royal objects,
The intelligent horse, elephants, frightful yaks, sheep, and dogs,
Saffron robes, strong, hard armour and shields,
Arrows, spears, swords, and outer, inner, and secret bases,
With these clouds of offerings, both supramundane and worldly,
O Dorje Shugden and all your wrathful entourage,
May your heart commitment be fulfilled, and degeneration restored!
Especially, each accumulated faulty deed of body, speech, and mind
We have committed under the influence of ignorance,
Which goes against your mind, Protector,
We confess with a mind of remorse and regret.
Furthermore, transgressions of our commitments to the Protector and entourage,
And neglect or degeneration of retreat practice, tormas, and offerings, etc.,
We practitioners confess all of these
Within the unobjectifiable emptiness of the three spheres.

 

SERKYM

HUM!
DÖN NYI LEG TSOG CHAR BEB LAMA DANG
CHOG TÜN NGÖ DRUB KÜN TSÖL YIDAM HLAR
DE TER DÜTSIY TUNG WA DI BÜL GYI (Pour serkym)
ZHE NE SAM DÖN NYUR DU HLÜN DRUB TZÖ

HUM!
O Gurus who rain down accumulations of excellence fulfilling our own and others’ purposes,
And Yidams who bestow all ordinary and supreme attainments,
Through offering you this ambrosial drink which bestows bliss, (Pour serkym)
May you, having partaken, swiftly and spontaneously accomplish our wishes!

NE SUM PAWO KANDRÖ TSOG KÜN DANG
TU DEN TEN SUNG DAM CHEN GYATSO LA
DE TER DÜTSIY TUNG WA DI BÜL GYI (Pour serkym)
ZHE NE SAM DÖN NYUR DU HLÜN DRUB TZÖ

O all hosts of heroes and dakinis of the three places,
And ocean of powerful, oath-bound Dharma Protectors,
Through offering you this ambrosial drink which bestows bliss, (Pour serkym)
May you, having partaken, swiftly and spontaneously accomplish our wishes!

(This is the main verse and we are recommended to recite this verse at least 7 times)
KYE PAR JIG TEN LE DE TEN SUNG CHOG
TU TOB NYEN NYUR DORJE SHUGDEN LA
DE TER DÜTSIY TUNG WA DI BÜL GYI (Pour serkym)
ZHE NE SAM DÖN NYUR DU HLÜN DRUB TZÖ

And especially, supreme, supramundane Dharmapala,
Forcefully powerful, strict, and swift Dorje Shugden,
Through offering you this ambrosial drink which bestows bliss, (Pour serkym)
May you, having partaken, swiftly and spontaneously accomplish our wishes!

ZHI GYE WANG DANG NGÖN CHÖ RAB JAM LE
TOG ME TSÖL TZE NAM GYUR RIG NGA LA
DE TER DÜTSIY TUNG WA DI BÜL GYI (Pour serkym)
ZHE NE SAM DÖN NYUR DU HLÜN DRUB TZÖ

O five families who openly bestow
Infinite activities of peace, increase, power, and wrath,
Through offering you this ambrosial drink which bestows bliss, (Pour serkym)
May you, having partaken, swiftly and spontaneously accomplish our wishes!

TZE DUG YUM GU NA DREN GELONG GYE
LE KEN TUM PAY TAG SHAR CHU SOG LA
DE TER DÜTSIY TUNG WA DI BÜL GYI (Pour serkym)
ZHE NE SAM DÖN NYUR DU HLÜN DRUB TZÖ

O nine beautiful consorts, eight guiding monks,
And ten fierce and youthful guardians, and so on,
Through offering you this ambrosial drink which bestows bliss, (Pour serkym)
May you, having partaken, swiftly and spontaneously accomplish our wishes!

(Serkym offering to Dharmapala Setrap. We are recommended to recite this verse 7 times)
HRI
KYE PAR GYEL WAY TEN PA SUNG WAY TSO
SE YI TRAB CHEN KOR DANG CHE NAM LA
DO GU TSANG WAY SER KYEM CHO PA DI (Pour serkym)
BUL LO SUNG KYOB YEL WA ME PAR TZÖ

HRI
Especially, principal guardian of the Conquerors’ Teachings,
Setrap Chen along with entourage to you
This golden drink replete with all one could wish is offered; (Pour serkym)
Never waver in your protection!

(Serkym offering to Kache Marpo. We are recommended to recite this verse 3 times)
KA KOR NYEN PO DAM NYAM SOG GI SHE
SHINTU TRO TUM KACHE MARPO LA
DE TER DÜTSIY TUNG WA DI BÜL GYI (Pour serkym)
ZHE NE SAM DÖN NYUR DU HLÜN DRUB TZÖ

O extremely fierce Kache Marpo, the strict attendant,
Executioner of those with degenerated samaya,
Through offering you this ambrosial drink which bestows bliss, (Pour serkym)
May you, having partaken, swiftly and spontaneously accomplish our wishes!

DAM NYAM NYING TRAG SER TAR JANG WA YI
SER KYEM RAB TU KÖL WAY TUNG WA DI
NAM KA BAR TZIN KOR DANG CHE LA BÜL (Pour serkym)
SHE NE NEL JOR SAM DÖN DRUB PAR TZÖ

Vow-breakers’ heart-blood purified like gold,
This drink of fully boiling serkym,
I offer to Namkar Barzin and entourage (Pour serkym)
Accepting, accomplish the yogi’s intended purpose!

(Pour the remaining serkym throughout this verse)
ZHEN YANG TRÜL PA YANG TRÜL SAM YE DANG
KA DÖ HLA SIN TONG SUM YO WA LA
DE TER DÜTSIY TUNG WA DI BÜL GYI
ZHE NE SAM DÖN NYUR DU HLÜN DRUB TZÖ

As well as the inconceivable emanations and their emanations,
Attendant deities and demons who shake the three thousand worlds,
Through offering you this ambrosial drink which bestows bliss,
May you, having partaken, swiftly and spontaneously accomplish our wishes!

DE TAR CHÖ CHING TRINLE KÜL WAY TÜ
NAM ZHIY TRINLE DÜ DRUG KE CHIG KYANG
YEL WA ME PAR PA YI BU ZHIN DU
TAG TU KYONG SHING TAG TU JE ZUNG TZÖ

Thus, by the force of this offering and exhortation,
May you grant your activity throughout the six time periods
And, without wavering, always protect me
And care for me like a father for his son!

KA DÖ DREG PAY TSOG KYANG DÜLTZIN JE
YAR DAM NYEN PÖ TA TSIG DREN TZÖ LA
DAG GI GANG DANG GANG CHÖL LE DI NAM
DA TA NYUR DU DRUB LA MA YEL CHIG

Hosts of wrathful attendants, as well,
Remember your sworn oaths of promise to Lord Duldzin
And accomplish swiftly now, without distraction,
Whatever activities I have requested!

 

ENTHRONEMENT

HUM
DORJE CHANG WANG TSA GYÜ LA MA DANG
NGÖ DRUB KÜN TSÖL YIDAM LHA YI TSOG
BAR CHE KÜN SEL SUNG MAY THU TOB KYI
TRINLE LHÜN DRUB GYEL POR NGA SÖL LO

HUM!
With the Vajradhara root and lineage masters,
The assembly of Yidams who grant all realisations,
And Protectors who remove all obstacles,
We recognise you as a king among those who effortlessly bless and accomplish purposes.

GANG KU MUG NAG NYI MA JE WAY ZI
CHÖ GÖ SUM DEN RAB JUNG ZHÖN NUI TSUL
SER GYI DANG DEN THANG THEB BU LA SÖL
CHÖ KHOR YONG KYI SUNG MAR NGA SÖL LO

Your dark-red form blazes like a hundred suns.
You appear as a youthful monk in the triple robes.
You wear a gold-hued hat of high-rank on your head
I recognise you as the Protector of all Dharma practitioners.

DREN PA TSAM GYI MI THUN CHOG NAM KÜN
KE CHIG NYI LA THEL BAR LOG NÜ PAY
LHA MAG CHE WAY MAG TSOG GYE PA YI
CHAG TSEN TSEN DEN BING GI NGA SÖL LO

Merely by recalling whose name,
Who could emanate a million divine hosts,
That can reduce to dust all malignant forces:
With the divine sandalwood cudgel, we recognise you as such.

TEN DANG TEN DZIN BU ZHIN KYONG DZE CHING
NAM ZHI TRINLE THOG MAY NYUR DRUB PA
DRAG SHUL TOB DEN DORJE SHUGDEN TSEL
DAG GI TEN GYI DRA LHAR NGA SÖL LO

You are the fierce and mighty Dorje Shugden,
Who sustains the Dharma and its upholders like son,
And swiftly fulfils all four tasks:
I recognise you as my constant Protector.

DOR NA DAG GI LEG NYE JA WA KÜN
CHÖ SUNG CHEN PO KYE LA NYER TAY KYI
NYIN TSEN YEL WA ME PAR SUNG WA DANG
CHOG DÜ KÜN TU GYE PAY TRA SHI TSÖL

In short, I entrust all my concerns both right and wrong,
To you, great Dharmapala.
Protect us day and night with vigilance.
At all times and places, grant propitious factors.

 

Dharmapala Setrap

This is the concise version of the prayer to Lord Setrap Chen, the Dharma Protector of Kechara House. This prayer is based on the original Tibetan scripture that is done daily in Gaden Shartse Monastery to this day. These prayers to Setrap can be recited in place of the prayers to Dorje Shugden above, or in addition to Dorje Shugden’s prayers for additional blessings and protection.

DAG DUN GYI TUG KAY SA BON LE O
ZER TRO PE RANG ZHIN GYI NE NE
CHO KYONG KOR DANG CHE PA

BEDZA SAMA TZA!

Light emanates from the heart seed syllables of the self and front generated deities inviting from their natural abode the Dharmapala and entourage with BEDZA SAMA TZA!

(Thus, contemplate and lighting incense, waving the fan, with confidence of the wisdom deity, accompanied by ritual music, chanting, continue:)

 

INVOCATION (CHENCHEN)

TZA CHI ME LHA YI KANG ZANG DAM PA DANG
DRAG MAR SIN PO TRO DRAY NE CHOG NE
NO JIN TSEN GO CHEN PO SE TRAP CHEN
KOR DANG CHE PA NE DIR SHEG SU SOL

TZA! From the holy celestial mansion of the deathless gods
And the red citadel-like supreme abode of fierce rakshas
O great wild ‘tsen’ yaksha Setrap Chen
Pray come to this place with your entourage!

SANG GYE KUN NGO PADMA TO TRENG SOG
TSA GYU LA ME KA GO DAM ZHAG PA
JI TAR SUNG ZHING TEN NE GYA PO KYI
TSUG LA KANG ZANG NAM NE SHEG SU SOL

From the excellent temples of India and Tibet,
Those bases which you are under oath to protect.
By order of the root and lineage Gurus such as Padmasambhava
Who is, in actuality, all Buddhas, pray come!

KYE PAR PO YUL JIG TEN MIG CHIG PU
KE NYI MA WA LO DEN SHE RAB KYI
TEN PA TEN TZING GE DUN DE CHE NAM
SUNG CHIR YAR DAM GONG TE SHEG SU SOL

Especially, to protect the teachings, and Sangha
Who uphold the teachings, of the translator, Loden Sherab.
That sole guiding light of the world in Tibet,
Please remember your sworn promise and come!

OM MAHA YAKCHA TSA SAPARIWARA E HYE HI
TZA HUNG BAM HO
They become non-dual with the commitment beings
( … contemplate)

DAM TSIG PA DANG NYI SU ME PAR GYUR
PEMA KAMALAYE TAM
HUNG RAB YANG KA PA LA YI NO NANG DU
RANG ZHIN DE TONG NAM PA CHO PAY TZE
NGO SHAM YI TRUL (1.CHO YON) PAG ME DI
CHO KYONG CHEN PO KOR DANG CHE LA BUL

Within fully vast kapala vessels
In nature bliss-void, aspect, object for offering
These boundless beverages, both set out and envisioned
I offer to the great Dharmapala and entourage!

HO GYEL PO NO JIN CHEN PO SE YI TRAP
KOR DANG CHE PA KYE NAM
KYI TA DRIN WANG GI GYEL PO RIG TZIN
PADMA JUNG NE NGO LOG LODEN
SHERAB SOG LAMA DAMPA NAM KYI
CHEN NGAR YAR DAM NYEN PO SHEL GYI
ZHE PA ZHIN GYEL WAY TEN PA SUNG
KON CHOG GI U PANG TO GE DUN GYI
DE KYONG DRO WAY DE KYI PEL KYE
PAR PEL DEN DHARMA CENTER CHO DEY
TSON PAY KAM SUM CHO KYI GYEL PO
TSONG KHAPA CHEN PO RING LUG GANG
DU GYE PAY GON NE DU DE DANG CHE
PA SUNG ZHING KYAB TE DE NO SUM
GYI TO SAM DANG LAB PA SUM GYI
NYAM LEN SOG KOR LO SUM GYI JA WA
NAM PEL WA DANG DAG SOG NAM KYI
GEL KYEN BAR CHO ZHI ZHING TUN
KYEN SAM DON YI ZHIN DU DRUB PAR
TZE DU SOL

O King, great Setrap Chen, and your CHEN entourage!
Just as you have strictly sworn before the lord of power Hayagriva, the wisdom holder Padmasambhawa, the translator Loden Sherab and other holy Gurus, Protect Buddha’s teachings! Raise status of the Supreme Rare Jewels! Protect community of Sangha! Spread the happiness of beings! And especially guard and protect Dharma communities wherever the three realms’ king of Dharma Tsongkhapa’s tradition has spread, such as glorious Kechara House.

Proliferate activities of the three wheels of Dharma such as studying the three pitakas and practising the three trainings! And for myself and others pacify non-conducive conditions and obstructions and bring about conducive conditions as we wish!

 

CONFESSION (SHAKPA)

HUNG KU SUM GAR DANG LO DEN SHE RAB SOG
TSA GYU LA MAY TSOG NAM GONG SU SOL
PEL DEN LA MA KU ZHI DAG NYI DU
YI CHE DE PA NYING NE MA GYI SHAG

O dance of the three kayas, hosts of root and lineage
Gurus such as Loden Sherab; please pay attention!
Not maintaining heartfelt faith in the glorious Guru
As being of a nature of the four kayas, I confess.

TAB SHE NYI SU ME PAY GYU GYEL GYI
YI DAM LHA YI TSOG NAM MA LU GONG
NGO DRUB TSA WA DOR JEY DAM TSIG LE
NYAM CHAG NONG PA GANG GYUR TAM CHE SHAG

Hosts of yidam deities of the non-dual means and wisdom
Victorious tantras, without exception, listen!
Whatever is faulty or degenerated among these roots of attainments
My tantric commitments, all I confess.

TRO PA KUN DREL YE SHE CHO KU LE
YO WA ME KYANG GANG DUL ZUG KYI NI
DRO WAY DON TZE CHO KYONG SE TRAP CHEN
KOR DANG CHE PA TSE WE DAG LA GONG

Though unmoving from the wisdom Dharmakaya devoid of elaboration
Benefiting migrators with whatever form will subdue them
Dharmapala Setrap Chen together with entourage,
Out of compassion, listen to me!

GON KYO NYEN DRUB CHO TOR YEL WA DANG
CHI NANG SANG WAY TEN TZE MA JOR PA
LE KUN DRUB TSE TANG RAG MA GYI SHING
DU TOR GYUN TOR CHAG PA TOL LO SHAG

Protector; being lax in doing your retreat and offering tormas,
Not getting substances for outer, inner, and secret bases,
Not giving thanks at the accomplishment of all activities,
And missing regular and permanent tormas, I reveal and confess.

CHO TOR MEN DANG NYAM DANG MI TSANG BAG
DAM NYAM DRA GEG DRAG PO LE JOR GYI
TSAR CHO MA GYI DE DANG DAM DRE SHING
ZE ZO SUNG KYOB GYI PA LA SOG SHAG

Offering tormas that are inferior, degenerate or polluted,
Not using wrathful yogic activities
To destroy those with broken commitments, enemies, and obstructors,
Hypocrisy, hoarding, and so forth I confess.

DOR NA TOG ME DUN NE LE NYON GYI
WANG DU GYUR PE GON PO KYO NYI KYI
KU SUNG TUG DANG GEL WA GANG GYI PA
MA LU SAM PA TAG PE SHAG GYI NA

In short, whatever transgressions of your body, speech and mind,
Protector, I have committed under control of beginningless karma and delusions,
Without exception I confess from the depths of my heart.

TSE WAY PA ME CHE PAY BU TSA ZHIN
TUG JE CHEN PO ZO PA ZHE TZO LA
CHOG DANG TUN MONG NGO DRUB GYA TSO NAM
GEG ME DE LAG DU WAY TRIN LE TZO

Therefore, like a loving parent for their own beloved child,
Show forbearance out of great compassion
And exert enlightening influence to easily gather without obstruction,
Infinite attainments, common and supreme!

 

PRAISE (TOPA)

Composed by H.H. the 5th Dalai Lama

HUNG PE MA RA GAY LHUN PO TA DONG ME
LEN GYAR KYU PAY PEL TZIN SIN PO ZUG
JIG RUNG GAR GU NYAM KYI NAM ROL WA
CHO KOR KYONG WAY SUNG MA CHE LA TO

In raksha’s form, a ruby mountain glorious with a hundred-fold
Embrace of the southern ocean’s submarine fire,
Emanation in a dance of all possible fury,
Praise the great guardian Protector of the teachings!

ULA SEL TSER BAR WAY SE MOG GYON
LHAG LHAG O TONG KYUG PAG SE TRAB SOL
GA SAB CHE TZE CHANG SHE LA CHIB NE
SI SUM KE CHIG NYUL WA KYOL LA TO

Wearing brightly blazing leather helmet on your crown,
And leather mail glittering with exceedingly bright light,
Mounted on beautifully saddled, bridled wisdom horse,
Exploring the three realms in a single instant, praise to you!

MAG TSOG JE WA GYE PAY BENG CHEN CHAR
DRA GEG CHING WAY ZHAG PA TUG KAR TZIN
KE LA TAG REL ZIG SHUB REL DRI CHANG
TU DEN TSEN GO CHEN PO KYO LA TO

Raising great cudgel dispatching millions of armed hosts,
At heart holding the noose which binds enemies and obstructers
At belt hang tiger-skin quiver, leopard-skin bow case and sword
The powerful great wild ‘tsen’, praise to you!

KU SUNG TUG DANG YON TEN TRIN LE KYI
TRUL PA ZHI DANG TRO CHAG ROL GAR KEN
NAM GYUR CHIR YANG TEN PAY TU TSEL CHEN
LHA LU TSEN GO RIG GYUR NAM LA TO

Dancer who sends forth peaceful and wrathful emanations
Of body, speech and mind, qualities and activities,
With powerful ability to exhibit any appearance whatsoever
Praise to your transformations as wild ‘tsen’, devas and nagas!

BEN NGAG MON PA TAG SHAR A TSAR YA
TSEL LU JI LA TRUL NAG TRA TREU SOG
DRANG ME TRUL PA JIG RUNG KOR TSOG KYI
SA ZHI BAR NANG KYON KUN GENG HA TO

Monks, tantrikas, tribals, youths and clowns,
Cocks, cats, black snakes, apes & so forth,
Praise the numberless dreadful emanations
In your entourage which fill the expanse of earth and sky!

ZE TSANG SE KYI TEN PA RIN PO CHE
SHE DANG DRUB PE PEL WAY DU PAY DE
DE TZIN KYE BU GYU JOR JIN PAY DAG
YAR NGO DA TAR PEL ZHING GYE PAR TZO

Cause the precious teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni,
The assembly which spreads them through teaching and practice,
And the sponsors of those who uphold the teachings,
To increase and flourish like the waxing moon!

JIG TEN KUN TUN NE MUG TRUG TSO SOG
DU KYI CHE PA MA LU KUN ZHI NE
GYE TRI TSE TUB TZAM LING MI ZHIN DU
TZOG DEN SAR PAY TSE GA GO PAR TZO

In all worlds pacify interruption without exception,
Such as disease, starvation, arguments and conflict,
And, as when people live to 80,000 in Jambudvipa,
Set beings in perfection, fresh culmination of joy!

KYE PAR PA ROL CHIN DANG TSE MA SOG
GYEN DRUG CHOG NYI ZHUNG LUG TO SAM GYI
TEN LA BEB PAY DHARMA CENTERS TIDE
JE DRANG CHE KUN DAR ZHING GYE PAR TZO

Especially cause the spread and flourishing of all Dharma Centers,
Together with all its followers, those who understand
Through study, the two supreme and six ornaments’
Scriptures on the perfections, valid cognition and so forth.

DOR NA DAG CHAG GON NE MI NOR KUN
TEN SUNG CHEN PO KYO LA NYER TE NA
NYIN TSEN DU DRUG SUNG ZHING KYOB PA DANG
ZHI GYE WANG DRAG TRIN LE LHUN DRUB TZO

In brief, since we entrust to you, Great Dharmapala,
Our spiritual abode, people, property and all,
Protect us throughout day and night’s six periods,
And spontaneously exert peaceful, increasing, powerful and wrathful enlightening influence!

 

KANSHAG/KAWANG

An ocean of blood stirred by waves
Flowers of sense organs stacked in mounds
Smoke of burnt flesh gathered like clouds
Lamp of melted human fat, bright as the sun
Perfume of human grease filling vessels
Food to eat of flesh and bones
Various music thundering like a thousand dragons
Sturdy hard vajra armor which protects life
Various weapons which destroy enemies
Clever horse which traverse the billion worlds
Wish fulfilling cow bearing a stream of milk
Baboons, monkeys, cat and cocks
Goats, sheep, drong, yaks, elephants, lions and tigers
A mountain of torma soaring to the sky
Swirling lake of tea and beer to drink
Mount Sumeru, four lands, sun and moon
The seven royal objects and five senses
Thus, all wealth of humans and devas
Actually arranged and mentally envisioned
And blessed into a sky treasure, with this
May Setrap Chen’s heart commitments be fulfilled
May the six emanations’ heart commitments be fulfilled
May the infinite entourage’s heart commitments be fulfilled
May you fulfill commitments and restore degeneration!

 

SERKYM OFFERING

Golden drink offering – black tea, milk or yogurt. Composed by H.H. Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche

OM AH HUM (3x)

HUNG NGO DRUB CHAR BEB LA MA YI DAM LHA
TRIN LE DRUB TZE KA DRO CHO KYONG SOG
DO GU TSANG WAY SER KYEM CHO PA DI
BUL LO SUNG KYOB YEL WA ME PAR TZO (T)

Those who pour down the attainments, Gurus, yidam deities,
Performers of activity, dakinis, Dharmapalas, and so forth
This golden drink replete with all one could wish is offered;
Never waver in your protection! (T)

HRI KYE PAR GYEL WAY TEN PA SUNG WAY TSO
SE YI TRAB CHEN KOR DANG CHE NAM LA
DO GU TSANG WAY SER KYEM CHO PA DI
BUL LO SUNG KYOB YEL WA ME PAR TZO (T)**

HRI! Especially, principal guardian of the Conquerors’ Teachings,
Setrap Chen along with entourage to you
This golden drink replete with all one could wish is offered;
Never waver in your protection! (T)**

KU YI TRUL PA MI ZE MUN PAY ZUG
NEU LU TREN YANG TRUL PO NYAR CHE
DO GU TSANG WAY SER KYEM CHO PA DI
BUL LO DANG WAY DRA WO TSE NE CHO (T)

Body emanation of irresistible dark form,
And your emanated messengers, mongoose, and ‘tsen’,
This golden drink replete with all one could wish is offered;
Cut down hateful enemies! (T)

SUNG TRUL DU KYI ME CHE YO WAY GAR
TRO TUM DRAG SHUL TSEN GO PO NYAR CHE
DO GU TSANG WAY SER KYEM CHO PA DI
BUL LO LOG TAY DE PUNG CHAM LA POB (T)

Speech emanation dancing like fire of time’s end’s flames,
And messenger, wild ‘tsen’ with expression of fierce wrath,
This golden drink replete with all one could wish is offered;
Banish forces with distorted views completely! (T)

BUM TRAG TON DA TSEG PAY LANG TSO CHE
TUG KYI TRUL PA LHA RIG PO NYAR CHE
DO GU TSANG WAY SER KYEM CHO PA DI
BUL LO MI TUN BAR CHE ZHI WAR TZO (T)

With graceful beauty of hundred-thousand-fold autumn moons,
Mind emanation and messenger of deva family,
This golden drink replete with all one could wish is offered;
Pacify negative interferences! (T)

SI SUM YI WANG YE KYIL DUNG GI DRE
NYO JE JE YI GYEL PO PO NYAR CHE
DO GU TSANG WAY SER KYEM CHO PA DI
BUL LO TEN YO LEG TSOG WANG DU DU (T)

Crazer of the three realms’ beings’ minds with sounds
Of right-spiralling conch, and messenger, King of lords,
This golden drink replete with all one could wish is offered;
Powerfully attract all goodness of animate and inanimate worlds! (T)

LHUN DUG GANG RI DUM BU KYO PAY NYAM
YON TEN TRUL PA TER SUNG PO NYAR CHE
DO GU TSANG WAY SER KYEM CHO PA DI
BUL LO SI ZHI GE TSEN GYE PAR TZO (T)

With expression shaking the atoms of massive snow mountains,
Quality emanation and messenger, Guardian of treasures,
This golden drink replete with all one could wish is offered;
Increase all samsaric and nirvanic excellence! (T)

DUG CHEN TRAG GI SHER WAY SIN PO ZUG
TRIN LE TRUL PA TSEN GO PO NYAR CHE
DO GU TSANG WAY SER KYEM CHO PA DI
BUL LO NEL JOR LE LA TSEL MA ZHEN (T)

In form of a raksha, wet with vicious beings’ blood,
Activity emanation and messenger, wild tsen
This golden drink replete with all one could wish is offered;
In yogic activity be not weak of power! (T)

ZHEN YANG LHA LU TSEN DU A TSA RA
MON PA JIG RUNG DREG PAY MAG TSOG NAM
DO GU TSANG WAY SER KYEM CHO PA DI
BUL LO GEL KYEN SOL LA TUN KYEN DRUB (T)

Furthermore, devas, nagas, ‘tsen’, maras and tantrikas,
Tribal natives, and fearsome proud army forces,
This golden drink replete with all one could wish is offered;
Dispel contrary conditions and provide all facilities! (T)

(At the verse below, pour tea till finished:)
GYEL TEN SHE DRUB CHO ZHIN GYE PA DANG
DE TZIN LA MAY KU TSE TRIN LE PEL
NO PAY GEG DOG DANG DRA ZHOM PA DANG
CHOL WAY LE KUN TRIN LE YI ZHIN DRUB

Increase Buddhist Teaching and Practice in accord with Dharma,
Augment life span and spread activities of Gurus who uphold it,
Stop harmful obstructers and conquer hateful enemies,
And accomplish all requested aims with activity as wished!

Note: (T) – Pour tea once (T)** – Pour tea 21x or 108x (as instructed)

 

ENTHRONEMENT

HUNG NGO DRUB GYA TSO DE LAG TSOL TZE CHING
SA LAM BAR CHE MA LU KUN SEL WAY
DOR JE CHANG WANG TSA GYU LA MA DANG
YER ME JE TSUN DAM PAR NGA SOL LO

We enthrone you as The Holy Venerable One
Inseparable with root and lineage Vajradhara Gurus
Grantor of infinite easy attainments
And dispeller of all obstructions on the path without exception!

LUNG TOG YON TEN NGA DAG TZOG SANG GYE
ZHI ZHING DO CHAG KUN DREL DAM PAY CHO
ZHEN DON CHO PE MI NGEL GE DUN DE
KYAB SUM DU PAY NGO WOR NGA SOL LO

We enthrone you in the nature embodying the three refuges;
The fully enlightened, verbal and realised Dharma’s sovereign,
Holy Dharma, peaceful, freed from all attachment,
And Sangha, untiring in serving others’ welfare!

CHO YING CHE NE GANG DUL NA TSOG ZUG
CHU DA TA BUR MA DRE YONG SHAR WA
DRANG ME GYU DEY KYIL KOR KUN GYI TSO
YI DAM LHA YI NGO WOR NGA SOL LO

From emptiness’ great sphere, whatever various forms will subdue
Full distinctly appear like the moon’s reflection in water;
Principal of all tantric sets’ countless mandalas,
We enthrone you in nature of the yidam deity!

TZAM BU LING GI TSUG LAG KANG NAM DANG
TEN DANG TEN TZIN GE DUN DU PAY DE
MA LU KYONG TZE DOG MAR SIN PO ZUG
CHO KYONG YONG KYI TSO WOR NGA SOL LO

In form of a red raksha protecting, without exception,
The temple libraries of Jambudvipa
The teachings, and Sangha assembly upholding them,
We enthrone you as principal of all Dharmapalas!

TSUL ZHIN TEN CHING CHO PAY GANG ZAG LA
CHOG TUN NGO DRUB YI ZHIN WANG GI GYEL
DE LAG TSOL TZE YI ZHIN NOR BU TAR
RE WA KUN KANG GON POR NGA SOL LO (3x)

Powerful King granting all wished common and supreme attainments
To anyone who properly relies on and propitiates you;
Bestowing all easily like a wish-granting gem,
We enthrone you as Protector who fulfils all hopes! (3x)

DAG CHAG PON LOB KOR CHE GON KYO LA
NYER DU TE DO YEL ME SUNG WA DANG
MI TUN KUN ZHI CHI DO NGO DRUB KUN
SAM PA TSAM GYI DRUB PAR TZE DU SOL (3x)

We, master, disciples and entourage,
Entrust ourselves to you, Protector, guard us unceasingly!
Pacify all negative circumstances and grant accomplishment
Of whatever desired attainments at our mere wish! (3x)

Mantra: OM MAHA YAKCHA TSA SOHA (1x mala)

 

At the conclusion of any meritorious activities such as making offering, prayers, etc., it is essential to dedicate the merits that we have accumulated for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Completion Dedication

JANG-JUB SEM-CHOK RINPOCHE
MA-KYE PA-NAM KYE-GYUR CHIK
KYE-PA NYAM-PA ME-PA YANG
GONG-NA GONG-DU PEL-WAR SHUG

May the precious Bodhi-mind,
Where it is not born arise and grow
May that born have no decline
But increase forever more.

TONG-NI TONG-WA RINPOCHE
MA-KYE PA-NAM KYE-GYUR CHIK
KYE-PA NYAM-PA ME-PA YANG
GONG-NA GONG-DU PEL-WAR SHUG

May the precious Emptiness
Where it is not born arise and grow
May that born have no decline
But increase forever more.

DAG-SOG JIN-NYEH SAG-PA GE-WA DEE
TAN-DANG DRO-WA KUN-LA GANG-PHAN DANG
CHE-PAR JE-TSUN LO-ZANG DRAG-PA YI
TAN-PI NYING-PO RING-DU SAL-SHEH SHUG

May this merit accumulated by myself and others beneficially serve all sentient beings and the Buddhadharma and especially may the essential teachings of the unerring Master Tsongkhapa, become clear and enduring.

Prayer by Je Tsongkhapa
KYE-WA KUN-TU YANG-DAK LA-MA DANG
DRAL-ME CHO-KYI PAL-LA LONG-CHO CHING
SA-DANG LAM-GYI YON-TEN RAP-DZOK NA
DORJE CHANG-GI GO-PANG NYUR-TO SHUG

In all my rebirths may I not be parted from perfect Gurus,
Let me enjoy the abundance of the Dharma!
Perfecting the quality stages and paths
May I quickly attain the rank of Vajradhara Buddha.

Dedication of virtue
GE-WA DI-YI NYUR-DU DAK
LA-MA SANG-GYE DRUP-GYUR NA
DRO-WA CHIK-KYANG MA-LU PA
DE-YI SA-LA GO-PAR SHUG

By this virtue, may I quickly
Realize Guru-Buddhahood,
And transfer each sentient being
Into that Enlightened state.

CHO KHI GYAL PO TSONG KHA PA
CHO TSUL NAM PAR PHEL WA LA
GEK KI TSHAN MA ZHI WA DANG
THUN KYIN MA LU TSHANG WAR SHOK

May all conducive conditions arise
and all obstacles be pacified,
in order to increase infinitely,
the doctrine of the spiritual king, Tsongkhapa.

DA DANG SHEN GI DU SUM DANG
DRIL WA TSOK NYI LA TEN NAY
GYA WA LO ZANG DRAG PA YI
TAN PAR YUN RING VAR GYUR CHIG

By the merits of the 3 times of myself and others,
May the doctrine of Lama Tsongkhapa blaze forever.

Auspicious Dedication
NYIMO DELEK TSEN TELEK
NYIME GUNG YANG DELEK SHIN
NYITSEN TAKTU DELEK PEL
KON CHOK SUM GYI JIN GYI LOB
KON CHOK SUM GYI NGOR DRUL TSOL
KON CHOK SUM GYI TRA SHI SHOK

At dawn or dusk, at night or midday,
may the Three Jewels grant us their blessing,
may they help us to achieve all realisations
and sprinkle the paths of our lives with various signs of auspiciousness.

Dedication for the Guru’s long life
JETSUN LAMA KU TSE RABTEN CHING
NAMKAR TRINLEY CHOG CHUR GYE PA DANG
LOBSANG TENPE DRON ME SA SUM GYI
DRO WE MUNSEL TAKTUR NE GYUR CHIG

May the holy teachers have long lives.
May the enlightened activities be fully displayed in the ten directions,
and may the brightness of the teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa
continuously dissipate the veil of darkness covering the beings of the three realms.

Dedication for the long life of H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama
GANG RI RAWE KORWAI SHING KHAM DIR
PEN DANG DEWA MALU GYUNG WAI NE
CHENREZIG WANG TENZIN GYATSO YI
SHA PEI SITHAI BARDU DEN GYUR CHIG

In this holy Land surrounded by snow mountains,
You are the source of all benefit and happiness
May your lotus feet, O powerful Chenrezig, Tenzin Gyatso
Remain in this world until the end of existence.

Yonten Shigyurma – The Foundation of All Realisations

Well-realising that the root of the path
the foundation for every realisation,
is to properly rely on my kind Guru,
bless me to do so with great effort and devotion.

Knowing that this life of freedom, found but once,
is difficult to gain and greatly meaningful
bless me to develop the continual wish
all day and night to take its essence.

Mindful of death, this life disintegrates
as swiftly as a bubble in turbulent water
and after death my good and bad
karma follows me like my shadow.

Having gained firm certainty of this,
bless me to be ever conscientious
to abandon even the slightest harm
and practice every possible virtue.

Enjoying deceptive samsaric pleasure
brings no contentment and is the door to all suffering.
aware of its drawbacks, bless me to develop
a strong wish for the bliss of liberation.

With mindfulness, introspection, and great care
induced by that pure aspiration
bless me to make my essential practice
the Pratimoksha, root of Buddha’s teachings.

Just as I’ve fallen in this sea of suffering
so have all beings, my kind mothers;
seeing this, bless me to train in Bodhicitta,
taking up the burden of liberating them.

And yet, just wishing this, without practicing
the three ethics, Enlightenment cannot be attained.
knowing this well, please bless me to intensively
strive to train in the Bodhisattva vows.

Properly analysing the correct object
and pacifying distraction to mistaken objects
bless me to swiftly realise the path
which unifies quiescence and special insight.

When I’m a pure vessel, trained in common paths,
bless me to enter with perfect ease
the sacred gateway of fortunate ones,
the supreme of vehicles, Vajrayana.

Then, foundation for the two attainments
is keeping the pure vows and commitments.
having found unfeigned conviction in this
bless me to guard them with my life.

Having precisely understood the essentials
of the two stages, heart of the tantras,
bless me to strive without break in four sessions
to practice Yoga as taught by holy Masters.

May the spiritual guides who reveal this excellent path
and the friends who practice it all live long.
Please grant blessings that outer and inner
hindrances all be fully pacified.

In all lives may I never be parted
from perfect Masters and enjoy the glory of Dharma.
Perfecting realisations of the paths and stages,
may I swiftly gain the state of Vajradhara.

 

(At this point, one may also add other auspicious dedication prayers. These prayers may include: A Prayer for The Beginning, Middle and End, Praise to Vajrayogini, The King of Prayers and Shantideva’s Dedication Prayer)

Click here to download and print in Word format.

