Ebook Calling The Lama From Afar

Translating
the Karmapas’ works
Calling tHE Lama

from afar
Two Supplications to the Root Teacher –
by the 5th Shamar Rinpoche Könchok Yenlak and the 1st Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye
Translating
The Karma Guen Translation Project
TRANSLATING THE KARMAPAS’ WORKS

HEART TREASURIES OF MAHĀMUDRĀ MASTERS
Calling tHE Lama

from afar
Two Supplications to the Root Teacher –
by the 5 th Shamar Rinpoche Könchok Yenlak
and the 1st Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye
The ITAS translation Team
Artur Przybysławski, Vladislav Ermolin, and Julian Schott
Translating the Karmapas’ Works,
Karma Guen,
Aldea Alta 1
29700 Vélez-Málaga
Spain
Copyright © 2017
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and
retrieval system or technologies now known or developed later, without permission
in writing from the publisher.
ITAS translation team

Translation: Artur Przybysławski,
with contributions from Vladislav Ermolin and Julian Schott
Tibetan editing and transliteration: Julian Schott
Annotation: Julian Schott, Artur Przybysławski and Vladislav Ermolin
Introduction: Artur Przybysławski
Editorial Work: Julian Schott
Layout and Design: Hana Dovinová
Acknowledgements
The ITAS team that has been working on this first translation would like
to write a few words about those who have been helping, contributing
and encouraging the project of “Translating the Karmapas’ Works”, for
which this translation has been made. Thus we would like to acknowledge
the team as a whole, since all members deserve to be thanked for their
enthusiasm and effort in the same and equal way: Dorrit & Pedro
Gomez, Choying Tendar, Dagmar Horňáková, Kamilla Éva Mojzes,
Mirek Hrdina, Lajos Dömötor, Sergio Pestarino, Peter Gomez, Marlevis
Robaina Rodríguez, Juan Pablo Bustos, Vladas Končius, Florian Fritz
and all the Karma Guen residents and friends who have supported us
so much. We thank Artur Przybysławski, Vladislav Ermolin and Julian
Schott for preparing this book. In particular we thank Artur Przybysławski
for drafting the translation and introduction, Vladislav Ermolin for his
valuable contributions to the translation, and Julian Schott for preparing
the edition used for the translation, his annotations and editorial work. We
thank Paul Partington and Lucy Ralph for the English editing and Hana
Dovinová for the design and typesetting. Especially we would like to thank
Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche for having clarified several difficult and doubtful
points with us, and all our Lamas for their inspiration and blessing.
ITAS translation team,

Karma Guen, Spain, July 2017.
Contents
9 Preface
11 Introduction
TRANSLATIONS:
Shamar Rinpoche Könchok Yenlak’s
26 Calling the Lama from Afar
Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye’s

40 Calling the Lama from Afar
88 Annotations
112 Bibliography
Preface
We are happy to present these first translations of two texts of great

importance for the Karma Kagyü as a gift to mark the official start of
“Translating the Karmapas’ Works”. This work is an abbreviated version
of the first book1 of our translation series, the primary aim of which is to
make these texts accessible in translation for the interested practitioner.
The present work consists of two individual texts, which are both presented
in the same way: an easy and comprehensible English version together with
the Tibetan root text and its transcription, which also allows one to actually
perform the text, i.e. to sing or recite it.2 These two translations are preceded
by a brief general introduction to the role of the lama, which introduce some
important aspects to be kept in mind while using the texts, rather than
presenting some study or judgement. The translations are accompanied
by endnotes, to provide some further material for those with more interest
about the doctrinal or historical points of the works, while not disturbing
the reading flow. By presenting the texts in this way, we hope to provide
the proper means for those interested in making these supplications into a
part of their practice (in the Guru Yoga part of the Ngöndro for instance),
and also to provide information to enrich the reading experience of those
texts for those wishing to study them on a basic level. We sincerely hope
that this small work of ours may bring you in touch with the beautiful
flavour, richness and depth of these texts and inspire you to go deeper into
the study and practice of those texts.
9
Calling the lama from afar
10
Introduction
"If you do not have a lama,

you will not be liberated
from samsara"3
Gampopa
The Role of the Lama in Tibetan Buddhism

The importance of the lama in Tibetan Buddhism is reflected in the
fact that very often he is described in terms of the three jewels: buddha,
dharma and sangha. Namely, the mind of the lama is considered
buddha – the state of complete recognition of the nature of mind,
the lama’s speech is dharma, being taught orally as the Buddha used
to teach, and the lama’s body is the best companion on the way to
enlightenment, making him the perfect embodiment of the sangha.
Thus Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye starts his text as follows:
11
"[You who are of] The nature of the buddhas of the three times,
The source of eminent dharma of scriptures and realization,
Master of the assembly of exalted ones – the sangha,
You, root lama, keep [me] in mind!"4
To express this notion in more philosophical terms, it is said that

the lama’s mind is considered to be the dharmakāya, his speech the
sambhogakāya, and his body the nirmāṇakāya. The very heart of
Buddhism is thus represented by the lama. He is also called the essence
of the buddhas of the three times, or the one who is “inseparable from
all buddhas,” since it is only a lama who can give liberating teachings
to a student who is simply not able or fortunate enough to meet the
Buddha himself.5
This exalted position of the lama must have been obvious to the first
European travelers who visited Tibet, who coined the term ‘Lamaism’
to describe the Tibetan Buddhism with which they had met. And even
though this neologism (non-existent in Tibetan language) can be as
misleading as “priestism” would be when referring to Christianity in
Europe, it still captures the significance of the role of lama in Tibetan
Buddhism. This role has been described using many examples like
ferryman, guardian, guide, and doctor; each of them has stressed the
indispensability of the lama who shows the way, provides help and
protection on the path, and finally heals the samsaric mind from the
affliction of ignorance. And even though the vast dharma as taught
by the Buddha provides the medicine for all possible illnesses, it is
the lama who actually passes on the appropriate medicine for healing
the specific sickness and to whom the patient owes his cure. That is
why, from the point of view of Buddhist practitioners, the lama has
12
Introduction
become equal to the historical Buddha, since he, as an embodiment of

enlightenment, is the sole source of, and thus an indispensable factor
for, attaining realization.
When, for instance, Bengar Jampal Zangpo in his famous text Dorje
Chang Tungma describes the essence of Buddhist practice in four points,
the second point is lama:6
"As it is said that devotion is the head of meditation,

A meditator constantly supplicates to the lama
Who opens the gate to the treasury of essential
instructions."7
Without the lama there is no proper access to the Buddha’s teachings,

since it is only the lama who has practiced and realized the teachings –
that he himself received from his or her own lama as part of an authentic
transmission – that he is passing on. Without the lama, “the gate to
the treasury of essential instructions” remains closed. Even though
the teachings can be found abundantly in scriptures, and even if the
appropriate ones might be chosen, to apply them is not possible without
the lama, since to apply them presupposes actual experiences being
passed on. Just as a sick person does not become a doctor by simply
reading the proper medical books about his sickness without being
instructed, educated and inspired by an experienced healer, just so
one does not make oneself realize the nature of mind without the lama,
who initiates the disciple into the genuine practice lineage. In short,
there is no deep and true practice in Tibetan Buddhism without a lama.
As Gampopa states in his Jewel Ornament of Liberation:
13
"In order to attain perfect Buddhahood, we have to

collect all accumulations gathered through primordial
consciousness and merit and the method for collecting
them depends on the spiritual teacher."8
In this quotation we come across the term gewe shenyen, which is used
in many contexts as a synonym of lama, and very often translated
as “spiritual friend”9. The English translation unfortunately does
not capture the Tibetan term very precisely. The Tibetan term is
a compound of she – “friend”, and nyen – “kinsman, relative, or
somebody one shares a close bond with”. Thus the teacher is the one
with whom the student has a very strong and unique relationship that
encompasses both friendship and kinship. This extraordinary person
is also somebody who is gewa – “a noble man” of virtue resulting
from a lot of wholesome actions and practice. This is what gives him
a higher level than the student and this is the literal meaning of the
word lama, which means “the highest one”. A lama is somebody who
is superior in terms of realization, and this is what makes him a being
of higher rank, literally an ārya – “a noble man”.10 This higher position
is the result of being able to clearly distinguish the two truths, which
samsaric beings are unable to do, as is taught in Asaṅga’s Ornament
on Great Vehicle Discourse:
"One should serve a [spiritual] friend who is disciplined,

tranquil, serene, outstanding in good qualities, energetic,
rich in [knowledge of] scripture, awakened to reality,
skilled in speech, compassionate, and indefatigable."11
14
Introduction
When Tibetans define lama – despite the literal meaning of the word,
which is “the highest one” – they stress its Indian origin in Sanskrit
which is guru (lit. ‘heavy one’), hereby indicating that the lama is
somebody who is heavy in the sense of being endowed with kindness or
more generally with qualities that the student will slowly take over while
receiving and practicing the teachings given by the teacher. They also
say that the term lama refers to both parents and teacher, and indeed
Tibetan texts very often describe the relationship between students
and their lama in terms of the bond between father and children; thus
Shamar Könchok Yenlak in his text translated here invokes his root
teacher as his father.12
In Tibetan texts, there are many descriptions of the lama and
enumerations of the qualities that make him the highest teacher. To
give just one example from this vast material, let us quote Tsangpa
Gyare, who says the following:13
"With realization he liberated his own [mind-]stream,

With compassion he liberated the [mind-]stream of others,
Skillful in methods of interdependence,
The relationship to him is meaningful to many."14
These four characteristics make up the lama, who is the teacher of

the supreme, secret and inner thatness.15 These four qualities can be
further summarized into the two most basic characteristics of the lama,
which are compassion and realization (since the last two are included
or rooted in the first two).
15
The Types of Lamas

Buddhism developed quite an elaborate typology of spiritual teachers,
which refer to the student’s level of advancement and way of practicing.
Gampopa lists four types of spiritual teachers and gives the following
explanation:
“At the time of being a beginner, one is not able to attend

buddhas and bodhisattvas dwelling on high levels, so one
attends a spiritual teacher who is an ordinary being. If
one is to a large extent purified from karmic veils, one is
able to attend a spiritual teacher who is a bodhisattva
dwelling on a high level. If one dwells finally on the great
path of accumulation,16 one is able to attend a spiritual
teacher as a buddha in the nirmāṇakāya form. If one
dwells oneself on high levels, one is able to attend a
spiritual teacher in the sambhogakāya form.”17
Gampopa stresses the crucial role of the ordinary teacher for the
beginner who has not advanced enough to be able to approach other
types of teachers at the beginning of his development:
“Of these four, who is of great kindness to us? When we

are beginners, who stay in the dark house of aﬄictions
trying to attend superior spiritual teachers, we would not
even see their faces. So, because of meeting a spiritual
teacher who is an ordinary being, [only] after they
show us the path with the torch of their teachings, will
we meet superior spiritual teachers. Thus before that,
16
Introduction
a spiritual teacher who is an ordinary being is of the

greater kindness [for us].”18
However, the teacher in his ordinary human form should be approached

as a buddha himself, since this attitude of the student makes him more
receptive to the teachings and thus accelerates his development. The
higher the student’s view of the teacher, the more he can be taught,
so in the end this exalted vision of the teacher is treated as the best
method for the sake of the student who aims to develop the experience
of his teacher and finally recognize the nature of mind by becoming
buddha himself.
On the way to becoming a buddha, there are generally three stages that
refer to three types of lama: the outer lama, the inner lama and the secret
or ultimate lama. The first type refers to the process of learning based
on the contact with an ‘outer lama’, who in this stage is simply a person
giving the teaching as described by Gampopa above. While applying in
meditation those teachings received from the lama, the student develops
some inner experience and understanding of the received teachings
and from that moment on this inner experience can slowly become a
guiding light for his development. This experience is traditionally called
the ‘inner lama’, and the ultimate recognition of the nature of mind
resulting in awakening is called the ‘secret lama’. The levels of the ‘outer’
up to the ‘secret lama’ can be viewed as the process of bringing one’s
inner potential to become a buddha (tathāgatagarbha) to perfection.
In this way, meeting the outer lama is the first and necessary step to
developing one’s own inner potential to finally becoming a buddha.
Hence a proper relationship with one’s own lama is the very foundation
for practice in Tibetan Buddhism.
17
This perspective sheds light on one of the most fundamental meditation

instructions, which is as follows: “The most important thing is to
meditate on the inseparability [with one’s] root lama.”19 By cultivating
the bond with a teacher, one practices taking him as an example and
a point of reference, which helps to achieve some inner experience
(the inner lama) that one can trust in a similar way as one relies on
the outer lama. The bond with the outer lama is based on devotion –
mögü,20 which Bengar Jampal Zangpo calls the head of meditation
practice.21 Devotion, according to the etymology of the Tibetan term,
is understood to be a combination of two factors: möpa22 – “trust or
confidence”, and güpa23 – “respect” or literally “relating to the Guru”.
Calling the Lama from Afar is a type of text that focuses on devotion
and is a kind of practical tool to enhance it. In this way it is the basis
for a proper Buddhist practice that is built on the relationship with
the teacher.
Out of the three types of lamas, Calling the Lama from Afar is a
supplication to the ‘outer lama’.24 Its aim is to trigger and intensify
devotion towards him in order to be able to receive his blessing, making
the practitioner finally able to achieve the state of recognition of his
mind exemplified by his lama – or to put it in classical way, to merge
the mind of the practitioner with the mind of his teacher and recognize
their inseparability.25 Calling the lama from afar can be thus treated as
an inherent part of the guru-yoga26 practice.
18
Introduction
The Texts
Both of the texts translated here are entitled Lama gyangbö – Calling the
Lama from Afar.27 This title is not the name of a specific text but rather
a generic term denoting a part of the Tibetan literary heritage, or as
Davidson puts it, “a durable genre in Tibetan literature”, since in every
school of Tibetan Buddhism one can find a few texts with more or less
elaborate titles containing the phrase “Calling the Lama from Afar”.28
In the Kagyü lineage in particular, there are at least three prominent
texts of this kind known to us so far:
1. The Lama gyangbö written by the 5th Shamar Könchok Yenlak.
2. The Lama gyangbö kyi söldep mögu nyinggi zerdep written by

the 1st Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye.
3. And the Ogyen rinpoche söldep lama gyangbö jinlap charbep

written by the 1st Karma Chakme Rāga-asya.29
The inspiration for writing this kind of texts was usually the longing
either for one’s lama during retreat or for one’s lama who had already
passed away. Both texts are formally addressing the ‘outer lama’.
Therefore both texts are of the type called söldeb pa – a “supplication”
that is meant to be chanted or sung and which is easy to memorize.30
The content of the texts are of the type called damngak31 – “advice” or
“instructions” for Buddhist practice.32 Thus Calling the Lama from Afar
is both crucial advice for the practice and a practice in itself.
The core of this practice is the attempt to intensify devotion for one’s
lama in order to realize the ultimate meaning which he represents
19
for the practitioner. This attempt was carried out by the way of
contemplating one’s own situation (saṃsāra) and contrasting it with
the qualities of one’s lama through whom he can become liberated
from that state (nirvāṇa). Again these kinds of texts serve as both
invocations to (and honoring of) one’s own teacher (which may also
include the holders of a particular transmission lineage of teachings),
as well as reflections on the essential teachings with reference to the
current situation of the practitioner.
20
Introduction
Summary and Outline of the Texts

