Praise and Prayer to Ngawang Lekpa

Cloud Banks of Blessings

Praise and Prayer to the Vajradhara Ngawang Lekpa

by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö

Homage to the guru and protector Mañjughoṣa!

I bow down in devotion and prostrate myself at the feet
Of the reverend guru who confers the light of intelligence,
The sun-like enlightened form of the wisdom knowledge
Of victors and their heirs throughout the whole of space and time.

The jewelled mountain of your pure three trainings,
Embraced by a hundred thousand newly risen suns of wisdom and love
And blazing resplendently with activity throughout the three worlds,
Overcomes the darkness of Māra’s hordes—to you I devotedly pay homage.

With matchless intelligence derived from prior training,
You clearly and distinctly realized all that could be known,
Mastered the vast activity of the victorious one’s heirs
And constantly strove for others’ benefit—to you I devotedly pay homage.

Cared for by sublime ones, you received the blessings of their three secrets,
Reached the pinnacle of listening, contemplation and meditation,
And gained powerful siddhis for subjugation and guidance—
Mighty lord of vajra holders, to you I devotedly pay homage.

Paṇḍita and dharma sovereign, you held in your power
The sovereign methods of sūtras, tantras and pith instructions,
Master of Dharma inseparable from the guru Mañjughoṣa,
Lord of speech, to you I devotedly pay homage.

You delighted in the ocean of profound whispered transmissions,
And bestowed the jewel of virtue, excellence and liberation,
The treasure of spoken instructions that is the essence of Virūpa’s wisdom,
Lord among those with the assurance of learning and realization, to you I pay homage.

You raised aloft the pristine white parasol of the study and practice
Of the Buddha’s teachings, source of all benefit and joy, at the summit of existence,
And your renown extended everywhere, even into the hearts of mountains,
Lord of a million holders of the teachings, to you I devotedly pay homage.

To you who never wavered from the wisdom of co-emergent bliss
And clear light or from the view of the equality of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa
Beyond the elaborations of what is real and what is unreal,
I devotedly pay homage.

In the spacious mansion of the three scriptural collections
Lies the highest wealth, the seven riches of the noble ones,
And even the haughtiest bow down before you—
Lion of speech, to you I devotedly pay homage.

The lofty victory banner of discipline’s finest fabric
Was decorated with the silken tassels of the three ways of the learned,
And as knots in the channels loosened and prāṇa-mind entered the central channel,
Adorned with the crest of accomplishment—to you I devotedly pay homage.

For you, until saṃsāra itself is emptied, I pray:
May your wisdom be steeped in the nectar of untainted great bliss,
May your speech resound as the indestructible vajra roar,
And may your form endure as the Immortal Protector.

As I reflect on your life of liberation
And pray to you from the depths of my heart
With ardent and unceasing devotion, look upon me with love,
And confer the four empowerments into the four maṇḍalas, I pray.

Through the power of my striving in the four empowerments during the four sessions of the Time of the Path, [1]
May I purify the four obscurations, effect the fourfold absorption,
Actualize the four kāyas and five primordial wisdoms,
And accomplish the benefit of all beings who are as infinite in number as space is vast!

Throughout all my lives until I reach this goal,
May I find the freedoms and advantages, develop renunciation,
Follow an excellent teacher, encounter the sacred Dharma,
And garb myself in the cloth of pure ethical discipline!

May I never be without utterly pure bodhicitta,
May the genuine view arise within my mind,
May I be matured through empowerment and maintain pure samaya,
And may I never be separated from the glorious guru’s wisdom mind!

May I be guided and cared for by the guru in all my lives to come,
May all that obstructs the practice of the sacred Dharma be pacified,
May fortunate conducive circumstances expand like a river in summer,
And may all be auspicious for the spontaneous accomplishment of twofold benefit!

This prayer was made by Jamyang Chökyi Lodrö, who aims to continue the Mañjughoṣa guru’s activity and was sustained by the nectar-like speech of this object of praise, in response to a request made together with the offering of a divine skilen scarf from Yeshe Nyima and Ngawang Rinchen, who both possess deep faith and admiration for the Vajradhara guru. May this be a cause for the swift infusion of blessings from this noble guru and dharma sovereign in a wisdom vision. Sarvadā kalyāṇaṃ bhavatu!

| Translated by Adam Pearcey with the generous support of the Khyentse Foundation and Tertön Sogyal Trust, 2021.

Bibliography

Tibetan Edition

’Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros. “rdo rje 'chang ngag dbang legs pa la bstod cing gsol ba 'debs tshul/“ in ’Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros kyi gsung ’bum. 12 vols. Bir: Khyentse Labrang, 2012. W1KG12986. Vol. 3: 173–176

Version: 1.1-20220606