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Eight Verses of Mind Transformation

by Geshe Langri Tangpa

 

With the thought of attaining Enlightenment
For the welfare of all beings,
Who are more precious than a wish–fulfilling jewel,
I will constantly practise holding them dear.

Whenever I am with others,
I will practise seeing myself as the lowest of all,
And from the very depths of my heart
I will respectfully hold others as supreme.

In all actions I will examine my mind
And the moment a disturbing attitude arises,
Endangering myself or others,
I will firmly confront and avert it.

Whenever I meet a person of bad nature,
Overwhelmed by negative energy and intense suffering,
I will hold such a rare one dear
As if I’ve found a precious treasure.

When others out of jealousy,
Mistreat me with abuse, slander and so on,
I will practise accepting defeat
And offering the victory to them.

When someone I have benefited and in whom
I have placed great trust hurts me very badly,
I will practise seeing that person
As my supreme teacher.

In short, I will offer directly and indirectly
Every benefit and happiness to all beings, my mothers.
I will practise in secret taking upon myself
All their harmful actions and sufferings.

Without these practices being defiled
By the stains of the eight worldly concerns,
By perceiving all phenomena as illusory,
I will practise without grasping to release all beings
From the bondage of the disturbing unsubdued mind and karma.

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Offering The Mandala

Symbolic of offering the universe

 

Short Mandala Offering

SA ZHI PO KYI JUG SHING ME TOG TRAM
RI RAB LING ZHI NYI DAY GYAN PA DI
SANG GYE ZHING DU MIG TAY UL WAR GYI
DRO KUN NAM DAG ZHING LA CHO PAR SHOG

This ground, anointed with perfume, flowers strewn,
Mount Meru, four lands, sun and moon,
imagined as Buddha-land and offered to you.
May all beings enjoy this pure land.

IDAM GURU RATNA MANDALAKAM NIRAYATAYAMI

 

Long Mandala Offering

OM VAJRA ground AH HUM, mighty golden ground.
OM VAJRA fence AH HUM, the iron fence around the edge; in the centre is Mount Meru, the king of mountains. In the east the continent Lupagpo; in the south, the continent Dzambuling; in the west, the continent Balangcho; in the north, the continent Draminyan. In the east are the sub-continents Lu and Lupag; in the south Ngayab and Ngayabzhan; the west Yodan and Lamchogdro; in the north Draminyan and Draminyan Gyida.

In the east, the treasure mountain, in the south the wish-granting tree, in the west the wish-granting cow, in the north the uncultivated crops.

Here are the precious wheel, the precious jewel, the precious queen, the precious minister, the precious elephant, the precious horse, the precious general, the great treasure vase.

Here are the goddess of beauty, the goddess of garlands, the goddess of song, the goddess of dance, the goddess of flowers, the goddess of incense, the goddess of light and the goddess of perfume.

Here are the sun, the moon, the precious parasol, the banner of victory in all directions and in the center are the most perfect riches of gods and humans, with nothing missing, pure and delightful.

To my glorious, holy and most kind root Guru, the lineage Gurus, and in particular to the great Lama Tsongkhapa, Buddha who is the King of Sages, Vajradhara, and the entire assembly of deities, I offer these as a Buddha-field. Please accept them with compassion, for the sake of migrating beings. Having accepted them, please bestow on me and on mother sentient beings abiding as far as the limits of space, your inspiration with loving compassion.

IDAM GURU RATNA MANDALAKAM NIRAYATAYAMI

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Other Preliminary Prayers

More merit-generating prayers

Homage to the Buddha

LAMA TON PA CHON DEN DAY DAY SHIN SHEG PA
DRA CHOM PA YANG DAG PA DZOG PAY SANG GYE
PAL GYAL WA SHAKYA TU PA LA
CHAG TSAL CHING KYAB SU CHI WO CHO DO
JIN GYI LAP TU SOL

To the Guru and founder, the endowed transcendent destroyer,
the one gone beyond, the foe destroyer, the completely perfected, fully awakened,
the glorious conqueror, the subduer for the Shakya clan,
I prostrate, go for refuge and make offerings. Please inspire me.

Mantra: TAYATHA OM MUNI MUNI MAHA MUNI SHAKYAMUNI YE SOHA (7x)

 

Offering Praise

TAM CHE DU NI SA ZHI DAG
SEG MA LA SOG MAY PA DANG
LAG TIL TAR NYAM BAR DU YE
RANG ZHIN JAM POR NAY GYUR CHIG

Everywhere may the ground be pure,
free of the roughness of pebbles and so forth.
May it be the nature of lapis
and as smooth as the palm of one’s hand.

 

Offering Prayer

LHA DANG MI YI SHO PAY DZAY
NGO SU SHAM DANG YI KYI TRUL
KUN ZANG CHO DRIN LA NA MAY
NAM KAY KAM KUYN KYAB GYUR CHIG

May the offering substances both human and divine,
those actual and those which are emanated,
unsurpassed Samantabhadra clouds of offerings,
fill the entire space.

 

Offering Cloud Dharini

It is taught in the sutras that this brings infinite benefits such as raining a great rain of offerings in front of the conquerors and their children.

OM NAMO RATRANAYAYA NAMO BHAGAWATE BENZA SARA PRAMADINYE TATHAGATAYA ARHATE SAMYAK SAM BUDDHAYA TAYATA OM BENZE BENZE MAHA BENZE MAHA TESHA BENZE MAHA VIDDHYA BENZE MAHA BODHICHITTA BENZE MAHA BODHI MANDROPA SAM KRAMANA BENZE SARVA KARMA VARONA BHIKSHU DANA BENZE SOHA

 

Heart Of Dependent Arising

OM YE DHARMA HETU PRABHAVA HAYTUNTE SHAN TATAGATO HAYWADAT TESHAN TSAYO NIRODHA EWAM WADI MAHA SHRAMANAYE SOHA

 

Condensed Heart Sutra

MASAM CHOME SHERAB PAROL CHIN
MASHE MAGA NAMKEY NGO WO NYI
SOSOR RANGRIG YESHE CHOYUL WA
DUDUN GYELWAY YUM-LA CHAG TSAL LO

Mantra: TAYATHA OM GATEY GATEY PARAGATEY PARASAMGATEY BODHI SOHA (7x)

 

Request to Turn the Wheel of Dharma

JE-TSUN LA-MA DAM-PA CHEY-NAM KYI
CHO-KU KA-LA CHEN-TI TIN-TIK NEY
JI-TAR TSAM-PI DUL-SHIH DZIN-MA LA
ZAB-JI CHO-KYI CHAR-PA WHAP-TU SOL

All you holy Gurus, unerring in conduct, may you precipitate a rain of realisation of Bodhicitta and Shunyata from the clouds of all-knowing compassion which fills the Dharmakaya sky, providing for the field of disciples precisely what is needed.

 

Invocation

MA LU SEM CHEN KUN GYI GON GYUR CHING
DU TE PUNG CHAY MI ZAY JOM DZAY LHA
NGO NAM MA LU YANG DA KYEN GYUR PAY
CHOM DEN KOR CHAY NAY DIR SHEG SU SOL

Protector of all beings without exception, divine subduer of innumerable negative forces, deity, perfect knower of all things, Bhagawan and attendants, please come here.

 

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Taking Refuge and Generating Bodhicitta

Starting the prayer session

NAMO GURU BEH
NAMO BUDDHA YA
NAMO DHARMA YA
NAMO SANGHA YA (3x)

I take refuge in the Guru
I take refuge in the Buddha
I take refuge in the Dharma
I take refuge in the Sangha (3x)

 

SANG GYE CHO DANG TSOG KYI CHOG NAM LA
JANG CHUB BAR DU DAG NI KYAB SU CHI
DAG GI JIN SOK GYI PAY SO NAM KYI
DRO LA PAN CHIR SANG GYE DRUB PAR SHOG (3x)

I take refuge until I am enlightened in the Buddhas, the Dharma and the Sangha. By the positive potential I create by practising generosity and the other far-reaching attitudes, may I attain Buddhahood in order to benefit all sentient beings. (3x)

 

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The Four Immeasurables

Love, Compassion, Joy, Equanimity

SEM CHEN TAM CHE DAY WA DANG DAY WAY GYU DANG DEN PAR GYUR CHIG
SEM CHEN TAM CHE DUG NGEL DANG DUG NGEL KYI GYU DANG DREL WAR GYUR CHIG
SEM CHEN TAM CHE DUG NGEL MAY PAY DAY WA DANG MI DREL WAR GYUR CHIG
SEM CHEN TAM CHE NYE RING CHAG DANG NYI DANG DREL WAY DANG NYOM LA NAY PAR GYUR CHIG

May all sentient beings have happiness and its causes,
May all sentient beings be free of suffering and its causes,
May all sentient beings never be separated from sorrowless bliss,
May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free of bias, attachment and anger.

 

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The Nine Attitudes of Devotion to the Guru

The heart of the path

My compassionate Root Guru, most outstanding, even superior to all Buddhas! This disciple is supplicating to You; please bless me so that in all my lives I will take refuge with great reverence in Your Meritorious Holiness!

Fully understanding that abiding, in accordance with the Dharma, under the patronage of my compassionate Guru who is the root of all merits is the foundation of pure happiness, this disciple takes refuge in You with sincere reverence, and will not withdraw even at the cost of my life!

Contemplating over the importance of my meritorious Guru so as to yield complete control of myself over to my Guru’s guidance.

The nine attitudes of devotion to the Guru:

1. That of a filial child. Like a filial child, one thoroughly carries out the instructions of the Guru without the slightest deviation.

2. That of a Vajra. Like a Vajra that cannot be split apart, even when facing division created by devils or bad associates, one will never split away from the Guru.

3. That of the Earth. Like the Earth carrying everything in the world, one shoulders all assignments ordered by the Guru.

4. That of the Iron Circle of Mountains. Like everlasting mountains, while abiding under the patronage of the Guru one endures hardships and sufferings without ever swaying in one’s determination.

5. That of a servant. Like an obedient servant, even when one is obliged to carry out very difficult assignments one holds no grudges in one’s heart.

6. That of a sweeper. Like a humble sweeper, one renounces self-pride and regards oneself as inferior to the Guru.

7. That of a rope. Like a continuous rope, one rejoices in carrying on the Dharma activities of the Guru, regardless of its degree of difficulty and heaviness of load.

8. That of a domestic dog. Like a loyal dog, even when the Guru ridicules, irritates or ignores one, one never responds with anger.

9. That of a boat. Like a ferry one goes back and forth on the Guru’s assignments without any discontent.

My virtuous and precious Root Guru, please bless this disciple to be able to practise as described above! From this moment onward, throughout endless future lives, may this disciple be able to take refuge in Your Holiness in this way!

Through recitation of these words and inner reflection over their meanings, in all future times one will be fortunate enough to abide, in accordance with the Dharma, under the patronage of the precious Guru from life to life.

If one can, based on these nine attitudes, serve, venerate and make offerings to the precious Guru, then even without deliberate cultivation many virtuous merits will be developed, huge amounts of spiritual stocks will be accumulated, and even up to one’s speedy attainment of perfect Buddhahood will be realised.

 

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Advice from Atisha’s Heart

Given at the request of Jangchub Ö

When Venerable Atisha came to Tibet, he first went to Ngari, where he remained for two years giving many teachings to the disciples of Jang Chub Ö. After two years had passed, he decided to return to India, and Jang Chub Ö requested him to give one last teaching before he left. Atisha replied that he had already given them all the advice they needed, but Jang Chub Ö persisted in his request and so Atisha accepted and gave the following advice.

How wonderful!

Friends, since you already have great knowledge and clear understanding, whereas I am of no importance and have little wisdom, it is not suitable for you to request advice from me. However, because you dear friends, whom I cherish from my heart, have requested me, I shall give you this essential advice from my inferior and childish mind.

Friends, until you attain Enlightenment the Spiritual Teacher is indispensable, therefore rely upon the holy Spiritual Guide.

Until you realize ultimate truth, listening is indispensable, therefore listen to the instructions of the Spiritual Guide.

Since you cannot become a Buddha merely by understanding Dharma, practise earnestly with understanding.

Avoid places that disturb your mind, and always remain where your virtues increase.

Until you attain stable realizations, worldly amusements are harmful, therefore abide in a place where there are no such distractions.

Avoid friends who cause you to increase delusions, and rely upon those who increase your virtue. This you should take to heart.

Since there is never a time when worldly activities come to an end, limit your activities.

Dedicate your virtues throughout the day and the night, and always watch your mind.

Because you have received advice, whenever you are not meditating always practise in accordance with what your Spiritual Guide says.

If you practise with great devotion, results will arise immediately, without your having to wait for a long time.

If from your heart you practise in accordance with Dharma, both food and resources will come naturally to hand.

Friends, the things you desire give no more satisfaction than drinking sea water, therefore practise contentment.

Avoid all haughty, conceited, proud, and arrogant minds, and remain peaceful and subdued.

Avoid activities that are said to be meritorious, but which in fact are obstacles to Dharma.

Profit and respect are nooses of the maras, so brush them aside like stones on the path.

Words of praise and fame serve only to beguile us, therefore blow them away as you would blow your nose.

Since the happiness, pleasure, and friends you gather in this life last only for a moment, put them all behind you.

Since future lives last for a very long time, gather up riches to provide for the future.

You will have to depart leaving everything behind, so do not be attached to anything.

Generate compassion for lowly beings, and especially avoid despising or humiliating them.

Have no hatred for enemies, and no attachment for friends.

Do not be jealous of others’ good qualities, but out of admiration adopt them yourself.

Do not look for faults in others, but look for faults in yourself, and purge them like bad blood.

Do not contemplate your own good qualities, but contemplate the good qualities of others, and respect everyone as a servant would.

See all living beings as your father or mother, and love them as if you were their child.

Always keep a smiling face and a loving mind, and speak truthfully without malice.

If you talk too much with little meaning you will make mistakes, therefore speak in moderation, only when necessary.

If you engage in many meaningless activities your virtuous activities will degenerate, therefore stop activities that are not spiritual.

It is completely meaningless to put effort into activities that have no essence.

If the things you desire do not come it is due to karma created long ago, therefore keep a happy and relaxed mind.

Beware, offending a holy being is worse than dying, therefore be honest and straightforward.

Since all the happiness and suffering of this life arise from previous actions, do not blame others.

All happiness comes from the blessings of your Spiritual Guide, therefore always repay his kindness.

Since you cannot tame the minds of others until you have tamed your own, begin by taming your own mind.

Since you will definitely have to depart without the wealth you have accumulated, do not accumulate negativity for the sake of wealth.

Distracting enjoyments have no essence, therefore sincerely practise giving.

Always keep pure moral discipline for it leads to beauty in this life and happiness hereafter.

Since hatred is rife in these impure times, don the armour of patience, free from anger.

You remain in samsara through the power of laziness, therefore ignite the fire of the effort of application.

Since this human life is wasted by indulging in distractions, now is the time to practise concentration.

Being under the influence of wrong views you do not realize the ultimate nature of things, therefore investigate correct meanings.

Friends, there is no happiness in this swamp of samsara, so move to the firm ground of liberation.

Meditate according to the advice of your Spiritual Guide and dry up the river of samsaric suffering.

You should consider this well because it is not just words from the mouth, but sincere advice from the heart.

If you practise like this you will delight me, and you will bring happiness to yourself and others.

I who am ignorant request you to take this advice to heart.

(This is the advice that the holy being Venerable Atisha gave to Venerable Jang Chub Ö.)

 

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Light Offering Prayer

Composed by Lama Atisha

You can recite this prayer when making individual light offering. After lighting a candle, a butter lamp, or any form of light, this prayer can be recited in conjunction with the visualisation described below.

 

May the light of the lamp be equal to the great three thousand worlds and their environments,
May the wick of the lamp be equal to the king of mountains – Mount Meru.
May the butter be equal to the infinite ocean.
May there be billions of trillions of lamps in the presence of each and every Buddha.
May the light illuminate the darkness of ignorance of all sentient beings
From the peak of samsara down to the most torturous hell,
Whereby they can see directly and clearly all the ten directions’ Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and their pure lands.

 

OM VAJRA ALOKE AH HUM
E MA HO

 

I offer these beautifully exalted clear and luminous lights
To the thousand Buddhas of the fortunate eon,
To all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the infinite pure lands and of the ten directions,
To all the Gurus, Yidams, dakas, dakinis, Dharma Protectors, and the assembly of deities of all mandalas,
Due to this, may my father, mother, and all sentient beings in this life and in all their future lives,
Be able to see directly the actual pure lands of the complete and perfect Buddhas,
May they unify with Buddha Amitabha in inseparable oneness,
Please bless me and may my prayers be actualised as soon as possible,
Due to the power of the truth of the Three Jewels and the assembly of deities of the three roots.

 

TAYATHA OM PÄNCHA GRIYA AVA BODHANI SO HA (7x)

 

Visualisation

The light transforms into single brilliant five-colour wisdom.
On a lotus and moon-disc the syllables OM and DHI appear.
From there, one hundred and eight beautiful goddesses of light, Marmema, appear, wearing beautiful garments and precious garlands.
Every goddess holds lights in her hands and from them emanate billions of trillions of infinite replicas of light-offering goddesses.
All of them make light offerings uninterruptedly to all the Buddhas in the Buddha-fields throughout all of space and to the peaceful and wrathful deities.

 

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General Prayers

Mantras to increase merit

Multiplying Mantra

It was stated in the Sutras that when you recite this mantra seven times (7x) in the morning, all the virtuous actions performed by you during the day, including recitation of mantras, will be multiplied by a hundred thousand times. Therefore, this is an excellent mantra to recite every morning for you to multiply the merits of the virtuous activities carried out throughout the day.

OM SAMBHARA SAMBHARA VIMANA SARA MAHA JAVA HUNG
OM MARA MARA VIMANA SARA MAHA JAVA HUNG (7x)

 

Prostrations

While reciting the following mantra, prostrate three times. Reciting this mantra multiplies the benefit of each prostration by one hundred thousand times and enables one to actualize the “path of seeing” in this lifetime. The physical action of prostrating purifies mainly the negative karmas of the body. The verbal action of reciting the mantra exalts the Buddhas by declaring their supreme power and knowledge. It purifies negative karmas of speech. The mental action of remembering the supreme power and knowledge of the Buddhas arouses faith. It purifies the negative karmas of the mind.

OM NAMO MANJUSHRIYE NAMAH SUSHRIYE NAMAH UTTAMA SHRIYE SVAHA (3x)

Continue to prostrate while reciting either Homage to the Buddha or The Bodhisattva’s Confession of Moral Downfalls while visualizing the Thirty-five Confessional Buddhas. Prostrate to each holy object in your room, or to each of the Thirty-five Confessional Buddhas, and think that they are the embodiment of your root virtuous friend as well as the embodiment of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

 

Blessing the Rosary

It was mentioned in the Tantra “Palace of Vast Jewels” that reciting this mantra seven times, and blowing it onto your rosary and rubbing it, will increase the power of your recitation such that each recitation creates the same merit and power as having reciting all the Secret Mantras taught by the holy Buddhas 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times.

OM RUTSIRA MANI PRAWA TAYA HUNG (7x)

 

Blessing the feet

Every day you create and collect negative karmas of killing knowingly (eating meat, killing pests, etc.) and unknowingly (stepping over insects etc.). With altruistic motivation, the following are highly recommended to prevent you from collecting negative karmas from killing and to bless the deceased creatures with better rebirths.

When you recite this mantra three times (3x) and then spit on the soles of your feet, it ensures that you do not create the negative karma when you inadvertently step on and kill any living creature, e.g. ants, during the course of the day. It also helps the sentient being to have a good rebirth.

OM KHE TSARA GHANA HUM HRI SOHA (3x)

 

Blessing the Meat

When you recite this mantra seven times (7x) over any meat you eat, it purifies the fault of eating meat (i.e. the non-virtuous action of killing) and blesses the sentient being whose flesh you are eating to have a good rebirth.

OM ABIRA KHE TSARA HUNG (7x)

 

Special Mantras to Increase the Merit 100,000 times

CHOM DEN DAY DE ZHIN SHEG PA DRA CHOM PA YANG DAG PAR DZOG PEY SANG GYE NAM PAR NANG DZEY Ö KYI GYEL PO LA CHAG TSEL LO (3x)

JANG CHUB SEM PA SEM PA CHEN PO KUN TU ZANG PO LA CHAG TSEL LO (3x)

TAYATHA OM PENCHA GRIYA AVA BODHANI SOHA OM DHURU DHURU JAYA MUKHE SOHA (7x)

 

Special Mantra so that Prayers Made Come to Pass

CHOM DEN DEY DE ZHIN SHEG PA DRA CHOM PA YANG DAG PAR DZOG PEY SANG GYE NGO WA DANG MON LAM THAM CHEY [RAB TU DU PEY] GYEL PO LA CHAG TSEL LO (1x or 3x)

 

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50 Verses of Guru Devotion

Composed by Ashvagosha

1. Bowing in the proper way to the lotus feet of my Guru, who is the cause for me to attain the state of a glorious Vajrasattva, I shall condense and explain in brief what has been said in many stainless tantric texts about Guru-devotion. (Therefore) listen with respect.

2. All the Buddhas of the past, present and future, residing in every land in the ten directions, have paid homage to the Tantric Masters from whom they have received the highest initiations. (Is there need to mention that you should too?)

3. Three times each day, with supreme faith, you must show your respect to your Guru who teaches you (the tantric path), by pressing your palms together, offering a mandala as well as flowers and prostrating (touching) your head to his feet.

4. Those who hold ordination vows, if (your Guru) is a layman or your junior, prostrate (in public) while facing such things as his scriptural texts in order to avoid worldly scorn. But in your mind (prostrate to your Guru).

5. As for serving (your Guru) and showing him respect, such as obeying what he says, standing up (when he comes) and showing him to his seat — these should be done even by those with ordination vows (whose Gurus are laymen or their juniors). But (in public), avoid prostrating and unorthodox actions (such as washing his feet).

6. In order for the words of honour of neither the Guru nor the disciple to degenerate, there must be a mutual examination beforehand (to determine if each can) brave a Guru-disciple relationship.

7. A disciple with sense should not accept as his Guru someone who lacks compassion or who is angersome, vicious or arrogant, possessive, undisciplined or boasts of his knowledge.

8. (A Guru should be) stable (in his actions), cultivated (in his speech), wise, patient and honest. He should neither conceal his shortcomings, nor pretend to possess qualities he lacks. He should be an expert in the meanings (of tantra) and in its ritual procedures (of medicine and turning back obstacles). Also he should have loving compassion and a complete knowledge of the scriptures.

9. He should have full experience in all ten fields, skill in the drawing of mandalas, full knowledge of how to explain the tantras, supreme faith and his senses fully under control.

10. Having become the disciple of such a protecting (Guru), should you then despise him from your heart, you will reap continual suffering as if you had disparaged all the Buddhas.

11. If you are so foolish as to despise your Guru, you will contract contagious diseases and those caused by harmful spirits. You will die (a horrible death) caused by demons, plagues or poison.

12. You will be killed by (wicked) kings or fire, by poisonous snakes, water, witches or bandits, by harmful spirits or savages, and then be reborn in a hell.

13. Never disturb you Guru’s mind. Should you be foolish and happen to do this, you will surely boil in hell.

14. Whatever fearful hells have been taught, such as Avici, the Hell of Uninterrupted pain, it is clearly explained that those who disparage their Gurus will have to remain there (a very long time).

15. Therefore, exert yourself wholeheartedly never to belittle your Tantric Master who makes no display of his great wisdom and virtues.

16. (If from a lack of awareness you have shown disrespect) to your Guru, reverently present an offering to him and seek his forgiveness. Then in the future such harms and plagues will not befall you.

17. It has been taught that for the Guru to whom you have pledged your word of honour (to visualize as one with your meditational deity), you should willingly sacrifice your wife, children and even your life, although these are not (easy) to give away. Is there need to mention your fleeting weath?

18. (Such practice of offering) can confer even Buddhahood on a zealous (disciple) in his very lifetime, which otherwise might be difficult to attain even in countless millions of eons.

19. Always keep your word of honour. Always make offerings to the Enlightened Ones. Always make offerings also to your Guru, for he is the same as all the Buddhas.

20. Those who wish (to attain) the inexhaustible (state of a Buddha’s Wisdom Body) should give to their Guru whatever they themselves find pleasing, from the most trifling objects to those of best quality.

21. Giving (to your Guru) is the same as making continual offerings to all the Buddhas. From such giving, much merit is gathered. From such collection comes the supreme powerful attainment (of Buddhahood).

22. Therefore, a disciple with the good qualities of compassion, generosity, moral self-control and patience should never regard his Guru and the Buddha Vajradhara as different.

23. If you should never tread even on (your Guru’s) shadow, because the fearsome consequences are the same as destroying a stupa, is there need to mention never stepping on or over his shoes or seat, (sitting in his place or riding) his mount?

24. (A disciple) having great sense should obey the words of his Guru joyfully and with enthusiasm. If you lack the knowledge or ability (to do what he says), explain in (polite) words why you cannot (comply).

25. It is from your Guru that powerful attainments, higher rebirth and happiness come. Therefore, make a wholehearted effort never to transgress your Guru’s advice.

26. (Guard) your Guru’s belongings as you would your own life. Treat even your Guru’s beloved (family) with the same (respect you show for him). (Have affectionate regard for) those closely around him as if they were your own dearest kin. Single-mindedly think (in this way) at all times.

27. Never sit on the (same) bed or seat (as your Guru), nor walk ahead of him. (At teachings do not) wear your hair in a top-knot, (a hat, shoes or any weapons). Never touch a seat (before he sits down), or if he happens to sits on the ground. Do not place your hands (proudly) on your hips or wring them (before him).

28. Never sit or recline while your Guru is standing (nor lie while he is sitting). Always be ready to stand up and serve him skillfully in an excellent manner.

29. In the presence of your Guru, never do such things as spit, (cough or sneeze without covering your mouth). Never stretch out your legs when at your seat, nor walk back and forth (without reason before him), and never argue.

30. Never massage or rub your limbs. Do not sing, dance or play musical instruments (for other than religious purposes). And never chatter idly or speak in excess (or too loudly) within the range of (your Guru’s) hearing.

31. (When your Guru enters the room) get up from your seat and bow your head slightly. Sit (in his presence) respectfully. At night, at rivers or on dangerous paths, with (your Guru’s) permission, you may walk before him.

32. In the direct sight of his Guru, (a disciple) with sense should not (sit) with his body twisted around, nor lean (casually) against pillars and such. Never crack your knuckles, (play with your fingers or clean your nails).

33. When washing (your Guru’s) feet or his body, drying, massaging (or shaving) him, precede such actions with (three) prostrations and at their conclusion do the same. Then attend (to yourself) as much as you like.

34. Should you need to address (your Guru) by his name, add the title “Your Presence” after it. To generate respect for him in others, further honorifics may also be used.

35. When asking for your Guru’s advice, first announce why you have come. With palms pressed together at your heart, listen to what he tells you, without (letting your mind) wander about. Then (when he has spoken), you should reply, “I shall do exactly as you have said.”

36. After doing (what your Guru has told you), report (what has happened) in polite, gentle words. Should you yawn or cough, (clear your throat or laugh in his presence), cover your mouth with your hand.

37. If you wish to receive a certain teaching, request three times with your palms pressed together, while before him on your (right) knee. (Then at his discourse), sit humbly and with respect, wearing appropriate clothing that is neat (and clean, without ornaments, jewelry or cosmetics).

38. Whatever you do to serve (your Guru) or show him respect, should never be done with an arrogant mind. Instead you should be like a newlywed bride, timid, bashful and very subdued.

39. In the presence of (the Guru) who teaches you (the Path), stop acting in a conceited, coquettish manner. As for boasting to others what you have done (for your Guru), examine (your conscience) and discard all such acts.

40. If you are (requested) to perform a consecration, (an initiation into) a mandala, a fire puja or to gather disciples and deliver a discourse, you may not do so if your Guru resides in that area, unless you receive his prior permission.

41. Whatever offerings you receive from performing such rites as (the consecration known as) “Opening the Eyes”, you should present all these to your Guru. Once he has taken a token portion, you may use the rest for whatever you like.

42. In the presence of his Guru, a disciple should not act (as a Guru) to his own disciples and they should not act towards him as their Guru. Therefore (before your own Guru), stop (your disciples) from showing you respect such as rising (when you come) and making prostrations.

43. Whenever you make an offering to your Guru, or whenever your Guru presents you with something, a disciple with sense will (present and) receive this, using both hands and with his head slightly bent.

44. Be diligent in all your actions, (alert and) mindful never to forget (your word of honour). If fellow disciples transgress (what is proper) in their behaviour, correct each other in a friendly manner.

45. If because of sickness you are physically (unable) to bow to your Guru and must do what normally would be prohibited, even without (his explicit) permission, there will be no unfortunate consequences if you have a virtuous mind.

46. What need is there to say much more. Do whatever pleases your Guru and avoid doing anything he would not like. Be diligent in both of these.

47. “Powerful attainments follow from (doing what) your Guru (likes).” This has been said by (the Buddha) Vajradhara himself. Knowing this, try to please your Guru fully with all the actions (of your body, speech and mind).

48. After a disciple has taken refuge in the Triple Gem and developed a pure (Enlightened) motive, he should be given this (text) to take to his heart (how to abandon his own arrogant self-will and) follow in his Guru’s footsteps (along the Graded Path to Enlightenment).

49. (By studying the prerequisite trainings of Guru-devotion and the Graded Path, common to both the Sutra and Tantra,) you will become a (suitable) vessel (to hold) the pure Dharma. You may then be given such teachings as Tantra. (After receiving the proper initiations,) recite out loud the fourteen root vows and take them sincerely to your heart.

50. As I have not made the mistake (of adding my personal interpretation) when writing this work, may this be of infinite benefit to all disciples who would follow their Guru. By the limitless merit I have gathered in this way, may all sentient beings quickly attain Buddhahood.

 

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Long-life Prayer by Kensur Konchok Tsering Rinpoche

For more information, click here.

Notes:

* Traditionally, the Lama’s incarnate name is not written in the long-life prayers; only his ordained named is used. However, for the benefit of all non-Tibetan disciples, this translation includes the Lama’s incarnation name – Tsem Rinpoche.

 

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Long-life Prayer by Trijang Choktrul Rinpoche

For more information, click here.

 

赤江仁波切著    黃奕彥译师译

《詹杜固仁波切长寿祈请文》

諸佛三密秋月春韶華，
長生笑顏十萬白光鬘，
長壽勝天聖者多哩母，
百欲善樂加持今此護。

持教俱祗發心大水藏，
安忍鎧甲底際難測量，
掌持功德寶庫勝知識，
守護如海化機願永駐。

勝者聖教之日光明熾，
破除眾生冥暗大恩尊，
善現成為我等化機榮，
妙顏相好百光常照耀。

妙音怙主之宗雲裳衣，
柔軟輕盈見行互為助，
了不了言無違成一練，
善說大善知識願永駐。

無明魔鬼驅使弟子眾，
無敬凡庸現象常相伴，
無信邪計未如教行等，
無違至心求恕令師悅。

總願我等弟子暨施主，
最勝引導上師爾欣然，
以法甘露雨霖熟相續，
迅速獲得離障法身性。

 

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A Black Manjushri Sadhana

Black Manjushri is the wrathful healing form of Manjushri that helps us to heal our deep inner negative emotions and mental suffering that arise due to sickness or problems; it is also a powerful antidote against the harm and disturbances caused by negative astrological influences.

Benefits of the Practice

Amongst the numerous benefits of this practice it particularly helps, both mentally and physically, those suffering from so-called “incurable” diseases such as AIDS and cancer. It helps us to confront and deal with the negative emotions, such as anger, depression, fear and denial, which arise when we are challenged by such diseases or when we are confronted with problems in our daily life.

This practice also enables us to purify astrological mistakes that happen, for example, when we perform marriage or cremation ceremonies or cut down trees on astrologically inauspicious days. It gives us the opportunity to stop our energy flowing, at the cause of astrological influences, into the wrong path. In fact, through the recitation of Black Manjushri mantras we protect ourselves from inauspicious and malevolent astrological elements, caused by conjunctions, transits, oppositions, eclipses, comets and other celestial phenomena that could result in sicknesses, accidents, loss of property, social problems and discouraging life experiences.

Completing this practice also stops the harm of black magic and protects us from the interferences of spirits such as nagas who cause plagues, leprosy, possessions and contagious viral epidemics.

Black Manjushri protects us from the four maras that hinder our spiritual practice and success, and halts the negative actions of all malefic beings and geg spirits that obstruct the attainment of long-life. This practice stops the superstitious and fearful projections we create, for example when we walk alone in the dark, as well as those relating to digging the earth, cutting trees and moving rocks where nagas abide.

 

How to do this Practice

This practice is most effective when completed daily before sunrise. We should sit facing the east in the cross-legged lotus posture. Following a vegetarian diet, avoiding strong alcohol drinks, garlic, onions and sesame all strengthen this practice. However, if it is not possible for us to follow these indications we should do the practice whenever possible and however we feel comfortable.

 

Taking Refuge

Namo Gurubye
Namo Buddhaya
Namo Dharmaya
Namo Sanghaya
Namo Triratnaya (3x)

 

The Seven Limitless Meditations

1. Semchen Tamche Dewa Dang Dewai Gyu Dang Denpar Gyur Chik
2. Semchen Tamche Dungal Dang Dungal Gyi Gyu Dang Drelwar Gyur Chik
3. Semchen Tamche Dungal Mepai Dewa Dang Min Drelwar Gyur Chik
4. Semchen Tamche Nyering Chak Dang Nyi Dang Drelwei Tang Nyom La Ne Par Gyur Chik
5. Semchen Tamche Lu Sem Gyi Du Ngal So Shing Trai Yun Lu Sem De Wa Dang Den Par Gyur Chik
6. Semchen Tamche Ngalso Topching Chinang Nogchu Koryuk Dangshing Tsangmar Ne Gyur Chik
7. Semchen Tamche Dang Zambuling Gi Kye Dro Tadag Chyi Nang Ghi Shide Dhan Dhuekun Denpar Gyur Chik

Limitless Love – May all beings have happiness and its causes.
Limitless Compassion – May all beings be free from suffering and its causes.
Limitless Joy – May all beings never be separated from the great happiness that is beyond all misery.
Limitless Equanimity – May all beings always dwell in equanimity, unaffected by attraction to dear ones and aversion to others.
Limitless Health – May all beings recover from the sicknesses of mind and body pollution and enjoy relative and absolute health now and forever.
Limitless Ecological Regeneration – May all beings relax in a pure and healthy outer and inner environment now and forever.
Limitless Peace – May all beings enjoy inner and world peace now and forever.

 

Nine Round Breathing Meditation to Purify our Subtle Wind Energy

Sitting in the vajra posture we begin by visualizing that our gross physical body, composed of flesh, organs and bones, gradually melts into light until we are left with only a holographic image that sparkles like a rainbow. At this point we make a vajra fist with our left hand and place it under our right armpit. With our right hand we make a vajra fist and extending the right middle finger, placing the index finger on top of it, we gently block the left nostril.

I. Visualizing clearly our three inner channels, we inhale through our right nostril imagining that the pure essences of the five elements, positive and healing energies and all the holy beings’ blessings enter our right channel in the form of white light. This white light absorbs into the subtle wind energy at our heart. We now block the right nostril and exhale through the left nostril in three short breaths, imagining that all our sicknesses, polluted elemental winds, inner demons and interferences, relating to the left side of the body, are expelled in the aspect of polluted black smoke.

II. This exercise should now be repeated on the opposite side to purify the left channel and expel all negativities relating to the right side of the body.

III. Placing our hands in the meditation mudra and breathing evenly through both nostrils, we should visualize that all the positive and healing energy of the holy beings enter both the right and left channels and absorb into the subtle wind energy at the heart. In three short breaths, through both nostrils, we breathe out all negativities, physical and mental sicknesses, interferences, demons and polluted winds from both sides of the body.

 

Meditation on Emptiness

OM BENZA AMRITA KUNDALI HANA HANA HUNG PHEY
OM SWABHAWA SHUDDHA SARWA DHARMA SOBHAWA SHUDDHO HAM

All things are naturally pure, the nature of space, including me.