Shamar Könchog Yenlak’s text was most likely written in 1546 during
his solitary retreat in Tsaritra. It was there that he mastered the famous
Six Doctrines of Nāropa and composed a fundamental commentary
on them. It is for this reason that the 5th Shamarpa’s Calling the Lama
from Afar became associated with the Six Doctrines of Nāropa and can
since then be found preceding this set of practices, which are prominent
within the Kagyü lineage.
The 5th Shamarpa’s Calling the Lama from Afar is addressed to the
author’s root lama alone, namely the 8th Karmapa Mikyö Dorje.34 This
witnesses the intimate bond between the two highly realized masters
in the Kagyü school of Tibetan Buddhism – The Gyalwa Karmapas and
Shamar Rinpoches – who have interchanged the teacher and student
roles in their successive incarnations throughout history.
The 5th Shamar begins his text with two verses of the invocation to his
guru, who is given the rank of buddha, but who only plays the role
of bodhisattva for his students in the age of degeneration. Over the
next six verses, he considers his own situation in samsara, which is
not different from that of all other sentient beings. Overpowered by
ignorance, and unable to pay attention to dharma as a result of their
distraction by worldly concerns and attachment to this life, they are
unaware of impermanence, and head blindly towards death, missing
this precious opportunity to practice. Once passing through the
intermediate state after death, they will be driven by their accumulated
karma into yet another samsaric rebirth. The next five verses are a bitter
reconsideration of his own monastic practice, which turns out to be
superficial and unsuccessful. In the typically Tibetan way, this high
master of Tibetan Buddhism presents himself as the worst Buddhist
21
practitioner one can imagine, who only misuses the dharma and cheats
both himself and others. This kind of attitude, which at first sight seems
strange and artificial for the European reader, is in fact a means to work
with pride – both one’s own and also the students’, who ought to take
the teacher as an example. The last two verses express sorrow at the
situation that has just been described, in which one’s root lama remains
the only one that may be relied upon. The text deliberately intensifies
and stresses negative aspects of samsaric life and unwholesome dharma
practice to trigger more and more devotion to the lama – the final
guarantee for liberation and enlightenment in Tibetan Buddhism. The
text finishes with the most fundamental wish in Buddhist practice,
namely that of being inseparable from the lama and attaining highest
realization.
Jamgön Kongtrul’s text addresses many lamas of different traditions,

among which are also the so called “eight chariots of the practice
lineages”35 of Tibetan Buddhism and is further exemplary to the
nonsectarian movement – rime36 – which was started by the author
and a few other influential lamas of the 19th century.37 The first part is
an extensive supplication to the most prominent figures in the main
schools of Tibetan Buddhism.38
The eight practice lineages are introduced by the aforementioned
doctrinal points of the lama as being the sixfold refuge and the three
bodies. These lineages are: first the Nyingma lineage (verses 6–8), in
which both Kama and Terma traditions and the highest practices
of Dzogchen are mentioned; second the Kadampa lineage, founded
by Atiśa; the Marpa Kagyü (verses 10–12), together with the Dagpo
Kagyü and their different major and minor branches (verse 12); fourth
22
Introduction
the Sakya lineage as the holder of the doctrine of “path and result” –
lamdre; fifth the Shangpa Kagyü (verses 14–15); sixth the lineages of
Shije and Chöd (verses 16–17); and seventh and eighth the lineages of
“six-limbed yoga” (ṣaḍangayoga) and “approach and accomplishment of
the three vajras”, which both refer to the practices of Kālacakra, which
is presented in this text by its most prominent holders in Tibet, of the
Jonang tradition (verses 18–19). The text continues with supplications
to the great rime (non sectarian) masters and tertöns living in the
19th century: Chokgyur Lingpa (verses 20–22) and Jamyang Khyenste
Wangpo (verses 23–26), before the author mentions himself (verses
27–30), as well as the famous Lama Tulku Orgen Rinpoche. From the
33rd verse onwards, Kongtrul continues with a presentation of our
human condition and addresses the root lama in general, which may
be seen as an introduction to the “second” and more “classical” part
of the supplication as a whole. In this way the structure of this second
part of the text resembles much more closely the supplication composed
by Shamar Rinpoche.
Almost every stanza of the supplication repeats the famous Tibetan
imperative formula or invocation:39 “lama khyenno,”40 which literally
means: “Lama, think” or “Lama, know” and in which phrase “we”
are implied as the object of the lama’s thinking. This comes down to:
“Lama, keep me in your mind” and actually expresses the wish: “Lama
think of me, know me and know my mind and my situation: please
give me your blessing”.
Every invocation of the lama with this famous Tibetan formula is
supplemented by the particular wish that is crucial for the practice and
transformation of one’s mind in relation to the particular attributes of
the addressed lamas. In this way, Jamgön Kongtrul covers most of the
23
essential points of the Buddhist practice, namely the nature of samsara,

the precious human body, death and impermanence, karma, the main
obstacles like pride, clinging, lack of mindfulness, lack of being honest
with oneself, attachment and other disturbing emotions; then he stresses
the principal factors for the practice, such as the relationship with the
teacher, refuge, enlightened attitude, devotion, trust, mindfulness,
diligence and determination in practicing dharma.
In this way, this short text encompasses the history of Tibetan Buddhism.
It addresses the main figures and functions as a kind of handbook of
the Buddhist view and practice in the form of most meaningful wishes
whose aim is to change the mind of the practitioner. Thus, despite the
title that highlights the lama, the main focus of the text is not exclusively
the teacher. Rather, the focus is the mind of the practitioner, because
it is intended that the practitioner transform themselves by the very
practice of “Calling the Lama from Afar”, which reveals the inner level
of the practice. This transformation of an afflicted mind into a liberated
and finally awakened mind (bodhicitta) is considered in Buddhism to
be the greatest miracle and the best gift the student can offer to his lama.
Zhangpa Tsöndrü Drakpa (Lama Zhang)41:
"It’s taught that if you always apply yourself solely to

devotion to the guru, resting in an uncontrived state of
mind, and looking at the mind, this practice will cause
the way things truly are to appear from within."42
24
Introduction
25
I.
th
5 Shamar
Rinpoche
Könchok Yenlak
་དམར་ཐམས་ཅད་མན་པ་་
པས་མཛད་པ་་མ་ང་འབོད་
བགས་སོ།།
Calling the Lama

from Afar
composed by the fifth all-knowing red hat Lama
26
Shamar Rinpoche Könchok Yenlak
་མ།
kyé ma
Alas!
ཕ་་བན་་མ་ན་པོ་། །
pa jetsün lama rin poché
Precious Lama, father43 and master,44
ད་སངས་ས་ན་དང་དར་ད་ང་། །
khyé sangyé kündang yer mékyang
You are inseparable from all buddhas,
ང་མོས་པ་་ལ་གས་བ་བས། །
deng möpé bula tuk tsewé
Yet out of love to us45 – [your] devoted sons,
འལ་ལ་ས་མག་་ལ་བང་ནས།
trel gyelsé chokgi tsül zung-né
You have now taken on the way of the supreme son
of the Victorious One,46
ལར་བསམ་ང་་བ་བས་མཛད་པ། །
lar sam-zhing kyewa zhé dzepé
You who again willfully took rebirth once more,
དཔལ་ཀ་པ་ས་ཡོངས་་གས། །
pal karma pazhé yong sudrak
You are known everywhere as glorious Karmapa.47
27
་ད་་ན་བས་་དམན་ཡང་། །
jé khyekyi jinlab mi menyang
Master, even though Your blessing48 does not decrease,
ད་ན་མོངས་ག་པོས་ཡོངས་བང་ནས། །
gyü nyönmong drakpö yong zung-né
Rough afflictions49 have taken over the [mind-]stream
[of beings] completely.
ལས་ནག་པོའི་ོད་པ་དར་བ་མས། །
lé nakpö chöpa dar wetü
And thus, due50 to the spreading of karmically negative activity,
ས་གས་མ་་བདོའི་མས་ཅན་མས། །
dü nyikma ngadö sem chennam
Sentient beings in the time of the rampant five degenerations,51
འོག་ངན་སོང་གཡང་ས་་ནར་ང་། །
ok ngensong yang-sa kho nar-lhung
Only fall, [as] from a cliff, into bad transmigration52,
ཕ་གས་ས་ངས་ག་ཀ་པ། །
pa tukjé zung-shyik karmapa
Father Karmapa embrace us with compassion!
ལས་ར་ས་མས་ལ་དོན་མ་མས། །
lé ngarjé namla dön machi
[My] deeds carried out before had no meaning;
28
ས་ར་ས་མས་ལ་ས་བད་འས། །
chö ngarjé namla chö gyedré
Dharma [practice] carried out before was mixed with the eight
[worldly] dharmas53,
ལམ་ལ་མ་བ་པ་གག་མ་ན། །
lam nalma drubpa chik madren
I do not remember even a single accomplishment of the genuine path,
ད་ད་རང་ན་པ་་ས་ད། །
da khyerang minpa re samé
Now, other than you, there is nobody to rely on.
ཕ་གས་ས་ང་ག་ཀ་པ། །
ལར་གན་་ས་་བ་ནས་ད། །
lar shinjé kyebü gyab nedé
Moreover, the Lord of Death54 is at [my] back,
ས་ལོ་་ཞག་་མན་ནས་བ། །
dü loda shyakgi dün nésu
There are [always less] years, months and days ahead,
འལ་མ་གངས་་བས་བར་ནས་ད། །
tral namyeng jawé bar nedri
[I was] deceived by incidental distractions in between,
29
་མ་ཚོ ར་བས་ག་ང་ན་འག །
dé matsor lüshik jung nyenduk
Not noticing that, the danger of being deceived remains.
ཕ་གས་ས་ང་ག་ཀ་པ། །
གཞོན་དབང་པོ་གསལ་་ས་པ་མས། །
shyön wangpo sal-tsé ji pesem
In youth, [I had] sharp faculties but a childish mind,
ས་དར་ལ་བབ་་ལ་བས་གངས། །
lü darla bab-tsé drel weyeng
As an adult, [I] was distracted by worldly concerns,
ད་ས་ང་འགས་པར་ར་པ་། །
da géshing khokpar gyur petsé
Now that I have become old and decrepit,
ས་གཤའ་མར་ན་ང་ས་ནས་སོང་། །
chö shamar dren-kyang chi nesong
[I] think of the genuine dharma but it is already too late.
ཕ་གས་ས་ང་ག་ཀ་པ། །
30
རང་ོད་པར་འདོད་ང་ོད་དབང་ད། །
rang döpar dökyang dö wangmé
I wish to stay [in this life] but have not the power to stay,
ནོར་ར་བར་འདོད་ང་ར་་གབ། །
nor khyerwar dökyang khyer mitub
I wish to retain wealth but am unable to retain [it],
གས་འགས་པར་འདོད་ང་རང་གག་ར། །
drok drokpar dökyang rang chikpur
I wish for the company of friends, but
སང་འག་ན་ཕ་རོལ་འ་བར་ས། །
sang jikten parol dro war-ngé
Tomorrow [I] will certainly cross over to the next life55 alone.
ཕ་གས་ས་ང་ག་ཀ་པ། །
་འ་་བག་ཆགས་འན་པ་མས། །
tsé diyi bakchak pen petü
Overpowered by the karmic imprints56 of this life that drive [us],
ལམ་བར་དོའི་འང་ལ་་འ་ཨང་། །
lam wardö trang-la chin dra-ang
What is it like on the slippery [and] narrow path
of the intermediate state?57
31
ད་མདང་མ་ཉལ་བ་་ལམ་བན། །
pé dang-sum nyalwé mi lam-shyin
[It is] like in a dream while sleeping last night –
ལར་རང་དབང་ཐོབ་པ་ན་་དཀའ། །
lar rang-wang tobpa shin tuka
And similarly, it is very difficult to gain self-control.
ཕ་གས་ས་ང་ག་ཀ་པ། །
ར་འར་བ་ས་ལ་ང་པོ་ད། །
chir khorwé chöla nying pomé
In general, samsaric phenomena have no core,
ས་་ག་ས་ལ་ང་པོ་ད། །
gö mitak lüla nying pomé
In particular, the impermanent body has no essence.
འ་ནམ་མཁར་ཤར་བ་འཇའ་ཚོན་འ། །
di nam-khar sharwé ja tsön-dra
It is similar to a rainbow arising in the sky,
་བན་པར་བང་ཡང་ཡལ་ནས་འ །
dé denpar zung-yang yal nedro
Though held to be true, it fades away.
32
ཕ་གས་ས་ང་ག་ཀ་པ། །
ཡར་སངས་ས་མས་ལ་དད་པ་ད། །
yar sangye namla de pamé
No trust in the buddhas above,
མར་མས་ཅན་མས་ལ་ང་་ང་། །
mar sem-chen namla nying jechung
[and] little compassion for sentient beings below;
ས་ར་ག་ན་ང་གགས་བན་ཙམ། །
gö ngurmik gyön-kyang zuk nyen-tsam
Though [I] wear a monk’s robe, it is mere pretense,
་་ས་བཞར་ཡང་དོན་དས་ང་། །
tra pudri shyaryang dön göchung
Though [I] shaved [my] hair with a razor,58 it has little meaning.59
ཕ་གས་ས་ང་ག་ཀ་པ། །
ས་ཐོས་པ་མང་ཡང་གནད་མ་ལ། །
chö töpa mang-yang né matrol
Though [I] heard the dharma extensively, [I] did not get the point,
33
ཁ་བཤད་པ་་ཡང་ད་མ་ལ། །
kha shepa tseyang gyü madul
Even when [I] explain [the dharma to others],
it does not tame [my mind-]stream,
གནས་་ད་འམ་ང་མ་ལ་ད། །
né ritrö drim-kyang khyim lasé
Though [I] had gone into mountain retreat, [I] longed for home,
ག་་ངས་ས་ང་ཉམས་ོང་ད། །
mik tatang jekyang nyam nyong-mé
However [I] looked with [my] eyes,60
I had no experience [in meditation].61
ཕ་གས་ས་ང་ག་ཀ་པ། །
་གཞན་་ན་འཚང་ང་་ག །
mi shyen-gyi kyön-tsang chung ngurik
[I am] aware [even] of the smallest faults and mistakes of others,
རང་ང་ནས་ལ་བ་་མ་ཚོ ར། །
rang khong-né rulwa yé matsor
[But] do not notice the rot within myself at all.
34
་གཞན་་མ་བོ་བར་བར་ནས། །
mi shyen-gyi gowo kor korné
Cheating others again and again,
ག་རང་ས་ས་པ་མ་ལགས་སམ། །
duk rang-gi nyöpa ma laksam
Am I not earning suffering myself?
ཕ་གས་ས་ང་ག་ཀ་པ། །
ང་ལ་བ་གང་རབ་མ་ས་པ། །
khong gyalwé sung-rab ma lüpa
Not reflecting upon whether all the teachings of he,
མས་ད་ལ་་ཕན་་མས་པར། །
sem gyüla epen mi sempar
The Victorious One, without exception, benefit the mind stream,
་གས་པ་བ་ར་ཐོས་བསམ་ས། །
khé drakpa drub-chir tö samjé
[I] listened [to them] and reflected [upon them]
in order to become famous,
་ཐར་པ་ལམ་་་འ་ཨང་། །
dé tarpé lamdu é dro-ang
Is this really following the path of liberation?
35
ཕ་གས་ས་ང་ག་ཀ་པ། །
ད་ས་པ་ལ་ས་འག་ན་བབ། །
khyö chöpé tsul-gyi jik ten-drub
Pretending to be a dharma practitioner,
[I] attain [nothing but] worldly [aims]62,
ལར་་བོ་ན་་མད་པ་ན། །
lar kyewo kün-gyi chö palen
And furthermore [I] accept the offerings of people.
་ཡང་ངས་་བ་ངང་་བཏང་། །
tsé yang-yeng jawé ngang dutang
[This] life [I] again spend with distractive activities,
དགས་ཐོགས་ར་འ་ས་་འ་ཨང་། །
uk tokger drodü chin dra-ang
How will it be when taking the last breath?
ཕ་གས་ས་ང་ག་ཀ་པ། །
བདག་་ད་་བ་གང་ནས་ས། །
dak delé kyowa ting nekyé
That is why I am deeply sad.
36
ཡར་སངས་ས་མས་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འབས། །
yar sangye namla sol wadeb
I supplicate to the buddhas above.
ར་གས་མ་ས་་མས་ཅན་དང་། །
chir nyikmé dü kyi sem chendang
In general, sentient beings in these times of degeneration63,
ས་ས་པ་ལ་ཅན་བདག་སོགས་ལ། །
gö chöpé tsul-chen dak sokla
In particular, we and others who seem to practice dharma.
ཕ་གས་ས་ང་ག་ཀ་པ། །
་ང་ལ་་ས་གཞན་ན་ད། །
bung la resa shyen namé
I – your son – have no one else to rely upon,
་ལ་་ད་ག་ད་རང་ས། །
ja dral-gyi kyiduk khye rang-shé
You know the joys and sufferings of freedom from action.64
དངས་ཟག་ད་བ་ན་ཕོ་ ང་ན། །
ying zakmé dechen po drang-na
In the palace of unstained expanse65 and great bliss,
37
མན་ད་དང་དར་ད་རོ་གག་ཤོག །
gön khyedang yermé ro chik-shok
Let me [abide] in inseparability from you, the Guardian,
and in one taste!
ས་དཔལ་་་་ན་ན་ག་་་དམར་དན་མག་ཡན་ལག་ས་མཛད་པའོ།། །།
Composed by Shamar Könchok Yenlak in the precious cave

of the glorious Tsāritra.66
38
39
II.
st
1 Jamgön
Kongtrul
Lodrö Thaye
༄༅།།་མ་ང་འབོད་་གསོལ་
འབས་མོས་ས་ང་་གར་
འབས་ས་་བ་བགས་སོ།།
Calling the Lama

from Afar
The Supplication, Intensifying devotion [from the depth]
of the heart 67
40
Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye
ན་མོ་་་། ་མ་ང་འབོད་ན་ལ་གས་འང་། ན་བབས་བལ་བ་གནད་

་ཤས་དང་ས་འང་ས་བལ་བ་མོས་ས་ཁ་ཙམ་ག་ཙམ་མ་ན་པར་ང་་
དལ། ས་པ་གང་ནས་བད། ་མ་ལས་ག་པ་སངས་ས་གཞན་ན་ད་པར་
ཐག་ད་པ་ས་ས་དང་ན་པས་དངས་་ན་པོས།།
Namo Guruve68 – I pay homage to the Teachers;

“Calling the Lama from Afar” is very famous to all, but what is important
for requesting blessing is to give birth, from the depth of one’s heart
and not only with empty words – from the marrow of the bones – to
devotion based on weariness [with samsara] and renunciation. Having
absolute certainty that there is no other buddha who is superior to the
lama, with a delicate melody [one sings as follows]:
The Lama as Three Jewels69

