Saturday, December 31, 2016

The Dhāraṇī of the Four Great Kings translated by Erick Tsiknopoulos

The Dhāraṇī of the Four Great Kings 
(rgyal po chen po’i bzhi’i gzungs bzhugs so)
From ‘Collected Daily Practices of Names and Dhāraṇīs’
(mtshan gzungs rgyun khyer phyogs bsgrigs), 
by the 7th Panchen Lama, Lobzang Pëlden Tenpay Nyima 
(1782–1853, pan-chen sku-phreng bdun-pa blo-bzang dpal-ldan bstan-pa’i nyi-ma)
Translated from the Tibetan by Erick Tsiknopoulos 
& the Sugatagarbha Translation Group

DEY-PÖN CH’EN-PO SER-DOK CHEN
Great Captain of golden hue,
BE-CHÖN DANG NI NÉ’U-LÉ DZIN
Who holds a staff and mongoose,
NÖ-JIN TS’OK LA WANG-GYUR-PA’Y
Wielding mastery over the hosts of Yakṣas:
NAM-T’Ö-S’AY LA CH’AK-TS’ËL LO
To Vaiśravaṇa, I bow down.

GYËL-PO CH’EN-PO PËL-DEN-PA
Great King endowed with glory,
MA-GAY DOK TS’UNG PI-WAM DZIN
Who has a color like emerald and holds a lute,
DRI-ZA’Y TS’OK LA WANG-GYUR-PA’Y
Wielding mastery over the hosts of Gandharvas:
YUL-KHOR-S’UNG LA CH’AK-TS’ËL LO
To Dhṛtarāṣṭra, I bow down.

PA-WO CH’EN-PO TOP-PO-CH’É
Great Hero of massive strength,
KHA-DOK NGÖN-PO RËL-DRI DZIN
Who has a blue color and holds a sword,
DRUL-BUM TS’OK LA WANG-GYUR-PA’Y
Wielding mastery over the hosts of Kumbhandas:
P’HAK-KYEY-PO LA CH’AK-TS’ËL LO
To Virūḍhaka, I bow down.

NGA-DAK CH’EN-PO T’U-WO-CH’É
Great Master of immense power,
KHA-DOK MAR-SER DRUL ZHAK DZIN
Who has an orange color and holds a snake,
LU YI TS’OK LA WANG-GYUR-PA’Y
Wielding mastery over the hosts of Nāgas:
MIG-MI-ZANG LA CH’AK-TS’ËL LO
To Virūpākṣa, I bow down.
[The Dhāraṇī:]
OṂ VAI SVĀHĀ/‭ ‬OṂ DHRI SVĀHĀ/‭ ‬OṂ VI SVĀHA/‭ ‬OṂ‭ ‬KṢA‭ ‬SVĀHĀ
[Tibetan pronunciation:
OṂ BAI SWĀHĀ/ OṂ DHRI SWĀHĀ/ OṂ BI SWĀHA/ OṂ KSHA SWĀHĀ
Or more commonly:
OṂ BAI SOHĀ/ OṂ DHRI SOHĀ/ OṂ BI SOHA/ OṂ KSHA SOHĀ]
Recite as much as possible.
KHYEY LA TÖ CHING SÖL-WA TAP-PA’Y T’Ü
By the power of praising and supplicating you,
DAK SOK GANG-DU NAY-PA’Y SA-CH’OK DÉR
In whatever places I and others may dwell,
NAY DANG UL-P’ONG T’AP-TSÖ ZHI-WA DANG
Please pacify illness, poverty and conflict;
CH’Ö DANG TRA-SHIY P’ËL-WAR DZAY DU SÖL
And ensure the increase of the Dharma and good fortune.

Translated from the Tibetan by Erick Tsiknopoulos, September 9th, 2016 in Pokhara, Nepal. Finalized on December 31st 2016 in Boudhanath, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Special thanks to Ned Branchi for his work with the Sanskrit and dhāraṇī.
Notes:
“orange” (dmar-gser), literally ‘reddish yellow’.

https://buddha-nature.com/2016/12/31/the-dhara%E1%B9%87i-of-the-four-great-kings/

His Holiness the 41st Sakya Trizin - Holiday Message 2016 - 2017 (English)

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

TAM

TAM
The Tam syllable, seed syllable of Tara, is most often visualized at Her heart, glowing and emanating healing light. TAM normally sits on a lotus. Here the TAM is green, which can represent any Tara. Often White Tara practice visualizes the Tam as white.

