Homage to the guru and all the buddhas and bodhisattvas!

 

Among the thousand buddhas of this fortunate age,

You are the most wondrous and majestic, as rare as an udumbara flower,

You who care for our world during this age of conflict,

Mighty sage, Siddhartha, to you I pay homage!

 

All you buddhas, bodhisattvas, shravakas and pratyekabuddhas in all directions,

Great bodhisattvas, Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara, Vajrapani, Maitreya and the rest,

Together with the sixteen sthaviras and seven great patriarchs,

Six ornaments[1] and two supreme ones[2] of this world, the two marvellous acharyas[3],

Eighty-four mahasiddhas, and the rest,

And especially, the Lotus Born Guru, whose kindness is beyond compare,

Shantarakshita, Trisong Detsen, Vairotsana and Atisha,

Five Sakya Patriarchs[4], Marpa, Milarepa and Gampopa,

Lama Tsongkhapa, Manjughosha in person, and all the rest,

All you great learned and accomplished vidyadharas of India and Tibet,

And all you peaceful and wrathful yidam deities, dakinis and dharmapalas—

We invoke you! Turn your wisdom minds towards us, and look upon us with compassion!

 

All the teachings of the Buddha—Vinaya, Sutra, Abhidharma,

The four classes of tantra within the Secret Mantra,

The teachings of the ten great pillars of the study lineage[5] in the Land of Snows,

And the eight great chariots of the practice lineage[6],

All the sutra and mantra traditions of the Buddha’s teachings—

Look now and see the extent to which they have all declined!

 

The saffron-robed sangha, upholders of the victory banner of discipline and renunciation,

Bodhisattvas who, without pretense or deception, genuinely seek to benefit others,

And holders of awareness mantras who maintain the samayas, and practise generation and completion—

Look how these practitioners have been reduced to pale imitations of the real thing, like a mere drawing of a butter lamp!

Look upon us now with your eyes of wisdom, and care for us in your compassion, we pray!

 

Beings of this evil age with its five degenerations,

Are caught in the bonds of turbulent and destructive emotions, their cravings and desires.

The followers of the teachings fight amongst themselves,

Spurred on by the fierce winds of jealousy,

And degenerate views are widespread.

Through these defilements, brought about by conflicts within the tradition,

The Dharma protectors, guardians of all that is positive, have turned away from us,

While warrior-like asuras and barbarians fill the world—

In these and other ways, the teachings have declined.

 

Kyema Kyihü! O compassionate protectors!

Increase the power and strength of your sacred commitments!

Why would you be discouraged by the sadness of these evil times?

Since you are masters of the ten strengths and possessors of the ten powers,

You must surely heal and restore the teachings.

Send us genuine teachers who are learned, disciplined and accomplished,

To breathe fresh life into the buddhadharma!

 

In both India and Tibet, may the precious lamps of joyful celebration,

Be set ablaze, to usher in another golden age,

And may the non-sectarian, lotus-like teachings of the Buddha, flourish and blossom.

May the minds of those who harbour ill-will towards the teachings be changed,

And filled with inspiration to practise the ten virtuous actions.

May the sangha, the holders of the teachings, fill this world of ours,

And study and practice increase and spread.

May vast clouds of offerings fill all monasteries and temples,

And the great drum of the Dharma resound far and wide,

Annihilating the deluded arguments of the tirthikas,

And sounding the victory of the Buddhadharma in all directions.

 

May the lives of all the holders of the teachings be secure,

And may the lives and merits of benefactors increase,

May even the names of those who would harm the teachings disappear,

And may the victory banner of the teachings be raised in all directions!

 

Chökyi Lodrö wrote down whatever came to mind at the foot of the bodhi tree in Vajrasana (Bodhgaya) in the noble land of India. May these words be blessed so that they all come true. Sarva mangalam!

 

 

| Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2007. Many thanks to Tulku Thondup Rinpoche for his kind clarifications.

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