1)
་མ་མན་ནོ། ན་ཅན་་བ་་མ་མན་ནོ།།
lama khyenno drin-chen tsawé lama khyenno
Lama keep [us] in mind! Kind70 root lama keep [us] in mind!
ས་གམ་སངས་ས་་་བོ།།
düsum san-gye kyi ngowo
[You who are of] the nature of the buddhas of the three times,
ང་ོགས་དམ་ས་་འང་གནས།།
lung-tok dam-chö kyi jung-né
The source of excellent dharma of scriptures and realization,71
41
འཕགས་ཚོགས་ད་འན་་མངའ་བདག།
pak-tsok gendün gyi ngadak
Master72 of the assembly of the noble ones73 – the sangha,
་བ་་མ་ད་མན་ནོ།།
tsawé lama khyé khyenno
You, root lama keep [us] in mind!74
The Lama as Three Roots

2)
ན་བས་གས་་་གར་ན།།
jinlab tukjé yi ter-chen
[You who are] the great treasury of compassionate blessing,
དས་བ་མ་གས་་འང་གནས།།
ngödrub nam-nyi kyi jungné
The source of the two accomplishments [of siddhis],75
ན་ལས་་འདོད་ན་ོལ་མཛོད།།
nalé chidö kün tsol-dzö
The activity fulfilling whatever [one] wishes,
་བ་་མ་ད་མན་ནོ།།
tsawé lama khyé khyenno
You, root lama keep [us] in mind!76
42
The Lama as the Three Kāyas (3–5)

3)
་མ་འོད་དཔག་ད་པ་མན་ནོ།།
lama Öpa mepa khyenno
Lama Amitābha77 keep [us] in mind!78
ོས་ལ་ས་་ང་ནས་གགས་ག།
trödral chökü long-né zik-shik
From within the dharmakāya,
which is free from elaboration79 behold [us]!
བདག་སོགས་ལས་ངན་འར་བར་འམས་མས།།
daksok lengen khorwar khyamnam
Please guide us, who wander in samsara
[due to our] negative actions,
བ་ན་དག་པ་ང་་ོངས་མཛོད།།
dechen dakpé shying-du drong-dzö
To the pure land of great bliss!
4)
་མ་ན་རས་གགས་དབང་མན་ནོ།།
lama chenre zigwang khyenno
Lama, mighty Avalokiteśvara80 keep [us] in mind!
འོད་གསལ་ལོངས་་ང་ནས་གགས་ག།
ösal long-kü long-né zik-shik
From within the expanse of the sambhogakāya, which is clear light,
43
གས་ག་ག་བལ་ད་ནས་་ང་།།
rik-druk duk-ngal tsené shyi-shying
Pacify the suffering of the six classes of beings81 from the very root.
ཁམས་གམ་འར་བ་དོང་ནས་གས་མཛོད།།
khamsum khorwa dong-né truk-dzö
Please shake up82 the samsara of three realms83 from the bottom!
5)
་མ་པb་འང་གནས་མན་ནོ།།
lama pema jung-né khyenno
Lama Padmākara84 keep [us] in mind!
་ཡབ་པb་འོད་ནས་གགས་ག།
ngayab pema öné zik-shik
From Cāmara85 – [Palace of] Lotus Light86 – behold [us]!
གས་ས་བས་ད་བོད་འབངས་ཉམ་ཐག།
nyikdü kyabmé böbang nyamtak
In these degenerate times87 with [your] compassion quickly protect
གས་ས་ར་བ་ད་་བས་མཛོད།།
tukjé nyurwa nyidu kyob-dzö
The poor people of Tibet lacking protection!
44
The Nyingma Lineage (6–8)

6)
་མ་་ས་མཚོ་ལ་མན་ནོ།།
lama yeshe tsogyal khyenno
Lama Yeshe Tsogyal88 keep [us] in mind!
མཁའ་ོད་བ་ན་ང་ནས་གགས་ག།
khachö dechen drong-né zik-shik
From the Ḍākiṇī89 City of great joy behold [us]!
ག་ན་བདག་སོགས་ད་པ་མཚོ་ལས།།
dikden daksok sipé tsolé
Please free us who have negative [karma] from the ocean
of conditioned existence,
ཐར་པ་ང་ར་ན་པོར་ལ་མཛོད།།
tarpé drong-khyer chenpor drol-dzö
Into the great city of liberation!
7)
བཀའ་གར་བད་པ་་མ་མན་ནོ།།
kater gyüpé lama khyenno
Lamas of the lineages of oral teachings and termas90
keep [us] in mind!
ང་འག་་ས་ང་ནས་གགས་ག།
zung-juk yeshe longné zik-shik
From within the primordial consciousness of unity91 behold [us]!
45
བདག་ད་འལ་པ་ན་ཁང་བོལ་ནས།།
dak-gyü trulpé mün-khang tolné
Break through the dark dungeon of of illusions [overwhelming]
our [mind-]streams,
ོགས་པ་་མ་ཤར་བར་མཛོད་ག།
tokpé nyima sharwar dzöchik
Make the sun of realization rise!
8)
ན་མན་་ད་འོད་ར་མན་ནོ།།
kün-khyen drimé özer khyenno
All-knowing Drime Özer92 keep [us] in mind!
ན་བ་འོད་་ང་ནས་གགས་ག།
lhün-drub öngé long-né zik-shik
From within the five lights of spontaneous presence93 behold [us]!
ཀ་དག་དངས་པ་ལ་ན་ོ གས་ནས།།
kadak gong-pé tsal-chen dzokné
Bring to perfection the great power of the principle
of the primordial purity94 and
ང་བ་མཐའ་་ན་པར་མཛོད་ག།
nang-shyi taru chinpar dzöchik
Make [us] reach the culmination of the four visions95!
46
The Kadampa Lineage

9)
མཉམ་ད་་བོ་ ཡབ་ས་མན་ནོ།།
nyammé jowo yabsé khyenno
Unequalled father Atiśa96 [together with your] sons97 keep [us] in mind!
དགའ་ན་་བ་དས་ནས་གགས་ག།
ganden lhagyé üné zik-shik
From amidst the one hundred gods in Tuṣita98 behold [us]!
ོང་ད་ང་་ང་པོ་ཅན་།།
tong-nyi nying-jé nying-po chen-gyi
Make the bodhicitta that has the essence of emptiness and compassion,
ང་མས་ད་ལ་་བར་མཛོད་ག།
chang-sem gyüla kyewar dzöchik
Be born in [our mind-]streams!
The Marpa Kagyü (10–11)

10)
བ་མག་མར་་གས་གམ་མན་ནོ།།
drub-chok marmi daksum khyenno
Supreme siddhas Marpa,99 Mila,100 Gampopa,101 keep [us] in mind!
བ་ན་ོ་་དངས་ནས་གགས་ག།
dechen dorjé ying-né zik-shik
From the vajra-sphere102 of great joy behold [us]!
47
བ་ོང་ག་ན་མག་དས་བ་ང་།།
detong chak-chen chok-ngö drub-ching
Make [us attain] the supreme accomplishment of mahāmudrā –
joy and emptiness [inseparable]103,
ས་་ང་དས་སད་པར་མཛོད་ག།
chöku nyingü separ dzöchik
And make the dharmakāya awaken within [our] heart!
11 )
འག་ན་དབང་ག་ཀ་པ་མན་ནོ།།
jikten wang-chuk karmapa khyenno
Bodhisattva of Compassion,104 Karmapa105 keep [us] in mind!
མཁའ་བ་འ་འལ་དངས་ནས་གགས་ག།
kha-khyab drodul ying-né zik-shik
From the expanse where you tame beings as limitless as space,
behold us!
ས་ན་བན་ད་་མར་ོགས་ནས།།
chökün denmé gyumar tokné
Make appearances and mind rise as the three kāyas106,
ང་མས་་གམ་འཆར་བར་མཛོད་ག།
nang-sem kusum charwar dzöchik
After realizing that all phenomena are illusions devoid of reality!107
48
The Dagpo Kagyü subschools

12)
བཀའ་བད་་བ་ང་བད་མན་ནོ།།
kagyü cheshyi chung-gyé khyenno
[Masters] of the four major Kagyü lineages108
and the eight minor ones109 keep [us] in mind!
རང་ང་དག་པ་ང་ནས་གགས་ག།
rang-nang dakpé shying-né zik-shik
From the self-manifested pure land behold [us]!
གནས་བས་བ་་འལ་པ་སངས་ནས།།
nekab shyiyi trulpa sang-né
After purifying the illusion of four states110,
ཉམས་ོགས་མཐའ་་ན་པར་མཛོད་ག།
nyamtok taru chinpar dzöchik
Bring [our] experience and realization to the peak!
The Sakya Lineage

13)
་བན་ང་མ་མ་་མན་ནོ།།
jetsün gong-ma nam-nga khyenno
Five masters, [Sakya] forefathers,111 keep [us] in mind!
འར་འདས་དར་ད་ང་ནས་གགས་ག།
khordé yermé long-né zik-shik
From within samsara and nirvana inseparable behold [us]!
49
མ་དག་་མ་ོད་གམ་འལ་ནས།།
namdak tagom chösum drelné
Make [us] – combining completely pure view,
meditation and conduct112 –
གསང་བ་ལམ་མག་བད་པར་མཛོད་ག།
sang-wé lamchok dröpar dzöchik
Progress on the supreme secret path!
The Shangpa Kagyü (14–15)

14)
མཉམ་ད་ཤངས་པ་བཀའ་བད་མན་ནོ།།
nyammé shang-pa kagyü khyenno
[Lamas of the] Unequalled Shangpa Kagyu113 keep [us] in mind!
མ་དག་སངས་ས་ང་ནས་གགས་ག།
namdak sangye shying-né zik-shik
From the field of the completely pure Buddha realm behold [us]!
ཐབས་ལ་ཉམས་ན་ལ་བན་འོངས་ནས།།
tab-drol nyamlen tsul-shyin jong-né
Make [us] – after perfecting the practice of means
and liberation properly –
་ོབ་ང་འག་བས་པར་མཛོད་ག།
milob zung-juk nyepar dzöchik
Discover the unity114 [of the state] of no-more-learning!115
50
15)
བ་ན་ཐང་ོང་ལ་པོ་མན་ནོ།།
drub-chen tang-tong gyalpo khyenno
Mahāsiddha Thangtong Gyalpo116 keep [us] in mind!
ོལ་ད་གས་ས་ང་ནས་གགས་ག།
tsolmé tukjé long-né zik-shik
From within effortless compassion117 behold [us]!
བན་ད་ོགས་པ་བལ་གས་བ་ནས།།
denmé tokpé tul-shyuk drubné
Make [us] – after accomplishing the yogic discipline118 that is
realization of [things as] devoid of reality119,
ང་མས་རང་དབང་འ་བར་མཛོད་ག།
lung-sem rang-wang duwar dzöchik
Master freely the winds [of energies]120 and mind!
Lineage of Shije and Chöd (16–17)

16)
ཕ་གག་དམ་པ་སངས་ས་མན་ནོ།།
pachik dampa san-gye khyenno
The only father Dampa Sangye121 keep [us] in mind!
ལས་རབ་བ་པ་དངས་ནས་གགས་ག།
lerab drubpé ying-né zik-shik
From the expanse of accomplishing perfect action122 behold [us]!
51
བད་པ་ན་བས་ང་ལ་གས་ནས།།
gyüpé jinlab nying-la shyukné
After the blessing of the lineage enters [our] heart,
ན་འལ་ོགས་ད་འཆར་བར་མཛོད་ག།
ten-drel chokmé charwar dzöchik
Make the auspicious signs arise unbiased!123
17)
མ་གག་ལབ་་ན་མ་མན་ནོ།།
machik labkyi drönma khyenno
The only mother [Machik] Labdrön124 keep [us] in mind!
ས་རབ་ཕར་ན་ང་ནས་གགས་ག།
sherab parchin long-né zik-shik
From within [the state of] Prajñāpāramitā125 behold [us]!
བདག་འན་མས་ད་ད་ནས་ད་ང་།།
dak-dzin nyemjé tsené chöching
Cut the confused grasping for a self from its root126 and
བདག་ད་ོས་ལ་བན་མཐོང་མཛོད་ག།
dakmé trödral den-tong dzöchik
Make [us] see the truth of non-elaborated selflessness!
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Jonang Lineage (18–19)

18)
ན་མན་དོལ་པོ་སངས་ས་མན་ནོ།།
kün-khyen dolpo sangye khyenno
All-knowing Buddha from Dolpo127 keep [us] in mind!
མ་ན་མག་ན་དངས་ནས་གགས་ག།
namkün chokden ying-né zik-shik
From the expanse endowed with excellence of all aspects128 behold [us]!
འཕོ་བ་དགས་མས་ད་མར་འགགས་ནས།།
powé uknam umar gakné
Make [us] – after the movements of winds129 cease within
the central channel,
འཕོ་ ལ་ོ་་་ཐོབ་མཛོད་ག།
podral dorjé kutob dzöchik
Attain the diamond body free from movement!
19)
་བན་་ར་ན་ཐ་མན་ནོ།།
jetsün tāra nata khyenno
Master Tāranātha130 keep [us] in mind!
མ་གམ་ཕོ་ཉ་དངས་ནས་གགས་ག།
namsum ponyé ying-né zik-shik
From the expanse of three kinds of messengers131 behold [us]!
53
ོ་་གསང་ལམ་གས་ད་བད་ནས།།
dorjé sang-lam gekmé dröné
Make [us] – after traversing the secret diamond path unhindered,
འཇའ་ས་མཁའ་ོད་འབ་པར་མཛོད་ག།
jalü khachö drubpar dzöchik
Attain the celestial132 rainbow body!
Chokgyur Lingpa133 (20–22)

20)
གར་ན་མག་ར་ང་པ་མན་ནོ།།
terchen chok-gyur ling-pa khyenno
Great Tertön Chokgyur Lingpa134 keep [us] in mind!
ན་བ་ས་་ང་ནས་གགས་ག།
kün-khyab chökü long-né zik-shik
From within the all-pervading dharmakāya behold [us]!
གས་ོག་་ད་ངང་ལ་མ་ནས།།
nyitok kyemé ngang la timné
Make [us] – after dualistic conceptualization135 has dissolved into
the unborn state –
རང་ག་རང་ས་ན་པར་མཛོག་ག།
rang-rik rang-sa zinpar dzok-chik
Obtain self-awareness136 from within!
54
21)
་ན་བ་ན་ང་པ་མན་ནོ།།
orgyen dechen ling-pa khyenno
Orgyen Dechen Lingpa137 keep [us] in mind!
རང་གསལ་ལོངས་་དངས་ནས་གགས་ག།
rang-sal longkü ying-né zik-shik
From within the expanse of self-luminous sambhogakāya behold [us]!
་་་ས་ན་བ་ན་པོ།།
kunga yeshe lhün-drub chenpo
Make the great spontaneous primordial consciousness of the five kāyas,
ངས་ཐོབ་ད་པར་མན་ར་མཛོད་ག།
pang-tob mepar ngön-gyur dzöchik
Manifest without anything to be abandoned or adopted!138
22)
བ་གདལ་ག་པོ་ང་པ་མན་ནོ།།
khyabdal shyikpo ling-pa khyenno
All-pervading Zhigpo Lingpa139 keep [us] in mind!
འ་འལ་གས་་ངང་ནས་གགས་ག།
drodul tukjé ngang-né zik-shik
From within the state of compassion taming beings, behold [us]!
55
མས་་ན་ན་རང་ལ་ད་།།
sem-kyi rin-chen rang-la nyedé
After having discovered the great jewel of mind140 within ourselves,
འས་་ག་ལ་ོ གས་པར་མཛོད་ག།
drebu shyila dzokpar dzöchik
Make the result perfect within the ground!141
Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (23–26)

23)
མས་དཔའ་པb་་་མན་ནོ།།
sempa pemé nyugu khyenno
Sempa Peme Nyugu142 keep [us] in mind!
་འལ་ྭ་བ་ང་ནས་གགས་ག།
gyutrul drawé long-né zik-shik
From within the miraculous net143 behold [us]!
་ས་ལ་པོ་་བ་དབང་ག།
yeshe gyalpo kushyi wang-chuk
Make [us] inseparable from the king of primordial consciousness –
མག་དང་དར་ད་ད་་མཛོད་ག།
chokdang yermé nyidu dzöchik
The supreme lord of the four kāyas!144
56
24)
འཇམ་དངས་མན་བ་དབང་པོ་མན་ནོ།།
jamyang khyen-tsé wang-po khyenno
Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo145 keep [us] in mind!
མན་གས་་ས་དངས་ནས་གགས་ག།
khyen-nyi yeshe ying-né zik-shik
From the expanse of primordial consciousness of the two
knowledges,146 behold [us]!
་ས་ོ་ ་ན་པ་སངས་ནས།།
mishé loyi münpa sang-né
Make [us] – after purifying the uncognized darkness of the mind –
མན་རབ་ང་བ་ས་པར་མཛོད་ག།
khyenrab nang-wa gyepar dzöchik
Spread the light of perfect knowledge!147
25)
འོད་གསལ་ལ་པ་ོ་་མན་ནོ།།
ösal trulpé dorje khyenno
Ösal Trulpe Dorje148 keep [us] in mind!
འཇའ་ར་འོད་་ང་ནས་གགས་ག།
jazer öngé long-né zik-shik
From within the five [coloured] light rays of the rainbow behold [us]!
57
ག་ང་མས་་་མ་དག་ནས།།
tiklung sem-kyi drima dakné
Make [us] – after purifying the stains of drops, winds and mind –
གཞོན་་མ་ར་ང་བ་མཛོད་ག།
shyönnu bumkur chang-chub dzöchik
Awaken the youthful vase body!149
26)
པb་མདོ་གས་ང་པ་མན་ནོ།།
pema dongak ling-pa khyenno
Padma Donngak Lingpa150 keep [us] in mind!
བ་ོང་འར་ད་ང་ནས་གགས་ག།
detong gyurmé long-né zik-shik
From within the changeless realm of bliss and emptiness behold [us]!
ལ་དང་ལ་ས་དངས་པ་མཐའ་དག།
gyaldang gyalsé gong-pa tadak
Make [us] able to fulfill completely,
བདག་ས་ཡོངས་་ང་ས་མཛོད་ག།
dakgi yongsu kong-nü dzöchik
All the intentions of the Victorious One and his sons!
58
Jamgön Kongtrul (27–30)

