Advice for Nubla Kunzang Chöpel

Advice for Nubla Kunzang Chöpel[1]

by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö

In devotion, I bow down before the lotus feet
Of the glorious guru and present this brief advice.

Remember impermanence and death,
Strive to adopt and avoid certain actions and their effects,
And reflect on the trials of saṃsāra.
With a determination to escape conditioned existence,
Make the most of this free, advantaged opportunity
By assiduously exerting yourself in the Dharma.

At the root of the Mahāyāna path
Is to train the mind in bodhicitta
And conquer thoughts of self-grasping.
Devote yourself to service for the sake of sentient beings.
Continually offer prayers of excellent aspiration.

Generate intense faith and devotion
For the guru of the Vajra Vehicle
And maintain extremely pure samaya—this is crucial.
Supplicate with fervent devotion,
Receive empowerment, blend your mind with the guru’s wisdom,
And investigate the arising, remaining and ceasing
Of this, your own flickering deluded mind.
Determine that it is without basis or origin.
Its non-arising is the dharmakāya;
Its non-remaining is the sambhogakāya;
And its unceasing potential is the nirmāṇakāya—
All are spontaneously present within mind’s basic condition.
Emptiness and clarity are inseparably united—
Unspoilt by thinking, free from dualistic grasping.
Do not modify or transform anything but settle naturally.
Undistracted and free from grasping—this is the key to meditation.
Allowing whatever arises to be freed by itself—the key to action.
Actualizing what is perfect within the ground—the key to fruition.

If you can combine these four—view, meditation, action and fruition—
In this way, so that they are one and indivisible,
And you know how to merge all forms of equipoise,
Such as deity visualization, mantra recitation, and the like,
As well as all non-meditative states, within this expanse,
You’ll realize the meaning of the Indivisibility of Saṃsāra and Nirvāṇa,
Perfectly master the tenets of philosophy, complete the path,
And attain the level of a Vajra Holder.

Thus, the one called Chökyi Lodrö wrote this merely to avoid turning down a request from Nubla Kunzang Chöpel, a holder of the three trainings.

| Translated by Adam Pearcey with the generous support of the Khyentse Foundation and Tertön Sogyal Trust, 2022.

Bibliography

Tibetan Edition

'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros. "Nub bla kun bzang chos 'phel gyi ngor gdams pa/" in 'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros kyi gsung 'bum. 12 vols. Bir: Khyentse Labrang, 2012. W1KG12986 Vol. 8: 248–249

Version: 1.0-20220216