In this 1245 dream vision at Palpuk Ring, Guru Chöwang encounters his recurring guide, a ḍākinī named Yeshe Gyen, at his childhood home - sparking profound symbolic revelations of dharmic truth. The Great Symbolic Vision at Palpuk Ring: A Dream of Guru Chökyi Wangchuk Homage to Guru Pema Tötrengtsal! Namo! In the summer of the Wood Female Snake year (1245), on the tenth day of the Dog month, at Palpuk Ring (“Glorious Long Cave”), located at the supreme and exalted sacred site of Kharchu in Lodrak, I was performing a ritual feast with torma offerings and empowerment at Guru Pema’s abode of accomplishment. It was at that time that I, the monk Chökyi Wangchuk, [1] had a dream at dawn. I was sitting before Pang Village, [2] taking in my homeland, and a white girl with a cowrie headdress came to me. She pointed towards my house and inquired, “Who built this place?” “My parents built it.” “That’s not true—where are your parents now?” Remembering that my parents had passed away, I leaned against the door, tears flowing in my grief. I felt uncertain about the situation and wondered if my parents were still inside, so I cried in sorrow: “Papa, you home? Mama, you’re there, no?” From the depth of my heart, I asked if my parents were there, and as I went longing for my loving parents, I called out, “Please open the door. Open this door, please!” A faint, ethereal voice replied: “You’ve never had parents, and you don’t have them now. Though you may cry out for them, they will not come into being.” Struck hard with utter despair and torment, I cried, “If I’ve never had parents, where did I first come from? Where am I in the meantime? Where will I go in the end … who are you?!” [365] “You’ve never even been born,” the voice answered. “You haven’t even come from anywhere! You’re baseless and don’t abide anywhere. Being causeless, you’ll never be anything in the end. Now, as for me, I don’t exist. I am empty resonance—Guru, heed this: “Parents are concepts of erroneous self-grasping. Like a person whose heart has been ripped out, Remain in great equanimity, however much you can. For a father, mother, and son, there’s no such thing as uniting or separating. Understanding this is primordial wisdom (Yeshe), And all suffering is ornamentation (Gyen).” Upon hearing this, I was freed from all the longing and grief I had for my parents, and while abiding vividly in self-aware emptiness and clarity devoid of grasping, I somehow found myself atop the rocky Palpuk Ring together with Yeshe Gyen (“Primordial-Wisdom Ornamentation”). Staring into the sky, she prostrated repeatedly. I also looked and the entire sky appeared to be swathed in a thick expanse of rainbow-like clouds and mist. Atop Dragri Senge Karmo (“White-Lioness Stone Mountain”) a black man stood, as immense as a mountain, with braids of writhing black serpents and flames flaring from his mouth that scorched the surrounding vegetation and woodlands. Upon his crown, where the sun and moon conjoined, was Mahā Guru Pema Tötreng, cross-legged in the center of a lotus swirling with sunlight. Dark blue and adorned with the six born ornaments, his hair was tied up and he donned a diadem with navy silk. He held a vajra and bell in his hands as his three eyes gazed piercingly. Various voices came from the many heads of his skull garland draped diagonally across his chest. In front, embracing him was Machik Jomo Nazhön Dzema (“Sole-Mother Lady, Young and Beautiful”), who had the raiment of a goddess, and ḍākinīs adorned with the six bone ornaments surrounded him. [366] They all bowed to the Guru in his intimate embrace and offered him nectar. Under his right knee, he pinned down a lion as well as a peacock under his left, while beneath his two crossed legs, he pinned down a swine, snake, and bird. From the mouth of the swine shone dark blue light, white from the snake, and red from the bird, rising like smoke. At the tip of these was a five-pronged crystal vajra. A white OṂ, a red A, and a dark blue HŪṂ radiated from and reabsorbed into the Guru’s three places. On his right side danced the five classes of heroes, while the five classes of heroines danced on the left. Goddesses of the five sensory delights and many hosts of ḍākinīs encircled him. Great flags of victory were planted on the four corners of his seat. Divine attendants danced in all directions while holding various musical instruments. Seeing him amidst this encirclement as dense as clouds, I also prostrated, supplicated, and spoke these words: “Kyeho! This excellent, supreme sacred site is delightful! Lhodrak Kharcu is so joyous! Palpuk Ring is lovely! I’m overjoyed at the Guru’s arrival! Guru, with your hosts of ḍākinīs and gings , Confer empowerment upon me and bless me! Compassionately care for the six classes of beings, Venerable One, open your heart’s secret door, And turn the wheel of the Dharma, please!” In light of this request, Mahā Guru Gyalpo looked into the sky and spoke: “Primordially selfless, this reflexive awareness, Out of nowhere, rises as any aspect whatsoever. If you know to rest without grasping, You will realize total natural liberation, devoid of clinging.” Having uttered these words, he entered contemplation. Machik Jomo then stood up in front of him. Looking at me she said: [367] “Although all the Dharma doors are condensed in empowerment, This is the authorization of enlightened body, speech, and mind. If you wish to attain undefiled bliss, Destroy grasping at defiled pleasure.” Having said this, she embraced the father (Guru Rinpoche). Then ten great ḍākinīs Each arose and in unison Propounded the following profound, excellent Dharma: “First, relying upon a knowledgeable physician, To diagnose the disease—vomit, urinate, and defecate. The medicinal compound expels the chronic illness from within. Without rejecting the illnesses, all maladies are cured.” Then the five classes of heroes on the right Performed a dance and spoke: “If you wish to approach and accomplish the hero, Approach primordial spontaneity and simplicity. Realizing that is close approach. Abiding in such a state is accomplishment. Manifesting that is great accomplishment. This is the pith instruction that encompasses all approach and accomplishment.” Having said this, they laughed, “haha!” and danced about. Then the five classes of ḍākinīs on the left Danced and sang and said: “If you wish to approach and accomplish the ḍākinī, Primordial self-grasping is the ḍākinī. Mentally constructing it as such is approach. Realizing that itself is close approach. Abiding in such a state is accomplishment. Mastering that is great accomplishment.” Having spoken, they continued their dance. Thus, to the Guru’s manifestation, I, out of delight, joy, and awe, Offered a kusulu [3] gaṇacakra. Then, the Guru spoke again: “All that appears and exists is a symbolic teaching. Specifically, this manifestation of mine Is a symbol of the supreme path of liberation. So, decode the symbolic meaning, son of a noble family.” Thus he spoke, and as I deciphered the symbol, The Guru [368] was pleased and continued: “Saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, existence and non-existence, Periphery and center—all are myself. Elaboration and simplicity are my path. All forms, sounds, and negative thoughts Are my supreme body, speech, and mind. All hopes and fears, including what to accept or reject, Are displays of me, Orgyen. Faults and virtues, good and bad—these are my companions. Everything is primordial wisdom, my ornamentation. All sentient beings to be tamed are utterly perfect. Everything is the dharmakāya, my dimension. Anything is acceptable. Nothing exists. Since everything is perfected in the equanimous state, How could there be accomplishment or something to accomplish? Everything is my magical display. Even though your visions are unfathomable, They are wholly complete in me, Orgyen. Take a body as an example. It has limbs, other parts, and conditions. Through the power of self-awareness, they are perfect within it. Everything is the saṃbhogakāya of Orgyen. Whoever sees my nature, That person who is aligned with ultimate reality, Naturally liberates even the Three Supreme Jewels, Naturally liberates the six classes: sentient beings, Naturally liberates conceptions of good and bad, Naturally purifies karma, cause, and effect, Naturally exhausts all mentally fabricated phenomena, Naturally liberates pure vision and delusion, And destroys hopes, fears, and fixation. All the faces of the sugatas are perceived at this time. The nectar of the Dharma is imbibed at this time. The darkness of saṃsāra is dispelled at this time. The great poisons of beings are expunged at this time. The sun’s rays of compassion dawn at this time. The lord of the Dharma is attained at this time. Buddhahood of pure vision without delusion And the Buddha’s teachings are established at this time. The saṅgha is exalted at this time. The precious treasures are encountered at this time. The guru of self-awareness is faced at this time. Appearances are brought under control here at this time.” As soon as these words were spoken, The Guru, his retinue, and all magical displays, Vanished [369] in the sky, and there The sun and moon arose simultaneously— Their light filled the world. And even this billion-fold world system Appeared like a splayed tent of [five-colored] silk brocade. For a moment, it was a magnificent, spectacle. After that, Lady Yeshe Gyen Pulled a mirror from her waist And offering to me, she said: “As soon as I met the Guru, I obtained undying faith. To be ever-connected, At Tsongdu Gurmo, [he] showed [me this] symbol. All those connected nearby also Follow me and the Guru, And to them, I have shown this symbol, Which I now humbly offer.” Having said this, she removed her caprine garment, And naked she pranced around three times. Then having torn it into four caprine pieces, They became four brocade garments. These she hung on a cedar tree. “Here in this supreme place, the secluded abode of Kharchu, As long as the wind does not topple this tree, Four people who delight in practice will come, Who are capable of benefiting beings. So, dress them in these four garments,” she said. Then, she split her belt in half, And the two became black snakes. “In this place, Pekar Nagpo Transformed his consciousness into two monks. While living here, for all Dharma practitioners, They create obstacles. After passing to the next life, They will be samaya-breaking demons towards all Dharma practitioners, Bind their necks with these two snakes And subdue them under the Vairocana cakra. Last year, after my death, From the seventh day on, for one month, I remained together with a group of gandharvas. Then I went on a pilgrimage to Lhasa. Over in Tsangrong, I stayed for half a month. At Mawochokpo, [4] I stayed for a month. Until last night I have been purifying myself. [370] I’ve been offering clarified butter with burnt offerings ( sur ). I offered torma to the wicked person, Who was trying to cause me harm. Now that you have come, Guru, wherever you go, Don’t leave me behind but take me along, I beg of you! Yöntsun Gompa brought this small turquoise And relics that were given by the Guru. Luck brought this groundless mind of mine. [5] Write my name and form on this silk And put it into a receptacle, then take it wherever you reside. My companionship with the Guru will never waiver. Keep me secretly at your chest.” As soon as I put it there, I woke up. While thinking that it was in my heart, I wrote “easy,” but there was nothing to grasp. [6] Though it was a deluded appearance, I was filled with longing: While praying for guardianship, I fell asleep and in my vision Four girls with cowrie headdresses appeared And sang this song with soft, radiant voices. “Emaho! DHARMASARVA TETE ŚUDDHE HO YĪ! When everything is realized to be one, that oneness is inconceivable, and afflictions are severed as they are. When the essence of all phenomena is realized, there is no place for afflictions to arise. As the self is inconceivable, there is no one to generate afflictions. The severing of afflictions in their own state is the Buddha’s intent. SARVADHARMA TENATETE ŚUDA DHE HO!" Now here are the lyrics for their rhythmic dance: “Emaho! The phenomenal world is the guru’s body. The three realms sway as symbols— shik se shik. OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ: All sounds are the guru’s speech. Resonance reverberates as Dharma— si li li . OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ: All thoughts are the guru’s mind. Cognizance blazes as primordial wisdom— wa la la. OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ: Dancing as external objects, Hosts of wisdom deities flash— ya la la. OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ: Dancing as internal subjectivity, They vibrate [371] in a state of non-grasping— cha la la . OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ: Dancing neither externally nor internally, They flicker as the great unimpededness— ta la la . OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ: A dance that reverberates in the dharmadhātu, They take enormous joy in great simplicity! OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ: A dance that reverberates in the saṃbhogakāya realms, They delight in the ornamental display of sensual pleasures. OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ: A dance that reverberates in the nirmāṇakāya realms, Appearances sway as emanations— shik se shik .” OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ: Then these four girls: One resided in the expanse of space, And her dance pervaded space. One resided in the sky, And her dance pervaded the sky. One resided at the confluence of three valleys, And her dance pervaded the earth. One introduced the dances: “If you realize the meaning of space, the dharmadhātu, Conceptuality is the dance of the dharmakāya. If you realize the meaning of self-arisen primordial wisdom, Sounds are the dance of the saṃbhogakāya. If you realize the meaning of the single, unique sphere, Phenomenal existence is the dance of the nirmāṇakāya. When subject-object fixation is liberated as it is, It is the dance of the Great Perfection. The meaning indicated by this song and dance, Is the view free from reference points. Fortunate one, when you understand it— Go into the sandalwood