Lament for Khenpo Kunpal

Lightning Bands of Compassion

A Song of Lament for Khenchen Kunzang Palden Tupten Chökyi Drakpa

by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö

Oṃ svasti!
Heart-son of the guru who held Samantabhadra’s lineage,
Glorious one who held the life-vein of the Ancient Translation teachings,
Wise, loving and powerful Tupten Chökyi Drakpa,
To you I pray: look upon me with love and compassion.

Now, when the teachings of the omniscient Śākya
And their essence, the vajra vehicle of the Ancient Translations,
Are being corrupted by the stains of interpolation,
Reverend teacher, how can you forsake us with your compassion?

Great beings are disappearing like the sun and moon setting over western peaks,
And the corrupting influence of wrong views is on the rise.
Lord of Dharma, you are like a sovereign among the constellations,
But now that you have passed into the absolute sphere, we are bereft.

Like orphans left behind by their mothers,
We have no refuge or protector and are assailed by suffering.
Consider us well, O protector, with your wisdom and love,
And manifest, I beseech you, in a wondrous emanation.

In a form that has the splendour of a deathless vajra,
Shine as resplendently as the moon amidst the stars.
And with the three ways of the learned[1] and qualities of an adept,
Cause the water-lily of the Ancient Translation teachings to bloom.

For us, hereafter in all our lives to come
May we be sustained by the teachings of this supreme guide and king of Dharma.
May we touch our heads at the dust before your feet,
And obtain the supreme essential realization of his secret wisdom mind.

When a letter arrived on the eighth day of the eleventh month to say that the great khenpo of unparalleled kindness had passed into the dharmadhātu at dawn on the twenty-seventh day of the tenth month of the Water Sheep year,[2] I, the devoted student Jamyang Lodrö Gyatso composed this prayer with single-pointed devotion right away during my session of recitation. I pray that all the vidyādhara gurus of the three transmissions grant their blessings so that it is fulfilled entirely.

| 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. "mkhan chen kun bzang dpal ldan thub bstan chos kyi grags pa la gdung dbyangs su gsol ba/" in gsung 'bum/_'jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros/. 12 vols. Bir, H.P.: Khyentse Labrang, 2012. (BDRC W1KG12986). Vol. 3: 455–456

Version: 1.1-20220324