by
Je Tsong Khapa
1
Knowing well that proper reliance upon my kind root Lama
Is the root of the path and basis of all spiritual knowledge,
May I be blessed to rely on him diligently in every way
With consummate devotion.
2
Understanding how meaningful is this noble life of leisure
So hard won and gained this once,
May you continuously bless my mind
To take its essence both night and day.
3
Aware of how quickly death destroys this physical life,
Like a delicate bubble in a tumble of waves,
And how after death the effects of all good deeds and bad
Will follow me close behind like my body’s shadow,
4
Convinced, as well, that I must relinquish doing
the slightest bad deed
And accumulate only collections of virtue,
Please bless me to be ever vigilant
And exceedingly careful in all that I do.
5
Samsara’s happiness is never to be trusted,
I know full well, and that the door of all suffering
is insatiable desire.
So please inspire me to strive without rest
After the state of blissful liberation.
6
Induced by this pure motivation
With recollection, vigilance, and mindfulness intact,
May I be inspired to make the Pratimoksha
—root of the Buddha’s teachings—
The very essence of my practice.
7
Seeing that all mother beings and I alike
Have plummeted headlong into samsara’s deep ocean,
Please grant me the skill of supreme bodhichitta
That I may bear the burden of liberating all beings.
8
Knowing well that the mind cannot reach enlightenment
Through bodhichitta alone but must become fully familiar with
The three types of moralitiy,
Please bless me to practice the bodhisattva vows with
unflagging effort.
9
By pacifying and restraining my mind from wrong objects
And properly examining the supremest of meanings,
With your blessing may there quickly arise in my mind
The conjoined paths of tranquil abiding and penetrative insight.
10
Once I’ve become a vessel well qualified in the common practices,
Please bless me to easily enter the highest of vehicles
―That entryway most holy for those of good fortune―
The Vajra Vehicle, supreme of all the paths.
11
Upon acquiring the genuine conviction
That keeping the vows and commitments perfectly
Is the basis for all temporary and ultimate goals,
Please bless me to guard the supreme oaths
To which I’m bound even at the risk of my life.
12
Then, when I’ve mastered the vital points
Of the two essential stages of the tantric paths,
Please bless me to practice diligently and
with fixed concentration
The yogas in four sessions in accord with the words
of the holy ones.
13
Thus, I ask for your blessings to thoroughly pacify
All outer and inner obstacles that I have collected,
And that all spiritual teachers of this noble path and
Those who endeavor in its proper practice live long and healthy lives.
14
May I fully enjoy the glorious Dharma
In the company of perfect Lamas in all future lives,
And once I’ve accomplished the excellent grounds and paths,
May I quickly achieve the status of Lord Buddha Dorjechang.
Translation/Vincent Montenegro
