Praise of Candrakīrti

Praise of Candrakīrti

by Khenpo Shenpen Nangwa

Born as an emanation of Mañjuśrī,
Who understood the intent of Nāgārjuna,
Guru known as Candrakīrti, 'Famous as the Moon',
To you I pay homage.

Glorious Candrakīrti,
Through the power of pure ethical discipline,
You caused a tree to sprout from charred ground
And grow to its full size—a great wonder indeed.

Glorious Candrakīrti,
You milked painted milch cows
To stop the clinging to reality
In others' minds—a great wonder indeed.

Glorious Candrakīrti
You transmitted the grammatical treatise Wholly Excellent (Samantabhadra)
And with the flow of the Ganges
Caused wisdom to expand—a great wonder indeed.

Glorious Candrakīrti
You summoned a mighty lion of stone
And averted the Turuṣka army
Without death or injury—a great wonder indeed.

Glorious Candrakīrti
You debated the learned Candragomin
For a period of seven years,
Yet still could not be defeated—a great wonder indeed.

Glorious Candrakīrti
By means of the lion's roar of genuine reasoning,
You struck fear into all oxen-like philosophers,
Buddhist and non-Buddhist—a great wonder indeed.

Glorious Candrakīrti
You correctly elucidated the fundamental view
Of Nāgārjuna and his heir,[1]
Unfathomed by a thousand other scholars—a great wonder indeed.

Glorious Candrakīrti
You illuminated the entire world
With Prāsaṅgika works of ultimate, definitive meaning,
Which refute mistaken assertions—a great wonder indeed.

Glorious Candrakīrti
You saw the approach of fact-based reasoning,
And followed the tradition of the supreme scholar Bhāviveka—
A great wonder indeed.

Glorious Candrakīrti
You analyzed with the six limits[2]
The great secret mantra vehicle,
And taught the swift path—a great wonder indeed.

Glorious Candrakīrti
You realized the supreme secret, the vajra essence,
And in a subtle form of great transference,
Transcended birth and death—a great wonder indeed.

Glorious Candrakīrti,
With impartial and unbounded compassion,
You liberate beings until the very ends of time—
A great wonder indeed.

Glorious Candrakīrti,
Merely hearing your name
Dispels the darkness of ignorance throughout all lives
And confers wisdom—a great wonder indeed.

All who pray to you, the loving guide,
Whose mind is one of compassion,
Will remain unharmed by fires and floods.
How could storm winds ever touch them?

Through offering praise with verses
Of wonder in this way, may I and all other beings
Become your followers
And realize emptiness.

oṃ arapacana dhīḥ

This is a means of increasing wisdom. Shenpen Nangwa composed this. May virtue abound.

| Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2020.

Bibliography

Tibetan Edition

gzhan phan chos kyi snang ba. gzhung chen bcu gsum. 7 vols. Delhi: Konchhog Lhadrepa, 1983, 1993. (BDRC W23198) Vol. 5: 9–11

Version: 1.2–20220112