Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö Series

• Advice for Garje Khamtrul Rinpoche | Dzogchen

Pithy and practical, this advice — composed at the request of Garje Khamtrul Rinpoche, Jamyang Döndrup (b. 1927) — summarizes the key points of the path of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection.

• Advice to Myself | Advice

In the form of an address to himself, Jamyang Khyentse delivers some urgent and uncompromising advice, before offering a heartfelt prayer to his teacher and concluding words of aspiration.

• An Instruction on the Great Perfection | Dzogchen

In this short text, written in verse, Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö explains (with characteristic humility) the prerequisites and view, meditation and action of Dzogchen, or the Great Perfection.

• Beautiful String of Jewels—A Heart Advice | Advice

Jamyang Khyentse offered these words of heart-advice, encapsulating the entire Buddhist path, to Khandro Tsering Chödrön, his spiritual consort.

• Heart Advice in a Nutshell | Advice

This pithy text of advice offered to Ani Pelu of the Lakar family covers the entire path, but with a special focus on Dzogchen meditation, Guru Yoga and preparation for the moment of death.

• Khandro's Plea | Advice

In response to a question from his spiritual consort, Khandro Tsering Chödrön, Jamyang Khyentse explains the essence of the path in just a few lines. (Khandro's question is in the form of an acrostic poem, the opening syllables of its four lines being the first four syllables of the Tibetan alphabet).

• The Universal Medicine for Healing All Ills | Sickness & Healing

Jamyang Khyentse wrote this playful text on the real nature of sickness to console Rabchok, a student who had fallen ill.

• A Short Story of the Life and Liberation of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö | Biographies

Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö wrote this brief autobiography as a supplement to the collected biographies of lineage masters for the Chöd (gcod) practice known as The Whispered Transmission of Machik's Secret Conduct (ma gcig gsang spyod snyan brgyud) or The Whispered Transmission of Thangtong Gyalpo (thang stong snyan brgyud).

• The Life of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö by Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche | Biographies

Translated from audio recordings of talks given in Lerab Ling, France on August 23 & 24, 1996.

• Summary of the Key Points of Advice on Trekchö | Dzogchen

Written at the request of Lhasé Sogyal, the king of Yönru in Lithang, this short text covers the key points of Trekchö, from the foundational prerequisites to the unique Dzogchen preliminary of 'demolishing the house of the ordinary mind' and the main meditation practice of Dzogchen itself.

• A Heart Prayer | Guru Rinpoche Prayers

A four-line prayer to Orgyen Dorje Chang—the Vajradhara of Oḍḍiyāna—to purify habitual patterns and realize the clear light of rigpa.

• A Prayer of Aspiration for the Mountain of Glory | Guru Rinpoche Prayers

An aspiration to be reborn on the Copper Coloured Mountain of Glory, or Zangdok Palri, in the company of Guru Padmasambhava and his retinue.

• A Yearning Plea to the Precious Guru | Guru Rinpoche Prayers

This prayer was composed in 1956, the Fire Monkey year, at Samye, while Jamyang Khyentse was offering a tsok feast in the presence of the special ‘Looks Like Me’ image of Guru Padmasambhava (gu ru nga 'dra ma) .

• From: “Turning Back the Misfortunes of the Age of Degeneration” | Guru Rinpoche Prayers

Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö wrote this prayer in Lhodrak Kharchu on the tenth day of the monkey month in the monkey year (1956)—a point in the Tibetan calendar that holds particular significance for followers of Guru Padmasambhava.

• Prayer of the Wisdom Mind | Guru Rinpoche Prayers

Written in 1934/35, this short prayer identifies our own pristine awareness, or rigpa, as Guru Padmasambhava, the Lake-born Vajra (mtsho skyes rdo rje).

• Spontaneous Fulfilment of Wishes | Guru Rinpoche Prayers

A four-line prayer to Guru Padmākara, the embodiment of all gurus, chosen deities and ḍākinīs, for the pacification of obstacles and the spontaneous fulfilment of all wishes.

• The Falling Elixir of Blessing | Guru Rinpoche Prayers

Written in 1956 at the request of Sogyal Rinpoche and his tutor Lama Gyurdrak, this is a prayer to Guru Padmasambhava and his consorts, especially Mandāravā and Yeshe Tsogyal.

• To Fulfil All Wishes | Guru Rinpoche Prayers

• The Gathering of Blessings: A Guru Yoga | Guru Yoga

A simple, unelaborate practice based on the principle that "naked ordinary awareness... is the wisdom mind of the glorious guru."