27)
ངག་དབང་ཡོན་ཏན་་མཚོ་མན་ནོ།།
ngawang yönten gyatso khyenno
Ngakwang Yönten Gyatso keep [us] in mind!
དངས་་ང་འག་ང་ནས་གགས་ག།
ying-yé zung-juk long-né zik-shik
From within the unity151 of expanse and primordial consciousness
behold [us]!
ང་བ་བན་འན་ལ་ས་ག་ནས།།
nang-wé den-dzin hrul-gyi shyikné
Make [us] – after tearing apart the [wrong] conceptions about
any truth of appearances –
གང་ང་ལམ་་འར་ས་མཛོད་ག།
gang-jung lamdu khyernü dzöchik
Able to use for the path whatever appears!152
28)
ལ་ས་ོ་ས་མཐའ་ཡས་མན་ནོ།
gyalsé lodrö tayé khyenno
Son of the Victorious Ones Lodrö Thaye keep [us] in mind!
མས་དང་ང་་ངང་ནས་གགས་ག།
jamdang nying-jé ngang-né zik-shik
From the state of love and compassion behold [us]!
59
འ་ན་ན་ཅན་ཕ་མར་ས་ནས།།
drokün drin-chen pamar shené
Make [us] able – after recognizing all beings
to be [our] loving parents –
གཞན་ཕན་ང་ནས་བ་ས་མཛོད་ག།
shyenpen nying-né drubnü dzöchik
To sincerely accomplish the benefit of others!
29)
པb་གར་་དབང་ག་མན་ནོ།།
pema gargyi wang-chuk khyenno
Pema Gargyi Wangchuk keep [us] in mind!
བ་ན་འོད་གསལ་དངས་ནས་གགས་ག།
dechen ösal ying-né zik-shik
From the expanse of great joy which is clear light behold [us]!
ག་་་ས་་་ལ་ནས།།
duk-nga yeshe ngaru drolné
Make [us] – after the five poisons are liberated [by transformation]
into the five primordial consciousness153 –
ང་ཐོབ་གས་འན་ག་པར་མཛོད་ག།
pang-tob nyidzin shyikpar dzöchik
Destroy the clinging to both that which is to be abandoned
and attained!
60
30)
བན་གས་གང་ང་ང་པ་མན་ནོ།།
ten-nyi yung-drung ling-pa khyenno
Tennyi Yungdrung Lingpa154 keep [us] in mind!
ད་་མཉམ་ད་དངས་ནས་གགས་ག།
sishyi nyam-nyi ying-né zik-shik
From the expanse of equality of samsara and nirvana behold [us]!
མོས་ས་ལ་མ་ད་ལ་ས་ནས།།
mögü nalma gyüla kyéné
After genuine devotion has been born in [our mind-]stream,
ོགས་ལ་ས་མཉམ་ན་པོར་མཛོད་ག།
tok-drol dünyam chenpor dzöchik
Make [us experience] the great simultaneity of realization
and liberation!
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

31)
བ་ས་ཀ་་ན་མན་ནོ།།
drubsé karma ogyen khyenno
Karma Orgyen,155 the son of siddhas, keep [us] in mind!
ག་ོང་་ས་དངས་ནས་གགས་ག།
riktong yeshe ying-né zik-shik
From within the expanse of primordial consciousness being
awareness-emptiness behold [us]!
61
དངས་བད་ལས་ཅན་་ལ་འཕོ་བས།།
gong-gyü lechen bula powé
Make [us] – after receiving the direct transmission
as the child of good karma –156
ོགས་པ་ལ་ས་ན་པར་མཛོད་ག།
tokpé gyalsa zinpar dzöchik
Reach the kingdom of realization!
The Root Lama

