The First Drugpa Zhabdrung's victory declaration of 1619, composed after defeating Tsang's ruler through ritual sorcery, helped establish Bhutan's identity while asserting his talismanic power. Sixteen Self-Assertions གོང་མས་ལུང་བསྟན་སྤྲུལ་པ་ང་། ། ང་ནི་ཀུན་གྱི་སྐྱབས་སུ་བཟང་། ། འཆད་པའི་ངག་གི་དབང་ཕྱུག་ང་། ། ང་ནི་ལེགས་བཤད་འབྱུང་ཁུངས་བཙུན། ། Forefathers’ foretold emanation is I— I am the magnificent refuge of all beings. The sovereign speech of exposition is I— I am the respected source of eloquent discourse. བདུད་དཔུང་འཇོམས་པའི་དཔའ་བོ་ང་། ། ང་ནི་འབྲུག་པར་བརྫུས་རྣམས་བཅོམ། ། རྩོད་པའི་མཐུ་སྟོབས་བདག་པོ་ང་། ། ང་ནི་ལྟ་ལོག་མཁན་སུན་འབྱིན། ། The hero who conquers demon hordes is I— I am the destroyer of the Drukpa’s imposters. The powerful master of debate is I— I am the repudiator of those with wrong views. མཐའ་བྲལ་ལྟ་བའི་བདག་པོ་ང་། ། ང་མདུན་མི་འདར་རྒོལ་བ་སུ། ། རྩོམ་པའི་དབྱངས་ཅན་གྲུབ་པ་ང་། ། ང་ནི་རིག་གནས་ཀུན་ལ་མཁས། ། The lord of the unlimited view is I— I am the one before whom all challengers tremble. Sarasvatī’s accomplished wordsmith is I— I am the learned scholar in all fields of knowledge. དཔལ་ལྡན་འབྲུག་པའི་བསྟན་འཛིན་ང་། ། ང་ནུས་བཟློག་པའི་མཐུ་ཆེན་སུ། ། ལུགས་གཉིས་འཁོར་ལོས་བསྒྱུར་བ་ང་། ། ང་ནི་འདྲ་མིན་སྤྲུལ་བའི་གཤེད། ། The Glorious Druk’s doctrine holder is I— I am almighty, no sorcerer can defeat me. The dual system’s [ 1 ] Wheel-wielding Monarch [ 2 ] is I— I am the enemy of diverse apparitions. ཕྱག་དམ་འདི་གཞུང་གི་བཀའ་རྒྱ་གལ་ཆེན་རིགས་དང་། གཞུང་གི་ཁྲ་དེབ་ཁག་ལ་ངེས་པར་དུ་ཕྱག་དམ་འདི་ཐེབས་ཡོད་ན་ཀུན་གྱིས་བརྩི་མཐོང་ཆེན་པོ་བྱ་དགོས་པ་སྔར་སྲོལ་གལ་གནད་ཅན་ཞིག་ཡིན། ཞབས་དྲུང་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་རང་གིས་ཕྱོགས་ལས་རྣམ་པར་རྒྱལ་བའི་རྟགས་མཚན་དུ་ཕྱག་དམ་ང་བཅུ་དྲུག་མ་འདི་མཛད་པ་ནས་བཟུང་སྟེ་འབྲུག་གཞུང་གི་མངའ་འབངས་ཆབ་སྲིད་ཡོངས་རྫོགས་ལ་ཕྱག་དམ་དེས་དབང་བསྒྱུར་ཆོག་པ་ཡིན། དེ་བཞིན་ད་ལྟ་ཡང་འབྲུག་གཞུང་གི་ (དཔལ་ལྡན་འབྲུག་པ་ཕྱོགས་ལས་རྣམ་རྒྱལ) གཞུང་རྟགས་སུ་བཀོད་པ་འདི་ཡང་། ཞབས་དྲུང་རིན་པོ་ཆེས་ང་བཅུ་དྲུག་མའི་དོན་བསྡུས་ཏེ་གཞུང་རྟགས་སུ་བཀོད་པ་ཡིན། དཔེར་ན། རྒྱ་གར་གཞུང་རྟགས་སེངྒེ་མགོ་ལྔ་པ་ཅན་ལ་རྩིས་མཐོང་བྱ་དགོས་པ་ཆོས་རྒྱལ་ཨ་ཤོ་ཀའི་མཛད་རྗེས་མཚོན་པ་དང་འདྲ་བ་ཡིན། If this seal is visibly stamped onto the official documents of the government and important government orders, everyone will hold them in high regard because this tradition is of essential importance. Shabdrung Rinpoche (1594–1651) [ 3 ] composed this seal, "Sixteen Self-Assertions," as a symbol of the Complete Victor in all Regards. [ 4 ] Since then, this seal was permitted to exercise power over all citizens and political territory of the Bhutanese government. Accordingly, even today, the name of the Bhutanese government, “The Glorious Drukpa: The Victor in All Regards,” [ 5 ] is also established as an administrative symbol since it is the condensed meaning of Shabdrung Rinpoche’s "Sixteen Self-Assertions." Take, for example, the governmental symbol of India, the five-headed lion. The reason it is held in high regard is that it is the representation of the achievements of the Dharma King, Ashoka. This seal is comparable to that symbol. COLOPHON None NOTES [1] This is referring to the dual system of politics and religion. [2] A Wheel-wielding Monarch (cakravartin) is the de facto ruler of the entire universe, bring all under their control single-handedly. They tend to govern the world system in accordance with the spiritual and or universal law, the dharma. For more information, please refer to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. [3] zhabs drung 01 ngag dbang rnam rgyal, BDRC P509 [4] phyogs las rnam par rgyal ba [5] dpal ldan 'brug pa phyogs las rnam rgyal Photo Credit: Kidekhar College of Buddhist Higher Learning Published: May 2021 BIBLIOGRAPHY Slob dpon gnag mdog. 1986. Nga bcu drug ma. In 'Brug dkar-po : 'brug rgyal-khab kyi chos-srid gnas-stangs, pp 94–95. Thurpaling Monastery Bumthang: Lopon Nado. Abstract The first rendition of the seal was written in 1619 by the First Drugpa Zhabdrung, Ngawang Namgyal, after seizing military victory over Puntsok Namgyal, the ruler of Tsang in Tibet. It is purported that Zhabdrung accomplished this triumph through his tantric powers of ritual sorcery. The lines translated here are in a different order in comparison to other editions. Nevertheless, this epic declaration not only helps to establish the emerging country of Bhutan but centralizes Zhabdrung's power in a talismanic nature. SOURCE DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 01:07 TRADITION Drugpa Kagyu INCARNATION LINE Zhabdrung Sungtrul HISTORICAL PERIOD 16th Century 17th Century TEACHERS Tenpe Nyima Lhawang Lodrö TRANSLATOR Tib Shelf INSTITUTION Ralung Monastery STUDENTS The First Drugje Khenpo Pekar Jungn e The Second Drugje Khenpo, Sönam Özer The Third Drugje Khenpo, Pekar Lhundrub The Fourth Drugje Khenpo, Damchö Pekar The Fifth Drugje Khenpo, Söpa Trinl e Ngawang Samten Söpa Pekar AUTHORS Drugpa Zhabdrung, Ngawang Namgyal & Lopön Nadok Sixteen Self-Assertions 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.

