Advice for Patrons of the Dharma

Advice for Patrons of the Dharma[1]

from The Essential Amrita of Profound Meaning: Oral Instructions and Practical Advice Bestowed Upon Fortunate Followers, Eye-opener to What is to be Adopted and Abandoned

by Chokgyur Lingpa

I pray to the guru and the Three Jewels.
Bless us that we may be in accord with the Dharma.

I, the yogi, will sing a helpful song.
All of you patrons, pay attention and listen.
Our life slips away, mired in distraction.
It is impermanent, patrons, and all will end in death.

When you die, all your gathered wealth will be left behind,
So don’t accumulate pointless misdeeds, patrons.
The sublime Dharma alone will help you in the next life,
So apply the sacred Dharma immediately, patrons!

The ultimate refuge is the undeceiving Three Jewels,
So make offering, praises, and supplications, patrons!
By assisting worldly gods, you will do a lot of harm,
So don’t perform useless blood sacrifices, patrons!

The living buddha is one’s own guru,
So always do whatever pleases them, patrons!
The living vīras and ḍākinīs are your kith and kin,
So love and care for your friends and family, patrons!
The destined deity of Tibet is Avalokiteśvara,
So pray to him constantly, patrons!

The friends to be protected are the sentient beings of the six classes,
So protect them with loving kindness and compassion, patrons!
The enemies to subdue are the five poisons,
So subdue them with whatever remedy you can, patrons!

The root cause of hell is the act of killing,
So never, ever kill, patrons!
The main reason for killing is the wish for meat,
So give up the harmful sustenance of flesh and blood, patrons!

Families are impermanent, like meetings in the market place,
So don’t hold meaningless grudges, patrons!
Whether they be pleasant or not, we need our neighbors,
So don’t be hostile to your neighbors, patrons!

If you beat your livestock, your luck will decline,
So look after your livestock with love, patrons!
Anger destroys both self and others, and spoils the roots of virtue,
So don’t hate your enemies, patrons!

Friends in youth may become enemies in old age,
So don’t be too attached to friends, patrons!
If you are stingy, you will be reborn as a hungry ghost,
So give food and clothing to your servants, patrons!

You can’t carry your food and wealth to your next place of birth,
So be generous with the poor and needy, patrons!
If children respect their parents, they accumulate much merit,
So when your parents are old, cherish them, patrons!

By offering butter lamps, you’ll have an attractive body in your next life,
So offer lamps to the deities, patrons!
By making prostrations and circumambulations, your physical obscurations will be purified,
So prostrate before and circumambulate sacred objects, patrons!

Talk is the source of all disputes,
So don’t chatter needlessly, patrons!
The essence of the Dharma is the six syllables,
So chant the maṇi mantra at all times, patrons!

If you are good-hearted, whatever you do will become Dharma,
So cultivate a good heart, patrons!
The cause for exhausting merit is harmful thoughts,
So don’t hold on to harmful thoughts, patrons!

You can’t trust people of these degenerate times,
So place your trust in the Dharma, patrons!
If you want advice, then look to Buddha’s words,
For they clearly teach about good and bad, patrons!

Don’t place your hopes in people, but supplicate the deities,
And all your aims will be met in accord with the Dharma!
As for me, I'm not staying here; I'm going to another land.
I bid you all to take good care, patrons!

Although we might not meet again in this particular life,
I aspire that we will meet in future lives, patrons!
May all men and women who hear this song
Enter the gateway to true, lasting happiness!

Orgyen Chokgyur Lingpa spoke this to faithful male and female patrons, as he was taking his leave.

| Samye Translations, 2023.

Bibliography

Source text

mchog gyur gling pa, “rjes 'jug skal bzang rnams la bstsal pa’i zhal gdams bslab bya nyams len gyi skor spang blang mig ’byed zab don snying gi bdud rtsi.” In mchog gling bka’ ’bum skor. Vol. 36 of mchog gling bde chen zhig po gling pa yi zab gter yid bzhin nor bu’i mdzod chen po, 84–87. Kathmandu, Nepal: Ka-nying Shedrub Ling monastery, 2004.

Version: 1.1-20231012