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The Home of Tibetan Buddhist Texts in Translation
ISSN 2753-4812
ISSN 2753-4812

Pilgrimage Series

Pilgrimage

English (41) | Deutsch (1) | Français (1) | Italiano (1) | 中文 (1) | བོད་ཡིག (41)

Lotsawa House presents the following texts related to pilgrimage (gnas skor) and major sacred places (gnas):

General

by Katok Situ Chökyi Gyatso
In this series of verses Chökyi Gyatso, the author of a famous pilgrimage guide to Central Tibet, candidly explains the difference between three types of pilgrim: greater, middling and lesser.
14 Jan 2006

Sacred Places

by Chatral Rinpoche
In this brief guide to Ujjain, most likely part of a personal pilgrimage diary, Chatral Rinpoche repeatedly refers to the city as Uḍḍiyāna. Ujjain is home to the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga, one of the most famous temples dedicated to Lord Śiva, attracting thousands of devotees every day. Rinpoche concludes with a guide to Khoteshwar, identified here as the Sindhu Isle, birthplace of Guru Padmasambhava.
Pilgrimage Guides 13 Mar 2019
by Chatral Rinpoche
Kyabje Chatral Rinpoche wrote this brief guide to the sacred Māratika cave at the request of his daughter, Sarasvatī. In a series of verses, he describes the significance of this powerful place of longevity — the "destroyer of death" is the literal meaning of its name — where Guru Padmasambhava and the Lady Mandāravā attained immortality.
Nepal Pilgrimage Guides 18 Aug 2017
by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
A list of eight sacred places associated with each of the Kagyé deities, as well as five sacred sites related to Guru Padmasambhava's enlightened body, speech, mind, qualities and activity.
Tibet Kagyé Guru Padmasambhava 4 Nov 2022
by Dudjom Rinpoche
A brief petitionary offering (gsol mchod) to the mātṛkā Pukkasī, who is the local protectress of the sacred Jarung Kashor stūpa in Boudha, Nepal.
Dharma Protectors Nepal 15 Nov 2018
by Dudjom Rinpoche
A four-verse prayer to the three main stūpas of the Kathmandu Valley, i.e., Svayambhū (known to Tibetans as Pakpa Shingkun), Boudha (known to Tibetans as Jarung Khashor) and Namo Buddha.
Nepal 27 Sep 2016
by Dudjom Rinpoche
A two-verse supplication to the three main stūpas of the Kathmandu Valley, i.e., Svayambhū, Boudha and Namo Buddha.
Nepal 1 Jan 2023
by Fourteenth Karmapa
This four-line prayer to the sacred site of Pema Shelpuk (pad+ma shel phug) was composed at Tsadra Rinchen Drak during a monkey year, possibly 1860.
Pema Shelpuk 26 Nov 2023
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
This verse guide to the sacred site of Vairotsana at Pema Shelpuk, the Lotus Crystal Cave, was originally composed at the request of the resident lama and Jamyang Chökyi Wangpo (1893–1908), the body incarnation of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820–1892). The text has only recently been reconstructed from stones on which it was once engraved.
Pema Shelpuk 28 Nov 2023
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
A two-verse prayer to the sacred site of Pema Shelpuk (pad+ma shel phug) composed in January 1925.
Pema Shelpuk 26 Nov 2023
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
Jamyang Khyentse composed this prayer at the actual site of the famous Boudha stūpa, known to Tibetans as "Jarung Khashor" (bya rung kha shor), while he was staying in the Kathmandu Valley in 1956/7.
Nepal 26 Dec 2005
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
This short prayer, which is addressed directly to the sacred stūpa of Svayambhū (known to Tibetans as Pakpa Shingkun—“Noble All-Trees”) in Nepal, was composed at the site itself, and is part of a series of prayers addressed to the three major stūpas of the Kathmandu Valley.
Nepal 28 Apr 2015
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
A prayer to the three main stūpas of the Kathmandu Valley: Jarung Khashor or Boudha, Svayambhū, and Namo Buddha, which commemorates the bodhisattva Mahāsattva's sacrifice to a starving tigress.
Nepal 31 Jan 2018
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
This is a poetic guide to the sacred site of Yangleshö (yang le shod) near the village of Pharping to the south of the Kathmandu Valley, where it is said that Guru Padmasambhava attained the level of a Mahāmudrā vidyādhara. Jamyang Khyentse wrote the text following a series of visionary experiences; it has the quality of a revelation and ends with a series of cryptic prophecies.
