A SUPPLICATION-PRAYER FOR THE LONGEVITY AND FLOURISHING FORTH
\nof THE BENEVOLENT ACTIVITIES
\nof
\nHIS EMINENCE PROFESSOR SAMDHONG RINPOCHE, THE PEERLESS, SUBLIME SUPPORT-FRIEND
\nTO THE TEACHINGS AND THE WANDERING BEINGS, ENTITLED,
\nThe Melody of the Eternal Celestial Violin
\nby His Eminence Drakyab Kyabjgon<\/p>\n
O Teacher, embodiment of the four enlightened bodies, One Fully Enlightened,
\nO Sublime Teachings (Dharma), endowed with all excellences of eschewing
\nand realizations,
\nO Assembly of exalted Virtue Intent (Sa\u1e45gha), bearing the eight [qualities of] knowledge,
\nliberation, [and so forth]:1
\nMay You the infallible Three Precious Ones, bestow auspiciousnesses! (1)<\/p>\n
\u015audhodhana Scion,2 the unequalled Guide to wandering beings,
\nThe Seventeen Accomplished Adepts,3 the main and lineage teachers,
\nAnd the assembly of the oceans of Deities of eternal4 longevity:
\nMay You increase forth the life of [our] greatly inspiring Lama! (2)<\/p>\n
In fully showering down a ceaseless continuity of the benevolent activities
\nOf all Victors (Buddhas), upon the limitless realms of those to be subdued
\n(sentient beings),
\nYou sound a fearless lion\u2019s roar:
\nTo You, the chief of the heroic Victors\u2019 Scions (Bodhisattvas), I supplicate! (3)<\/p>\n
By the force of generating the mind [of enlightenment], the noble pledge,
\nYou made in the past, in the presence of The Great Mind Victor,
\nYou are greatly heroic in holding the Teachings during [this] degenerate time,
\nTo You, who hoist the victory-banner of the Dharma, I supplicate! (4)<\/p>\n
You, thus, re-emerged in the enactment as an Emanated Body (Nirm\u0101\u1e47ak\u0101ya),
\nAppropriately devoting to many Friends of Virtues (Teachers),
\nAnd mastered the entire S\u016btra and Mantra scriptures, endowed
\nWith the four qualities\u2014so, manifesting the marks of a sublime being.
\nMay You, the Noble Minded, Holder of Teachings, The Great Victory Banner
\nof Dharma,
\nKindly live long and may Your benevolent activities flourish forth! (5)<\/p>\n
On the vast scriptures and systems you learned, You did reflections
\nto remove doubts,
\nWhile implementing them upon Your mind, in practice, and engaged
\nIn the great welfare of the Teachings, and of the wandering beings,
\nBeautified by the activities of the three-wheels.5
\nMay You, the Noble Minded, Holder of Teachings, The Great Victory Banner
\nof Dharma,
\nKindly live long and may Your benevolent activities flourish forth! (6)<\/p>\n
You became outstanding amongst adepts, by Your knowledge of the Tripi\u1e6dakas,
\nlanguages, medicines and others,
\nThe fields of knowledge, of both outer and inner [faiths].6
\nAbiding by the three vows7purely, You are a practitioner, observing morality
\nconscientiously.
\nYou are endowed with the splendour of the noble benevolent activities of loving-kindness:
\nMay You, the Noble Minded, Holder of Teachings, The Great Victory Banner
\nof Dharma,
\nKindly live long and may Your benevolent activities flourish forth! (7)<\/p>\n
Even on each set of words, You propound hundreds of S\u016btra and Mantra scriptures,
\nLaden with greatly profound meanings\u2014other than You, who else has such a mastery?
\nEven the Thousand-Eyed [celestial chief]8has not acquired such,
\nWhich puts all to smile.
\nMay You, the Noble Minded, Holder of Teachings, The Great Victory Banner
\nof Dharma,
\nKindly live long and may Your benevolent activities flourish forth! (8)<\/p>\n
Through an analytical intelligence, meticulous and sound,
\nUpon [systems] non-Buddhist and Buddhist, spiritual and temporal,
\nand all five fields of knowledge,9
\nYou have the supreme confidence, unmatched, in professing,
\nClearly standing at the crowns of all adepts.