 

Self-Generation as Black Manjushri

Everything becomes the same nature as emptiness.
Out of emptiness from the black letter PAM arises a black lotus.
In the center of this black lotus from the letter AH appears a moon, and above this moon from a green letter YAM arises a green wind mandala.
In the center of the wind mandala from a red letter RAM appears a red triangular fire mandala.
The lotus, wind and fire mandalas contain the essences of the five elements.
These essences absorb into space.
In the center of the moon appears my mind in the aspect of a black letter HUNG.
Lights radiate out from the letter HUNG and then return fulfilling the two purposes of attaining enlightenment and helping others to overcome suffering.
In an instant from the black letter HUNG I arise as Black Manjushri.
I am in a very wrathful aspect with one face and two arms.
My right leg is bent and my left leg is outstretched.
In my right hand with a wrathful mudra I hold the wisdom sword that eliminates all interferences, and in my left hand I hold the emanation scripture of the Kadampas and the Prajnaparamita sutra at my heart.
Half my red hair is knotted at my crown, the other half falls on my shoulders.
I have a big belly and tiger skin loincloth.
I wear various wrathful bone ornaments such as a crown of five skulls and a necklace of fifty freshly cut heads.
My three eyes are red and round and in the nature of YAM, RAM and BAM.
I am surrounded by fiercely blazing flames of wisdom.
My root guru is above my crown in the form of Amoghasiddhi, who embodies the entire lineage.
At my crown is a white OM the nature of the enlightened body, at my throat is red AH the nature of the enlightened speech and at my heart is blue HUNG the nature of the enlightened mind.

 

Essence Mantra

At my heart is a sun cushion with a black letter HUNG at its center, around this two mantra garlands circle in a clockwise direction.

OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI HUNG (21x or as many times as possible)

At this point we should meditate on emptiness of phenomenon, self and others, based on the method we are familiar with such as the Heart Sutra or dependent origination.

 

Special Essence Mantra

OM EH RA PA TSA NA DHI HUNG (21x)

After we have repeated for as many times as possible the essence mantra and meditated on emptiness we can repeat the special essence mantra that helps to stabilize and give extra power to our practice.

 

Action Mantra

OM PRASO / CHUSO / DURTASO / DURMISO / NYING GOLA CHO / KALA DZA / KAM SHAM TRAM BHE PHET SOHA (21x)

(To complete a traditional Black Manjushri retreat we have to recite 700,000 essence mantras and 10,000 action mantras).

 

The Seven Tantric Self-Healing Exercises of Black Manjushri

We should keep in mind when beginning this part of the practice that the more mantras we manage to recite the more effective the exercises will be. We should also remember that to make the following seven exercises work well we should complete them with the Mahayana attitudes of compassion and wisdom.

 

1. Purification of Obstacles and Interferences

Flame-like lights radiate out from our hearts, burning up all our emotional problems, mind pollution, interferences and karmic obstacles that cause sickness and interferences to ourselves, other beings and the environment.

OM PRASO / CHUSO / DURTASO / DURMISO / NYING GOLA CHO / KALA DZA / KAM SHAM TRAM BHE PHET SOHA (21x)

 

2. Protection from Sickness

After repeating the essence and action mantras as many times as possible, we should join our thumb to the top joint of the ring finger on each hand and then blow on the tip of the ring finger. Then we should rub the tips of these fingers on the soles of our feet and in the armpits. If we find in these places a black substance then we should put it on the nine entrances to the auric body listed beneath whilst repeating the action mantra. If we do not find a black substance we should imagine one. We now envisage a suit of vajra armor under our skin that protects us from any contagious diseases or pollution entering our body.

1. Soles of the two feet
2. Anus
3. Urethra
4. Navel
5. Mouth
6. Nose
7. Two Eyes
8. Two Ears
9. Fontanella

OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI HUNG

OM PRASO / CHUSO / DURTASO / DURMISO / NYING GOLA CHO / KALA DZA / KAM SHAM TRAM BHE PHET SOHA (21x)

 

3. Calming Disturbing People and Spirits

With our hands joined together, above the crown of the head, in the prostration mudra we click our tongue against the top palate of our mouth and clap our hands together three times. Then we recite the action mantra.

OM PRASO / CHUSO / DURTASO / DURMISO / NYING GOLA CHO / KALA DZA / KAM SHAM TRAM BHE PHET SOHA (21x)

 

4. Suppressing Interferences

Visualizing our self in the aspect of Black Manjushri, we have to sit with our knees brought up to our chest with our arms wrapped around them, we then place the big toe of our right foot over the big toe of our left foot. Keeping this posture we should press down and trap all interferences under our feet causing them to become weaker and powerless.

OM PRASO / CHUSO / DURTASO / DURMISO / NYING GOLA CHO / KALA DZA / KAM SHAM TRAM BHE PHET SOHA (21x)

 

5. Healing Nectars

With a container of water placed in front of us, visualizing our self in the aspect of Black Manjushri, we imagine nectar radiating from the letter HUNG at our heart. This nectar flows with our breath and the special qualities are transferred to the water when we blow on it. The water transforms into nectar. Finally, Black Manjushri dissolves into the water, making it so powerful that those who drink it are purified of their obscurations and sicknesses caused by negative karma and physical health problems improve.

OM PRASO / CHUSO / DURTASO / DURMISO / NYING GOLA CHO / KALA DZA / KAM SHAM TRAM BHE PHET SOHA (21x)

 

6. Healing Arthritis

Drink the healing water and recite the action mantra before blowing on our mala. Then massage, outwardly towards the extremities, the affected limbs and joints. When tiny wounds appear on the extremities it is a sign that we are healed. To heal this condition we should also try to avoid eating meat and consuming strong alcoholic drinks.

OM PRASO / CHUSO / DURTASO / DURMISO / NYING GOLA CHO / KALA DZA / KAM SHAM TRAM BHE PHET SOHA (21x)

 

7. Healing Nightmares

Either when awakening from a bad dream or nightmare, or if possible during the dream, we should visualize our self as Black Manjushri who emanates wisdom fires that burn up the dream enemy or negative feelings.

OM PRASO / CHUSO / DURTASO / DURMISO / NYING GOLA CHO / KALA DZA / KAM SHAM TRAM BHE PHET SOHA (21x)

 

Dedication

GYE WA DI NYUR DU DAG
JAMPHEL NAGPO DRUP GYUR NE
DROWA CHIK CHANG MALU PA
DE YI SA LA GOPAR SHOK

By this virtue may I quickly attain
the enlightened experience of Black Manjushri
and lead all sentient beings without exception to that ground.

 

SHIDE SEM CHOG RINPOCHE
MA KIEPA NAM KYE GYUR CHIK
KIEPA NYAMPA MEPA YANG
GONG NE GONG TU PEL WAR SHOK

May the precious, healthy and happy mind of peace,
which is not yet born, arise and grow.
Which is born have no decline and increase forever more.

 

Verse of Auspiciousness

NYIMO DELEK TSEN DELEK
NYIME GUNG YANG DELEK SHIN
NYINTSEN TAKTU DELEK PE
KON CHOK SUM GYI JIN GYI LOB
KON CHOK SUM KYI NGOE DRUP TSOL
KON CHOK SUM GYI TRA SHI SHOK

At dawn or dusk, at night or midday,
May the three jewels grant us their blessings,
May they help us to achieve all realizations,
And sprinkle the path of our lives with various signs of auspiciousness.

 

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A Disciple’s Prayer

Translated by Geshe Lobsang Tharchin

He’s the Lord who stages and then withdraws the show, a myriad ocean
Of mighty deeds the Victors in all three times perform to keep
The teaching tradition that joins both ways, those passed from Gentle Voice
And from the saviour Loving One, the deep thought of the Victors.

He’s a god who goes to the matchless mystery of his mind, a treasure
Resplendent with all ten forces, to speak the gold mine of the sages;
He’s Lobsang Drakpa, of shining fame, and into this world came
The jewels of the holy Dharma spewed out from his lips.

He’s the revered father of all Victors; in the form of their son, a child,
Gave a teaching that draws the essence of the nectar from the cream
Of the eighty thousand, the mystery of the Buddhas’ speech: we call it
Three Principal Paths, well-known as the sun in the sky of the immaculate Word.

His lines are none of those empty words, supposedly deep, incomplete,
But rather spout a thousand riches, advice from experience
Of each step of the meaning itself, the high paths in their entirety,
Capturing the glory of good of the world or peace, wherever.

Come great warrior, who has no fear of what will make him wise;
Take up the bow of these wonderful books, the true Word, open and secret;
Use it with the feathered shafts of reasoning, way of the wise
Throughout the world, pierce the hearts of those who would teach wrong.

When will I decide to give the rest of my life some meaning?
When will I throw away this lie of happiness in this life,
The shining embrace of grabbing after good things in this world,
My forever friend, the foe of my forever happiness.

In this and my future lives may I never fail to collect
More of the short and long-term causes which bring me both the bodies;
May I win the beauty of eyes that guide myself and others too
On the excellent paths, fixed upon the wise and adept ahead.

This is not a load that the likes of me could ever bear,
But I’ve tried my best to put his eloquence down in black and white.
I may have slipped, and lost some words or meaning, or the like;
I kneel before my Lama and freely admit any error made.

By the pure white force in deeds like this endeavour I’ve completed
May my thoughts, those of others too, all turn to the holy Dharma.
May it come to cause us all to cut what ties us to this life,
And help us take best essence from the time and chance we have.

Footnote: Extracted from Tsongkapa – the Principal Teachings of Buddhism, translated by Geshe Lobsang Tharchin with Michael Roach

 

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Song of The Mystic Experiences of Lama Je Rinpoche

by Jamyang Choje Tashi Palden (1379-1449)
October 23, 2009
Written at Drepung Chokyi Dechen at the request of the two meritorious Drungtrapa Palzangpo brothers,
by Lama Tashi Palden, a Buddhist monk and teacher who had searched many hundreds of thousands of scriptures with the lights of his wisdom.

 

O sun-like Prince of the Conqueror,
Whose wisdom, vast as the heavens,
Has the brilliance of knowledge
That sees what ultimately is
And what merely seems to be;
O Venerable Lord of Dharma, Most Perfect Guru,
The dust of your feet I place
On the crown of my head.

Even the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,
Who fill the ten directions,
Cannot describe the excellence
Of your body, speech and mind;
Yet out of passionate inspiration
I shall sing of them; pray,
Listen for but a few moments.

As a blossoming garland of flowers
To adorn the necks of the clear-minded,
And as a precious jewel
To enhance the force of conviction,
This song in praise of your oceans of splendour
To delight all sages, I have composed.

Like a cloud, the merit of your superb deeds
Releases a torrent of rain that swells
The virtue of those to be trained,
And proclaims with a dragon’s thundering roar
The sweetness of the vast and profound;
O glorious, powerful, billowing Lama.

Foremost of tantric adepts, the mighty yogi
Who mastered the many millions of samadhis,
Composed faultless expositions,
And made true effort in practice,
Most resplendent of Lamas,
You tower over the heads of all.

At Vajrasana in a former birth,
To the Victorious One you offered
A rosary of one hundred crystal beads.
Thus you acquired the fortune
Later to attain the perfect view;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

At the age of seven you directly perceived
Dipamkara Atisha, the great Path Clearer,
And Vajrapani, Lord of the Secret.
The exhortations of both the sutras
And tantras dawned upon you;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

O Jetsun, Lord of phenomenal existence,
You directly perceived Manjushri,
Bodhisattva of the wisdom of emptiness,
Seated in a radiant aura as blue
As the colour of a perfect sapphire;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

From this time onward, O High One,
Whenever desired, you could invoke
Manjushri, Treasure of Stainless Wisdom,
And constantly listen to the teachings
Of both Sutrayana’s Transcendent Wisdom
And Tantrayana’s Secret Assembly;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

When practising the seven-limbed ritual
Of the thirty-five Purification Buddhas,
Continually and clearly you beheld them
And all their forms, mudras and symbols;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

Seated in the auspicious posture,
Hands in the Dharma-teaching mudra,
Buddha Maitreya prophesied that,
Just as the Sugatas who possess the ten powers,
You will one day perform the twelve acts
Of a supreme, universal teacher;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

Victorious Master of both life and death,
Truth visions you received
Of Amitabha Buddha, the Medicine Buddhas,
And that teacher of men and gods,
Shakyamuni, Prince of the Shakya Throne,
Each with a retinue vast as the oceans;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

Saintly Tara, source of all siddhis,
Ushnisha Vijaya, the one exalted and radiant,
Ushnisha Sitatapatra, dispeller of obstacles,
And other such mystic female Buddhas
Again and again you directly perceived;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

Bodhisattva Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Holy Buddhapalita,
Magnificent Chandrakirti and the mighty yogi Nagabodhi
Appeared, then constantly cared for you.
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

Exalted Asanga, who delights the three worlds,
The Brother, Vasubandhu, a Second Buddha,
And Dignaga, child of Manjushri,
Appeared, then constantly cared for you;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

Dharmakirti, a moon amongst teachers,
As well as Gunaprabha, Shakyaprabha,
Shantideva and the glorious Abhaya,
Appeared, then constantly cared for you;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

All the mahasiddhas of India and Tibet,
Such as Indrabudhi, Saraha, Luipa,
Krisnacharin, Tilbupa, Tilopa and Naropa
Appeared, then constantly cared for you;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

Clearly Manjushri prophesied
That, relying upon these lineages,
You would produce colossal spiritual boons
For youself and for all sentient beings.
Great Bold One who spontaneously
Fulfills the wishes of the world;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

When the samadhi of the yoga combining
Mental tranquility with cognition of emptiness
Increased like the waxing moon,
You beheld the form of the Destroyer
Yamantaka, “Opponent of the Lord of Death”,
Complete with all mudras and expressions.
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

Having touched your heart
To the wisdom sword of Manjushri,
A stream of undefiled ambrosia
Flowed into the depth of your being,
Spontaneously arousing the propitious
Absorption of highest joy.
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

Prayer for Rebirth in the Land of Bliss
And An Eulogy of the Perfect Intent
Of the Dauntless Protector Maitreya Buddha
As well as their graduated levels of meaning
Manjushri lucidly conveyed to you,
Who recorded and skillfully presented them;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

Whenever you consecrated a religious image,
The Wisdom Beings actually entered
Into the Symbolic Beings.
This host of deities that you summoned
Still generates fields of merit within beings;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

One night you dreamed of Nagarjuna
And his five spiritual sons
Amongst themselves discussing
The fabric of dependent origination.
From their midst came Buddhapalita,
Who touched you with a scripture.
The very next day within you
Rose the mind of a High One;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

By focusing on the pith of the six branches
Of Kalachakra, “The Wheel of Time”,
You directly perceived his Buddha-form.
He foretold that soon you
Would equal even King Suchandra;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

When for the first time you led
The Great Prayer Festival of Lhasa,
A hundred magical omens appeared,
At your making this joyous offering,
The Buddhas and their sons in the ten directions
Were filled with supreme delight.
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

Generating the form of a great-bliss deity
Through the yoga of the non-duality
Of profound luminosity and illusory appearances,
You attained the vajrayoga body;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

By practicing the mantric science of inhaling
And exhaling OM AH HUM on the lotus heart,
The vital energies entered the central nadi,
Rested as breathing stopped, and then dissolved.
Thus you experienced the clear light,
Mahamudra, the great seal,
Attaining the vajrayoga speech;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

Raising the navel chakra’s mystic heat
Which rests at the base of the central channel,
The letter HAM at the crown of your head
Melted and fell to your heart
As simultaneously the experience
Of the blisses dawned upon you.
Thus you attained the vajrayoga mind;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

Having been invoked as witnesses
To your pure and perfect aspirations,
All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas came forth.
Only when you had summoned each of them
Into his respective position
Did you honour them with offerings;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

While contemplating the principal mandala
Of Manjushrivajra, Guhyasamaja,
You dreamed that Maitreya and Manjushri,
Who were speaking of Dharma, passed down to you
A jeweled vase brimming with water,
Portending that you would master all teachings.
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

On a throne adorned with precious gems
Sat the omniscient Kargyu Lama
Buton Rinchen Trub.
A text of the Guhyasamaja Root Tantra
He gave to you, exhorting
You to be its keeper;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

Accepting this responsibility
With mudras and mantras thrice
You touched the text to your head.
By its blessings it became obvious
That the tantra Separating and Mixing,
Obtained by Marpa of the Southern Hills,
Is the true oral tradition of Exalted Nagarjuna;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

Your mind absorbed in the mystic circle of Heruka –
Chakrasambara, the Wheel of Perfect Bliss – myriads
Of dakinis of the outer, inner and secret places
Made you offerings of vajra songs,
Transporting you in ecstasy;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

In meditation destroying the forces of darkness,
You beheld the radiant Buddha, Mighty Demon Tamer,
Having an aura as pure as burnished gold,
More brilliant than a million suns.
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

Your being having become indivisible from
The body, speech and mind of all Buddhas,
The might of the power of evil was subdued.
As the Dharma protectors crushed the demon families,
Shrieks of the defeated satanic forces
Resounded across the universe.
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

These multitudes of Dharma protectors,
That you brought under control,
In a previous aeon had been subjected
By Buddha Vajradhara to guard your doctrine.
With profound reverence they work this still;
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

That you would, after entering parinirvana,
Sit in the presence of Dauntless Maitreya
In Tushita, Pure Land of Joy,
And would be known as Wisdom Essence
Was, O Lord of Life, rightly prophesied
By both Manjushri and Vajrapani.
O Illustrious Lama, at your feet I pay homage.

By the strength of this eulogy
Sung from the depths of pure love,
May the afflictions of beings
Limitless as the sky be extinguished.
In this and all future lives
May all be nurtured by true teachers
And embraced by the sacred Dharma.

May the innate wisdom of great bliss
Rain throughout the world;
May the stains of erroneously grasping
Mind and its objects be uprooted;
And may all be inspired quickly to become
Like you, a Jetsun Lama.

May the wisdoms of learning, contemplation
And meditation overtake the earth;
May the arts of deliberation,
Debate and composition flourish;
May the ordinary and supreme siddhis
Come to each and every practitioner;
And may all be inspired quickly to become
Like you, a Jetsun Lama.

By the limitless oceans of merit
Of having presented, like Samantabhadra,
Clouds of offerings spanning the skies,
Of having bared every negative imprint
And downfall accumulated since infinity,
Of having rejoiced in the spirituality
Of those on the paths to enlightenment,
And of having beseeched the Lamas
To turn the Wheel of Dharma
And not to enter parinirvana.

May all beings experience peerless samadhi;
May goodness swell like the waxing moon;
And may the doctrine of Omniscient Tzong Khapa
Thrive until time’s end.

Footnote: Extracted from the Life and Teachings of Tsong Khapa (Edited by Prof. R. Thurman)

 

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In Praise of The Incomparable Tsongkhapa

by Gyalwa Mikyo Dorje, the Eighth Karmapa (1507 – 1554)
October 23, 2009
Once when Gyalwa Mikyo Dorje was travelling through the Charida Pass, thoughts of the incomparable Tsongkhapa welled up within him. Overcome by profound faith, he was moved to compose the poem below.

At a time when nearly all in this Northern Land
Were living in utter contradiction to Dharma,
Without illusion, O Tsongkhapa, you polished the teachings.
Hence I sing this praise to you of Ganden Mountain.

When the teachings of the Sakya, Kargu, Kadam
And Nyingma sects in Tibet were declining,
You, O Tsongkhapa, revived Buddha’s Doctrine,
Hence I sing this praise to you of Ganden Mountain.

Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, gave to you
Special instructions on the thought of Nagarjuna.
O Tsongkhapa, upholder of the Middle Way,
I sing this praise to you of Ganden Mountain.

“Mind and form are not empty of their own natures
But are empty of truly existent mind and form”,
You, O Tsongkhapa, are Tibet’s chief exponent of voidness,
Hence I sing this praise to you of Ganden Mountain.

In merely a few years you filled
The land from China to India
With peerless holders of the saffron robes.
Hence I sing this praise to you of Ganden Mountain.

Those who become your followers
And look to you and your teachings
Are never again disappointed or forsaken.
Hence I sing this praise to you of Ganden Mountain.

The trainees who walk in your footsteps
Breath the fresh air of the Great Way.
They would die for the good of the world.
Hence I sing this praise to you of Ganden Mountain.

Anyone who disparages your doctrine must face
The terrible wrath of the Dharma protectors.
O Tsongkhapa, who abides in truth’s power,
I sing this praise to you of Ganden Mountain.

In person and in dreams you come to those
Who but once recollect your image.
O Tsongkhapa, who watches with compassionate eyes.
I sing this praise to you of Ganden Mountain.

In order to civilize men and spirits you spread
Your teachings through Kham, Mongolia and Turkestan:
O Tsongkhapa, subduer of savages,
I sing this praise to you of Ganden Mountain.

For men coarse and far from the Way, you dispel
Mental clouds, evils and bad karma.
O Tsongkhapa, who bestows quick progress,
I sing this praise to you of Ganden Mountain.

Those who take heartfelt Refuge in you,
Even those with no hope for now or hereafter,
O Tsongkhapa, have their every wish fulfilled.
Hence I sing this praise to you of Ganden Mountain.

Having exposed false teachings transgressing
The excellent ways well shown by Buddha,
You firmly established your Bold Doctrine.
Hence I sing this praise to you of Ganden Mountain.

Manifesting sublime austerity and discipline,
The form and fragrance of your life was incomparable.
O Tsongkhapa, controlled one pleasing to the Buddhas,
I sing this praise to you of Ganden Mountain.

By the strength of the sons of your lineage
And by my having faithfully offered this praise,
May the enlightened activity of Buddha Shakyamuni
Pervade the earth for ages to come.

Footnote: Extracted from the Life and Teachings of Tsong Khapa (Edited by Prof. R. Thurman)

 

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Prayer for the Flourishing of Je Tsongkhapa’s Teachings

by Gung-tang Tan-Pai Dron-me
October 23, 2009
Translated by Martin Willson, Nalanda Monastery, August 1985. Taken from Rites and Prayers, Wisdom Publications, London, 1985.

Though he’s the father, producer of all conquerors,
As a conqueror’s son, he produced the thought of upholding
The conqueror’s Dharma in infinite worlds. Through this truth
May the conqueror Losang’s teachings flourish!

When of yore before [Buddha] Indraketu
He made his vow, the conqueror and his offspring
Praised his powerful courage. Through this truth
May the conqueror Losang’s teachings flourish!

That the lineage of pure view and conduct might spread,
He offered a white crystal rosary to the Sage,
Who gave him a conch and prophesied. Through this truth
May the conqueror Losang’s teachings flourish!

His pure view free of eternity or destruction;
His pure meditation cleansed of dark fading and fog;
His pure conduct practiced according to conquerors’ orders:
May the conqueror Losang’s teachings flourish!

Learned, since he extensively sought out learning;
Reverend, rightly applying it to himself;
Good, dedicating all for beings and doctrine:
May the conqueror Losang’s teachings flourish!

Through being sure that all scriptures, definitive and
Interpretative, were, without contradiction,
Advice for one person’s practice, he stopped all misconduct:
May the conqueror Losang’s teachings flourish!

Listening to explanations of the three pitakas,
Realized teachings, practice of the three trainings –
His skilled and accomplished life story is amazing.
May the conqueror Losang’s teachings flourish!

Outwardly calmed and subdued by the hearer’s conduct,
Inwardly trusting in the two stages’ practice,
He allied without clash the good paths of sutra and tantra:
May the conqueror Losang’s teachings flourish!

Combining voidness, explained as the causal vehicle,
With great bliss, achieved by method, the effect vehicle,
Heart essence of eighty thousand Dharma bundles –
May the conqueror Losang’s teachings flourish!

By the power of the ocean of oath-bound doctrine protectors,
Like the main guardians of the three beings’ paths –
The quick-acting lord, Vaishravana, Karma-yama –
May the conqueror Losang’s teachings flourish!

In short, by the lasting of glorious gurus’ lives,
By the earth being full of good, learned, reverend holders
Of the teaching, and by the increase of power of its patrons,
May the conqueror Losang’s teachings flourish!

Footnote: Extracted from the Life and Teachings of Tsong Khapa (Edited by Prof. R. Thurman)

 

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Song of the Tricosmic Master

by Khaydrub Choje Gelek Palzangpo (1385-1438)
September 23, 2009
Written by Khaydrub Choje Gelek Palzang-po, who learned a great deal by sitting for many years at the lotus feet of Je Rinpoche.

 

O Je Tsongkhapa, master of the three worlds,
Who surpasses all others in compassion,
The eye through whom all beings
Can receive ultimate vision,
Peerless Refuge of liberation seekers,
To you, a supreme and incomparable Lama,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

In the very presence of the Victorious One
You entered the ways of enlightenment;
Here in this Land of Snow Mountains
You were renowned as Lobsang Drakpa;
Now in Tushita Pure Land you abide,
Famed as Wisdom Essence;
To you, mightiest of Bodhisattvas,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

By the force of ripening merits
You read the teachings and, without study,
Understood texts even in the language of mystics.
To you of naturally perfect excellence
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

From the time your sun-like body
Slipped radiantly from your mother’s cloud,
You ever shunned the dancing lights
Of the world and its vain fortunes;
To you I offer my spiritual aspirations.

From very youth you held no distaste
Toward the austerities of Buddhadharma
But secured yourself in perfect discipline.
To you who for countless lifetimes knew
The power of familiarity with meditation,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Having unrelentingly examined in depth
The words and meanings of Buddha’s teachings,
Constantly and with spontaneity you practised
The guidelines discovered therein.
To you, a treasury of vast knowledge,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Not satisfied with strings of empty words,
With subtle reason you fathomed that point
Not perceived by the millions of scholars;
To you who beheld reality itself
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Were all logicians to analyse
Your teachings a hundred times,
Not even a fraction’s fraction
Of your words would prove wrong.
To you of flawless mind
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Who but you has seen as they are
All the concepts contained
In the texts of the ancient masters?
To you in whom all teachings
Arose as practical advice
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

When the dust clothing the earth
Is inscribed by your lotus feet
Which always rests on the crowns of sages,
That dust becomes an object
Well worthy of worship by men; to you
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Although a fully omniscient one
Were to challenge your ethical temper,
Not a hint of a flaw
Could ever be discovered:
To you, a perfect renunciate,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Like an ocean of wish-fulfilling gems
Is the immeasurable depth of your love,
Beyond even the bounds of clairvoyance.
To you, a mind of benevolence,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

What load of benefit to beings
Is not carried by your mind so mighty:
For did you not reach the zenith
Of deeds sending endless waves?
To you of miraculous compassion
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

If each breath you release
Acts only as medicine to beings,
Why try to describe the effect
Of your stores of merit and wisdom?
To you, friend of the three worlds,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom,
Daily appeared directly to you
And rained ambrosial streams of teachings,
The synthesis of the minds of Buddhas,
Past, present and future;
To you I offer my spiritual aspirations.

“In the lotus garden of the Muni’s teachings
You are likened to a sun amongst Buddhas;”
With these very words Maitreya Buddha
Praised you when in a vision he appeared;
To you I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Beholding the sublime forms of countless Buddhas,
You directly received the transforming powers
Of Saraha, Luipa and the other mahasiddhas;
To you, a supreme and perfected being,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Having in a dream been given the blessings of
Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Buddhapalita and Chandrakirti,
Experience of the Very Dharma, profound emptiness,
Arose within you; to you, who has abandoned
Even the imprints of confusion,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

With the subtle meditation in samadhi centred
Upon reality itself, clear like the sky,
You moved not for a moment
Even in post-meditation
From viewing mind as illusory;
To you I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Having mastered the oceans of tantras,
Pinnacle of all Buddhas teachings,
You indeed are a perfect Lama
Inseparable from All-pervading Vajradhara;
To you I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Master who practised exactly as taught
The essential profundities of tantra’s two stages,
The ultimate paths, as never before
Shown by another in this land,
And then accomplished their purpose,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

By perfecting the coarse and subtle deity-yogas,
You eliminated the habitual thought patterns
That conceive existence as profane.
To you whose mind never stirs
From the blissful flow of mystic mandalas,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Coasting in the central nadi on a current of air,
You perceived the quintessence of emptiness,
The clear light itself, mahamudra,
Experiencing the summit of great bliss;
To you, the one of vajra mind,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Due to the force of your infinite prayers,
Countless disciples spontaneously were drawn
To the path that pleases all Buddhas;
To you, Refuge of all the world,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

In an era when nothing but the empty name
of “Doctrine” was upheld by teachers and trainees,
You brought into the light the three higher trainings
To you, the Great Reviver,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

When you determined consciously to pass away,
Hosts of Dakas and Dakinis beyond imagination,
Making offerings filled the skies.
To you I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Mind focused on the clear light of Dharmakaya,
Your body transformed into a luminous sphere and,
In the bardo, illusory body yoga fulfilled Sambhogakaya.
To you who gained supreme siddhi
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

From this moment onward in all future lives,
May I sit before your lotus feet
And, hearing your teachings,
Practise only as delights you.

May I be blessed to abandon both
Viewing this life as something to crave
And yearning for happiness for myself alone.
And may I never abandon the bodhimind,
The wish to attain Buddhahood for all.

With clear wisdom focusing on the subtle,
May I fathom the perfect words of Buddha
And ascend the path of knowledge.
Thus may I arise to dispel the darkness
Of the ignorance pervading beings’ minds.

May I have power to discover
The import of the many tantras
And to practise single-pointedly
The profound significance of their two stages,
Unhindered by inner or outer obstacles.

In brief, may I receive grace to understand
All the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni,
Especially those of the peerless Vajrayana,
Just as do the Awakened Ones.
Thus may I bring light to the world.

By the virtue of this aspiration,
May I in all future lives never be
Parted from you, a perfect Lama,
And may I dwell with the taste of the teachings
That arose from the depths of your experience.

Because of whatever goodness
I have done or will do,
May you gaze upon me with pleasure,
And may I always unwaveringly practise
Precisely in accord with your advice.

By the power of the mighty deeds
Of Lama Je Tsongkhapa, the tantric Guru,
Until enlightenment may I never fall
From the good path praised by all Buddhas.

Footnote: Extracted from the Life and Teachings of Tsong Khapa (Edited by Prof. R. Thurman)

 

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Praise to Vajrayogini

The Goddess That Absorbs All Traumas

Although Vajrayogini’s practice requires initiation, a fervent Seeker of Dharma, Pablo Alder, who was entranced by Her mysteries, found this beautiful prayer on the Internet. One can recite this prayer to create a connection with Sacred Vajrayogini now, without initiation.

I am the diamond maiden, the player of games
The yogini is one of my forms
Showing that I am beyond earthly attachment
I am the shining revelation to the ascetic.

The women in silk and roses
I am the harlot in black net and leather,
Who gives enjoyable punishment
I am the glass bead master, creating universes of form
And a spark of me is in each hand, for I dwell in karma.

I am the Trauma Goddess, the Lady of Pain
In return for devotion I pull thorns from the heart
In return for obedience
I untie the knots in the belly and the head (chakras)
I hold the vajra, which gives and receives
I reshape family karma.

The Trauma Goddess is called for people in painful situations
Where anger and hatred block the path of the soul
I evaluate the benefits of revenge
And give better suggestions for spiritual growth.

I am not suited to polite society
To social striving, upward mobility, and making good impressions
I am radically honest, sensitive, brilliant, and blunt
I hold up a mirror to the best and worst facets of human life.

The Lady of Trauma is the mirror of pain
I reflect the disastrous ways that human beings interact
Then the reflections are stretched and distorted
With irony, and humour, and sadness
Loosening their grip on the heart
So that the person who seeks freedom
Can get a taste of being free.

(We fold our hands and entreat Her…)

“Lady of Trauma, Lady that absorbs pain
Ascetic and bhairavi and sannyasini and mistress
Pull me from the disaster that I have made of my life
Save me from the evil machinations of others.”

This is their prayer and I hear it in their hearts
As they chant my mantra.

“Saviour, Lady, Mother Goddess, Bodhisattva,
Love me as I love you
I am desperate and bound
Free me by your grace.”

I will give freedom, but not without realisation
Those who have been bound, bind others
Those who have suffered, cause suffering
I let them know how they have been affected
But also how they have affected others.

I do not wear bones because of death
I wear them because they represent what is beneath the surface
The blood that I drink is evil karma of those that I save
And the karma is then halted and does not pass to others.

I appear wrathful as I take on anger, hatred, fury, and the desire to destroy
Which are destroyed within me.
I am a dancer upon the pain of all mankind
I destroy the dark and corrupt.

My compassionate side is hidden
But for those whom I love
Who have taken on my dark grace
I open a path of shining light
With pain and sorrow left behind.

Source: J. Denosky

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Vajrasattva’s Purification Practice

Purifying negative karmic imprints

Vajrasattva is the manifestation of the purity of body, speech and mind of all the Buddhas. The practice of Vajrasattva is especially effective for purifying negative karmic imprints created by the ten non-virtuous actions and transgressions of precepts, vows and commitments. By applying the Four Opponent Powers, this practice can help to purify our negative actions and alleviate guilt, remorse and feelings of unworthiness that keep us from going forward in our lives.

1. Power of Reliance: Taking Refuge and Generating Bodhicitta

I take refuge until I am enlightened in the Buddhas, the Dharma and the Sangha. By the positive potential I create by practising generosity and the other far-reaching attitudes, may I attain Buddhahood in order to benefit all sentient beings.

2. Power of Regret

The negative karma I have accumulated from beginningless time is as extensive as the ocean. Although I know that each negative action leads to countless eons of suffering, it seems that I am constantly striving to create nothing but negative actions.

Even though I try to avoid non-virtue and practise positive acts, day and night without respite, negative and ethical downfalls come to me like rainfall. I lack the ability to purify these faults so that no trace of them remains.

With these negative imprints still in my mind, I could suddenly die and find myself falling to an unfortunate rebirth. What can I do?

Please Vajrasattva, with your great compassion, guide me from such misery!

3. Power of Remedy: Mantra Recitation

Hundred Syllable Purification Mantra of Vajrasattva:

OM BENZASATTO SAMAYA MANU PALAYA / BENZASATTO TENO PATITA / DIDRO MAY BHAWA / SUTO KAYO MAY BHAWA / SUPO KAYO MAY BHAWA / ANU RAKTO MAY BHAWA / SARWA SIDDHI ME PAR YATSA / SARWA KARMA SUT TSA ME / TISHTAM SHRIYAM KURU HUM / HA HA HA HA HO / BHAGAWAN SARWA TATAGATA / BENZA MA MAY MUN TSA / BENZA BHAWA MAHA SAMAYA SATTO / AH HUM PHET (At least 21x daily)

Short Mantra of Vajrasattva:

OM BENZA SATTO HUM

4. Power of Restraint: Promise Not To Commit Negativities Again

Before Guru Vajrasattva, I vow never again to commit these negative actions at least for a day, an hour or a few seconds from which I find it difficult to abstain

Dissolving Vajrasattva into yourselves

Visualise Vajrasattva melts into light and dissolves into you and your three gateways become inseparably one with Vajrasattva’s holy body, speech and mind.

Dedication

By this merit may I attain the enlightened state of Vajrasattva, that I may be able to liberate all sentient beings from suffering.

 

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The Practice of The Single Yellow Dzambala

The Buddha of Wealth

Refuge and Generating the Mind of Enlightenment

I take refuge until I am enlightened in the Buddhas, the Dharma and the Sangha.
By the positive potential I create by practising generosity and the other far-reaching attitudes,
may I attain Buddhahood in order to benefit all sentient beings.

The Four Immeasurables

May all sentient beings have happiness and its causes,
May all sentient beings be free of suffering and its causes,
May all sentient beings never be separated from sorrowless bliss,
May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free of bias, attachment and anger.

OM SVABHAVA SHUDDHA SARVA DHARMA SVABHAVA SHUDDHO HUM
(dissolving into emptiness)

Out of Emptiness from the syllable HUM comes a protection wheel, at the centre of which from the syllable PAM comes a lotus, from AH comes a moon disc, in the centre of which is one’s own consciousness in the form of a yellow syllable DZA, which emanates rays of light, making offerings to all Arya beings. The light that comes from the DZA pacifies the sufferings of the poverty of all living beings, causing rays of treasures to fall. Light collects back into the syllable DZA, and one takes the form of Arya Dzambala with golden colour, one face and two arms, with the right hand in the gesture of supreme giving, holding the bijapura fruit and the left holding a mongoose from whose mouth a great treasure of jewels is constantly being emitted. Arya Dzambala is peaceful and elegant, slightly corpulent and appearing very gentle, in a completely happy and pleasant state of mind. With his eyes wide open and his black hair tied in a top knot, he is adorned with a jewelled head ornament. The right foot is slightly outstretched in the royal posture, and both feet are placed on treasures such as the eye of conch shell and head of the lotus. Wearing multi-coloured silken clothing and jewelled ornaments, he is adorned with garlands of blue utpala flowers. His body is luminous and radiant. From one’s heart centre (as Arya Dzambala) emanate rays of light, inviting wisdom beings in the form of Arya Dzambala along with his entourage.