Praise Nepal Pilgrimage Guides 4 Feb 2018
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
Verses in praise of three sacred sites: Rājgṛha (rgyal po'i khab), the ancient capital of Magadha; Vulture Peak (bya rgod spungs ri), where Buddha taught the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras; and Nālandā (nālendra), site of the famous monastic university.
Praise India 21 Aug 2018
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
Jamyang Khyentse wrote these verses in praise of Yerpa while visiting its sacred Moon Cave (Dawa Puk), most likely in 1955.
Praise Tibet 9 Dec 2022
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
Jamyang Khyentse composed this prayer of aspiration at the request of his student Yakzewa Gyurme Drakpa at the Mahābodhi temple in Bodhgaya in January 1958.
India Buddha Śākyamuni 5 Apr 2018
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
A brief overview of the sacred site of Sengchen Namdrak (seng chen gnam brag), one of the twenty-five major sites of Kham, describing its significance as a location of terma revelation and consequent benefits as a place of pilgrimage.
Tibet Pilgrimage Guides 17 Jun 2021
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
A guide to Gawa Lung (dga' ba lung), the Valley of Joy, or Dorje Menlung (rdo rje sman lung), the Valley of Vajra Medicine, an ideal place for spiritual practice located in north-western Sikkim.
Sikkim Pilgrimage Guides 11 Mar 2022
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
A panegyric on Devāvatāra or Sāṃkāśya, the place where Buddha supposedly returned to earth after spending a rainy season teaching Abhidharma to his mother and others in the deva realm.
Praise India 21 Aug 2018
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
A short poetic text in praise of Kuśinagara, the scene of Buddha Śākyamuni's final act, passing beyond this world and into parinirvāṇa.
Praise India 21 Aug 2018
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
Although entitled a praise of Vārāṇasī, this short poetic work concerns Sarnath or Ṛṣipatana, located approximately 10 kilometres from that ancient city. It was in the deer park of Sarnath that Buddha Śākyamuni first taught, setting in motion the Wheel of Dharma.
Praise India 21 Aug 2018
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
Verses in praise of the sacred site of Yangleshö (yang le shod) near the village of Pharping to the south of the Kathmandu Valley, where it is said that Guru Padmasambhava attained the level of a Mahāmudrā vidyādhara.
Praise Nepal 10 Dec 2005
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
In this verse text, probably composed in 1958, Jamyang Khyentse playfully marvels at modernity and expresses a sense of wonder upon encountering the vast Indian city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) and all its unfamiliar attractions for the first time. The real highlight of the city as he sees it, however, is the chance to view the Buddha's relics, which were housed at the Indian Museum.
Praise India 7 Dec 2014
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
Composed in 1955 when Jamyang Khyentse passed through the area, this is a short verse text in praise of Redreng/Reting, the famous monastery founded by Atiśa's foremost disciple, Dromtönpa Gyalwé Jungné, in 1056–1057.
Praise Tibet Kadam 2 Jan 2019
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
Jamyang Khyentse wrote this text in praise of Lhodrak Kharchu as he passed through the sacred place in 1956. The site is associated with Namkhai Nyingpo, who is said to have attained accomplishment here through the practice of Yangdak Heruka.
Praise Tibet 5 Nov 2018
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
This short prayer to the sacred stūpa at Namo Buddha, which commemorates the Buddha's sacrifice—during one of his previous lives—of his own body to feed a hungry tigress and her cubs, is part of a series of prayers addressed to the three major stūpas of the Kathmandu Valley.
Nepal 2 Mar 2016
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
A short poetic text in praise of Śrāvastī (mnyan yod), where Buddha Śākyamuni spent many rainy seasons and where, it is said, he defeated rival teachers in a contest of miraculous ability. Jamyang Khyentse composed the work during a visit to the town in 1956.
Praise India 21 Aug 2018
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