32)
ན་ཅན་་བ་་མ་མན་ནོ།།
drin-chen tsawé lama khyenno
Kind root lama keep [us] in mind!
་གག་བ་ན་གནས་ནས་གགས་ག།
chitsuk dechen nené zik-shik
From the seat of great joy at the crown of my head157 behold [us]!
རང་ག་ས་་རང་ཞལ་མཇལ་ནས།།
rangrik chökü rang-shyal jalné
Make [us] able – after discovering that self-awareness
is the very nature of the dharmakāya –
་ག་སངས་ས་འབ་ས་མཛོད་ག།
tsechik sangye drubnü dzöchik
To attain the state of a buddha in this very life!
62
༈ ་མ།།
kyema
Alas!
33)
བདག་འ་མས་ཅན་ལས་ངན་ག་ཏོ་ཅན།།
dakdré sem-chen lengen dik tochen
Sentient beings like me – evildoers with bad karma,
ཐོག་ད་ས་ནས་འར་བར་ན་ང་འམས།།
tokmé düné khorwar yün ring-khyam
Wandered from beginningless time for so long in samsara,
ད་ང་ག་བལ་མཐའ་ད་ོང་འར་བས།།
dadung duk-ngel tamé nyong gyurwé
And still experiencing limitless suffering,
་ཤས་ད་ག་ཙམ་ཡང་མ་ས་པས།།
kyoshé kechik tsamyang ma kyepé
Do not feel regret even for an instant, hence
་མ་མན་ནོ་གས་ས་ར་་གགས།།
lama khyenno tukjé nyur duzik
Lama keep [us in mind]! Behold [us] swift ly with compassion!
ས་འང་གང་ནས་་བར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
ngejung ting-né kyewar jin gyilop
Bless [us] to give birth to renunciation from the depth [of our hearts]!
63
34)
དལ་འོར་ཐོབ་ང་་་ོང་ཟད་མཁན།།
denjor top-kyang mitsé tong zekhen
Even though [we] obtained freedoms and advantages,158
[we] squander [this] human life,
དོན་ད་་འར་་བས་ག་་གང་།།
dönmé tsedir jawé tak tuyeng
We are constantly distracted with meaningless affairs of this life,
དོན་ན་ཐར་པ་བ་ལ་་ལོས་ར།།
dön-chen tarpa drupla lé lökhyer
And when it comes to the great goal of attaining liberation,
[we] are driven away by laziness,
ནོར་་ང་ནས་ལག་ོང་ལོག་ར་པས།།
norbü ling-né laktong lok gyurpé
From the island of jewels [we] will come empty-handed, hence
Lama keep [us] in mind! Behold [us] swift ly with compassion!
་ས་དོན་ན་འབ་པར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
milü dönden druppar jin gyilop
Bless [us] so [that our] human body becomes meaningful!
64
35)
མ་་ས་ང་ས་པ་གག་ང་ད།།
mashi sateng lüpa chik kyang-mé
There is no one on the earth that will not die,
ད་་གག་་གས་མད་ཕ་རོལ་འ།།
data chikjé nyitü pa röl-dro
Right now, one after the other goes to the other side,
རང་ཡང་ར་བ་ད་་འ་དས་ང་།།
rang-yang nyurwa nyidu chi gökyang
Even though [we] also have to die soon,
ན་ང་ོད་བས་ད་པ་ང་ལ་པོ།།
yünring dödrap jepé nying rülpo
We stupidly prepare to stay for a long [time],
ལོང་ད་ོ་་ང་བར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
long-mé lona tung-war jin gyilop
Bless [us] when the time is short to reduce [our far-reaching] plans!
65
36)
ང་་ག་པ་མཛའ་བས་སོ་སོར་འལ།།
nying-du dukpé dzashé so sor-drel
[We] will be separated from every friend who pleases our hearts,
ར་ས་བསག་པ་ནོར་ས་གཞན་ས་ོད།།
serné sakpé nor-dzé zhen gyichö
Others will use the wealth [we] collected greedily,
གས་པ་ས་ང་ལ་་བོར་ནས་།།
chepé lükyang shüldu bor nésu
After leaving behind even [our] cherished body,
མ་ས་བར་དོ་གཏོལ་ད་འར་བར་འམས།།
nam-shé bardo tölmé khor war-khyam
[Our] consciousness will wander in the intermediate states
of samsara [with an] uncertain [future],
ས་ང་དས་ད་ོགས་པར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
chikyang gömé tokpar jin gyilop
Bless us so [we] realize that [we] do not need anything!
66
37)
འག་པ་ན་པ་ནག་པོས་ན་ནས་བ།།
jikpé münpa nakpö ngön nesu
Ahead, frightful black darkness is welcoming [us],
ལས་་ང་དམར་ག་པོས་བ་ནས་ད།།
lekyi lung-mar drakpö gyap nedé
From behind, the rough, strong wind of karma is chasing [us],
་ག་གན་་ཕོ་ཉས་བག་ང་བཙོ ག།
miduk shinjé ponyé dek ching-tsok
Disgusting messengers of the Lord of Death are going to strike
and hit [us],
བཟོད་དཀའ་ངན་འའི་ག་བལ་ོང་དས་ན།།
zöka ngen-drö duk-ngel nyong göna
We [will] have to experience the suffering of lower rebirths
difficult to bear,
ངན་སོང་གཡང་ལས་ཐར་བར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
ngensong yang-lé tarwar jin gyilop
Bless [us] so we will be liberated from the abyss of bad rebirths!
67
38)
རང་ན་་བོ་ཙམ་ཡང་ང་་ས།།
rang-kyön ribo tsamyang khong dubé
[Our] own faults [we] hide within though they are like a mountain,
གཞན་ན་ལ་འ་ཙམ་ཡང་ག་ང་ོད།།
zhen-kyön tin-dru tsamyang drok ching-mö
The faults of others [we] announce and condemn even though
they are like a sesame seed,
ཡོན་ཏན་ང་ཟད་ད་ང་བཟང་པོར་ོམ།།
yönten chung-zé mekyang zang porlom
Even though we lack the smallest qualities,
we [proudly] boast of [our] excellence,
ས་པ་ང་བཏགས་ས་ན་་ནར་ོད།།
chöpé ming-tak chömin kho nar-chö
[We] call ourselves dharma practitioners,
[but] behave completely non-dharmically,
རང་འདོད་ང་ལ་་བར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
rang-dö ngagyel zhiwar jin gyilop
Bless [us] to pacify selfishness and egocentrism!
68
39)
གཏན་ང་བདག་འན་འང་པོ་ ང་་བག།
tenpung dan-dzin gong-po khong duchuk
[We] cherish the demon of self-identification,159
which is always ruining us,
བསམ་ཚད་ཐམས་ཅད་ན་མོངས་འལ་བ་།།
sam-tsé tam-ché nyönmong pel wegyu
Every thought [of ours] is the cause for afflictions to increase,
ས་ཚད་ཐམས་ཅད་་ད་འས་་ཅན།
jetsé tam-ché migé dré buchen
Every deed [of ours] has a negative effect,
ཐར་པ་ལམ་་ོགས་ཙམ་མ་ན་པས།།
tarpé lamdu chok-tsam ma chinpé
We did not even turn towards the path of liberation, hence
ངར་འན་ད་ནས་ད་པར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
ngar-dzin tsené chöpar jin gyilop
Bless [us] to cut self-grasping at the root!
69
40)
བོད་ད་ཙམ་ལ་དགའ་དང་་དགའ་།།
tömé tsamla gadang mi gakyé
A little praise pleases [us] and a little blame displeases,
ག་ངན་ཙམ་ལ་བཟོད་པ་་ཆ་ཤོར།།
tsik-ngen tsamla zöpé go chashor
A few harsh words make [us] lose the armor of patience,
ཉམ་ཐག་མཐོང་ཡང་ང་་མས་་།།
nyamtak tong-yang nying-jé sem mikyé
Even though [we] see pitiable [people],
it does not trigger compassion in [our] mind,
ན་ལ་ང་ས་ར་་མད་པས་བངས།།
jinyül jung-dü serné dü peching
When there is an occasion to be generous,
[we are] tied up with stinginess,
མས་ད་ས་དང་འས་པར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
sem-gyü chödang drépar jin gyilop
Bless [us] so [our] mind-stream is mixed with the dharma!
70
41)
འར་བ་ང་པོ་ད་ལ་ང་པོ་བང་།།
khorwa nying-po mela nying pozung
Samsara has no core but [we] hold [it] to have a core,
ོ་ས་ར་་གཏན་འན་ང་ས་བོར།།
togö chirdu tendün ling gibor
For the sake of food and clothing [we] abandon lasting goals completely,
མ་་ཚང་ཡང་དས་དས་ར་ར་མང་།།
khogu tsang-yang gögö chir chirmang
Even though [we] have everything [we] need, [we] go on needing
more and more,
་བན་་མ་ས་ས་རང་མས་བས།།
miden gyumé chökyi rang semlü
Untrue illusory phenomena deceive [our] mind,
་འ་ོ་ ས་ཐོང་བར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
tsedi loyi tong-war jin gyilop
Bless [us] to abandon this [worldly] life through understanding!
71
42)
ས་མས་ག་བལ་་མོའང་་བཟོད་ང་།།
lüsem duk-ngel tramo-ang mi zökyang
Even though [we] can not bear the smallest suffering of body and mind,
ངན་འར་འ་ལ་་འར་ང་ོས་ཅན།།
ngen-dror drola mitser nying döchen
[We], uncaring, do not even try to avoid going into bad rebirths,
་འས་བ་ད་མན་མ་མཐོང་བན་།།
gyudré lumé ngönsum tong zhindu
Seeing directly that the law of cause and effect is infallible,
ད་བ་་བ་ག་པ་ཡོ་ལང་འལ།།
gewa midrup dikpé yo lang-pel
[We still] do not accomplish virtue,
[but just] increase a mass of negativity,
ལས་ལ་ད་ས་་བར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
lela yiché kyewar jin gyilop
Bless [us] to start trusting karma!
72
43)
ད་ལ་ང་མས་གན་ལ་ཆགས་མས་།།
drala dang-sem nyenla chak sem-kyé
With the attitude of anger toward enemies and attachment to kinsmen,
ང་དོར་གནས་ལ་ག་ག་ན་ར་འཐོམ།།
lang-dor nela timuk mün tartom
Like in the darkness [we] are stupefied with ignorance concerning
what to accept and what to reject,
ས་བན་ོད་་ང་གས་གད་དབང་ཤོར།།
chözhin chötsé jing-muk nyi wang-shor
When behaving according to the dharma,
[we] are overpowered by drowsiness, dullness and sleepiness,
ས་ན་ོད་་དབང་པོ་གསལ་ང་ང་།།
chömin chötsé wang-po sel ching-drung
When behaving according to non-dharma,
[our] faculties are clear and clever,
ན་མོངས་ད་བོ་མ་པར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
nyönmong drawo chompar jin gyilop
Bless [us] to defeat defeat the enemies – afflictions!
73
44)
་ནས་བས་ན་ཡང་དག་ས་པ་གགས།།
chiné tena yang-dak chö pezuk
Looking from the outside, [we] appear to be a real dharma practitioner,
ནང་་རང་མས་ས་དང་མ་འས་པས།།
nang-du rang-sem chödang ma drepé
[But] inwardly [our] own mind was not mingled with the dharma, thus
ལ་གག་བན་་ན་མོངས་ང་ན་ས།།
drülduk zhindu nyönmong khong nabé
Within [we] concealed [our] afflictions as poisonous snakes,
ན་དང་འད་་ས་པ་མཚང་གས་ོན།།
kyendang tretsé chöpé tsang taktön
[And] on [certain] occasions [we] expose [the] inner faults
of [other] practitioners,
རང་ད་རང་ས་ལ་བར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
rang-gyü rang-gi tülwar jin gyilop
Bless [us] to tame [our] own [mind-]stream!
74
45)
རང་ན་ངན་པ་རང་ས་མ་ོགས་པས།།
rang-kyön ngenpa rang-gi ma tokpé
Since we do not realize [our] own ugly mistakes,
ས་པ་གགས་བང་ས་ན་་ཚོགས་ོད།།
chöpé zukzung chömin na tsok-chö
[We] perform various non-dharmic [deeds, despite]
having taken the appearance of a dharma practitioner,
ན་མོངས་་ད་ལས་ལ་གས་ས་མས།།
nyönmong migé lela shuk kyigom
[We] strongly get accustomed to negative afflicted actions,
ད་ོ་ ཡང་ཡང་ས་ང་ཡང་ཡང་ཆད།།
gelo yang-yang kyekyang yang yang-ché
Even though virtuous attitudes came up again and again,
they were suppressed again and again,
རང་ན་རང་ས་མཐོང་བར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
rang-kyön rang-gi tong-war jin gyilop
Bless [us] to see our own mistakes!
75
46)
ཞག་་སོང་བན་འ་ལ་ཕར་ཕར་།།
zhakré song-zhin chila par par-nyé
With every day passing we are closer and closer to death,
ན་་ལོན་བན་རང་ད་ར་ར་ང་།།
nyinré lön-zhin rang-gyü chir chir-gyong
With every day coming [our] own [mind-]stream is more and more stiff,
་མ་བན་བན་མོས་ས་མ་ས་འབ།།
lama ten-zhin mögü rim gyidrip
While following a lama, [our] devotion gradually fades,
མད་ལ་བ་གང་དག་ང་་ང་སོང་།།
chela tsedung daknang jé chung-song
[Our] love [and] pure perception of friends get smaller and smaller,
་ད་རང་ད་ལ་བར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
mugö rang-gyü tülwar jin gyilop
Bless [us] to tame the unruly [behavior of our mind-]streams!
76
47)
བས་འ་མས་བད་གསོལ་འབས་ས་ན་ཡང་།།
kyam-dro sem-kyé söldep jé nayang
Even though [we] take refuge, develop bodhicitta,
and make supplications,
མོས་ས་ང་་གང་ནས་མ་ས་པས།།
mögü nying-jé ting-né ma kyepé
Devotion [and] compassion are not born from within, thus
ག་ཙམ་དབང་ར་ས་ོད་ད་ོ ར་མས།།
tsik-tsam wang-gyur chöchö gé jornam
[Our] dharma practice [and] virtuous behavior amount to words only,
ས་ལོ་ཙམ་ལས་ད་ཐོག་མ་ལ་བས།།
jelo tsamlé gyütok ma khelwé
Inconsequential, these mere deeds never influenced
[our mind-]stream,
་ས་ས་་འ་བར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
chijé chösu drowar jin gyilop
Bless [us] so that whatever [we] do becomes dharma [practice]!
77
48)
བདག་བ་འདོད་ལས་ག་བལ་ཐམས་ཅད་འང་།།
dakdé dölé duk-ngel tam chejung
Even though it is said that all suffering comes from wanting
happiness for oneself,
གཞན་ཕན་མས་ས་སངས་ས་འབ་གངས་ང་།།
zhenpen sem-kyi sang-gyé drup sung-kyang
[And] buddhahood [is attained] through thinking
of the benefit of others,
མས་མག་བད་ང་རང་འདོད་ག་་བག།
sem-chok kyeching rang-dö puk tuchuk
[We] generate highest bodhicitta and hide selfish wanting inside,
གཞན་ཕན་་་གཞན་གནོད་ཞོར་ལ་བ།།
zhenpen tachi zhennö zhor ladrup
Far from benefiting others, [we] even manage to harm others,
བདག་གཞན་བ་བར་ས་པར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
dak-zhen jewar nüpar jin gyilop
Bless [us] to be able to exchange ourselves for others!
78
49)
སངས་ས་དས་ང་་མ་་་བང་།།
sang-gyé ngönang lama mi ruzung
The lama who is truly a manifestation of the Buddha,
[we] take to be [an ordinary] human,
གདམས་ཟབ་ོན་པ་བཀའ་ན་ངང་ས་བད།།
damzap tönpé kadrin ngang gijé
We easily forget the kindness with which he was granting [us]
the profound instructions,
རང་འདོད་མ་ང་་ན་་ཆད་བམས།།
rang-dö majung tséna yi chégom
When our wishes are not fulfilled, [we] are upset,
མཛད་ོད་མས་ལ་་ཚོ མ་ལོག་ས་བ།།
dzechö namla tetsom lok tedrip
The deeds [of the lama we] obscure with [our] doubts
[and] wrong views,
མོས་ས་འབ་ད་འལ་བར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
mögü dripmé pelwar jin gyilop
Bless [us] to increase unfading devotion!
79
50)
རང་མས་སངས་ས་ན་ང་་མ་ས།།
rang-sem sang-gyé yin-kyang ngo mashé
Even though [our] own mind is buddha, we do not know it,
མ་ོག་ས་་ན་ང་དོན་མ་ོགས།།
namtok chöku yin-kyang dön matok
Even though conceptualization is the dharmakāya,
[we] do not realize that essential [point],
མ་བས་གག་མ་ན་ང་ང་མ་ས།།
machö nyukma yin-kyang kyong manü
Even though the unaltered state is natural,160
[we] are not able to maintain [it],
རང་བབས་གནས་གས་ན་ང་ད་མ་ས།།
rang-bap neluk yin-kyang yi maché
Even though [a mind] settled by itself [abides in] the natural state,
we do not have trust [in this],
རང་ག་རང་སར་ལ་བར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
rang-rik rang-sar drölwar jin gyilop
Bless [us] so that self-awareness is liberated from within!
80
51)
ཡོང་ས་འ་བ་ང་ནས་ན་མ་བ།།
yong-ngé chiwa nying-né dren matup
[We] cannot remember from [the depth of our] heart
that death comes for sure,
ཕན་ས་དམ་ས་ལ་བན་བ་མ་ས།།
pen-ngé dam-chö tsül-zhin drup manü
[We] are not able to truly realize the surely benefiting
and real dharma,
བན་ས་ལས་འས་ང་ད ོ ར་ལ་བན་ད།།
den-ngé ledré lang-dor tsül zhinmé
The law of karma is certainly true
[but we] do not accept and reject accordingly,
དས་ས་ན་ས་མ་བན་གང་བས་ར།།
göngé dren-shé maten yeng wekhyer
Since [we] do not rely on mindfulness and awareness,
which are necessary, [we] are carried away by distraction,
ངས་ད་ན་པས་ན་པར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
yeng-mé drenpé zinpar jin gyilop
Bless [us], so that undistracted mindfulness holds [our minds]!
81
52)
ན་ལས་ངན་པས་གས་་ས་མཐར་ས།།
ngönlé ngenpé nyikmi dü tar-kyé
Due to our prior negative karma
[we] were born at the end of [this] degenerate time,
ར་ས་ཐམས་ཅད་ག་བལ་་་སོང་།།
ngarjé tam-ché duk-ngel gyu rusong
All prior deeds have become the cause for suffering,
གས་ངན་མས་ས་ག་པ་བ་མས་གཡོགས།།
drok-ngen nam-kyi dikpé drip meyok
Bad friends cast the shadow of negative deeds [on us],
དོན་ད་ང་མོས་ད་ོ ར་གང་བས་ར།།
dönmé ling-mö gejor yeng wekhyer
[We are] distracted from virtuous behavior by senseless chatter,
ས་ལ་ང་ས་ས་པར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
chöla nying-rü nüpar jin gyilop
Bless [us] so [we] are able to be relentless in the dharma!
82
53)
དང་པོ་བསམ་་ས་ལས་ད་པ་ལ།།
dang-po sam-gyu chölé mé pala
At the beginning [we] thought about nothing but dharma,
ཐ་མ་བ་འས་འར་བ་ངན་སོང་།།
tama drup-dré khorwa ngen song-gyu
At the end the results of [our] achievements
are causes of samsara and bad rebirths,
ཐར་པ་ལོ་ ཏོག་་ད་སད་ས་བམ།།
tarpé lotok migé sé kyichom
The harvest of liberation is destroyed by the frost of non-virtue,
གཏན་འན་ས་པ་་ད་བདག་འ་མས།།
tendün nyepé mugö dak dranam
Barbarians like us ruined absolute aspirations,
དམ་ས་མཐའ་་ན་པར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
damchö taru chinpar jin gyilop
Bless [us] to bring real dharma to completion!
83
54)
་ཤས་གང་ནས་་བར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
kyoshé ting-né kyewar jin gyilop
Bless [us] so that disgust [with samsara] arises from within!
ལོང་ད་ོ་་ང་བར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
long-mé lona tung-war jin gyilop
Bless [us] to reduce our plans quickly!
འ་བ་ང་ནས་ན་པར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
chiwa nying-né drenpar jin gyilop
Bless [us] to remember about death deep in [our] heart!
ལས་ལ་ད་ས་་བར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
lela yiché kyewar jin gyilop
Bless [us] to start trusting karma!
ལམ་ལ་བར་ཆད་ད་པར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
lamla war-ché mepar jin gyilop
Bless [us] so that there are no obstacles on the path!
བ་ལ་ོན་འས་ས་པར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
drupla tsön-drü nüpar jin gyilop
Bless [us] to be able to exert ourselves to achieve [realization]!
ན་ངན་ལམ་་ལོང་པར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
kyen-ngen lamdu long-par jin gyilop
Bless [us] to incorporate bad conditions into the path!
84
གན་པོ་རང་གས་བ་པར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
nyenpo rang-tsuk tuppar jin gyilop
Bless [us] so the antidotes are effective by themselves!
བས་ན་མོས་ས་་བར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
chömin mögü kyewar jin gyilop
Bless [us] to give birth to unfabricated devotion!
གནས་ག་རང་ཞལ་འཇལ་བར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
neluk rang-zhel jelwar jin gyilop
Bless [us] to meet the absolute face to face!
རང་ག་ང་དས་སད་པར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
rang-rik nyingü separ jin gyilop
Bless [us] so that self-awareness is awakened
from within the depth of [our] heart!
འལ་ང་ག་་ད་པར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
trülnang zhitsa chöpar jin gyilop
Bless [us] to cut the basis of illusionary manifestations from the root!
་ག་སངས་ས་འབ་པར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
tsechik sang-gyé druppar jin gyilop
Bless [us] to attain buddhahood in one life!
གསོལ་བ་འབས་སོ་་མ་ན་པོ་།།
sölwa depso lama rin poché
[We] supplicate [you], precious lama!
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གང་བས་འབོད་དོ་ན་ཅན་ས་་།།
dungwé bödo drin-chen chö kyijé
[We] call [you] with longing, kind lord of dharma!
ལ་ད་བདག་ལ་་ས་ད་ལས་ད།།
kelmé dakla resa khyé lemé
For [we] who are unfortunate there is nobody else to rely on,
གས་ད་དར་ད་འས་པར་ན་ས་ོབས།།
tukyi yermé drépar jin gyilop
Bless [us] so your mind and ours mix inseparably!
ལ་འར་མོས་ན་ད་ོང་འགའ་ག་ས་ར་སོར་ནས་བལ་ཡང་མ་ས་་ར་
པ་་ཆར་གས་ན་ས་མཛད་མ་བསམ་འབ་ན་མ་དང་་བ་ར་ཏ་ང་ས་བལ་
ར་གས་ས་་མ་གགས་བན་འན་པ་ོ་ས་མཐའ་ཡས་ས་ོ ང་ཤོད་བ་
གགས་འས་པ་བ་གནས་ན་པོར་བས་པ་ད་གས་འལ།། །།
Concerning the above [text], a few devoted monks asked for it before,
but I postponed it for a long time. Recently Samdrub Drönma, a female
dharma practitioner of [the noble bodhisattva] family with Dewa
Rakṣita asked [me for it]. For them, the one who pretends to be a lama
in these degenerate times, [I,] Lodrö Thaye, wrote it in the great place
of accomplishment of Dzongshö161 where the Sugatas are gathered.
May it be virtuous!
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87
Annotations
1. The edition being produced for our translations consists of the following versions:
dKon mchog yan lag gyi bla ma rgyang ’bod: gdams ngag rin po che’i mdzod
by ’Jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha’ yas. Vol. 9 (ta). pp. 123–124. Folios
9a1 to 9b7. New Delhi: Shechen Publications. 1999; chos drug bla ma ’gyang
’bod zhwa dmar dkon mchog yan lag gis mdzad pa la In: Nā ro chos drug
gi khrid skor. Delhi: Karlo. 1985, pp. 11–14; bla ma rgyang ’bod In: dpal lugs
nā ro’i sgrub sde’i rgyun khyer byin rlabs ’dod dgu ’byung ba’i sprin phung
bzhugs so. Bodhgaya: Palpung Sungrab Patrun Khang. 2010, pp. 321–325; bla
ma rgyang ’bod In: bla ma rgyang ’bod. Calling Guru from Afar. Kathmandu:
Kagyu Institute of Buddhist Studies. 2014, pp. 94–123.
’Jam mgon kong sprul kyi bla ma rgyang ’bod: Calling the Guru from Afar. A
Supplication to Pierce Your Heart With Devotion by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö
Thaye. Kathmandu: Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery & Rangjung Yeshe
Translations & Publications; Calling the Gurus from Afar. A Supplication to
Pierce Your Heart with Devotion by Jamgön Kongtrul Rinpoche the Great.
Lhasey Lotsawa Translations & Publications. Chokgyur Lingpa Foundation.
2011; Padma Chos rgyal (ed.) “Bla ma rgyang ’bod kyi gsol debs mos gyus
snying gis gzer ’debs.” In: dKar rnying gi skyes chen du ma’i phyag rdzogs kyi
gdams ngag gnad bsdus nyer mkho rin po che’i gter mdzod/ rTsibs ri’i par ma/,
p 311–332, Vol 27. TBRC W20749. 31 vols. Darjeeling: Kargyu sungrab nyamso
khang, 1978–1985. (http://tbrc.org/link?RID=W20749); Another version of the
bla ma rgyang ’bod kyi gsol ’debs mos gus snying gi gzer ’debs is available
under: http://rywiki.tsadra.org/index.php/Calling_the_Guru_from_Afar;
the origin of this text is unknown. We used a typed version kindly given by
friends in France, Dagpo Kagyü Ling.
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Annotations
2. The instructions on how to sing the text and according to which we have
organised the phonetic rendering of the Tibetan were given orally by Sherab
Gyaltsen Rinpoche.
3. “bla na med na srid mthar min” Gampopa 1999: 27.
4. See first stanza of Kongtrul’s Calling the Lama.
5. See first stanza of Shamarpa’s Calling the Lama.
6. Bengar Jampal Zangpo (Tib. ban sgar ’ jam dpal bzang po, 15th century) was
the student of the 6th Karmapa Tongwa Dönden (Tib. mthong ba don ldan,
1416–1453). After twelve years of intensive meditation training he became
a master of mahāmudrā and finally became the teacher of the 7th Karmapa
Chödrak Gyatso (Tib. chos grags rgya mtsho, 1454–1506).
7. “mos gus sgom gyi mgo bor gsungs pa bzhin/ man ngag gter sgo ’byed pa’i
bla ma la/ rgyun du gsol ba ’debs pa’i sgom chen la”. Jampal Zangpo’s Dorje
Chang Tungma: vol. 9 (ta):, p. 119.
8. “bdag can rdzogs pa’i sangs rgyas thob par byed pa la bsod nams dang ye
shes kyis bsdus pa’i tshogs thams cad gsog dgos shing/ de gsog pa’i thabs dge
ba’i bshes gnyen la rag las pa’i phyir dang” Gampopa 1999: p. 25.
9. Tib. dge ba’i bshes gnyen, Skt. kalyāṇamitra, Nobel 1950 s.v. lit. “beneficial,
noble or virtuous friend”. This term may also refer to the Buddha himself, or
any spiritual guide or companion of any kind. MW: s.v. kalyāṇa.
10. Tib. ’phags pa.
11. cf. Thurman 2004: 224.; “mitraṃ śrayeddāntaśamopaśāntaṃ guṇādhikaṃ
sodyamamāgamāḍhyaṃ | prabud- dhatatvaṃ vacasābhyupetaṃ kṛpātmakaṃ
khedavivarjitaṃ ca ||“ These are the main qualities of a spiritual teacher
stressed by Asaṅga’s Mahāyānasūtralaṃkāra XVII.9 and its commentary
(bhāṣya) by Vasubandhu. Note that this is mentioned together with scholarly
accomplishment and the ability to teach.
12. The term Lama is equal to gongma (Tib. gong ma), which means “superior
or one who is above” and “preceding or elder,” which in fact refers to both:
teachers and parents.
89
13. Tsangpa Gyare (Tib. gtsang pa rgya ras ye shes rdo rje, 1161–1211) was a
student of Lingrepa Pema Dorje (Tib. gling ras pa pad+ma rdo rje, 1128–1188)
and one of the founding fathers of Drukpa Kagyü.
14. “rtogs pas bdag rgyud grol ba/ thugs rje gzhan rgyud grol ba / rten ’brel
thabs la mkhas pa / ’brel tshad don dang ldan pa ste”. Tsünpa Gendün Rinchen
2008: p. 143.
15. Tib. mchog gsang nang gi de nyid ston pa.
16. The path of accumulation (Skt. saṃbharamārga, Tib. tshogs lam, which
actually is short for puṇyajñānasaṃbhāra: the accumulation of merit
and insight) in the Mahāyāna is the first one of the so-called five paths a
bodhisattva traverses on the way to enlightenment. The practice on this
path has mainly to do with accumulating merit enabling one to enter higher
paths, which are as follows: the path of joining (Skt. prayogamārga, Tib. sbyor
lam), the path of seeing (Skt. darśanamārga, Tib. mthong lam), the path of
meditation (Skt. bhāvanāmārga, Tib. sgom lam) and the path of no more
learning (Skt. aśaikṣamārga, Tib. mi slob lam). The path of accumulation has
three stages: lesser, intermediate and great. The latter is meant in this quote.
17. “rang las dang po pa’i dus su sangs rgyas dang sa chen po la gnas pa’i byang
chub sems dpa’ rnams la bsten pa’i nus pa med pas/ dge ba’i bshes gnyen so
so’i skye bo la bsten pa’o/ /rang las kyi sgrib pa phal cher dag tsa na/ dge ba’i
bshes gnyen sa chen po la gnas pa’i byang chub sems dpa’ la bsten par nus pa’o/
/rang tshogs lam chen po yan chad la gnas tsa na/ dge ba’i bshes gnyen sangs
rgyas sprul pa’i sku la bsten par nus pa’o/ /rang sa chen po la gnas tsa na/ dge
ba’i bshes gnyen longs spyod rdzogs pa’i sku la bsten par nus pa’o//” Gampopa
1999: p. 27–28.
18. de ltar bzhi las rang la drin gang che na/ bdag cag dang po las dang nyon
mongs pa’i mun khang na ’dug pa’i tshe/ dge ba’i bshes gnyen gong ma rnams
bsten pa bas/ zhal mthong ba tsam yang med pa las/ dge ba’i bshes gnyen so
so’i skye bo dang mjal bas/ de’i gsung gi sgron mes lam snang bar byas nas/
dge ba’i bshes gnyen gong ma rnams dang mjal bar ’gyur te/ des na nangs gi
drin che ba ni dge ba’i bshes gnyen so so’i skye bo yin no//” Gampopa 1999: 28.
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Annotations
19. “gtso bo rtsa ba’i bla ma dbyer med bsgom” Kongtrul 2008: 37.
20. Tib. mos gus.
21. Jampal Zangpo’s Dorje Chang Tungma: vol. 9 (ta):, p. 119.
22. Tib. mos pa, Skt. adhimukti or adhimokṣa cf. Mvy 1929.
23. Tib. gus pa, Skt. gaurava cf. Nobel 1950 s.v.
24. Tib. gsol ’debs pa.
25. On blessing. See n6.
26. Tib. bla ma’i rnal ’byor, lit. “union, connection or unification with the
lama”, as the practice in which the meditator, through bringing to mind or
recalling the lama, receives his blessing and by that also the blessing of the
lineage. The term *guru-yoga is a back-translation into Sanskrit and to our
knowledge not attested in primary Indian literature.
27. Tib. bla ma rgyang ’bod.
28. cf. Davidson 2005: 50.
29. The first two texts listed here are those translated by us in the present work.
The last one, the Ogyen rinpoche söldep lama gyangbö jinlap charbep (Tib. o
rgyan rin po che’i gsol ’debs bla ma rgyang ’bod byin rlabs char ’bebs) is written
by Karma Chakme rāga-asya (Tib. karma chags med rā ga a sya, 1608–1678),
the first of the Karma Chakme incarnation lineage and founder of the Nedo
Kagyü (Tib. gnas mdo bka’ brgyud), a sub-school of the Karma Kagyü.
30. Tib. gsol ’debs pa.
31. Tib. gdams ngag, Skt. upadeśa.
32. “The Tibetan terms gdams ngag (Skt. upadeśa) and man ngag (Skt. āmnāya,
but sometimes also upadeśa) refer broadly to speech and writing that offer
directives for practice, whether in the general conduct of life or in some
specialized field such as medicine, astronomy, politics, yoga or meditation.
In any of these areas, they may refer to ’esoteric’ instructions, i.e., advice
not usually found in theoretical textbooks but derived from the hands-on
91
experience of skilled practitioners, and thus intended primarily for those