BENZA SAMADZA
(inviting the wisdom beings)

DZA HUM BAM HO
(The wisdom beings are absorbed)

At the forehead is the syllable OM, at the throat an AH and at the heart a HUM. Again from the heart centre emanate rays of light, inviting the five initiating deities and entourage.

“Please bestow blessings and confer the initiation.”
(thus requesting)

OM BENZA BHAVA ABHISINTSA HUM
(saying this the initiation is conferred)

The body is filled, purifying all stains. An excess of water comes out from the crown of the head, transforming into Ratnasambhava.

The Way To Bless The Sensory Offerings

(offerings should be blessed according to the lower tantras)

OM BENZA AMRITA KUNDALI HANA HANA HUM PHET

OM SVABHAVA SHUDDHA SARVA DHARMA SVABHAVA SHUDDHO HUM

Everything is Emptiness.
Out of emptiness in front of oneself appears the syllable OM which transforms into eight spacious jewelled vessels. In each of those vessels appears the syllable OM, which transforms into godly substances: water for the mouth, water for the feet, flowers, incense, and so forth, clear, unobstructed, and as extensive as space.

OM ARGHAM AH HUM (water)
OM PADYAM AH HUM (water)
OM PUPEY AH HUM (flower)
OM DHUPE AH HUM (incense)
OM ALOKE AH HUM (light)
OM GANDHE AH HUM (perfume)
OM NAWIDYE AH HUM (food)
OM SHABDA AH HUM (music)

8 Sensory Offerings

OM ARYA DZAMBALA SAPARIWARA ARGHAM PRATITSA SOHA
OM ARYA DZAMBALA SAPARIWARA PADYAM PRATITSA SOHA
OM ARYA DZAMBALA SAPARIWARA PUPEY PRATITSA SOHA
OM ARYA DZAMBALA SAPARIWARA DHUPE PR ATITSA SOHA
OM ARYA DZAMBALA SAPARIWARA ALOKE PRATITSA SOHA
OM ARYA DZAMBALA SAPARIWARA GANDHE PRATITSA SOHA
OM ARYA DZAMBALA SAPARIWARA NAWIDYE PRATITSA SOHA
OM ARYA DZAMBALA SAPARIWARA SHABDA PRATITSA SOHA

PRAISES

O Lord of Wealth, Holder of the Treasure of Jewels
And Lord of the numerous wealth-holding yakshas,
Great Lord and Protector of the North, Bestower of Supreme Attainments,
I prostrate to You. (3x)

Mantra Recitation

(With visualisation, do the recitation any number of times)

OM DZAMBALA DZALENDRAYE SOHA

Dedication

By the virtues collected through this practice
May I quickly attain the state of Arya Dzambala
And lead all beings, without exception,
To the state of Enlightenment.

(If one wishes to make the offering of water to Arya Dzambala, one may do so in this way:)

Visualisation

In the centre of a copper vessel, out of Emptiness appears Arya Dzambala in golden colour, one face and two arms, with the right hand in the gesture of supreme giving, holding the bijapura fruit and the left holding a mongoose which is constantly emitting from its mouth a great treasure of jewels. Arya Dzambala is peaceful and elegant, slightly corpulent and appearing very gentle and in a completely happy and pleasant state of mind. With his eyes wide open and his black hair tied in a top knot, he is adorned with a jewelled head ornament. The right foot is slightly outstretched in the royal posture, and both feet are placed on treasures such as the eye of conch shell and head of the lotus. Wearing multi-coloured silken clothing and jewelled ornaments, he is adorned with garlands of blue utpala flowers. His body is luminous and radiant.

At the palm of the right hand on a moon disc the syllables OM HUM TRAM HRI AH emanate rays of light, inviting the blessings of all Buddhas in the form of nectar, which enter into the five syllables.

OM AH HUM (3x)
(reciting thus, blessing the water)

Now recite the essence mantra “OM DZAMBALA DZALENDRAYE SOHA” 108 times and either pour the water 108 times or pour the water from the vase in a continuous stream, thus visualising that one is offering this water to Arya Dzambala. Finally, the torma which has been prepared for Dzambala should be blessed and also put into the water and offered.

The way to bless the torma

OM BENZA AMRITA KUNDALI HANA HANA HUM PHET
OM SVABHAVA SHUDDHA SARVA DHARMA SVABHAVA SHUDDHO HAM

Out of Emptiness from the syllable YAM comes a wind mandala, on top of which from RAM comes a fire mandala. From the syllable AH comes a skullcup, white on the outside and red inside, huge and spacious, containing the five meats and five nectars, which are purified, transformed and multiplied by the recitation of the three syllables OM AH HUM. The substances become an undefiled ocean of wisdom nectar.

Torma offering

OM ARYA DZAMBALA SAPARIWARA IDAM BALIMTA KHA KHA KHAHI KHAHI

(Then make Offerings and Praises:)

8 sensory offerings

OM ARYA DZAMBALA SAPARIWARA ARGHAM PRATITSA SOHA
OM ARYA DZAMBALA SAPARIWARA PADYAM PRATITSA SOHA
OM ARYA DZAMBALA SAPARIWARA PUPEY PRATITSA SOHA
OM ARYA DZAMBALA SAPARIWARA DHUPE PRATITSA SOHA
OM ARYA DZAMBALA SAPARIWARA ALOKE PRATITSA SOHA
OM ARYA DZAMBALA SAPARIWARA GANDHE PRATITSA SOHA
OM ARYA DZAMBALA SAPARIWARA NAWIDYE PRATITSA SOHA
OM ARYA DZAMBALA SAPARIWARA SHABDA PRATITSA SOHA

PRAISES

O Lord of Wealth, Holder of the Treasure of Jewels,
And Lord of the numerous wealth-holding yakshas,
Great Lord and Protector of the North, Bestower of Supreme Attainments, I prostrate to You.

I and all living beings, who are under the sufferings of the five actions motivated by stinginess,
in all rebirths we take refuge in You.
With your treasure of jewels and the stream of nectar
please pacify the sufferings of poverty of all beings. (3x)

(Then visualise that Arya Dzambala is extremely delighted and gives you presents of wish-fulfilling gems and attainments of nectar. Also, take some of the torma water and share it with others.)

 

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A Song of Longing for Tara The Infallible

by Lozang Tanpa Gyalts’an

Tara is swift in her response to our prayers as represented by her emerald green colour. Her ability to come to our assistance as we invoke her presence is instant – we need only think of her to have her compassionate heart with us. Kyabje Zong Rinpoche has said that if we rely on Tara as our personal meditational deity, attainment of siddhis is very quick.

Tara has strongly manifested her presence, blessings and speech many times over to us, from the highest practitioners to the humblest devotees. Due to its quick and efficacious results, her practice has become widespread and prevalent throughout North Asia, and continues to spread through the world. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to practice this efficient yidam without lower or higher tantric commitments.

Homage to Guru Arya-Tara!

1. Three Infallible Jewels of Refuge combined
In one, Divine Mother Whose nature is Compassion,
I bow to You from my heart! Till I’m enlightened,
Support me, I pray, with the hook of Your Compassion!

2. I call the Jewels as witness – from not just my mouth,
But the depth of my innermost heart and bones, I pray –
Think of me somewhat! Show me Your smiling face!
Loving One, grant me the nectar of Your Speech!

3. Others cheat us with their made-up teachings,
Selling Dharma for money that’s marked by impermanence,
Proclaiming ignorance knowledge, puffed up with pride
Through the eight worldly Dharmas, Gurus great and small.

4. Since I cannot trust such Friends of degenerate times,
The principal Guru of mine is You Yourself.
Inspire me, Mother of the nature of love!
Arouse Your great power of Compassion! Think of me!

5. Relied on as Refuge, none of them will deceive us;
But, seeing the ways of this degenerate age,
Most Buddhas sink down into the bliss of Nirvana;
Some, though compassionate, have weak karmic connection.

6. Since I have no other Yidam deity,
My principal Deity is You Yourself.
Grant me siddhis, Mother of loving nature!
Arouse Your great power of compassion! Think of me!

7. Most protectors don’t show their powers and skills –
Disgusted with their practitioners, they do not act.
Others, proud of worldly fame, may be
Good for a while, but cheat us in the end.

8. Since I cannot trust protectors such as these,
My principal Protector is You Yourself.
Fulfill the Activities, Mother of loving nature!
Arouse Your great power of Compassion! Think of me!

9. Common worldly riches, the meaning like the name,
Arouse defilements and bind one in Samsara.
What jewels, except the Aryas, though they grant wishes,
Can let me take even a sesame seed when I die?

10. Since I cannot trust illusory riches,
The principal wealth I have is You Yourself.
Grant my desires, O Mother of loving nature!
Arouse Your great power of compassion! Think of me!

11. Not fit to be trusted even for one day,
Their thoughts determinedly set on misbehaviour,
Just acting friendly, these friends of no virtue
Play the friend when they wish, the enemy when they don’t.

12. Since I cannot trust these friends of degenerate times,
The principal friend of mine is You Yourself.
Be close to me, O Mother of loving nature!
Arouse Your great power of compassion! Think of me!

13. In short, my Guru, my Deity and Protector,
My Refuge, dwelling, food, wealth, friends and all
Everything whatsoever I wish, You are;
So make me accomplish everything easily!

14. Let me stop also my present stubborn mind,
And rouse the Compassion that even on coming to give
A billion times for every being’s sake
My body and life tires not – inspire me thus!

15. The uprooter of Samsara’s maker, self-grasping,
The deep Middle Way, so hard to understand,
Avoiding all errors of the two extremes,
Pure Right View – Please inspire me to realise it!

16. Wishing, for sentient beings’ sake, to win Buddhahood,
Let me not think for a moment of my own pleasure,
But dedicating all virtues to beings and Doctrine,
Perfect my renounced Bodhi-mind – inspire me thus!

17. Rich in the Aryas’ Treasures, faith and the rest,
Let me become the best of Buddha-sons, able
To keep the smallest precept taught by the Conquerors,
Never contemptuous of it – inspire me thus!

18. In outward behaviour keeping the Hearer’s conduct,
Let me, in inward belief, revere the Profound
Vajrayana, and practice the Two-Stage Path,
So winning Enlightenment swiftly – inspire me thus!

19. Whether I’m happy or troubled, whether things
Go well or badly for me, whatever I do
You know about it, Venerable Tara, so
Think of me lovingly, my only mother!

20. Myself and all the beings with hopes of me
I offer to You, Venerable Tara!
Make us Your own, and to the highest Pure Land
Make us go quickly, with no births intervening!

21. My mothers, who do not follow the Conquerors’ teachings,
All mother sentient beings, whoever they are –
With Your hook of compassionate skilful means
Please transform their minds into Dharma!

22. Reciting this at morning, noon and night,
And bearing in mind Venerable Tara,
Let all sentient beings with hopes of me
Be born in whatever Pure Land they desire!

23. May every member of the Three Precious Jewels,
Especially the Venerable Mother, compassionate-natured,
Look after me till I reach the point of Enlightenment
Letting me conquer quickly the four Maras’ hosts!

 

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A Prayer to Saraswati

Composed by the incomparable Lama Tsongkhapa

Captivating presence, stealing my mind,
like a lightning-adorned cloud beautifying the sky,
there amid a celestial gathering of youthful musicians.
Compassionate goddess, come here now!

Those alluring honeybee eyes in that lotus face,
that long, dark blue hair, glowing with white light,
there before me in a pose of seductive dance.
Grant me, Saraswati, your power of speech.

Those beautiful, playful antelope eyes,
I gaze insatiably upon you, seducer of my mind.
Goddess of speech with a mother’s compassion,
make our speech as one.

More beautiful than the splendor of a full autumn moon,
a voice eclipsing the sweetest melody of Brahma,
a mind as hard to fathom as the deepest ocean,
I bow before the goddess Saraswati.

Mantra: OM SARASIDDHI HRING HRING

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Praises to The 21 Taras

Offering of the 21 Homages

Recite each phrase once and/or offer prostrations with the following visualisations. With each praise and prostration, imagine that a replica of each respective Tara manifests, arising from the one before it like simultaneous sparks of fire, and sinks into you.

From your sublime abode at the Potala
O Tara – born from the green letter TAM
Whose light rescues all beings –
Come with your retinue, I beg you.

The gods and demi-gods bow
To your lotus feet, O Tara,
You who rescue all who are destitute
To you, Mother Tara, I pay homage.

OM JE TSUN MA PAG MA DROL MA LA CHAG TSEL LO
OM Homage to the Venerable Arya Tara.

1. Praising Tara by her life story
Homage to Tara, The Swift One, The Heroine,
Whose eyes are like a flash of lightning,
Who arose from the opening of a lotus,
Born from the tears of the Protector of The Three Worlds.

2. Praising Tara by the brightness and radiance of her face
Homage to you with a face like a hundred full moons in autumn,
Gathered together into one,
Blazing with brilliant light,
Like a thousand constellations.

3. Praising Tara by her colour, what she holds and her causes
Homage to you who are bluish gold,
Your hand perfectly adorned with a lotus flower;
Who arose from practicing Giving, Moral discipline,
Patience, Effort, Concentration and Wisdom.

4. Praising Tara by her being honoured by the Conquerors and the Bodhisattvas
Homage to you who surmount the Tathagathas’ Ushnishas,
Whose victorious actions are limitless
Who are greatly honoured by the Sons of Conquerors,
Who have attained every perfection.

5. Praising Tara by her subduing unfavourable conditions
Homage to you who with letters TUTTARA and HUM
Fill the realms of desire, direction and space.
With the seven worlds beneath your feet,
You are able to draw all beings to bliss.

6. Praising Tara by her being worshipped by the great worldly gods
Homage to you who are worshipped by Indra, Agni, Brahma,
Vayu, and the other mighty gods;
And before whom the host of evil spirits,
Zombies, smell eaters and givers of harm respectfully offer praise.

7. Praising Tara by her destroying opponents
Homage to you who by saying TRA (trey) and PHAT
Completely destroy the obstructions of the enemies.
You suppress with your right leg drawn in and your left extended,
And blaze with a fierce and raging fire.

8. Praising Tara by her purifying demons and the two obstructions
Homage to TURE, extremely fearsome one,
Who completely destroys the chief of demons,
With a wrathful expression on your lotus face
You vanquish all foes without exception.

9. Praising Tara by the object she holds in her right and left hands
Homage to you whose fingers adorn your heart
With the mudra symbolising the Three Precious Jewels,
Adorned with a wheel of all directions,
Whose radiant light outshines all.

10. Praising Tara by her crown ornament and the sound of her laughter
Homage to you whose very joyful and shining crown ornament
Radiates a garland of light.
Who with your mirthful laughter of TUTTARA,
Subdue the demons and worldly gods.

11. Praising Tara by her accomplishing divine actions through the ten directional guardians
Homage to you who are able to summon
All the directional guardians and their retinues.
Frowning and shaking, with the letter HUM,
You rescue all from their misfortune.

12. Praising Tara by her crown ornament
Homage to you with a crescent moon adorning your crown,
And all your ornaments shining brightly;
With Amitabha in your top-knot
Eternally radiating light.

13. Praising Tara by her wrathful posture
Homage to you who dwells amidst a garland of flames
Like the fire at the end of an eon.
With your right leg extended and left drawn in,
You destroy the hosts of obstructions of those who delight in the Dharma Wheel.

14. Praising Tara by the light that radiates from the letter HUM
Homage to you who strike the ground with the palm of your hand,
And stamp it with your foot.
With a wrathful glance and a letter HUM
You subdue all seven levels.

15. Praising Tara by her Dharmakaya Aspect
Homage to you who are happy, virtuous and peaceful,
Within the sphere of the peace of Nirvana,
Fully endowed with SOHA and OM,
You completely destroy heavy evil actions.

16. Praising Tara by her divine actions of peaceful and wrathful Mantras
Homage to you who completely subdue the obstructions
Of those who delight in the Dharma Wheel,
Rescuing with the array of the ten-letter mantra
And the knowledge letter HUM.

17. Praising Tara by her divine actions of wrathfully shaking the three worlds
Homage to TURE, stamping your feet
Born from the seed in the aspect of HUM
Who cause Mount Meru, Mandhara and Vindhya,
And all three worlds to shake.

18. Praising Tara by her divine actions of dispelling internal and external poisons
Homage to you who hold in your hand
A moon, the lake of the gods
Saying TARA twice and the letter PHAT,
You completely dispel all poisons.

19. Praising Tara by her divine actions of dispelling conflicts and bad dreams
Homage to you who are honoured by the kings of the hosts of gods,
And the gods and the kinnaras,
Through your joyful and shining pervasive armour,
All conflicts and bad dreams are dispelled.

20. Praising Tara by her divine actions of dispelling diseases
Homage to you whose two eyes are like the sun and the full moon,
Radiate a pure and clear light
Say HARA twice and TUTTARA
You dispel the most violent, infections diseases.

21. Praising Tara by her divine actions of subduing evil spirits and zombies
Homage to you who have the perfect power of pacifying
Through your blessings of the Three Thatnesses;
Subduer of the hosts of evil spirits, zombies and givers of harm
O TURE, most excellent and supreme!

Thus concludes this praise of the root mantra and the offering of the twenty–one homages.

Mantra: OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SOHA

 

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Medicine Buddha Practice

The Healing Buddha

Visualise yourself in your ordinary body, with your heart at the center of your chest, inverted, pointing upwards. Inside your heart is a white, eight-petalled lotus. At its center is a moon disc, upon which is seated the Healing Buddha in the aspect of the supreme transformation. His body is clear and in the nature of dark blue light, and he holds an arura plant in his right hand and a begging bowl in his left hand.

In front of the Healing Buddha is the white medicinal goddess, Actualized Wisdom; to his right is the yellow medicinal goddess, Simultaneous Wealth; behind him is the red forest goddess, Peacock’s Throat; to his left is the green tree goddess, Radiant One. Each goddess is in the nature of blissful radiant light and has one face and two arms. An arura plant is in each of the goddess’s right hands, with a vase adorned with various ornaments in the left hand. The four goddesses sit cross-legged, not in the full vajra position but in the aspect of offering respect to the Healing Buddha.

Then make this request.

O Destroyer, Complete in All Qualities and Gone Beyond
and you four medicinal goddesses,
please pacify immediately the illnesses which afflict me now
and help me to avoid all future sicknesses.

Light rays of the appropriate colour emanate from each of the five deities at your heart. Your heart and body are full of blissful light, which perfectly purifies all diseases, spirit harms, and negative actions and their imprints. Beams of five coloured light radiate from all the pores in your body, while nectar flows down from the Healing Buddha’s begging bowl and the vases held by the four goddesses, completely filling your heart and body. Generate the strong recognition that you have vanquished disease forever and will never be sick again. While concentrating single-pointedly on this visualization, recite the short or long Healing Buddha mantra seven, twenty-one, one hundred and eight, or more times.

Short Mantra of Medicine Buddha

TAYATHA OM BEKANZE BEKANZE MAHA BEKANZE BEKANZE RANDZA SAMUGATHE SOHA

Long Mantra of Medicine Buddha

OM NAMO BHAGAWATE BEKANZEY GURU BENDURYA PRABHA RANDZAYA TAYATHA ARHATE SAMYAKSAM BUDDHAYA TAYATHA OM BEKANZEY BEKANZEY MAHA BEKANZEY RANDZA SAMUGATHE SOHA

If you are sick, after you have finished reciting the mantra, put some saliva in your left palm, rub it on the tip of your right ring finger, place the tip of this finger at the entrance of your right and left nostrils, where the so-called All-Doing King Nerve can be found, and apply the saliva to the afflicted parts of your body. Then recite as many mantras of the Sanskrit vowels and consonants as possible, along with the mantra of the Heart of Dependent Arising.

Sanskrit Vowels

OM A AA I II U UU RI RII LI LII E AI O AU AM AH SOHA

Sanskrit Consonants

OM KA KHA GA GHA NGA / TSA TSHA DZA DZHA NYA / TA THA DA DHA NA / TA THA DA DHA NA / PA PHA BA BHA MA / YA RA LA VA / SA SHA SA HA KSHA SOHA

The Heart of Dependent Arising

OM YE DHARMA HETU-PRABHAVA HETUN TESHAN TATHAGATO HYA VADAT / TESHAN CA YO NIRODHA / EVAM-VADI / MAHA SRAMANAH-YE-SOHA

Source: Guru Rinpoche
Translation: Lama Zopa Rinpoche

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Gaden Lhagyama Je Tsongkhapa’s Guru Yoga

Je Tsongkhapa embodies the Bodhisattvas of Compassion (Avalokiteshvara or Kuan Yin), Wisdom (Manjushri) and Power (Vajrapani). Connecting with Je Tsongkhapa by thinking of him with faith, reciting his holy mantra, meditating on his omnipresence and practising his Guru Yoga blesses us with a deep sense of peace and clarity of mind we never thought possible. It is simple, complete and effective for today’s modern individual.

Invocation

GA-DEN HLA-JI NGON-JYI THUG-KA NEY
RAP-KAR SHO-SAR PUNG-DEE CHU-DZIN TSER
CHO-KYI GYEL-PO KUN-CHEN LOZANG DRAG
SEY-DANG CHE-PA NE-DIR SHEG SU SOL

From the heart of the Lord of the Gaden devas (Maitreya Buddha)
emerges a brilliant white cloud, like a great mass of fresh yoghurt.
Atop sits Tsongkhapa all knowing, King of Dharma;
we request your coming to this place along with your great disciples.

Requesting to stay

DUN-JYI NAM-KHAR SING-TI PEE-DEE TENG
JE-TSUN LA-MA JYEH-PI DZUM-KAR CHYEN
DAG-LO DE-PE SO-NAM SHING-CHOG TU
TAN-PA JYEH-SHIR KAL-DJAR JUG-SU SOL

My Lord Guru is seated before me upon a lion-throne, lotus and moon cushion.
His body is white and he smiles blissfully.
Please remain many eons and serve as the great merit field for the growth of my mind’s faith,
and for the increase of Lord Buddha’s teachings.

Prostration and praise

SHE-JYEH CHON-KUN JAL-WEY LO-DO THUG
KAL-ZANG NA-WEY JYIN-JUR LIK-SHEY SUNG
DRAG-PI PEL-JYI HLAM-MER DZEY-PI KU
THONG-THO DRAN PI DON DHAN LA-CHAG TSAL

His omniscient wisdom-mind encompasses all that is existent.
His voice is a profound teaching, which ornaments the ear of the fortunate pupil.
His body’s beautiful radiance evokes wondrous admiration.
To Lama Tsongkhapa whom merely viewing, hearing or contemplating earns one great merit, I make prostration.

Offering

YIH-WONG TCHO-YON NA-TSOG ME-TOG DANG
DRI-JEM DUG-PO NANG-SAL DRID-CHAB SOG
NGO-SHAM YIH TUL TCHO-TIN GYA-TSO DI
SO-NAM SHING-CHOG CHE-LA CHO-PA BUL

I present to you, great field of merit, Tsongkhapa,
beautiful offerings, water, a display of flowers, fragrant incense,
butter-lamps, perfumes and more both physical and mental offerings,
vast as the clouds and wide as the ocean.

Confession

DAG-GI TO-MEY DU-NEH SAG-PA YI
LU-NGAG YIH-KYI DIG-PA CHI-JYI DANG
CHEY-PA DOM-PA SUM-JI MI-TUN SHO
NYING-NEH JO-PA TRAH-PO SO-SOR SHAG

The unwholesome actions of body, speech and mind,
which I have accumulated over a measureless period,
especially actions contrary to the three vows (Vinaya, Bodhisattva, Vajrayana),
I regret extremely from the depths of my heart, and I reveal each and every such action.

Rejoicing

NIK-MI DU-DIR MANG-THO DRUP-LA TSON
CHO-JYED PANG-PI DAL-JOR DON-YO SHYE
NGON-PO CHEY-KYI LAP-CHEN DZE-PA LA
DAG-CHAG SAM-PA TAG-PEH YI RANG NGO

We totally rejoice in your magnificent achievements, my Lord,
who received numerous teachings and performed the practices with utmost diligence,
who abandoned the eight worldly objectives
and made the most meaningful use of the eighteen opportune conditions during these degenerate times.

Request to turn the wheel of dharma

JE-TSUN LA-MA DAM-PA CHEY-NAM KYI
CHO-KU KA-LA CHEN-TI TIN-TIK NEY
JI-TAR TSAM-PI DUL-SHIH DZIN-MA LA
ZAB-JI CHO-KYI CHAR-PA WHAP-TU SOL

All you holy Gurus, unerring in conduct,
may you precipitate a rain of realisation of Bodhicitta and Shunyata
from the clouds of all-knowing compassion which fills the Dharmakaya sky,
providing for the field of disciples precisely what is needed.

Requesting to remain

NAM-DAG WO-SAL YING-LEY JING-PA YI
ZUNG-JUG KU-LA CHAR-NUB MI-NGA YANG
THA-MAL HNANG-NGOR ZUG-KU RAG-PA NYI
SEE-THEE BAR-DU MI-NUB TAN-PA SHUG

May the Vajra body of Tsongkhapa created from the purity of clear light,
free of the rising and setting of cyclic existence
but visible to the ordinary viewer only in its unsubtle, physical form,
stay on unchanging, without waning, until Samsara ends.

Dedication

DAG-SOG JIN-NYEH SAG-PA GE-WA DEE
TAN-DANG DRO-WA KUN-LA GANG-PHAN DANG
CHE-PA JE-TSUN LO-ZANG DRAG-PA YI
TAN-PI NYING-PO RING-DU SAL-SHEH SHOG

May this merit accumulated by myself and others,
beneficially serve all sentient beings and the Buddhadharma
and especially may the essential teachings of the unerring master Tsongkhapa,
become clear and enduring.

Migtsema (Mantra of Je Tsongkhapa)

This can be recited anytime, anywhere, as many times as possible. It has the benefits of receiving the blessings of Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri and Vajrapani.

MIG-MEY TZE-WEY TER-CHEN CHENREZIG
DRI-MEY KHYEN-PI WANG-PO JAMPAL YANG
DU-PUNG MA-LU JOM-DZEY SANG-WEY DAG
GANG-CHEN KE-PEY TSUG-GYEN TSONGKAPA
LO-SANG TRAG-PEY SHAB-LA SOL-WA DEB
(Recite 21x or more, depending on time)

Je Tsongkhapa, crown jewel of the holy Masters of the land of snows,
You are Avalokiteshvara, great goldmine of Compassion untainted by ego’s delusion.
You are Manjushri, great Master of stainless wisdom.
You are Vajrapani, great subduer of all the gatherings of demons.
At your feet, famed Lobsang Drakpa,
I humbly bow and earnestly request that all sentient beings achieve Enlightenment.
(Recite 21x or more, depending on time)

Dissolving Je Rinpoche into ourselves

PAL-DAN TSA-WEY LA-MA RINPOCHE
DAG-SOG CHI-WOR PE-ME DAN-JUG LA
KA-DRIN CHEN-PO GO-NEY JE-ZUNG TE
KU-SUNG THUG-KYI NGO-DRUP TSAL-DU SOL

Dear worthy root Guru, please ascend the lotus seat
atop the head of myself and the other beings,
and in your great kindness please remain with us.
Bestow upon us the blessings of your body, speech and mind.

PAL-DAN TSA-WEY LA-MA RINPOCHE
DAG-SOG NYING-KHAR PE-ME DAN-JUG LA
KA-DRIN CHEN-PO GO-NEY JE-ZUNG TE
CHO-DANG THUN-MONG NGO-DRUP TSAL-DU SOL

Precious, noble, root Guru, please occupy the lotus seat
within our hearts and in your great kindness remain with us.
Please grant us your blessings for our temporal success
and for the supreme attainment.

PAL-DAN TSA-WEY LA-MA RINPOCHE
DAG-SOG NYING-KHAR PE-ME DAN-JUG LA
KA-DRIN CHEN-PO GO-NEY JE-ZUNG TE
JANG-CHUB NYING-PO BAR-DU TAN-PAR SHUG

Beloved, noble, root Guru, please occupy the lotus seat
within our hearts and in your great kindness remain with us.
Please stay on until we achieve the great goal of Enlightenment.

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Extracts from The Gaden Lhagyama
The Guru Yoga of Lama Tsongkhapa

 

Nine Line Prayer to Lama Tsongkhapa

NGO-DRUB KUN-JUNG THUB-WANG DORJE-CHANG
MIG-MEY TZE-WAY TER-CHEN CHENREZIG
DRI-MEY KHYEN-PI WANG-PO JAMPAL-YANG
DU-PUNG MA-LU JOM-DZEY SANG-WEY-DAG
GANG-CHENG KE-PEY TSUG-GYEN LO-SANG-DRAG
KYAB-SUM KUN-DU LA-MA SANG-GYA-LA
GO-SUM GU-PAI GO-NA SOL-WA-DEB
RANG-ZHAN MIN-CHING DROL-WAR JIN-GYI-LOB
CHOG-DANG THUN-MONG NGO-DRUB TSAL-DU-SOL

The originator of all realisation, T’ubwang Dorje Chang,
Avalokiteshvara, great treasure of inapprehensible great compassion,
Manjushri, enriched with fully-knowing mind,
Vajrapani, destroyer of the entire hosts of Maras, Sumati Kirti, the most learned one, the crowning ornament of the Snow Lands,
Guru Buddha, the encompassment of the three objects of refuge.
Reverently I request you from my three doors
To ripen please the minds of myself and others,
And grant general and sublime realisations.

 

Four Line Prayer to Lama Tsongkhapa

MIG-MEY TZE-WEY TER-CHEN CHENREZIG
DRI-MEY KHYEN-PI WANG-PO JAMPAL YANG
GANG-CHEN KE-PEY TSUG-GYEN TSONGKHAPA
LO-SANG TRAG-PEY SHAB-LA SOL-WA DEB

Avalokiteshvara, great treasure of inapprehensible great compassion,
Manjushri, enriched with fully-knowing mind,
Tsongkhapa, the most learned one, the crowning ornament of the Snow Lands.
To you, Sumati Kirti, I make requests.

 

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The Heart Sutra
The Perfection Of Wisdom

Homage to the Perfection of Wisdom, the Blessed Mother.

Thus I have heard. At one time the Blessed One was dwelling in Rajagriha on Massed Vultures Mountain together with a great assembly of monks and Bodhisattvas. At that time, the Blessed One was absorbed in the concentration of the countless aspects of phenomena, called Profound Illumination.

At that time also the Superior Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva, the Great Being, was looking perfectly at the practice of the profound perfection of wisdom, looking perfectly at the emptiness of inherent existence also of the five aggregates.

Then, through the power of Buddha, the Venerable Shariputra said to the Superior Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva, the Great Being, “How should a son of the lineage train who wishes to engage in the practice of the profound Perfection of Wisdom?”

Thus he spoke, and the Superior Avalokiteshvara, Great Being, replied to Venerable Shariputra as follows: “Shariputra, whatever son or daughter of the lineage wishes to engage in the practice of the profound Perfection of Wisdom should look perfectly like this: subsequently looking perfectly and correctly at the emptiness of inherent existence also of the five aggregates.”

“Form is empty; emptiness is form. Emptiness is not other than form; form also is not other than emptiness. Likewise, feeling, discrimination, compositional factors and consciousness are empty.”

“Shariputra, like this all phenomena are merely empty, having no characteristics. They are not produced and do not cease. They have no defilement and no separation from defilement. They have no decrease and no increase.”

“Therefore, Shariputra, in emptiness there is no form, no feeling, no discrimination, no compositional factors, no consciousness. There is no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind; no form, no sound, no smell, no taste, no tactile object, no phenomenon. There is no eye element and so forth up to no mind element and also up to no element of mental consciousness. There is no ignorance and no exhaustion of ignorance, and so forth up to no ageing and death and no exhaustion of ageing and death. Likewise, there is no suffering, origin, cessation or path; no exalted wisdom, no attainment and also no non-attainment.”

“Therefore, the mantra of the perfection of wisdom, the mantra of great knowledge, the unsurpassed mantra, the equal-to-the-unequalled mantra, the mantra that thoroughly pacifies all suffering, since it is not false, should be known as the truth. The mantra of the Perfection of Wisdom is proclaimed:”

TAYATHA OM GATEY GATEY PARAGATEY PARASAMGATEY BODHI SOHA

“Shariputra, a Bodhisattva, a Great Being, should train in the profound perfection of wisdom like this.”

Then the Blessed One arose from that concentration and said to the Superior Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva, the Great Being, that he had spoken well: “Good, good, O son of the lineage. It is like that. Since it is like that, just as you have revealed, in that way the profound perfection of wisdom should be practiced, and the Tathagatas will also rejoice.”

When the Blessed One had said this, the Venerable Shariputra, the Superior Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva, the Great Being, and that entire assembly of disciples as well as the worldly beings – gods, humans, demi-gods and spirits – were delighted and highly praised what had been spoken by the Blessed One.

 

Reciting the Mantra

TAYATHA OM GATEY GATEY PARAGATEY PARASAMGATEY BODHI SOHA
(3x, 7x, 21x or more)

 

Requests to Overcome Hindrances

Great Mother, Prajnaparamita, and all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten directions, through the power of your blessings may these true words of mine be achieved. Just as before, when by contemplating the profound meaning of the Perfection of Wisdom and reciting its words, Indra overcame all the harm of maras, non-humans and so forth, in the same way, by my contemplating the profound meaning of the perfection of wisdom and reciting its words:

May all the harm of maras, non-humans and so forth be overcome. (clap)
May they become non-existent. (clap)
May they be pacified. (clap)
May they be thoroughly pacified. (clap)

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Ganglongma: Praise to Manjushri

Homage to Manjushri, The Buddha of Wisdom

Obeisance to my Guru and Protector, Manjushri,
Who holds to his heart a scriptural text symbolic of his seeing all things as they are,
Whose intelligence shines forth like the sun, unclouded by delusions or traces of ignorance,
Who teaches in sixty ways, with the loving compassion of a father for his only child,
all creatures caught in the prison of samsara, confused in the darkness of their ignorance,
overwhelmed by their suffering.

You, whose dragon-thunder-like proclamation of Dharma
arouses us from the stupor of our delusions and frees us from the iron chains of our karma;
Who wields the sword of wisdom hewing down suffering wherever its sprouts appear,
clearing away the darkness of ignorance;
You, whose princely body is adorned with the one hundred and twelve marks of a Buddha,
Who has completed the stages achieving the highest perfection of a Bodhisattva,
Who has been pure from the beginning,

Mantra: OM AH RA BA TSA NA DHI (21x, 1 mala or more – followed by 1 mala reciting the syllable “DHI”, with the breath held during the entire recitation.)

I bow down to you, O Manjushri;
With the brilliance of your wisdom, O compassionate one,
Illuminate the darkness enclosing my mind,
Enlighten my intelligence and wisdom,
So that I may gain insight into the Buddha’s words and the texts that explain them.

 

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A Concert of Names of Manjushri

 

Homage to Manjushri in youthful form.