Tso Pema (mtsho padma) or 'Lotus Lake' in Rewalsar, Northern India is identified with a lake in the ancient kingdom of Zahor, which was created, it is said, when the king and his ministers attempted to burn Guru Padmasambhava and his consort Mandāravā alive. The master transformed his funeral pyre into a lake, where he appeared, unharmed and seated upon a lotus.
Praise India 21 Aug 2018
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
Jamyang Khyentse composed this poem in praise of Lumbinī, the site of Buddha's birth and a major place of pilgrimage, during a visit in the late 1950s.
Praise Nepal 19 Jun 2018
by Jatsön Nyingpo
This revealed treasure text (gter ma), included in the Könchok Chidü (dkon mchog spyi 'dus), contains prophecies about future degenerate times and is purportedly the first guidebook to the hidden land of Pemakö (here spelt Pemokö).
Pemakö Prophecy Termas Pilgrimage Guides 18 Nov 2020
by Jigme Lingpa
Jigme Lingpa wrote this prayer for a student who was accumulating prayers before the famous Jowo Rinpoche statue in the Jokhang temple in Lhasa. It is not only a prayer to Śākyamuni Buddha, but also a means to receive the four empowerments: vase, secret, wisdom-knowledge, and the supreme empowerment of great rays of light.
Prayers Tibet Empowerment Rinchen Terdzö 14 Nov 2017
by Jigme Lingpa
A short historical guide to the sacred place of Samye Chimphu, where Guru Padmasambhava taught and granted empowerments to his twenty-five disciples, who then meditated in the surrounding caves and attained signs of accomplishment. Later, as Jigme Lingpa explains, the place became a pilgrimage site that was visited by many of Tibet's most illustrious masters.
Tibet 30 Aug 2017
by Khenchen Jigme Phuntsok
Composed at the cave of Yangleshö in Nepal, this spontaneous song praises the power of this sacred site, a place where Guru Padmasambhava once meditated and gained accomplishment, while also attesting to Khenchen Jigme Phuntsok's own poetic mastery and realization.
Songs and Poems Nepal 9 Jul 2017
by Lelung Shepé Dorje
A prayer to take rebirth in the hidden sanctuary of Pemako (pad+mo bkod), where obstacles such as sickness and conflict are scarce or nonexistent and favourable conditions may aid progress on the Dharma path.
Pemakö Aspiration Prayers 15 Dec 2020
by Milarepa
In this spiritual song (mgur), the great yogi Milarepa praises the qualities of Kyangpen Namkha Dzong or Jangphen Namkha Dzong (rkyang phan nam mkha' rdzong), which he likens to a palace, and explains why it is so conducive to meditative retreat. The place is listed among the six well-known outer 'fortresses' associated with Milarepa.
Songs and Poems Tibet 14 Mar 2019
by Ngakchang Shakya Zangpo
In this famous history of the sacred stūpa of Boudha, Guru Padmasambhava recounts the stūpa's origins. In response to a request from King Trisong Deutsen, he tells how a humble poultry-woman first extracted a promise from the king and then built the stūpa together with her four sons, who were all later reborn as prominent figures in the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet. Padmasambhava also describes the benefits to be gained from circumambulating the stūpa and making offerings before it, and concludes with a series of prophecies concerning the stūpa's restoration.
History Termas Prophecy Nepal Benefits 22 Dec 2017
by Rongtön Sheja Künrig
A short laudation of Vulture Peak Mountain (bya rgod phung po'i ri bo; Gṛdhrakūta), located in modern Bihar state in India, and renowned as the site at which Buddha taught the Prajñāpāramitā.
Praise India
by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
Having spent parts of his life in the hidden valley (sbas yul) of Kyimolung in Nubri, Nepal, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche composed this eulogy in praise of its sacred landscape.
Nepal 2 Aug 2018

Songs

by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
Employing eight-syllable lines, Jamyang Khyentse sings of his joy on the eve of his arrival in Lhasa, site of the sacred Jowo Śākyamuni image.
Songs and Poems 8 Dec 2022
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
A spontaneous song of joy, composed while on pilgrimage to Nepal in late 1956.
Songs and Poems Nepal 20 Dec 2019

Related Topics

India Nepal Pilgrimage Guides Sikkim Tibet

The Stūpa of Jarung Kashor

Courtesy of Himalayan Art Resources

Further information:

BDRC T25 (gnas yig)
Pilgrimage at Himalayan Art

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