Upon Hearing Kunzang Dechen Tsomo

Upon Hearing the Fluted Speech of Kunzang Dechen Tsomo, Queen Mother of Sikkim

by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö

Oṃ svasti.
Superior to all, with toenails like red lotuses
Above the jewel crests of devas, atop all existence and peace,
Lord of Sages, deity of deities, son of Śuddhodana,
At the feet of the King of the Śākyas, I pay homage.

Infinite knowledge concentrated in a luminous sphere,
As enchanting as the lucent clouds of twilight,
And with fingers clasping the sword of wisdom—
To Guru Mañjughoṣa, I bow down for evermore.

All the victorious ones' wisdom of discernment
Was directed towards the limpid surface of Sindhu Lake,
Where it wondrously arose upon the tip of a lotus stem—
To the sovereign of the victorious, Lake-born Vajra, I offer veneration.

They who wilfully embraced myriad forms of hardship,
To draw along the precious golden chariot of Dharma,
And spread the complete teachings of Buddha far and wide—
To the dharma-kings, translators and scholars of the past, I bow down.

Were the kindness of these beings to take form
The whole earth itself could not contain its mass
And the sky would also prove too limited a space,
For it is unimaginable, inexpressible, beyond example.

That the precious teachings remain even now,
As no more than a painted lamp or moon's reflection,
Is due to the kindness of these sublime protectors.
Reflecting on this time and again inspires heartfelt tears.

Attached to their own position and hostile toward others,
Those who would take the straight and make it crooked,
Are like savage and ferocious beasts lying in repose:
They'll inflame their own minds and ruin others' too.

To distinguish what is Dharma from what is not
Requires the vision of all-knowing wisdom
As an ārya freed from obscuration and impediment;
It is not for the likes of ordinary individuals to judge.

So now at this time of ever-increasing degeneration
Let us cast aside sectarianism like unwanted hay,
Open the mind's eye to the teachings as a whole
And bring illumination through teaching and practice.

May the heavenly garden of the ten fields of knowledge grow,
And from the wish-granting tree of sūtra and mantra,
Heavily laden at its top with fruits of the supreme vehicle,
May the boon of twofold welfare manifest spontaneously.

May the sun, moon and stars of auspiciousness illuminate the heavens,
The signs of auspiciousness emblazon the environment of the earth,
And the seven emblems of royalty manifest themselves in between,
So that auspiciousness pervades throughout the whole of space and time.

When the Queen Mother of Sikkim, Kunzang Dechen Tsomo, descendant of the Gazi clan, fluted her melodious speech, Tsuklak Lungrik Nyima Mawé Senge wrote this in a mood of playful wonder.

| Translated by Adam Pearcey with the generous support of the Khyentse Foundation and Tertön Sogyal Trust, 2020.

Bibliography

Tibetan Edition

'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros. "gwa zi'i rigs 'bras ljongs rgyal yum kun bzang bde chen mtsho mos gsung gi gling bu bsgyur skabs bris pa/" in ’Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros kyi gsung ’bum. 12 vols. Bir: Khyentse Labrang, 2012. W1KG12986 Vol. 8: 555–557

Version: 1.1-202030606