Tsongkhapa's celebrated ode to Sarasvatī resonates beyond monastery walls into Tibet's artistic and literary spheres, becoming a cultural touchstone of devotional poetry. In Praise of the Goddess Sarasvatī ཨོཾ་བདེ་ལེགས་སུ་གྱུར་ཅིག ། om delek su gyur chik OM: may there be goodness! ཆུ་འཛིན་དཀར་པོ་གློག་ཕྲེང་དྲ་བ་ཅན། ། chudzin karpo lok treng drawachen Like a white cloud decoratively latticed with lightning མཁའ་ཡི་མཛེས་བྱེད་འདྲ་བའི་ཡིད་འཕྲོག་མ། ། kha yi dzejé drawé yitrok ma Adorning the sky, you are the utterly captivating goddess. དྲི་ཟའི་ན་ཆུང་དབུས་ན་འཇོ་སྒེག་མཁན། ། drizé na chung ü na jogek khen Balanced in the center of youthful gandharvas, [ 1 ] your charm is enchanting. རིང་ནས་བརྩེ་བའི་ལྷ་མོ་ད་ཚུར་བྱོན། ། ring né tsewé lhamo datsur jön Come here now, ever-kind and loving goddess. པདྨའི་བཞིན་ལ་གཡོ་ལྡན་བུང་བའི་མིག ། pemé shin la yoden bungwé mik On your lotus face, the honey bees of your eyes dance about. མཐོན་མཐིང་རལ་པའི་རྩེ་ན་འོད་དཀར་ཅན། ། tönting ralpé tsé na ökar chen The tips of your deep black locks glisten with a brilliant luster. རོལ་སྒེག་གར་གྱིས་འགྱིང་བའི་དབྱངས་ཅན་མ། ། rol gek gar gyi gyingwé yangchenma O Sarasvatī, gracefully poised in a mesmerizing dance, ད་དུང་བདག་ལ་ངག་གི་དབང་ཕྱུག་སྩོལ། ། dadung dak la ngak gi wangchuk tsol Continue to grant me mastery over the power of speech. རོལ་རྩེད་གར་གྱི་ཉམས་ལྡན་རི་དྭགས་མིག ། roltsé gar gyi nyamden ridak mik Playfully frolicking about with beautiful, deer-like eyes. མིག་གིས་ལྟ་བས་མི་ངོམས་ཡིད་འཕྲོག་མ། ། mik gi tawé mi ngom yitrok ma Eyes never tire of gazing upon you, enthralling goddess. མ་ལྟར་བརྩེ་བ་ཁྱོད་ཀྱིས་བདག་གི་ངག ། ma tar tsewa khyö kyi dak gi ngak Goddess as loving as a mother, grant me the blessings of speech, ངག་དབང་ལྷ་མོ་ཉིད་དང་མཚུངས་པར་མཛོད། ། ngawang lhamo nyi dang tsungpar dzö Speech the very likes of yours, O goddess of voice and words. སྟོན་ཟླ་རྒྱས་པའི་དཔལ་ལས་ལྷག་པར་མཛེས། ། tön da gyepé pal lé lhakpar dzé More beautiful than the glory of the full autumn moon, ཚངས་དབྱངས་སྙན་པའི་གདངས་ཀྱང་ཟིལ་གྱིས་གནོན། ། tsang yang nyenpé dang kyang zil gyi nön Outshining even the likes of the melodies of Brahmā, ཟབ་ཡངས་རྒྱ་མཚོའི་འཇིང་ལྟར་དཔག་དཀའ་བ། ། zab yang gyatsö jing tar pak kawa More difficult to fathom than the depths of the vast oceans— དབྱངས་ཅན་ལྷ་མོའི་སྐུ་གསུང་ཐུགས་ལ་འདུད། ། yangchen lhamö ku sung tuk la dü To your body, speech, and mind, Sarasvatī, I bow down! COLOPHON ཅེས་སྒྲ་དབྱངས་ལྷ་མོ་སྤྱན་དྲངས་ནས་བསྟོད་ཅིང་གསོལ་བ་གདབ་པ་ཡུལ་བྱང་ཕྱོགས་ཀྱི་སྙན་དངགས་མཁན་བློ་བཟང་གྲགས་པའི་དཔལ་གྱིས་སྦྱར་བའོ།། Having invited the goddess Sarasvatī in such a way, praise and supplicate her! This was composed by the poet of the northern lands, the glorious Lobsang Drakpa. NOTES [1] Gandharvas are known as celestial musicians. Photo credit: Himalayan Art Resources BIBLIOGRAPHY Blo bzang grags pa'i dpal. 1997. Sgra dbyangs lha mo dbyangs can ma la bstod pa'i tshigs su bcad pa . In Gsung 'bum/_tsong kha pa/?bkras lhun par rnying / d+ha sar bskyar par brgyab pa/?, vol 2, p. 326. Dharamsala: Sherig Parkhang. BDRC W29193 Abstract One of the most famous poems in Tibetan history in which Tsongkhapa calls out and praises the goddess Sarasvatī. This poem is not only chanted in monastic halls but also sung by performing artists and taught in literature classes. BDRC LINK W29193 DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 01:31 TRADITION Geluk INCARNATION LINE N/A HISTORICAL PERIOD 14th Century 15th Century TEACHERS Lama Dampa Sönam Gyaltsen Khenchen Kunga Gyaltsen The First Lelung Jedrung, Drubchen Namkha Gyaltsen The Fourth Karmapa, Rölpe Dorje Chökyi Gyalpo Jonang Khenchen Chogle Namgyal Rinchen Namgyal Zhönu Changchub Özer Döndrub Rinchen Dragkar Khenchen Chökyab Zangpo Nya Ön Kunga Pal Kyungpo Lepa Zhönu Sönam Jamyang Chökyi Palwa Chöpal Zangpo Döndrub Zangpo Umapa Tsöndru Senge Rendawa Zhönu Lodrö Khenchen Chökyab Palzangpo Khenchen Tsultrim Rinchen Changchub Tsemo TRANSLATOR Lowell Cook INSTITUTIONS Ganden Sera Monastery Drepung Monastery Kumbum Jampa Ling Sangpu Neutok Rakadrak Hermitage Reting Monastery Pabongkha Hermitage Sera Chöding Gadong Ölga Chölung Lhasa Tsuglakhang Ölga Samling Monastery STUDENTS Khenchen Tashi Senge The First Kirti, Gendun Gyaltsen Śākya Palzang Samlo Sangye Tashi Samten Lodrö The First Lelung Jedrung, Drubchen Namkha Gyaltsen Rinchen Samdrub Dulzin Dragpa Gyaltsen Jampal Gyatso Sherab Senge Dzepa Palden Zangpo Dönyö Gyaltsen The Fourth Ganden Tripa, Legpa Gyaltsen Norzang Rinchen Palzang Rinchen Gyaltsen Gö Lotsāwa Zhönu Pal Śākya Yeshe Tsakho Nagwang Dragpa Jampal Chözang Zang Kyongwa Changchub Senge Sherab Drak Jampal Tashi Pal Kyong Hortön Namkha Palwa Jamyang Chöje Tashi Palden The First Tagpu Tulku, Palden Döndrub Sangye Rinchen Gyaltsen The First Tatsak, Baso Chökyi Gyaltsen Gungru Gyaltsen Zangpo The Seventh Ganden Tripa, Lodrö Tenpa Gyalwa Kachupa Sönam Lhundrub The First Paṇchen Lama, Khedrubje Gelek Palzang Gyaltsab Darma Rinchen Changsem Chöpak Chöpak Gyaltsen The First Lab Kyabgön, Yönten Pal Lodrö Gyaltsen Zhang Zhung Chöwang Dragpa Sönam Zangpo Sangye Yeshe Sönam Namgyal Sherab Zangpo AUTHOR Tsongkhapa Lobzang Drakpa In Praise of the Goddess Sarasvatī 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.

Butön Rinchen Drup's concise text outlines ascending qualities for sages, bodhisattvas, and Mantrayāna practitioners, mirroring the progression through Buddhism's three vehicles. Essential Advice in Three Sets of Three ན་མོ་བུདྡྷཱཡ། Namo Buddhāya! སྡིག་པ་ཆུང་ཡང་དུག་བཞིན་བསྲུང་། ། དཀའ་ཡང་དགེ་བ་འབད་པས་བསྒྲུབ། ། རྩ་བ་བདག་འཛིན་རྣམ་རྟོག་གཞོམ། ། འདི་གསུམ་ལྡན་ན་མཁས་པ་ལགས། ། To guard against even the smallest misdeed as if it were poison, To endeavour to accomplish virtue even when it’s difficult, To thoroughly destroy concepts at the root of self-clinging, To be endowed with these three is to be a sage. གཞན་གྱི་སྡིག་སྡུག་བདག་གིས་བླང་། ། བདག་གི་དགེ་བདེ་གཞན་ལ་གཏང་། ། སྟོང་ཉིད་སྙིང་རྗེ་རྟག་ཏུ་བསྒོམ། ། འདི་གསུམ་ལྡན་ན་བྱང་སེམས་ལགས། ། To take on oneself the misdeeds and sufferings of others, To give to others one’s own virtue and happiness, To constantly meditate on emptiness and compassion, To be endowed with these three is to be a bodhisattva. ཅིར་སྣང་སྒྱུ་མ་ལྷ་སྐུར་ཤེས། ། དྲན་རིག་བདེ་གསལ་མི་རྟོག་པ། ། བྱིན་རླབས་བླ་མའི་རྣལ་འབྱོར་བསྒོམ། ། འདི་གསུམ་ལྡན་ན་སྔགས་པ་ལགས། ། To know that whatsoever appears is the illusory body of the deity, To be mindfully aware of bliss, clarity, and non-thought, To meditate on guru yoga, the wellspring of blessing, To be endowed with these three is to be a Mantrayāna practitioner. COLOPHON གནད་ཀྱི་གདམས་ངག་གསུམ་ཚན་གསུམ་འདི་ནི་ཆོས་རྗེ་ཐམས་ཅད་མཁྱེན་པ་བུ་སྟོན་རིན་པོ་ཆེས། དྭགས་པོ་རིན་ཆེན་ལ་གནང་བའི་གདམས་པ་ཡིན་ནོ། ། “Essential Advice in Three Sets of Three” was composed by the All-Knowing Dharma Lord, Butön Rinpoche, and delivered to Dakpo Rinpoche. NOTES Photo credit: Himalayan Art Resources Published: June 2021 BIBLIOGRAPHY Rin chen grub. 2008. Dwags po rin chen la gnang ba'i gdams pa . In Gsung 'bum/ rin chen grub (bris ma). 28 vols. Beijing: Krung go'i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang, vol. 26, pp. 429–430. BDRC W1PD45496 Abstract As potent as it is pithy, this short text outlines three sets of qualities required respectively by sages, bodhisattvas, and practitioners of the Mantrayāna. There is obvious overlap in the advice contained at each level, particularly ascending from the initial to the final qualities, which mirrors the central training of the three Buddhist vehicles essential to the Tibetan tradition. The work was composed by the fourteenth-century Sakya master Butön Rinchen Drup, one of Tibet’s most prodigious scholars and the abbot of Shalu Monastery. BDRC LINK W1PD45496 DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 01:05 TRADITION Sakya INCARNATION LINE None HISTORICAL PERIOD 13th Century 14th Century TEACHERS Shongtön Dorjé Gyaltsen Sönam Drakpa Drakpa Shönnu Nyima Gyaltsen Yönten Gyatso Palden Senggé Sönam Senggé Rinchen Senggé Sanggyé Yeshé Tsültrim Palsang Sönam Gön Drakpa Gyaltsen Chö Palsangpo TRANSLATOR Patrick Dowd INSTITUTIONS Shalu Nartang Tsal Gungtang Nyang Tarpaling Sakya Monastery Ripuk Hermitage STUDENTS Drakpa Sherab Lama Dampa Sönam Gyaltsen Choklé Namgyal Rinchen Namgyal Palden Tsültrim Rinchen Sangpo Gyalwa Rinchen Jangchub Tsémo Püntsok Palsang Déchen Chöpal Drakpa Gyaltsen Gyatso Rinchen Shönnu Sönam Chökyi Palwa Jamyang Rinchen Chö Palsangpo Chökyi Gyaltsen Sönam Paldrub Sherbum Dönyö Palsang Yeshé Döndrub Rinchen Sanggyé Gön Gyalwa Chokdrub Tsültrim Nyingpo Rinchen Namkha Chokdrub Rinchen Tséwang Jamyang Karpo Kyabchok Pal Sönam Drub Döndrub Pal Degyal Rinchen Kyab Yakdé Paṇchen Tsöndrü Dargyé Gönpo Pal Drubpa Palsangpo Yungtön Dorje Pal Lodrö Gyaltsen AUTHOR Butön Rinchen Drub Essential Advice in Three Sets of Three VIEW ALL PUBLICATIONS NEXT PUBLICATION > < PREVIOUS PUBLICATION Home Publications Read Listen Watch People Information About Meet the Team Services Translators Terms of Use Privacy Policy Donate Subscribe to our newsletter Support Tib Shelf's ongoing work & Subscribe Today! Name * Email* Submit Tib Shelf is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to translating, presenting and preserving primary source Tibetan texts across a vast array of genres and time periods. We make these literary treasures accessible to readers worldwide, offering a unique window into Tibet's rich history, culture and traditions. Tib Shelf has been accredited by the British Library with the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2754–1495 CONTACT US | SHELVES@TIBSHELF.ORG © 2024 Tib Shelf. All rights reserved.

