Song for Travelling to Tibet
A Song for Travelling from Sikkim to Tibet
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
The vision of the intermediate turning is intrinsic emptiness,[1]
The approach and writings of the glorious protector Ārya Nāgārjuna.
The final turning concerns the essence[2] discourse of definitive meaning,
Drawn out primarily by the venerable Ārya Asaṅga.
The intentions of both Nāgārjuna and Asaṅga come down to the same point.
The three of the Sakya, Kagyü and Nyingma are in agreement.
The sugata-essence is not a mere vacuity,
For the kāyas and wisdoms, qualities and activities
Are spontaneously present, unsought, as the awareness element, basic space.
The mind of purity, attainment and freedom is the Buddha—
Stabilize your certainty concerning this crucial point.
Since it possesses the powers and the rest it overcomes emotional and cognitive veils,
So that you may become one who has brought saṃsāra to an end.
If you wish to practice the transcendent perfection of wisdom in a single sitting,
Bringing everything together on the basis of the generation of bodhicitta alone,
All is included within the practice of indivisible emptiness and compassion—
Relative bodhicitta, the conventional elements of the application of all aspects,[3]
And ultimate bodhicitta, which includes all that is featureless.
This, which is profound in meaning, is my instruction is to you.
Chökyi Lodrö wrote this for his own student Traltso Rinchen,[4] who requested a song when he was travelling from Sikkim to Tibet.
| Translated by Adam Pearcey with the generous support of the Khyentse Foundation and Tertön Sogyal Trust, 2020
Bibliography
Tibetan Editions Used
'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros. "''bras ljongs nas bod la rgyu khar bris pa'i mgur glu/" In 'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros kyi gsung 'bum. 12 vols. TBRC W1KG12986. Bir, H.P.: Khyentse Labrang, 2012. Vol. 8: 313–314.
_____ . gsung thor bu/_'jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros/ (rgya gar bir'i par ma/). TBRC W21814. 2 vols. null: null, null. http://tbrc.org/link?RID=W21814 Vol. 2: 19a–19b
Version: 1.1-20221204
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rang stong, also translated as emptiness-of-self. ↩
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i.e., the tathāgatagarbha, or buddha-essence/buddha-nature. ↩
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The (complete) application of all aspects (rnam rdzogs sbyor ba) is a technical term from the Prajñāpāramitā/Abhisamayālaṃkāra teachings. Patrul Rinpoche explains it as the stage of gaining proficiency in realization, which means "to meditate on all aspects—from the aspect of impermanence in the beginning through to the aspect of ultimate enlightenment itself—in the manner of the indivisible unity of the two truths, so as to generate realization of what was not previously realized." ↩
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Following gsung thor bu: khral tsho rin chen. The gsung 'bum edition has khra la tsho rin chen. ↩