forest. Go to a land where wild bamboo grows. Go to a place where sālu grows. Realizing the indivisibility of appearance and emptiness, Rest in the natural fundamental state, And enjoy the seed of unobstructedness. This symbolic meaning, endowed with the two truths, Is your instruction, Chöwang.” After this, she gathered those dancing in space, the sky, and on earth into herself. Facing the sun in the south, she said, “If all yogis on the path remain on the path, follow me, follow me, follow me! They will certainly traverse [372] from bliss to bliss! They will certainly traverse from bliss to bliss! They will certainly traverse from bliss to bliss! The vast benefit for beings will emerge, will emerge, will emerge!” Saying this, she flew off into the south and disappeared. Upon waking up back at home, I vomited three times. In mere conventional terms, I did not know whether this was a good or bad thing. At the overwhelming behest of all my retinue, I put these last parts of my dream into writing. This was “A Great Symbolic Dream of Chöwang the Monk.” Iṭi. [7] Emaho! Guru Rinpoche’s Inconceivable manifestations And the symbols shown to benefit beings Were comprehended by Chöwang in this manner: First, since the intermediate state of dreaming Is not subject to restrictions or extremes, It was understood to be the symbol of the ground, the natural state. Then, having realized personal projections, They were understood to be the mind that grasps the basis of delusion. Taking the house to be my own Was understood to be the confusion towards referent objects. The white girl with a cowrie headdress, Who asked all sorts of questions, She refuted false, delusional appearances And introduced the fundamental state. With the lamp of stainless wisdom, She introduced it to be without a ground or foundation. Upon knowing all phenomena to be the base, It was understood to be the symbol of liberation. Atop the rocky Palpuk Ring, As I and Yeshe Gyen, together, Looked into the vastness of the sky, The clouds, rainbow colors, and luminous expanse Had no separation from the all-base. Atop the rock, Ignorance and primordial wisdom simultaneously Were the objects severed in space, the dharmadhātu, Resulting in nirvāṇa appearing as rainbow-like deity forms And saṃsāra like cumulus clouds. Yet, they dissolved into the nature of mind, which was illuminating. This was understood to be the symbol of the non-duality [373] of appearance and mind. Atop Dragri Senge Karmo The black man as big as a mountain, Who was adorned with serpent braids And had flames flaring from his mouth that burned down the entire forest— On the stone mountain (Dragri) of the empty nature of mind, The stainless lion (Senge) of conceptuality— He was the transmuting, supreme man of awareness, Adorned with afflictive emotions, like the serpents of aversion. Since the fire of realization burned down the forest of ignorance, This was understood to be the symbol of the view. Guru Padmākara himself— With the disks of the sun and moon conjoined On his crown, in the center of a lotus of swirling light, Seated with his legs crossed: The man in whom method and wisdom are unified Understood all of it to be the unwavering meditation On the meaning of bliss, clarity, and non-thought, free from extremes; The unsurpassed, faultless, and self-arisen abode; And the Great Perfection, the nonduality of meditation and post-meditation. The dark blue body adorned with the six ornaments, The topknot and ornamentation, The two hands holding a vajra and bell, The three eyes gazing piercingly, The garland of skulls with various voices, The engagement of meditative union, The ten ḍākinīs bestowing nectar, The great lion roaring on the right, The peacock exhibiting its feathers on the left— The one who employs the union of method and wisdom, Possesses the six unchanging higher perceptions, And is adorned with the compassion that loves all beings, Who looks after the three realms, Propounds the appropriate Dharma to disciples, Confers empowerment of non-dual great bliss, Guides on the path of the ten perfections, Fearlessly expresses, And provides medicine that dispels poisons and attractions— These were understood to be the symbols of enacting the taming of beings. The swine, snake, and bird pinned Beneath his two crossed legs With light rays emanating from their mouths That coalesced into a five-pronged crystal vajra, The radiating and absorbing of the three seed syllables, The heroes on the right and the heroines on the left, The encircling hosts of ḍākinīs and goddesses of delight, The planting of the four great victorious flags, The encircling hosts of music coming from the ten directions, And the ones sitting in the center: When these are connected to view, meditation, and conduct, The three poisons are purified as the three kāyas; The five kāyas are present without the stains of the afflictive emotions; Beings are liberated through body, speech, and mind; The hero of appearance-emptiness and method-wisdom Gathers all wealth for everyone And becomes a great victor over the four demons— Triumphant in all directions and spontaneously accomplished. Thus, these were understood as the symbol of the spontaneously accomplished result. As I requested to turn the wheel of the Dharma, The symbols were self-explanatory. The instructions of the Guru and consort Were symbols indicating instant maturation and liberation. The instructions of the ten ḍākinīs Were symbols indicating gradual maturation and liberation. The instructions of the heroes and ḍākinīs Were symbols indicating the definitive approach and accomplishment. Offering the illusory body as a gaṇacakra, Was the symbol of liberation by casting away self-grasping. Telling me to decipher The meaning of the Guru’s manifestation Was understood to be liberation through the analysis of phenomena. Thus, wisdom decodes the symbols. For the symbol of liberating all conceptual thoughts as they are, This commentary on the symbols of “The Great Symbolic Meaning” Was professed by me, Chökyi Wangchuk. Iṭhi. Sarva Maṅgalaṃ! Thus it was written. SIGLA A1 and A2 : Guru Chöwang (gu ru chos dbang). 1979. gu ru chos dbang gi rang rnam dang zhal gdams . 2 vols. rin chen gter mdzod chen po’i rgyab chos , vols. 8–9. Paro: Ugyen Tempai Gyaltsen. BDRC MW23802 . B1–3 : Tertön Guru Chökyi Wangchuk (gter ston gu ru chos kyi dbang phyug). 2022. gter ston gu ru chos kyi dbang phyug gi ran rnam dang zhal gdams bzugs so , vols. 1–3. Edited by Dungse Lama Pema Tsewang (gdung sras bla ma pad+ma tshe dbang). Lamagaun, Nepal: Tsum Library. NOTES [1] Guru Chökyi Wangchuk (gu ru chos kyi dbang phyug, 1200/1212–1270, BDRC P326 ), also known as Guru Chöwang, was a thirteenth-century treasure revealer and the second of the five treasure revealing kings ( gter ston rgyal po lnga ). [2] This is the home village of Guru Chökyi Wangchuk. [3] Or kusāli , it is the visualized offering of one’s body, as at that moment, the practitioner has nothing else to offer. It is also known as the beggar’s offering and is prevalent in the Severance ( gcod ) tradition. [4] This is the seat of Nyangral Nyima Özer, BDRC G7 . [5] The exact meaning of this line is not clear. A1: 370.2, B2: 50.3: brten med seMs (B2: sems ) ’di phya sangs khyer/. [6] Again, it is unclear. Literally, it states, “There was no reply.” It appears that he is writing down his dream since he wrote “easy,” presumably at the beginning of his document. A1: 370.3, B2: 50.5: sla’o bris pas lan med de/ . [7] This is a Sanskrit quotation mark that Chöwang was fond of using in his autobiographical compendium. Photo credit: Timeless Moon Published: October 2024 BIBLIOGRAPHY Guru Chöwang (gu ru chos dbang). 1979. g+ hu ru chos kyi dbang phyugi rmi laM dpal phug ring gi dag snang brda don chen mo yod . In gu ru chos dbang gi rang rnam dang zhal gdams. rin chen gter mdzod chen po’i rgyab chos, v. 8, 363–374. Paro: Ugyen Tempai Gyaltsen. http://purl.bdrc.io/resource/MW23802 . Tertön Guru Chökyi Wangchuk (gter ston gu ru chos kyi dbang phyug). 2022. gu ru chos kyi dbang phyug gi rmi lam dpal phug ring gi dag snang brda don chen mo yod . In gter ston gu ru chos kyi dbang phyug gi ran rnam dang zhal gdams bzugs so , vol. 2, 46–52. Edited by Dungse Lama Pema Tsewang (gdung sras bla ma pad+ma tshe dbang). Lamagaun, Nepal: Tsum Library. Abstract This visionary text records an imagistic symbolic dream at Palpuk Ring, at Karchu, Lhodrak in 1245. It opens with Chöwang finding himself before his childhood home, a feature common in his autobiographical writings, with a reoccurring figure, a girl with a cowrie headdress, a secret primordial-wisdom ḍākinī of his inner revelatory world, here named Yeshe Gyen. Much can be learned from traveling back to one’s home, the hearth of the heart, and this is more prominent after the passing of parents. It is home that speaks most deeply, and for Chöwang, it is his ethereal home that triggers his insight that transitions into an elaborate episode of symbology, where philosophical concepts and visionary imagery transmit the Dharma. BDRC MW23802 DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 22:08 TRADITION Nyingma INCARNATION LINE Tri Songdetsen HISTORICAL PERIOD 13th Century TEACHERS Namkha Pal TRANSLATOR Tib Shelf INSTITUTION Layak Guru Lhakhang STUDENTS Gyalse Pema Wangchen Ma Dunpa Menlungpa Mikyö Dorje AUTHOR Guru Chökyi Wangchuk The Great Symbolic Vision at Palpuk Ring: A Dream of Guru Chökyi Wangchuk VIEW ALL PUBLICATIONS NEXT PUBLICATION > < PREVIOUS PUBLICATION Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate Subscribe to our newsletter Support Tib Shelf's ongoing work & Subscribe Today! 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Do Khyentse, writing as Tragtung Dorje, crafts a long-life prayer for Ḍākki Losal Drölma that playfully incorporates her lesser-known name Drön while praising her spiritual attainments. For the Long Life of Ḍākki Losal Drölma འོད་མཚར་སྟོང་འབར་འཆི་མེད་མགོན་པོ་དང་། ། མཁའ་ཁྱབ་རྒྱལ་བའི་ཡབ་གཅིག་འཇམ་པའི་དབྱངས། ། ö tsar tong bar chi mé gön po dang kha khyab gyal wé yab chik jam pé yang Deathless Protector, blazing with a thousand wondrous lights, Mañjughoṣa, sole father of the victorious ones who pervade space, ཚད་མེད་ཐུགས་རྗེའི་གཏེར་མཛོད་པད་དཀར་འཆང་། ། མཐུ་རྩལ་སྒྱུ་འཕྲུལ་མངའ་བརྙེས་གསང་བའི་བདག ། tsé mé tuk jé ter dzö pé kar chang tu tsel gyun trül nga nyé sang wé dak Holder of the White Lotus, treasury of immeasurable compassion, Lord of Secrets, master of powerful wizardry— སྐུ་གསུམ་རིགས་འདུས་རྒྱལ་བའི་བྱིན་ནུས་མཐུས། ། བློ་གྲོས་ཟབ་དང་རྒྱ་ཆེའི་གསང་ཆེན་གནད། ། ku sum rik dü gyal wé jin nü tü lo drö zab dang gya ché sang chen né Through their potent blessings and those of the victors who embody the three-kāya families, The profound and vast secret points of the intellect (“Lo”), གསལ་བ་ཐབས་མཁས་ཚུལ་གྱིས་ལེགས་སྟོན་ཞིང་། ། སྒྲོན་མེ་ཇི་བཞིན་སྙིགས་མའི་སྡུག་བསྔལ་སྨག ། salwa tab khé tsül gyi lek tön zhing drön mé ji zhin nyik mé duk ngal mak You present, clearly (“Sal”) and skillfully, and Like a lamp (“Drön”), the dark suffering of the degenerate age, མ་ལུས་འཇོམས་མཛད་གདུལ་བྱའི་རེ་སྐོང་མ། ། འགྱུར་བ་མེད་པ་མི་ཤིགས་རྡོ་རྗེའི་ཁྲིར། ། ma lü jom dzé dül jé ré kong ma gyur wa mé pa mi shik dor jé trir You overcome without (“Ma”) exception — she who fulfills the hopes of disciples! Upon the immutable and indestructible vajra throne, ཇི་སྲིད་བསྐལ་བ་རྒྱ་མཚོར་ཞབས་བརྟན་ནས། ། གསང་ཆེན་ཆོས་ཀྱི་དགའ་སྟོན་འགྱེད་པར་ཤོག ། ji si kal wa gya tsor zhab ten né sang chen chö kyi ga tön gyé par shok May your life remain secure in this [saṃsāric] ocean, for as long as an eon, and May you distribute great secret feasts of the Dharma! COLOPHON ཅེས་པའང་དཔལ་ལྡན་རིག་འཛིན་ཆོས་བསྟན་ངོར་ཁྲག་འཐུང་རྡོ་རྗེས་སོ། ། ཞུས་སོ། ། Thus, this was made by Tragtung Dorje in response to Palden Rigzin Chöten. ཨོཾཨཱཿ ཧཱུྃབཛྲགུརུཔདྨསིདྡྷིཧཱུྃཿ ཨོཾཝཱགཱིཤྭརིམུཾཿ ཨོཾམཎིཔདྨེཧཱུྃཧྲཱིཿ ཨོཾབཛྲཔཱཎིཧཱུྃཕཊཿ ཨོཾཧཱུཏྲཱཾཧྲཱིཨཱ། སྭཱཧཱ། མངྒལཾ། ཤུབྷཾ། པདམམུསུགུསརྦཏཐཱ OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HŪṂ: OṂ VĀGĪŚVARIMUṂ: OṂ MAṆI PADME HŪṂ HRĪḤ OṂ VAJRAPĀṆI HŪṂ PHAṬ: OṂ HŪ TRĀṂ HRĪḤ Ā | SVĀHĀ | MAṄGALAṂ | ŚUBHAṂ | PADAMAMUSUGUSARVATATHĀ NOTES N/A Photo credit: Himalayan Art Resources Published: January 2024 BIBLIOGRAPHY Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje. 2009. Ḍākki blo gsal sgrol maʼi zhabs brtan . In gter chos mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje , vol. 5, 479–80. Chengdu: Dzogchen Pönlop Rinpoche. BDRC MW1PD89990_8428BE . Abstract Composed by Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje under the not-well-known moniker of Tragtung Dorje, this tract of a text lauds her blessed abilities and creates the conditions for her long life, all the while playing off her name, one that is also less known, incorporating Drön over Dröl. BDRC LINK MW1PD89990_ 8428BE DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 01:40 TRADITION Nyingma INCARNATION LINE Jigme Lingpa HISTORICAL PERIOD 19th Century TEACHERS The Fourth Dzogchen Drubwang, Mingyur Namkhe Dorje The First Dodrubchen, Jigme Trinle Özer Gyurme Tsewang Chokdrub Dola Jigme Kalzang Jigme Gyalwe Nyugu TRANSLATOR Tib Shelf INSTITUTIONS Mahā Kyilung Monastery Katok Monastery Dzogchen Monastery Tseringjong STUDENTS Losal Drölma Tsewang Rabten Nyala Pema Dudul The Second Dodrubchen, Jigme Puntsok Jungne Patrul Orgyen Jigme Chökyi Wangpo The First Dodrubchen, Jigme Trinle Özer Ranyak Gyalse Nyoshul Luntok Tenpe Gyaltsen Özer Taye Kalzang Döndrub Pema Sheja Drime Drakpa Kunzang Tobden Wangpo Gyalse Zhenpen Taye Özer Chöying Tobden Dorje Rigpe Raltri AUTHOR Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje For the Long Life of Ḍākki Losal Drölma VIEW ALL PUBLICATIONS NEXT PUBLICATION > < PREVIOUS PUBLICATION Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate Subscribe to our newsletter Support Tib Shelf's ongoing work & Subscribe Today! Name * Email* Submit Tib Shelf is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to translating, presenting and preserving primary source Tibetan texts across a vast array of genres and time periods. We make these literary treasures accessible to readers worldwide, offering a unique window into Tibet's rich history, culture and traditions. Tib Shelf has been accredited by the British Library with the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2754–1495 CONTACT US | SHELVES@TIBSHELF.ORG © 2024 Tib Shelf. All rights reserved.

Librarian and Author Tubten Chödar b. 1969 BDRC P6329 TREASURY OF LIVES LOTSAWA HOUSE According to his BDRC profile, Tubten Chodar is a librarian and a scholar from the Minyak region of Kham. What we do know is that he has written many biographies of a great many figures in Tibetan history. Biography The Biography of Ḍākki Losal Drölma Tubten Chödar A realized female master, Ḍākki Losal Drölma served as custodian of her half-brother Do Khyentse's treasure teachings while deepening her own spiritual attainments in Tibet's sacred sites Read Biography The Biography of Gyalse Rigpe Raltri Tubten Chödar Son of Do Khyentse and recognized as Jigme Lingpa's son's reincarnation, Rigpe Raltri became a revered Minyak guru, transmitting the Yangsang Khandro Tugtik treasures to his own son. Read Timetable A Chronological Timetable: Lives of Do Khyentse’s Familial Line Tubten Chödar A chronology of birth and death dates mapping Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje's family lineage through its key figures and connections. Read Translated Works Mentioned In Menu Close Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate SUBSCRIBE Publications Watch People Listen

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

Milarepa's poetic ode to Kyangpen Namkhe Dzong exalts nature itself as the source of this retreat site's blessing power, departing from traditional focus on Buddhist masters. A Song on the Merits of Kyangpen Namkhe Dzong དེ་ནས་གྲོ་ཐང་གི་ཡོན་བདག ། རྗེ་བཙུན་གྱི་ཞལ་ལྟར་བྱུང་བ་རྣམས་ན་རེ། གནས་འདི་ལ་ཡོན་ཏན་ཅི་གདའ་ཞུ་བའི་ལན་དུ་མགུར་འདི་གསུངས་སོ།། Then, the patrons from Drotang received an audience with the Jetsun [ 1 ] and inquired, “What are the merits of this sacred place?” In response, he sang this meditative song: བླ་མ་རྗེ་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། la ma jé la sölwa dep Precious lord guru, to you I supplicate! གནས་འདིའི་ཡོན་ཏན་ཤེས་མི་ཤེས། ། གནས་འདིའི་ཡོན་ཏན་མི་ཤེས་ན། ། né di yön ten shé mi shé: né di yön ten mi shé na Do you know the merits of this sacred place? If you do not know this hallowed place’s merits, དབེན་གནས་རྐྱང་ཕན་ནམ་མཁའི་རྫོང་། ། ནམ་མཁའི་རྫོང་གི་ཕོ་བྲང་ན། ། wen né kyang pen nam khé dzong: nam khé dzong gi po drang na this is the hermitage of Kyangpen Namkhe Dzong. At the palace of Namkhe Dzong, སྟེང་ན་ལྷོ་སྤྲིན་སྨུག་པོ་འཐིབས། ། འོག་ན་གཙང་ཆབ་སྔོན་མོ་འབབ། ། teng na lho trin muk po tip: ok na tsang chap ngön mo bap above amass dark, warm southern clouds while below clean blue waters flow. རྒྱབ་ན་བྲག་དམར་ནམ་མཁའི་དབྱིངས། ། མདུན་ན་སྤང་པོ་མེ་ཏོག་བཀྲ། ། gyap na drak mar nam khé ying: dün na pang po mé tok tra Behind red rocks lie beneath the vast expanse of sky; in front the meadows are awash with flowers. ཟུར་ན་གཅན་གཟན་ངར་སྐད་འདོན། ། ལོགས་ལ་བྱ་རྒྱལ་རྒོད་པོ་ལྡིང་། ། zur na chen zen ngar ké dön: lok la ja gyel gö po ding On one side, wild beasts recite their roars, while on the other, vultures, king of birds, soar. མཁའ་ལ་སྦྲང་ཆར་ཟིམ་བུ་འབབ། ། རྒྱུན་དུ་བུང་བས་གླུ་དབྱངས་ལེན། ། kha la drang char zim bu bap: gyün du bungwé lu yang len: A fine, gentle rain falls from the sky. Continuously bees buzz their melodious songs. ཤཱ་རྐྱང་མ་བུ་རྩེ་བྲོ་བརྡུང་། ། སྤྲ་དང་སྤྲེའུ་ཡང་རྩལ་སྦྱོང་། ། sha kyang ma bu tsé dro dung: dra dang dreu yang tsel jong: Wild kyangs, [ 2 ] mares and foals, dance and frolic, and monkeys, big and small, act as acrobats. ལྕོ་ག་མ་བུ་འགྱུར་སྐད་མང་། ། ལྷ་བྱ་གོང་མོ་གླུ་དབྱངས་ལེན། ། cho ga ma bu gyur ké mang: lha ja gong mo lu yang len Mother larks and chicks warble a profusion of songs with divine mountain birds singing back in kind. རྫ་ཆབ་བསིལ་མས་སྙན་པ་བརྗོད། ། དུས་ཀྱི་སྐད་རིགས་ཉམས་ཀྱི་གྲོགས། ། dza chap sil mé nyen pa jö: dü kyi ké rik nyam kyi drok The cool mountain stream musically murmurs. Such language of the seasons is an aid to meditation! གནས་འདིའི་ཡོན་ཏན་བསམ་མི་ཁྱབ། ། ཉམས་དགའ་གླུ་རུ་བླངས་པ་ཡིན། ། né di yön ten sam mi khyap: nyam ga lu ru lang pa yin I sang this joyful song and offered advice describing the merits of this sacred place, which are utterly inconceivable. གདམས་ངག་ཁ་རུ་བཏོན་པ་ཡིན། ། འདིར་ཚོགས་ཡོན་བདག་ཕོ་མོ་རྣམས། ། dam ngak kha ru tön pa yin: dir tsok yön dak po mo nam All you assembled here, patrons, ladies and gentlemen, please follow in my footsteps and behave as I have— མི་ང་ཕྱིར་འབྲོངས་ལ་ང་བཞིན་མཛོད། ། ལས་སྡིག་པ་སྤོངས་ལ་དགེ་བ་སྒྲུབས།། ཅེས་གསུངས་པས། ། mi nga chir drong la nga zhin dzö: lé dik pa pong la gewa drup abandon all misdeeds and accomplish virtue! COLOPHON None NOTES [1] An honourific Tibetan term meaning “venerable lord,” reserved exclusively for great masters. Milarepa is among the most ubiquitous holders of the term in Tibetan literature. [2] The kyang (Equus kiang) is a species of wild donkey native to the Tibetan plateau and is one source of inspiration for the mythical unicorn. This meditative or spiritual song (mgur) was composed by Milarepa (1040–1123), Tibet’s most famous yogi and poet. Tibetan literature contains a vast corpus of such spiritual songs, particularly Milarepa’s own Kagyü school, which traces the practice of singing spontaneous songs of spiritual experience back to the Indian mahāsiddhas. Known as Dohā in medieval India, this art form was held in common by both Vajrayana Buddhists and practitioners of Hindu tantra and generally centred on the heightened inner experiences brought about through spiritual practice. What is perhaps most striking about this particular song, and a departure from the conventions of the genre of mgur, is its emphasis on the natural beauty of Kyangpen Namkhé Dzong. Tibetan descriptions of sacred places (gnas) almost always focus on the miraculous deeds performed on location by great Buddhist masters, who thus imbue the space with blessings and sacred energy. Milarepa, on the other hand, sings entirely about the special qualities of the natural world. With an almost Wordsworthian rhapsody, Mila attributes nature itself, rather than past Buddhist masters, as the wellspring of blessings in Kyangpen Namkhé Dzong. It is the sight of the meadow awash with flowers beneath the vast expanse of sky and the sounds of frolicking wild animals beside the flowing mountain stream that makes the place so favourable for meditative retreat, not the accomplishments of past sages. When, in the final lines of the poem, he exhorts his audience to abandon misdeeds and accomplish virtue, his tone is one of heartfelt invitation rather than didacticism. It is almost as if he is saying, “The world is too much with us”; be done with worldly toil and come meditate with me beside this stream! Photo credit: Himalayan Art Resources Edited: March 2022 BIBLIOGRAPHY Mi la ras pa. Edited by Gtsang smyon he ru ka rus pa'i rgyan can. [n.d.]. Rkyang phan nam mkha' rdzong gi skor . In Mi la ras pa'i mgur 'bum, 65–66. [s.l.]: [s.n.]. BDRC W1KG1252 Abstract 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. BDRC LINK W1KG1252 DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 01:54 TRADITION Marpa Kagyu INCARNATION LINE N/A HISTORICAL PERIOD 11th Century 12th Century TEACHERS Marpa Chökyi Lodro TRANSLATOR Patrick Dowd INSTITUTIONS Sekhar Gutok Kailash Tsāri Drakar Taso STUDENTS Gampopa Sönam Rinchen Rechungpa Dorje Drakpa Ngendzong Repa AUTHOR Milarepa A Song on the Merits of Kyangpen Namkhe Dzong VIEW ALL PUBLICATIONS NEXT PUBLICATION > < PREVIOUS PUBLICATION Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate Subscribe to our newsletter Support Tib Shelf's ongoing work & Subscribe Today! Name * Email* Submit Tib Shelf is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to translating, presenting and preserving primary source Tibetan texts across a vast array of genres and time periods. We make these literary treasures accessible to readers worldwide, offering a unique window into Tibet's rich history, culture and traditions. Tib Shelf has been accredited by the British Library with the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2754–1495 CONTACT US | SHELVES@TIBSHELF.ORG © 2024 Tib Shelf. All rights reserved.

Outlining a four-fold presentation of Tibetan science-fiction literature, this introductory article explores connections to ancient scriptures, contemporary tales, Tibetan-related literature, and translated media. An Introduction to Tibetan Science-Fiction Literature According to the Zermik ,[ 1 ] an ancient Tibetan scripture composed a thousand years ago, “the number of universes as well is unimaginably innumerable.” Since ancient times, the Tibetan scientific tradition has held that this realm of existence is beyond the human experiential domain. It was also believed that the universe contains an immeasurable number of worlds. Further to this, they not only acknowledged the existence of life on other planets but it was even said that some of these worlds harbored civilizations more advanced than ours. The Tibetan people have a deep-seated aspiration to explore these worlds and seek a fundamental understanding of this saṃsāric realm. The Tibetan writing system has endured at least for more than one thousand four hundred years, and approximately one thousand three hundred years ago, even the first bilingual Tibetan dictionary and grammar book were composed. As such, the Tibetan language has a long history and a robust grammatical system, making it one of the world's oldest and most complete languages. There is an abundant array of both ancient and modern literature in Tibetan, among which science fiction (ཚན་རྟོག 科幻) is well represented. In this article, I will outline four distinct categories of Tibetan science-fiction literature: first, traditional science fiction; second, contemporary science fiction; third, translated science fiction; and fourth, Tibetan-related science fiction. SECTION ONE: THE CONQUEROR OF THE THREE WORLDS: TRADITIONAL SCIENCE FICTION Traditional Tibetan treatises and literary compositions provide extensive explanations concerning planets of other galaxies, as well as scientific technology. For example, The Pema Katang, authored by the renowned Orgyen Lingpa (1323–?), proclaimed that the universe is replete with numerous planets (“purelands”) that are inhabited by living beings. He introduced [individual planets with] advanced civilizations one by one. Also, since the introduction of the Glorious Kālacakra tradition to Tibet with texts like the Kālacakramūlatantra, Abbreviated Kālacakratantra, and the Great Commentary of The Stainless Light, Tibetan scholars and writers have argued for the existence of another world called Śambhala. Following [the emergence of this idea], Jetsun Drölwe Gönpo (1575–1635) wrote Entering Kalāpa: Ārya Dönyö Chakyu’s Travel Guide to the Supreme Place of Śambhala, which was followed by The Source of a Million Wonders: The Elucidation of Śambhala and Tales of the Noble Land by the Sixth Paṇchen Lama, Palden Yeshe (1738–1780), The History of the Glorious Kālachakra of the First Buddha and Its Various Names by the supreme Longdöl Ngawang Lobzang (1719–1794), and The Illuminations of the Vajra Sun That Completely Elucidate the Words and Meanings of the Glorious Kālacakratantra by Mipham Jamyang Namgyal Gyatso (1846–1912). According to these many treatises, Śambhala boasts wondrous landscapes, with inhabitants who live splendidly. Furthermore, these texts predict that strong individuals from Śambhala will one day come to Earth and conquer humans. Additionally, the dates of this conquest have also been determined through astrological calculations. Most importantly, before the widespread popularization of scientific technology, the Tibetan literary tradition had extensively recorded a variety of scientific apparatuses. For example, a book composed around the seventeenth century, entitled The Glass Fortress on a Snow Mountain, discusses soldiers flying in a helicopter (ཐད་འཕུར་གནམ་གྲུ) to remote areas for reconnaissance missions. Similarly, The Tale of a Playful Corpse depicts carpenters, blacksmiths, and religious sculptors constructing an airplane and flying to the top of a king’s palace. Similarly, Drugu’s Fortified Armory and Khache’s Turquoise Fortress [from the Gesar Epic], along with numerous other ancient manuscripts, contained many scientific and technological inventions, including but not limited to airplanes, rockets, artillery, ships, and various electronic devices, which only became popular later [with scientific development]. SECTION TWO: AS PRECIOUS AS THE WORLD: CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE FICTION Since the introduction of modern literature in Tibet, numerous new literary forms have flourished, primarily poetry and stories. In particular, fantasy ( མཚར་རྟོག་རྩོམ་རིག ) and science-fiction literature have gained considerable popularity. Notably, science-fiction stories (ཚན་རྟོག་བརྩམས་སྒྲུང་།) and science-fiction poetry (ཚན་རྟོག་སྙན་ངག) are becoming increasingly popular. For instance, “Tale of the Moon” from The Collection of Tsering Döndrub’s Short Stories and science-fiction narratives like “Directionless Universe,” which was published in Light Rain, a renowned Tibetan language literary journal, are gaining prominence. Also, science-fiction poems such as “Equal” and “Home” have been published in a poetry book titled Equal Taste of Feeling and Appearance. Several other Tibetan literary journals, including The Art of Tibetan Literature and White Snow Mountain, have published science-fiction literature as well. Today, more and more writers are exploring science-fiction literature in the Tibetan language. SECTION THREE: A COLLECTION OF UNIVERSAL VIRTUE: TRANSLATION OF SCIENCE FICTION Since the Tibetan imperial period, Tibet has produced nearly a thousand translators, both significant and lesser known. They have translated a myriad of impressive texts from a variety of foreign languages of their time into Tibetan. These include textbooks that present the theories of great scientists, such as Albert Einstein (ཨེན་སི་ཐེན།,1879–1955) and Stephen Hawking (ཧོ་ཀིང་།, 1942–2018), who are the backbones of science-fiction concepts. Recently, a number of works from fantasy and science-fiction [genres] have been and are being translated. For instance, there are science-fiction works, such as a collection of twenty books titled Excellent Science Fiction of the Central Country, and also another [fantasy] collection of twenty books titled Excellent Fantasy Stories of the Central Country. Similarly, several movies, including Interstellar (སྐར་མའི་བར།), Alita: Battle Angel (ཨ་ལིས་ཐ།), Ready Player One (རྩེད་མོ་མཁན་ཨང་དང་པོ།), The Wandering Earth (ཡུལ་གྱར་ས་ལྒང་།), and Lucy (ལོས་སེ།), have been dubbed in Tibetan. SECTION FOUR: A PERVASION OF THE SIX REALMS: TIBETAN-RELATED SCIENCE FICTION Academic articles, literature, films, and plays from various regions around the world frequently feature references to Tibet and related subjects. Particularly, numerous exceptional science-fiction stories and movies have drawn on Tibetan culture and tradition. Prolific English author Arthur Charles Clarke (ཨར་ཟིར·ཆལ་ཟི·ཁི་ལ་ཁི།, 1917–2008), often hailed as the pioneer of science fiction, penned The Nine Billion Names of God (ལྷའི་མཚན་གྱི་རྣམ་གྲངས་ཐེར་འབུམ་དགུ), a [riveting narrative partly] set [within the confines of] Tibetan monastics and their monasteries. Similarly, renowned American writer Kim Stanley Robinson (ཁེམ·སི་ཊན་ལེ·རོ་བྷེན་སན།, b. 1952) has authored The Years of Rice and Salt (འབྲས་དང་ལན་ཚྭའི་དུས་རབས།), a fiction piece inspired by a Tibetan text known as The Great Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State. Also, the famous film Farewell Atlantis (འཇིག་རྟེན་འཇིག་པའི་ཉིན་མོ།), which gave people chills around the world, utilized Tibetan language. Moreover, topics concerning Tibet and Tibetan culture are becoming increasingly prevalent in Chinese science fiction. For example, Liu Cixin, the acclaimed author of The Three Body Problem, [composed] the story Mountain, and Renxing Chengzi [wrote] Wrathful House. In sum, Tibet holds a long history of science fiction and has been a subject of numerous science-fiction literature across the globe; moreover, the Tibetan language, with its faith, sacred visions, and astonishing manifestations, is a lavish treasure trove of science fiction. COLOPHON N/A NOTES [1] mdo gzer mig (ka). In bkaʼ ʼgyur (bon po) , vol. 28, 1–508. (khreng tuʼu): si khron zhing chen par khrun lte gnas par ʼdebs khang, 1999. BDRC MW21872_41C4E1 . Published: December 2023 BIBLIOGRAPHY Goyön (sgo yon). bod kyi tshan rtog brtsams chos ngo spyod. London: Tib Shelf, 2023. Tib Shelf C001. Abstract Outlining a four-fold presentation of Tibetan science-fiction literature, this introductory article allows one to establish a foothold in Tibetan science fiction, exploring connections to ancient scriptures, contemporary tales, Tibetan-related literature, and translated media. TIB SHELF C001 DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 00:27 TRADITION N/A INCARNATION LINE N/A HISTORICAL PERIOD 21st Century TEACHERS N/A TRANSLATOR Tib Shelf INSTITUTIONS N/A STUDENTS N/A AUTHOR Goyön An Introduction to Tibetan Science-Fiction Literature VIEW ALL PUBLICATIONS NEXT PUBLICATION > < PREVIOUS PUBLICATION Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate Subscribe to our newsletter Support Tib Shelf's ongoing work & Subscribe Today! Name * Email* Submit Tib Shelf is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to translating, presenting and preserving primary source Tibetan texts across a vast array of genres and time periods. We make these literary treasures accessible to readers worldwide, offering a unique window into Tibet's rich history, culture and traditions. Tib Shelf has been accredited by the British Library with the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2754–1495 CONTACT US | SHELVES@TIBSHELF.ORG © 2024 Tib Shelf. All rights reserved.

Treasure Revealer Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje 1800–1866 BDRC P698 TREASURY OF LIVES LOTSAWA HOUSE HAR Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje (1800–1866) was born in the Golok region of Amdo after a mythic and divine conception. He spent many years of his youth with the Drigung sect and his root guru, the First Dodrubchen, Jigme Trinle Özer . He was later recognized as an emanation of Jigme Lingpa (1729–1798) and is remembered as a wild yogi and treasure revealer, leading a life filled with magical narratives. Aspirational Prayer The Truthful Words of a Sage Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje Do Khyentse's final aspirational prayer from his Dzinpa Rangdröl treasures, concluding the Exceedingly Secret Enlightened Heart Essence of the Ḍākinī collection. Read Biography The Hook Which Invokes Blessings: A Supplication to the Life and Liberation of Knowledge-Holder Jalu Dorje Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje A self-penned biographical prayer by Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje, composed at the request of Trokyab's king Namkha Lhündrub, invoking blessings through life stories. Read Aspirational Prayer For the Long Life of Ḍākki Losal Drölma Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje Do Khyentse, writing as Tragtung Dorje, crafts a long-life prayer for Ḍākki Losal Drölma that playfully incorporates her lesser-known name Drön while praising her spiritual attainments. Read Guru Yoga, Prayer, Supplication Prayer Cloudbanks of Blessings: A Guru Yoga Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje A rare guru yoga from Do Khyentse's treasure teachings centered on a historical yoginī, revealing unique insights into female practitioners and tantric transformation in Tibet. Read Lineage Prayer A Lineage Prayer for the Natural Liberation of Grasping Gyalwang Nyima, Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje A compilation of supplication verses and transmission lineage for Do Khyentse's Dzinpa Rangdröl treasure cycle, arranged by Galwang Nyima from original revealed texts. Read Translated Works Biography The Biography of Ḍākki Losal Drölma Tubten Chödar A realized female master, Ḍākki Losal Drölma served as custodian of her half-brother Do Khyentse's treasure teachings while deepening her own spiritual attainments in Tibet's sacred sites Read Biography The Biography of Gyalse Rigpe Raltri Tubten Chödar Son of Do Khyentse and recognized as Jigme Lingpa's son's reincarnation, Rigpe Raltri became a revered Minyak guru, transmitting the Yangsang Khandro Tugtik treasures to his own son. Read Biography A Brief Biography of Jetsunma Do Dasal Wangmo Tsangpo A renowned female master in eastern Tibet, Do Dasal Wangmo - Do Khyentse's great-granddaughter - served as nun, physician, and treasure revealer, later teaching medicine despite political hardship. Read Biography Biography Of Getse Lama Jigme Ngotsar Gyatso Tenzin Lungtok Nyima Getse Lama Jigme Ngotsar Gyatso, disciple of Jigme Lingpa and founder of Kilung Monastery, spread the Longchen Nyingtik teachings while establishing his own enduring legacy. Read Biography Abridged Biographies: The Lineage of the Do Family Do Dasal Wangmo Chronicling Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje's lineage, with special attention to his half-sister Losal Drölma - an honored teacher whose story emerges from the margins of temple narratives. Read Mentioned In Menu Close Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate SUBSCRIBE Publications Watch People Listen

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

A rare collection of letters by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Tubten Gyatso, from the Water Pig year - now preserved in France, their recipients and original acquisition remain a mystery. Eleventh Day, Ninth Month, Water Pig Year LETTER ONE: These days, [I hope] your Mount Meru like body, which is produced as a result of the glorious and outstanding training of the past, is well and that the series of great benevolent waves of your four virtuous actions are continuously beautiful. Note that from Chabtru Khenpo, [ 1 ] who recently arrived in Lhasa on the 21st day of the 11th Tibetan lunar month of the Water Dog Year (1922), I have received, as offerings for advice, good khataks (offering scarfs) made of Mongolian silk, five zho of rin and tur , [ 2 ] one handkerchief [made of] a type of fine cloth, and a manaho snuff box with a lid and case. [ 3 ] On my side, my conditioned body is not tainted by any harm and is in a state of temporary comfort. I am continuously and happily, with the highest intentions, conducting religious and temporal matters for the benefit of beings and the doctrine, like that of the supreme one’s [ 4 ] life. In the future, too, please be sure to take good care of your health, which is the source of all the auspicious goodness and prosperity, and run [the country] as before to generate waves of benefit for the doctrine and all beings. Moreover, [please] continue to accumulate auspicious merit. Together with this letter, I enclose a blessed protective object, [ 5 ] a sealed pair of handprints, and three handmade, blessed circles of earth. [ 6 ] Sent on the auspicious 11th day of the 9th month of the Water Pig Year (1923). LETTER TWO: These days, [I hope] your body is as stable as conch, which comes from the glorious ocean of virtuous actions, and that you are enjoying the wealth, which competes with the gardens of heavenly paradise. Note that from Chabtru Khenpo, [ 7 ] who recently arrived in Lhasa on the 21st day of the 11th Tibetan lunar month of the Water Dog Year (1922), I have received, as offerings for advice, good khataks (offering scarfs) made of Mongolian silk, and five zho of rin and tur , one handkerchief [made of] a type of fine cloth, and a manaho snuff box with a lid and case. On my side, the conditioned constitution [of my body] is steady, and I endeavour to carry out virtuous actions to spread religious and temporal matters. In the future too, please spread happiness in accordance with local conditions. Moreover, like the good actions of the past, [please] continue to accumulate auspicious merit. Together with this letter, I enclose a blessed protective object, a sealed pair of handprints, and three handmade, blessed circles of earth. Sent on the auspicious 11th day of the 9th month of the Water Pig Year (1923). COLOPHON None NOTES [1] byab[s] khrus mkhan po [2] Zho is a measurement of currency. rin and mthur [3] Ma na ho is a type of precious stone. [4] Supreme one could be one of three things: the Manchu emperor, Russian royalty, or previous incarnations of the Dalai Lama. Given that the first two no longer existed in 1922, it is most likely that he was referring to his previous incarnations [5] For example, an amulet or protective thread [6] Dried soil. It is blessed with mantras and considered auspicious (many ingest it). [7] byabs khrus mkhan po BIBLIOGRAPHY Ta la'i bla ma 13 thub bstan rgya mtsho. 1923. Private Collection. London: Tib Shelf W002 Published: May 2021 Abstract These letters were purchased and are now conserved in a private collection in France. The means of the initial acquisition is unknown. The recipient(s) of the letters are currently unidentified, and their connection with the Thirteenth Dalai Lama is undetermined. We are happy to receive any information concerning these letters. TIB SHELF W002 DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 00:27 TRADITION Geluk INCARNATION LINE Dalai Lama HISTORICAL PERIOD 19th Century 20th Century TEACHERS The Third Purchok, Jampa Gyatso The Fourth Amdo Zhamar, Gendun Tendzin Gyatso The Fifth Ling Rinpoche, Lobzang Lungtok Tenzin Trinle The Tenth Tatsak Jedrung, Ngawang Pelden Chokyi Gyeltsen Lobzang Rabsel The Eighty-Second Ganden Tripa, Yeshe Chopel Lerab Lingpa Agvan Dorjiev TRANSLATORS Rachael Griffiths Tib Shelf INSTITUTIONS Ganden Sera Monastery Drepung Monastery Tashilhunpo Kumbum Jampa Ling Tsel Gungtang Ralung Monastery Gyuto Dratsang Reting Monastery Drepung Gomang Dratsang Langdun Manor House Lhasa Tsuklakhang Shol Printery Namgyel Potala Norbulingkha Mentsikhang Ikh Khuree Tsari Bhutan House Wutai Shan Bodhgaya Lhamo Latso STUDENTS Tubten Namdrol The Fifth Reting Rinpoche, Tubten Jampel Yeshe Tenpai Gyeltsen The Ninth Panchen Lama, Tubten Chokyi Nyima Gedun Lungtok Rabgye The Ninth Dorje Drak Rigdzin, Tubten Chowang Nyamnyi Dorje The Sixteenth Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpai Dorje The Second Jamgon Kongtrul, Khyentse Ozer The Eleventh Tongkhor, Lobzang Jigme Tsultrim Gyatso The Fifth Kondor Tulku, Lobzang Namgyel Tendzin Lhundrub Jampa Taye The Sixth Ling Rinpoche, Thupten Lungtok Namgyal Trinle AUTHOR The Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Tubten Gyatso Eleventh Day, Ninth Month, Water Pig Year VIEW ALL PUBLICATIONS NEXT PUBLICATION > < PREVIOUS PUBLICATION Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate Subscribe to our newsletter Support Tib Shelf's ongoing work & Subscribe Today! Name * Email* Submit Tib Shelf is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to translating, presenting and preserving primary source Tibetan texts across a vast array of genres and time periods. We make these literary treasures accessible to readers worldwide, offering a unique window into Tibet's rich history, culture and traditions. Tib Shelf has been accredited by the British Library with the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2754–1495 CONTACT US | SHELVES@TIBSHELF.ORG © 2024 Tib Shelf. All rights reserved.

Treasure Revealer Jatsön Nyingpo 1585–1656 BDRC P882 TREASURY OF LIVES LOTSAWA HOUSE HIMALAYAN ART RESOURCES Jatsön Nyingpo was a renowned Nyingma treasure revealer and spiritual master who played a significant role in Tibetan Buddhism. He began his monastic training under Mipam Tashi Lodrö and later spent seventeen years in a sealed retreat, during which he revealed numerous treasures, including the Embodiment of the Precious Ones (dkon mchog spyi 'dus ), a Guru Rinpoche sādhana that became widely practiced. He also identified Pemakö as a hidden land, a sacred refuge for practitioners in degenerate times, and authored The Guidebook to the Hidden Land of Pemakö . Jatsön Nyingpo established the monastic center of Bangri Jogpo and taught many prominent Nyingma and Kagyu masters, influencing figures such as the Tenth Karmapa and Jamgön Kongtrul . His teachings continue to inspire practitioners across traditions. Guidebook The Guidebook to the Hidden Land of Pemokö Jatsön Nyingpo The first guidebook to Pemokö, revealed as a treasure by Jatson Nyinpo, prophesies future degeneration and identifies this sacred hidden land as a sanctuary. Read Translated Works Mentioned In Menu Close Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate SUBSCRIBE Publications Watch People Listen