Khenpo Ngawa Palzang's stream of consciousness flows through self-reflection and moral inquiry, inviting readers to examine their own condition in this meditation on accountability. Talking to Myself Emaho! These days, here in the bowels of the degenerate age, The rulership of karma drags me where I don’t want to go. This weighs on my mind, but still, I spurn the Dharma. No matter what I go on about, it doesn’t mean much. In my heart, I’d like to be a part of the Dharma, But a fathomless sea of bad karma swells all around me. With all this triviality, I’ve made a fool of myself and others. Strangled by the straps of the eight delusions, [ 1 ] Here where the five poisons rage, I have betrayed everyone, high and low. I know that partaking in the Dharma heals, And I want to wrap myself in the fine cloths of study and practice. But these thoughts, like foul vomit gurgling within me, Haunt me with the unthinkability of my path pleasing the buddhas. In these times, study and practice have all the appeal of a corpse. I have remained in solitude, but nothing meaningful came of it. Pretending to be an altruistic practitioner, My mind buzzes with schemes embroiling me and others. To me the teachings of sūtra and tantra are mere commodities I blithely traffic to get ahead in this world. What will become of me in future lives? My entourage of students serves me again and again, [ 2 ] And I fritter away my life, worthlessly, Days and nights passing on a wheel of distractions. The life stories of my fathers, the Kagyu saints, Speak straight to my heart, But I only pretend to relate to their hardships. I pose and I lie, talented in my treachery. Straggling behind the forefathers, I’m an orphan lost among the images of my mind. Sad at the decay of my body’s four elements, And cut off from the Dharma’s stream, my heart feels dark. I’m oppressed by the burden of my self-absorption, And I long to rest in selflessness. But unseeing clouds my mind, so I don’t make sense of the path. I stumble around in my distortions. After thoughts, I scramble helplessly, And I’m full of hopes and fears about keeping up appearances. Being in charge of a bastion of the teachings is a demonic fate. These activities, like rapids, I try to manage. All these undertakings, and I’m still a bastard to the basic truths. All this fellowship, and I just wallow in quarrels. My sojourns in solitude have been ruts of distraction. Ungrounded, I sway in the winds of the wealthy. [ 3 ] How I really am remains a mystery to me. My appearance is finely wrought, but I’m fooling myself. The hypocrisy inside me will fuel my future miseries. These toxic deeds I’ve heaped up under the cover of Dharma. [ 4 ] I aspire for noble qualities, then I deceive. Though I’m getting older, I don’t think about death. Lacking all sense of direction, empty-handed, I creak along. Who will save me from terror on the Lord of Death’s road? The drive to shelter from fear is rooted in my mind. [ 5 ] I’m drunk on the poison draft of bettering my lot, [ 6 ] And if I don’t serve nectar that helps others, The Dharma I take part in will just be filler for this life. Now, no matter what I think about, My mind finds nothing to trust. So let me turn my mind inward and stop looking around! Let me integrate the practices that have come down through the lineage! I’ve collected things of value, but I can’t take them with me. I’ve indulged in gathering up my desires, And I got them, sure, but all I came away with was toxic burdens. I scramble like some Sisyphean slave, [ 7 ] And my hard man image is wrapped up in the eight delusions. What hope can I hold for anything down the line? Betrayed by my benighted mind, I’m dull and thick. I stuff myself with meaningless likes and dislikes, And while I understand that enemies are endless, still I strive to quell them. I know I can’t rely on friends, yet I bind myself in attachment to them. I’ve managed to get everything wrong about what is vast and profound, [ 8 ] And though I’m good at masquerading as a teacher, I’m steeped in laziness. Surrounded by the appearances of this life, reflect on the implications of your thoughts. [ 9 ] See if there is any benefit in my babble. Take good stock of the way I am. If you think I’m on to something, then practice. If you think, “I am not afraid of the great enemy of the lower realms,” Then feel free to take it easy. May some good come from “talking to myself.” [ 10 ] COLOPHON None NOTES ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Joseph McClellan produced a draft of the translation and appendix during the summer of 2022 in Mae Sot, Thailand. Lowell Cook then checked the translation against the Tibetan and made many corrections and improvements. Ryan Jacobson reviewed a second draft and Tom Greensmith offered final copyedits. Thanks to Khentrul Lodro Thaye Rinpoche for some helpful comments. APPENDIX On the Methodology of the Translation In the translation of this poem, we used a methodology much less common in translated Tibetan literature. Most of this literature is doctrinally rich, and often it conveys subtle contemplative instructions that a translator must take great care to pass along to the reader with precision. Other translated Tibetan literature, such as the tremendous work of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, strives to preserve the style, register, and even syntax of the original text as much as possible, even if it sometimes goes against the grain of English literary conventions. The consensus is that more literal translations—metaphrase in translation parlance—are better for preserving the texts as historical documents. At least as important as that, Tibetan translators usually approach their work with an attitude of devotion—they try to tread as lightly as possible on the fabric of sacred words laid before them. Writers of Khenpo Ngaga’s stature, and Khenpo Ngaga himself, usually write from a position of explicit or implicit authority—an authority that comes from the partial or complete accomplishment of the Buddhist path. Khenpo’s autobiography, Wondrous Dance of Illusion, recounts a nearly endless stream of spiritual insights going back to his early childhood, and many of his writings are in the voice of a master in total control of his life and mind and who is writing for the reader’s benefit—to teach us something about view, meditation, or action. Therefore, most of his work should be translated according to the principles of metaphrase. While translating this poem, however, metaphrase did not seem adequate, or even appropriate. This is not the place to speculate on Khenpo Ngaga’s motives in writing this poem, but based on his life story, if he ever felt the way he describes here, it may surprise many of us. Whatever the case, the poem is striking for its tone of self-excoriation, regret, and melancholy—the kind of depression that torments a person who has the embers of a seeker in their heart but nevertheless has wasted their life and spiritual opportunities. The poem is almost devoid of technical terminology, and it does not present precise contemplative instructions. Rather, Khenpo Ngaga here uses affect as a hammer. The poem’s sole purpose seems to be to exacerbate the reader’s existential darkness—to strike on the hopelessness of being happy doing what one has always done. Considering these elements of the poem’s content and style, we offer a paraphrastic translation—that is, we do not contort the translation to fit the syntax and grammatical details of the original. The poem, as strange as it may sound, is far closer to Hank William’s I’m so Lonesome I Could Cry than to Khenpo’s own prayers and instructions. Even if the poem is a performance of a bodhisattva mimicking the thoughts of the saṃsārically afflicted, Khenpo Ngaga has succeeded in writing something many of us find painfully familiar. His “Talking to Myself” sounds just like our own pain and frustration. To give a few examples of the paraphrastic approach of the translation: Line three begins with the clause don gong ltar bsam kyang chos ma mthun (lit. meaning + above + like + think + but + Dharma + not + agree). A simple and accurate literal translation would be, “I think about the aforementioned meaning, however, I do not conform to the Dharma.” But no one would find that English line elegant or interesting, and the warmth of an English poem must not be cooled because of a half-line of stock phrasing. Tibetan verse, on the other hand, with its austere meter and elided particles, tolerates and even thrives when a chain of simple syllables forces the reader to fill in the gaps with their imagination. The point of the line is to highlight what he just said about feeling the negative consequences of his previous actions and the absurdity of refusing to engage in the one thing that would make the situation better—Dharma practice. For this reason, in lieu of a literal translation, we opted for the more evocative, “This weighs on my mind, but still, I spurn the Dharma.” The Tibetan of another line on the first page says dus deng song gi bshad sgrub ro ltar mthong (“these days + of + study + practice + corpse + like + to see”). A literal but unsatisfying rendering of this might say, “The study and practice of these days look like a corpse.” That will not do aesthetically, so we must ask what it means to look like a corpse. Of course, this means it looks like something you want nothing to do with, something you would rather leave by the road and forget about. Thus, we ended up with “In these times, study and practice have all the appeal of a corpse.” Tibetan has every resource to articulate that exact English thought, but to our ear, the correspondence here is adequate, and no meaningful violence has been done to the original. Again, on the first page, there is a couplet in which nauseating thoughts or concepts rise up (we say “gurgling,” but in fact there is only implied verbal action)—these thoughts (rtog pa) are in the instrumental case, so they are the agent or the reason for the verb, which comes at the end of a Tibetan sentence. The verb here is “to think” or “wonder” (snyam pa), so the basic logic of the sentence is “because of these thoughts … I think.” But again, this will not do aesthetically, and there is nothing technical in the couplet that would demand a high degree of literal precision. If we focus on the affective meaning, we may consider how we speak about specific thought patterns that crystallize around dark and negative thoughts. We might say something like, “I am haunted by the memories of my child’s death.” While that is not a common idiom in classical Tibetan, it conveys the feeling much better than the metaphrastic “thoughts … make me think.” A bit later, another line solicits a loose rendering. The Tibetan says, “toxic deeds + big + those + Dharma + in + accumulated + is.” The sticking point is interpreting the preposition in relation to “Dharma.” The general meaning is “accumulated/gathered/heaped up in the Dharma,” but that English is ambiguous. We take “in” as “in the context of the Dharma,” but we still must unpack intent. If one heaps up toxic deeds in the context of the Dharma, the main problem is the hypocrisy of acting destructively under the false banner/aegis/cover of the Dharma. Therefore, we end up with a loose translation we think captures the meaning better than any literal option: “These toxic deeds I’ve heaped up under the cover of Dharma.” A final, simple example regards the handling of probably the most common Tibetan adjective, chen po. It can cover every synonym of the fundamental English adjectives “big” and “great.” In one line of this poem, the common