\nMay You, the Noble Minded, Holder of Teachings, The Great Victory Banner
\nof Dharma,
\nKindly live long and may Your benevolent activities flourish forth! (9)<\/p>\n
From a young age You were at debates, Your sharp weapons
\nOf citations and reasonings piercing the hosts of those proclaiming
\nAs adepts, preaching wrongly; and, by Your brave and speedy approaches,10
\nYou followed [in the footsteps of] Dign\u0101ga.
\nMay You, the Noble Minded, Holder of Teachings, The Great Victory Banner
\nof Dharma,
\nKindly live long and may Your benevolent activities flourish forth! (10)<\/p>\n
To re-illuminate Da\u1e47\u1e0di\u2019s own system,11 You are akin
\nTo Dan\u1e0di himself assuming the role of an ordained, a \u015ar\u0101ma\u1e47a,12
\nOutshining the multitude of those propounding literary compositions;
\nYou are the Master of writings, Your voice blessed
\nby The Melody Deity (Saravast\u012b).
\nMay You, the Noble Minded, Holder of Teachings, The Great Victory Banner
\nof Dharma,
\nKindly live long and may Your benevolent activities flourish forth! (11)<\/p>\n
In many Tibetan schools in the Land of the Exalted (India),
\nYou led batches of youths, the seeds retaining the continuity of our ethnicity,
\nFrom Thonmi\u2019s grammar of the Land of Snows, and produced
\nMultitude of adepts learned at all knowledge-fields.
\nMay You, the Noble Minded, Holder of Teachings, The Great Victory Banner
\nof Dharma,
\nKindly live long and may Your benevolent activities flourish forth! (12)<\/p>\n
The forest where the Teacher (Buddha) roared the sound of Teachings
\nYou transformed it into a garden of the five fields of knowledge,
\nThus opening anew, as a trailblazer, the doors
\nFor a university for Tibetan higher studies.
\nMay You, the Noble Minded, Holder of Teachings, The Great Victory Banner
\nof Dharma,
\nKindly live long and may Your benevolent activities flourish forth! (13)<\/p>\n
In particular, You are the Guide of the Path,
\nBestowing the celebrations of benefits and happiness,
\nYour noble gifts of many virtues and perfect explanations
\nOf knowledges ancient and modern, outer and inner.
\nMay You, the Noble Minded, Holder of Teachings, The Great Victory Banner
\nof Dharma,
\nKindly live long and may Your benevolent activities flourish forth! (14)<\/p>\n
Also, to mutually fill up in languages of India and Tibet,
\nThe priceless Words, commentarial texts, scriptural systems,
\nYou established in India an Institution of translations,
\nResembling Samye Translation Centre13\u2014providing a vast works
\nof translations.
\nMay You, the Noble Minded, Holder of Teachings, The Great Victory Banner
\nof Dharma,
\nKindly live long and may Your benevolent activities flourish forth! (15)<\/p>\n
The heads of the entire universities of the Land of the Exalted (India)
\nElected You their supreme President,
\nAll in one voice entrusting You the Chair;
\nYou are the sole ornament of the adepts of the Land of Snow.
\nMay You, the Noble Minded, Holder of Teachings, The Great Victory Banner
\nof Dharma,
\nKindly live long and may Your benevolent activities flourish forth! (16)<\/p>\n
To make flourish forth the greatly far-reaching State affairs,
\nYou were the Head of the House elected by the majority,
\nAnd One who sat on the throne of the Lord over Ministers,
\nOne who for the first time ruled fearlessly by law.
\nMay You, the Noble Minded, Holder of Teachings, The Great Victory Banner
\nof Dharma,
\nKindly live long and may Your benevolent activities flourish forth! (17)<\/p>\n
An immense load of hundreds of works of [His Holiness], the Holder of White Lotus,
\nDifficult to be carried even by a mammoth,
\nFell on Your shoulders, yet Greatly Brave You are,
\nMaintaining the will-power [bearing it all].
\nMay You, the Noble Minded, Holder of Teachings, The Great Victory Banner
\nof Dharma,
\nKindly live long and may Your benevolent activities flourish forth! (18)<\/p>\n
To embark on the truthful cause of Tibet\u2019s Faith and people,
\nYou eschewed completely financial enterprises that were not wholesome;
\nBy non-violent and peaceful approach of The Middle Way, mutually beneficial,
\nYou maintained purely the democratic administration.
\nMay You, the Noble Minded, Holder of Teachings, The Great Victory Banner
\nof Dharma,
\nKindly live long and may Your benevolent activities flourish forth! (19)<\/p>\n
Steadfast in sagacity, difficult it is to fathom from outside Your depth,
\nSpeaking measuredly and devoid of contradictions,
\nYou abide by practising what is preached,
\nYou thus stand revered upon the crowntop of the arrogant multitude.
\nMay You, the Noble Minded, Holder of Teachings, The Great Victory Banner
\nof Dharma,
\nKindly live long and may Your benevolent activities flourish forth! (20)<\/p>\n
By genuine peacefulness, calmness, contentment and conscientiousness,
\nYou maintain Bodhisattva manners of assuming humility of staying low,
\nPlacing into embarrassmentan ocean of [ordained with vows of] morality;
\nYou are thus revered greatly as a Great Bodhisattva who retains Vinaya.
\nMay You, the Noble Minded, Holder of Teachings, The Great Victory Banner
\nof Dharma,
\nKindly live long and may Your benevolent activities flourish forth! (21)<\/p>\n
Delighted are all Victors, to repay Your kindness,
\nAnd with sounds of clapping, praise Your profound
\nActivities, of great meaningfulness,
\nVastly benefiting others thus.
\nMay You, the Noble Minded, Holder of Teachings, The Great Victory Banner
\nof Dharma,
\nKindly live long and may Your benevolent activities flourish forth! (22)<\/p>\n
From a long time ago, many Teachers have filled Your mental continuum
\nWith the sublime teachings, making You a great treasury of benefits and happiness;
\nPlease think of adept\u2019s quiet deeds, bestowing endless benefits to others,
\nManifest in this splendid sign14 of Your mind! (23)<\/p>\n
May You please maintain the noble deeds of distributing to all directions
\nThe wish-granting gem of the Victor\u2019s teachings, in general,
\nAnd of the Guardian Tsongkhapa\u2019s stainless system,15
\nTo fulfil the hopes of the fortunate trainees! (24)<\/p>\n
By the blessings of The Three Sublime, and the oceans of Victors (Buddhas),
\nBy the force of the truth of the infallible dependent-related-arising,
\nBy the power of the pure faith and samaya-bondship of myself and others,
\nMay all contents of the prayers made here get accomplished spontaneously,
\nwithout hindrances! (25)<\/p>\n
Colophon16<\/strong> Translator\u2019s Notes<\/strong> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A SUPPLICATION-PRAYER FOR THE LONGEVITY AND FLOURISHING FORTH of THE BENEVOLENT ACTIVITIES of HIS EMINENCE PROFESSOR SAMDHONG RINPOCHE, THE PEERLESS, SUBLIME SUPPORT-FRIEND TO THE TEACHINGS AND THE WANDERING BEINGS, ENTITLED, The Melody of the Eternal Celestial Violin by His Eminence Drakyab Kyabjgon O Teacher, embodiment of the four enlightened bodies, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-about"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samdhongrinpoche.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samdhongrinpoche.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samdhongrinpoche.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samdhongrinpoche.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samdhongrinpoche.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=416"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/samdhongrinpoche.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":786,"href":"https:\/\/samdhongrinpoche.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416\/revisions\/786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samdhongrinpoche.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samdhongrinpoche.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samdhongrinpoche.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThis Melody of the Eternal Celestial Violin, requesting to kindly live long, through mentioning a fraction of the greatly benevolent deeds of His Eminence Kyabjey Samdhong Rinpoche Losang Tenzin Choekyi Gyaltsen, of Drepung Loseling Tsawa, the peerless stalwart illuminating the Victor\u2019s teachings, the Honourable Former Prime Minister, is composed in continued rejoicing on the excellent qualities of His Eminence Rinpoche: the mental continuum filled with hundred thousands of transmitted and realized qualities, bright with hundreds of insights into ancient and modern knowledges; and the matchless, immensely far-reaching great benevolent deeds: temporal, spiritual, and of Tibet\u2019s knowledge-heritages, the roots of The Land of Snows\u2019 welfare.
\nIn particular, the factors for composing this Praise was the joy, faith and rejoicing I felt from my heart, at knowing that His Eminence Kyabjey Samdhong Rinpoche had accepted, at the repeated requests by the glorious Gyuto Monastery, to bestow spoken commentaries on The Profound Path of Delighting Teachers (zab-lam bla-ma mchod-pa), the Teacher-Integration Practice of the Wensa Whispered Lineage, and The Main Text and The Auto-commentary of The Great Seal (phyag-chen; M\u0101hamudra), in the tradition of the Virtuous Lineage.
\nStarting from The Great His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, His Eminences the Tutors, Kyabjey Yongzin Gadhen Trichen Ling Dorjechang and Kyabjey Yongzin Trijang Dorjechang, and many qualified teachers, have, with their greatly compassionate regard, praised, revered and admired His Eminence Kyabjey Samdhong Rinpoche. Besides, His Eminence Rinpoche guides multitude of disciples, maintaining the succession works of the sublime beings, undoubtedly considered by the sublime teachers as the peerless one who would become \u201cthe scion more grand than the father\u201d.
\nI request His Eminence Rinpoche to kindly extensively and continuously turn the Wheel of Dharma (teachings), of the vast and the profound S\u016btra (Discourse system) and Mantra (the advanced, Tantric path), and bestow empowerments, transmissions and commentaries.
\nThis Supplication-Prayer is composed for the congregation of those with pure-samaya, and abiding by morality training, to do supplication prayers at the forthcoming teachings at Gyuto. It is composed by the Ninth Re-emanated Drakyab Kyabgon, as labelled so by Naming Abbot,17 bearing upon the crowntop the name Ngok Loden Sherab (although remaining servile to the eight mundane concerns, and of the three awarenesses), one who had from a young age attended, [with His Eminence Rinpoche,] the same classes, diligently, at learning and reflection, am of the same sound closeness, and are Vajra brothers, of pure samaya-bondship.
\nThis was composed on January 15, 2014, and distributed as a Dharma generosity. By the merits in doing so, may all contents of the prayers made herein get accomplished spontaneously!<\/p>\n
\nPrelude
\n1bkah-hgyur; hdul-wa; Derge (Peking Reprints) 1038, (Vol.45, p.236)
\n2 dwags-po bshad-sgrub-gling graw-tsang-gi chos-spyod; pp. 451-468
\n3 Dhokhar Zhabdung Tsering Wangyal; d\u012brg\u0101yur-indra-jina-h\u2019byung-wa brjod-pa zol-med ngag-gi rol-mo asti (Autobiographical Account; A Vocal Display\u2014An Unpretentious Narration of Events);pp.32-33; LTWA; 2014
\n4 Ibid; p.42
\nTranslation Notesto the Prayer, requesting His Holiness the Dalai Lama to kindly live long
\nTerms that have specific contextual meanings are indicated in the English, in the text, by italics; for example: eschewing and realizations.
\n1The three secrets: of enlightened body, enlightened speech and enlightened mind
\n2Unelapsed; the original mi-shigs literally means, \u201cnon-disintegrating\u201d, \u201cunexpiring\u201d, \u201cindestructible\u201d and so on. For avoiding too negative a sense in the words like disintegrating and expiring, \u201cunelapsed\u201d is the choice made in the translation here.
\n3Deity of deities; Although the verse makes the supplication to all Buddhas, this qualification is of a Buddha in general, thus entailing the same to all.
\n4Practitioners; the Tibetan word used here is rnal-\u2019jor (Yogin; An integrating practitioner). For concern of the line in the verse becoming too long, Practitioners is the choice made, in place of saying, \u201cyogi\/yogini\u201d.
\n5By it; the pronoun refers to the spontaneous actualizing of Thoughts envisioned mentioned in the preceding verse.
\n6 The translation here of the Colophon breaks the long sentence in the Tibetan into parts, for easier understanding.
\nTranslation Notes to Prayer, requesting His Eminence Kyabjey Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche
\nto kindly live long, composed by Kaybjey Trijang Dorjechang
\n1Eternity; The literal Tibetan says, \u201cdeathlessness\u201d.
\n2The Fourth Guide of the fortunate era; Refers to Buddha Sh\u0101kyamuni (\u015a\u0101kyamuni), who is the fourth among the thousand Buddhas appearing in this present over-all era called \u201cThe Fortunate Era\u201d.
\n3Please remain living long; The literal Tibetan says, \u201cremain ever stable\u201d.
\n4Up\u0101l\u012b; the Bhik\u1e63u Up\u0101l\u012b, a disciple of the Buddha, renowned for his pure observance of Vinaya; Upal\u012b was the one on whose recollection, during the first Council of Compiling Buddha\u2019s Words, Vinaya-pi\u1e6dak (teachings on Morality) was compiled.
\nTranslation Notes to the Prayer, composed by Drakyab Kyabgon
\n1The eight [qualities of]knowledge, liberation, [and so forth]. These are the eight qualities of Sa\u1e45gha, the realized practitioners.
\nThe qualities of, 1 Knowing the reality of phenomena (\u201cknowing of the actuality\u201d); 2 Knowing the diverse phenomena (knowledge of the conventional phenomena); 3 Knowing the inner [Dharma]; 4 Knowledge; 5 Freed from the obscuration of attachment; 6 Freed from obscurations of [mental] obstructions; 7 Freed from the obscurations of the inferior; and the quality of, 8 Having become liberated.
\n2\u015audhodhana Scion; Refers to Buddha Sakyamuni, whose father was \u015audhodhana.
\n3The Seventeen Accomplished Adepts; They were the classical pioneering Buddhist teachers, whose commentarial works have greatly elucidated the Buddha\u2019s Teachings. His Holiness the Dalai Lama teaches extensively the texts of these seventeen Teachers. The seventeen Accomplished Adepts are:N\u0101g\u0101rjuna, \u0100ryadeva, Buddhap\u0101lita, Bhavyaviveka, Chandrak\u012brti, \u015a\u0101ntideva, \u015a\u0101ntarak\u1e63ita, Kamala\u015b\u012bla, Asa\u1e45ga, Vasubhandu, Dign\u0101ga, Dharmak\u012brti, Vimuktisena, Haribhadra, Gunaprabha, \u015a\u0101kyaprabha and At\u012b\u015ba.
\n4Eternal; The Tibetan word here literally means deathless.
\n5The three wheels; These are the three avenues of maintaining the Teachings: The wheel of training, of hearing (learning) and reflection; the wheel of eschewing [mental afflictions, through] meditative concentration (Dhy\u0101na); and the wheel of activities [of benefitting others].
\n6 Outer and inner faiths; Non-Buddhist and Buddhist faiths.
\n7The three vows; Pratimok\u1e63a Vow, Bodhisattva Vow, and Mantra Vow.
\n8 The Thousand-Eyed celestial Chief; Refers to Indra.
\n9The five fields of knowledge; They are the knowledge of, Crafts (and constructions), Medicine, Language (\u2018Sound\u2019), Logic (Reasoning), and Buddhism (the Inner Knowledge).
\n10Speedy approaches; The literal meaning of the original phrase is \u201cspeedy manners\u201d.
\n11Da\u1e47\u1e0di; An India poet of circa 6th Century, whose work The Poetry Mirror has been the main text of study in poetry in Tibet.
\n12\u015ar\u0101ma\u1e47a; A Sanskrit word, meaning, \u201ctraining [on] virtues\u201d, used as a synonym of Bhik\u1e63u (Virtues Adopt).
\n13Samye Translation Centre; This was a wing of a temple complex Samye Temple, built by the Tibetan king Trisong Dhuetsen, in the 8th Century. This wing, called \u201cThe India Centre of Translations\u201d, was located at the lower southern side of the Temple. See Dhungkar\u2019s Illuminating the Knowledge Fields.
\n14 The splendid sign; \u015arivasta; one of the eight symbols of auspiciousness.
\n15 Guardian; Guardian is the choice made here in the English, for the literal Protector.
\n16The translation here of the Colophon breaks the long sentences in the Tibetan into parts, for easier understanding in the English.
\n17The Naming Abbot; This is an expression to say, whoever has named thus so in the past. A naming takes place in two ways: 1 By random labelling, without necessarily carrying any meaning, i.e., through \u201cthe Naming Abbot\u201d, and, 2 By explainable reasons.<\/p>\n