who are actually engaged in the practice of the discipline concerned. Man
ngag often seems to connote a higher degree of esotericism than does gdams
ngag, particularly where both terms are employed together contrastively, and
despite their essential synonymity.” Matthew Kapstein, “gDams ngag: Tibetan
Technologies of the Self”, in: Cabezón, Jackson 1996: 275.
33. See n66.
34. Tib. mi bskyod rdo rje (1507–1554).
35. Tib. sgrub brgyud shing rta brgyad.
36. Tib. ris med.
37. See ’Jam mgon Kong sprul and the Nonsectarian Movement”, Smith
2006: 1–54.
38. Perhaps it is significant to mention that the lamas and lineages – apart from
those that are Kagyü – being invoked are primarily related to the Nyingma.
39. Tib. ’bod pa.
40. Tib. bla ma mkhyen no.
41. Tib. zhang g.yu brag pa brtson ’grus grags pa 1123–1193, Zhang Tsöndrü
Drakpa 2011: 45.
42. “de ltar bla ma la mos gus bskyed cing sems ma bcos ba’i ngang du glod cing
sems la lta ba de kho na la bungs skor du bya zhing nyams su blang pas | yin
lugs zhig nang nas ’char bar gda’ gsungs pas” Roberts 2011: 45.
43. In Buddhist literature one finds references in which the buddha(s) and
bodhisattvas are referred to as the Buddha and his sons, or occasionally
also as father and brothers. The Gaṇḍavyūhasūtra (GRETIL) for instance
reads: sarvabuddha pitarastavāsamā bodhisattva tava sarvi bhrātaraḥ
| bodhiaṅga tava sarvi jñātayaḥ tvaṃ sujātu sugatāna orasaḥ || “All the
buddhas are your unequalled fathers and the bodhisattvas are your brothers
[...].” Another example – among others – would be the introductory verse
of the Bodhicaryāvatāra (GRETIL): sugatān sasutān sadharmakāyān,
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Annotations
praṇipatyādarato’khilāṃś ca vandyān | sugatātmajasaṃvarāvatāraṃ,

kathayiṣyāmi yathāgamaṃ samāsāt || “Having bowed down to the well-
gone (the Buddha) together with his offspring, which are endowed with the
Dharmakāya and everybody being worthy of respect [...].” Prajñākaramati
in his Bodhicaryāvatārapañjikā (GRETIL) explains that the offspring refers
to the bodhisattvas.
44. Translation for Skt. bhaṭṭāraka cf. Mvy. 7057; lit. “a great lord or any
venerable person,” cf. MW.
45. The alternative translation with deng (nowadays): “Yet, now out of love
to [your] devoted sons.”
46. Traditional rendering for designating the bodhisattvas, translation of Skt.
jinaputra cf. Mvy. 629; lit. “Son of the conqueror”.
47. Here the author is referring to his own root teacher the 8th Karmapa
Mikyö Dorje.
48. byin rlabs: translation for Skt. adhiṣṭhāna cf. Mvy. 4264, is often
translated within the Buddhist context as “blessing” or “inspiration.” The
literal translation of the full Tibetan expression “byin gyis rlabs” would be
“changing by [spiritual] power” or “influencing by [spiritual] power”. The
following entries taken from the BGT may further elucidate this difficult
term. The definition given here is the following: “the force or the power that
makes [you] stay with whatever is the meaning of the dharma of the path of
Āryas” cf. p. 1885: ’phags pa’i lam chos kyi don gang yin pa la gnas pa’i nus
pa’am mthu. Further the BGT defines rlob pa as: rlob pa (brlabs pa, brlab pa,
rlobs) – gnang ba dang sgyur ba | byin gyis rlob pa | stobs shugs kyis brlabs
par ’gyur ba. “rlob - to give, confer and to change, transform; thus: byin gyis
rlob pa – getting changed by the power”. Dag yig gsar bsgrigs: rlobs – gzhan
du bsgyur ba sogs kyi don yin zhing | rgyun du byin gyis zhes pa dang ’brel
nas ’ jug pa khyab che. “rlobs – has a meaning such as changing to something
else. Usually, when connected with byin gyis, it [means] to influence greatly”.
Another – perhaps related – meaning, also reflecting the more ancient usage
of the correct Sanskrit term and which, though not very closely connected to
our context, might give yet more flavour to the word as related to architecture,
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is found in Mvy 5591, where the term is rendered as lan kan gyi rten ma, which
would be “a support for an enclosure, fence or coping.”
49. Translation for Skt. kleśa lit. “[moral and spiritual] defi lements or
afflictions.” This term is widely used to describe the basic disturbances and
defi lements to be purified in order to become awakened, as it is for instance
explained in Sthiramati’s Triṃśikavijñaptibhāṣya (ed. Buescher 2007: 1.): nyon
mongs pa rnams ni thar pa ’thob pa la sgrib pas de’i phyir de dag spangs na
thar pa ’thob par ’gyur ro || “The defilements are the obstacle to the attainment
of liberation; therefore, liberation is obtained when these are abandoned.”
The Kleśasaṃkleśa Section of the Yogācārabhūmi (ed. Ahn 2003: 57.) further
explains: nyon mongs pa rnams kyi ngo bo nyid gang zhe na | chos gang skye
ba na bdag nyid kyang rab tu ma zhi ba’i mtshan nyid du skye la | de skyes
pas ’du byed kyi rgyud kyang rab tu ma zhi ba kho nar ’ jug pa ste | nyon
mongs pa’i ngo bo nyid ni de kho nar zad par rig par bya’o || “What now is the
nature of the defi lements? It is when a momentary element, when it comes
into being and on the one hand is not reassured and on the other hand, due
to its not being reassured yet, influences other factors as well. This is in brief,
you should know, the nature of defi lements.” (translation acc. Ahn 2003:
159.) The term afflictions is accordingly chosen, since it denotes something
that causes pain or suffering and thus explains the negative feeling carried
through in the next verses.
50. The alternative translation with tshe (time): “At the time of spreading of
karmically negative activity”.
51. Tib. snyigs ma lnga lit. “five dregs or degenerations”, translation of Skt.
pañcakaṣāya. These are the five characteristics of degenerations in the
kaliyuga – the dark age, i.e. the present time. They are as follows: “degeneration
of views” Tib. lta ba’i snyigs ma, Skt. dṛṣhṭikaṣāya; “degeneration of afflictions”
Tib. nyon mongs pa’i snyigs ma, Skt. kleśakaṣāya; “degeneration of sentient
beings” Tib. sems can gyi snyigs ma, Skt. sattvakaṣāya; “degeneration of life”
Tib. tshe’i snyigs ma, Skt. āyuḥkaṣāya; and the “degeneration of time” Tib.
dus kyi snyigs ma, Skt. kalpakaṣāya. cf. Mvy. 2335–2340. See also: BHSD s.v.
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Annotations
52. Bad transmigration, Skt. durgati, cf. Mvy. 4746 s.v. ngan ’gro; See also: TSD
s.v. ngan song refers actually to rebirth in the hell-realms and is listed as the
destination (paryāya) of hell beings (naraka).
53. Tib. ’ jig rten gyi chos brgyad translation of Skt. aṣhṭau lokadharmāḥ,
cf. Mvy. 2341–2348. Those explain the eight attitudes of the the activities
that sustain the samsaric mind, which lead to rebirth in cyclic existence
(saṃsāra). Generally these may also be called: “the eight conditions of the
world.” They are grouped into four pairs of opposites. Those are: “obtaining
and not obtaining” Tib. rnyed pa and ma rnyed pa, Skt. lābha and alābha;
“pleasure and pain”, Tib. bde ba and sdug bsngal, Skt. sukha and duḥkha;
“praise and blame” Tib. bstod pa and smad pa, Skt. praśaṃsā and nindā; and
“fame and infamy” Tib. snyan pa and mi snyan pa, Skt. yaśas and ayaśas. See
also: BHSD s.v.
54. Tib. gshin rje’i skyes bu – translation of Skt. *Yamapuruṣa. Yama, a Hindu
god embodying death, here translation as “the god of death,” is in the Mvy.
3114 just listed as a worldly deity (Skt. laukikadevatā, Tib. ’jig rten pa’i lha). In
Tibetan Buddhism he is also depicted in connection with the wrathful aspect
of Mañjuśrī, who is said to have conquered Yama and hence bears the name
Yamāntaka, lit. “The slayer of death” or “the one who made an end to Yama.”
55. Tib. ’ jig rten pha rol, Skt. paraloka lit. “the other or future world,” cf. MW
s.v. This expression is used to signify the course of the next rebirth and thus
might be more meaningfully rendered as: “The other life.” Together with ’gro
ba Skt. gata, it also means “death or dying”, cf. MW s.v. °gata. Thus a more
literal as well as dramatic sounding alternative translation would be: “For
sure I will die tomorrow.”
56. Definition of bag chags from BGT: “The latent power of the mind inside
getting accustomed to different outer objects as good, bad [or] neutral, which
is [like a] stain on top of the consciousness (nang sems kyis phyi yul bzang
ngan bar mi sna tshogs la goms pa song ba’i nus pa bag la nyal rnam shes kyi
steng na ’gos yod pa’i cha’o)” pp. 1805–1806.
57. Tib. bar do as the short form of bar ma do’i srid pa, translation of Skt.
antarābhava, cf. Mvy. 7680, lit. “intermediate state or existence” designates
95
the state or period in-between rebirths and is described in detail in the Tibetan
Book of the Dead (Tib. bar do thos grol). There it is called the narrow or steep
path, since a samsaric being has hardly any influence on what happens in this
intermediate state and the following future rebirth, which are explained as
being governed by the ripening of karmic seeds (Skt. vāsana) and habitual
reactions.
58. Shaving one’s hair is a part of the ceremony of becoming a monk. Even
formally becoming a monk (according to the author) does not necessarily
denote that there is a thorough renunciation from samsara.
59. The alternative translation with göme (Tib. dgos med; meaningless): “Even
though I shaved [my] head with a razor, there is no understanding of the
meaning [behind]”; A translation with Tib. sgo chung, lit. “small door”, would
not make much sense and is perhaps best to be understood as a misspelling.
60. The text seems to express the fact that during a formal meditation practice
one may have different possible eye-positions, i.e. one may look up, down,
ahead or have closed eyes. Thus the idea seems to be that generally a particular
way of practicing does not presuppose that one will get a certain result.
61. These three verses explain faults concerning so the three modes (Tib. tshul
gsum). These are the terms in which development and progress on the path is
traditionally explained in Tibetan Buddhism. The three modes are: hearing
(which actually means studying and learning), reflecting, and meditating (Tib.
thos bsam sgom gsum, Skt. śruta-cinta-bhāvanā). The process is described by
Kongtrul referring to the spiritual development of the 3rd Karmapa as follows:
“As the basis of the practice, he established the stainless conduct. At the very
beginning he impartially heard [the dharma] from the mouth of many learned
and realized teachers. Next completely relying on the meaning heard and
internalized through scrupulous analysis, he finally meditated in this way!
And finally he internally meditated on that very meaning that he had heard
and reflected upon. Thus due to [his] realization he perfectly attained the
result” (dri ma med pa’i tshul khrim kyi bslob par gzhir bshag/ thog ma nyid
du dge ba’i bshes gnyen mkhas shing grub pa brnyes pa du ma’i zhal snga nas
thos pa phyogs med du mdzad/ bar du mno bsam gyi rtog dpyod zhib mos
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Annotations
thos pa’i don thugs su chud pa la rab tu brten nas/ mthar thos bsam gyi don
de nyid nang du tshul bzhin bsgoms te bsgrubs pas ’bras bu la yang dag par
sbyor ba’i phyir). ’Jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha’ yas, ’rnam par shes
pa dang ye shes ’byed pa’i bstan bcos kyi tshig don go gsal du ’grel pa rang
byung dgongs pa’i rgyan ces bya ba bzhugs so’. In: A Collection of works on
Shentong School of Madhyamika Philosophy, Gangtok: Karma Shri Nalanda
Institute 1990, Book I, pp. 65–66.
62. Lit. “By the way of Dharma you attain the world” seems to refer to the
fact that worldly matters or aims, in contrast to any spiritual achievements,
are attained.
63. See n51.
64. Tib. bya bral translation of Skt. *niṣkriya lit. “Free from action or work”
denotes the state of somebody who has abandoned worldly tasks and actions
and has engaged in spiritual practice. In a more strict sense it denotes the
achievement of a mind-state that is free from intellectual elaboration (Skt.
niṣprapañca or nirvikalpa) and worldly action.
65. Tib. dbyings zag med translation of Skt. *anāsravadhātu, which here
perhaps might be understood as equalling chos dbyings or chos khams (Skt.
dharmadhātu): the sphere of phenomena being the primordial and pure state
of all phenomena. It is one of the crucial terms in the gzhan stong philosophy,
playing also a crucial role in the philosophy of Tathāgathagarbha. As the
8th Karmapa Mikyö Dorje states: “The primordial consciousness recognizing
[the nature of phenomena] that comes from the deep seat of the Tathāgatas
is primordially not different from the sphere of Tathāgathagarbha – at the
moment of cognizing that, all karmic seeds of obscurations are abandoned”
(de la de bzhin gshegs pa’i gnas zab mo’i dbyings las rtogs pa’i ye shes ye gdod
ma nas dbyings bde gshegs snying po dang tha mi dad du yod pa’i rig pa ldang
ba de’i tshe sgrib pa’i sa bon thams cad pa spangs te). Mikyö Dorje 1990: 14.
66. In S and Sh zil chan phug (the cave of great resplendence) means the cave
of a great and famous retreat place in the province of Kham, Tibet. Tsaritra or
Tsari (Tib. tsA ri) is one of the “Three Holy Places of Tibet,” associated with
the minds of Cakrasaṃvara and Vajravārāhī – the main meditation deity
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yidam (Tib. yid dam) in the Kagyü tradition. The other two are the places
of their bodies – Kailash (Tib. gangs dkar ti se) and speech – Labchi (Tib. la
phyi). These three are also listed among the “twenty-four sacred places” (Skt.
pīṭha) of the world, Kailash being identified as Himāvat, Labchi as Godāvarī,
and Tsari as both Cāritra or Devīkoṭi. Originally Tsarita (Tibetan distortion
from Indian Cāritra, which literally means: “good conduct”) was supposed
to be a place on the shore of the Indian Ocean. But in the 12th century its
“projection” was discovered and consecrated in the main Himalaya range on
the border between Tibet and Indian Arunachal Pradesh by the great Drukpa
Kagyü master Tsangpa Gyare (Tib. ’brug chen gtsang pa rgya ras ye shes rdo
rje). Since then it has played a very important role for the Kagyüs. Karmapa
Rangjung Dorje, states: “Charitra, principal among the twenty-four sacred
places, is the palace of the Honored One, Wheel of Supreme Bliss. Those who
perform pilgrimage there with faith and devotion will later be reborn in the
presence of the Buddha of Boundless Light in the pure land of Great Bliss.” See
Zangpo 2001.
67. Double meaning in gzer ’debs, literally “to nail the nail” – devotion nailing
the essential points. This would come down to the alternative translation:
“The Supplication “Calling the Lama from Afar”, nailing down the essential
points of devotion.” gzer generally has the notion to make something stable
and thus the phrase could as well be translated as: “to be solidified in the heart”.
68. Here we could also adopt the correct Sanskrit form gurave, which is
intended as the proper dative masculine plural of guru, we however decided
to stick to the form chosen by the author.
69. The numbers and sub-headers in italics are not part of the root text, but
added by the translators to convey a better understanding.
70. The two versions P and PW read drin chen instead of drin can. The
alternative translation with drin chen: “Root lama of great kindness.”
71. Traditionally the Buddha’s teachings (together with those of other great
masters) are divided into the “dharma of scriptures” (intellectual explanations,
which are taught by the Buddha himself as well by other great teachers) and
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Annotations
the “dharma of realization” (referring to perfection of meditation practice,

