Words of Advice for the Benefit of All

Words of Advice for the Benefit of All[1]

by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö

At the feet of the guru, I pay homage.

Now that you’ve gained a precious human form, free and well-favoured,
Encountered a venerable guru who is fully qualified,
And the teachings of the Buddha still endure,
It’s right that you practise Dharma for the sake of all, yourself and others.

Since there is no certainty as to when the enemy,
The terrifying executioner, the Lord of Death, might come,
It’s time to cut any attachment to the appearances of this life,
And prepare to follow the path in future lives.

The sequence of karmic consequences is never reversed:
Whatever acts we perform, the results will ripen accordingly.
The negative causes that bring about suffering as their result
Are eliminated through the Dharma of taming the afflictions.
Eliminating them cuts the roots of conditioned existence.
Virtues cause the qualities of liberation to proliferate,
Lead to the accomplishment of our own and others’ aims,
And help us to cross the ocean of existence in this very life.

Once you’ve established the roots of all Dharma practice,
Faith and devotion, renunciation and taking refuge,
Apply yourself to the essence of all Dharma practice,
Love, compassion and the four boundless qualities.

Even hundreds and thousands of wish-fulfilling jewels
Could not represent even a fraction of bodhicitta’s value.
It is crucial that you constantly train the mind, therefore,
In the practices of equalizing and exchanging oneself and others.

Recognizing how all the phenomena of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa
Are illusory and dreamlike, constantly cultivate the sublime view
Of the Middle Way that is entirely free from the limiting extremes
Of eternalism and nihilism, the non-duality of the profound and clear.

Through meditation, delusory perception will naturally subside,
The demon of self-cherishing will be entirely eradicated,
And the sun of primordial wisdom will dawn from within.

As a means of generating within one’s mindstream
This view that is thus devoid of dualistic perception,
Apply yourself, my child, with river-like momentum
To the profound path of yoga that focuses on the guru.

At all times, allow sights, sounds and mental states
To arise as the three secrets of the venerable guru.
And be sure to rely on mindfulness and vigilance.
Dedicate all virtue to parent-beings throughout space.

To fulfil the request of the faithful Pema Gyaltsen,
Jamyang Chökyi Lodrö offered these verses of advice,
For the benefit of all, both oneself and others.

Sarva maṅgalam!

| Translated by Adam Pearcey with the generous support of the Khyentse Foundation and Tertön Sogyal Trust, 2023.

Bibliography

Tibetan Edition

'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros. 'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros kyi gsung 'bum. 12 vols. Bir, H.P.: Khyentse Labrang, 2012. (W1KG12986). Vol. 8: 355–356

Version: 1.0–20230620