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Essential Advice in Three Sets of Three

As potent as it is pithy, this short text outlines three sets of qualities required respectively by sages, bodhisattvas, and practitioners of the Mantrayāna. There is obvious overlap in the advice contained at each level, particularly ascending from the initial to the final qualities, which mirrors the central training of the three Buddhist vehicles essential to the Tibetan tradition. 

Butön Rinchen Drub

Advice

A Lineage Prayer for the Natural Liberation of Grasping

This lineage prayer for Do Khyentse's treasure cycle of the Natural Liberation of Grasping (Dzinpa Rangdröl) is found in a liturgical compilation arranged by Galwang Nyima. The prayer comprises verses from the supplication prayer and Tröma practice as located in the revealed treasure texts as well as a short transmission lineage. 

Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje 

Lineage Prayer

The Hook Which Invokes Blessings: A Supplication to the Life and Liberation of Knowledge-Holder Jalu Dorje

This concise biographical prayer of Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje was written by the master himself at the request of a king, most likely Namkha Lhundrub of Trokyab.

Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje 

Biographical

The Recitation for the Gradual Path of the Preliminaries

This liturgy for the preliminary practices, or ngöndro (sngon 'gro), of Do Khyentse's terma revelation Yangsang Khandrö Tugtik, 'The Exceedingly Secret, Enlightened Heart–Essence of the Ḍākinī', includes the common, outer practices of contemplation and the main, inner preliminaries of taking refuge, generating bodhicitta, offering the maṇḍala, purifying obscurations through Vajrasattva, and guru yoga.

Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje 

Preliminary Practice

The Truthful Words of a Sage  

This aspirational prayer of Do Khyentse is the last text in his Natural Liberation of Grasping (Dzinpa Rangdröl) treasure cycle located within The Exceedingly Secret, Enlightened Heart–Essence of the Ḍākinī treasure cache.

Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje 

Asprational Prayer

Hidden Sacred Land of Pemakö

Dudjom Lingpa presents us with a geomatic and spiritual description of the sacred land of Pemakö, hidden, majestic, and rejuvenating. As he lays out the territorial portrayal, he speaks of the abodes of masters, the dwellings of deities, and the productive power of purification. He then caps this brief work with a quote from the exceedingly secret guidebook of Dispelling the Darkness of Ignorance.  

Dudjom Lingpa

Guidebook

Generating Wonder & Glory: A Supplication to Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo’s Successive Lives Arranged in a Rough Summary

Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Taye supplicates the previous incarnations of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. You might be surprised by the list of important masters he was associated with.

Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Taye

Supplication Prayer

The Drop of Spring: A Spontaneous Vajra Song of Definitive Meaning That Supplicates the Great Charioteers of the Luminous Mahāmudrā

The Drop of Spring inspires us by supplicating the early Dagpo Kagyu lineage and making aspirational prayers on the path of the luminous Mahāmudrā.

Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo 

Supplication Prayer

The Guidebook to the Hidden Land of Pemokö

The Guidebook to the Hidden Land of Pemokö is a revealed treasure text included in Jatsön Nyinpo’s Embodiment of the Precious Ones, the Könchok Chidu. It is a prediction text about the future degenerate times and purportedly the first guidebook to the hidden land of Pemokö.

Jatsön Nyingpo 

Guidebook

The Vajra Verses: A Prayer of the Fierce Inner Heat

This supplication, filled with instruction for the completion stage practice of fierce inner heat, was written by Jigme Lingpa in his renowned work of The Heart Essence of the Great Expanse, or Longchen Nyingtik. It is traditionally sung after the lineage supplication and before the fierce inner heat practice.

Jigme Lingpa

Prayer

Devotion is the Highest Practice 

In this succinct text, a practice a devotee resounds in the early morning, Khenpo Ngawang Palzang strikes a central point of Buddhist tantra and rings the ever-sounding bell in the belfry of devotion. 

Khenpo Ngawang Palzang 

Supplication Prayer

Talking to Myself 

Surging, subtle, and well short of a rigmarole, Khenpo Ngawa Palzang takes us down a river of reverie. In this current the ripples of his thought invoke images of self-depreciation, accountability, and conscientiousness, to name a few. In the end, the imperative is put forth to investigate the moral and to take your findings into your own condition. So, hop in this craft and take the journey down this eddyless waterway. 

Khenpo Ngawang Palzang 

Poetry

An Aspiration to Travel to the Hidden Land of Pemokö

A prayer to take rebirth in the hidden sanctuary of Pemakö, where obstacles such as sickness and conflict are scarce or nonexistent and favourable conditions may aid progress on the Dharma path.

Lelung Zhepé Dorje

Aspiration Prayer

Chapter Narrating the Pure Vision of Gesar

The Fifth Lelung Rinpoche, Zhepé Dorje (1697–1740), is unusual among senior Geluk figures for having taken a personal interest in the figure of Gesar of Ling, eponymous hero of the Tibetan epic. The text translated here narrates his ‘pure vision’ of Gesar, which took place near his monastic seat at Lelung, in Olga, in 1729. Please see the full abstract in the note section of the translation.

Lelung Zhepé Dorje

Pure Vision

The Magical Lasso: A Prayer of Aspiration to Accomplish Khecara

This aspirational prayer calls upon all the ḍākinīs of the three worlds to grant their blessings, so that the practitioner may complete the vajrayāna path and bring benefit to all beings.

Lelung Zhepé Dorje

Aspiration Prayer

A Song on the Merits of Kyangpen Namkhe Dzong

This meditative or spiritual song was composed by Milarepa (1040–1123), Tibet’s most famous yogi and poet. With an almost Wordsworthian rhapsody, Mila describes the inconceivable qualities of Kyangpen Namkhe Dzong and explains why it is so favourable for meditative retreat. Strikingly, he identifies the natural world itself, rather than past Buddhist masters, as the wellspring of blessings for this holy place. 

Milarepa

Song

The Brilliant Essence: The Ritual Manual for the Secret Embodiment of the Guru (Lama Sangdu)

Terdak Lingpa compiled this ritual manual (las byang) for the Secret Embodiment of the Guru (bla ma gsang 'dus) revelation of Guru Chökyi Wangchuk (1212–1270) in order to facilitate the elaborate offering practices performed on the tenth day of the lunar month at Mindröling Monastery.

Terdak Lingpa 

Ritual Manual

In Praise of the Goddess Sarasvatī

One of the most famous poems in Tibetan history in which Tsongkhapa calls out and praises the goddess Sarasvatī. This poem is not only chanted in monastic halls but also sung by performing artists and taught in literature classes. ​

Tsongkhapa Lobzang Drakpa

Praises
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