the mind state which is experienced by the realized ones).
72. Tib. mnga’ bdag – translation of Skt. prabhu, cf. Mvy. 80
73. Translation of Skt. ārya, cf. Mvy. 3750, lit. “any respectable or honourable
man”, which in the Buddhist context refers usually to the buddhas themselves
or to those have reached liberation from samsara or other higher stages of
realization.
74. In this first verse the lama is shown as the embodiment of the Three Jewels
(Skt. triratna, Tib. dkon mchog gsum) or the first three elements of refuge (Skt.
triśaraṇa) – buddha, dharma and sangha.
75. Accomplishments (Skt. siddhi, Tib. dngos grub) are distinguished into
two classes: ordinary accomplishments (thun mong gi dngos grub) which are
the results of mastering mind’s calm abiding meditation (Tib. zhi gnas), both
Buddhist and non-Buddhist, and and supreme accomplishments (mchog gi
dngos grub) which are the results of mastering mind’s insight meditation (Tib.
lhag mthong) leading to the understanding of emptiness, which ultimately
leads to enlightenment.
76. In this second verse the lama is shown as the embodiment of the Three
Roots (Tib. rtsa gsum), the second and additional set of three elements of
refuge, which is especially important for esoteric Tibetan Buddhism – lama
(root of blessing), yidam (root of accomplishments) and dharma protectors
(root of activity).
77. The red Buddha of Limitless Light – Öpame – situated in the western
direction and one of the five “Dhyāni Buddhas” (Tib. rgyal ba rigs lnga,
Skt. pañcakula) i.e. one of the lords of the five buddha families and their
respective fields. The others would be respectively Vairocana (in the center),
Amoghasiddhi (in the north), Ratnasambhava (in the south) and Akṣobhya
(in the east).
78. In this and following verses, Jamgön Kongtrul is addressing the trikāya
principle, represented here by the three aspects of the Lotus Family:
Amitābha as the Dharmakāya, Avalokiteśvara as the Sambhogakāya and
99
Padmasambhava as the Nirmāṇakāya. These three figures are an important

