Three Statements

Striking the Vital Point in Three Statements

Garab Dorje’s Final Testament

from the Vima Nyingtik

Namo śrī guruye.

Homage to the confidence of realizing intrinsic awareness!

This awareness, which has no concrete identity,
Is totally unconfined in its modes of manifestation.
All that appears and exists thus arises as the dharmakāya field,
And this very arising is liberated directly upon itself.

Encapsulating the wise intent of all the sugatas,
This resuscitating instruction in three statements
Bring a decisive resolution of[1] saṃsāra and ṇirvāṇa,
So store this final testament deep within your heart.
A! Ithi!

The instruction that fully reveals awareness is:
Introducing directly the face of rigpa itself.
Deciding upon one thing and one thing only.
Confidence directly in the liberation of rising thoughts.
One’s own essence and apparent otherness merge in recognition.
Ithi!

Whatever appears is one’s own nature;
There is greater power in identity—
Like recognizing like.
The mother recognizes the mother itself.
The child recognizes itself.
The very same thing recognizes itself.
Awareness alone connects to itself—
Connection with itself alone.
It is connection with freedom alone.
Determine that the apparent is one’s own nature.
Determine that your own experience is oneness.
Determine that doubt is resolved in liberation.
Ithi!

To have self-mastery brings such confidence as a rich person’s wealth might afford.
To have mastery over 'other' brings confidence like that of a universal emperor.
To have mastery of the site of freedom brings confidence like space into which space dissolves.
Ithi!

Freeing itself by itself.
Freeing one within unity.
Uniting mother and child.
Ithi!

In recognizing your own nature, you are introduced to the ground. As in the meeting of mother and child, therefore, there is recognition that the site of freedom is unity. In the knowledge that freedom is self-effectuating, you decide upon rigpa itself. You decide that the stains will cleanse the stains, that thoughts will take care of themselves without having to employ some other remedy. Since freedom comes from the ground itself, this is what instils confidence. Therefore, just as the snake itself uncoils its own knots, as the tendency for awareness to be directed elsewhere fades away, you establish a foundation upon the ground itself.
Ithi!

When Garab Dorje demonstrated passing into parinirvāṇa, Mañjuśrīmitra fell faintingly to the ground and cried out in anguish, "Kyema kyihü! Alas! Alas!" Rolang Dewa’s[2] right arm then emerged from a circle of light. To restore him to full consciousness, this secret testament of Striking the Vital Point in Three Statements, spontaneously inscribed in molten lapis lazuli, fell into the palm of Mañjuśrīmitra’s right hand. To contain it, there also fell a casket of precious crystal the size of a fingernail. Through this, Mañjuśrīmitra recovered from his fainting and gained the confidence of realization.

Conceal this message, therefore, within the maṇḍala of your heart. This parting advice in three statements, which draws upon the essence of all the tantras and which reveals the golden meaning of the view, which alighted in the great charnel ground of Śītavana, this sacred instruction that came to light at the source of the river Danatika, this path that brings relief to all sentient beings, this instruction that instantly liberates within the realm of the buddhas, is hereby complete.

| Translated by Adam Pearcey with the generous support of the Tsadra Foundation, 2025.

Bibliography

Tibetan Editions

"dga’ rab rdo rje’i tshig gsum gnad du brdeg pa" in 'jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha' yas, bkra shis dpal 'byor (ed.). gdams ngag mdzod/. 18 vols. Paro: Lama Ngodrup and Sherab Drimey, 1979–1981 (BDRC W20877). Vol. 2: 7–9

"dga’ rab rdo rje’i tshig gsum gnad du brdeg pa" In snying thig ya bzhi. 13 vols. Delhi: Sherab Gyaltsen Lama, 1975. Vol. 3: 304–310 (3.5 folios)

Secondary Sources

Jamgön Kongtrul. Nyingma: Mahayoga, Anuyoga and Atiyoga Part Two. Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group. Boulder: Snow Lion, 2024.

Kunsang, Erik Pema. Wellsprings of the Great Perfection: Lives and Insights of the Early Masters in the Dzogchen Lineage. Boudhanath: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 2006.

Reynolds, John Myrdhin. The Golden Letters. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 1996.

Tulku Thondup. Masters of Meditation and Miracles. Boston: Shambhala, 1996.

Version: 1.0-20250416