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WHAT IS BODHICITTA?

WHAT IS BODHICITTA?
Bodhicitta is a mind (including thought, action, feeling and speech) totally dedicated to others and to achieving full enlightenment in order to benefit all sentient beings as fully as possible. Bodhicitta is often called the ‘Wish Fulfilling Jewel’, because like a magic jewel it brings true happiness. There are two levels of bodhichitta:
(1) aspirational,
(2) engaged. 
Aspirational bodhichitta is the complete wish to overcome our emotional afflictions and delusions to realise our full potentials to bring all fellow beings to the enlightened state free from suffering.
Aspirational Bodhicitta has two stages
1) Heartfelt wishing to become a Buddha to benefit all sentient beings.
2) Pledging never to abandon this aim until it is achieved.
Developing the wishing state does not involve a pledge. With the pledged state of bodhicitta, we promise to train in five actions that help us never to lose our determination. . The first four trainings determine our bodhicitta aspiration and pledge not to decline during this lifetime. The fifth training determines us not to lose our intention in future lives.
Engaged bodhichitta means engaging in the practices and behaviour that bring about this goal by taking the bodhisattva vows to restrain from actions detrimental to it.
In taking bodhisattva vows the trainee bodhisattva vows to abstain from certain negative acts that would defer the bodhisattva reaching enlightenment and thereby to be of as much benefit to others as is possible. The vows are:
(1) eighteen actions that, if committed, constitute a root downfall
(2) forty-six types of wrong behavior
There are Four Trainings for bodhicitta Resolve Not to Decline in This Life
1) Each day and night, recalling the advantages of the bodhicitta motivation.
2) Remembering, reaffirming and intensifying this motivation by rededicating our hearts to our enlightenment and the enlightenment of others, three times each day and three times each night.
3) Striving to build up positive mental states and deep awareness and wisdom. Benefiting and helping others using all the skills and means at our disposal, as effectively as we can, and doing so with as much deep awareness of reality as is possible.
4) Never giving up trying to help anyone, or at least wishing to be able to do so, no matter how difficult he or she may be.

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Day Three - Shantideva's "Guide" requested by Russian Buddhists

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, from “Longchenpa's Advice from the Heart”

"Samsara" is the cyclic existence or pattern that our spirit travels both in this life and eternally. We are all spiritual warriors whether we realize it or not. The Way is in the Middle, away from extremes say the Sages. So many levels of challenges and obstacles subtly intertwined within fear, love, ego and cosmic karma.

Namkhai Norbu on Awareness and Attachment.

If we are spiritual practitioners we feel contempt for samsaric situations; we are not seriously or deeply interested in them. This does not mean that we feel disgust for or reject everything. In our life, all is relative. In our life, not everything is how it should be, nonetheless we continue to live. We accept and integrate the various circumstances of life. This is part of our awareness. To accept everything with awareness is different from being completely attached. Some people have an exaggerated liking for this or that: this is attachment. However, it does not mean that if you are a good practitioner you cannot have likings. You can like and enjoy with awareness. In the samsaric condition, we possess five or six senses, and with the senses we enjoy contact with objects. When we see an object, a flower for example, we may like it. We observe its beauty and smell its fragrance. We enjoy looking and smelling. To enjoy with awareness means to know the real nature of the object and not become attached to it. In this way, we enjoy without having negative consequences. If we are not aware, we become distracted with our liking for the flower; we want to possess the flower and attempt to have it. Thus, attachment increases, releasing all other emotions, with the ensuing negative karma. In brief, if one is aware and undistracted the enjoyment of the senses does not pose any problem. If one is distracted, enjoyment always bears negative consequences, even if things appear joyful and gratifying. For that reason, the teaching says that all is illusion. When we see a nice object and we become attached, we resemble a moth which, attracted by a flame at night, flies into it, burns, and dies.
— Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, from “Longchenpa's Advice from the Heart”

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