trinity in the Nyingma tradition of the ‘Revealed Treasures’ – Terma (Tib.
gter ma). Further, the text continues with reverence towards Yeshe Tsogyal,
who wrote the termas and hid them together with Padmasambhava, and to
Longchen Rabjam – one of the most prominent tertons and a systematizer
of the Nyingma lineage.
79. The Tib. term spros bral – free from elaboration – means generally freedom
from projections imposed by the samsaric mind apprehending in terms of
being (Tib. yod pa), non-being (Tib. med pa), being and non-being, and neither
being nor non-being, etc.
80. The Bodhisattva of Compassion – Chenrezig (Tib. spyan ras gzigs).
81. The “suffering of the six classes of beings” (Skt. ṣaḍgati; Tib. rigs drug)
refers to gods, demi-gods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts and hell beings.
82. This means to shake it in order to loosen the bonds of disturbing emotions
and karma, to destabilize samsara, which is stabilized by the unenlightened
way of experiencing.
83. The three realms (Skt. tridhātu; Tib. khams gsum) are: the desire realm,
the form realm and the formless realm.
84. Padmākara (Skt. Padmasambhava, Tib. padma ’byung gnas, 8th century) –
legendary Indian Mahāsiddha who is said to have been the first one to bring
tantric Buddhism to Tibet and is also known there as Guru Rinpoche. For a
translation of his biographies. See Zangpo 2002.
85. Cāmara, (abb. of Cāmaradvīpa) is in Buddhist cosmology the island
inhabited by rāksaṣas (being a kind of flesh-eating demon), located to the
south-west of the southern continent (Skt. Jambudvīpa). By the description
given in the Abhidharmakoṣa, Jambudvīpa can be roughly identified with the
Indian subcontinent, where Buddha’s teaching appeared. Cāmara is normally
identified with Ceylon (although Ceylon is actually located to the south-east
of India). According to his own prophecy, Guru Rinpoche moved to Ceylon
in order to tame the rāksaṣas after his mission in Tibet was accomplished.
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Annotations
86. Palace of Lotus Light (Tib. padma ’od kyi pho brang) is the abode of Guru
Rinpoche on the summit of the Copper Colored Mountain of Glory (Tib.
zangs mdog dpal ri) – his current residence on Cāmaradvīpa.
87. See n51.
88. Yeshe Tsogyal (8th century) – consort of Padmasambhava, holder of his
transmission and one of the greatest female masters in Tibetan Buddhism.
For a translation of her biography, see Padmakara 2002.
89. Tib. mkha’ spyod (Skt. khecara) – literally “user of space,” epithet of Skt.
ḍākiṇī, Tib. mkha’ ’gro ma.
90. In the Nyingma tradition there are two lines of transmissions, namely the
lineage of oral teachings (Tib. bka’ ma’i brgyud) and the lineage of termas
(Tib. gter ma’i brgyud). A terma is a hidden teaching, which is revealed by
the tertöns (Tib. gter ston), the finders of the hidden treasuries. The lama of
those treasuries might refer to several of the most important and outstanding
figures among the tertöns.
91. Unity (Skt. yuganaddha, Tib. zung ’ jug) refers to the unity of manifestations
and emptiness (Tib. snang ba dang stong pa nyid), or joy and emptiness (Tib.
bde ba and stong pa nyid), or expresses, within a tantric context, the union of
two of any “counter-pair”, such as male and female, conventional and ultimate,
etc. The meaning of this union is similar to the state of awakening of a buddha.
In the Advayavajrasaṃgraha is a short work about this topic. The fifth chapter
of the Pañcakrama, a text attributed to the tantric Nāgārjuna, also describes
this. Here formulations like the following can be found: prajñopāyasamāpattyā
jñātvā sarvaṃ samāsataḥ | yatra sthito mahāyogī tad bhaved yuganaddhakam
|| 5.8., (After succinctly knowing all through the coming together of wisdom
and means, in whatever the great Yogin is situated, he may cultivate that as
[similar to] Yuganaddha.).
92. Drime Özer is one of the names of Longchenpa (Tib. klong chen pa or klong
chen rab ’byams pa, 1308–1364), one of the most prominent masters of the
Nyingma tradition. One of his main teachers was the 3rd Karmapa.
93. Lit. “the five lights” (Tib. ’od lnga) – a poetic expression for a rainbow.
101
94. Lhündrub (Tib. lhun grub) – spontaneous presence and kadak (Tib. ka
dag) – primordial purity are two aspects of the basic nature (Tib. gzhi ka) in
the Mengakde section (Tib. man ngag sde) of Dzogchen. Togal and trekchö
practices, respectively, are meant for realizing these two aspects.
95. Four visions (Tib. snang ba bzhi) – “In the Upadeśa section of the Great
Completion system, the path is divided into two: trekchö (Tib. khregs chod) –
Thorough Cut and tögal (Tib. thod rgal) – Direct Crossing. The path of Direct
Crossing is explicated as a series of four levels. These levels are all concerned
with the dharmatā actually being seen as with the eye, i.e., they are concerned
with visual appearances. See also Kongtrul 2005: 517n41.
96. Atīśa Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna (982–1055?) – one of the most important Indian
masters in spreading Buddhism in Tibet and founder of the Kadam tradition.
See Chattopadhyaya 1999.
97. “Sons” here means actually “students”. Among Atīśa’s disciples, the most
prominent was Dromtön Gyalwé Jungné (Tib. ’drom ston rgyal ba’i ’byung
gnas 1004–1064).
98. Tuṣita – A god realm located high above Mount Meru, from where the
historical Buddha Śakyamuni descended to Earth to take his last rebirth here.
Also, present residence of the future Buddha Maitreya.
99. Marpa Chökyi Lodrö or Marpa Lotsawa The Translator (Tib. mar pa chos
kyi blo gros, 1012–1097) – close student of Mahāsiddha Nāropa and holder of
the mahāmudrā lineage of Maitrīpa (also known as Advayavajra). One of the
most famous Tibetan translators, who brought numerous tantric teachings
from India to Tibet, and founder of Marpa Kagyü (Tib. mar pa bka’ brgyud).
For a translation of his biography, see Tsangnyön Heruka 1999.
100. Milarepa (Tib. mi la ras pa, 1040–1123) – the main student of Marpa,
one of the greatest yogins in the history of Tibet, and associated with the
“Hundred Thousand Vajra-Songs.” For a translation of his biography, see
Tsangnyön Heruka 2010.
101. Gampopa (Tib. sgam po pa bsod nams rin chen, dwags po lha rje, 1079–
1153) – who was first a Kadampa monk and later became one of Milarepa’s
102
Annotations
main students (the other most prominent disciple would be Rechung Dorje
Drakpa (Tib. ras chung rdo rje grags pa) or Rechungpa).
102. Skt. vajradhātu. This is a realm usually inhabited by the five Buddha
families.
103. Reference to the characteristic Kagyü approach to mahāmudrā teachings
as describing the experience of that very mahāmudrā as de tong (Tib. bde
stong) – the unity of joy and emptiness.
104. Tib. ’ jig rten dbang phyug, Skt. Lokeśvara is one of the names of
Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, and are often used as honorific
titles for the incarnations of the Karmapas, as they are held to be emanations
of this particular bodhisattva.
105. For further information. See Douglas, White 1976.
106. See n78.
107. The term denme (Tib. bden med) is an abbreviation of denpar druppa
mepa (Tib. bden par grub pa med pa) – devoid of truly established reality (as
existing and permanent).
108. The four major Kagyü lineages are: Karma Kagyü (Tib. karma bka’
brgyud) founded by Düsum Khyenpa (Tib. dus gsum mkhyen pa, 1110–1193),
Tsalpa Kagyü (Tib. tsal pa bka’ brgyud) founded by Lama Zhang (Tib. zhang
g.yu brag pa brtson ’grus g.yung drung, 1123–1193), Barom Kagyü (Tib. ’ba’ rom
bka brgyud) founded by Barompa Dharma Wangchuk (Tib. ’ba rom pa dar
ma dbang phyug, 1127–1194?) and Pakdru Kagyü (Tib. phag gru bka’ brgyud)
founded by Phakmo Drupa (Tib. phag mo gru pa rdo rje rgyal po, 1110–1170).
109. The eight minor Kagyü lineages are: Drigung Kagyü (Tib. ’bri gung
bka’ brgyud) founded by Jikten Sumgön (Tib. ’ jig rten gsum mgon, rin chen
dpal, 1143–1217), Taklung Kagyü (Tib. stag lung bka’ brgyud) founded by
Taklung Tangpa Trashi Penden (Tib. stag lung thang pa bkra shis dpal ldan,
1142–1209/10), Tropu Kagyü (Tib. khro phu bka’ brgyud) founded by Tropu
Gyeltsa Rinchen Gön (Tib. khro phu rgyal tsha rin chen mgon, 1118–1195) and
Tropu Lotsāwa Jampa Pel (Tib. khro phu lo tsā ba byams pa dpal, 1172?–1236?),
103
Drukpa Kagyü (Tib. ’brug pa bka’ brgyud) founded by Lingje Repa Pema Dorje
or Lingrepa (Tib. gling rje ras pa padma rdo rje, 1128–1188) and Tsangpa Gyare
(Tib. gtsang pa rgya ras, 1161–1211), Martsang Kagyü (Tib. smar tshang bka’
brgyud) founded by Martsang Sherap Sengge (Tib. smar tshang shes rab seng
ge, smar pa shes rab ye shes, 1135–1203), Yelpa Kagyü (Tib. yel pa bka’ brgyud)
founded by Yelpa Yeshe Tsek (Tib. yel pa ye shes brtsegs, 1134–1194), Yazang
Kagyü (Tib. g.ya’ bzang bka’ brgyud) founded by Zara Kelden Yeshe Sengge
(Tib. zwa ra skal ldan ye shes seng ge, 1168?–1207) and Shuksep Kagyü (Tib.
shug gseb bka’ brgyud) founded by Gyergom Tsültrim Sengge (Tib. gyer sgom
tshul khrims seng ge, 1144–1204).
110. Literally four situations (Tib. gnas skabs gzhi) mean the following: waking
(Tib. sad pa), dreaming (Tib. rmi lam), deep sleep (Tib. gnyid ’thug po) and
love-making (Tib. snyoms ’jug).
111. Gongma Namnga (Tib. gong ma rnam lnga) – abb. of Tib. sa skya gong ma
rnam lnga meaning the five Sakya forefathers, namely Sachen Künga Nyingpo
(Tib. sa chen kun dga’ snying po, 1092–1158), Sönam Tsemo (Tib. bsod nams
rtse mo, 1142–1182), Drakpa Gyaltsen (Tib. grags pa rgyal mtshan, 1147–1216),
Drogön Chögyel Phakpa Lodrö Gyaltsen (Tib. ’gro mgon chos rgyal ’phags
pa blo gros rgyal mtshan, 1235–1280) and Sakya Paṇḍita (Tib. sa paṇ kun dga
rgyal mtshan, 1182–1251).
112. These might refer to the three corpora of Buddhist scriptures (Skt.
tripitaka), which are the collections of discipline (Skt. vinaya), Buddha’s
teachings (Skt. sūtra) and additional disciplines (Skt. abhidharma).
113. Shangpa Kagyü (Tib. shangs pa bka’ brgyud) – school founded by
Khyungpo Naljor (Tib. khyung po rnal ’byor, 1050/990–1127), the direct
mahāmudrā student of Niguma. Famous for Six Doctrines of Niguma, which
are parallel to the Six Doctrines of Nāropā. It is the only Kagyü school not
contained in the Marpa Kagyü. For an abridged translation of the collection
of life stories of Shangpa masters. See Riggs 2001. For the translation of the
collection of the teachings of Shangpa Kagyü, see Kongtrul, 2003.
114. See n91.
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Annotations
115. Generally, the path of Buddhist development is divided into two types:
the path of learning (Tib. slob pa’i lam) and the path of non-learning (Tib.
mi slob pa’i lam). The first one goes up to the 10th Bhūmi (the gradual stages
of the bodhisattva’s development), while the latter actually refers to the state
of a buddha.
116. Thangtong Gyalpo (Tib. thang stong rgyal po 1385–1464 or 1361–1485) –
closely associated with the Shangpa Kagyü tradition. Cf. his biography by
Lochen Gyurme Dechen, Stearns 2007: 81–440. See Kongtrul 2012: 219–221.
117. One of the most widespread versions of a meditation on the Bodhisattva
of Compassion (Skt. Avalokiteśvara) in Tibet comes from Thangtong Gyalpo
who was considered the master of this practice. See Thangtong Gyalpo 2004.
118. The Tib. phrase brtul zhugs – translated here as yogic discipline – is
composed of two verbs: brtul – to tame (the afflictions of the mind), and
zhugs – to enter (the liberating path).
119. See n107.
120. Wind – lung (Tib. rlung, Skt. prāṇa) refers to the whole “subtle body”
(Skt. sūkṣmarūpa and sūkṣmayoga, Tib. phra mo’i rnal ’byor) that consists of
channels (Skt. nāḍī, Tib. rtsa) and wheels (Skt. cakra, Tib. ’khor lo) in which
the wind (or breath, or energies) and drops (Skt. bindu, Tib. thig le) are brought
under one’s control. Commonly, practices involving such advanced tantric
methods are referred to as Tsalung (Tib. rtsa rlung).
121. Padampa Sangye (Tib. pha dam pa sangs rgyas, ?–1117) – Indian
Mahāsiddha who brought the practice of Severance – Chö (Tib. gcod), as
well as the so called “Pacifier” teachings – Zhije (Tib. zhi byed), to Tibet. He
was also the main teacher of Machig Labdrön. See Molk, Tsering Wangdu
Rinpoche 2008.
122. Lerap Druppa (Tib. las rab drub pa) is the northern pure land or buddha-
field of Amoghasiddhi (Tib. don yod grub pa), one of the Five Buddha Fields
(Tib. rigs lnga’i zhing khams). See n77.
105
123. There are two possible interpretations of this verse and the second one
is “make dependent origination arise unbiased” meaning every dependent
phenomenon is understood as empty, thus equal and unbiased.
124. Machik Labkyi Drönma (Tib. ma gcig lab kyi sgron ma) means Machig
Labdrön (Tib. ma gcig lab sgron, 1055–1149), a Tibetan yogiṇī famous for
spreading the practice of Severance – Chö (Tib. gcod). For a translation of
her biography, see Harding 2003: 57–102; Edou 1996: 119–164.
125. Reference to the fact that she was considered the master of the
Prajñāpāramitā philosophy and thus defeated many learned scholars in
debates.
126. Reference to Severance – Chö (Tib. gcod) – the main practice of Machig
Labdrön.
127. Dolpopa Sherab Gyeltsen (Tib. dol po pa shes rab rgyal mtshan, 1292–1361) –
founder of the Jonang school (Tib. jo nang), which is considered as one of the
six schools of Tibetan Buddhism and is famous for introducing the view of
“other-emptiness” Zhentong (Tib. gzhan stong) to Tibet. See Hopkins 2006.
128. Reference to the “other-emptiness” description in which the absolute is
empty of any afflictions, i.e. anything that is “other” than its natural state,
and thus endowed with qualities of the enlightened mind.
129. There are three main channels in the body – right (Skt. rasanā; Tib. rtsa ro
ma), central (Skt. avadhūtī; Tib. rtsa dbu ma) and left (Skt. lalanā; Tib. rkyang
ma). The movement of energy winds in the right and left channels causes
good and bad thoughts to appear. But when these movements of breath or
wind enter into the central channel, then its movements stop and the stream
of good and bad thoughts disappear. In such way the vajra-body, free from
such movements (of winds and thoughts) can be obtained.
130. Tāranātha (1575–1634) – one of the greatest masters and philosophers of the
Jonang school, exponent of the other-emptiness view introduced by Dolpopa,
and one of the most important historians of Tibet. See Chattopadhyaya 1990;
Hopkins 2006.
106
Annotations
131. This refers to the three-fold purification of the main channels, initiated
by the three Ḍākinīs, a process ultimately leading to the experience of the
“innate” in the moment of the final consummation.
132. See n131.
133. The following four verses (20–23) are only contained in RY and L, since
the passages addressing Chokgyur Lingpa were absent in the original text
written by Jamgön Kongtrul. They were composed by the 15th Karmapa (Tib.
mkha’ khyab rdo rje, 1871–1922).
134. Chokgyur Lingpa (Tib. mchog gyur bde chen gling pa, 1829–1870) – the
student of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, one of the greatest Treasure Revealers –
Tertöns (Tib. gter ston) in Tibetan history. For a translation of his biography
See Kongtrul 2012: 300–311; Tobgyal 1988.
135. What is meant by dualistic conceptualization is a cognition of emptiness
as separate from its manifestations or the perception of subject and object as
different from each other, through lacking an understanding of their nature
as emptiness, i.e. their being related through their having “interdependently
arisen”.
136. Tib. rang rig, Skt. svasaṃvedana, also translated as “self-awareness,” is
an important technical term, which refers to the fact that the apprehended
is similar to that with which it is apprehended.
137. Orgyen Dechen Lingpa (Tib. o rgyan bde chen gling pa) is an alternative
name for Chogyur Lingpa. See n134.
138. Tib. spangs thob equals Tib. spang bya blang bya.
139. Khyab Pal Zhigpo Lingpa (Tib. khyab dpal zhing po gling pa) is an
alternative name for Chogyur Lingpa. See n134. There is yet another Tibetan
Master Zhigpo Lingpa (Tib. zhig po gling pa, 1524–1583) bearing the same
name cf. Kongtrul 2012: 167–169.
140. The picture here is meant to refer to the “buddha nature” or more literally
the “essence or seed of the tathāgata” (Skt. tathāgatagarbha, Tib. de bzhin
107
gshegs pa’i snying po). After the seed (garbha) – here, the jewel of the mind –
has been found, it can be cultivated to bring about the fruition (tathāgata).
141. By “ground”, the mind in itself (Tib. sems nyid) is meant here. Cf. verse
7a of phyag chen smon lam by the 3rd Karmapa: “The basis of purification is
mind in itself – unity of clarity and emptiness” (sbyang gzhi sems nyid gsal
stong zung ’ jug la/) Rangjung Dorje 2002, vol. 20.
142. Sempa Peme Nyugu (Tib. sems dpa’ padma’i myu gu) is an epithet of
Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. See n145.
143. This probably refers to Mañjuśrī’s Tantra [called] The Net of Magical
Emanation (Skt. Mañjuśrīmāyājālatantra) a main Tantra of the Mahāyoga
class, being usually identified with the Chanting the Names of Mañjuśrī (Skt.
Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti), Derge: 642.
144. Four Kāyas refer to the usual set of three (See n78) with the addition of
the “body of the essence or natural state” – svabhāvikakāya, which represents
the union of the three other bodies.
145. Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (’ jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse’i dbang po or
kun dga’ bstan pa’i rgyal mtshan 1820–1892) – one of the most prominent
lamas in 19th century Tibet. He collaborated closely with and was teacher to
Jamgon Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye and was one of the co-founder or rime (Tib.
ris med) movement. See Kongtrul 2012.
146. The two kinds of knowledge that the Buddha possesses are: “the knowledge
of the way reality is” (Tib. chos nyid ji lta ba mkhyen pa) and “the knowledge
of various objects (of the truth of complete projections)” (Tib. chos can ji
snyed pa mkhyen pa).
147. The last two verses of this stanza are based on the Tibetan understanding
of “buddha” translated as sangs rgyas, where sangs means to purify, and rgyas
means to spread. This specific translation also preserves the original reference
to the Buddha as The Awakened One, since the idiom rmi lam las sangs means
to awake (literally, purify from dreaming).
108
Annotations
148. Ösal Trulpe Dorje (Tib. ’od gsal sprul pa’i rdo rje) is an epithet of Jamyang
Khyentse Wangpo, cf. Chögyam Trungpa vol. 4. 2010: 29.
149. Youthful Vase Body (Tib. gzhon nu bum pa’i sku) is a specific term in the
Dzogchen (Tib. rdzogs chen) tradition for the ultimate result of practice. It is
described as the body of a 16-year-old that is perfect in every way and does
not age. It is described through six special qualities (Tib. khyad chos drug):
1) Appearing as one’s own real nature (Tib. rang ngor snang ba), 2) Emerging
from the ground of being (Tib. gzhi las ’phags), 3) Discrimination (Tib. bye
brag phyed pa), 4) Freedom from differentiation and acquisition (Tib. phyed
thob tu grol ba), 5) The non-changing of youth (Tib. gzhon las ma byung ba)
and 6) Natural firmness (Tib. rang sar gnas pa).
150. Padma Donngak Lingpa (Tib. padma mdo sngags gling pa) is an epithet of
Jamyang Khyentsé Wangpo, cf. Kongtrul 2012: 313–327; Chögyam Trungpa
vol. 4. 2010: 29.
151. See n91.
152. An idiom meaning the ability to include every experience into the practice.
153. The five poisons are five emotional obscurations of afflictions (desire,
anger, ignorance, pride and jealousy; Skt. pañcakleśa-viṣa, Tib. dug lnga) and
the five primordial consciousnesses (the consciousness that is mirror-like,
of discrimination, of the absolute truth, of equality, and of accomplishing
activity; Skt. pañcajñāna, Tib. ye shes lnga) – more commonly referred to as
wisdoms – are their transformations, i.e the five qualities free from afflictions.
The set of five is further related to the five Buddha families. See n77.
154. The names Ngakwang Yönten Gyatso (Tib. ngag dbang yon tan rgya
mtsho), Son of the Victorious Ones Lodrö Thaye (Tib. rgyal sras blo gros mtha’
yas), Pema Gargyi Wangchuk (Tib. padma gar gyi dbang phyug) and Tennyi
Yungdrung Lingpa (Tib. bstan gnyis g.yung drug gling pa) are all names given
to Jamgön Kongtrul on the four occasions when he obtained the viṇaya vows,
the bodhisattva vows, when he was introduced into the Vajrayāna, and when
he was recognised as a tertön. The reason for Kongtrul to include himself
109
lies in the fact that he was requested by his students to compose this text. Cf.
Chögyam Trungpa vol.4. 2010: 29.
155. Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche (Tib. sprul sku o rgyan rin po che; 1920–1996).
This verse was added by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (Tib. dil mgo mkhyen brtse
bkra shis dpal ’byor; 1910–1991).
156. Meaning fortunate to obtain the transmission by way of karmic link
with the teacher.
157. The seat of the great joy at the crown of the head is referring to one the
cakras, which sometimes additionally referred to as the sixth cakra, called
the mahāsukhacakra.
158. Freedoms and advantages (Tib. dal ’byor) mean the set of conditions
defi ning the so called “precious human body” (Tib. mi lus rin po che).
“There are eight freedoms taught. Freedom means here being free from eight
unfavorable conditions. These eight unfavorable conditions are explained
as follows: “The realms of hells, hungry ghosts, animals, barbarians, long
living gods [and beings having] wrong views, [are those] where Buddha is
absent and where one is handicapped.” [dal ba brgyad bstan pa/ de la dal ba
ni mi khom pa brgyad dang bral ba’o/ /mi khom pa brgyad ni mdo dran pa
nyer bzhag las/ dnyal na yi dwags dud ’gro dang// kla klo tshe ring lha dang
ni/ /log lta sangs rgyas kyis stong pa/ /lkugs pa ’di dag mi khom brgyad// ces
gsungs so//]” Gampopa 1999: 12.; “Concerning the ten advantages there are
five advantages [achieved] by oneself and five advantages [achieved] through
other [conditions]. The five advantages [achieved] by oneself are: ’human
beings, being born in [the so called] middle country [where beings are noble],
having all faculties [functioning well], not turning to extreme activities [and]
having devotion for the teachings. (…) The five conditions [achieved] through
other conditions are: Buddha came to this world, taught the excellent dharma,
the dharma that was taught [still] remains, there are some followers of that
remaining dharma, and there are compassion and love for others [’byor ba
bcu/ ’byor ba ni/ rang gi ’byor ba lnga dang/ gzhan gyi ’byor ba lnga ste bcu’o//
rang ’byor lnga/ de la rang gi ’byor ba lnga ni/ ji skad du/ mi nyid dbus skyes
dbang po tshang/ /las mtha’ mi log gnas la dad// ces pa rnams so// (…) gzhan
110
Annotations
gyi ’byor ba lnga ni/ sangs rgyas ’ jig rten du byon pa dang/ dam pa’i chos
bstan pa dang/ chos bstan pa rnams gnas pa dang/ chos gnas pa rnams kyi
rjes su ’ jug pa dang/ gzhan gyi phyir snying brtse bar byed pa yod pa’o//].” See
Gampopa 1999: 12, 14.
159. Lit. grasping for a self (Tib. bdag tu ’dzin pa, Skt. ātmagrāha) is the basic
feature of mistaken apprehension of phenomena performed by the samsaric
mind in the state of delusion (Tib. ma rigs pa). A deluded mind functions
with a false cognition of object and subject, i.e. the thing to be grasped and
the one grasping at it (Skt. grāhyagrāhaka), presupposing that both of them
are real – possessing substance or reality as an independently existing self
(Tib. bdag). Thus self-identification is simply a false reification of imposing
(projecting) a self upon appearances, which are ultimately empty of any self.
Self-identification concerns both outer phenomena and inner phenomena.
160. Oral explanation from Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
2017: When we speak about the unaltered, untouched or unfabricated (Tib.
ma bcos pa) mind, it means that one should not try to do it better or worse.
One should not try to correct (Tib. bcos) it, considering it to be too good or
too bad. Instead one needs to rest upon its natural, inborn, raw or original
(Tib. gnyug ma) state, which is in fact its real nature (Tib. gnas lugs). But we
do not know how to maintain it. The main point of discovering this original
state is about the way one releases (Tib. bzhag stabs) the mind. It is also called
to let it fall into itself (Tib. rang [su] babs) upon one’s real nature (Tib. gnas
lugs). Such real nature can not be achieved through improving the mind,
correcting it according to a philosophical doctrine of emptiness, getting
involved in reasoning about what exists and what doesn’t, what is permanent
and what is not, etc.
161. Tib. rdzong shod bde gshegs ’dus pa’i pho brang is a holy place in Palyul,
Derge (Kham) and one of the twenty-five holy places of eastern Tibet. It is
connected to Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, Chokgyur Dechen Lingpa and
Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye.
111
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118
Translating
"It’s taught that if you always apply yourself solely to

devotion to the guru, resting in an uncontrived state of
mind, and looking at the mind, this prac tice will cause
the way things truly are to appear from within."
Lama Zhang
The Translation project: Translating the Karmapas’ works,

based in Karma Guen, Spain wants to protect and preserve the
teachings of the Karmapas. It generally focuses on the mahāmudrā-
transmission within the Karma Kagyü tradition of Tibetan Buddhism
by researching and translating its masters’ textual legacy.

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Translating

the Karmapas’ works

Calling tHE Lama

TRANSLATING THE KARMAPAS’ WORKS

Calling tHE Lama

ITAS translation team

ITAS translation team,

Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye’s

We are happy to present these first translations of two texts of great

"If you do not have a lama,

The Role of the Lama in Tibetan Buddhism

To express this notion in more philosophical terms, it is said that

become equal to the historical Buddha, since he, as an embodiment of

"As it is said that devotion is the head of meditation,

Without the lama there is no proper access to the Buddha’s teachings,

"In order to attain perfect Buddhahood, we have to

"One should serve a [spiritual] friend who is disciplined,

"With realization he liberated his own [mind-]stream,

These four characteristics make up the lama, who is the teacher of

The Types of Lamas

“At the time of being a beginner, one is not able to attend

“Of these four, who is of great kindness to us? When we

a spiritual teacher who is an ordinary being is of the

However, the teacher in his ordinary human form should be approached

This perspective sheds light on one of the most fundamental meditation

1. The Lama gyangbö written by the 5th Shamar Könchok Yenlak.

2. The Lama gyangbö kyi söldep mögu nyinggi zerdep written by

3. And the Ogyen rinpoche söldep lama gyangbö jinlap charbep

Summary and Outline of the Texts

Jamgön Kongtrul’s text addresses many lamas of different traditions,

essential points of the Buddhist practice, namely the nature of samsara,

Zhangpa Tsöndrü Drakpa (Lama Zhang)41:

"It’s taught that if you always apply yourself solely to

Calling the Lama

Composed by Shamar Könchok Yenlak in the precious cave

Calling the Lama

ན་མོ་་་། ་མ་ང་འབོད་ན་ལ་གས་འང་། ན་བབས་བལ་བ་གནད་

Namo Guruve68 – I pay homage to the Teachers;

The Lama as Three Jewels69

The Lama as Three Roots

The Lama as the Three Kāyas (3–5)

The Nyingma Lineage (6–8)

The Kadampa Lineage

The Marpa Kagyü (10–11)

The Dagpo Kagyü subschools

The Sakya Lineage

The Shangpa Kagyü (14–15)

Lineage of Shije and Chöd (16–17)

Jonang Lineage (18–19)

Chokgyur Lingpa133 (20–22)

Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (23–26)

Jamgön Kongtrul (27–30)

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

The Root Lama

experience of skilled practitioners, and thus intended primarily for those

praṇipatyādarato’khilāṃś ca vandyān | sugatātmajasaṃvarāvatāraṃ,

the “dharma of realization” (referring to perfection of meditation practice,

Padmasambhava as the Nirmāṇakāya. These three figures are an important

Cabezón, Jackson 1996:

Dag yig gsar bsgrigs:

Dougles, White 1976:

Jampel Zangpo’s Dorje Chang Tungma:

Mackenzie Stewart 2004: