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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mantra: OM AH RA BA TSA NA DHI

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Above, in actuality pristine awareness
Manifest as a radiant Buddha mandala,
The pure land of Tushita, the Joyous Abode
Blessed by Buddhas past, present and future.

Mountains of herbs blanketed in sweet aromas,
Flowers blossoming morning, noon and night,
A forest of trees with turquoise leaves:
Reminders of the splendid body of Je Rinpoche.

The murmur of a river swiftly flowing,
The stirring songs of birds,
The majestic sound of a Dharma teaching:
Reminders of the gentle voice of Je Rinpoche.

The blue sky freely hovering,
Clear, white clouds scattered abstractly,
The young sun casting beams everywhere:
The wisdom, compassion and power of Je Rinpoche.

Body adorned with the marks of a Buddha,
Speech raining down vast and profound Dharma,
Mind seeing all things in the sphere of clear light:
I recollect Je Rinpoche, Lobsang Drakpa.

Fulfill your vow to benefit beings;
Descend, grant protection and power.
To you I offer an ocean of all-good things.
Enjoy them within your great bliss.

On the Mighty Nomad Mountain, quiet, easy,
A land made pure with goodness and strength,
Stands your Gaden Monastery, prophesied by Buddha:
A monastery producing limitless Awakened Ones.

Your mind on Bliss and Void inseparable,
The flow of events appeared as a rainbow.
One body sends endless clouds of emanations
To set this world ablaze with joy.

Your profound teachings bridging Sutra and Tantra
Are jewels for those truly seeking liberation.
Even the words you used are perfect,
Nakedly pointing the way for the ripe.

O Je Lama, because of your infinite kindness
We can understand all Sutras and Tantras as precepts,
Can see the entire path leading to perfection
And can correct all delusions and mistaken concepts.

O Master, merely hearing legends of your deeds
Can place a man on the enlightening path;
With thoughts of your greatness, with heart
Trembling, I fix mind upon you.

Invisible father gone to Bliss,
Listen to this plaintive song
Of a boy still in Samsara’s quicksands,
Of an ill-fated son cut from his Refuge.

In terms of external appearances,
A monk is easily proud of his robes,
But if his thoughts fall only on the transient
Are his lusts not worse than a layman’s?

The masses revel in black actions
And through evil gain their ends.
Flashes of a degenerate age
Crash in the depths of my heart.

How glamorous and exciting to go
Through the motions of practising Dharma,
And to hear the profound teachings;
But the mind, hard as wood, is slow to change.

The spirit, weak and uncontrolled,
Staggers under the three psychic poisons
Whenever an object appears to it:
A golden vessel filled with urine

Precious humanity, the chance to be a Buddha;
But we create only misery with it
And throw away all hope of actually
Benefitting either ourselves or others.

I, born so late, unfortunate,
Pass my time amid negativity and confusion.
Father Lama, look upon me;
Hold me with hooks of compassion.

In this life, the bardo and future lives,
Pray, be my guide.
My Refuge, forsake me not.
Omniscient One, be with me always.

Care for all beings as a mother for her son.
Spiritual Father, to us who are children,
Reveal visibly the mandala of your body
Magnificent with every mark of perfection.

Bestow upon us the oral teachings
Which render every experience meaningful.
Bless us to make our minds at one taste
With great bliss and unapprehendable wisdom.

Life is impermanent like the setting sun.
Wealth is like dew on morning grass,
Praise is like wind in a mountain pass,
A youthful body is an autumn flower.

Bless me to understand the shortcomings
Of constantly turning on the wheel of becoming
And to fix the depths of my mind
On the path leading to ultimate knowledge.

Bestow upon me transforming powers to fill
My mental continuum with love and compassion,
To see the beings of Samsara’s six realms
As mothers who have forever helped me.

Bestow upon me transforming powers
Quickly to realize the way things are,
To understand images viewed by the mind
As paintings created by the mind itself.

Help me attain Enlightenment in this very life
Through the yogic methods of Tantra’s two stages,
To see external events as the sport of Buddhas
And the mind as satiated with Bliss and Emptiness.

And when, to fight delusion, meditation’s enemy,
I retreat to a cave on a distant mountain,
A place to give birth to serenity and joy,
Bless me to penetrate the innermost profundity.

Grant me powers swiftly to annihilate
All inner and outer negative forces,
And power to cleanse the stains of having dwelt
Far from the limits of Dharma’s three bonds.

O Manjushri, who reveals himself magically
In peaceful, wrathful and protective forms,
May your auspicious deeds reach fruition
And you remain a constant Refuge to the world.

Bestow upon me the powerful blessings
Of your mysterious body, speech and mind,
That my every physical, verbal and mental
Movement may benefit beings and the teachings.

May the thunder of the Sutras and Tantras shake the earth,
May the sun of Tsongkhapa’s “Practice Lineage” rage,
May all practitioners attain the power
And all sentient beings realize their wishes.

I will explain as well as I can
The essential meaning of the Conqueror’s scriptures,
The path praised by the excellent Conqueror Children,
The port for the fortunate wishing liberation.

Whoever are not attached to the pleasures of transient existence,
Whoever strive to make leisure and fortune worthwhile,
Whoever are inclined to the path pleasing the Conqueror Buddha,
Those fortunate ones should listen with a clear mind.

Without a complete intention definitely to leave cyclic existence,
There is no way to stop seeking pleasurable effects in the ocean of existence.
Also, craving cyclic existence thoroughly binds the embodied.
Therefore, in the beginning, an intention to leave cyclic existence should be sought.

Leisure and fortune are difficult to find
And life has no duration.
Through familiarity with this,
Emphasis on the appearances of this life is reversed.

If you think again and again
About actions and their inevitable effects
And the sufferings of cyclic existence,
Emphasis on the appearances of future lives will be reversed.

If, having meditated thus, you do not generate admiration
Even for an instant for the prosperity of cyclic existence
And if any attitude seeking liberation arises day and night,
Then the intention definitely to leave cyclic existence has been generated.

Also, if this intention definitely to leave cyclic existence
Is not conjoined with generation of a complete aspiration to a highest Enlightenment
It does not become a cause of the marvellous bliss of unsurpassed Enlightenment.
Thus, the intelligent should generate the supreme altruistic aspiration to become enlightened.

[All ordinary beings] are carried by the continuum of the four powerful currents,
Are tied with the tight bonds of actions difficult to oppose,
Have entered into the iron cage of apprehending self [inherent existence],
Are completely beclouded with the thick darkness of ignorance,
Are born into cyclic existence limitlessly,
And in their births are tortured ceaselessly by the three sufferings.

Thinking thus of the condition of mothers who have come to such a state,
Generate the supreme altruistic intention to become enlightened.
If you do not have the wisdom realising the way things are,
Even though you have developed the thought definitely to leave cyclic existence
As well as the altruistic intention, the root of cyclic existence cannot be cut.
Therefore work at the means of realising dependent-arising.

Whoever, seeing the cause and effect of all phenomena
Of cyclic existence and nirvana as infallible,
Thoroughly destroys the mode of misapprehension of these objects [as inherently existent]
Has entered on a path pleasing to Buddha.

As long as the two, realisation of appearances – the infallibility of dependent-arising –
And realisation of emptiness – the non-assertion [of inherent existence],
Seem to be separate, there is still no realisation
Of the thought of Shakyamuni Buddha.

When [the two realisations exist] simultaneously without alternation
And when, from only seeing dependent-arising as infallible,
Definite knowledge destroys the mode of apprehension [of the conception of inherent existence],
Then the analysis of the view [of emptiness] is complete.

Further, the extreme of [inherent] existence is excluded [by knowledge of the nature] of appearances [existing as nominal designations],
And the extreme of [total] non-existence is excluded [by knowledge of the nature] of emptiness [as the absence of inherent existence and not the absence of nominal existence].
If within emptiness the way of the appearance of cause and effect is known,
You will not be captivated by extreme views.

When you have realised thus just as they are
The essentials of the three principal aspects of the path,
Resort to solitude and generate the power of effort.
Accomplish quickly your final aim, my child.

I offer this boundless prayer with the purest of minds
To free countless beings from cycles of existence.
By the power of the unfailing Three Jewels
And of great rishis possessed of the force of truth,
May these sincere words bear fruit.

Life after life, may I never be born into realms
Of great suffering or unfavorable circumstance
But gain always a precious human form
Blessed with every conducive provision.

From the moment of birth may I never
Be lured by the pleasures of existence,
But, guided by renunciation intent on freedom,
Be resolute in seeking the pure life.

May there be no hindrance to becoming a monk,
From friends, family or possessions,
And for every conducive circumstance,
By mere thought may it appear.

Once a monk, may I be untainted as long as I live,
By breech of vow or natural fault,
As promised in the presence of my preceptor.

I pray that on such pure foundation,
And for every mother sentient being,
I devote myself with hardship for countless aeons
To every aspect, profound and vast of the Mahayana.

May I be cared for by true spiritual friends,
Filled with knowledge and insight,
Senses stilled, minds controlled, loving, compassionate,
And with courage untiring in working for others.

As Sada Prarudita devoted himself to Dharma Arya,
May I sincerely please my spiritual master
With body, life and wealth,
Never disappointing him for an instant.

I pray that the Perfection of Wisdom, forever profound,
A bringer of peace, unbound by identification,
Be taught to me as taught to Sada Prarudita,
Unsullied by the muddy waters of false views.

May I never fall under the sway
Of false teachers and misleading friends,
Their flawed views of existence and nonexistence
Well outside the Buddha’s intention.

With sail hoisted of the sincerest of minds,
Driven by winds of unflagging effort,
On this well-built ship of study, thought, and meditation,
May I bring living beings from samsara’s ocean.

As much as I excel in learning,
As much as I give to others,
As pure as my morality grows,
As much as I become wise,
By as much may I be empty of pride.

I pray that I listen insatiably
To countless teachings at the feet of a master,
Single-handedly with logic unflawed,
Prizing open scriptures’ meanings.

Having examined day and night
With four-fold logic all that I have heard,
May I banish every doubt
With the discerning understanding
That arises from such contemplation.

With conviction of Dharmas profound
Gained from understanding born of contemplation,
I pray that I retreat to solitude
With a perseverance severing life’s attachments
To devote myself to proper practice.

When the Buddha’s thoughts dawn upon me
Through study, thought, and meditation,
I pray that things of this life forever bonded to samsara
And thoughts of my happiness alone
Never arise in my mind.

Unattached to my possessions
I pray that I destroy parsimony,
Gathering disciples around me
By giving first of material wealth
To satisfy them with Dharma.

With a mind renounced may I never transgress
Even the smallest precept, though it may cost my life,
Flying forever, therefore, the flag of freedom.

When I see, hear or think of those
Who struck, beat or maligned me,
May I be without anger, speak of their virtues,
And meditate upon patience.

I pray I will apply myself to enthusiasm,
Achieving virtues unachieved, improving those attained,
Banishing utterly three-fold debilitating laziness.

I pray to abandon the meditative absorption
That lacks the power of insight to quell samsara,
That is divorced from the moist compassion to quash nirvana’s passivity,
And that mostly throws one back to cycles of existence,
But develop instead the meditative absorption
That unites compassion and insight.

I pray that I banish false views of emptiness,
Mentally fabricated and partially known,
Born from fear of the most profound truth, cherished as supreme,
And that I realize all phenomena to be forever empty.

May I bring to faultless morality
Those so-called practitioners with their wayward ethics,
Shamelessly empty of pure practice,
Rashly pursuing paths shunned by the wise.

May I bring to the path praised by Buddhas
Those lost and fallen onto wrong paths,
Swayed by deluded teachers and misleading friends.

I pray that my lion-like roar
Of teaching, argument, and composition
Flattens the pride of fox-like false orators,
And, gathering well-trained disciples about me,
I fly the banner of the teachings forever.

In whatever life I may drink the nectar of Buddha’s teachings,
I pray to be born into a good family
And be of handsome build, wealthy, powerful, and wise,
Blessed with long life and sound health.

May I develop the unique love of a mother
For those who malign me
And harbor ill designs upon my life,
My body, or my possessions.

By growing within myself
The pure and extraordinary bodhi-mind
Whose nature is to cherish others more than self,
May I soon give them unsurpassable Enlightenment.

Whoever hears, sees or calls these verses to mind,
May they be undaunted in fulfilling
The powerful prayers of the Bodhisattvas.

By the power of these vast prayers
Made with the purest intention,
May I attain the perfection of prayer
And fulfill the hopes of every living being.

On wave of strength of this king
Of prayers for the exalted sublime ways,
With bodies as numerous as atoms of the world
I bow down to the Buddhas pervading space.

On every atom is found a Buddha
Sitting amongst countless Buddha sons,
I look with eyes of faith to the victorious ones
Thus filling the entire Dharmadhatu.

Of these with endless oceans of excellence
Endowed with an ocean of wondrous speech
I sing praises of the greatness of all Buddhas,
A eulogy to those gone to bliss.

Garlands of flowers I offer them,
And beautiful sounds, supreme perfumes,
Butter lamps and sacred incense,
I offer to all the victorious ones.

Excellent food, supreme fragrances,
And a mound of mystic substances high as Mount Meru
I arrange in a special formation
And offer to those who have conquered themselves.

And all peerless offerings I hold up
In admiration of those gone to bliss;
With strength of faith in sublime ways
I prostrate and make offerings to the conquerors.

Long overpowered by attachment, aversion, and ignorance
Countless evils I have committed
With acts of body, speech, and mind.
Each and every one of these I now confess.

In the perfections of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,
The arhats, training and beyond,
And in the latent goodness of every living being,
I lift up my heart and rejoice.

O lights into the ten directions,
Buddhas who have found the passionless stage of enlightenment,
To all of you I direct this request:
Turn the incomparable wheel of Dharma.

O masters wishing to show parinirvana,
Stay with us and teach, I pray
For as many aeons as there are specks of dust,
In order to bring goodness and joy to all beings.

May any small merits that I may have amassed
By thus prostrating, making offerings, confessing, rejoicing,
And asking the Buddhas to remain and teach the Dharma,
Be dedicated now to supreme and perfect Enlightenment.

May my offerings be received by all past Buddhas
And by all those now abiding in the ten directions,
And may all the Buddhas who have not yet come
Quickly perfect their minds and reach Buddhahood,
the state of supreme full awakening.

May all Buddha-realms of the ten directions
Remain forever vast and completely pure,
May the world be completely filled with Buddhas
who have attained illumination under sacred trees,
And may they all be surrounded by Bodhisattvas.

May all living beings in the ten directions
Always abide in health and joy.
May they live in accord with the way of Dharma
And may their every wish become fulfilled.

By my living in the ways of enlightenment
May I remember my past lives in all my reincarnations,
And in all cycles of death, migration, and rebirth
May a sensitivity for truth be ever strong in me.

By my living in the footsteps of the Buddhas
May I utterly perfect the sublime ways of the Bodhisattvas,
And may I practice the faultless, undegenerating, stainless,
And pure ways of self control.

May I master all languages that exist, including those of
The gods, yakshas, spirits, and varieties of men,
As well as all forms of communication of living beings,
That I may be able to show the Dharma in every way.

Striving thus and in the transcending perfections
May I never forget the bodhi mind,
And may I totally cleanse from within my mindstream
All negativities and mental veils.

May I gain freedom from karma, delusion, and karmic maras
To be able to live in the world unaffected by its stains
Like an unstained lotus grows in the mud,
And like the sun and moon shine without obstruction in the sky.

For as long as there are Buddha-fields and directions
May I strive to quell the misery of the lower realms,
May I place all beings only in happiness
And bring them all only happiness and joy.

May I strive to complete the ways of enlightenment
And to abide in ways harmonious with the world;
May I expose to others the ways most sublime
And myself abide in them throughout all future aeons.

May my ways and the ways of a Bodhisattva
Always go together hand in hand,
In body, speech, and mind
May I attune to their sublime ways.

May I never be separated from the good friends
Who reveal the path of the sublime ways
And who wish only to benefit me;
May I never disappoint them for even a moment.

May I constantly envision the perfect Buddhas,
The protectors who are surrounded by Bodhisattvas,
And in the future may I never weary
Of devoting myself to them with all my strength.

May I forever uphold the holy Dharma of the Buddhas
And illumine the sublime way of Enlightenment;
May I practice throughout all future ages
The ways of deeds of the sublime path.

Circling in the various realms of existence
May I amass inexhaustible goodness and wisdom,
And may I become an unending treasure of qualities
Such as methods, wisdom, samadhi, and the experience of a Bodhisattva.

In every atom are Buddha-fields numberless as atoms,
Each field is filled with Buddhas beyond conception,
And each Buddha is surrounded by myriad Bodhisattvas:
To all these dwellers in sublime ways I turn my attention.

Thus, in all atoms within the directions
Abide within the space of a single hair
An ocean of Buddhas within an ocean of Buddha-fields
Performing enlightened activities for an ocean of aeons.

Each Buddha with his perfect speech releases
An ocean of sounds with every word he says
To satisfy the infinitely diverse tendencies of beings:
Thus does the speech of a Buddha constantly flow.

All these conquerors past, present, and future
Continually turn the methods of Dharma wheels;
With all the powers of my mind I listen
For the inexhaustible sound of their words.

All future aeons that could possibly be,
Manifest within me in a single instant;
And I myself in a fraction of a moment
Enter into all these aeons of the three times.

All past, present, and future lions among men
I envision with instantaneous wisdom
And by the power of the Bodhisattvas’ examples
I focus upon the objects of their experience.

I manifest Buddha-fields past, present, and future
Upon one single atom of existence,
And then I transform every single atom
Of existence into a Buddha-field.

By this, when the lights of the worlds
Eventually gain bodhi, turn the Dharma wheels;
And reveal the passing to nirvana’s supreme peace,
May I take rebirth in their very presence.

Then may I attain the ten powers:
The power of instant magical emanation,
The power of which is a vehicle with every door,
The power of excellent activity,
The power of all pervading love,
The power of constantly positive energy,
The power of passionless wisdom,
The powers of knowledge, method, and samadhi,
And the power of Enlightenment itself.

May I purify the power of karma,
May I crush the powers of delusion,
May I render powerless the powerful maras,
And may I perfect the powers of sublime ways.

May I purify an ocean of realms,
May I liberate an ocean of sentient beings,
May I see an ocean of truths,
And may I realise an ocean of wisdom.

May I perform an ocean of perfect deeds,
May I perfect an ocean of prayers,
May I revere an ocean of Buddhas,
And may I practice untiringly for an ocean of aeons.

Through my practice of the sublime Bodhisattva ways
May I gain the Enlightenment of Buddhahood
And then fulfill the enlightened and the sublime aspiration
Of the Buddhas past, present, and future.

In order to match the ways of the sage
Called Samantabhadra, the always-sublime one,
Chief amongst the Awakened Ones’ sons,
I now dedicate all virtues that I possess.

Just as the sublime sage Samantabhadra
Dedicated all pure practices of body, speech, and mind
To the attainment of a pure state and pure realms,
So do I now dedicate the fruit of all my efforts.

In order to engage in all sublime virtues
I offer the prayer of Manjushri;
In the future may I never become faint
In striving to perfect the exalted Bodhisattvas’ way.

May my deeds never reach a limit,
May my qualities of excellence become boundless,
And by abiding in immeasurable activity
May I find Buddhahood, the state of limitless manifestation.

Limitless is the extent of space,
Limitless is the number of sentient beings,
And limitless is the karma and delusion of beings
Such are the limits of my aspirations.

One may offer supreme ornaments of the Buddha-fields
Of the ten directions to the conquerors,
And also offer the highest joys of men and gods
For aeons numerous as atoms of the world.

But to read or hear the King of Prayers
With eyes looking toward supreme illumination
And faith shining in one’s heart for even an instant
Gives birth to a far more supreme merit.

Should anyone recite this aspiration of sublime ways
They will pass beyond all states of sorrow,
Rise above all inferior beings, and gain
A vision of Amitabha, Buddha of Infinite Light.

Even in this very lifetime
All sublime joys will be theirs;
The experiences of the all-sublime Samantabhadra,
Without obstructions, will quickly be theirs.

Merely by giving voice to these aspirations
Of the sublime ways of a Bodhisattva,
The effect can only be known by an omniscient Buddha.
Therefore, doubt not that it leads to Enlightenment.

In order to follow the excellent examples set
By the wisdom of the Bodhisattva Manjushri
And the always-sublime Samantabhadra,
All virtues I dedicate to their peerless ideals.

All conquerors passed into the three times
Have praised as supreme this peerless dedication.
Therefore, I also surrender all roots of my activities
To the sublime goals of a Bodhisattva.

When the moment of my death arrives,
May I remain free from the spiritual obscurations;
May I perceive the face of Amitabha
And transmigrate to Sukhavati, the pure land of joy.

Having arrived there, may I fulfill
All aims of this prayer of aspirations
And benefit the countless living beings
Residing throughout the ten directions.

In the joyous mandala of Amitabha Buddha
May I be reborn from a beautiful lotus,
And may I there have the pleasure of gaining
A pure prophecy from Amitabha himself.

Having won this word of prophecy,
By the power of mind may I fill all directions
With many millions of mystical emanations
And bring limitless benefits to the world.

If by reciting this prayer of the sublime ways
I have amassed a tiny fragment of goodness,
May it work immediately to fulfil
All Dharmic hopes of living beings.