term mtsho chen appears, which means, unambiguously, “big lake/ocean.” The main verb in the line is rdol ba, which has the water-related meaning of “flood” or “burst,” which nudges us to choose a water-related adjective for “big.” We, therefore, opt for “fathomless,” even though there are Tibetan words that match that adjective’s etymology. Since the vocabulary being used is not doctrinal or technical, we see no reason to limit our diction to the less poetic options. [1] “Eight delusions” here stands for the “eight worldly concerns,” the false paths of basing one’s happiness on gain and loss, feeling good and not good, praise and censure, and recognition and insignificance. [2] We have speculatively amended kyi to kyis in this line. This is the most common Tibetan orthographical error, and the instrumental case kyis reads more smoothly. [3] Most likely referring to the tendency to gravitate towards one’s wealthy benefactors who make one’s life comfortable. [4] A loose rendering of the line. Please see the appendix for an explanation of the translation choices. [5] We have amended the spelling in this line from chag to chags. Additionally, “the motivation to the sheltered from fear” (’jigs skyobs kyi kun slong) is one of two main flawed motivations for pursuing the spiritual path. In Khenpo Ngaga’s own A Guide to the Words of My Perfect Teacher, he glosses this motivation in the following way: “If you practice the Dharma in order to be protected from the fear of being prey in this life to disease, negative spirits, being punished by the law, famine, and so forth, whether you follow the most basic practices of the Shravakas’ Vehicle or the most advanced practices of the Radiant Great Perfection, you may well be protected from these fears, but apart from this there will be no beneficial result whatsoever. You should therefore avoid this sort of attitude” (Ngawang Pelzang, A Guide to the Words of My Perfect Teacher, 18). [6] “The attitude of wishing to better one’s lot” (legs smon gyi kun slong) is the second main wrong motivation for spiritual practice. Khenpo Ngaga glosses it the following way: “you may think, ‘I will request a teaching and receive the empowerments and the transmissions, and then, if I practice the sadhana in retreat, I’ll gain something; people will praise me and I’ll become famous.’ With these three—gain, praise, and a good reputation—you can obtain food, clothes, and other sources of happiness for this life. Gain, praise, fame, and pleasure, and their four opposites, which are the things we do not wish for, together constitute the eight ordinary concerns… nothing on earth could be more shameful than using the Dharma to fulfill your worldly desires. Someone who does so, exchanging the priceless teachings of the sacred Dharma for worldly valuables and goods like food and clothes, is worse than an ordinary old man who gets rich hunting with a rifle. The peerless Dagpo said: ‘Unless you practice the Dharma according to the Dharma, Dharma itself becomes the cause of evil rebirths.’… It is said in the Sakya teaching Parting from the Four Attachments, ‘Those who are attached to this life are not practitioners of the Dharma.’ Such people are traders in the soul of the doctrine, people who demean the Three Jewels, mere collectors of monastic robes. You should avoid them like poison. “When you have this sort of motivation, hoping to better your lot, you might appear to be practicing the Dharma, whether the most basic Shravakas’ Vehicle or the most advanced Great Perfection; you might lock yourself up in your hermitage for many years; you might look as if you are diligently practicing sadhana in retreat; but, according to Apu, even if you acquire some wealth, praise, or a good reputation the only thing you will accomplish is being able to say, ‘It is because of my practice that I am rich, much-praised, and famous.’ You will not even sow the seed for liberation in the next life. Like the swindler who spread a deerskin over some donkey meat to sell it as venison, you will have covered the donkey meat of your own evil being with the deerskin of the sacred Dharma; you will have discredited the Dharma. Just as one says of an ordinary person who squanders his inheritance, ‘He’s a hopeless businessman,’ people will say of you, ‘There is someone who has failed and discredited the Dharma’ ” (Ngawang Pelzang, A Guide to the Words of My Perfect Teacher, 18–19). [7] Here, “Sisyphean” is rendering don med, a general term meaning “pointless/useless/meaningless.” Sisyphean relates to the Greek myth of Sisyphus, who was condemned by the gods to roll a boulder up a mountain repeatedly. Once he pushed the boulder to the top, it would roll back over him to the bottom, and he would have to repeat the process, eternally. Albert Camus wrote a popular essay about the myth, which he saw as an apt metaphor for the absurdity of human existence, where much of what we do is difficult, repetitive, and seemingly pointless. While we generally avoid specific Western references in Tibetan translations, here we use “Sisyphean” because of its common usage, and because it captures the contextual meaning quite well. [8] This is a reference to the “two commentarial traditions” according to which Mahāyāna treatises are organized. “Profound” here refers to the path of the profound view of emptiness inspired by the bodhisattvas Mañjuśrī and transmitted to and expounded by Nāgārjuna and the Madhyamaka philosophers. “Vast” here refers to the path of vast conduct taught by Maitreya to Asaṅga and carried on through the activities of Vasubandhu, Dignāga, and other important Cittamātra philosophers and logicians. Khenpo Ngaga is saying that he studied these intellectual traditions and misunderstood them. [9] Tentative. The Tibetan reads, “these appearances + because of these + thoughts’ + high + way + think about!” A clunkier literal translation might read, “Because of the appearances of this life, you should think about the gravity/importance/prominence of your thoughts.” Our slightly looser rendering follows the principles discussed in the appendix. [10] This line may be considered the poem’s colophon. Literally, it says, “Thus/there you have ‘Talking to Myself.’ Virtue!” However, the line keeps the meter of all the other lines, and in the Tibetan text, it is not written in smaller font, as colophons often are. Therefore, we rendered it as the final poetic line, which doubles as a colophon. BIBLIOGRAPHY Abstract Surging, subtle, and well short of a rigmarole, Khenpo Ngawang Palzang takes us down a river of reverie. In this current the ripples of his thought invoke images of self-depreciation, accountability, and conscientiousness, to name a few. In the end, the imperative is put forth to investigate the moral and to take your findings into your own condition. So, hop in this craft and take the journey down this eddyless waterway. BDRC LINK MW22946 _94C0EC DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 05:04 TRADITION Nyingma INCARNATION LINE N/A 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 Talking to Myself 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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Teacher Jetsunma Tamdrin Wangmo Kelzang Chokyi Nyima 1836-1896 BDRC P910 TREASURY OF LIVES PHOTO CREDIT Jetsunma Tamdrin Wangmo Kelzang Chokyi Nyima (1836-1896) was a highly accomplished female master of the Sakya tradition, born into the noble Khön family. She received extensive tantric training from renowned masters and was instrumental in preserving rare lineage transmissions, including Lamdre Lobshe and the teachings of the three "red deities." Upon returning to Sakya, she became a prolific teacher who transmitted empowerments and teachings to countless disciples, notably giving the complete Lamdre Lobshe twice and Vajramāla three times. Remembered as an emanation of Vajra Nairātmyā and Vajravārahī, she was accorded honours equal to male lineage holders and left a lasting legacy through her dedication to preserving Sakya teachings. 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

Key sections of the Tibetan Charter detailing the exile government's organizational structure - translated for historical documentation of this significant constitutional document. The Charter of the Tibetans In Exile For over one thousand years the three regions of Tibet were ruled by forty-three successive Tibetan familial kings. Beginning with the first king Nyatri Tsenpo in the second century [BCE] and [finishing with] U Dum Tsenpo in the ninth century [CE]. [During this time], the kingdom of Tibet’s military power and rule became one of Central Asia's most powerful. For this reason, it is included within the three countries of comparable strength: China, Tibet, and Mongolia. Tibet developed its own independent language and grammar from that time and was considered the second Noble Country (India) in all respects to dharma, sciences, and social civilization. In the ninth century Tibet collapsed into a fragmented state and lost its capacity to remain united. It lacked a well-organized political administrative power, and there were only ruling regional chieftains. Drogon Chogyel Pakpa (1235–1280) established a priest-patron relationship with the Great Hor in the 1260s, once again reviving a political power that pervaded Tibet's three regions in their entirety. However, shortly after this period, not only were they unable to protect the borderlands, but Tibet’s reigning party frequently changed over the next three hundred and eighty years with Pakdru, Rinpung, and Tsangpa ruling respectively. For these reasons, [a set of] laws and administrative power could not reach all of Tibet. Due to numerous domestic dissensions, Tibet’s prevailing political power dramatically diminished. From the moment His Holiness, the Great Fifth [Dalai Lama] (1617–1682), founded the Gaden Podrang Government in 1642, the tradition [which acknowledges] the successive incarnations of the Powerful Victor, [the Dalai Lama], as the leaders of the spiritual and political affairs of Tibet was inaugurated. The Tibetan political administration was correspondingly stabilized, Buddhist teachings flourished in a non-sectarian manner, and Tibetan people happily enjoyed a life of freedom. The tradition in which the incarnations of the Powerful Victor, [the Dalai Lama], gradually acquired political-administrative activities upon reaching a suitable age was established. At the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, a general secular approach and international foreign relations had not adequately developed. Additionally, not long after the Great Thirteenth [Dalai Lama] had accepted his authority over the political administration, powerful adverse conditions forced him to flee to Mongolia, China, and India. In conjunction with resettling himself in the country [of Tibet], he re-enforced Tibet’s position of power and made a [significant] declaration. In harmony with the observations of the international environment during his recent [forced] journey, he brought about outstanding achievements by exerting himself to create ways that bring comfort to Tibetan people and approaches for firmly establishing a political administration, modern education, and other institutional reforms. The main point is that for nearly four hundred years, Tibet’s political administration, [the Gaden Podrang], has been able to stably govern. In 1949 the Chinese Red Army began their violent invasion of Tibet. In 1950 when the situation in Tibet became critical, His Holiness, the Great and Supreme Fourteenth [Dalai Lama] (1935–) had to [prematurely] accept the responsibilities of the political administration even though he was only sixteen years old. Under the force of the People’s Republic of China, in 1951, Tibet had to sign the so-called Seventeenth Point Agreement. While the government of Tibet tried to abide [by the settlement] for eight years, the Chinese governmental authorities disregarded the articles of the agreement and violently suppressed the Tibetan people. As such, His Holiness, the Great and Supreme Refuge-Protector [the Dalai Lama], and the Cabinet Ministers had to relocate the Tibetan Administration to the Yulgyel Lhuntse District. There they maintained their declaration that the [Chinese government] had pressured them to sign the Seventeen Point Agreement. Immediately upon arriving in exile on 18th April 1959 in the city of Tezpur, India, [His Holiness and the Cabinet Ministers] held a press conference during which they reasserted the declaration that repudiated the Seventeen Point Agreement. All Tibetans in Tibet and diaspora continue to believe and recognize that the legitimate Tibetan Administration is wherever His Holiness [the Dalai Lama], the Great and Supreme Refuge-Proctor, and his Cabinet Ministers reside. Upon the formation of the Tibetan Administration in Exile in India, which was under the leadership of the His Holiness [the Dalai Lama], the Great and Supreme Refuge-Protector granted a legitimate democratic system, which had been his long-held wish. Subsequently, the democratically elected body of the Tibetan Parliament was established in 1960. In 1961 they prepared the constitution's fundamental principles for the future Tibetan [nation] and announced the constitution in 1963. In 1991 His Holiness [the Dalai Lama], the Great Refuge-Protector, converted the Tibetan Parliament into a proper legislative assembly. Accordingly, the eleventh Parliament established the Charter of the Tibetans in Exile, which His Holiness the great [Dalai Lama] approved on 29th June 1991. This transformed the Tibetan Administration in Exile to accord with a modern democratic system possessing a written constitution. In 2001 following the wishes of His Holiness [the Dalai Lama], the Great and Supreme Refuge-Protector, the people directly elected a Prime Minister. This was significant progress in the development of democracy. In the Charter of the Tibetans in Exile there are conditions which establish the successive incarnation of His Holiness [the Dalai Lama], the Refuge Protector, as the director of the government and the leader of the nation. However, His Holiness saw multiple long and short-term objections, necessities, and reasons for the Tibetan people not to rely on a sole person [as the head of the government]. To ultimately develop a democracy from that time onward, on 14th March 2011, His Holiness [the Dalai Lama], the Great and Supreme Refuge-Protector, did not accept the responsibilities of the political and governing administrations. Furthermore, he irrevocably and firmly declared to the [parliamentary] assembly that the leader of the political and governing administrations should be a democratically elected representative. To accomplish this [goal], the framework of the Charter would need to be amended. An appeal was put forward for him to reconsider [his declaration], but he did not accede and returned the request. Moreover, based on the eleventh chapter of the currently existing Charter, His Holiness [the Dalai Lama], the Great Refuge-Protector, gave his permission to amend the Charter and pass his responsibilities over secular affairs to the elected leaders. These leaders’ capacity to serve and be the representatives of all Tibetan people in Tibet and abroad was confirmed on 29th May 2011. Chapter 1 Fundamental Principles Article 1 - Refuge-Protector— The Symbol of Tibet and the Tibetan People The destined deity of Tibet is Avalokiteśvara who is His Holiness the Fourteenth [Dalai Lama], the Victor of the three realms and the Great and Supreme Refuge-Protector. He is the commander of the universe’s peace and the master of all the teachings of the victorious [buddhas] upon the Earth. He is the Refuge-Protector of all Tibetans, the unsurpassable leader, and a guide for moral behaviour. He is the identity of the Tibetan people, the symbol of their unity, and the sovereign spokesperson of all Tibetans. Those conditional factors have been established through the historical events over the centuries and by the culture and aspirations of sovereign Tibetans. Therefore, he intrinsically possesses the responsibilities and the authority enumerated below. 1. He shall give counsel, advice, and encouragement on any matters of the Tibetan people and the procedures of Central Tibetan Administration including the development of the Tibetan peoples’ welfare, thoughts and conduct, the preservation and promotion of Buddhism, culture, and sciences, and the methods that accomplish the main goal of Tibet. 2. Whenever His Holiness [the Dalai Lama], the Great Refuge-Protector, sees the necessity, or upon the request from the leaders, he shall state his judgment concerning the prominent matters of the Tibetan people, society, Buddhism, and politics to the parliament and cabinet as grounds for investigation. 3. For the Central Tibetan Administration and the Tibetan people, he shall meet and discuss with international leaders and various important people. His Holiness shall bestow the title of the representative of His Holiness [the Dalai Lama], the Great and Supreme Refuge-Protector, to the official representatives and specified representatives who have been appointed by the cabinet. (continued) Chapter 4 (continued) Article 28 - His Holiness and the Summoning of the Cabinet Meetings Withdrawn (Continued) Article 31 - Council of Regents Withdrawn Article 32 - Chairman of the Council of Regents Withdrawn Article 33 - Duties and Powers of the Council of Regents Withdrawn Article 34 - Dissolution of the Council of Regents and Removal of Regents Withdrawn Article 35 - Term of Office and Salary of the Council of Regents Withdrawn (continued) Chapter 5 (continued) Article 43 - His Holiness [the Dalai Lama]’s Annual Address and Communications to the Tibetan Parliamentary Assembly Withdrawn Article 44 - Rights of the President and the Admission of Cabinet Ministers in the Sessions of the Tibetan Assembly The President and Cabinet Ministers have the right to take part in the sessions of the parliamentary assembly and the sessions of the standing committees. They have the right to deliver speeches, engage in debate, and propose the agenda. However, they do not possess the right to vote [in the assembly]. (continued) Chapter 6 (continued) Article 68 - Obtaining the Judgement from the Supreme Justice Commission Withdrawn (continued) Article 70 - Office of the Judicial Administration Withdrawn Chapter 8 Electoral Procedures Article 96 - Tibetan Central Election Commission There shall be an independent Tibetan Central Election Commission for the discharge of duties pertaining to the election of the members of the Tibetan Assembly, the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker of the Tibetan Assembly, and the Auditor General as well as any other election responsibilities regarding referendums on major issues involving the interest of Tibetan citizens. Article 97 - Chief Election Commissioner of the Tibetan Central Election Commission, Their Responsibilities and Power 1.a. Whenever the Tibetan Central Election Commission requires a Chief Commissioner due to its vacancy, the Supreme Justice, the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and the President are to set up a special committee comprised of three people specifically assigned to select candidates. The proposed candidates should be at least double [the vacancy] and voted upon in parliament. Whosesoever wins the majority shall be recognized as the selected Chief Commissioner of the Tibetan Central Election Commission. Otherwise from time-to-time, the cabinet can appoint the necessary members after consulting with the Chief Commissioner of the Tibetan Central Election Commission. 1.b. Whenever there is the need to appoint a Chief Commissioner for the Tibetan Central Election Commission when the parliament is not in session, with more than two-thirds majority, the standing parliament can appoint a Chief Commissioner from amongst the candidates proposed by the aforementioned selection committee. 2.a. Whenever there is the need for an election of the President and the Members of Parliament, two additional Election Commissioners are required in the Tibetan Central Election Commission beginning from the official announcement for commencing the election up until the time of declaring the final results. The Supreme Justice, the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and the President are to set up a special committee comprised of three people specifically assigned to select candidates. The proposed candidates should be at least double [the vacancy] and voted upon in parliament. Whosesoever wins the majority shall be recognized as the selected additional Election Commissioner of the Tibetan Central Election Commission. Conversely, it is sufficient for the parliamentary assembly to decide [and appoint an additional Election Commissioner] with a majority [vote] as long as the committee mutually supports the chairman of the Public Service Commission and the Tibetan Audit Commission. 2.b. Whenever there is the need to appoint an additional Election Commissioner of the Tibetan Central Election Commission when the parliament is not in session, with more than two-thirds majority, the parliamentary standing committee can appoint an additional Election Commissioner from amongst the candidates proposed by the aforementioned selection committee. 2.c. Before entering into their responsibilities, the Chief Election Commissioner and the two additional Election Commissioners of the Tibetan Central Election Commission must take an oath before the Supreme Justice Commissioner per the main points settled in the law. 3. From the appointment of the additional Election Commissioners of the Tibetan Central Election Commission until the declaration of the final electoral results, all the electoral procedures shall be decided by the Chief Election Commissioner of the Tibetan Central Election Commission and the two additional Electoral Commissioners either through a unanimous or majority decision. The Chief Electoral Commissioner shall be in charge of the committee of the electoral commission. 4. The duties and powers of the Election Commission and framework of their procedures and functions shall be implemented as determined by the parliamentary assembly. 5. Per articles of this charter, the Tibetan Central Election Commission shall formulate the regulations of the general election, which shall be implemented as determined by the parliamentary assembly. 6. The Tibetan Central Election Commission shall investigate and resolve all irregularities or discrepancies involving election procedure. If the decision made by the commission is disapproved, the matter may not be brought before any other Justice Commission except the Supreme Justice Commission. 