Praise of Redreng

Offering Clouds to Delight the Victorious Ones, Combining A Praise of Redreng with a Prayer of Aspiration

by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö

Namo guru śākyamunaye!

Sun-like conqueror, protector of the triple world,
Lord of Sages, Maitreya, Mañjughoṣa,
Holder of the White Lotus, Tārā and the rest—
This great pleasure grove delights them all:
It is a pleasant site where noble beings reside,
Perfectly arranged and with a fragrant scent,
And thickly arrayed groves of medicinal plants,
Various species of emanated birds who call out in song,
Gently flowing streams of water possessing the eight qualities,
Grassy meadows arrayed like a maṇḍala of turquoise,
All filled with beautiful flowers that delight both gods and men,
And where precious stones and minerals gleam and glisten.
Ḍākinīs and vīras sing like the humming of bees.
Sages, vidyādharas and siddhas throng like sesame seeds.
Here they reside in this place that is like just Sukhāvatī
Transposed to earth, wondrous in its power to inspire.
Onto this great stage, which delights everyone including the gods,
Came the one true heart-son of Atiśa Dīpaṃkāra,
Who was the actual manifestation of Amitābha freed from the lotus,
The great Gyalwé Jungné, ‘Source of the Conquerors’, Könchok Bang,[1]
Through his blessing this great temple where Mañjughoṣa
Is directly present, this supreme support for all the world,
Arose as the splendour and merit of people from the snowy peaks.

Kyema![2]
This is the great heavenly realm of Akaniṣṭha,
With precious trees in the four cardinal and eight intermediate directions,[3]
Bringing delight to countless buddhas and bodhisattvas,
Whose smiles are enhanced through the latticed rays of light.
Nectar-like treasures dispel sickness, harmful influences, negative actions and obscurations.
Jewel-like cliffs and terraces are beautifully arranged
And entirely filled with caches of Dharma and other riches.

This great pleasure grove that delights the victorious ones
Is equal to the divine assembly hall of Excellent Dharma.[4]
The Mañjuvajra is like a newly risen sun[5]
Shining upon a mountain of saffron
One never tires of looking upon it, as it blazes with the splendour of the signs and marks
And appears as the great all-pervasive lord of all existence and quiescence.
The magical emanation of Gyalwa Könchok Bang,
Gyalwé Jungné, brings joy upon sight,
With a retinue of countless emanations of noble ones of the three families
Appearing in succession like a chain of golden mountains.
These supreme representations, blessed by the victorious one’s secret body, speech and mind,
Are amassed here like a mountain of precious jewels.
This support for the merit of all the world’s inhabitants
Is like the splendour of the two perfected accumulations.

Those in saffron robes gather here like flocks of geese
And are undistracted in their tenfold practice of Dharma.
They are peaceful, disciplined and conscientious,
Worthy of reverence by gods and human beings alike.

I pray that this site of support and supported, lowland and peak,
May never decline for as long as it remains,
And that it may forever be secure, just like the Vajra Seat![6]

Bringing to mind all the virtues that I and others accumulate
Throughout the past, present and future,
As a great cloud of offerings to delight the victorious ones,
I dedicate it all as a cause for the flourishing of the teachings.

Throughout all my births and in all my future lifetimes,
May I uphold the pure conduct of the Kadampas.
May Lord Atiśa and his heirs remain upon the lotus in my heart,
And may I meet them all continually—in actuality, in visions and in dreams!

Sustained by the nectar of the teaching of the supreme vehicle,
May whatever I do through the three doors of my body, speech and mind,
Be of benefit to my mothers and fathers, all sentient beings,
And may I remain until saṃsāra itself is emptied.

May all those with a connection to me, even those who merely hear my name,
Be thoroughly liberated from the seas of misery that are the lower realms.
May the seed of liberation be implanted in their minds,
And may they ultimately attain the fruition of great awakening!

May the teachings of the omniscient conqueror flourish and spread,
May the lives of the holders of the teachings be secure,
May all the world enjoy virtue, goodness and prosperity,
And may all the strife of these discordant times be pacified!

Thus, having reached my sixty-third year and arrived at Redreng in the North, the hermitage of the conqueror,[7] I, Jamyang Chökyi Lodrö, made this heartfelt, respectful prayer. I pray that through inspiration and blessing, it may be realized!

| Translated by Adam Pearcey with the generous support of the Khyentse Foundation, 2019.

Bibliography

Tibetan Edition

'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros. "byang rwa sgreng rgyal ba'i dben gnas la bstod cing smon lam du bya ba rgyal ba dgyes pa'i mchod sprin/" in ’Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros kyi gsung ’bum. 12 vols. Bir: Khyentse Labrang, 2012. W1KG12986 Vol. 10: 331–336