Sixteen Verses on Requesting Instruction

(1) Then the glorious Holder of the Vajra,
The most superb tamer of those difficult to tame,
The hero, triumphant over the world’s three planes,
The powerful lord of the thunderbolt, ruler of the hidden,

(2) With awakened white-lotus eye,
Fully bloomed pink-lotus face,
Brandishing over and again
The supreme vajra with his hand –

(3) Together with countless Vajrapanis,
With features such as brows furrowed in fury,
Heroes, tamers of those difficult to tame,
Fearsome and heroic in form,

(4) Brandishing blazing-tipped vajras in their hands,
Superb in fulfilling the aims of wandering beings,
Through great compassion, discriminating awareness,
And skillful means,

(5) Having happy, joyful, and delighted dispositions,
Yet endowed with ferocious bodily forms,
Guardians to further the Buddhas’ enlightening influence,
Their bodies bowed – together with them

(6) Prostrated to the Guardian, the Vanquishing Master Surpassing All,
The Thusly Gone One, the Fully Enlightened,
And standing in front, his palms pressed together,
Addressed these words:

(7) “O Master of the All-Pervasive,
For my benefit, my purpose, from affection toward me,
So that I may obtain
Manifest enlightenment from illusion’s net

(8) For the welfare and attainment
Of the peerless fruit for all limited beings
Sunk in the swamp of unawareness,
Their minds upset by disturbing emotions,

(9) O Fully Enlightened, Vanquishing Master, Guru of Wanderers,
Indicator, Knower of the Great Close Bond and Reality,
Foremost Knower of Powers and Intents,
Elucidate, please,

(10) Regarding the enlightening body of deep awareness
of the Vanquishing Master,
The Great Crown Protrusion, the Master of Words,
The embodied deep awareness that is self-produced,
The deep awareness being, Manjushri,

(11) The superlative Concert of His Names,
With profound meaning, with extensive meaning,
with great meaning,
Unequaled, and supremely pacifying,
Constructive in the beginning, middle, and end,

(12) Which was proclaimed by previous Buddhas,
Will be proclaimed by future ones,
And which the Fully Enlightened of the present
Proclaim over and again,

(13) And which, in The Illusion’s Net
Great Tantra,
Was magnificently chanted
By countless delighted great holders of the vajras,
Holders of the hidden mantras.

(14) O Guardian, so that I (too) may be a holder
Of the hidden (teachings) of all the Fully Enlightened,
I shall preserve it with steadfast intention
Till my definite deliverance,

(15) And shall elucidate it to limited beings,
In accord with their individual intents,
For dispelling disturbing emotions, barring none,
And destroying unawareness, barring none.”

(16) Having requested the Thusly Gone One with these words,
The lord of the hidden, Vajrapani,
Pressed his palms together
And, bowing his body, stood in front.

Six Verses in Reply

(17) Then the Vanquishing Master Surpassing All,
Shakyamuni, the Able Sage,
The Fully Enlightened, the Ultimate Biped,
Extending from his mouth
His beautiful tongue, long and wide,

(18) Illuminating the world’s three planes
And taming the four (mara) demonic foes,
And displaying a smile, cleansing
The three worse rebirths for limited beings,

(19) And filling the world’s three planes
With his sweet Brahma-voice,
Replied to Vajrapani, the magnificently strong,
The lord of the hidden:

(20) “Excellent, O glorious Holder of the Vajra,
(I say) excellent to you, Vajrapani,
You who possess great compassion
For the sake of the welfare of wandering beings.

(21) Rise to the occasion to hear from me, now,
A Concert of Names of the enlightening body of deep awareness,
Manjushri, the great aim,
Purifying and eliminating negative force.

(22) Because of that, Overlord of the Hidden,
It’s excellent that I’m revealing it to you;
(So) listen with single-pointed mind.”

“O Vanquishing Master, that’s excellent,” he replied.

Two Verses of Beholding the Six Buddha-Families

(23) Then the Vanquishing Master Surpassing All,
Shakyamuni, the Able Sage,
Beholding in detail the entire family of great hidden mantra:
The family of holders of hidden mantras
and of mantras of pure awareness,
The family of the three,

(24) The family of the world and beyond the world,
The family, the great one, illuminating the world,
(That) family supreme, of (mahamudra) the great seal,
And the great family of the grand crown protrusion,

Three Verses on the Steps of Manifest Enlightenment by Means of Illusion’s Net

(25) Proclaimed the verse of the Master of Words,
Endowed with the sixfold mantra king,
(Concerning) the nondual source
With a nature of non-arising:

(26) “A a, i i, u u, e ai, o au, am a:.
Situated in the heart, I’m deep awareness embodied,
The Buddha of the Buddhas
Occurring in the three times.

(27) Om – Vajra Sharp,
Cutter of Suffering,
Embodied Discriminating Deep Awareness,
Enlightening Body of Deep Awareness,
Powerful Lord of Speech,
And Ripener of Wandering Beings (Ara-pachana) – homage to you.”

Fourteen Verses on the Great Mandala of the Vajra Sphere

(28) Like this is the Buddha (Manjushri),
the Vanquishing Master Surpassing All,
the Fully Enlightened:
He’s born from the syllable a,
The foremost of all phonemes, the syllable a,
Of great meaning, the syllable that’s deepest,

(29) The great breath of life, non-arising,
Rid of being uttered in a word,
Foremost cause of everything spoken,
Maker of every word perfectly clear.

(30) In his great offering festival, great longing desire’s
The provider of joy to limited beings;
In his great offering festival, great anger’s
The great foe of all disturbing emotion.

(31) In his great offering festival, great naivety’s
The dispeller of the naivety of the naïve mind;
In his great offering festival, great fury’s
The great foe of great fury.

(32) In his great offering festival, great greed’s
The dispeller of all greed;
He’s the one with great desire, great happiness,
Great joy, and great delight.

(33) He’s the one with great form, great enlightening body,
Great color, great physique,
Great name, great grandeur,
And a great and extensive mandala circle.

(34) He’s the great bearer of the sword of discriminating awareness,
The foremost great elephant-hook for disturbing emotions;
He’s the one with great renown, great fame,
Great luster, and great illumination.

(35) He’s the learned one, the bearer of great illusion,
The fulfiller of aims with great illusion,
The delighter with delight through great illusion,
The conjurer of an Indra’s net of great illusion.

(36) He’s the most preeminent master of great generous giving,
The foremost holder of great ethical discipline,
The steadfast holder of great patience,
The courageous one with great perseverance,

(37) The one abiding in the absorbed concentration
of great mental stability,
The holder of a body of great discriminating awareness,
The one with great strength, great skill in means,
Aspirational prayer, and a sea of deep awareness.

(38) He’s the immeasurable one, composed of great love,
He’s the foremost mind of great compassion,
Great discrimination, great intelligence,
Great skill in means, and great implementation.

(39) Endowed with the strength of great extraphysical powers,
He’s the one with great might, great speed,
Great extraphysical power, great (lordly) renown,
Great courage of strength.

(40) He’s the crusher of the great mountain of compulsive existence,
The firm holder of the great vajra;
The one with great fierceness and great ferociousness,
He’s the great terrifier of the terrifying.

(41) He’s the superlative guardian with great pure awareness,
The superlative guru with great hidden mantra;
Stepped up to the Great Vehicle’s mode of travel,
He’s superlative in the Great Vehicle’s mode of travel.

Twenty-five Verses, Less a Quarter, on the Deep Awareness of the Totally Pure Sphere of Reality

(42) He’s the Buddha (Vairochana), the great illuminator,
The great able sage, having great sagely (stillness);
He’s the one produced through great mantra’s mode of travel,
And, by identity-nature, he (himself) is great mantra’s mode of travel.

(43) He has attainment of the ten far-reaching attitudes,
Support on the ten far-reaching attitudes,
The purity of the ten far-reaching attitudes,
The mode of travel of the ten far-reaching attitudes.

(44) He’s the guardian, the powerful lord
of the ten (bhumi) levels of mind,
The one established through the ten (bhumi) levels of mind;
By identity-nature, he’s the purified ten sets of knowledge,
And the holder of the purified ten sets of knowledge.

(45) He’s the one with ten aspects, the ten points as his aim,
Chief of the able sages, the one with ten forces,
the master of the all-pervasive;
He’s the fulfiller of the various aims, barring none,
The powerful one with ten aspects, the great one.

(46) He’s beginningless and, by identity-nature,
parted from mental fabrication,
By identity-nature, the accordant state; by identity-nature,
the pure one;
He’s the speaker of what’s actual, with speech of no other,
The one who, just as he speaks, just so does he act.

(47) Non-dual, the speaker of nonduality,
Settled at the endpoint of what’s perfectly so;
With a lion’s roar of the lack of a true identity-nature,
He’s the frightener of the deer of the deficient extremists.

(48) Coursing everywhere, with his coursing meaningful,
(never in vain),
He has the speed of the mind of a Thusly Gone One;
He’s the conqueror, the full conqueror, with enemies conquered,
A (chakravartin) emperor of the universe, one that has great strength.

(49) He’s the teacher of hosts, the head of hosts,
The (Ganesha) lord of hosts, the master of hosts, the powerful one;
He’s the one with great strength, the one that’s keen (to carry the load),
The one that has the great mode of travel,
with no need for travel by another mode.

(50) He’s the lord of speech, the master of speech,
eloquent in speech,
The one with mastery over speech, the one with limitless words,
Having true speech, the speaker of truth,
The one that indicates the four truths.

(51) He’s irreversible, non-returning,
The guide for the mode of travel
of the self-evolving rhino pratyekas;
Definitely delivered through various (means)
of definite deliverance,
He’s the singular cause of the great elemental states.

(52) He’s a (bhiksu) full monk, (an arhat) with enemies destroyed,
Defilements depleted, with desire departed, senses tamed;
Having attained ease of mind, having attained a state of no fear,
He’s the one with (elements) cooled down, no longer muddied.

(53) Endowed to the full with pure awareness and movement,
He’s the Blissfully Gone, superb in his knowledge of the world;
He’s the one not grasping for “mine,” not grasping for a “me,”
Abiding in the mode of travel of the two truths.

(54) He’s the one that’s standing at the far shore,
beyond recurring samsara,
With what needs to be done having been done, settled on dry land,
His cleaving sword of discriminating awareness
Having drawn out the deep awareness of what’s unique.

(55) He’s the hallowed Dharma, the ruler of the Dharma,
the shining one,
The superb illuminator of the world;
He’s the powerful lord of Dharma, the king of the Dharma,
The one who shows the most excellent pathway of mind.

(56) With his aim accomplished, his thought accomplished,
And rid of all conceptual thought,
He’s the nonconceptual, inexhaustible sphere,
The superb, imperishable sphere of reality.

(57) He’s the one possessing positive force, a network of positive force,
And deep awareness, the great source of deep awareness,
Possessing deep awareness, having deep awareness
of what exists and what doesn’t exist,
The one with the built-up pair of networks networked together.

(58) Eternal, the ruler of all, he’s the (yogi) yoked to the authentic;
He’s stability of mind, the one to be made mentally stable,
the master of intelligence,
The one to be individually reflexively known, the immovable one,
The primordial one who’s the highest,
the one possessing three enlightening bodies.

(59) With an identity-nature of five enlightening bodies, he’s a Buddha;
With an identity-nature of five types of deep awareness,
a master of the all-pervasive,
Having a crown in the identity-nature of the five Buddhas,
Bearing, unhindered, the five enlightening eyes.

(60) He’s the progenitor of all Buddhas,
The superlative, supreme Buddhas’ spiritual son,
The womb giving rise to the existence of discriminating awareness,
The womb of the Dharma, bringing an end to compulsive existence.

(61) With a singular innermost essence of firmness,
by identity-nature, he’s a diamond-strong vajra;
As soon as he’s born, he’s master of the wandering world.
Arisen from the sky, he’s the self-arisen:
The great fire of discriminating deep awareness;

(62) The great-light (Vairochana,) Illuminator of All,
luminary of deep awareness, illuminating all;
The lamp for the world of the wanderers;
The torch of deep awareness;
The great brilliance, the clear light;

(63) Lord of the foremost mantras, king of the pure awareness;
King of the hidden mantras, the one that fulfills the great aim;
He’s the great crown protrusion, the wondrous crown protrusion,
The master of space, the one indicating in various ways.

(64) He’s the foremost one, an enlightening body
with the identity-nature of all the Buddhas,
The one with an eye for the joy of the entire wandering world,
The creator of diverse bodily forms,
The great (rishi) muse, worthy of offerings, worthy of honor.

(65) He’s the bearer of the three family traits,
the possessor of the hidden mantra,
He’s the upholder of the great close bond
and of the hidden mantra;
He’s the most preeminent holder of the three precious gems,
Indicator of the ultimate of the three vehicles of mind.

(66) He’s the totally triumphant, with an unfailing grappling-rope,
The great apprehender with a vajra grappling-rope,
With a vajra elephant-hook and a great grappling-rope.

Ten Verses, Plus a Quarter, Praising Mirror-like Deep Awareness

He’s Vajrabhairava, the terrifying vajra terrifier:

(67) Ruler of the furious, six-faced and terrifying,
Six-eyed, six-armed, and full of force,
The skeleton having bared fangs,
Halahala, with a hundred heads.

(68) He’s the destroyer of death (Yamantaka),
king of the obstructors,
(Vajravega,) vajra might, the terrifying one;
He’s vajra devastation, vajra heart,
Vajra illusion, the great bellied one.

(69) Born from the vajra (womb), he’s the vajra lord,
Vajra essence, equal to the sky;
Immovable (Achala), (with matted hair) twisted
into a single topknot,
Wearer of garments of moist elephant hide.

(70) Great horrific one, shouting “ha ha,”
Creator of terror, shouting “hi hi,”
With enormous laughter, (booming) long laughter,
Vajra laughter, great roar.

(71) He’s the vajra-minded (Vajrasattva),
the great-minded (mahasattva),
Vajra king, great bliss;
Vajra fierce, great delight,
Vajra Humkara, the one shouting “hum.”

(72) He’s the holder of a vajra arrow as his weapon,
The slasher of everything with his vajra sword;
He’s the holder of a crossed vajra, possessor of a vajra,
Possessor of a unique vajra, the terminator of battles.

(73) His dreadful eyes with vajra flames,
Hair on his head, vajra flames too,
Vajra cascade, great cascade,
Having a hundred eyes, vajra eyes.

(74) His body with bristles of vajra hair,
A unique body with vajra hair,
With a growth of nails tipped with vajras,
And tough, (firm) skin, vajras in essence.

(75) Holder of a garland of vajras, having glory,
He’s adorned with jewelry of vajras,
And has long (booming) laughter “ha ha,” with loud sound,
The vajra sound of the six syllables.

(76) He’s (Manjughosha,) with a lovely voice,
enormous volume,
A tremendous sound unique in the world’s three planes,
A voice resounding to the ends of space,
The best of those possessing a voice.

Forty-two Verses on Individualizing Deep Awareness

(77) He’s what’s perfectly so, the lack of identity-nature,
the actual state,
The endpoint of that which is perfectly so, that which isn’t a syllable;
He’s the proclaimer of voidness, the best of bulls
Bellowing a roar, profound and extensive.

(78) He’s the conch of Dharma, with a mighty sound,
The gong of Dharma, with a mighty crash,
The one in a state of non-abiding nirvana,
Kettledrum of Dharma in the ten directions.

(79) He’s the formless one, with an excellent form, the foremost one,
Having varied forms, made from the mind;
He’s a glory of appearances in every form,
The bearer of reflections, leaving out none.

(80) He’s the impervious one, with great (lordly) renown,
The great powerful lord of the world’s three planes;
Abiding with a lofty arya pathway of mind,
He’s the one raised on high, the crown banner of Dharma.

(81) He’s the body of youth unique in the world’s three planes,
The stable elder, the ancient one, the master of all that lives;
He’s the bearer of the thirty-two bodily signs, the beloved,
Beautiful throughout the world’s three planes.

(82) He’s the teacher of knowledge and good qualities to the world,
The teacher of the world without any fears,
The guardian, the rescuer, trusted throughout the world’s three planes,
The refuge, the protector, unsurpassed.

(83) The experiencer (of experiences) to the ends of space,
He’s the ocean of the deep awareness of the omniscient mind,
The splitter of the eggshell of unawareness,
The tearer of the web of compulsive existence.

(84) He’s the one with disturbing emotions stilled, without an exception,
The one crossed over the sea of recurring samsara;
He’s the wearer of the crown of the deep awareness empowerment,
Bearer of the Fully Enlightened as adornment.

(85) He’s the one stilled of the suffering of the three kinds of suffering,
The one with an endless ending of the three,
having gone to the liberation of the three;
He’s the one definitely freed from all obscurations,
The one who abides in space-like equality.

(86) He’s the one past the stains of all disturbing emotions,
The one understanding the three times as non-time;
He’s the great (naga) chief for all limited beings,
The crown of those wearing the crown of good qualities.

(87) Definitely freed from all (residue) bodies,
He’s the one well established in the track of the sky;
Bearer of a great wish-fulfilling gem,
He’s master of the all-pervasive, ultimate of all jewels.

(88) He’s the great and bounteous wish-granting tree,
The superlative great vase of excellence;
The agent fulfilling the aims of all limited beings,
the wisher of benefit,
He’s the one with parental affection toward limited beings.

(89) He’s the knower of what’s wholesome and what’s unwholesome,
the knower of timing,
The knower of the close bond, the keeper of the close bond,
the master of the all-pervasive;
He’s the knower of the faculties of limited beings,
the knower of the occasion,
The one skilled in the three (kinds of) liberation.

(90) He’s the possessor of good qualities, the knower of good qualities,
the knower of the Dharma,
The auspicious one, the source of what’s auspicious,
He’s the auspiciousness of everything auspicious,
The one with the auspicious sign of renown,
the famous, constructive one.

(91) He’s the great breath, the great festival,
The great joy, the great pleasure,
The show of respect, the one showing respect, the prosperous one,
The supremely joyous, the master of fame, the glorious one.

(92) Possessor of the best, he’s the provider of the best,
the most preeminent,
Suitable for refuge, he’s the superlative refuge,
The very best foe of the great frightful things,
The eliminator of what’s frightful, without an exception.

(93) Wearing his hair in a bun, he’s the one with a bun of hair,
Wearing his hair in mats, he’s the one having matted locks,
He’s the one draped with a munja-grass sacred cord,
the one wearing a crown,
The one with five faces, five buns of hair,
And five knotted locks, (each) crowned with a bloom.

(94) He’s the one maintaining great taming behavior,
the one with shaved head,
The one with celibate Brahma(-like) conduct,
the one with superlative taming behavior,
The one with great trials, the one who’s completed the trials,
The one who’s taken ablution, the foremost, Gautama.

(95) He’s a brahmin, a Brahma, the knower of Brahma,
The possessor of a Brahma-nirvana attainment;
The liberated one, he’s liberation,
the one with the body of full liberation,
The fully liberated one, the peaceful one, the state of peace.

(96) He’s nirvana release, the one with peace,
the one released in nirvana,
He’s the one most definitely delivered and nearly (brought to an end),
The one who’s completed bringing to an end pleasure and pain,
The one with detachment, the one with (residue) body consumed.

(97) He’s the invincible one, the incomparable one,
The unmanifest one, the one not appearing,
the one with no sign that would make him seen,
The unchanging, the all-going, the all-pervasive,
The subtle, the untainted, the seedless.

(98) He’s the one without a speck of dust, dustless, stainless,
With faults disgorged, the one without sickness;
He’s the wide-awake one, by identity-nature, the Fully Enlightened,
The Omniscient One, the superb knower of all.

(99) Beyond the nature of partitioning primary consciousness,
He’s deep awareness, bearer of the form of nonduality;
He’s the one without conceptual thought,
spontaneously accomplishing (without any effort),
The one enacting the enlightening deeds of the Buddhas
throughout the three times.

(100) He’s the Buddha, the one without a beginning or end,
The (beginning) primordial Adibuddha, the one without precedent;
The singular eye of deep awareness, the one with no stains,
Deep awareness embodied, he’s the One Thusly Gone.

(101) He’s the powerful lord of speech, the magnificent speaker,
The supreme being among speakers, the ruler of speakers,
The best of those speaking, the very best one,
The lion of speakers, inconquerable by others.

(102) Seeing all around, he’s supreme joy itself,
With a garland of brilliance, beautiful to behold;
He’s the magnificent light, the blazing one (Vishnu, beloved of Shri,)
the curl at the heart,
The illuminator with hands (that are rays) of blazing light.

(103) The best of the great physicians, he’s the most preeminent one,
The unsurpassed remover of (thorny) pains;
He’s the celestial tree of all medications, with none left out,
The great nemesis of the sicknesses ­of disturbing emotions.

(104) He’s the beauty mark of the world’s three planes, the lovely one,
The glorious one, with a mandala of lunar and zodiac constellation stars;
He’s the one extending to the ends of space in the ten directions,
The great ascending of the banner of Dharma.

(105) He’s the unique extension of an umbrella
over the wandering world,
With his mandala circle of love and compassion;
He’s the glorious one, the Powerful Lord of the Lotus Dance,
Great master of the all-pervasive, the one with an umbrella of precious gems.

(106) He’s the great king of all the Buddhas,
Holder of the embodiments of all the Buddhas,
Great yoga of all the Buddhas,
Unique teaching of all the Buddhas.

(107) He’s the glory of the empowerment of the vajra jewel,
Powerful lord of the sovereigns of all jewels;
Master of all (Lokeshvaras,) the powerful lords of the world,
He’s the sovereign of all (Vajradharas,) the holders of the vajra.

(108) He’s the great mind of all Buddhas,
The one that is present in the mind of all Buddhas;
He’s the great enlightening body of all Buddhas,
He’s the beautiful speech (Sarasvati) of all Buddhas.

(109) He’s the vajra sun, the great illuminator,
The vajra moon, the stainless light;
He’s great desire, the one that begins with non-desire,
Blazing light of various colors.

(110) He’s the vajra posture of the Fully Enlightened,
The bearer of the Dharma, the concert of the Buddhas;
He’s the glorious one, the one that’s born from the lotus of the Buddhas,
The keeper of the treasure of omniscient deep awareness.

(111) He’s the bearer of diverse illusions, he’s the king;
He’s the bearer of Buddhas’ pure awareness mantras,
he’s the great one;
He’s the vajra sharp, the great sword,
The supreme syllable, totally pure.

(112) He’s the Great Vehicle (Mahayana), the cutter of suffering,
He’s the great weapon, Vajra Dharma;
He’s (Jinajik,) the triumph of the triumphant, vajra profound,
He’s vajra intelligence, the knower of things and how they exist.

(113) He’s the perfected state of every far-reaching attitude,
The wearer of all (bhumi) levels of mind as adornment;
He’s the lack of a true identity-nature of totally pure existent things,
He’s correct deep awareness, the core light of the moon.

(114) He’s great diligence (applied), Illusion’s Net,
Sovereign of all tantras, the one that’s superb;
He’s the possessor of vajra (postures and) seats, without an exception,
He’s the bearer of enlightening bodies of deep awareness,
without an exception.

(115) He’s the all-around excellent (Samanta-bhadra),
he’s excellent intelligence,
He’s the womb of the earth (Kshiti-garbha),
the support of the wandering world;
He’s the great womb of all of the Buddhas,
The bearer of a circle of assorted emanations.

(116) He’s the supreme self-nature of all functional phenomena,
The bearer of the self-nature of all functional phenomena;
He’s the non-arising existent, with purposes diverse,
The bearer of the nature of all existent things.

(117) Great discriminating awareness in a single moment,
He’s the bearer of comprehension of all existent things;
The clear realization of all existent things,
He’s the able sage, with foremost intelligence,
the endpoint of that which is perfectly so.

(118) He’s the immovable one, extremely pure, by identity-nature,
The bearer of the purified state of the Perfect, Fully Enlightened Ones;
He’s the one having bare cognition of all Buddhas,
The flame of deep awareness, the excellent clear light.

Twenty-four Verses on Equalizing Deep Awareness

(119) He’s the fulfiller of wished-for aims, he’s superb,
The one totally purifying all of the worse rebirth states;
He’s the ultimate of all limited beings, the guardian,
The complete liberator of all limited beings.

(120) He’s the hero in the battle with disturbing emotions,
the unique one,
The slayer of the insolent arrogance of the enemy “unawareness”;
He’s intelligence, bearer of an enamored tone, the one with glory,
Bearer of forms with heroic and disdainful tones.

(121) He’s the one pounding with a hundred clubs in his hands,
He’s the dancer with a pounding-down of his feet;
He’s the one with glory, the user of a hundred (user) hands,
The dancer across (the sectors used in) the expanse of the sky.

(122) He’s the one standing on the surface of the mandala of the earth,
Pressing down on the surface with a single foot;
He’s the one standing on the nail of his large toe,
Pressing down on the tip of Brahma’s (egg-like) world.

(123) He’s the singular item,
the item regarding phenomena that’s nondual,
He’s the deepest (truth) item, (the imperishable powerful lord,)
the one that lacks what’s fearful;
He’s the item with a variety of revealing forms,
The one that has a continuity
of mind and of partitioning consciousness.

(124) He’s joyful awareness of existent things, without an exception,
He’s joyful awareness of voidness, the highest intelligence;
The one gone beyond the longing desires, and the likes,
of compulsive existence,
He’s great joyful awareness regarding the three (planes of)
compulsive existence.

(125) He’s the pure white one – a brilliant white cloud,
With beautiful light – beams of the autumn moon,
With an exquisite (face) – the mandala orb of a (youthful) sun,
With light from his nails – a great (passionate) red.

(126) With sapphire-blue hair knotted on top,
And wearing a great sapphire on top of his locks,
He’s the glorious one with the radiant luster of a magnificent gem,
Having as jewelry emanations of Buddha.

(127) He’s the shaker of spheres of hundreds of worlds,
The one with great force with his extraphysical powerful legs;
He’s the holder of the great (state of) mindfulness
as well as the facts of reality,
He’s the ruler of the absorbed concentrations
of the four types of mindfulness states.

(128) He’s the fragrance of the love-blossoms on the branches
(leading) to a purified state,
(The cream atop) the ocean of good qualities of the Thusly Gone Ones;
He’s the one knowing the mode of travel
with the eightfold pathway minds,
The one knowing the pathway mind of the Perfect, Fully Enlightened.

(129) He’s the one having great adherence to all limited beings,
But without having adherence, like the sky;
He’s the one entering the minds of all limited beings,
Having speed in accord with the minds of all limited beings.

(130) He’s the one with awareness of the powers
and objects of all limited beings,
The one who captures the hearts of all limited beings;
He’s the one with awareness of the items and reality
of the five aggregate factors,
The one who holds the full purity of the five aggregate factors.

(131) He’s the one standing at the end of every definite deliverance,
The one who’s skilled in that which brings every definite deliverance;
He’s the one standing on the path for every definite deliverance,
The one who’s indicating every definite deliverance.

(132) He’s the one who’s uprooted compulsive existence
with its twelvefold links,
The holder of their purification having twelvefold aspects;
Having the aspect of the mode of travel of the fourfold truths,
He’s the holder of the realization of the eightfold awareness.

(133) He’s the points of truth in twelvefold aspects,
The knower of reality in sixteen aspects,
The Fully Enlightened through twenty aspects,
The Enlightened Buddha, the superb knower of all.

(134) He’s the one making knowable millions
Of enlightening emanation bodies of innumerable Buddhas;
He’s the clear realization of everything in a moment,
The knower of the objects of all moments of mind.

(135) He’s the skillful means of the modes of travel
of the various vehicles of mind,
The one who makes knowable the aims of the wandering world;
He’s the one who’s definitely delivered threefold,
through the vehicles of mind,
The one who’s established as the fruit of (Ekayana,)
the single vehicle of mind.

(136) He’s the identity-nature totally pure of the spheres
of disturbing emotions,
He’s the depleter of the spheres of karma;
He’s the one who has fully crossed over the ocean of currents,
The one who’s emerged from the wilderness by means of the yogas.

(137) He’s the one fully rid of the disturbing emotions,
the auxiliary disturbing emotions,
And the general disturbing emotions, together with (all) their habits;
He’s discriminating awareness and great compassion as skillful means,
The one fulfilling the aims of the wandering world,
meaningfully (without fail).

(138) He’s the one with objects of all conceptual discernment
gotten rid of,
The one with objects of partitioning consciousness brought to a halt;
He’s the cognitive object (in reference to) the minds of all limited beings,
The one that abides in the minds of all limited beings.

(139) He’s the innermost stand of the minds of all limited beings,
The one who’s passing as the equality of their minds;
He’s the one bringing satisfaction to the minds of all limited beings,
He’s the joy of the mind of all limited beings.

(140) He’s the culminating point of actualization,
the one with confusion departed,
He’s the one with every mistake dispelled;
He’s intelligence not indecisively wavering, the one that is threefold,
The one (fulfilling) everyone’s aims,
with an identity-nature of three constituents.

(141) He’s the object (in reference to) the five aggregate factors,
the one throughout the three times,
The one that makes things individually knowable in every instant;
He’s the one with manifest total enlightenment in an instant,
The bearer of all the Buddhas’ self-nature.

(142) He’s the one with an enlightening body that’s incorporeal,
the foremost of enlightening bodies,
The one that makes knowable millions of enlightening bodies;
He’s the one exhibiting everywhere a variety of forms,
He’s the great gem, (Ratnaketu,) the crowning jewel.

Fifteen Verses on the Accomplishing Deep Awareness

(143) He’s the one to be realized by all the Fully Enlightened,
He’s the purified state of a Buddha, the peerless;
He’s the one that isn’t a syllable, the one comes forth
from hidden mantra’s womb,
The triad of families of great hidden mantra.

(144) He’s the creator of every significance of hidden mantra,
He’s the great creative energy-drop, that which isn’t a syllable;
He’s the great void, having five syllables,
And the creative-drop void, having six syllables.

(145) He’s the possessor of all aspects, that which hasn’t an aspect,
He’s the bearer of the sixteen creative drops, and half of their half;
He’s the one without phases, beyond count,
Holder of the peak of the fourth level of mental stability.

(146) He’s the advanced awareness of the phases of all levels
of mental stability,
The knower of the families and castes of absorbed concentration;
He’s the one with the enlightening body of absorbed concentration,
the foremost of the enlightening bodies,
The ruler of all (Sambhogakaya,) Enlightening Bodies of Full Use.

(147) He’s the one with a (Nirmanakaya,)
Enlightening Body of Emanations,
the foremost of the enlightening bodies,
Holder of the lineage of Buddha’s emanations;
He’s the one issuing forth various emanations in the ten directions,
The one fulfilling the aims of the wandering world,
whatever they may be.

(148) He’s the chief of the deities, the deity over the deities,
The chief of the gods, the overlord of the (devilish) non-gods,
The chief of the immortals, the guru of the gods,
The destroyer, and the powerful lord of the destroyers.

(149) He’s the one with the wilderness of compulsive existence
crossed over,
The unique indicator, the guru for the wandering world;
He’s renowned throughout the world’s ten directions,
The master of generous giving of the Dharma, the great one.

(150) Armored with the armor of love,
Coated with a coat-of-mail of compassion,
Wielder of a sword of discriminating awareness and a bow and arrow,
He’s the one who finishes the battle against disturbing emotions
and unawareness.

(151) He’s the heroic one, enemy of the (mara) demonic forces,
subduer of the maras,
The one who brings fear of the four maras to an end;
Defeater of the military forces of all maras,
He’s the Fully Enlightened, the leader of the world.

(152) He’s the one worthy of offerings, worthy of praise,
the one for prostration,
Worthy of (being honored) forever in paintings,
Worthy of shows of respect, most worthy of veneration,
Worthy for homage, the highest guru.

(153) He’s the one traversing the world’s three planes in a single stride,
The one striding forth endlessly, just like space;
He’s the one with triple knowledge, (proficiency in the sacred,)
clean and pure,
Possessor of the six types of heightened awareness
and the six types of close mindfulness.

(154) He’s a bodhisattva, a great-minded (mahasattva),
The one with great extraphysical powers,
the one gone beyond the world;
(Situated) at the endpoint of far-reaching discriminating awareness
(prajnaparamita),
He’s the one who’s come to reality through discriminating awareness.

(155) He’s the one with all knowledge of self
and knowledge of others,
Helpful to all, the foremost person (of all);
He’s the one who’s gone beyond all comparison,
The superb sovereign of knowing and what’s to be known.

(156) He’s the master of generous giving of Dharma,
the most preeminent,
The one who shows the meaning of the fourfold (mudra) seals;
He’s the one most fitting to be helped and shown respect by the worldly
And by those traversing the three (pathways of) definite deliverance.

(157) He’s the purity and glory of the deepest truth,
The portion of excellence of the world’s three planes, the great one;
The one bringing all enrichments, the one having glory,
He’s Manjushri, (the lovely and glorious,)
supreme among those possessing glory.

Five Verses on the Deep Awareness of the Five Thusly Gone Ones

(158) Homage to you, granter of the best (boon), the foremost vajra;
Homage to you, the endpoint of what’s perfectly so;
Homage to you, the womb of voidness;
Homage to you, the Buddhas’ purified state.

(159) Homage to you, the Buddhas’ attachment;
Homage to you, the Buddha’s desire;
Homage to you, the Buddhas’ enjoyment;
Homage to you, the Buddhas’ play.

(160) Homage to you, the Buddhas’ smile;
Homage to you, the Buddhas’ (shining) laugh;
Homage to you, the Buddha’s speech;
Homage to you, the Buddha’s (state of) mind.

(161) Homage to you, rising from non-true existence;
Homage to you, arising from the Buddhas;
Homage to you, rising from space;
Homage to you, arising from deep awareness.

(162) Homage to you, illusion’s net;
Homage to you, the Buddhas’ dancer;
Homage to you, everything for everyone;
Homage to you, enlightening body of deep awareness.

The Mantras

Om sarva dharma ‘bhava svabhava,
vishuddha vajra chakshu, a a am a:

Om – the total purity of all existents,
By self-nature, non-truly existent,
Through the vajra eye – a a am a:

Prakrti parishuddha:
sarvadharma yad uta
sarvatathagata jnanakaya
manjushri parishuddhitam
upadayeti

That which is the completely pure nature
Of all existents takes the form, indeed,
Of the completely purified Manjushri,
The enlightening body of deep awareness
of all Thusly Gone

A a: sarvatathagata hrdayam
hara hara om hum hri:
bhagavan jnanamurti
vagishvara mahapacha
sarvadharma gaganamala
suparishuddha dharmadhatu
jnanagarbha a:

A a: – the heart of all the Thusly Gone,
Take out, take out – om hum hri:
Vanquishing master surpassing all, embodied deep awareness,
Powerful lord of speech, the great one who ripens,
The complete total purity of all the existents, stainless like space,
Womb of deep awareness of the sphere of reality – a:

Five Verses as an Epilogue

(163) Then the glorious Holder of the Vajra,
Joyful and delighted, with palms pressed together,
Bowing to the Guardian, the Vanquishing Master Surpassing All,
The Thusly Gone One, the Fully Enlightened,

(164) Together with the other guardians of many (varied) sorts,
Lords of the hidden, Vajrapanis,
Kings of the furious,
Loudly proclaimed these words of praise,

(165) “We rejoice, O Guardian,
Excellent, excellent, well said.
For us, the great (guardian) aim has (now) been fulfilled,
The attainment of a perfect, full enlightenment state;

(166) And for the wandering world also, lacking a guardian,
Wishing for the fruit of complete liberation,
This excellent and pure pathway mind has been shown,
The mode of travel of Illusion’s Net.

(167) This cognitive object indeed of the Buddhas,
Having a profound and extensive broad scope,
The great aim, fulfilling the aims of the wandering world,
Has been expounded by the Perfect, Fully Enlightened One.”

A Concert of the Deepest Truth Names of the Vanquishing Master Surpassing All, the Deep Awareness Being Manjushri, expounded by the Vanquishing Master, the Thusly Gone One, Shakyamuni, is hereby completed.

 

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Chanting the Names of Manjushri

 

 

In the language of India (gya kar ke du):
Arya-mañjushri-nama-samgiti

In the language of Tibet (pö ke du):
Phag pa jam päl gyi tshän yang dag par jö pa

In the English language:
Chanting the Names of Mañjushri

Jam päl shyön nur gyur pa la chhag tshäl lo
Homage to Mañjushri who is a True Prince.

 

Sixteen Verses on Requesting Instructions

1
Now the glorious Vajradhara, superb in taming those difficult to tame, being victorious over the triple world, a hero, an esoteric ruler, a lord with his weapon.

2
His eyes as opened white lotuses and face like a pale red lotus in bloom, in his hand waving now and again the best of vajras.

3
With endless Vajrapanis showing billows of angry brows, heroes in taming those difficult to tame, their forms heroic and fearsome.

4
Their hands waving the flashing-tipped vajras, excellent agents for the sake of the world by their great compassion and insight and means.

5
By disposition happy and joyful, delighted, but with forms of wrath and hostility, protectors in doing the duty of buddhas, altogether they stood bent down in homage.