Treasure Revealer Dudul Dorje 1615–1672 BDRC P651 TREASURY OF LIVES PHOTO CREDIT Dudul Dorje, born in 1615 in eastern Tibet's Derge region, was a prominent treasure revealer whose spiritual journey spanned multiple Buddhist traditions. Trained initially in Sakya monasteries, he later embraced Nyingma teachings, receiving profound Dzogchen instructions and undertaking rigorous retreats. Guided by visions and empowered by Padmasambhava, he revealed significant treasure cycles, including texts, sacred objects, and rituals, often while enduring political and personal challenges. His teachings flourished despite resistance, particularly from the Fifth Dalai Lama's administration, and he ultimately found refuge in the southern Tibetan regions of Powo and Kongpo, where he trained influential disciples, opened pilgrimage sites, and preserved esoteric Buddhist practices. Dudul Dorje's legacy endured through his lineage, prominent disciples, and subsequent reincarnations, notably including Dudjom Rinpoche . Instruction Addiction Dudul Dorje Through verse, Dudul Dorje explores addiction and worldly attachments, revealing how these forms of suffering stem from the clinging mind itself. Read Translated Works Mentioned In Menu Close Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate SUBSCRIBE Publications Watch People Listen

Khenpo Ngawang Palzang's devotional prayer to Jowo Je Atiśa and his successors captures the essence of spiritual lineage while embodying profound Buddhist devotion. A Prayer to Lord Atiśa and His Spiritual Sons ན་མོ་རཏྣ་ཏྲ་ཡ་ཡ། Namo ratnatrayaya! རྒྱལ་སྲིད་སྤངས་ནས་དཀའ་བ་བརྒྱ་ཕྲག་གིས། ། བླ་མ་བརྒྱ་དང་ལྔ་བཅུ་རྩ་བདུན་བརྟེན། ། ཤེས་བྱ་ཐམས་ཅད་ཡང་དག་ཐུགས་སུ་ཆུད། ། རྒྱལ་བ་གཉིས་པར་གྱུར་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། Having abandoned your kingdom ,[ 1 ] taking on hundreds of hardships, You took the support of 157 gurus. [ 2 ] Everything there is to know, you perfectly mastered. Second Buddha, [ 3 ] to you I pray! རྒྱལ་བའི་མདུན་ན་རྒྱལ་སྲས་བཟང་པོ་སྐྱོང། ། ཁ་བ་ཅན་དུ་དཔལ་ལྡན་མར་མེ་མཛད། ། དགའ་ལྡན་གནས་སུ་ནམ་མཁའ་དྲི་མ་མེད། ། ཡིད་བཞིན་ནོར་བུ་ཁྱེད་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། In the Victor’s presence, you nurture [ 4 ] your noble spiritual sons. [ 5 ] Glorious Illuminator [ 6 ] of the Land of Snows, Stainless Sky in Tuṣita, [ 7 ] Wish-fulfilling jewel, to you I pray! སྒྲོལ་མས་ལུང་བསྟན་རྒྱལ་བུ་དཀོན་མཆོག་འབངས། །ཐུབ་བསྟན་ཡོངས་སུ་རྫོགས་པའི་མངའ་བདག་མཆོག། ། ལྷ་ཆོས་བདུན་ལྡན་ཇོ་བོ་བཀའ་གདམས་པའི། ། རྒྱལ་བའི་འབྱུང་གནས་ཁྱེད་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། རྒྱལ་ཚབ་དབང་བསྐུར་ར་སྦྲེང་དཔལ་གྱི་གནས། ། རྒྱུད་པ་བདུན་ལྡན་ཇོ་བོའི་མན་ངག་གིས། ། ཞིང་འདིར་ངུར་སྨིག་འཛིན་པས་མཛེས་པར་བྱས། ། གངས་ཅན་མགོན་པོ་ཁྱེད་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། [Dromtönpa [ 8 ]] Prince Könchok Bang, [ 9 ] prophesied by Tārā, Sublime master of all the Sages’s teachings,Gyalwe Jungne ,[ 10 ] victorious source of the Jowo Kadampa teachings [ 11 ] Brimming with the sevenfold divinity and doctrine, [ 12 ] to you I pray! Invested as the regent of the glorious site of Reting, You beautified it with the pith instructions of the Jowo steeped in the seven lineages ,[ 13 ] And by dressing this realm in saffron robes. [ 14 ] Protector of the Land of Snows, to you I pray! དད་གུས་ཏིང་འཛིན་སྤྱོད་པའི་གཞུང་དྲུག་ལ། ། ཐོས་བསམ་སྤྱོད་པས་བཤད་སྒྲུབ་ཟུང་དུ་འབྲེལ། ། བཀའ་གདམས་གཞུང་པ་ཞེས་གྲགས་པུ་ཏོ་བ། ། འཇམ་དཔལ་གཞོན་ནུ་ཁྱེད་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། [Putowa] You united theory and practice by studying, contemplating, and practicing The six books associated with faith, respect, meditation, and conduct. [ 15 ] Renowned as the encyclopedia of Kadam—Putowa, Youthful Mañjuśrī, to you I pray! [148] ཤེས་རབ་ཕ་རོལ་ཕྱིན་པའི་མངོན་རྟོགས་ཀུན། ། བདེན་པ་བཞིའི་ལམ་གྱི་རིམ་པ་ཡི། ། གདམས་པའི་ཉམས་མྱོང་བརྒྱུད་འཛིན་སྤྱན་ལྔ་བ། ། ཐུགས་རྗེ་ཆེན་པོ་ཁྱོད་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། [Chen-ngawa] Holder of the experience lineage in the instructions [ 16 ] For all the manifest realizations of the perfection of wisdom[ 17 ] And the graduated path of the four truths—Chen-ngawa, Great Compassionate One,[ 18 ] to you I pray! མན་ངག་གསང་བ་ཐིག་ལེ་བཅུ་དྲུག་གིས། ། ངོ་མཚར་བརྒྱུད་པ་བདུན་ལྡན་སྲོལ་མཛད་པ། ། རྟེན་འབྲེལ་དབང་འབྱོར་དགེ་བཤེས་ཕུ་ཆུང་བ། ། གསང་བའི་བདག་པོ་ཁྱེད་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས། ། [Puchungwa [ 19 ]] With the secret oral instruction of the sixteen drops [ 20 ] You blazed a trail [ 21 ] for the wondrous sevenfold lineage. [ 22 ] Master of interdependence, [ 23 ] spiritual friend Puchungwa, Lord of Secrets, [ 24 ] to you I pray! སྐུ་མཆེད་གསུམ་ལས་རིམ་པར་འཕེལ་བ་ཡི། ། གཞུང་གདམས་མན་ངག་བསྟན་པ་གྲུ་བཞི་ཏུ། ། འགལ་མེད་སྐྱེས་བུ་གསུམ་གྱི་ཉམས་ལེན་གྱི། ། བཀའ་གདམས་བརྒྱུད་པའི་བཤེས་གཉེན་དམ་པ་རྣམས། ། གསོལ་བ་འདེབས་སོ་ཐུགས་རྗེས་བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས། ། From the Three Brothers ,[ 25 ] the Kadam lineage Of the three scopes, [ 26 ] harmonious practices, Gradually spread on the four bases of treatise, instruction, pith instruction, and exegesis. [ 27 ] Holy spiritual friends of this lineage— I pray to you! Please grace me with your compassion! མི་ཚེ་ལོས་འཛད་ལོ་ཟླ་ཞག་གིས་འཛད། ། སྐད་ཅིག་མི་སྡོད་འཆི་བའི་ཆོས་ཉིད་ལ། ། རྟག་འཛིན་ཚེ་འདིའི་འཁྲི་བ་སྐྱེ་བའི་ཚེ། ། གསོལ་བ་འདེབས་སོ་རྒྱལ་བ་ཡབ་སྲས་གཉིས། ། བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས་ཤིག་དགེ་བཤེས་སྐུ་མཆེད་གསུམ། ། བཀའ་གདམས་བརྒྱུད་པ་རྣམས་ཀྱི་ཐུགས་རྗེས་ཟུངས། ། Life runs out year by year. Years and months slip away day by day. Not a moment lasts. It is the nature of things to die. When I want things to last forever, when I’m tangled in this life, I pray to you, victorious father and son! [ 28 ] Please bless me, Three Brothers, my spiritual friends! [ 29 ] Masters of the Kadam lineage, please hold me in your compassion! གར་འཆི་ངེས་མེད་གར་འཆིའི་རྐྱེན་མ་ངེས། ། སུ་དང་འགྲོགས་ཀྱང་འཆི་བའི་ངང་ཚུལ་ཅན། ། འབྱོར་རྒུད་མཐོ་མན་འཆི་ལས་མ་འདས་ཀྱང། ། འཆི་མེད་ལྷ་བཞིན་གཡེངས་བས་འཁྲུལ་བའི་ཚེ། ། གསོལ་བ་འདེབས་སོ་རྒྱལ་བ་ཡབ་སྲས་གཉིས། ། བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས་ཤིག་དགེ་བཤེས་སྐུ་མཆེད་གསུམ། ། བཀའ་གདམས་བརྒྱུད་པ་རྣམས་ཀྱི་ཐུགས་རྗེས་ཟུངས། ། No one knows where they will die, and how ones dies is not set in stone. No matter who keeps me company, I am marked for death. [ 30 ] [149] Rich or poor, high or low, no one escapes their demise. When I am confused from letting my mind wander like an immortal god, I pray to you, victorious father and son!Please bless me, Three Brothers, my spiritual friends! Masters of the Kadam lineage, please hold me in your compassion! འཆི་བའི་དུས་ན་ཕ་མ་ཕུ་ནུ་དང་། ། གྲོགས་དང་ལོངས་སྤྱོད་དགྲ་གཉེན་རྗེས་མི་འབྲང་། ། ངེས་པར་ཕན་གནོད་དགེ་སྡིག་གཉིས་ལས་མེད། ། དོན་མེད་ཆོས་མིན་བྱ་བའི་བྲེལ་བའི་ཚེ། ། གསོལ་བ་འདེབས་སོ་རྒྱལ་བ་ཡབ་སྲས་གཉིས། ། བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས་ཤིག་དགེ་བཤེས་སྐུ་མཆེད་གསུམ། ། བཀའ་གདམས་བརྒྱུད་པ་རྣམས་ཀྱི་ཐུགས་རྗེས་ཟུངས། ། When death calls, my father, mother, siblings, companions, Enjoyments, enemies, and friends will not come with me. I know that help and harm only stem from my positive and negative actions; So when I am caught up in pointless activities that take me away from Dharma, I pray to you, victorious father and son!Please bless me, Three Brothers, my spiritual friends! Masters of the Kadam lineage, please hold me in your compassion! སྐྱབས་ཀྱི་མཐར་ཐུག་བསླུ་མེད་དཀོན་མཆོག་གསུམ། ། ཡིད་ཆེས་དད་པས་སྐྱབས་སུ་ལེགས་བརྟེན་ནས། ། རྒྱུ་འབྲས་ཕྲ་མོའི་སྤང་བླང་མ་ནོར་བ། ། སྐྱེས་བུ་གསུམ་གྱི་ལམ་གྱི་རིམ་པ་བདུན། ། རྟོགས་ནས་ཚུལ་བཞིན་འཇུག་པར་བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས། ། Undeceiving Three Jewels—my ultimate sources of refuge— I take shelter wholeheartedly in their protection, And I do not err in the subtleties of what to do and not do in light of cause and effect. Once I have understood the seven stages of the three scopes’ paths, [ 31 ] Please bless me to apply them in the right way! མང་དུ་ཐོས་པས་ལོག་པའི་དྲི་མ་སེལ། ། རྣམ་དག་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་གཙང་མས་གཞི་བཟུང་ཞིང་། ། བྱམས་དང་སྙིང་རྗེས་བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་འབྱོང་ནས། ། ལྟ་སྤྱོད་རྣམ་པར་དག་པར་བྱིན་གྱིས་རློབས། ། Studying widely, I clear away misguided distortions. With pure moral discipline, I have set my foundation And, with love and compassion, I train in bodhicitta. [150] Now, please, bless my view and conduct to be utterly pure! གཉེན་གྲོགས་ལོངས་སྤྱོད་ལའང་ལྟོས་མེད་པར། ། ཕྱི་ཚེས་གྲབས་ཤོམས་བློ་སྣ་ལིང་གིས་བསྐྱུར། ། [32] ཉམས་ལེན་ཟབ་མོའི་དོན་དང་མི་འབྲལ་བར། ། རྡོ་རྗེ་གསུམ་པོ་མངོན་དུ་འགྱུར་བར་ཤོག། ། Unconcerned with friends and felicities, I have completely given up on future plans. Never parting from the profound meaning of practice, May the three vajra convictions unfold in me![ 33 ] དམ་ཆོས་སྒྲུབ་ལ་འདུན་པ་གཅིག་ཏུ་དྲིལ། ། གྲོགས་དང་ཕུགས་སྟོང་མཐའ་གཉིས་མི་ལྟུང་པར། ། བྱང་ཆུབ་སྒྲུབ་ལ་ཚེ་མཐར་ཕྱིན་པ་ཡི། ། གཏད་པ་བཞི་པོ་མཐའ་རུ་འཁྱོར་བར་ཤོག། ། [34] Fused with the will to practice holy Dharma, With no friends or goals, keeping out of the two extremes, [ 35 ] My whole life spent accomplishing enlightenment— May I arrive at the end of the four ambitions! [ 36 ] མི་ཆོས་སྒྲུབ་པའི་ཁྱུ་ནས་ལིང་གིས་བུད། ། ཆོས་བརྒྱད་བྲལ་བའི་སྤྲང་པོའི་ངང་ཚུལ་གྱིས། ། བཀའ་གདམས་གོང་མའི་རྗེས་སུ་སྙོགས་པ་ཡི། ། བུད་སྙོགས་ཐོབ་པ་གསུམ་ལ་དབང་འབྱོར་ཤོག། ། Having banished myself from ordinary pursuits, As a derelict divorced from the eight worldly concerns, Joining up with the Kadam forebears, May I master banishment, joining, and achievement! [ 37 ] མདོར་ན་གེགས་ཀྱིས་ལང་བས་ཆུས་རྫོགས་ཞིང། ། [ 38 ] ལྷམ་སྣ་བསྒྱུར་བས་བན་གཞིས་རྫོགས་པ་ཡི། ། བྱ་བྲལ་རྒྱལ་པོ་ཚེ་འདི་བློས་ཐོང་བའི། །དབེན་པའི་གནས་སུ་སྒྲུབ་པ་མཐར་ཕྱིན་ཤོག། ། In short, motivated by hindrances, I am done with plans. Hitting the road, I am done with monks and townspeople. As a king of nothing to be done, letting go of this life, In solitude, may I reach the end of accomplishment! བདག་ཀྱང་འདི་ནས་ཚེ་འཕོས་གྱུར་མ་ཐག། ། དགའ་ལྡན་ཡིད་དགའ་ཆོས་འཛིན་གྲོང་ཁྱེར་དུ། ། རྒྱལ་བ་ཡབ་སྲས་རྣམས་ཀྱི་རྗེས་བཟུང་ཞིང། ། རྫོགས་སྨིན་སྦྱང་བ་རྒྱ་མཚོ་མཐར་ཕྱིན་ནས། ། བསྟན་པའི་བདག་པོ་ཁྱེད་བཞིན་འགྱུར་བར་ཤོག། ། As soon as I, like everyone, pass from this life, In the city of the Delightful Dharma-Den Wonderland, [ 39 ] Under the care the Victorious One and his spiritual sons, Having reached the end of the ocean of completion, [151] maturation, and training, [ 40 ] May I become like you, a master of the teachings! COLOPHON དེ་ལྟར་ཇོ་བོ་ཡབ་སྲས་ཀྱི་གསུང་གླེགས་བམ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་ལས་གསུང་བ་བཞིན་བཀོད་པའི་དགེ་བས་བླ་མ་རིན་ཆེན་འདིས་ཚེ་འདི་བློས་ཐོང་ཆགས་ཆེན་འཁྲི་བ་ཆོད་རི་དྭགས་རྨས་མ་རྒྱ་ལས་གྲོལ་བ་བཞིན་མི་མེད་དབེན་པའི་གནས་སུ་རང་གཞན་གྱི་དོན་གཉིས་འགྲུབ་པ་བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས་རིན་པོ་ཆེས་རླན་གྱིས་ཞེ་སྡང་གི་མེ་གསོད་པའི་མཐུན་རྐྱེན་དུ་ཇོ་བོ་ཡབ་སྲས་ཀྱི་རྣམ་ཐར་ལ་མོས་པ་ཆོས་སྨྲ་བའི་བཙན་པ་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་རྒྱ་མཚོས་བྲིས་པ་དགེའོ། ། Through the virtue of this arrangement that reflects the words in the precious volumes of the teachings of the Lord and sons, considering the spiritually nourishing conditions of this precious guru who gave up on this life, cut the fetters of attachment, and who, like a wounded deer escaping from a trap, in a remote place with no people, accomplished his own and others’ benefit and extinguished the fire of hostility with the moisture of precious bodhicitta, this was written by the monastic Dharma teacher, Tsultrim Gyatso, in devoted admiration of the stories of the enlightened lives of the Lord and his sons. NOTES [1] Like Buddha Śākyamuni, Atiśa Dīpaṃkara was born into royalty in Bengal, but he renounced his birthright to pursue spiritual practice. For his biography, see Apple, Atiśa Dīpaṃkara , 2019. [2] According to James B. Apple, “Traditional accounts mention that he had twelve root gurus” (Apple Atiśa Dīpaṃkara , chap.1). The five main gurus from Atiśa’s early life are “the brahmin Jitāri, the scholar-monk Bodhibhadra, the contemplative-monk Vidyākokila, and the tantric yogis Avadhūtipa and Rāhulaguptavajra” (Apple Atiśa Dīpamkara , chap.1). His most important teacher was Serlingpa (a.k.a., Dharmakīrtiśrī) who he met on his travels to Sumatra. Upon his return to India, he studied with Ratnākaraśanti and Kamalarakṣita. In addition to those teachers, biographies say that “the great adept Nāropa instructed him in the vision of