• A Prayer to the Previous Incarnations of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö—The Uḍumbara Flower | Prayers

Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö himself composed this prayer to the 'garland' of his own previous incarnations (skye phreng gsol 'debs), from the Buddha Mañjuśrī down to his immediate predecessor, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820–1892).

• Prayer to Gyarong Khandro Dechen Wangmo | Prayers

This prayer to the extraordinary Gyarong Khandro Dechen Wangmo, who was considered to be an emanation of Mandāravā, was written by Jamyang Khyentse at the request of Khandro Tsering Chödrön (1929–2011).

• Prayer for the Long Life of Khandro Tsering Chödrön | Long Life Prayers

Jamyang Khyentse composed this prayer entitled 'Removing Obstacles in the Life of the Ḍākinī' (ḍā ki'i sku tshe'i 'phrang bzlog) for the longevity of his consort Khandro Tsering Chödrön (Āyu Dharma Dīpam) at the request of Parkö Chöpel, a carver of printing blocks at Dzongsar.

• The Melody of The Nectar of Immortality: A Prayer for the Long Life of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Supreme Victor and Omniscient One by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö | Long Life Prayers

It was while he was staying in Lhasa in the mid-1950s that Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö composed this prayer for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

• The Music of Immortality: A Prayer for the Long Life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö | Long Life Prayers

Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö wrote this shorter long-life prayer for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, in three four-line verses, in the sacred place of Yamalung near Samye (most likely in 1956).

• A Prayer to the Stūpa of Jarung Khashor in Boudhanath | Pilgrimage

Jamyang Khyentse composed this prayer at the actual site of the famous Boudhanāth stūpa, known to Tibetans as "Jarung Khashor" (bya rung kha shor), while he was staying in the Kathmandu Valley in 1956/7.

• A Prayer to the Svayambhūnāth Stūpa in Nepal | Pilgrimage

This short prayer, which is addressed directly to the sacred stūpa of Svayambhūnāth (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.

• A Prayer to the Three Stūpas of Nepal | Pilgrimage

A prayer to the three main stūpas of the Kathmandu Valley: Jarung Khashor or Boudhanāth, Svayambhūnāth, and Namo Buddha, which commemorates the bodhisattva Mahāsattva's sacrifice to a starving tigress.

• A Short Guide to Yangleshö in Nepal | Pilgrimage

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.

• Gathering Auspiciousness: A Prayer of Aspiration before the sacred Mahābodhi Temple and its Imagery, Magadha, Land of the Āryas | Pilgrimage

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.

• In Praise of Yangleshö in Nepal | Pilgrimage

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.

• In Praise of the Great Indian City of Kolkata | Pilgrimage

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 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.

• Prayer of Aspiration to the Stūpa Commemorating the Bodily Sacrifice to the Tigress | Pilgrimage

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.

• The White Lotus: In Praise of Lumbinī | Pilgrimage

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.

• Swift Enlightened Activity: A Concise Ceremony of Offering and Prayer to Mahākāla and Consort | Dharma Protectors

This brief practice of Mahākāla and consort was composed in the presence of the sacred Mahākāla image at Sakya Monastery, most likely in 1956, at the request of three close disciples, including the young Sogyal Rinpoche.

• The Sage's Powerful Words of Truth—A Prayer for the Spread of the Omniscient Buddha's Teachings | Aspiration Prayers

Written in Bodhgaya at a time when Tibet was facing great turmoil and an uncertain future, this is a non-sectarian prayer for the spread of the Buddhist teachings (bstan rgyas smon lam) in all their authentic forms.

• In Praise of Jetsün Mila Shyepa Dorje | Praise

Jamyang Khyentse praises the great eleventh-century poet and yogi, Milarepa (mi la ras pa), calling him a " crown-jewel" among the many siddhas, or accomplished adepts, to have appeared in the Land of Snows.

• In Praise of the Lords of the Three Families | Praise

A short text in praise of the 'Lords of the Three Families' (rigs gsum mgon po), i.e., Mañjughoṣa, Avalokiteśvara and Vajrapāṇi.

• The Sweet Sound of Perfect Joy: In Praise of the Goddess Sarasvatī | Praise

Jamyang Khyentse wrote this hymn in praise of the goddess Sarasvatī while he was visiting Palpung Monastery in Eastern Tibet. The text includes her mantra, the recitation of which is said to bring increased intelligence.

• A Supplication to Realize the Profound | Prayers

A short prayer written at the request of Thinley Norbu Rinpoche (1931–2011).

• Prayer to Yeshe Tsogyal | Prayers

A short, four-line prayer to Yeshe Tsogyal, "the foremost of ḍākinīs" and "Great Bliss Queen".