6
Bowing to the protector, the completely awakened, the blessed one, the Tathagata [Vajradhara] stood in front, his hands folded in homage, and spoke these words:

7
“For my sake, my benefit, O Overlord, through compassion towards me, may I be an obtainer of the realization process of Illusion’s Net.

8
“For the sake of all beings sunk in unknowing, their minds confused in defilement, that they may obtain the highest fruit.

9
“May the completely awakened, the blessed one, the teacher, the guide of the world, knowing the reality of the great vow, highest in knowing the faculties and dispositions, may he reveal

10
“[the Litany of Names] of Mañjushri, the gnostic entity, who is self-produced, embodied gnosis, the blessed one’s gnostic body, vocal lord, the great coronal dome;

11
“This excellent Litany of Names with depth of meaning and lofty meaning, with great meaning, unequalled and blessed, wholesome in beginning, middle, and end;

12
“That which was spoken by previous buddhas will be spoken by the future ones, and that which the completely awakened in the present recite again and again;

13
“[That Litany of Names] extolled in the Mayajalamaha Tantra by unlimited delighted Mahavajradharas, bearers of mantras,

14
“Until deliverance I will preserve it with steadfast intention, since I am, O Protector, the esoteric bearer for all the completely awakened.

15
“For the destruction of their every defilement and elimination of all their unknowing, I will reveal this [Litany] to beings, each according to his own disposition.”

16
Having beseeched the Tathagata thus for instruction, Vajrapani, the esoteric leader, his body bent, his hands folded in homage, stood in the fore [of the assembly].

 

Six Verses in Reply

17
Then Shakyamuni, the blessed one, the completely awakened, the best of men, having thrust from his mouth his beautiful, long, wide tongue.

18
He displayed a smile cleansing the three evil states [of existence] throughout the worlds illuminating the triple world and chastening the enemies, the four maras;
19
Flooding the triple world with this divine sweet praise, he replied to Vajrapani, the esoteric leader of great power.

20
“Well done, O glorious Vajradhara; it is proper of you, Vajrapani, that, prompted by great compassion for the world’s benefit,

21
“You are eager to hear from me the Litany of Names of the gnostic body of Mañjushri, having great meaning, purifying and clarifying transgression.

22
“That is well done, and I will teach it to you, O Esoteric Ruler. Listen with your mind one-pointed, O Blessed One; that is well done.”

 

Two Verses of Reflecting on the Six Families

23
Then Shakyamuni, the blessed one, reflected on the three families, the entire mantra family, the mantra-vidyadhara family.

24
The worldly and superworldly family, the grand world illuminating family, the foremost family, the Mahamudra, and the great family, the exalted coronal dome.

 

Three Verses on the Steps in the
Realization Process of Illusion’s Net

25
[Shakyamuni] pronounced this mystic verse, having six mantrarajas and possessing unarisen characteristics, being non-dual in arising and joined with the vocal lord:

26
“A Ä I I U U E AI O AU AM AH stand in the heart. I am Buddha, the embodied knowledge of the buddhas occurring in the three times.

27
“OM homage to you, Embodied Knowledge of Insight, Cutter of Suffering, Sharp as a Vajra. Homage to you, Lord of Speech, Gnostic Body, Arapacana!

 

Fourteen Verses on the Vajradhatu Mahamandala

28
“And in this way the blessed one, the Buddha [Mañjushri], the completely awakened, born from the syllable AH, is the syllable AH, the foremost of all phonemes, of great meaning, the supreme syllable.

29
“Aspirated, unoriginated, without uttering a sound, he is the foremost cause of all expression, shining forth within all speech.

30
“His great desire is an exalted festival, securing the happiness of all beings; his great anger is an exalted festival, being the enemy of all defilements.

31
“His great delusion is an exalted festival, subduing the delusion in those with dull wit; his great wrath is an exalted festival, the great enemy of great wrath.

32
“His great avarice is an exalted festival, subduing all avarice; his great desire is the great delight, grand happiness and great pleasure.

33
“Of great form and great body, with great color and grand physique, with exalted name he is very noble, having a grand expansive mandala.

34
“Bearing the great sword of insight, with a great ankus for defilements, he is foremost, greatly famous, very renowned, with great light and exalted splendor.

35
“Bearing the grand illusion, he is wise, accomplishing the object [of beings in] the grand illusion. Delighted with the pleasure of the grand illusion, he is a conjuror of grand illusions.

36
“Highest in being a lord of great giving, foremost in exalted morality, firm through embracing great forbearance, he is zealous with great heroism.

37
“Present in exalted meditation (dhyana) and concentration (samadhi), bearing the body of great insight, he is great strength, great means; he is aspiration and the gnostic ocean.

38
“Unlimited in loving kindness, greatly compassionate and most intelligent, with great insight and grand intellect, he is great in means with profound performance.

39
“Arrived at great strength and psychic power, very intense and very fast, employing great psychic power and bearing the name ‘Great Lord,’ his zeal is in great strength.

40
“Splitter of the vast mountain of existence, being Mahavajradhara he is indestructible. Being very fierce and very terrible, he creates fear in the very ferocious.

41
“Being highest with mahavidyas, he is the protector; being highest with mahamantras, he is the guide. Having mounted to the practice of the Great Vehicle, he is highest in the practice of the Great Vehicle.

 

Twenty-Five Verses, Less a Quarter,
on the Very Pure Dharmadhatu Gnosis

42
“Being Mahavairochana, he is Buddha; he is a great sage with profound sapience, and as he is produced by the great practice of mantras, by nature he is the great practice of mantras.

43
“Having obtained the ten perfections, he is the basis for the ten perfections. Being the purity of the ten perfections, he is the practice of the ten perfections.

44
“Being the lord of the ten stages, he is the protector established on the ten stages. Himself pure with the ten knowledges, he is the pure bearer of the ten knowledges.

45
“Having ten aspects, his purpose being the ten referents, he is the leader of sages, a Ten-powered One, an overlord. Performing all and every sort of purpose, he is great, with control in ten aspects.

46
“Beginningless and by nature without diffusion, naturally pure and in nature suchness, exclaiming just how it is, and, as he says, so he does without any other speech.

47
“Non-dual and proclaiming non-duality, he stands just at the limit of actuality. With his lion’s roar of egolessness, he frightens the deer that is the evil heretic.

48
“Penetrating everywhere, his path is fruitful; with a speed like the Tathagata’s thought, he is a victor whose enemies are conquered, and a conqueror, a universal ruler with great strength.

49
“At the head of hosts, a preceptor of hosts, a lord of hosts, and a commander of hosts with power, he is foremost through great sustaining power and with an excellent practice, not to be guided by others.

50
“As the lord of speech, the commander of speech possessed of eloquence, he is the master of speech unending in fluency, and with true speech he speaks the truth, teaching the four truths.

51
“Not turning back and not seeking rebirth, he is like a rhinoceros, a leader of self-enlightened; having been delivered by various kinds of deliverance, he is the unique cause of the great elements.

52
“An arhat, a bhikshu with his impurities exhausted, he is separated from passion, his senses subdued. He has obtained ease and fearlessness, becoming cool and limpid.

53
“Completed in wisdom and good conduct, he is well gone (sugata), the best councilor of the world. Without a sense of ‘I’ and ‘mine,’ he is established in the practice of the two truths.

54
“Standing at the uttermost limit of samsara, he rests on the terrace, his duty done. Having rejected isolatory knowledge, he is the cleaving sword of insight.

55
“With true Dharma, a king of Dharma, shining, he is supreme as luminary of the world. A lord of Dharma, a king of Dharma, he is the instructor in the path toward wellbeing.

56
“His aim accomplished and thought accomplished, he has abandoned thought. Devoid of mentation, his sphere is indestructible, the dharmadhatu, supreme, imperishable.

57
“Possessed of merit, with accumulated merit, he is knowledge and the great source of knowledge. Possessed of knowledge in knowing the real and unreal, he has accumulated the two accumulations.

58
“Eternal, a universal ruler, a yogin, he is meditation and to be reflected upon, the lord of the intelligent. He is to be personally realized, truly unshakable, primeval, bearing the triple body.

59
“A buddha in his nature of five bodies, an overlord by his nature of five types of gnosis, wearing a diadem whose nature is five buddhas, having five eyes he maintains dissociation.

60
“The progenitor of all buddhas, he is Buddha’s son, supreme, the best. Arisen from existence in insight, he is sourceless, his source is the Dharma while he puts an end to existence.

61
“His unique essence impenetrable, himself a vajra, immediately arisen he is the lord of the world; arisen from the sky and self-arisen, he is the exalted fire of insightful gnosis.

62
“Vairochana, the great lumen, the light of gnosis, he is the illuminator; the lamp of the world, the torch of gnosis, with great splendor he is radiant light.

63
“Vidyaraja, the lord of excellent mantras, he is mantraraja performing the great goal. As the exalted coronal dome, the marvelous coronal dome, he teaches in every sort of way, the lord of space.

64
“Foremost, as he is the physical presence of all buddhas, with his eyes bringing happiness to the world; with manifold form he is the creator, a great sage to be worshipped and honored.

65
“Bearing the three families, he is a possessor of mantras, bearing up mantras and the great vow; he is best in bearing up the Triple Gem and the highest teacher of the triple vehicle.

66
“Being Amoghapasha, he is victorious; as Vajrapasha he is a great grabber; he is Vajrakusha with a great noose.

 

Ten Verses, Plus a Quarter, on the Mirror-Like Gnosis

“The great terror-being Vajrabhairava,

67
“King of furies, six-headed and terrible, six-eyed and sixarmed and strong; he is a skeleton baring its fangs, hundredheaded, Halahala.

68
“Yamantaka, the king of obstructions, with the force of a vajra, the creator of fear, his is the famous vajra, with a vajra in his heart, having the illusory vajra and a great belly.

69
“A lord with his weapon, whose source is vajra, with the essence of vajra he is like the sky, and having a unique, unmoving multitude of tufts of hair, he is wet in bearing the elephant-skin garment.

70
“With great terror, saying Ha Ha, and creating fear saying Hi Hi, with a terrible laugh, a great laugh, he is Vajrahasa, the great clamor.

71
“He is Vajrasattva, the great being, and Vajraraja with great bliss. Indestructible violent with great delight, he performs the HUM of the Vajrahumkara.

72
“Taking as a weapon the arrow of vajra, with the sword of vajra he slashes. Holding the crossed vajra, a possessor of vajra, with the unique vajra he is victorious in battle.

73
“Having terrible eyes blazing like a vajra and with hair blazing like a vajra; he is Vajravesha, in exalted possession, with a hundred eyes, eyes of vajra.

74
“His body hairs bristling like vajras, a unique body with vajrahairs, the origin of his nails in the tips of vajras, he has skin which is impenetrable and in essence vajra.

75
“Glorious in bearing a rosary of vajras and ornamented by ornaments of vajra, his is the great noise and the terrible laugh Ha Ha, and the six syllables with noise like a vajra.

76
“Gentle-voiced (Mañjughosha), with a great roar, he is great with the sound unique in the world. He is sonance as far as the end of the sphere of space and the best of those possessed of sound.

 

Forty-Two Verses on the Gnosis in Individual Inspection

77
“Being suchness, actual egolessness, the limit of actuality, and devoid of syllables, he is a bull among the speakers of emptiness with a roar both deep and high.

78
“As the conch of the Dharma he has great sound, and as the gong of the Dharma he has great noise; by his nonlocalized nirvana he is the drum of the Dharma in the ten directions.

79
“Without form and with form he is the foremost, with various forms made from thought. Being the majesty in the shining of all form, he bears the reflected images in their totality.

80
“Invincible, distinguished, the lord over the triple-sphere, being well advanced on the noble path he is the crest ornament of the Dharma with great sovereignty.

81
“His body uniquely youthful in the triple world, he is an elder, old, the lord of creatures. Bearing the thirty-two marks [of the Mahapurusha] he is charming and handsome in the triple world.

82
“A preceptor of the qualities and knowledge of the world, with confidence he is the preceptor to the world. He is protector, preserver, trustworthy in the triple world, a refuge and the highest defender.

83
“His active experience (sambhoga) the extension of space, he is the ocean of the Omniscient’s gnosis. He splits the shell around the egg of ignorance and tears the net of existence.

84
“With the general defilements totally pacified, he has gone to the far shore of samsara’s ocean. Wearing the diadem of the gnostic consecration, he has for his ornament the perfectly awakened.

85
“Easing the distress of the three kinds of suffering and bringing the three to an end, he is endless, passed to the triple liberation; released from all veils, he has passed [to the state of] equality like space.

86
“Beyond the filth of all defilements, he thoroughly comprehends the three times and timelessness; he is the great snake for all beings, the crown of those crowned with qualities.

87
“Released from all residues he is well established in the track of space; bearing the great wish-fulfilling gem, he is the highest of all jewels, the overlord.

88
“He is the wide wishing tree and the best of great good vases; an agent acting for the sake of beings, he desires their benefit, with affection towards beings.

89
“Knowing the skillful and the destructive and aware of timing, he understands the occasion, and possessing his vow, is the overlord. Knowing the faculties of beings and the correct opportunity, he is skilled in the triple release.

90
“Possessed of qualities, knowing qualities and knowing Dharma, he is auspicious, arisen from auspiciousness. The auspiciousness of all that is auspicious, he is fame and fortune, renown and goodness.

91
“Being the great festival, the great respite, the grand happiness and the great pleasure, he is a considerate reception, hospitality, prosperity, real joy, glory and the lord of renown.

92
“Possessed of excellence, the best benefactor, giving refuge he is the highest refuge. Best among the enemies of great fear, he destroys without exception all fear.

93
“With a tuft of hair, with a crest of hair, an ascetic with braided hair and twisted locks, he has a shaven head and diadem. Having five faces and five hair knots, his flowered crown is of five knots of hair.

94
“Holding on to the great vow of austerity, he wears the ascetic’s grass girdle, his practice pure and highest in his austere vow. Having great penance and having gone to the fulfillment of asceticism, he has taken his ritual bath to be the foremost Gautama.

95
“A divine brahmana, knower of brahman, he is Brahma having obtained brahmanirvana. He is release, liberation, his body true liberation; he is true release, peacefulness, and final blessedness.

96
“He is nirvana, cessation, peace, well-being, deliverance, and termination. Ending pleasure and pain, he is the utter conclusion, renunciation with residues destroyed.

97
“Unconquered, incomparable, indistinct, invisible, and spotless, he is partless, with total access, all-pervading, yet subtle, a seed without impurities.

98
“Without dirt, dustless, stainless, with faults expelled, and free from disease, he is wide awake, himself awakened, omniscient, universally knowing, and supreme.

99
“Gone beyond the conditionality of consciousness, he is gnosis, bearing the form of nonduality. Devoid of mentation, spontaneous, he performs the duty of the buddhas of the three times.

100
Without beginning or end, he is Buddha, Adibuddha without causal connection. Stainless with his unique eye of gnosis, he is embodied gnosis, the Tathagata.

101
“Lord of speech, the great expounder, the king of speakers, the chief of speakers, he is supreme in being the most excellent among those speaking, the invincible lion of elucidators.

102
“Seen in all directions, elation itself, with a garland of splendor, handsome, the beloved of Shri, radiant, illuminating, he is light, with the splendor of the illuminator.

103
“Being the best of great physicians, he is superb, and as a surgeon, the finest. As the tree of every sort of medicine, he is the great enemy of the sickness of defilement.

104
“In being the tilaka mark of the triple world, he is pleasing and glorious, with a mystic circle of the lunar mansions. Extending as far as the sky in the ten directions, he raises the banner of the Dharma.

105
“Being the unique vast umbrella for the world, his is the mystic circle of loving kindness and compassion. As Padmanarteshvara he is glorious, variegated like a jewel, the great overlord.

106
“Being an exalted king among all buddhas, he bears the body of all buddhas; as the mahayoga of all buddhas, he is the unique teaching of all buddhas.

107
“Glorious with the consecration of Vajraratna, he is lord among all jewel monarchs. Being lord over all Lokeshvaras, he is the monarch over all Vajradharas.

108
“As the great mind of all buddhas, he is present in the mind of all buddhas. Having the exalted body of all buddhas, he is the Sarasvati of all buddhas.

109
“The vajra-like sun, the great light, with the stainless brilliance of the vajra-like moon, and having the great desire of renunciation and so forth, his is the blazing light in every sort of color.

110
“Maintaining the cross-legged position of the completely awakened, he preserves the Dharma discussed by the buddhas. Arisen from the lotus of the Buddha, he is glorious, wearing the treasury of the Omniscient’s gnosis.

111
“Bearing every sort of illusion, he is king, and as the holder of the incantations of the buddhas, he is exalted. Vajratikshna with a great sword, he is pure with the highest syllable.

112
“Whose great weapon is the Vajradharma of the Great Vehicle which cuts off suffering, he conquers the victors and, deep as a vajra, with vajra-like intellect, knows objects just as they are.

113
“Fulfilling all the perfections, he wears as ornaments all the levels; as the egolessness of the pure Dharma, his light in his heart is from the moon of perfect gnosis.

114
“With the great perseverance of the Mayajala, becoming the monarch of all tantras, he is supreme. Maintaining every cross-legged position, he bears every gnostic body.

115
“As Samantabhadra the very intelligent, being Kshitigarbha supporting the world, as the great womb of all buddhas, he bears the wheel of every sort of transformation.

116
“Foremost as the proper nature of all existents, he maintains the proper nature of all existents. By nature unarisen, yet with every sort of referent, he bears the proper nature of all dharmas.

117
“Having great insight in one instant, he maintains the internal comprehension of all dharmas. With his realization toward all dharmas, and as the sage at the end of actuality, he is very sharp.

118
“Motionless, himself very clear, he bears the enlightenment of the perfect completely awakened, face to face with all buddhas, having fire-tongues of gnosis and radiant light.

 

Twenty-Four Verses on the Gnosis of Equality

119
“As the accomplisher of the desired object, supreme, purifying all evil existences, being the highest of beings, he is protector, the liberator of all beings.

120
“Alone the hero in the battle with defilements, he kills the pride of the enemy ‘unknowing.’ He is intelligence and glory, maintaining an amorous manner, yet he bears a form heroic and fearsome.

121
“Shaking a hundred hand-held clubs, dancing with the placing of the feet, with the extension of a hundred glorious arms, he dances the full expanse of space.

122
“Standing on the surface at the summit of the earth which is being overcome by the bottom of one foot, he stands on the nail of the foot’s big toe, overcoming the peak of the egg of Brahma.

123
“Being the one goal in the ultimate sense of the non-dual Dharma, he is absolute truth, imperishable. While his sense objects are in the forms of various representations, he is uninterrupted in mind and consciousness.

124
“With pleasure towards every existential object and with pleasure in emptiness, he has the foremost intellect. Having gone beyond the desire and so forth within existence, his great pleasure is toward the three kinds of existence.

125
“White like a pure, radiant cloud and shining like the beams of the autumn moon, with the beauty of the mystic circle of the newly risen sun, the light from his nails is intensely red.

126
“His fine fair locks with points of sapphire and bearing in his hair crest a great sapphire, glorious with the luster of great jewels, his ornaments are transformations of the Buddha.

127
“Shaking hundreds of world spheres, he strides wide with the ‘feet of psychic power.’ Bearing the great recollection, he is reality, the king over the concentration of the four recollections.

128
“Fragrant from the blossoms of the limbs of enlightenment, being the ocean of qualities of the Tathagata, in knowing the practice of the eight-limbed path, he knows the path of the perfect completely awakened.

129
“Greatly adhering to all beings, he adheres to nothing, like the sky; arisen from the mind of all beings, he has the speed of the minds of all beings.

130
“Knowing the value of the faculties of all beings, he captures the hearts of all beings; knowing the reality of the meaning in the five skandhas, he is the pure bearer of the five skandhas.

131
“Established at the limit of all modes of deliverance, he is skilled in all modes of deliverance; established on the path of all modes of deliverance, he is the teacher of all modes of deliverance.

132
“Rooting out existence in its twelve limbs, he is the pure bearer of twelve aspects, with the aspect of the practice of the four truths, he maintains the realization of the eight knowledges.

133
“His referent truth in twelve aspects, knowing the sixteen aspects of reality, he is totally enlightened to the twenty aspects, awake, omniscient and supreme.

134
“Sending forth crores of emanating bodies of uncountable buddhas, his complete realization is in every moment, knowing the objects of every instant of mind.

135
“Considering the purpose of the world by the means of practicing the various vehicles, while delivered by the triple vehicle, he is established in the fruit of the unique vehicle.

136
“Himself purified from defiled elements, he subdues the elements of karma; crossed over the ocean of the floods, he has departed the wilderness of the adhesions.

137
“Along with the perfuming elements he casts off the defilements, the associate defilements, and the general defilements. Being compassion and insight and means, he acts successfully for the sake of the world.

138
“His purpose the casting off of all conceptions, toward the objects of consciousness he maintains suppression. His referent the mind of all beings, he is present in the minds of all beings.

139
“Established within the minds of all beings, he enters into equality with their minds; satisfying the minds of all beings, he is the pleasure of all beings’ minds.

140
“Being the final statement, free from bewilderment, he is exempt from all error; having three referents, his mind is free of doubt, and having all objects, his nature is of three qualities.

141
“His referents the five skandhas and the three times, he considers every instant; obtaining total awakening in one instant, he is the bearer of the proper nature of all buddhas.

142
“Having a bodiless body, the foremost of bodies, he sends forth crores of bodies; displaying forms without exception, he is Ratnaketu, the great gem.

 

Fifteen Verses on the Situationally Effective Wisdom

143
“To be realized by all buddhas, as the enlightenment of the Buddha, he is supreme; devoid of syllables, his source is in mantra; he is the triad of the great mantra families.

144
“The progenitor of the significance of all mantras, he is the great bindu, devoid of syllables; with five syllables and greatly void, he is voidness in the bindu, with one hundred syllables.

145
“Having all aspects, having no aspects, he bears four bindus; partless, beyond enumeration, he sustains the limit at the level of the fourth meditation.

146
“Directly knowing all the branches of meditation, knowing the lineages and families of concentration, with a body of concentration, the foremost of bodies, he is the king of all sambhogakayas.

147
“With an emanating body, the foremost of bodies, bearing the lineage of the Buddha’s emanations, he emanates forth in every one of the ten directions, acting for the needs of the world just as they are.

148
“The deity beyond gods, the leader of gods, the leader of heavenly beings, he is the lord of demigods, leader of immortals, the guide of heavenly beings, a churner and the lord of churners.

149
“Crossed over the wilderness of existence, he is unique, the teacher, the guide of the world; celebrated, and being the donor of Dharma to the world in its ten directions, he is great.

150
“Dressed in the mail of loving kindness, equipped with the armor of compassion, [armed] with [a volume of] Prajña [Paramita], a sword, a bow and an arrow, he is victorious in the battle against defilements and unknowing.

151
“Having Mara as an enemy, he conquers Mara, a hero putting an end to the terror of the four maras; the conqueror of the army of all maras, he is the completely awakened, the leader of the world.

152
“Praiseworthy, honorable, laudable, continually worthy of respect, he is the best of those to be worshipped, venerable, to be given homage, the supreme guide.

153
“His gait being one step through the triple world, his course as far as the end of space, triple-scienced, learned in scripture and pure, his are the six sublime perceptions and the six recollections.

154
“A bodhisattva, a great being, beyond the world, with great spiritual power, completed in the perfection of insight, he has realized reality through insight.

155
“Knowing himself and knowing others, being all for all, indeed he is the highest type of person; completely beyond all comparisons, he has to be known, the supreme monarch of gnosis.

156
“Being the donor of the Dharma, he is best, the teacher of the meaning of the four mudras; he is the best of the venerable ones of the world who travel by the triple deliverance.

157
“Glorious and purified through absolute truth, great with the fortune in the triple world, glorious in making all success, Mañjushri is supreme among those possessed of glory.

 

Five Verses on the Gnosis of the Five Tathagatas

158
“Reverence to you, the giver of the best, the foremost vajra. Homage to you, the limit of actuality. Reverence to you, whose womb is emptiness. Homage to you, the enlightenment of the Buddha.

159
“Reverence to you, the desire of the Buddha. Homage to you, the passion of the Buddha. Reverence to you, the joy of the Buddha. Homage to you, the delight of the Buddha.

160
“Reverence to you, the Buddha’s smile. Homage to you, the Buddha’s laugh. Reverence to you, the Buddha’s speech. Homage to you, the Buddha’s internal reality.

161
“Reverence to you, arisen from nonexistence. Homage to you, the arising of buddhas. Reverence to you, arisen from the sky. Homage to you, the arising of gnosis.

162
“Reverence to you, Illusion’s Net. Homage to you, the Buddha’s dancer. Reverence to you, the all for all. Homage to you, the gnostic body.

 

The Arrangement of the Mantra

OM SARVA DHARMA BHAVA SVABHAVA VISHUDDHA VAJRA A Ä AM AH PRAKRITI PARISHUDDHA SARVA DHARMA YAD UTA SARVA TATHAGATA JÑANA KAYA MAÑJUSHRI PARISHUDDHITAM UPADAYETI A ÄH SARVA TATHAGATA HRIDAYA HARA HARA
OM HUM HRIH BHAGAVAN JÑANA MURTE VAGISHVARA MAHA PACHA SARVA DHARMA GAGANAMALA SUPARISHUDDHA DHARMADHATU JÑANA GARBHA ÄH

[OM, O pure vajra whose proper nature is the non-existence of all dharmas, A Ä AM AH that is to say, employing the purity of Mañjushri, the gnostic body of all tathagatas, A AH bear up, bear up the heart of all tathagatas – OM HUM HRIH. O Blessed One, O Lord of Speech who is embodied gnosis, with great speech, O embryo of the gnosis of the dharmadhatu, being very pure and stainless like the spatial field of all dharmas ÄH.]

 

Five Verses as an Epilogue

163
Then the glorious Vajradhara, joyful and glad, with his hands folded in homage, bowed to the Protector, the Completely Awakened, the Blessed One, the Tathagata.

164
And with many other kinds of Vajrapanis, all of them esoteric leaders, protectors, and kings of wrath, he loudly replied,

165
“We rejoice, O Protector, it is good, it is fine, it is well said. Great benefit is done for us in causing us to obtain perfect enlightenment.

166
“And also for this unprotected world desiring the fruit of liberation, this purified path to well-being is proclaimed as the practice of Illusion’s Net.

167
“It is deep, lofty, and extensive, with great meaning, performing the aims of the world; indeed, this object of knowledge of the buddhas has been taught by the perfect completely awakened.”

Proclaimed by the blessed one, the Tathagata Shakyamuni, in the Net of Samadhi chapter occurring in the Mahayogatantra, the Aryamayajala in 16,000 lines, this Litany of Names of the blessed one, the gnostic entity Mañjushri, possessing absolute validity is hereby complete.

 

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Praise to Manjushri by Lama Tsongkhapa

PRAISE OF MANJUSHRI

by Lama Tsongkhapa

 

Praise of His Form:

The rains of compassion, so long your acquaintance,
have quenched the fires burning for self-fulfillment alone.
A pure, unhindered knowledge of the profoundest of Truths
has cut forever the ubiquitous net of fabrication.

To grant your knowledge to others
you willingly shoulder the burden of selfless service.
Deity extraordinary, on the wind of faith and devotion
I cast these flowers of praise your way.

A glowing magnitude of orange light,
like a golden mountain kissed by the sun,
Manjushri, treasure of wisdom, hear me awhile.

Though I might search in every realm
I would find no greater refuge.
I turn my mind to you, therefore,
as a heat-tormented elephant plunges into a lotus pool.

Your eyebrows, black and curving,
soft, beautiful, so elegantly long,
each hair the exact same length,
eyelashes thick, soft, each separate hair
beautifully formed like those of the leading bull.

A circle of perfect hair as white as the water lily,
conch-like curling to  the right, as well formed as the lotus root,
beautiful between the eyebrows like a drop of pure silver.

Eyes long and curving like blue utpala petals,
white beautifully defined like bright lotus petals.

Nose set high, uniformly shaped,
lips as red as the bimba fruit,
forty pure white teeth, well-set, of equal size,
cheeks fully rounded like those of a lion.

Smooth, slender tongue enclosed
by the mandala of your face,
enjoying only the bet tastes.

Ears endowed with long well-formed lobes,
adorned by ornaments jeweled and precious.

Perfectly formed neck
graced by dazzling jeweled garlands,
fully fleshed, no vein protruding,
as beautiful as that of a golden vase.

Calves, forearms, shoulder blades, upper back
all fully fleshed and uniform in their symmetry,
a torso like that of a lion, a chest as broad as Meru.

Delightfully curved shoulders, their beautiful arms
long and low as the royal elephant’s trunk.

Fingers and toes beautifully webbed
like those of the royal swan.

Fingers, long, full soft, and young,
tipped by a row of glistening red nails
like slender shoots upon the celestial wish-fulfilling tree.

Golden wheels, each of a thousand spokes,
grace the soles of your feet, the palms of your hands,
so clear, so perfect, each spoke well defined,
works of art in relief like the matrix of a seal.

Your right arm, adorned with bracelets and armbands,
brandishing a blazing sword to cut to the root
the treelike creeper of clinging ignorance.

In your left hand a blue utpala stem at your heart,
petals cradling the supreme scripture that teaches with clarity
paths of dependent arising, sole gateway to freedom.

From your waist, streamers flow fine and silken,
dyed in a million colors, tied about with golden sash,
from each the tinkling sounds of a string of bells,

As with the king of horses your sexual organ hidden,
your bodily hair, soft and fine, each perfect strand
coiling to the right, reaching upward.

Fine calves, rounded, tapering beautifully into slenderness,
no protrusion upon your ankle joint,
soles flattened smooth like the underside of a turtle shell,
heel quarters heightened, their back broad.

Within a six-petal lotus at its orange heart,
upon a moon-disc throne, a perfect circle,
your feet, adorned by tinkling bracelets,
rest in lotus pose.

Most beautiful of forms,
born supreme from a million causes of virtue supreme,
appearing among dwellers of infinite realms through infinite
space like tricks played upon their eyes.
In some you are born, while in others simultaneously
you show the ways of the enlightened.
Were every being of every realm to reach omniscience,
they could not explain the artistry of such manifested form.

By merit I amass from this meager praise
may the captivating presence of Manjushri,
shining like the sun on a vermilion sea,
spellbindingly beautiful in a magnitude of light
radiating out to the ten directions,
be never lost from my sight.

And when my eyes light upon you,
I pray that my rapacious mind,
blundering along its ignorant ways,
wearied by long wandering through samsara,
be at once reined in under the domain
of the great mind of enlightenment.

When I acquire the four great powers of retention,
the sixfold clairvoyance, freedom’s three gateways,
and a host of meditative concentrations on limitlessness,
may I then appear in forms beyond number
to gaze upon conquering buddhas in countless realms.

Having journeyed to learning’s end
and satisfied countless beings with Dharma,
may I become without delay that supreme embodiment
of the power of speech, highest of all buddhas.

 

Praise of His Speech:

Like the fresh petals of the saffron flower
opened by the rays of the sun
reflected within a spotless mirror,
your pose is of a rainbow beauty.
Grant me, Manjushri, the powers of speech.

Your voice fills every corner of every realm,
a voice of manifestations beyond number,
a melody pleasing, a melody satisfying,
a melody eclipsing the melody of Brahma.

Your voice a vocal mandala of sound,
your words beautiful, unbroken in samsara,
banishing in those whose ears they fall upon,
death, old age, and sickness.

A voice whose words agreeable to all,
softly spoken, pleasing to the mind,
delivered in eloquence, pure and uncorrupted,
easily understood, soothing, worthy of hearing.

Gratifying, pacifying, unsurpassed by others,
never severe nor punishing, a panacea for all,
captivating to the listener, bringer, of bodily bliss,
of mental joy and of peace to the soul.

Words bringing the joy of insight,
the happiness of uncorrupted perception,
words free from the grief that false promises bring,
full of knowledge, the bearer of wisdom.

Never vague nor mealy-mouthed,
bringing  the joy of anticipation and foreseen fulfillment,
teaching the conceivable and inconceivable,
free from contradiction, fitting words
in tune with the disposition of listeners.

Free from the fault of repetition,
words comparing to the roar of a lion,
as unhindered as the trumpeting elephant,
as deep as the bellowing dragon,
as noble as the words of the naga king,
as soft and sweet as gandarva music,
as enticing as the song of the kalapinga bird,
as resonating as the sound of Brahma,
as auspicious as hearing the voice
of the half-human griffin.

It is the voice of authority,
the sound of the drum of victory,
empty of pride yet never downtrodden,
full of prophecy, never vague nor half taught.

Forever fulfilling, never afraid,
unconcerned for the rewards of fame,
a joyful voice, all-encompassing, masterful,
unending, and fulsome.

Accomplished in every sound, every language,
uplifting, not open to ridicule or contempt,
instantaneously there, yet unhurried,
pervading samsara’s every corner,
dispelling the poisons of greed, hate, and ignorance,
victorious over Mara’s hosts, simply the best.

These qualities, in number sixty-four,
not found lacking in even your tiniest sliver of speech,
will continue to be music of joy to the ears of the fortunate
for as long as space pervades.

When near, not too loud, when far, never too faint;
like crystal in contact with many a color.
A voice in accord with the tongues of limitless listeners,
it arises from your crown, the circle of hair on your brow
your throat, and indeed from any part of your precious body,
and yet all thought and intention to speak have been stilled,
as all-pervading space is free from thought
yet filled with the voice of Brahma.

By the wealth of merit gathered from this praise
of the speech of Manjushri whose voice compares
to the deep dragon roar within the rain cloud
girdled by beautiful lightening flashes,
may your words forever rain into my ears.

No sooner than your voice settles upon my ears,
may I gather the fortunate about me,
defeat those who peddle distorted views I journey
to perfection in the arts of teaching, logic, and composition
that captivate the souls of the wise.

May I gain without hardship
specialist knowledge mastering words and sounds
to penetrate with ease the language of differing beings,
and may I be unrivaled in such skills
to dispel the doubts of every living being.

By never straying beyond the bounds set by your teachings,
and practicing wholeheartedly and devotedly,
I pray that I may swiftly attain to the glories  of your speech.

 

Praise of His Mind:

Of color, the blend of coral hue
and the burnish of the finest gold,
the beautiful color of one whose knowledge
alights freely on every phenomenon known.
A cornucopia of knowledge, Manjushri,
protector of all, protector supreme,
grant me the ocean of knowledge.

This elephant of the mind,
intoxicated by the wines of holding phenomenon as real,
weakening discernment of right and wrong,
its trunk of vicious delusion tearing up the tree of virtue,
led on and on by the leads of desire
in pursuit of the she-elephant of fame and fortune,
crashes wildly through the deep forests of unawareness.

Such a hard-to-tame elephant of the mind you reined in
with the ropes of memory, mindfulness, and awareness,
and with the sharp hook of flawless reasoning
set it upon the true and good path of dependent arising,
well traveled, well-praised by countless noble beings.

For immeasurable eons again and again
you practiced with tireless and powerful endeavor until,
with the vajra of the meditative concentration
upon the illusion-like nature of all phenomena,
you crumbled the great mountain of extremes
till only its name remained.

Again, by delighting countless buddhas
with boundless horizons of offerings supreme,
you brought forth their pure Brahman-like voices,
their minds in accord, their teachings supreme,
to eradicate forever the manifold sickness that is samsara.

Sipping such nectar constantly
you nourished a body of wisdom to sustain you
on the hard road to perfection of bodhisattva practice,
where never again would you be cowed
by the delusion holding all phenomenon as real,
and where the road to destruction of misperceived appearance
was seen clearly and without hindrance
by the supreme vajra-like meditative concentration.

By its power, this illusion-like appearance of phenomena
and this transparent and knowing dream-like mind,
which together embrace all experience, all appearance
melted into the space-like realm of dharmadhatu,
and like a tree with roots shriveled,
all seeds of clinging were forever laid to waste.
Therefore, my protector, for as long as space lasts,
how could you ever leave your dharmakaya?

Never stirring, therefore, from your dharmadhatu realm,
every phenomenon arises before you, my guide,
like images in a mirror, like the colors of a rainbow,
each individually and completely known at every instant.

From giving comes wealth has basis,
from giving comes poverty has not.
From miserliness comes poverty has basis,
from miserliness comes wealth has not.
Such consequences born from infallible dependent arising
are known by you and renders you
supreme, therefore, among teachers.