7. Any irregularities or discrepancies involving election procedure in separate Tibetan settlements may be investigated and resolved by the Local Election Commission. If the decision made by the Local Election Commission is disapproved, the matter may be brought before the Tibetan Central Election Commission. If the matter remains unresolved, the matter may be referred to the Supreme Justice Commission. Article 98 - Salary of the Chief Commissioner of the Tibetan Central Election Commission (continued) 3. If only one person is acting as the Chief Election Commissioner and the additional Election Commissioner, then there is no need to determine a separate salary, allowances, pension, and other privileges. If another person is appointed in addition, the salary, allowances, and other privileges are comparable to the Chief Commissioner’s other than the pension. Article 99 - Term of the Chief Commissioner of the Tibetan Central Election Commission 1. The term of the Chief Commissioner shall be [set to] five years unless a resolution calling for the removal of the Chief Commissioner of the Tibetan Central Election Commission is approved by more than two-thirds majority of the parliamentary assembly, or the term of the Chief Commissioner shall be [annulled] upon reaching the age of sixty-five, whichever the case may be. (continued) Chapter 9 (continued) Article 101 - Composition of the Public Service Commission 1. The Public Service Commission must function with a Chairperson and two to four Committee Members. Whenever there is a vacancy, the Supreme Justice, the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and the President set-up a special committee comprised of three people specifically assigned to select candidates. The proposed candidates should be at least double [the vacancy] and voted upon in parliament. Whosoever wins the majority shall be recognized as the selected Chairperson or a Committee Person of the Public Service Commission. 2. Whenever there is the need to appoint a Chairperson or Committee Member for the Public Service Commission when the parliament is not in session, with more than two-thirds majority, the standing parliament can appoint a new Chairperson or Committee Member from amongst the candidates proposed by the aforementioned selection committee. 3. Before entering into their responsibilities, the Chairperson or Committee Member of the Public Service Commission must take an oath before the Supreme Justice Commissioner per the main points settled in the law. (continued) Article 103 - Rules of the Procedures and Functions of the Public Service Commission The formulated framework of procedures of the Public Service Commission shall be implemented as determined by the parliamentary assembly. (continued) Chapter 10 (continued) Article 107 - Composition of the Tibetan Audit Commission 1.a. Whenever the Tibetan Audit Commission requires an Auditor General due to its vacancy, the Supreme Justice, the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and the President are to set up a special committee comprised of three people specifically assigned to select candidates. The proposed candidates should be at least double [the vacancy] and voted upon in parliament. Whosoever wins the majority shall be recognized as selected Auditor General of the Tibetan Audit Commission. 1.b. Whenever there is the need to appoint an Auditor General of the Tibetan Audit Commission when the parliament is not in session, with more than two-thirds majority, the standing parliament can appoint an Auditor General from amongst the candidates proposed by the aforementioned selection committee. 2. Before entering into their responsibilities, the Auditor General of the Tibetan Audit Commission must take an oath before the Supreme Justice Commissioner per the main points settled in the law. (continued) Chapter 11 (continued) Article 112 - Referendum Withdrawn Article 113 - Transitional Provisions Withdrawn Article 114 - Infrastructural Reorganisation Withdrawn (continued) Appendix No 1. A - Oaths for the Duties of the President and the Cabinet Ministers President: Since I, ( name ), have been elected as the President of the Tibetan Administration, with faith and trust in the Charter of the Tibetans in Exile, I will fulfil all duties and obligations of the President in accordance with the fundamental principles of the charter. I will serve to the best of my ability with sincerity and pure intentions devoid of self-centred partiality, apprehension, and favouritism. Cabinet Minister: Since I, ( name ), have been elected as a Cabinet Ministers of the Tibetan Administration, with faith and trust in the Charter of the Tibetans in Exile, I will fulfil all duties and obligations of a Cabinet Ministers in accordance with the fundamental principles of the charter. I will serve to the best of my ability with sincerity and pure intentions devoid of self-centred partiality, apprehension, and favouritism. I make this firm oath with the Three Jewels as my witness. Or I solemnly swear. Appendix No 1. B - Oaths of Confidentiality President: I, ( name ), will never directly or indirectly disclose to anyone the confidential matters related to the duties of the President unless the government has decided to make an announcement for the interest of Tibet and the Tibetan people. Cabinet Minister: I, ( name ), will never directly or indirectly disclose to anyone the confidential matters related to the duties of the Cabinet Ministers unless the government has decided to announce them for the interest of Tibet and the Tibetan people. I make this firm oath with the Three Jewels as my witness. Or I solemnly swear. Appendix No 2 - Oaths for the Duties of the Members of Parliament Since I, ( name ), have been elected as a member of the (XX) Tibetan Parliament, with faith and trust in the Charter of the Tibetans in Exile, I will fulfil all duties and obligations of the members of the parliament in accordance with the fundamental principles of the charter. I will serve to the best of my ability with sincerity and pure intentions devoid of self-centred partiality, apprehension, and favouritism. I make this firm oath with the Three Jewels as my witness. Or I solemnly swear. Appendix No 3 - Oaths for the Duties of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker Speaker: Since I, ( name ), have been elected as the Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament, with faith and trust in the Charter of the Tibetans in Exile, I will fulfil all duties and obligations of the Speaker in accordance with the fundamental principles of the charter. I will serve to the best of my ability with sincerity and pure intentions devoid of self-centred partiality, apprehension, and favouritism. Deputy Speaker: Since I, ( name ), have been elected as the Deputy Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament, with faith and trust in the Charter of the Tibetans in Exile, I will fulfil all duties and obligations of the Deputy Speaker in accordance with the fundamental principles of the charter. I will serve to the best of my ability with sincerity and pure intentions devoid of self-centred partiality, apprehension, and favouritism. I make this firm oath with the Three Jewels as my witness. Or I solemnly swear. Appendix No 4 - Oaths for the Duties of the Supreme Justice Commissioner and the Members of the Justice Commission Supreme Justice Commissioner: Since I, ( name ), have been elected as the Supreme Justice Commissioner of the Central Tibetan Administration, with faith and trust in the Charter of the Tibetans in Exile, I will fulfil all duties and obligations of Supreme Justice Commissioner in accordance with the fundamental principles of the charter. I will serve to the best of my ability and wise discernment with sincerity and pure intentions devoid of self-centred partiality, apprehension, and favouritism. Members of the Justice Commission: Since I, ( name ), have been elected as a member of the Justice Commission of the Central Tibetan Administration, with faith and trust in the Charter of the Tibetans in Exile, I will fulfil all duties and obligations of a member of the Justice Commission in accordance with the fundamental principles of the charter. I will serve to the best of my ability and wise discernment with sincerity and pure intentions devoid of self-centred partiality, apprehension, and favouritism. I make this firm oath with the Three Jewels as my witness. Or I solemnly swear. Appendix No 5 - Oaths for the Duties of the Chief Election Commissioner and the Additional Commissioners Chief Election Commissioner: Since I, ( name ), have been elected as the Chief Election Commissioner of the Tibetan Central Election Commission, with faith and trust in the Charter of the Tibetans in Exile, I will fulfil all duties and obligations of Chief Election Commissioner of the Tibetan Central Election Commission in accordance with the fundamental principles of the charter. I will serve to the best of my ability with sincerity and pure intentions devoid of self-centred partiality, apprehension, and favouritism. Additional Election Commissioner: Since I, ( name ), have been elected as an additional Election Commissioner of the Tibetan Central Election Commission, with faith and trust in the Charter of the Tibetans in Exile, I will fulfil all duties and obligations of an additional Election Commissioner of the Tibetan Central Election Commission in accordance with the fundamental principles of the charter. I will serve to the best of my ability with sincerity and pure intentions devoid of self-centred partiality, apprehension, and favouritism. I make this firm oath with the Three Jewels as my witness. Or I solemnly swear. Appendix No 6 - Oaths for the Duties of the Chairperson and Committee Members of the Public Service Commission Chairperson: Since I, ( name ), have been elected as the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission, with faith and trust in the Charter of the Tibetans in Exile, I will fulfil all duties and obligations of the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission in accordance with the fundamental principles of the charter. I will serve to the best of my ability with sincerity and pure intentions devoid of self-centred partiality, apprehension, and favouritism. Committee Member: Since I, ( name ), have been elected as a Committee Member of the Public Service Commission, with faith and trust in the Charter of the Tibetans in Exile, I will fulfil all duties and obligations of a committee member of the Public Service Commission in accordance with the fundamental principles of the charter. I will serve to the best of my ability with sincerity and pure intentions devoid of self-centred partiality, apprehension, and favouritism. I make this firm oath with the Three Jewels as my witness. Or I solemnly swear. Appendix No 7 - Oaths for the Duties of the Auditor General of the Tibetan Audit Commission Since I, ( name ), have been elected as the Auditor General of the Tibetan Administration, with faith and trust in the Charter of the Tibetans in Exile, I will fulfil all duties and obligations of the Auditor General in accordance with the fundamental principles of the charter. I will serve to the best of my ability and wise discernment with sincerity and pure intentions devoid of self-centred partiality, apprehension, favouritism. I make this firm oath with the Three Jewels as my witness. Or I solemnly swear. The above charter contains all the amendments made up until 6th February 2020. COLOPHON None NOTES None BIBLIOGRAPHY See link above Abstract A translation of pertinent and interesting sections of the Tibetan Charter, a document setting out the organisation structure of its government. This translation is purely for a historical presentation. LINK DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 00:27 TRADITION N/A INCARNATION LINE N/A HISTORICAL PERIOD 20th Century 21st Century TEACHERS N/A TRANSLATOR Tib Shelf INSTITUTION Government STUDENTS N/A AUTHORS Tibetan Government in Exile The Charter of the Tibetans In Exile 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.