emptiness, Doṃbipa in yogic discipline, Balinācārya in tantric ritual, Mahājana in miraculous abilities, Bhutakoṭi in the worship of Vajravārāhī, Paramaśva in the special instructions of Nāgārjuna, Prajñābhadra in the awakening mind, [and] Ratnākaraśānti in the meaning of the commentaries” (Apple Atiśa Dīpaṃkara , chap.1). In Apple’s summary of Atiśa’s traditional biographies, it is said that he “studied the extent of the Buddhist knowledge with one hundred fifty-seven spiritual teachers” during a period of intensive training after he took ordination in the Mahāsāṃghika order at the age of twenty-nine in Bodhgayā. [3] Or, “second victorious one [of our age]” ( rgyal ba gnyis pa ). This epithet is also commonly applied to Nāgārjuna, Guru Rinpoche, and Tsongkhapa. [4] “Nurture” ( skyong / skyong ba , pala ). This is possibly a play on the Sanskrit word pala since Atiśa came from a royal lineage in the Pala Empire, whose leaders took the name. [5] In this line, there is a play on the terms rgyal ba ( jina , “victorious one/conqueror”) and rgyal sras ( jinaputra , “son or daughter of the victorious ones”). In Buddhist contexts, these terms usually refer to buddhas and bodhisattvas. Just above, Atiśa was referred to as the “Second Buddha,” and his sons are his main students who are evoked in the verses that follow. Rather than dwell on the “victor” root of each term here, we translated them more loosely for the sake of elegance and syllabic economy. [6] “Illuminator” ( mar me mdzad , dīpaṃkara ) the second part of Atiśa’s name. [7] When Atiśa passed away, he informed his students that he would next take birth as a son of a god in Tuṣita Heaven named Stainless Sky [ dri med nam mhka’ ] (Apple Atiśa Dīpaṃkara , chap. 2). [8] For Dromtönpa’s biography, see Gardner, “Dromton Gyelwa Junge,” 2010. [9] Prince Könchok Bang. One of Dromtönpa’s twenty-two prior birth stories recorded in the Book of Kadam (Jinpa 2013, 655, n. 484). For a brief summary of this story, see Roesler A Palace for Those Who Have Eyes to See , 134). [10] “Victory’s Source” or “victorious source” ( rgyal ba’i ’byung gnas ), an epithet for Dromtönpa. For Dromtönpa’s biography, see Gardner, “Dromton Gyelwa Junge,” 2010. [11] Jowo ( jo bo ) is an honorific title akin to “lord” or “venerable.” It is particularly applied to Atiśa, who is often referred to as Jowo Je (“venerable lord”). Kadampa refers to a member of the Kadam lineage founded by Atiśa. [12] “Sevenfold divinity and doctrine” is a term for the core teachings of the Kadam tradition. These include teachings related to four main divine figures (Tārā, Avalokiteśvara, Buddha Śākyamuni, and the protector Acala) and the three sections or piṭakas of the Buddhist canon (Vinaya, Sūtra, Abhidharma). According to Thupten Jinpa, “A fifteenth-century history of the Kadam order offers four different explanations of the name. First, Kadam may be defined as ‘those for whom the essence of the entire Buddhist scripture is integrated within the path of the three scopes—the spiritual aspirations of initial, intermediate, and advance capacities—and for whom all the scriptures of the Buddha appear as personal instructions.’ A second interpretation of the meaning of Kadam suggests that the tradition is so called ‘because the Kadam founding father, Dromtönpa, chose, in accordance with the sacred instruction of Master Atiśa, the sevenfold divinity and teaching as his principal practice.’ ‘Sevenfold’ refers to the threefold teaching (the baskets of monastic discipline, discourses, and knowledge) and the four divinities (Buddha, Avalokiteśvara, Tārā, and Acala). A third interpretation is that when Master Atiśa was residing at Nyethang his disciples accorded great authority to his sacred words, so they came to be known as ‘Kadampas’—those who hold the sacred words as binding. The final interpretation is that the Kadampas are guided by the three baskets of scripture in their overall Dharma practice and approach Vajrayana teachings and practices circumspectly (Jinpa Wisdom of the Kadam Masters , intro). [13] These seven are most likely the same as the “sevenfold divinity and doctrine” in note thirteen. [14] Saffron robes ( ngur smig , kaṣāya or kāṣāya ), a metonym for the monastic tradition in general. [15] These are: (1) Asaṅga’s Bodhisattva Levels ; (2) Maitreya’s Ornament of Mahāyāna Sūtras ; (3) Śantideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life and (4) Compendium of Trainings ; (5) Āryaśūra’s Garland of Birth Stories ; and (6) the Collection of Aphorisms , attributed to the historical Buddha. The study of these treatises is complemented with further Indian Buddhist classics like Nāgārjuna’s Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way , his Seventy Stanzas on Emptiness , and Atiśa’s Entry into the Two Truths and An Instruction on the Middle Way (Jinpa 2008, 9). See also Gardner 2009. [16] According to Thupten Jinpa (2008, 9), “Chengawa’s Kadam lineage of pith instructions [ man ngag, upadeśa ] emphasizes an approach whereby Atiśa’s essential instructions, rather than classical treatises, are the key basis for practice.” For Chengawa’s biography, see Sonam Rinchen “Chennga Tsultrim Bar,” 2020. [17] Perfection of wisdom ( shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa , prajñāparamitā ) carries a rich range of meanings. In his annotations to The Book of Kadam , Thupten Jinpa provides the following gloss: “One of the six perfections that lie at the heart of the practice of the bodhisattva. The term refers also to a specific subdivision of the Mahāyāna scriptures that outline the essential aspects of the meditation on emptiness and their associated paths and resultant states. The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines, the Heart Sutra, and the Diamond Cutter are some of the most well-known Perfection of Wisdom scriptures. In The Book of Kadam the term is often used as an epithet for Perfection of Wisdom Mother, a feminine divinity that embodies the perfection of wisdom of a fully awakened buddha” (Jinpa 2008, 673). [18] An epithet of Avalokiteśvara. [ 19] For Puchungwa’s biography, see Gardner 2009c. [20] The sixteen drops are: (1) the drop of the outer inconceivable array; (2) the drop of this World Endured; (3) the drop of the realm of Tibet; (4) the drop of one’s abode and the drawn mandala; (5) the drop of Perfection of Wisdom Mother; (6) the drop of her son, Buddha Śākyamuni; (7) the drop of Great Compassion; (8) the drop of Wisdom Tārā; (9) the drop of her wrathful form; (10) the drop of Acala, their immutable nature; (11) the drop of Atiśa; (12) the drop of Dromtön Gyalwe Jungne; (13) the drop of the vast practice of the bodhisattva; (14) the drop of the profound view of emptiness; (15) the drop of the inspirational practice; (16) the drop of great awakening (Jinpa 2008, 13–14). On these practices, Thupten Jinpa writes, “The idea of the sixteen-drops practice is fairly straightforward. Like a powerful camera lens zooming from the widest possible angle to a progressively smaller focus and, finally, to a tiny point, the meditation becomes increasingly focused, moving from the entire cosmos to this world in particular, to the realm of Tibet, to the practitioner’s own dwelling, and finally culminating within your own body. Within your body, you then visualize inside your heart the Perfection of Wisdom Mother, within whose heart is her son, Buddha Śākyamuni. Within the Buddha’s heart is Great Compassion Avalokiteśvara, within whose heart is Tara, and so on, continuing with wrathful Tārā, Acala, Atiśa, and Dromtönpa. Within Dromtönpa’s heart you then visualize Maitreya surrounded by the masters of the line age of vast practice. In his heart you visualize Nāgārjuna surrounded by the masters of the lineage of profound view; and within his heart you visualize Vajradhara surrounded by the masters of the lineage of inspirational practice. Finally, inside Vajradharas heart, you visualize yourself as a buddha, embodying all three buddha bodies, and within your heart is a white drop the size of a mustard seed. This seed increases in size and turns into a vast radiant jewel container at the center of which your mind is imagined as a yellow drop the size of a pea. This, in turn, increases in size and turns into an ocean of drops the color of refined gold; the ocean is transparent, smooth, resolute, vast, and pervasive, and it reflects all forms. You then rest your mind, without wavering, upon this drop of great awakening, fused, and free of any sense of subject-object duality” (Jinpa 2008, 14). [21] “Blazed a trail” renders srol mdzad pa , the honorific form of the verb srol ’byed pa , which has the sense of initiating a new way within an already established tradition ( srol gtod pa ). According to Thupten Jinpa, “Phuchungwa is most revered as the founder of the ‘Kadam lineage of pith instructions’ and as the inheritor of Atiśa and Dromtönpa’s teachings enshrined in the Book of Kadam . He is also credited with being the source of the mind-training practice known as the ‘heart of dependent origination,’ a text of which can be found in Mind Training: The Great Collection ” (Jinpa 2013, part I.3). [22] Again, this refers to the “sevenfold divinity and doctrine” seen above. [23] As mentioned, Puchungwa specifically transmitted the Kadam pith instructions ( man ngag , upadeśa ) on interdependence/dependent origination (Jinpa 2008, 9; Jinpa 2013, part I.3). [24] An epithet of Vajrapāṇi. [25] The Three Brothers ( sku mched gsum ) are Putowa, Chen-ngawa, and Puchungwa. [26] Three scopes (skyes bu gsum). According to Thupten Jinpa, “The three scopes refer to the practitioners of initial, intermediate, and advanced scopes or capacities. Atiśa’s Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment presents the entire Buddhist path to enlightenment in terms of meditative practices appropriate to these three differing capacities—the initial, who seeks only a refuge from the fears of rebirth in the lower realms; the intermediate, who principally seeks freedom from cyclic existence; and the advanced, who seeks full awakening for the benefit of all beings” (Jinpa 2008, 676). [27] We do not find this fourfold grouping elsewhere in the literature. It seems that Khenpo Ngaga means that the Kadam teachings continued to develop through the media of (1) treatises ( gzhung )—root texts laying out a key theme); (2) instructions ( gdams pa ) or oral instructions ( gdams ngag ) that have passed down through the lineage for generations; (3) upadeśa , or pith instructions ( man ngag ), which are personal, practical oral instructions from guru to disciple; and (4) exegesis ( bstan pa ), a general term for teachings, but often with the sense of commentarial or exegetical literature, as in the Tibetan Tengyur ( bstan ’gyur ), the translated commentaries of the Indian Mahāyāna masters. The first line of this stanza contains the word rim pa (stage/gradual), which may be a nod to the Lamrim ( lam rim , “Stages of the Path”) literature influenced by the Kadam approach of careful, deliberate contemplation and meditation. Famous examples of this genre include Gampopa’s Ornament of Precious Liberation and Tsongkhapa’s Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path . [28] Atiśa and Dromtönpa [29] Putowa, Chen-ngawa, and Puchungwa. [30] “Marked for death” renders ’chi ba’i ngang tshul can . A more literal translation might say, “I have a disposition to die.” [31] The “seven stages” in this line are difficult to identify with certainty. The term is not used in Atiśa’s original Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Atiśa 1973) or Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (Dowd 2021), nor does it appear in The Book of Kadam (Jinpa 2008) or the teachings compiled in Wisdom of the Kadam Masters (Jinpa 2013). The most fitting reference we find is to a seven-step contemplation discussed in Tsongkhapa’s Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path , vol 2. Tsongkhapa calls this teaching the “seven cause-and-effect personal instructions [ rgyu ’bras man ngag bdun ] in the lineage descended from the Great Elder [Atiśa]” (Tsong-kha-pa 2004, 28). These seven stages are (1) recognizing all beings as your mothers; (2) recollecting their kindness; (3) wishing to repay that kindness; (4) love; (5) compassion; (6) wholehearted resolve; (7) bodhicitta , or awakening mind. (See also Sherburne 1983, 62, n. 2; Sopa 1976, xxii). On Khenpo Ngaga’s deep faith in Tsongkhapa, see Ngawang Palzang 2013, 47, 144, 153, 189, 216. [32] The term for “plans” in this line is usually spelled grabs gshom . Here the spelling is grab shams , which may be a regional variant, but is more likely simply a misspelling, since grabs and gshom pa are both etymologically related to “preparation.” We have amended the Tibetan here to grabs shoms since shoms is at least a valid form of the verb gshom pa . [33] Normally, the three vajras are the three doors of body, speech, and mind infused with wisdom. In the Kadam context, however, they refer to the “three vajra [convictions],” which, along with the “four aims” and the “three ranks or achievements,” make up the Ten Innermost Jewels of the Kadam tradition [ phugs nor bcu ] (See Zopa 2012, 169–188). The Kadam three vajras are (1) the uncaptured vajra ( thegs med rdo rje ): not allowing friends and family to get in the way of one’s single-minded practice; (2) the shameless vajra ( khrel med rdo rje ): not caring what people think or say about you in your pursuit of enlightenment; (3) the wisdom vajra ( ye shes rdo rje ), which Lama Zopa says, “means we resolve never to break the promise we have made to practice pure Dharma by renouncing this life. Completely turning away from all that is essenceless and meaningless, we make the firm, unshakable, indestructible determination to make our life equal with the holy Dharma” (Zopa 2012, 184). [34] Tibetan amended from phugs stong to phug stong . [35] The two extremes are nihilistic and eternalistic views. [36] The four aims, or ambitions, or entrustments ( gtad pa bzhi or gtad sa bzhi ), along with the three vajras and four achievements, make up the ten innermost jewels of the Kadam tradition [ phugs nor bcu ]. The Rangjung Yeshe Translation Group translates these four in the following way: “Aim your mind at the Dharma. Aim your Dharma practice at simple living. Aim at simple living for your entire life. Aim your death at solitude.” ( https://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/gtad_pa_bzhi ). See Rigpa Shedra’s entry for “Four Ambitions”; Jinpa 2013, intro; and Zopa 2012, 169–179). [37] Along with the four aims and three vajras, expulsion/banishment, joining, and achievement ( bud snyegs / snyogs thob gsum ) round out the ten innermost jewels of the Kadam tradition. (1) “Expulsion/Banishment” means the achievement of being self-ostracized from ordinary society and the ways of normal people ( mi gral nas bud ); (2) “joining” means joining the company of dogs ( khyi gral snyegs ), which should be respected for their loyalty and perseverance in the face of hardship and abuse; (3) “achieving” means achieving the rank of a divine (viz., enlightened) being ( lha gral thob ). See Zopa 2012, 184–188. [38] Unable to locate this prayer in the 2017 Sichuan edition of Khenpo Ngaga’s Collected Works , we have speculatively amended the Tibetan of this line, which reads geg gi lang bas in the original—a grammatically and semantically problematic phrase: geg is one word for cancer, which is then followed by a genitive particle, then the instrumentalized present tense of the verb lang ba (“to rise/get up”). Taking that literally is extremely awkward and would result in something like “With the arising of [the] cancer,” which would only make sense if the cancer were taken as a metaphor for disillusionment ( skyo shes ) with saṃsāra. We think it is much more likely that there are simply a couple of scribal errors in the line. Thus, geg is amended to gegs (“hindrance”) and genitive gi is amended to instrumental particle kyis according to spelling rules. This gives us a much clearer and predictable meaning, “persuaded/motivated/affected by hindrances.” [39] “Delightful Dharma-Den Wonderland” is a slightly more euphonious alternative to the more literal “Pleasant Doctrine-Bearing Joyous Place” ( dga ldan yid dga’ chos ’dzin ) (Gedun 1989, 143). The term refers to Maitreya’s abode adjoining Tuṣita Heaven. Geshe Gedun Lodö explains, “There is a place called the Joyous [ dga’ ldan ], which is one of the six areas of Desire Realm gods. There is in the Joyous a pure land called the Pleasant Doctrine-Bearing Joyous Place. The Protector Maitreya lives there. The Joyous itself is contained within cyclic existence because it is one of the six areas of dogs of the Desire Realm; it is not a pure land. However, the Pleasant Doctrine-Bearing Joyous Place is a pure land. It is in the Joyous but away from it, just as monasteries are within cities but at a distance from them” (Gedun 1989, 143). [40] Completion, maturation, and training ( rdzogs smin sbyang ) refer to completing the two accumulations, ripening or maturing beings, and training in pure perception (Ngawang Pelzang 2004, 111, 125, 183, 194, 254). Published: September 2023 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License . Photo credit: Tsadra Foundation BIBLIOGRAPHY SOURCE TEXT Lama Munsel Tsultrim Gyatso (bla ma mun sel tshul khrims rgya mtsho), and Khenpo Ngaga (mkhan po ngag dgaʼ). jo bo yab sras la gsol ʼdebs . In gsung ʼbum ngag dbang dpal bzang , vol. 3, 155–60. BDRC MW22946_493CEB . TIBETAN REFERENCES Atīśa. byang chub lam gyi rim pa . Leh, Ladakh: Thupten Tsering, 1973. BDRC MW1KG506 . ———. byang chub lam gyi sgron ma. In bstan ʼgyur ( sde dge ), edited by zhu chen tshul khrims rin chen, translated by rma lo tsA ba dge baʼi blo gros, vol. 111, 447–83. Delhi: Karmapae Choedhey, Gyalwae Sungrab Partun Khang, 1982–1985. BDRC MW23703_3947 . SECONDARY REFERENCES Apple, James B. Atiśa Dīpaṃkara: Illuminator of the Awakened Mind . Boulder: Shambhala, 2019. Ebook. Atiśa. A Lamp for the Path and Commentary . Translated by Richard Sherburne. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1983. Dowd, Patrick. 2021. “Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment.” Lotsawa House. 2021. https://www.lotsawahouse.org/indian-masters/atisha/lamp-path-enlightenment . Dowman, Keith, trans. Sky Dancer: The Secret Live and Songs of Yeshe Tsogyel . Ithaca: Snow Lion, 1996. Gardner, Alexander. “Puchungwa Zhonnu Gyeltsen.” Treasury of Lives. 2009. http://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Puchungwa-Zhonnu-Gyeltsen/6452 . ———. “Dromton Gyelwa Jungne.” Treasury of Lives. 2010. http://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Dromton-Gyelwa-Jungne/4267 . ———. “Potowa Rinchen Sel.” Treasury of Lives. 2021. http://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Potowa-Rinchen-Sal/5786 . Gampopa. Ornament of Precious Liberation . Translated by Ken Holmes. Boston: Wisdom, 2017. Gedun, Lodö. Calm Abiding and Special Insight: Achieving Spiritual Transformation Through Meditation . Translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins. Ithaca: Snow Lion, 1998. Jinpa, Thupten, ed. The Book of Kadam: The Core Texts . 1st ed. The Library of Tibetan Classics, v. 2. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2008. ——— . Wisdom of the Kadam Masters . Boston: Wisdom, 2013. Ebook. Ngawang Pelzang, Khenpo. A Guide to the Words of My Perfect Teacher . Translated by Padmakara Translation Group. Boston: Shambhala, 2004. Ngawang Palzang, Khenpo. Wondrous Dance of Illusion: The Autobiography of Khenpo Ngawang Palzang . Translated by Heidi L. Nevin and Jakob Leschly. Boston: Snow Lion, 2013. Pitkin, Annabella. Renunciation and Longing: The Life of a Twentieth-Century Himalayan Buddhist Saint . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2022. Rangjung Yeshe Translation Group. “gtad pa bzhi.” Rywiki.tsadra.org . https://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/gtad_pa_bzhi . Rigpa Shedra. “Four Ambitions.” Rigpawiki.org . https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Four_ambitions . Roesler, Ulrike. “A Palace for Those Who Have Eyes to See: Preliminary Remarks on the Symbolic Geography of Reting (Rwa-Sgreng).” Acta Orientalia Vilnensia 8 , no. 1 (2007): 123–44. Sonam Dorje. “Chennga Tsultrim Bar.” Treasury of Lives. 2020. https://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Chennga-Tsultrim-Bar/5820 Sopa, Lhundup and Jeffrey Hopkins. Practice and Theory of Tibetan Buddhism . New York: Grove, 1976. Tsong-kha-pa. The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment , 3 vols. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Boston: Snow Lion, 2014. Zopa, Lama. How to Practice Dharma: Teachings on the Eight Worldly Dharmas . Edited by George McDougal. Boston: Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive, 2012. Abstract Khenpo Ngawang Palzang's heartfelt prayer dedicated to Lord Atiśa, affectionately referred to as Jowo Je, and his esteemed spiritual successors beautifully embodies the profound devotion inherent in Tibetan Buddhism, all the while imparting a profound understanding of the sacred lineage. BDRC LINK MW22946_ 493CEB DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 06:28 TRADITION Nyingma INCARNATION LINE None HISTORICAL PERIOD 19th Century 20th Century TEACHERS Lodrö Gyatso The First Drukpa Kuchen, Chöying Rölpe Dorje Nyoshul Lungtok Tenpe Gyaltsen Khenchen Gyaltsen Özer Nyoshul Lungtok Tenpe Nyima Sönam Palden Kunzang Palden The Fifth Dzogchen Drubwang, Tubten Chökyi Dorje The Fifth Shechen Rabjam, Pema Tegchok Tenpe Gyaltsen Sönam Chöpel The Third Mura, Pema Dechen Zangpo Tsultrim Norbu Dorzin Namdröl Mipam Gyatso TRANSLATOR Dr. Joseph McClellan INSTITUTIONS Palyul Monastery Katok Monastery Dzogchen Monastery STUDENTS Tulku Könchok Drakpa Adzom Gyalse Gyurme Dorje Khenpo Nuden Legshe Jorden Lama Drönma Tsering Khenchen Gyaltsen Özer Tsultrim Yönten Gyatso Chatral Sangye Dorje The Fourth Chagtsa, Kunzang Pema Trinle The Fourth Drutob Namkha Gyatso, Zhepe Dorje Khenchen Tsewang Rigzin The Second Dzongsar Khyentse, Jamyang Chökyi Lodrö Botrul Dongak Tenpe Nyima Jampal Drakpa Khen Dampa Pema Ribur Tulku Gyalten Ngawang Gyatso Tromge Arik Tulku Tenpe Nyima Nyagtö Khenpo Gedun Gyatso Lama Munsel Tsultrim Gyatso Gojo Khenchen Karma Tashi Gyara Khenchen Gönpo Orgyen Chemchok Yoru Gyalpo The Third Zhichen Vairo, Pema Gyaltsen Togden Lama Yönten Lakar Togden Polu Khenpo Dorje Khunu Rinpoche Tenzin Gyaltsen Nyoshul Khenpo Jamyang Dorje Lungtrul Shedrub Tenpe Nyima Khenpo Rinpoche Sönam Döndrub Khen Lodrö Khenpo Pema Samdrub The Second Palyul Chogtrul, Jampal Gyepe Dorje The Second Penor, Rigzin Palchen Dupa AUTHOR Khenpo Ngawang Palzang A Prayer to Lord Atiśa and His Spiritual Sons VIEW ALL PUBLICATIONS NEXT PUBLICATION > < PREVIOUS PUBLICATION Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate Subscribe to our newsletter Support Tib Shelf's ongoing work & Subscribe Today! 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