No deed, good or bad, nor corresponding result
found throughout samsara since time immemorial,
remains unseen and unknown by you.
Your words, therefore, contain nothing
falling foul of the law of dependence.

Some beings dwell in manifest desire
yet are disposed toward anger,
others dwell in open anger
but are disposed to desire.
Such dispositions are all manifest to you.
There are no deeds of yours, therefore,
that are not of benefit to others.

The eighteen realms of phenomena in all their divisions
lie manifest and unhidden before you.
You do not miss, even by a fraction therefore,
the times of those ripe for training.

Of those tumbling through samsara
some are developed, some are weak.
You see unfettered their suffering strengths of faith,
of wisdom, memory, perseverance, and concentration.
You are, therefore, wiser than wise in teaching.

The paths leading to wholesome rebirths, nirvana,
and to every suffering realm
are known by you, manifest to you.
You are, therefore, the good spiritual guide.

Knowing the stages of ever meditative concentration,
specifically the fearless lion pose
and those of the form and formless realms,
alongside techniques of  entering and leaving such equipoise,
you have traveled to the mastery of meditative equilibrium.

You are wise in knowledge of the past,
thoroughly acquainted with beginningless samsara;
your own past lives, those of others,
their causes, details, and signs
are instantaneously manifest to you,

You are wise in knowledge of the future;
that such a being at such a time will leave such a body
and by such deeds, good or bad, be reborn in such a place
is fully known to you.

Knowing that the end of delusion is the end of suffering,
that the ending of delusion is by the eightfold noble path,
is knowledge manifest before your eyes.
You are, therefore, the greatest of great protectors.

Therefore, facts and fiction concerning actions, and results,
every deed and their every ripening,
dispositions of every being,
divisions of the realms of phenomena,
differing abilities of living beings,
every path, good or bad,
the ways and stages of eliminating delusion,
knowledge of the past and future,
the constitution of the end of delusion;
these ten your mind penetrates with ease.
Where is there anything unknown by you?

Those wandering on lost in samsara
have since time immemorial pursued
with elephantine effort a path strewn
with the pain and hurt caused to others
all for the sake of their own happiness,
and yet, since the longed-for fruits
of such hardship are nowhere to be seen,
it is an erroneous path.

Similarly, the path upon which
even the tiniest harm to others is forsworn,
where night and day without respite
for the sake of one’s happiness alone
the goal of freedom from samsara is pursued
with dedicated and wholehearted effort,
is seen, nevertheless, by you
as a path leading away from the one true path.

And so, for time beyond time
you have lived the great path of compassion,
the practice that alone journeys to enlightenment,
the true mother that care for every living being,
the armor worn by the courageous bodhisattva.

Insofar as we all run from suffering
even experienced within a dream,
and yet always fall short of satisfaction
even within the heights of sublime happiness,
living beings cannot be differentiated.
It is therefore great self-delusion
to have no thought for the happiness of others.

You, therefore, out of immense compassion,
at the outset of your quest for the bodhi mind,
held the view of self and others as undifferentiated
and cherished every living being as your own.

To be attached to one’s own happiness
is a barrier to the true and perfect path.
To cherish others is the source
of every admirable quality known.
By practicing again and again, therefore,
the exchange of self for others,
you held all others as self.

Mighty conqueror, your Mahayana body
was nourished again and again to final fulfillment
on your journey to perfection of glorious qualities
by the great mother of compassion.
How could you have ever been lured away
by the tranquility of nirvana?

The mighty garuda takes to the skies
but does not dwell there nor will ever fall to earth.
By praising the mind of one who similarly
dwells not in nirvana nor falls to samsara,
may I be never parted from
the wisdom and compassion of Manjushri.

May I without hardship nourish the wisdom,
snuffing out the growth of extreme views,
alongside the compassion that looks upon
every living being as a dearest child,
and may I lead them all to the great Mahayana.

May I develop soon the dharani powers of memory
holding all words, all meanings of every teaching,
alongside the supreme wisdom-led confidence
to answer every question put by others,
and may I give to those bereft of Dharma
a veritable feast of the best of teachings.

May the wonder that is the mind of Manjushri
fulfilling the myriad hoped of differing disciples
with equally myriad displays of spontaneity
soon beautify my mind as the full autumn moon
shines and beautifies the crystal-clear night.

In every realm above, below, and at the eight compass points
innumerable buddhas cover him constantly with praise.

Manjushri! His name resounds, the three worlds echo with
his fame. Whoever takes to heart and recites this vast cloud-
like praise that touches but a fraction of his qualities, yet is
delivered with devotion, may the blessings of Manjushri
soon enter their minds.

[Extracted from: The Splendor of an Autumn Moon – The Devotional verse of Tsongkhapa]

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A Meditation Upon Orange Manjushri by the Fifth Dalai Lama

A MEDITATION UPON ORANGE MANJUSHRI

by the Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682)

Note: in order to self-generate as the deity, one is required to have received an empowerment of Orange Manjushri on the basis of kriyatantra (the lower classes of tantra) or higher. Without such an empowerment, one may still engage in the practice but at the time of self-generation, instead generate Manjushri on the crown of your head.

 

NAMO GURUJA VAGIH SHARIGYA

I make humble obeisance to you, great Tsong Khapa,
Personification of Manjushri in human form with all the marks and signs of perfection.
Your magnificent attainments were nurtured in the matrix of motherly method and wisdom combined
Of which the vibrant syllable DHIH is an embodiment.

Sipping the nectars of the profound teachings
Directly from Manjushri’s masterly eloquence,
You realized the heart of wisdom.
Inspired by your example, I will now set out
A description of the steps for actualization
Of Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom,
In accord with your realization.

 

Refuge and Bodhicitta

I go for refuge until I am enlightened
To the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Supreme Assembly.
By my practice of giving and other perfections,
May I become a Buddha to benefit all sentient beings.

May all sentient beings have happiness and its causes.
May all sentient beings be free of suffering and its causes.
May all sentient beings never be separated from sorrowless bliss.
May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free of bias, attachment and anger.

OM SVABHAVA SHUDDHA SARVA DHARMAH SVABHAVA SHUDDHO HAM

 

Visualisation: Manjushri Front Generation

At my heart is my mind in the shape of an egg, its point upwards. Inside the egg, on a full moon disc, is an orange letter DHI, from which an infinite amount of light emits. It fills the whole of my body, purifying all my negativities and removing all my obscurations accumulated since beginningless time. The light rays leave through my pores and become offerings to the buddhas and bodhisattvas, thereby delighting them. This causes the blessings of the body, speech, and mind of these holy beings to dissolve into light that destroys the darkness of ignorance of all sentient beings, thus placing them in wisdom’s illumination.

The rays then recollect into the syllable DHI. It transforms into light, my ordinary perception and my clinging thereto vanish, and I emerge as Venerable Manjushri, orange in color, with one face and two arms. My right hand brandishes a sword of wisdom in the space above me. At my heart between the thumb and ring finger of my left hand, I hold the stem of an utpala lotus. Upon its petals in full bloom, by my left ear, rests a volume of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra.

I sit in full lotus posture and am adorned with precious ornaments for my head, ears, throat, and shoulders, as well as bracelets and anklets. Draped in a flowing mantle and skirt of exquisite silks, my hair is tied up in five knots and coils counter-clockwise. Bearing an entrancing and serene smile, I sit amidst a mass of light radiating from my body. The letter OM marks the crown of my head, AH my throat and HUM my heart.

HUM emits rays of light that invite the wisdom beings from the inconceivable mansion of their own pure lands. They resemble Manjushri as described above and are surrounded by hosts of buddhas and bodhisattvas.

 

Invoking and Absorbing the Wisdom Beings

DZA (wisdom beings approach Manjushri)
HUM (wisdom beings dissolve into Manjushri)
BAM (wisdom beings and Manjushri become one)
HO (wisdom beings are inseparable from Manjushri)

They absorb into me and thus we become one.

 

Offerings and Praise

OM ARYA VAGIH SHARA SAPARIVARA ARGHAM PRATICCHA HUM SVAHA
OM ARYA VAGIH SHARA SAPARIVARA PADYAM PRATICCHA HUM SVAHA
OM ARYA VAGIH SHARA SAPARIVARA PUSHPE PRATICCHA HUM SVAHA
OM ARYA VAGIH SHARA SAPARIVARA DHUPE PRATICCHA HUM SVAHA
OM ARYA VAGIH SHARA SAPARIVARA ALOKE PRATICCHA HUM SVAHA
OM ARYA VAGIH SHARA SAPARIVARA GANDHE PRATICCHA HUM SVAHA
OM ARYA VAGIH SHARA SAPARIVARA NAIVEDYA PRATICCHA HUM SVAHA
OM ARYA VAGIH SHARA SAPARIVARA SHABDA PRATICCHA HUM SVAHA

 

Praise

I make obeisance to your youthful form, O Manjushri,
Like that of a dynamic and graceful sixteen year old.
You repose upon the full moon as your cushion
At the center of an expansive, milk-white lotus.

I make obeisance to your speech, O Mighty Fulfiller of Wishes,
So mellifluent to the minds of countless sentient beings,
A lucent euphony to accord with each listener´s capacity,
Its multiplicity embellishing the hearing of all fortunate ones.

O Manjushri, I make obeisance to your mind
Wherein is illuminated the entire tapestry of the myriad objects of knowledge.
It is a tranquil ocean of unfathomable profundity
Of immeasurable breadth, boundless like space itself.

 

Mantra Recitation

At my heart upon a moon disc is an orange syllable DHI. Encircling it at the disc’s periphery stands the rosary-like mantra of

OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI

All the syllables radiate light, which gathers both the wisdoms of exposition, dialectics and composition and the wisdoms of hearing, contemplation and meditation, which are possessed by the buddhas, bodhisattvas, sravakas and pratyekabuddhas, and the wise and learned masters of all the Buddhist and non-Buddhist traditions.

To purify excesses, omissions, and mistakes, recite Vajrasattva’s hundred-syllable mantra:

OM BENZA SATTO SAMAYA MANU PALAYA / BENZA SATTO TENO PATITA / DIDO MAY BHAWA / SUTO KAYO MAY BHAWA / SUPO KAYO MAY BHAWA / ANU RAKTO MAY BHAWA / SARWA SIDDHI MEPAR YATSA / SARWA KARMA SU TSA MAY / TSITAM SHRIYAM KURU HUM / HA HA HA HA HO / BHAGAWAN / SARWA TATAGATA / BENZA MA MAY MU TSA / BENZA BHAWA MAHA SAMAYA SATTO / AH HUM PEY (3x)

 

Dedication

By the virtue of this practice may I quickly
Accomplish the powerful attainments of Manjushri,
And then may I lead all beings without exception
To that supreme state.

May the precious bodhi mind
Not yet born arise and grow.
May that born have no decline,
But increase forever more.

Colophon: The above meditation upon Orange Manjushri was written by Ngawang Lozang Gyatso, a monk of rectitude from Zahor, at the request of Gajo Dargye. It was translated into English by Kevin Garratt, with Chomdze Tashi Wangyal and Losang Gyaltsen from Meditations On The Lower Tantras, by Glenn H. Mullin.

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Sacred Vajra Yogini’s Tea offering
– For those who have high aspirations

OM AH HUM

As I visualize myself as the deity at the center of the dharmachakra,
extremely red within a double tetrahedral reality source,
on a stainless moon mandala seat
resides the all-encompassing refuge assembly of guru-deities.

Rang lhar säl chhö kyi khor löi ü
Dog rab mar chhö jung nyi tseg nang
Dän dri dräl da wäi kyil khor teng
Kyab kün dü la ma lha tshog zhug
Gyu lha dzä rin chhen lä drub ching
Yib rab dze yöl go tam päi chü

In a beautifully shaped container filled with the essences
of ingredients made from precious celestial substances,
this vast drink, delicious in taste,
reddish yellow in color, with the scent of camphor,
I offer to the assembly of father, root, and lineage gurus.
Please bless my three doors.

Dang mar ser ga bur dri dang chän
Ro zang dän gya jäi tung wa di
Pha tsa gyü la mäi tshog la bül
Dag go sum jin gyi lab tu söl

I offer to the assembly of powerful mother yoginis.
Please lead me to the field of Khachö pure land.

Ma näl jor wang möi tshog la bül
Nä kha chö zhing du thri du söl

I offer to the assembly of peaceful and wrathful mind-sealed deities.
Please bestow all the supreme and general attainments.

Lha yi dam zhi thröi tshog la bül
Chhog thün mong ngö drub tsäl du söl

I offer to the objects of refuge, the Three Rare Sublime Ones.
Please protect me from the fearful enemies of samsara and nirvana’s peace.

Kyab kön chog rin chhen sum la bül
Dra si zhii jig lä dräl du söl

I offer to the assembly of supporters, dakinis, and Dharma protectors.
Please actualize all activities, whatever is wished for.

Drog khan dro chhö kyong tshog la bül
Yi chi dö thrin lä drub tu söl

I offer to the assembly of siblings, the six types of transmigratory beings.
Please pacify the suffering of my mind’s hallucinated appearances.

Nyen rig drug dro wäi tshog la bül
Sem thrül nang dug ngäl zhi gyur chig

Clarifying myself as the mind-sealed deity, which appears while empty,
and enjoying the food, with the taste of nectar,
my mind enters into the sphere of great bliss and emptiness.

Rang nang tong yi dam lhar säl wä
Ze dü tsii ro la long chä pä
Lo de chhen tong päi ying su zhug

EH MA HO!

How eminently fortunate I am!

E MA HO!

Mä jung käl pa zang

Colophon: This tea offering to Vajrayogini was composed by Ngülchu Dharmabhadra. You may recite the above in either Tibetan phonetics or just in English. Either way is fine.

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A Song Rapidly Invoking Blessings

by Lama Gyalwa Kalzang Gyatso, the 7th Dalai Lama

In the year of the Water dog, Lama Gyalwa Kalzang Gyatso visited Gaden Monastery. Inspired by the extraordinary vibration pervading the place and filled with marvel at the strength and kindness of Omniscient Lord Tsongkhapa, who had founded Gaden, His Holiness Kalzang Gyatso was moved to write this song.

Above, in actuality pristine awareness
Manifest as a radiant Buddha mandala,
The pure land of Tushita, the Joyous Abode
Blessed by Buddhas past, present and future.

Mountains of herbs blanketed in sweet aromas,
Flowers blossoming morning, noon and night,
A forest of trees with turquoise leaves:
Reminders of the splendid body of Je Rinpoche.

The murmur of a river swiftly flowing,
The stirring songs of birds,
The majestic sound of a Dharma teaching:
Reminders of the gentle voice of Je Rinpoche.

The blue sky freely hovering,
Clear, white clouds scattered abstractly,
The young sun casting beams everywhere:
The wisdom, compassion and power of Je Rinpoche.

Body adorned with the marks of a Buddha,
Speech raining down vast and profound Dharma,
Mind seeing all things in the sphere of clear light:
I recollect Je Rinpoche, Lobsang Drakpa.

Fulfill your vow to benefit beings;
Descend, grant protection and power.
To you I offer an ocean of all-good things.
Enjoy them within your great bliss.

On the Mighty Nomad Mountain, quiet, easy,
A land made pure with goodness and strength,
Stands your Gaden Monastery, prophesied by Buddha:
A monastery producing limitless Awakened Ones.

Your mind on Bliss and Void inseparable,
The flow of events appeared as a rainbow.
One body sends endless clouds of emanations
To set this world ablaze with joy.

Your profound teachings bridging Sutra and Tantra
Are jewels for those truly seeking liberation.
Even the words you used are perfect,
Nakedly pointing the way for the ripe.

O Je Lama, because of your infinite kindness
We can understand all Sutras and Tantras as precepts,
Can see the entire path leading to perfection
And can correct all delusions and mistaken concepts.

O Master, merely hearing legends of your deeds
Can place a man on the enlightening path;
With thoughts of your greatness, with heart
Trembling, I fix mind upon you.

Invisible father gone to Bliss,
Listen to this plaintive song
Of a boy still in Samsara’s quicksands,
Of an ill-fated son cut from his Refuge.

In terms of external appearances,
A monk is easily proud of his robes,
But if his thoughts fall only on the transient
Are his lusts not worse than a layman’s?

The masses revel in black actions
And through evil gain their ends.
Flashes of a degenerate age
Crash in the depths of my heart.

How glamorous and exciting to go
Through the motions of practising Dharma,
And to hear the profound teachings;
But the mind, hard as wood, is slow to change.

The spirit, weak and uncontrolled,
Staggers under the three psychic poisons
Whenever an object appears to it:
A golden vessel filled with urine

Precious humanity, the chance to be a Buddha;
But we create only misery with it
And throw away all hope of actually
Benefitting either ourselves or others.

I, born so late, unfortunate,
Pass my time amid negativity and confusion.
Father Lama, look upon me;
Hold me with hooks of compassion.

In this life, the bardo and future lives,
Pray, be my guide.
My Refuge, forsake me not.
Omniscient One, be with me always.

Care for all beings as a mother for her son.
Spiritual Father, to us who are children,
Reveal visibly the mandala of your body
Magnificent with every mark of perfection.

Bestow upon us the oral teachings
Which render every experience meaningful.
Bless us to make our minds at one taste
With great bliss and unapprehendable wisdom.

Life is impermanent like the setting sun.
Wealth is like dew on morning grass,
Praise is like wind in a mountain pass,
A youthful body is an autumn flower.

Bless me to understand the shortcomings
Of constantly turning on the wheel of becoming
And to fix the depths of my mind
On the path leading to ultimate knowledge.

Bestow upon me transforming powers to fill
My mental continuum with love and compassion,
To see the beings of Samsara’s six realms
As mothers who have forever helped me.

Bestow upon me transforming powers
Quickly to realize the way things are,
To understand images viewed by the mind
As paintings created by the mind itself.

Help me attain Enlightenment in this very life
Through the yogic methods of Tantra’s two stages,
To see external events as the sport of Buddhas
And the mind as satiated with Bliss and Emptiness.

And when, to fight delusion, meditation’s enemy,
I retreat to a cave on a distant mountain,
A place to give birth to serenity and joy,
Bless me to penetrate the innermost profundity.

Grant me powers swiftly to annihilate
All inner and outer negative forces,
And power to cleanse the stains of having dwelt
Far from the limits of Dharma’s three bonds.

O Manjushri, who reveals himself magically
In peaceful, wrathful and protective forms,
May your auspicious deeds reach fruition
And you remain a constant Refuge to the world.

Bestow upon me the powerful blessings
Of your mysterious body, speech and mind,
That my every physical, verbal and mental
Movement may benefit beings and the teachings.

May the thunder of the Sutras and Tantras shake the earth,
May the sun of Tsongkhapa’s “Practice Lineage” rage,
May all practitioners attain the power
And all sentient beings realize their wishes.

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A Gem to Increase Life and Wisdom
A Praise of White Tara

by Gyalwa Gendun Drub, the First Dalai Lama

Homage to the Female Buddha beautiful with youth
Who sits on seats of white lotus and moon in nature
Spreading with stainless compassion and knowledge,
Who captures the radiance of snow mountains.

Homage to the Youthful One with budding breasts,
Who has one face and two arms, sits in the vajra posture,
Is bold with grace and calm, has a full moon as backrest
And is filled with great bliss.

Homage to the Ultimately Generous One whose right hand,
Showing the mudra Supreme Giving
Easily releases boundless karmas of peace, increase, power and wrath
As well as the eight siddhis and even supreme Buddhahood.

Homage to the Spiritual Mother who gives birth to Buddhas
Past, present and future; whose left hand
Supporting a blue lotus, grants protection
From lions, elephants, fires and all eight terrors.

Homage to the Refuge of the World, who has eyes
In hands and feet gazing at the four doors of freedom
And who leads all living creatures
Toward the isle of blissful liberation.

Homage to she whose face unites
The beauty of a million autumn moons,
Whose wide eyes gaze with compassion
Whose Joyous mouth smiles equally on all.

Homage to she with head adorned by Amitayus, boundless Life,
The mere thought of whom grants life and wisdom,
Whose hand, in the contemplative mudra,
Hold a vase filled with ambrosia of immortality.

Homage to the All-Beautified One whose crown
Steals the light of sun and moon,
Whose sapphire hair is half knotted on top
And half falling freely over her shoulders.

Homage to the Majestic One of precious ornament blazing,
Whose crown, earrings, necklaces, arm-bands,
Bracelets, anklets and belt so elegantly arranged
Surpass the ornaments of men and gods.

Homage to she of celestial raiment,
Whose shoulder-sash and skirt
Hug her body like rainbows
Hug the crystal mountains.

Homage to the goddess before whose lotus feet
Vishnu, Indra, Shiva, Brahma, the antigods, spirits,
Men, semi-humans and all the world
Submit themselves in devotion.

Merely by reciting your mantra,
Those who make offerings at your lotus feet
Gain immortality, wisdom and merit
And attain all desired siddhis; to you I bow down.

The knowledge, compassion and perfect actions of all Buddhas
Appear in the form of the beautiful goddess
I take refuge in you and offer you my prayers;
Pray eliminate all my obstacles and fulfill all my aims.

Quickly release your perfect action of peace,
Calming all interferences to my practices for enlightenment;
Interferences such as the eight terrors,
Sickness, demons and other harmful agents, inner and outer.

Quickly release your perfect action of increase which multiplies
All good qualities, such as life, merit, unapprehending compassion,
The stainless wisdoms of learning, contemplation and meditation,
And the three higher trainings.

Quickly release your perfect action of power,
Which causes gods, men and spirits
To humbly bow before you
And which fulfils all wishes of the mind.

Quickly release your perfect action of wrath,
Which with punishments befitting the evils done
Destroys demons, interferences and hindrances
Hateful opposing Buddhadharma and its holders.

Pray, bestow quick and easy attainment of siddhis
Such as the magic sword, mystic eye-medicine, fast-walking,
The food pill and the precious vase,
And even mahamudra, the highest siddhi.

In brief, from now until enlightenment
I respectfully make offerings at your lotus feet
I need seek no other refuge
Out of compassion gaze upon me and quickly grant protection.

By the meritorious energy of this practice
May the transcended, perfect Tara
Look upon me forever with pleasure
And never leave me, even for a moment.

May all sentient beings after death take rebirth
Before Amitayus in Sukavati, Land of Pure Joy,
May they live in the ways of the great Bodhisattvas
And come to equal Avalokiteshvara, Lord of Compassion.

May I realise the oceans of Sutras and Tantras
To be able to pass them on to others;
And until samsara be emptied may I strive
To uphold the victory banner of practicing exactly as taught.

The Colophon: This praise of exalted White Tara, supreme mother of all Buddhas, was written by the monk Gyalwa Gendun Drub while he was residing in the Hermitage of Great Awakening at the Tegchen Potreng.

Mantra: OM TAREE TU-TAREE TUREE MAMA AYU-PUNYE-JANA PUTIM KURU SOHA

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WITHOUT INITIATION: Long Life Deity Prayer – Amitayus

By reciting these words aloud and reflecting on their meaning in your mind, you will have the good fortune to be able to devote yourself correctly to the precious guru, from life to life in all your future lifetimes.

If you offer service and respect and make offerings to the precious guru with these nine attitudes, even if you do not practise intentionally, you will develop many good qualities, collect extensive merit and quickly achieve full Enlightenment.

Praise

Amitayus, Protector and Bhagavan:
As you dispel the stains of sin,
I prostrate to your omniscient kaya
Which perceives all and so fills space.

(request him strongly in prayer)

Emanating as many bodies as there are atoms,
To Amitayus, The Protector, together with the Buddhas
and their sons, I prostrate
And make offerings, real and imagined,
Filling the whole of space.

I confess every sin and downfall
Accumulated since beginningless time.
I rejoice in the virtue of myself and others
And I implore all the Victors, never to depart to nirvana
But to turn the wheel of Dharma.
I dedicate this peerless virtue to supreme Enlightenment.

Oh superb deity, Protector Amitayus,
Whose mere name destroys untimely death,
With your great untiring mercy
Listen to all beings and especially to one known as (oneself)

Confused and not realising the great Dharmadhatu –
A state without coming or going
Because the nature of all Dharma is free of signs since the beginning –
My mind thus corrupted, has accumulated black deeds,
resulting in immense suffering.

Bless me by pacifying conditions
Leading to untimely death arising from
Humans or non-humans, and from
Degeneration of lifespan and merit by the power of
previously accumulated sins.

Please confer the siddhi of immortality now
When I have brought together all that is good in samsara and nirvana,
And when my mental stream and depleted life form
Are about to blossom with merit and life.

Mantra

This mantra should be recited 100,000 times in dedication to the Lama’s long life.

OM AMARANI ZEWONG DEYEE SOHA

Dedication: Calling the Guru from Afar
(abbreviated version)

Lama, think of me!
Lama, think of me!
Lama, think of me!

Magnificently glorious guru, dispelling the darkness of ignorance;
Magnificently glorious guru, revealing the path of liberation;
Magnificently glorious guru, liberating from the waters of samsara;
Magnificently glorious guru, eliminating the disease of the five poisons;
Magnificently glorious guru who is the wish granting jewel;
I beseech you, please grant me blessings.
Magnificently glorious guru, please grant me blessings to remember impermanence and death from my heart.
Magnificently glorious guru, please grant me blessings to generate the thought of no-need in my mind.
Magnificently glorious guru, please bless me to abide one-pointedly in practice in isolated places.
Magnificently glorious guru, please bless me to not have any hindrances to my practice.
Magnificently glorious guru, please bless me so that all bad conditions appear as a support.
Magnificently glorious guru, please bless me to accomplish effortlessly the two works of self and others.
Magnificently glorious guru, please bless me soon, very soon.
Please grant me blessings on this very cushion.
Please grant me blessings in this very session.

After reciting these verses, recite any requesting prayers to your own guru that you wish.

May I not arise heresy even for a second
In the actions of the glorious guru.
May I regard whatever actions are done as pure.
[With this devotion] may I receive the blessings of the guru in my heart.

Then recite the following verse and meditate on the guru entering your heart.

Magnificent and precious root guru
Please abide on the lotus and moon seat at my heart.
Guide me with your great kindness,
And grant me the realisations of your holy body, speech and mind.

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COLLECTION OF AMITAYUS PRACTICES

http://www.dechenlingpress.org/main/products-page/digital-downloads/collection-of-amitayus-practices/

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WITH INITIATION: The Life-Nectar of Immortality

Self-Generation Sadhana of Amitayus in the Tradition of Machig Drubai Gyalmo

Refuge and Bodhichitta

I will always go for refuge
To Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
For the welfare of all living beings
I shall become Amitayus. (3x)

OM SÖBHAWA SHUDDHA SARWA DHARMA SÖBHAWA SHUDDHO HAM

Everything becomes emptiness.

From the state of emptiness, from PAM comes a lotus and from AH a moon mandala, upon which my own mind appears as a red long letter HRIH together with the tsetrak. This completely transforms and I arise as Conqueror Amitayus with immeasurable life and wisdom, with a red-colored body, one face and two hands in the mudra of meditative equipoise in which is a vase brimming with the nectar of immortality. I sit in the vajra posture with all the marks and signs of a complete enjoyment body. My body is adorned with precious jewels and various silken garments. At my crown is an OM, at my throat an AH, and at my heart a HUM.

From the HUM at my heart light rays radiate and invite from Dewachen in the western direction the wisdom beings to the space before me.

DZA, HUM, BAM, HO

The commitment beings and the wisdom beings become inseparable.

Again from the HUM at my heart light rays radiate and invoke the empowering deities to the space before me.

“Please bestow the empowerment.”

Having been requested in this way, they pour nectar from the vase.

OM SARWA TATHAGATA ABHISHEKATA SAMAYA SHRIYE HUM

The empowerment is conferred. All the stains of my body are purified, and the excess water overflows on the crown of my head and transforms into Amitayus who is inseparable from my root Guru and becomes my crown ornament.

Bless the inner offering and the offering substances.
 

Blessing the Inner Offering

OM VAJRA AMRITA KUNDALI HANA HANA HUM PHAT
OM SÖBHAWA SHUDDHA SARWA DHARMA SÖBHAWA SHUDDHO HAM

Everything becomes emptiness.

From the sphere of emptiness, from YAM comes wind, from RAM comes fire, and from AH a grate of three human heads. Above this from AH comes a broad and extensive skull cup. Inside are the five meats and five nectars. These are purified, transformed and increased by the three letters, and become a great ocean of uncontaminated nectar.

OM AH HUM (3X)
 

Blessing the Outer Offerings

OM VAJRA AMRITA KUNDALI HANA HANA HUM PHAT
OM SÖBHAWA SHUDDHA SARWA DHARMA SÖBHAWA SHUDDHO HAM

Everything becomes emptiness.

From the state of emptiness, from KAMs come vast and expansive skull cups, inside which from HUMs, come water for drinking, water for bathing, flowers, incense, lights, perfume, food and music. By nature emptiness, they have the aspect of the individual offerings substances that operate as objects of enjoyment of the six senses to bestow exalted, uncontaminated bliss.

OM AHRGHAM AH HUM
OM PADÄM AH HUM
OM VAJRA PUPE AH HUM
OM VAJRA DHUPE AH HUM
OM VAJRA DIWE AH HUM
OM VAJRA GÄNDHE AH HUM
OM VAJRA NEWIDE AH HUM
OM VAJRA SHAPTA AH HUH

 

Outer Offerings to the self-generation

OM APARIMITA AYUR GYANA SAPARIWARA AHRGHAM PRATITZA YE SÖHA
OM APARIMITA AYUR GYANA SAPARIWARA PADÄM PRATITZA YE SÖHA
OM APARIMITA AYUR GYANA SAPARIWARA PUPE PRATITZA YE SÖHA
OM APARIMITA AYUR GYANA SAPARIWARA DHUPE PRATITZA YE SÖHA
OM APARIMITA AYUR GYANA SAPARIWARA ALOKE PRATITZA YE SÖHA
OM APARIMITA AYUR GYANA SAPARIWARA GÄNDHE PRATITZA YE SÖHA
OM APARIMITA AYUR GYANA SAPARIWARA NEWIDE PRATITZA YE SÖHA
OM APARIMITA AYUR GYANA SAPARIWARA SHAPTA PRATITZA YE SÖHA
 

Inner Offering

OM APARIMITA AYUR GYANA SAPARIWARA OM AH HUM
 

Praise

Amitayus, Principal Guide of the world,
Destroyer of all untimely death without exception,
Refuge for those suffering and without a protector;
To you, Buddha Amitayus, I prostrate.
 

Mantra Recitation

Inside the vase of Amitayus on my crown is a moon mandala upon which is a red letter HRIH surrounded by the essence and long mantras. From these light rays radiate and perform the two purposes, then collect back and dissolve into the mantra rosary. Again, light rays radiate and draw back that part of my lifespan which has been stolen and degenerated by Yama – the Lord of Death – harmful spirits and so forth. The [lost life-span] returns in the form of life vases and skull cups filled with the nectar of immortality, and these all dissolve into the mantra rosary. Once again the essence of all the elements, the life and merit of all living beings, and all things excellent in the three realms, the blessings of the body, speech and mind of all the Buddhas and their children are drawn back in the form of light rays and nectars, and these all dissolve into the mantra rosary. This fills the life vase with nectar, and as it overflows, the excess nectar spills over and enters through the Brahma aperture at the crown of my head, filling my whole body and purifying all stains. I attain the state of immortality.

OM AMARANI ZEWENTEYE SÖHA

Then if you are able, say the long mantra as well.

OM NAMO BHAGAWATE APARIMITA AYUR GYANA SUMBINI TSITA TEDZO RANDZAYA TATHAGATAYA, ARHATE SAMYAK SAMBUDDHAYA, TAYATHA, OM PUNAYE PUNAYE MAHA PUNAYE APARIMITA PUNAYE APARIMITA PUNAYE GYANA SAMBHA ROPATSITE, OM SARWA SAMKARA PARISHUDHA DHARMATE GAGANA SAMUGATE, SOBHAWA BISHUDDHE MAHA NAYA PARIWARE SÖHA.
 

Blessing the Torma

OM VAJRA AMRITA KUNDALI HANA HANA HUM PHAT
OM SÖBHAWA SHUDDHA SARWA DHARMA SÖBHAWA SHUDDHO HAM

Everything becomes emptiness.

From the sphere of emptiness, from YAM comes wind, from RAM comes fire, and from AH a grate of three human heads. Above this from AH comes a broad and extensive skull cup. Inside are the five meats and five nectars. These are purified, transformed and increased by the three letters, and become a great ocean of uncontaminated nectar.

OM AH HUM (3x)
 

Invoking the Field of Merit

Light rays radiate and invoke Amitayus from the Pure Land of Bliss to the space before me.
 

Offering the Torma

Guru Amitayus partakes of the torma by drawing it through his tongue, which is a straw of vajra light.
OM APARIMITA AYUR GYANA SAPARIWARA IDAM BALINGTA KHA KHA KHAHI KHAHI (3X)
 

Outer Offerings

OM APARIMITA AYUR GYANA SAPARIWARA AHRGHAM PRATITZA YE SÖHA
OM APARIMITA AYUR GYANA SAPARIWARA PADÄM PRATITZA YE SÖHA
OM APARIMITA AYUR GYANA SAPARIWARA PUPE PRATITZA YE SÖHA
OM APARIMITA AYUR GYANA SAPARIWARA DHUPE PRATITZA YE SÖHA
OM APARIMITA AYUR GYANA SAPARIWARA ALOKE PRATITZA YE SÖHA
OM APARIMITA AYUR GYANA SAPARIWARA GÄNDHE PRATITZA YE SÖHA
OM APARIMITA AYUR GYANA SAPARIWARA NEWIDE PRATITZA YE SÖHA
OM APARIMITA AYUR GYANA SAPARIWARA SHAPTA PRATITZA YE SÖHA
 

Inner Offering

OM APARIMITA AYUR GYANA SAPARIWARA OM AH HUM
 

Praise

Amitayus, Principal Guide of the world,
Destroyer of all untimely death without exception,
Refuge for those suffering and without a protector;
To you Buddha Amitayus I prostrate.

OM VAJRA MU

The guests of the torma return to their natural abode.

Recite the hundred-syllable mantra three times.

 

Dedication

Through the power of the blessing of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
And my single pointed accomplishment of practice and prayers,
May we be cared for by our Lord and Master,
And may his life be as stable and limitless as Amitayus.

When I see the signs of untimely death
May I immediately see clearly the body of Amitayus,
And having destroyed the Lord of Death,
May I quickly become a knowledge-holder of life.

For a hundred years may I see a hundred harvests,
May there be long life free from illness with bliss and happiness,
May I definitely enter the Supreme Vehicle,
And may this auspiciousness arise now.

May my life be clear and long like a sun that never sets,
And my merit increase like a waxing moon.
May I be endowed with bravery as great as stars in the sky,
And may my practice be endowed with the glory of complete bliss and happiness.
 

This sadhana was translated by David Gonsalez. It was extracted from the Amitayus long-life empowerment ritual text from the personal collection of Gen Lobsang Choephel. No author or scribe was mentioned in the colophon. The dedication verses were adapted from the White Heruka sadhana composed by Yangchen Drupai Dorje and the words Chakrasamvara replaced with Amitayus.

Edited by Julia Milton
© 2007 David Gonsalez

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Long Life Diety Prayer – Namgyalma

 

Praise

Glorious Goddess, of autumn-moon-like colour,
With beautiful, peaceful, three-faced, eight-armed form,
Granting supreme life with Gnosis beyond measure!
Victorious lady (Vijaya), homage and praise to you!

