Advice to Ane Tsöndrü Palmo

In this eccentric song, Dorje Lingpa (1346–1405) seems mostly intent on playful melody, informality, and assonance. The song has seemingly little value in terms of subtle meaning, but it is of interest as a literary curiosity and a window into Dorje Lingpa's style and character. We have, therefore, chosen to render the song close its original meter so that it might be sung. In the Tibetan, the first line has seven syllables; the second line, ten syllables; and the third line, six syllables. In the translation, we use twelve syllables in the second line for clarity, as English cannot match Tibetan's compactness. We have also attempted to replicate the lighthearted assonance of the second line where the Tibetan reads "yak so" (yags so), followed by "A-o" (a'o). To approximate the assonance, we use "oh-so" + "A-oh." Dorje Lingpa's biography suggests that the peculiar song was quite consistent with his antinomian character. His Treasury of Lives biography relates that when he was invited to meet dignitaries affiliated with an important Sakya lama, he was asked to tone down his flamboyance and make the appearance of a staid master. Instead, "Dorje Lingpa arrived in a procession with women in tiger and leopard masks and proceeded to sing a song of realization, the topic of which was the tantric erasure of conventional dualistic thinking" (Gardner).  ↩

Ngari Gungtang Chögyal, Tri Sonam De (P2CZ7890 mnga' ris gung thang chos rgyal khri bsod nams lde, 1371–1404). We have no information about the identity of this Ane Tsöndrü. "Ane" (a ne) can mean either "nun," "aunt," or sometimes "lady." We infer that he is talking about a group of nuns, since it would be expected for nuns to be last in the line to greet him. However, he could possibly be referring to a group of aristocratic women.  ↩

Here "line" renders brgyud pa, "lineage," in order to fit the meter.  ↩

There is a play on the name of the dharmakāya buddha Kuntuzangpo/Samantabhadra, which means "wholly/all good."  ↩

"A-oh!" is colloquial onomatopoetic exclamation that internally rhymes with the phrase bzang dang yags so ("good and fine").  ↩

Guru Urgyen Pema = Guru Rinpoche/Padmasambhava.  ↩

"Khenpo Bodhisattva" = Śāntarakṣita, the great abbot and philosopher invited by Guru Rinpoche and King Tri Songdetsen to help establish Buddhism in Tibet in the eighth century.  ↩

Paṇchen is the Tibetanized version of the Sanskrit mahāpaṇḍita—"great scholar." Thus, "Paṇchen Vimamitra" is Mahāpaṇḍita Vimalamitra, the great Dzogchen master invited by Guru Rinpoche and King Tri Songdetsen to help establish the Dzogchen teachings in Tibet in the eighth century.  ↩

"Lotsa" is short for Lotsāwa—"translator." Pagor Vairotsana was the greatest of the eighth-century translators who brought the Dharma to Tibet.  ↩

The Dharma King Tri Songdetsen whose aspirations and patronage brought Buddhism to Tibet.  ↩

Yeshe Tsogyal. "Sole mate" renders grogs gcig—lit. "only friend," connoting her role as Guru Rinpoche's closest companion, or even the homophonous "soul mate."  ↩

"Father" for "only father" (pha gcig)—a common term for one's root guru or a guru of the lineage.  ↩

One of Dorje Lingpa's aliases was Pema Lingpa. However, he may here be anticipating the life of the famous Bhutanese treasure-revealer, Pema Lingpa (1450–1521), since the following stanza refers to Rigdzin Chokden Gönpo (rig 'dzin mchog ldan mgon po, 1497–1531)—a reincarnation of Dorje Lingpa and student of Pema Lingpa.  ↩

"Yidam of the Eight Words" stands for the original yi dam khro bka' brgyad—"fierce eight teachings," or more loosely "eight fierce maṇḍalas." This is a variant of sgrub pa bka' brgyad, "the eight great sādhana teachings," or just Kagyé, which are wrathful deity practices central to the Nyingma tradition.  ↩

"Chökyong" is the Tibetan term for dharmapāla ("Dharma protector"). Maning Nagpo, "The Black Neuter," is a powerful protector deity who is an emanation of Mahākāla particularly important to the Nyingma tradition.  ↩

"Dharma Dzogchen Nyingtik" translates to "the teachings of the Heart-Drop of Great Perfection" (chos rdzogs chen snying thig).  ↩

"Wishing for sorrow's end" is short for smon lam 'khor ba dong sprugs—"The aspiration to dredge saṃsāra from its depths," which does not lend itself to a tight meter.  ↩