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

Armed with the 'scroll of devastation' from his father, Guru Chöwang's first treasure excavation leads to a terrifying encounter with the Nine-Headed Nāga Demon, guardian of hidden teachings. Namkechenma: A Dream of Guru Chökyi Wangchuk Emaho! [ 1 ] There was a yellow scroll of the profound inventory of Orgyen Pema’s [enlightened] mind-treasures, [ 2 ] extracted by Dragpa Ngönshe [ 3 ] at Samye and given to Pön Jam[palwa]. On account of past aspirations and karmic fortune, a person likened unto me, I, Chökyi Wangchuk, received it from the hands of one of his posterities. On the third day of the first autumn month in the hot season of Black Water Snake year, as I was relying upon [the yellow scroll], I found a supplemental inventory [ 4 ] of [enlightened] mind-treasures at Drak Namkechen (“Crag with a Ladder to Heaven”). Then that night in a dream there was this woman [ 5 ] mounted atop a yak amidst a tribe of yak-herding nomads. She proclaimed, “There’s not even a trace of folly [ 6 ] in you; this I know!” and she left. Then, [ 7 ] the next night at dawn, I dreamed that at the bottom of a wide road rested a cave, [ 8 ] sizeable with a door of iron, where a black man with braided hair sat [ 9 ] on a gray stag. “What are you doing here?” I enquired. He rattled and tossed his large locks behind him, then touched his finger to the cave. “Here are inexhaustible [ 10 ] belongings, that your ancestor [ 11 ] prepared for you,” [ 12 ] He rejoined. “I entrust them to you, [ 13 ] so do look after them.” Having uttered this, he mounted a black bull and soared into the west. While I was wondering, “Should I unseal the entrance with its iron door?” A-Mamo, who was younger than before, appeared. While spinning a large key [ 14 ] overhead, she pronounced: “Skillfully use this [ 15 ] to open the door, And you who have nothing [449] will be wealthy! [ 16 ] The ocean [ 17 ] of milk surges, fish [ 18 ] gather— Taking [ 19 ] a measure of food and drink is crucial.” Having said this, she entrusted the key and departed. I consequently understood this to be the meaning of the lineage of the ḍākinī’s seal of entrustment. Quickly I opened the door to the cave and out popped [ 20 ] a garuḍa-like [ 21 ] bird. Five-colored [ 22 ] flames blazed from its mouth, promptly burning my body. [ 23 ] However, by manifesting my mind [ 24 ] into the Great Compassionate One, [ 25 ] I mounted the garuḍa-like bird [ 26 ] and took off into the sky. [ 27 ] Above the nine levels of rainbow clouds, [ 28 ] or the thirteen heavens, [ 29 ] in a pavilion of rainbow light [ 30 ] sat [ 31 ] a crystal [ 32 ] child, in the attire [ 33 ] of Vajrasattva. [ 34 ] He conferred empowerment utilizing a vase full [ 35 ] of nectar. After pouring it into my mouth, [ 36 ] there appeared a white A in the heart of his clear and lucid crystal body. In the center of his left eyeball was a white A, and in the space before was a white A. His bodily form then gathered into the A in his heart; the A in his heart amassed into the A in his eye; the A in his eye subsumed into [450] the A in the space [in front]; the A in the space [in front] dissolved into my heart, [ 37 ] causing a natural radiance, devoid of grasping, [ 38 ] to arise. With the vase full of nectar, I roamed carrying it in my hand, and somehow, I found myself atop a giant throne. I gave nectar to the sixteen “sons” [ 39 ] and the eight [ 40 ] “daughters.” I distributed nectar to the assembly [ 41 ] of monastics, [ 42 ] mantra practitioners, [ 43 ] and male and female yoga practitioners. At that moment, the woman with the cowrie headdress grabbed it from my hand and said, “Their share of those over there [ 44 ] has been missed.” Having given bountiful alms, I gazed over, and the entire place was filled with a massive crowd in disarray. [ 45 ] At that time, I woke up and considered this a very good auspicious connection, and I retrieved the great [enlightened] mind-treasure from Namkedrak. When I met with the glorious Vajrasattva, he bestowed The Stainless Crystal Garland: Pith Instructions for the Four Empowerments . But since fortunate ones were so few, the symbols dissolved into the center of my citta. COLOPHON As such he said. NOTES 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. [1] The dream unfolds at the locale of Namkechenma, known as "a place with a ladder to heaven." [2] “[Enlightened] mind-treasures” is rendering thugs gter . However, it should not be conflated with the later treasure classification of “mind treasure,” rendering dgongs gter . [3] dge bshes grwa pa mngon shes pa, 1012–1090, BDRC P4655 . [4] yang byang . [5] A1: 448.4 interpolation: ye+es kyi mkhro’ mas las can la gter sprod par go (“understood to be a primordial wisdom ḍākinī who gives treasure to the one with the karma”), which is connected to 448.3: bu+ed . [6] Recte : gtam col (B2: 241.2); A1: 448.3, B2: 101.6: tla col ; A2: 123.1: ta col . [7] This is where the account begins in Guru Chöwang’s The Great Treasure History ( gter ’byung chen mo ); A2: 123.5 and B2: 241.9. [8] A1: 448.4 interpolation: gter gnas (“treasure location”), signifying that it is not an ordinary cave. [9] A1: 448.5 interpolation: gter bdag klu bdud (“the nāga-demon treasure lord”), clearly describes the black man. This qualifier is not attested in The Great Treasury History , A2: 123.6: mi ngag po ral pa shab se ba 1 zhon nas ’dug pa la . He is, however, not only extant in Guru Chöwang’s outer biography, The Eight Chapters ( skabs brgyad ma ), A1: 22.7: gter srungs (B1: 31.3: srung ) klu bdud mgo dgu pas (“the nine-headed nāga-demon treasure guardian”), but is a prominent character in Chöwang’s treasure narrative. [10] A1: 448.6: spyad ’phro med pa (“will not be consumed however much one uses it”). Although the text does not literally read “inexhaustible” ( mi zad pa ), the translation was compressed into inexhaustible. [11] A1: 448.5 interpolation: ayan chenos (“Great Orgyan”). B2: 101.10: mes po o rgyan chen pos . A2: 123.7: mes pos , excludes o rgyan chen pos variants. A1: 23.1, B1: 31.6: mes po chen pos . [12] A1: 448.6 interpolation: chos dbang la (“for you Chöwang”). [13] A1: 448.6 interpolation: gter bdgis rgya bkrol nas (“after the treasure lord unraveled their seals”). [14] A1: 448.7 interpolation: kha byang (“inventory”). [15] A2: 124.1: ’di . A1: 448.7 interpolation: thabs shes ldan pas (“as it has the means,” or “as it possesses method and wisdom”). [16] A1: 449.1 interpolation: dgos ’dod ’byung ba’i thuD gter dang ’phrad bas (“because you will encounter the [enlightened] mind-treasure that fulfills all needs and wishes”). [17] A1: 449.1 interpolation: mnag zab mo’i (“profound pith instruction”). [18] A1: 449.1 interpolation: las can gyi skyes bu (“beings with the karma”). [19] A1: 449.1 interpolation: ’dod yon la *chog (A1: choD ) shes (“being content with sensory pleasures”). [20] A1: 449.2 interpolation: sangys mnyaMs sbyor (“unification of the buddhas”). [21] A1: 449.2 interpolation: *theg (A1: theD ) pa thaMd kyi yang tse (“the highest peak of all vehicles”). [22] A1: 449.2 interpolation: ye+es lnga’i ’od kyis (“with the light of the five primordial wisdoms”). [23] A1: 449.3 interpolation: bdag ’dzin gyi lus bag chaD dang bcas pa (“a body of ego-clinging and karmic habituations”). [24] A1: 449.3 interpolation: rang ’byung gi ye+es riD pa lhing ba (“a tranquil natural primordial-wisdom awareness”). [25] Avalokiteśvara. [26] A1: 449.3 interpolation: rdzoD pa cheno spyi ti *yo (A1: mo ) ga don du gyur ba’i brda (“an actualized sign of Dzogchen Crown Yoga”). [27] A1: 449.3 interpolation: gnyis med kyi mkha’ (“sky of non-duality”). [28] A1: 449.3 interpolation: theg (A1: theD ) pa rim pa dgu (A1: dgu’ ) yang rtse (“the peak of the nine vehicles”). This can be extrapolated to entail the nine vehicles of the Nyingma tradition. Although this note is not connected to anything specific with dots, the connection to ’ja’ sprin rim pa dgu’am is clear. [29] A2: 124.4: bcu gsuM . B2: 101.18: bcu gnyis . A1: 449.3: bcu 3 , interpolation: sa bcu gsuM rdo+e ’dzin pa’i gnon par go (“understood to be the mastering ( sa gnon pa ) of the Vajra Holder, the thirteenth stage”). [30] A1: 449.4 interpolation: sku lnga’i klong na (“in the expanse of the five kāyas”). [31] A1: 449.4 interpolation: ma gag pa’i ’gyu ba rang rtsal (“unceasing movement of natural expression”). [32] A1: 449.4 interpolation: *rig (A1: riD ) pa pa lhan 1 skyes pa’i yai (“coemergent primordial wisdom awareness”). [33] A1: 449.4 interpolation: long sku’i cha luD (“saṃbhogakāya attire”). [34] A1: 449.4 interpolation: rdo+e seM’i dngos dang mjalo (“encountering the real Vajrasattva”). [35] A1: 449.4 interpolation: *rig (A1: riD ) pa rtsal gyi dbang (“empowerment of the dynamic expression of awareness”). [36] A1: 449.4 interpolation: rdo+e seM’i snyan rgyud dride shel phreng zer ba 1 yod par ’dug ste (A1: ’duD rte ) yig (A1: yiD ) cha ma skyedo (“there exists a Stainless Crystal Garland of Vajrasattva’s aural lineage; but a textbook has not been created”). [37] A1: 450.1 interpolation: naM kha’ gsum spruD kyi brda don brtan (“stabilizing the symbolic meanings of ‘stirring the three spaces’”). “Stirring the three spaces” ( nam mkha’ gsum sprugs ) is a system of “cutting rigidity” ( khregs chod ). See, Arguillère 2022, 278, n. 97. [38] A1: 450.1 interpolation: bde gsal mi *rtog (A1: rtoD ) ba’i (“bliss, clarity, and non-thought”). [39] A1: 450.2 interpolation: bka’ babs kyi bu bcruD gis rang gzhan gter la spyod pa’i brda’ (“this is the sign of the sixteen prophesized sons partaking in the treasure for the sake of themselves and others”). [40] A1: 450.2 interpolation: dgongs pa gsal ’debs kyi (“which clarified the intention”). [41] A1: 450.2 interpolation: ’ khor phra mo riD *’dus (A1: dus ) kyi brda’o (“this is the sign of gathering the types of minor retinues”). [42] A1: 450.2 interpolation: mkhan po dang dge+ong (“scholars and fully ordained monks”). [43] A1: 450.2 interpolation: sngaD btsun (“mantra clerics”). [44] A1: 450.4 interpolation: ’brel (A1: ’grel ) gyur kyi las can rnams kyi (A1: kyis ) (“of those possessing karma of being affiliated”). [45] A1: 450.4 interpolation: ’khor tshoM bu ’buM *phrag (A1: ’phraD ) cu+iD dang bcastse sang+yas pa’i brda’o (“This retinue along with its 1.1 million clusters is a sign of buddhahood”), which relates to the large crowd. Photo Credit: Himalayan Art Resources Published: April 2024 Edited: November 2024 BIBLIOGRAPHY Primary: Guru Chöwang (gu ru chos dbang). 1979. gu ru chos dbang gis sne sngon du bu chung baM sgrub mdzad pa’i tshe gu ru dang mjal tshul lo . In gu ru chos dbang gi rang rnam dang zhal gdams . rin chen gter mdzod chen po’i rgyab chos , v. 8, 375–378. Paro: Ugyen Tempai Gyaltsen. BDRC MW23802 . Guru Chöwang (gu ru chos dbang). 1979. g+hu ru chosyi dbang phyugi rnalaM/ gnaM skas can ma bzhug s+ho i+thi leD s+ho ang . In gu ru chos dbang gi rang rnam dang zhal gdams . rin chen gter mdzod chen po’i rgyab chos , v. 8, 447–450. Paro: Ugyen Tempai Gyaltsen. BDRC MW23802 . Tertön Guru Chökyi Wangchuk (gter ston gu ru chos kyi dbang phyug). 2022. gu ru chos kyi dbang phyug gi rnal lam gnam skas can ma bzhugs so . (bar cha 2022: 101–102). In gter ston gu ru chos kyi dbang phyug gi ran rnam dang zhal gdams bzhugs so , vol. 2, 101–102. Edited by Dungse Lama Pema Tsewang (gdung sras bla ma pad+ma tshe dbang). Lamagaun, Nepal: Tsum Library. Secondary: Arguillère, Stéphane. 2022. “A History of the dGongs pa zang thal practice manuals.” Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines: For A Critical History of the Northern Treasures , 62: 233–298. Abstract With the “scroll of devastation” in his possession, having retrieved it from his father, Guru Chöwang heads out with a monk to excavate his first treasure. This early dream account narrates Chöwang’s initial encounter with the terrifying Nine-Headed Nāga Demon, lord of the treasure hoard. BDRC LINK MW23802 DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 04:20 TRADITION Nyingma INCARNATION LINE Tri Songdetsen HISTORICAL PERIOD 13th Century TEACHERS Namkha Pal TRANSLATOR Tib Shelf INSTITUTIONS Layak Guru Lhakhang STUDENTS Gyalse Pema Wangchen Ma Dunpa Menlungpa Mikyö Dorje AUTHOR Guru Chökyi Wangchuk Namkechenma: 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! 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

Teacher Kunga Palden 1878–1944/1950 BDRC P6963 TREASURY OF LIVES LOTSAWA HOUSE Kunga Palden was a yogin of the twentieth century who lived in the vicinity of Dzogchen Monastery. He was a close disciple of Orgyen Tenzin Norbu, who in turn was a student of Patrul Rinpoche. Kunga Palden spent much of his life in retreat and was particularly devoted to The Guru’s Inner Essence (Lama Yangtik) as well as the practices involving the channels, vital energies, vital essences, and physical yogas associated with the Heart Essence of the Great Expanse (Longchen Nyingtik). He received teachings on Lama Yangtik, Longchen Nyingtik, and the physical yogas from Orgyen Tenzin Norbu, and was taught the practices of the channels, energies, and essences by Pema Tegchok Loden. Translated Works Biography Mura Pema Dechen Zangpo Tenzin Lungtok Nyima A genealogy of the Mura lineage through its incarnations, focusing on the Third Mura Pema Dechen's life, teachings, and key relationships, penned by Tenzin Lungtok Nyima. Read Biography The Biography of Dzogchen Khenchen Abu Lhagang Khenpo Tsöndru Khenpo Tsöndru chronicles his teacher Pema Tegchok Loden (1879–1955), from his studies with renowned masters to his role as Dzogchen Śrī Siṃha's abbot, culminating in solitary meditation practice. Read Biography The Wondrous Light of Lunar Nectar Dilgo Khyentse Tashi Paljor Dilgo Khyentse Tashi Paljor chronicles the life of Chatral Kunga Palden (1878-1944) in this luminous biographical account. 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

A chronology of birth and death dates mapping Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje's family lineage through its key figures and connections. A Chronological Timetable: Lives of Do Khyentse’s Familial Line NAME DATE OF BIRTH DATE OF DEATH LIFE SPAN* ANNOTATION Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje Thirteenth Cycle Iron Monkey Year1800 Fourteenth Cycle Fire Tiger Year 1866 66 - Losal Drölma Thirteenth Cycle Water Dog Year 1802 Fourteenth Cycle Iron Bird Year 1861 59 Not of familial line Khaying Drölma Fourteenth Cycle Water Sheep Year 1823 Fourteenth Cycle Wood Tiger Year 1854 31 - Sherab Mebar Fourteenth Cycle Earth Ox Year 1829 Fourteenth Cycle Water Tiger Year 1842 13 - Gyalse Raltri Fourteenth Cycle Iron Tiger Year 1830 Fifteenth Cycle Fire Monkey Year 1896 66 - Somang Chogtrul Fourteenth Cycle Wood Hare Year 1855 - 80+ - Drimé Drakpa Fourteenth Cycle Fire Horse Year 1846 - 40+ Not of familial line Gyepa Dorje Fifteenth Cycle Iron Tiger Year 1890 Sixteenth Cycle Earth Hare Year 1939 49 - Tsezin Wangmo Fifteenth Cycle Wood Horse Year 1894 Sixteenth Cycle Water Snake Year 1953 59 - Dasal Wangmo Sixteenth Cycle Earth Dragon Year 1928 - - 80 years old as of this year COLOPHON None NOTES * Dates have been shifted back one place to align with European calculation. Photo credit: BDRC W1KG987 Published April 2021 BIBLIOGRAPHY Thub bstan chos dar. 2008. Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje'i gdung rgyud rim byon gyi 'khrungs rabs re'u mig . In Mdo mkhyen brtse ye shes rdo rje'i gdung rgyud rim byon gyi rnam thar gsal ba'i me long, pp. 449–450. Pe cin: Krung go'i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang. BDRC W1KG987 Abstract This concise table features birth and death dates for essential individuals connected with Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje's familial line. BDRC LINK W1KG987 DOWNLOAD TRANSLATION GO TO TRANSLATION LISTEN TO AUDIO 00:00 / 00:27 TRADITION Nyingma Drigung Kagyu HISTORICAL PERIOD 19th Century 20th Century 21st Century PEOPLE Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje Losal Drölma Khaying Drolma Sherab Mebar Gyalse Rigpe Raltri Somang Chogtrul Drimé Drakpa Gyepa Dorje Tsezin Wangmo Dasal Wangmo INSTITUTIONS Mahā Kyilung Monastery Katok Monastery Dzogchen Monastery Tseringjong Drigung Til Monastery Derge Monastery Gyalrong Kachok Minyak Kernang Karza Hermitage Pema Rito Yarlung Pemakö TRANSLATOR Tib Shelf AUTHOR Tubten Chödar A Chronological Timetable: Lives of Do Khyentse’s Familial Line 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.