Long Mantra

Recite this mantra three (3) times

OM NAMO BHAGAVATE SARVA TRAILOKYA PRATIVISHISHTAYA BUDDHAYA TE NAMA TA YA THA OM BHRUM BHRUM BHRUM SHODHAYA SHODHAYA VISHODHAYA VISHODHAYA ASAMA SAMANTA AVABHA SPHARANA GATI GAGANA SVABHAVA VISHUDDHE ABHISHINTSANTU MAM SARVA TATHAGATA SUGATA VARA VACANA AMRITA ABHISHEKERA MAHAMUDRA MANTRA PADAIH AHARA AHARA MAMA AYUS SANDHARANI SHODHAYA SHODHAYA VISHODHAYA VISHODHAYA GAGANA SVABHAVA VISHUDDHE USNISHA VIJAYA PARISHUDDHE SAHASRA RASMI SANYTSODITE SARVA TATHAGATA AVALOKINI SAT PARAMITA PARIPURANI SARVA TATHAGATA MATE DASHA BHUMI PRATISHTHITE SARVA TATHAGATA HRIDAYA ADHISHTHANA ADHISHTHITE MUDRE MUDRE MAHA MUDRE VAJRA KAYA SAMHATANA PARISHUDDHE SARVA KARMA AVARANA VISHUDDHE PRATINI VARTAYA MAMA AYUR VISHUDDHE SARVA TATHAGATA SAMAYA ADHISHTHANA ADHISHTHITE OM MUNI MUNI MAHA MUNI VIMUNI VIMUNI MAHA VIMUNI MATI MATI MAHA MATI MAMATI SUMATI TATHAGATA BHUTAKOTI PARISHUDDHE VISPHUTA BUDDHI SHUDDHE HE HE JAYA JAYA VIJAYA VIJAYA SMARA SMARA SPHARA SPHARA SPHARAYA SPHARAYA SARVA BUDDHA ADHISHTHANA ADHISHTHITE SHUDDHE SHUDDHE BUDDHE BUDDHE VAJRE VAJRE MAHA VAJRE SUVAJRE VAJRA GARBHE JAYA GARBHE VIJAYA GARBHE VAJRA DZOLA GARBHE VAJRODBHAVE VAJRA SAMBHAVE VAJRE VAJRINI VAJRAM BHAVATU MAMA SHARIRAM SARVA SATTVANANYTSA KAYA PARISHUDDHIR BHAVATU ME SADA SARVA GATI PARISHUDDHISHTSA SARVA TATHAGATASHTSA MAM SAMASVASAYANTU BUDDHYA BUDDHYA SIDDHYA SIDDHYA BODHAYA BODHAYA VIBODHAYA VIBODHAYA MOTSAYA MOTSAYA VIMOTSAYA VIMOTSAYA SHODHAYA SHODAYA VISHODHAYA VISHODHAYA SAMANTENA MOTSAYA MOTSAYA SAMANTA RASMI PARISHUDDHE SARVA TATHAGATA HRIDAYA ADHISHTAHANA ADHISHTHITE MUDRE MUDRE MAHA MUDRE MAHAMUDRA MANTRA PADAIH SOHA

Medium Mantra

It is best to recite this mantra twenty one (21) times or more.
This mantra should be recited 100,000 times in dedication to the Lama’s long life.

OM DHRUM SOHA OM AMRITA AYUR DADEY SOHA

Short Mantra

Recite this mantra 21 times or more

OM DROOM SOHA

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The Wheel of Sharp Weapons

A Mahayana Training of the Mind
In Tibetan “Theg-pa-chen-po’i-blo-sbyong-mtshon-cha-‘khor-lo”
by Dharmarakshita

The Wheel of Sharp Weapons, a basic text for the Mahayana training of the mind, was composed by the great yogi Dharmarakshita. It was brought to Tibet by the great Indian Pandit Atisha (982-1054) and was translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan by Atisha and his main disciple Upasaka Drom Tonpa. The present English translation from the Tibetan text has been prepared by the Translation Bureau of the Library of Tibetan Works & Archives.

 

The name of this work is ‘The Wheel of Sharp Weapons
Effectively Striking the Heart of the Foe’.
I pay heartfelt homage to you, Yamantaka;
Your wrath is opposed to the Great Lord of Death.

(1)

In jungles of poisonous plants strut the peacocks,
Though medicine gardens of beauty lie near.
The masses of peacocks do not find gardens pleasant,
But thrive on the essence of poisonous plants.

(2)

In similar fashion, the brave Bodhisattvas
Remain in the jungle of worldly concern.
No matter how joyful this world’s pleasure gardens,
These brave ones are never attracted to pleasures,
But thrive in the jungle of suffering and pain.

(3)

We spend our whole life in the search for enjoyment,
Yet tremble with fear at the mere thought of pain;
Thus since we are cowards, we are miserable still.
But the brave Bodhisattvas accept suffering gladly
And gain from their courage a true lasting joy.

(4)

Now desire is the jungle of poisonous plants here.
Only brave ones, like peacocks, can thrive on such fare.
If cowardly beings, like crows, were to try it,
Because they are greedy, they might lose their lives.

(5)

How can someone who cherishes self more than others
Take lust and such dangerous poisons for food?
If he tried like a crow to use other delusions,
He would probably forfeit his chance for release.

(6)

And thus Bodhisattvas are likened to peacocks:
They live on delusions – those poisonous plants.
Transforming them into the essence of practice,
They thrive in the jungle of everyday life.
Whatever is presented they always accept,
While destroying the poison of clinging desire.

(7)

Uncontrollable wandering through rounds of existence
Is caused by our grasping at egos as real.
This ignorant attitude heralds the demon
Of selfish concern for our welfare alone:
We seek some security for our own egos;
We want only pleasure and shun any pain.
But now we must banish all selfish compulsion
And gladly take hardship for all others’ sake.

(8)

All of our sufferings derive from our habits
Of selfish delusions we heed and act out.
As all of us share in this tragic misfortune,
Which stems from our narrow and self-centred ways,
We must take all our sufferings and the miseries of others
And smother our wishes of selfish concern.

(9)

Should the impulse arise now to seek our own pleasure,
We must turn it aside to please others instead;
For even if loved ones should rise up against us,
We must blame our self-interest and feel it’s our due.

(10)

When our bodies are aching and racked with great torment
Of dreadful diseases we cannot endure,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have injured the bodies of others;
Hereafter let’s take on what sickness is theirs.

(11)

Depressed and forlorn, when we feel mental anguish,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have deeply disturbed minds of others;
Hereafter let’s take on this suffering ourselves.

(12)

When hunger or violent thirst overwhelms us,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have kept what we had without sharing;
We have plundered and stolen and lured people on.
Hereafter let’s take from them hunger and thirst.

(13)

When we lack any freedom, but must obey others,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have looked down upon those who were lowly
And used them as servants for our own selfish needs;
Hereafter let’s offer our service to others
With humble devotion of body and life.

(14)

When we hear only language that is foul and abusive,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have said many things without thinking;
We have slandered and caused many friendships to end.
Hereafter let’s censure all thoughtless remarks.

(15)

When we are born in oppressive and wretched conditions,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have always had a negative outlook –
We have criticised others, seeing only their flaws.
Hereafter let’s cultivate positive feelings
And view our surroundings as stainless and pure.

(16)

When we are parted from friends and from those who can help us,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have taken the friends and good servants
Of others away, wanting them for ourselves;
Hereafter let’s never cause close friends to part.

(17)

When supreme holy gurus find us displeasing,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have turned from the gurus and teachings,
Preferring the counsel of misleading friends;
Hereafter let’s end our dependent relations
With those who would turn us away from the path.

(18)

When unjustly we are blamed for the misdeeds of others,
And are falsely accused of flaws that we lack,
And are always the object of verbal abuse,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have despised and belittled our gurus;
Hereafter let’s never accuse others falsely,
But give them full credit for virtues they have.

(19)

When the things we require for daily consumption
And use, fall apart or are wasted or spoilt,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have been careless with others’ possessions;
Hereafter let’s give them whatever they need.

(20)

When our minds are unclear and our hearts are unhappy,
We are bored doing virtue but excited by vice,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have led others to acts of non-virtue;
Hereafter let’s never provide the conditions
That rouse them to follow their negative traits.

(21)

When our minds are disturbed and we feel great frustration
That things never happen the way that we wish,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have caused interfering disturbance
When others were focused on virtuous acts;
Hereafter let’s stop causing such interruption.

(22)

When nothing we do ever pleases our gurus,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now with our gurus we have feigned pious manners,
But out of their presence have reverted to sin.
Hereafter let’s try to be less hypocritical
And take all the teachings sincerely to heart.

(23)

When others find fault with whatever we are doing
And people seem eager to blame only us,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have been shameless, not caring about others,
We have thought that our deeds did not matter at all,
Hereafter let’s stop our offensive behaviour.

(24)

When our servants and friends are annoyed by our habits,
And after a while cannot stay in our homes,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have imposed our bad habits on others;
Hereafter let’s change and show only kind ways.

(25)

When all who are close turn against us as enemies,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have held grudges inside us with anger
With thoughts of sly methods to cause others pain;
Hereafter let’s try to have less affectation,
Nor pretend to be kind while we harbour base aims.

(26)

When we suffer from sickness and such interference,
Especially when gout has swollen our legs,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now without shame and with no self-control
We have stolen or misused what others have given;
Hereafter let’s never take anything offered
To the Three Jewels of Refuge as if it were ours.

(27)

When strokes and diseases strike without warning,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have broken our vowed words of honour;
Hereafter, let’s shun such non-virtuous deeds.

(28)

When our mind becomes clouded whenever we study,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have thought that the study of Dharma
Lacked prime importance and could be ignored;
Hereafter let’s build up the habits of wisdom
To hear and to think about what Buddha taught.

(29)

When sleep overwhelms us while practising virtue,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have gathered the causes for obstacles
Hindering our practice of virtuous acts.

(We have lacked all respect for the scriptural teachings;
We have sat on our books and left texts on the ground.
We have also looked down upon those with deep insight.)

Hereafter for the sake of our practice of Dharma
Let’s gladly endure all the hardships we meet.

(30)

When our mind wanders greatly and runs towards delusion,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have neglected to meditate fully
On defects pervading this transient world;
Hereafter let’s work to renounce this existence

(And see the impermanent nature of things).

(31)

When all our affairs, both religious and worldly,
Run into trouble and fall into ruin,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have felt cause and effect could be slighted;
Hereafter let’s practise with patience and strength.

(32)

When rites we perform never seem to be fruitful,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have relied on the gods of this world
Or on unskilful actions to bring us relief;
Hereafter let’s turn in another direction
And leave our non-virtuous actions behind.

(33)

When none of the wishes we make reach fulfilment,
Although we have made prayers to the Three Precious Gems,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have had an imperfect commitment
To Buddha whose teachings deserve complete trust;
Hereafter let’s place our exclusive reliance
On Buddha, his teachings and those in his fold.

(34)

When prejudice, polio or strokes have us crippled
And external forces or harm rise against us,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have collected vast stores of non-virtue
By breaking our vows and offending protectors
In our practice from guru-devotion to Tantra;
Hereafter let’s banish all prejudiced views.

(35)

When we lack all control over where we must travel
And always must wander like waifs with no home,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have disturbed holy gurus and others
And forced them to move from their homes or their seats;
Hereafter let’s never cause others disturbance
By evicting them cruelly from where they reside.

(36)

When the crops in our fields are continually plagued
By drought, floods and hailstones, insects and frost,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have failed to honour our pledges;
Hereafter let’s keep all our moral vows pure.

(37)

When we are poor, yet are filled with much greed and desire,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have been misers, reluctant to share.
The offerings we have made to the Three Jewels were meagre;
Hereafter let’s give with a generous heart.

(38)

When our bodies are ugly and others torment us
By mocking our flaws, never showing respect,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have made images lacking in beauty,
By venting our anger, we have made ugly scenes;
Hereafter let’s print books and make pleasing statues,
And not be short-tempered, but be of good cheer.

(39)

When attachment and anger disturb and upset us
No matter how much we may try to suppress them,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have held on to the improper outlook,
Stubbornly cherishing only ourselves;
Hereafter let’s uproot self-interest completely.

(40)

When success in our practices always eludes us,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now, deep within, we have clung to our ego,
Fully immersed in self-cherishing ways;
Hereafter let’s dedicate all of the virtuous
Actions we do, so that others may thrive.

(41)

When our mind is untamed though we act with great virtue,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have engaged in those worldly ambitions
That aim at success for ourselves in this life;
Hereafter let’s work with pure one-pointed effort
To nourish the wish to gain freedom’s far shore.

(42)

When after we do any virtuous action
We feel deep regret or we doubt its effect,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have been fickle and, stirred by base motives,
Have courted only those who have power or wealth;
Hereafter let’s act with complete self-awareness,
Exerting great care in the way we make friends.

(43)

When those with ambition repay trusting friendship
By luring us on with their devious schemes,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now from ambition we have acted with arrogance,
Hereafter let’s dampen our self-centred pride.

(44)

When the force of attraction or that of repulsion
Colours whatever we hear or we say,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have ignored what has caused all our troubles:
The mass of delusion that dwells in our heart;
Hereafter let’s try to abandon all hindrances –
Note their arisal, examine them well.

(45)

When no matter how well-meant our actions towards others,
They always elicit a hostile response,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have repaid loving-kindness with malice;
Hereafter let’s always accept others’ favours
Both graciously and with most humble respect.

(46)

In short then, whenever unfortunate sufferings
We haven’t desired crash upon us like thunder,
This is the same as the smith who had taken
His life with a sword he had fashioned himself.
Our suffering is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Hereafter let’s always have care and awareness
Never to act in non-virtuous ways.

(47)

All of the sufferings that we have endured
In the lives we have led in the three lower states,
As well as our pains of the present and future,
Are the same as the case of the forger of arrows
Who later was killed by an arrow he had made.
Our suffering is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Hereafter let’s always have care and awareness
Never to act in non-virtuous ways.

(48)

When the troubles and worries of family life grieve us,
This is the same as the case of a child,
Who was cared for with love, later killing his parents.
Our suffering is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Hereafter it is fitting in all of our lifetimes
For us to live purely as monks or as nuns.

(49)

As it’s true what I have said about self-centred interest,
I recognise clearly my enemy now.
I recognise clearly the bandit who plunders,
The liar who lures by pretending he is part of me;
Oh what relief that I have conquered this doubt!

(50)

And so Yamantaka, spin round with great power
The wheel of sharp weapons of good actions now.
Three times turn it round, in your wrathful-like aspect –
Your legs set apart for the two grades of truth,
With your eyes blazing open for wisdom and means.

(51)

Baring your fangs of the four great opponents,
Devour the foe – our cruel selfish concern!
With your powerful mantra of cherishing others,
Demolish this enemy lurking within!

(52)

Frantically running through life’s tangled jungle,
We are chased by sharp weapons of wrongs we have done
Returning upon us; we are out of control.
This sly, deadly villain – the selfishness in us,
Deceiving ourselves and all others as well –
Capture him, capture him, fierce Yamantaka,
Summon this enemy, bring him forth now!

(53)

Batter him, batter him, rip out the heart
Of our grasping for ego, our love for ourselves!
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern!
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release!

(54)

Hum! Hum! Show all your powers, O mighty protector.
Dza! Dza! Tie up this enemy; do not let him loose.
P’a! P’a! Set us free by your might, O great Lord over Death.
Cut! Cut! Break the knot of self-interest that binds us inside.

(55)

Appear Yamantaka, O wrathful protector;
I have further entreaties to make of you still.
This sack of five poisons, mistakes and delusions,
Drags us down in the quicksand of life’s daily toil –
Cut it off, cut it off, rip it to shreds!

(56)

We are drawn to the sufferings of miserable rebirths,
Yet mindless of pain, we go after its cause.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(57)

We have high expectations of speedy attainments,
Yet do not wish to work at the practice involved.
We have many fine projects we plan to accomplish,
Yet none of them ever are done in the end.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(58)

Our wish to be happy is strong at all times,
Yet we do not gather merit to yield this result.
We have little endurance for hardship and suffering,
Yet ruthlessly push for the things we desire.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(59)

With comparative ease, we develop new friendships,
Yet since we are callous, not one of them lasts.
We are filled with desire for food and fine clothing,
Yet failing to earn them, we steal and we scheme.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(60)

We are experts at flattering others for favours,
Yet always complaining, we are sad and depressed.
The money we have gathered we cannot bear to part with;
Like misers we hoard it and feel we are poor.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(61)

We have done very little to benefit someone,
Yet always remind him how much we have done.
We have never accomplished a thing in our lifetime
Yet, boasting and bragging, we are filled with conceit.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(62)

We have many great masters and teachers to guide us,
Yet, shirking our duty, ignore what they teach.
We have many disciples, yet do not ever help them;
We cannot be bothered to give them advice.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(63)

We promise to do many glorious deeds,
Yet in practice we give others minimal help.
Our spiritual fame has been spread far and wide,
Yet inwardly all of our thoughts are repulsive
Not only to gods, but to demons and ghosts.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(64)

We have read very little, heard only a few teachings,
Yet talk with authority expertly on voidness.
Our knowledge of scriptures is pitifully lacking,
Yet glibly we make up and say what we like.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(65)

We have many attendants and people around us,
Yet no one obeys us nor heeds what we say.
We feel we have friends in positions of power,
Yet should we need help, we are left on our own.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(66)

We have gained lofty status and ranks of prestige.
Yet our knowledge is poorer than that of a ghost.
We are considered great gurus, yet even the demons
Do not harbour such hatred or clinging desire
Or as closed-minded an outlook as we seem to have.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(67)

We talk about theories and the most advanced teachings,
Yet our everyday conduct is worse than a dog’s.
We are learned, intelligent, versed in great knowledge,
Yet cast to the wind wisdom’s ethical base.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(68)

We have selfish desires and horrible anger
Which fester inside us, we would never admit;
Yet without provocation we criticise others
And self-righteously charge them with faults we possess.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(69)

We wear robes of saffron, yet seek our protection
And refuge in spirits and gods of this world.
We have promised to keep solemn vows of strict morals,
Yet our actions accord with the demons’ foul ways.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(70)

Our pleasure and happiness come from the Buddhas,
The gurus, the teachings, and those who live by them,
Yet still we make offerings to ghosts and the spirits.
All of our guidance derives from the teachings,
And yet we deceive those who give this advice.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(71)

We seek to have homes in monastic seclusion
Yet, drawn by distractions, we venture to town.
Discourses we hear teach us most noble practice,
Yet we spend all our time telling fortunes with dice.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(72)

We give up monks’ vows, the true path to gain freedom;
We would rather be married, have children and homes.
We cast to the wind this rare chance to be happy,
And pursue further suffering, more problems and woes.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(73)

Discarding our practice to reach liberation,
We drift about searching for pleasure or trade.
We have obtained human bodies with precious endowments,
Yet use them to gain only hellish rebirths.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(74)

Ignoring effects that the teachings can bring us,
We travel on business for profit and gain.
Leaving behind all our gurus’ wise lectures,
We tour different places in search of some fun.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(75)

We hoard what we have, never willing to use it,
And leech all our food and our clothing from friends.
We leave aside wealth from our father’s inheritance,
Taking from others as much as we can.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(76)

It’s amazing how little endurance we have
To do meditation, and yet we pretend
To have gained special powers so others are fooled.
We never catch up with the paths of deep wisdom,
Yet run here and there in needless great haste.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(77)

Someone gives us advice from the depths of his heart,
Which is for our own good, but is harsh to our ears,
And with anger we view him as if he is our foe.
Yet when someone without any true feelings for us
Deceitfully tells us what we like to hear,
Without taste or discernment we are kind in return.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(78)

When others consider us close and dear friends
And relate in strict confidence all they know,
We disclose their deep secrets especially to their foes.
When we have a good friend who is constantly with us,
We locate his weak points so we can torment him.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(79)

Our jealousy is strong and whatever is said
We are always the sceptic, we doubt what is meant.
We are fussy, bad-tempered and hard to get on with,
Inflicting obnoxious behaviour on others.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(80)

When someone requests us to do something for him,
We are never obliging, but think up instead
Clever devious methods to do him some harm.
When others concede and agree with our viewpoint,
We do not acquiesce – we argue still more.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(81)

We do not pay attention to what others tell us;
We are a trial to be with; we strain others’ nerves.
Our feelings are hurt at the slightest remark,
And we hold grudges strongly – we never forgive.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(82)

We always are jealous of those of great status;
We feel holy gurus are threats to avoid.
Overwhelmed by attachment and ruled by our passions,
We spend all our time lusting after young loves.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(83)

We do not think of friendships as long-term commitments,
We treat old companions with thoughtless neglect.
And when we are making new friends with a stranger,
We try to impress him with grandiose ways.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(84)

We lack clairvoyance, yet lie, feigning powers,
And then when proved wrong, we must bear all complaints.
We have little compassion for those who are near us;
Whenever they blunder, we are quick to lash out.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(85)

We have poor education and limited knowledge;
Whenever we speak we are unsure of ourselves.
Our learning in scriptural texts is so meagre,
When hearing new teachings we doubt they are true.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(86)

By making a habit of anger and passion,
We come to despise everyone that we meet;
And by making a habit of jealous resentment,
We ascribe fruits to others, disclaiming their worth.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(87)

We do not follow proper procedures of study;
We say it is needless to read the vast texts.
We feel there is no value in learning from gurus;
We slight oral teachings and think we know best.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(88)

We fail to explain what the ‘Three Baskets” teach’,
But instead dwell on theories we have made up ourselves.
We lack deep conviction and faith in the teachings,
Whatever we say leaves disciples confused.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(89)

We do not despise actions unwise and immoral,
Instead we dispute and attempt to pick flaws
In the excellent teachings and great masters’ works.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(90)

We are never embarrassed when acting disgracefully,
Only respectable deeds cause us shame.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(91)

All the things we should do we do not do even once,
For improper behaviour takes up all our time.
Trample him, trample him, dance on the head
Of this treacherous concept of selfish concern.
Tear out the heart of this self-centred butcher
Who slaughters our chance to gain final release.

(92)

O mighty destroyer of selfishness-demons.
With body of wisdom unchained from all bonds,
Yamantaka, come brandish your skull-headed bludgeon
Of egoless wisdom of voidness and bliss.
Without any misgivings now wield your fierce weapon
And wrathfully swing it three times round your head.

(93)

With all of your fierceness come smash this foul enemy!
Burst ego-concepts with your wisdom’s great might!
With your boundless compassion protect us from suffering
The miseries caused by our self-centred actions;
Destroy our self-cherishing once and for all!

(94)

With all of the sufferings that others experience,
Smother completely our selfish concern.
The sufferings of others arise from five poisons;
Thus whichever delusion afflicts other beings
Take it to smother delusions of self.

(95)

Though we have not a doubt, for we recognise fully
The cause and the root of mistakes we all make,
If there is still left a part of our minds that would tend
To support this delusion of self that we have,
Then destroy the firm hold of this part of our minds
That, against our true wishes, makes fools of us still.

(96)

As all that is wrong can be traced to one source –
Our concern for ourselves whom we cherish the most –
We must meditate now on the kindness of others.
Accepting the suffering that they never wished for,
We must dedicate fully our virtues to all.

(97)

Thus accepting ourselves all deluded non-virtuous
Actions that others have done in the past,
In the present and future with mind, speech and body,
May delusions of others as well as our own
Be the favoured conditions to gain our enlightenment,
Just as the peacocks eat poison and thrive.

(98)

As crows may be cured after swallowing poison
By a powerful antidote given in time,
Let’s direct to all others our virtuous merit,
That this may replenish their chances for freedom –
May all sentient beings reach Buddhahood soon!

(99)

Till the time when all motherly beings and I
Gain the perfect conditions for us to be Buddhas,
Though the force of our actions may cause us to wander
Through various realms in the six rebirth states,
May we always be able to help one another
To keep our aim fixed on enlightenment’s shore.

(100)

Then for even the sake of but one sentient being
May we gladly take birth in the three lower states.
With enlightening conduct that never grows weak
May we lead all the beings in miserable rebirths
Out of their sufferings and causes for pain.

(101)

As soon as we have placed ourselves into their realm
May the guards of the hells come to see us as gurus.
May the weapons of torture they hold turn to flowers;
May all harm be stilled – peace and happiness grow.

(102)

Then may even hell beings develop clairvoyance
And take higher rebirths as men or as gods.
By developing strongly the wish to be Buddhas,
May they pay back our kindness through heeding the teachings
And regard us as gurus with confident trust.

(103)

Then may all sentient beings of the three higher rebirths
Perfect meditation on egolessness.
In this way may they realise the non-self-existence
Of worldly involvement and freedom as well.
May they place concentration on both of these equally,
Seeing their natures as equally void.

(104)

If we practise these methods we shall soon overcome
Our true enemies: selfish concern and self-love.
If we practise these methods we shall overcome also
False concepts of ego we hold to be real.
Thus by joint meditation on egolessness
And on non-dual wisdom of voidness and bliss,
How can anyone not gain the causes to win
A Buddha’s physical body and its fruit, Buddhahood?

(105)

O mind, understand that the topics discussed here
Are interdependent phenomena all;
For things must rely on dependent arising
To have an existence – they cannot stand alone.
The process of change is alluring like magic,
For physical form is but mental appearance,
As a torch whirling round seems a circle of flame.

(106)

There is nothing substantial to anyone’s life-force –
It crumbles apart like a water-soaked log;
And there is nothing substantial to anyone’s life span –
It bursts in an instant like bubbles of foam.
All the things of this world are but fog-like appearance;
When closely examined, they fade out of sight.
Like mirages these things at a distance seem lovely,
But when we come closer, they are not to be found.

(107)

All things are like images found in a mirror,
And yet we imagine they are real, very real;
All things are like mist or like clouds on a mountain,
And yet we imagine they are stable and firm.
Our foe: our insistence on ego-identities
Truly our own, which we wish were secure,
And our butcher: the selfish concern for ourselves –
Like all things these appear to be truly existent,
Though they never have been truly existent at all.

(108)

Although they appear to be concrete and real,
They have never been real, anytime, anywhere.
They are not things we should burden with ultimate value,
Nor should we deny them their relative truth.
As our grasping for egos and love for ourselves
Lack substantial foundations with true independence,
How can they yield acts that exist by themselves?
And then how can this cruel vicious circle of suffering,
The fruit of these actions, be real from its core?

(109)

Although all things thus lack inherent existence,
Yet just as the face of the moon can be seen
In a cup of clear water reflecting its image,
The various aspects of cause and effect
Appear in this relative world as reflections.
So please, in this world of appearances only,
Let’s always be sure what we do is of virtue
And shun all those acts that would cause us great pain.

(110)

When our bodies are charred in a horrible nightmare
By the world-ending flames of a stellar explosion,
Although this ordeal is not actually happening,
We nevertheless feel great terror and scream.
In similar fashion, unfortunate rebirths
In hells or as ghosts are not actually real,
And yet we can fully experience their pain.
Thus fearing such suffering as burning alive,
We must cease all these actions that yield this result.

(111)

When our minds are delirious, burning with fever,
Although there is no darkness, we feel we are plummeting
Further and further into a black pit
With the walls pressing closer the deeper we fall.
In similar fashion, although our dark ignorance
Lacks self-existence, we nevertheless
Must by all means break out of its strangling constriction
By putting the three kinds of wisdom to use.

(112)

When musicians are playing a beautiful melody,
Should we examine the sound they are making
We would see that it does not exist by itself.
But when we are not making our formal analysis,
Still there is a beautiful tune to be heard,
Which is merely a label on notes and on players
That is why lovely music can lighten sad hearts.

(113)

When we closely examine effects and their causes,
We see that they both lack inherent existence –
They cannot stand alone, either whole or apart,
Yet there seem to exist independently rising
And falling events, which, in fact, are conditioned
By various forces, components and parts.
It is this very level on which we experience
Birth and our death and whatever life brings.
So please, in this world of appearances only,
Let’s always be sure what we do is of virtue
And shun all those acts that would cause us great pain.

(114)

When a vase has been filled by the dripping of water,
The first drops themselves did not fill it alone;
Nor was it made full by the last several drops.
It was filled by an interdependent collection
Of causes and forces that came all together –
The water, the pourer, the vase and such things.

(115)

It is precisely the same when we come to experience
Pleasure and pain: the results of our past.
Effects never come from the first causal actions,
Nor do they arise from the last several acts.
Both pleasure and pain come from interdependent
Collections of forces and causes combined.
So please, in this world of appearances only,
Let’s always be sure what we do is of virtue
And shun all those acts that would cause us great pain.

(116)

When not making formal dissections with logic,
Merely letting life’s happenings flow freely on,
Although we experience feelings of pleasure,
In ultimate truth, this appearance of happiness
Lacks self-existence inherently real.
And yet on the everyday operative level
This seeming appearance has relative truth.
To understand fully this deep profound meaning
For slow-minded persons, alas, will be hard.

(117)

And now, when we try to do close contemplation
On voidness, how can we have even a feeling
Of conventional truth at the very same time?
Yet what can there be that has true self-existence?
And what can there be that lacks relative truth?
How can anyone anywhere believe in such things?

(118)

Just as objects of voidness are non-self-existent,
The voidness of objects itself is the same.
The shunning of vice and the practice of virtue
Are likewise devoid of all mental constructions
That they are independent, self-contained acts.
In fact, on the whole, they are lacking completely
All mental projections and all pre-conceptions.
Thus, if we can focus our clear concentration
On voidness without our mind wandering astray,
Then truly we shall come to be wondrous beings
With a deep understanding of the most profound void.

(119)

By practising this way the two Bodhicittas
Of the ultimate and the conventional truth,
And thus by completing without interference
Collections of insight and merit as well,
May all of us quickly attain full enlightenment
Granting what we and all others have wished.

Epilogue

‘The Wheel of Sharp Weapons Effectively Striking the Heart of the Foe’ was composed by the great Yogi Dharmarakshita in his retreat in the jungle where many fierce animals prey. What this great yogi, the possessor of vast scriptural knowledge, the full powers of logic and deep profound insight has written here is the essence of the teachings of all his holy gurus. He always practised in accordance with this essence in his fearsome jungle retreat during the degenerate age in which he lived.

From among his many disciples, Dharmarakshita transmitted these teachings to Atisha (982-1054); and Atisha practised them wherever he traveled in order to tame those who were most wild. When Atisha developed true insight into the two Bodhichittas through these teachings, he composed the following verses:

I went through much hardship abandoning royalty,
But, by collecting much virtuous merit,
I met my true guru, Dharmarakshita.
By showing me these supreme nectar-like teachings,
He has granted me sovereignty over my mind;
So that now I have attained all the forceful opponents,
Having memorised fully these words he has taught.

Although I do not favour a partisan viewpoint –
Whenever I study the various teachings
I always make efforts to broaden my wisdom
To see boundless wonders in every tradition –
Yet I have to admit that these teachings especially
Have been of great help in this age of decay.

From among his many unimaginably great disciples in both India and Tibet, Atisha transmitted these teachings to Upasaka Drom Tonpa, who had been prophesied to be his most fitting disciple by many of Atisha’s meditational deities such as Tara. Atisha transmitted these teachings to Drom Tonpa in order to pacify the minds of the disciples of remote Tibet who were difficult to tame.

This work has been translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan by the fatherly Atisha himself and his spiritual son Drom Tonpa.

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35 Confessional Buddhas
The Mahayana Sutra of the Three Superior Heaps

Homage to the Bodhisattva’s Confession of Moral Downfalls.

I, whose name is ……………., at all times go for refuge to the Guru, go for refuge to the Buddha, go for refuge to the Dharma, go for refuge to the Sangha.

The Vajra family of Akshobhya (blue)

1. To the Teacher, Blessed One, Tathagata, Foe Destroyer, Completely Perfected Buddha, Glorious Conqueror Shakyamuni, I prostrate.
2. To the Tathagata, Complete Subduer with the Essence of Vajra, I prostrate.
3. To the Tathagata, Jewel of Radiant Light, I prostrate.
4. To the Tathagata, Powerful King of the Nagas, I prostrate.
5. To the Tathagata, Leader of the Heroes, I prostrate.
6. To the Tathagata, Glorious Pleasure, I prostrate.
7. To the Tathagata, Jewel Fire, I prostrate

The Tathagata family of Vairochana (white)

8. To the Tathagata, Jewel Moonlight, I prostrate.
9. To the Tathagata, Meaningful to Behold, I prostrate.
10. To the Tathagata, Jewel Moon, I prostrate.
11. To the Tathagata, Stainless One, I prostrate.
12. To the Tathagata, Bestowed with Glory, I prostrate.
13. To the Tathagata, Pure One, I prostrate.
14. To the Tathagata, Transforming with Purity, I prostrate.

The Ratna family of Ratnasambhava (yellow)

15. To the Tathagata, Water Deity, I prostrate.
16. To the Tathagata, God of the Water Deities, I prostrate.
17. To the Tathagata, Glorious Excellence, I prostrate.
18. To the Tathagata, Glorious Sandalwood, I prostrate.
19. To the Tathagata, Endless Splendour, I prostrate.
20. To the Tathagata, Glorious Light, I prostrate.
21. To the Tathagata, Glorious without Sorrow, I prostrate.

The Lotus family of Amitabha (red)

22. To the Tathagata, Son without Craving, I prostrate.
23. To the Tathagata, Glorious Flower, I prostrate.
24. To the Tathagata, Clearly Knowing through Enjoying Pure Radiance, I prostrate.
25. To the Tathagata, Clearly Knowing through Enjoying Lotus Radiance, I prostrate.
26. To the Tathagata, Glorious Wealth, I prostrate.
27. To the Tathagata, Glorious Mindfulness, I prostrate.
28. To the Tathagata, Glorious Name of Great Renown, I prostrate.

The Karma family of Amoghasiddhi (green)

29. To the Tathagata, King of the Victory Banner, Head of the Powerful Ones, I prostrate.
30. To the Tathagata, Glorious One Complete Subduer, I prostrate.
31. To the Tathagata, Great Victor in Battle, I prostrate.
32. To the Tathagata, Glorious One Complete Subduer Passed Beyond, I prostrate.
33. To the Tathagata, Glorious Array Illuminating All, I prostrate.
34. To the Tathagata, Jewel Lotus Great Subduer, I prostrate.
35. To the Tathagata, Foe Destroyer, Completely Perfected Buddha, King of Mount Meru seated firmly on a jewel and a lotus, I prostrate.

O All you Tathagatas and all the others, however many Tathagatas, Foe Destroyers, Completely Perfect Buddhas, Blessed Ones there are dwelling and abiding in all the worldly realms of the ten directions, all you Buddhas, the Blessed Ones, please listen to me.

In this life and in all my lives since beginningless time, in all my places of rebirth whilst wandering in Samsara, I have done negative actions, have ordered them to be done, and have rejoiced in their being done. I have stolen the property of the bases of offering, the property of the Sangha, and the property of the Sanghas of the ten directions, have ordered it to be stolen, and have rejoiced in it being stolen. I have committed the five unbounded heinous actions, have ordered them to be committed, and have rejoiced in their being committed. I have completely engaged in the paths of the ten non-virtuous actions, have ordered others to engage in them, and have rejoiced in their engaging in them.

Being obstructed by such karmic obstructions, I shall become a hell being, or I shall be born as an animal, or I shall go to the land of the hungry ghosts, or I shall be born as a barbarian in an irreligious country, or I shall be born as a long life god, or I shall come to have incomplete senses, or I shall come to have wrong views, or I shall have no opportunity to please a Buddha.

All such karmic obstructions I declare in the presence of the Buddhas, the Blessed Ones, who have become valid, who see with their wisdom. I confess without concealing or hiding anything, and from now on I shall avoid and refrain from such actions.

All you Buddhas, the Blessed Ones, please listen to me.
In this life and in all my previous lives since beginningless time, in all my places of rebirth whilst wandering in Samsara, whatever root of virtue there is in my giving to others, even in my giving a morsel of food to one born as an animal;

Whatever root of virtue there is in my maintaining moral discipline;
Whatever root of virtue there is in my actions conducive to great liberation;
Whatever root of virtue there is in my acting to fully ripen sentient beings;
Whatever root of virtue there is in my generating a supreme mind of Enlightenment;

And whatever root of virtue there is in my unsurpassed exalted wisdom; all of these assembled, gathered and collected together, by fully dedicating them to the unsurpassed, to that which there is no higher, to that which is even higher than the high, to that which surpasses the unsurpassed,
I fully dedicate to the unsurpassed, perfect, complete enlightenment.

Just as the Buddhas, the Blessed Ones of the past, have dedicated fully, just as the Buddhas, the Blessed Ones who are yet to come, will dedicate fully, and just as the Buddhas, the Blessed Ones who are living now, dedicate fully, so too do I dedicate fully.

I confess individually all negative actions. I rejoice in all merit. I beseech and request all the Buddhas.
May I attain the holy, supreme, unsurpassed, exalted wisdom.
Whoever are the Conquerors, the supreme beings living now, those of the past, and likewise those who are yet to come, with a boundless ocean of praise for all your good qualities, with my palms pressed together I go close to you for refuge.

This concludes the Mahayana Sutra entitled “Sutra of the Three Superior Heaps”.

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