Translations of Tibetan Buddhist Texts
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Latest major translation
Added 10 April 2021
Putting the Instruction on the Purification of Mental Activity into Practice
by Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche
Mipham Rinpoche elaborates on the practice that he introduced in The Wheel of Analytical Meditation (dpyad sgom 'khor lo ma) by offering further instructions on how to contemplate the multiple, impermanent, painful and selfless nature of the five aggregates.
Latest from the Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö Sungbum Project
March–April 2021
Flower of Faith: In Praise of Tāranātha, Lord of Secrets | Praise
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
Jamyang Khyentse says that he spontaneously composed these verses in praise of the great Jetsün Tāranātha (1575–1634) some time during the Water Bird year (1933–1934) after reading the master's writings. Read text >
A Guru Yoga of Śavari | Guru Yoga
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
While on pilgrimage through India in 1956, Jamyang Khyentse meditated at the Indian master Śavari's meditation cave in the Śītavana (‘Cool Grove’) charnel ground near Bodhgayā, resulting in a vision of the mahāsiddha. Soon afterwards he composed this guru yoga. Read text >
Dispelling the Anguish of Existence and Quiescence: A Prayer of Calling the Guru from Afar | Calling the Guru from Afar
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
This long prayer of calling the guru from afar (bla ma rgyang 'bod), which Jamyang Khyentse composed at the request of Khandro Tsering Chödrön (1929–2011), is a heartfelt appeal for the guru's assistance and guidance in turning one's mind towards the Dharma and following the path to awakening for others' sake. Read text >
A Song Recalling the Noble Guru’s Kindness | Songs & Poems
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
Composed in 1934, this brief devotional song recalls the kindness of Katok Situ Chökyi Gyatso (kaḥ thog si tu chos kyi rgya mtsho, 1880–1925), Jamyang Khyentse's root guru. Read text >
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
Jamyang Khyentse composed this simple sādhana of the radiant goddess Mārīcī at the request of the cabinet minister Lukhangpa Tsewang Rabten (1895–1966). Read text >
Prayer of Aspiration | Aspiration Prayers
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
Jamyang Khyentse appears to have composed this aspiration following the death of his mother, Tsultrim Tso—referred to here as Tsultrim Chökyi Drolma. In it, he vows to remain in saṃsāra until she and all other beings, his mothers from earlier lives, attain awakening. Read text >
Other recent additions
March–April 2021
The Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment | Lamrim
by Atiśa Dīpaṃkara
This short text, Atiśa Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna's most famous and important work, served to establish lamrim, the 'graduated path', as a genre of Tibetan literature and to introduce the three types of being (skyes bu gsum) as a significant typology. Read text >
Aspiration for the Spread of the Teachings of the Eight Chariots of the Practice Lineage) | Aspiration Prayers
by Khenchen Jigme Phuntsok
A prayer for the flourishing and spread of the teachings of all the major and minor traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, including the so-called Eight Great Chariots of the Practice Lineage (sgrub brgyud shing rta chen po brgyad), i.e., the Nyingma, Kadam, Sakya, Marpa Kagyü, Shangpa Kagyü, Kālacakra, Pacification and Severance, and Approach and Accomplishment of the Three Vajras. Read text >
The Lineage Prayer for the Natural Liberation of Grasping (Dzinpa Rangdrol) | Lineage Prayers
by Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje
A verse supplication to the lineage of the Natural Liberation of Grasping (Dzinpa Rangdrol), a famous cycle of Chöd (gcod) practice revealed by Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje (1800–1866). Read text >
The Thirty Aspirations | Aspiration Prayers
by Padampa Sangye
This popular liturgy, attributed to Padampa Sangye, consists of thirty short aspirations related to the Mahāyāna path in general and the Vajrayāna in particular. Read text >
A Section of the Vajrakīla Root Tantras | Vajrakīla
from the Words of the Buddha
The Vajrakīla Root Tantra Section (or Fragment) (Tōh. 439), the remains of a much larger Vajrakīla tantra, was discovered and translated into Tibetan by Sakya Paṇḍita (1182–1251). According to the text's colophon, it was Guru Padmasambhava who brought the original to Tibet. The tantra contains several famous verses that appear in most Vajrakīla sādhanas and is the only Vajrakīla text included within the Kangyur. The edition translated here includes a colophon by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and benedictory verse by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö. Read text >
Latest from the Longchen Nyingtik Project
March–April 2021
The Cascading Essence of Great Bliss: An Empowerment Ritual for the Female Practice of the Queen of Great Bliss, from the Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse | Longchen Nyingtik
by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye
Jamgön Kongtrul compiled this empowerment text for Yumka Dechen Gyalmo on the basis of the original treasure revelation, Blessing and Empowerment for the Female Practice. The result is "clear yet concise," as Kongtrul himself put it, and less elaborate than the later arrangement by Dodrupchen Jigme Tenpe Nyima (1865–1926). Read text >
The Vision: A Prayer to Ārya Avalokiteśvara | Avalokiteśvara
by Jigme Lingpa
In 1758, one year after the first, principal revelation of Dukngal Rangdrol, Jigme Lingpa had a vision of Avalokiteśvara, the Great Compassionate One, in standing posture and extending to the far reaches of the eastern sky. Following this, he tells us in his autobiography, "tears of devotion welled up" and he composed this prayer. Read text >
The Blissful Path of Action Tantra: A Ritual for Taking the One-Day Vows of a Lay Practitioner | Sojong
by Jigme Lingpa
A short ritual for taking the eight vows of a lay practitioner (upāsaka/upāsikā) for a single day. As Jigme Lingpa mentions, it is traditionally recommended to take these precepts on the eighth, fifteenth (full moon) and thirtieth (new moon) days of each lunar month. Read text >
Adornment of Lord Nāgārjuna’s Wisdom Mind: The Fourfold Maṇḍala Offering to Tārā | Tārā
by Jigme Lingpa
Jigme Lingpa tells us that he arranged this ritual of the Twenty-One Tārās based on the authoritative tradition that derives from Nāgārjuna and The Manifest Source Tantra of Tārā. In order to create the full liturgy, which he did at the request of the First Dodrupchen Jigme Trinlé Özer (1745–1821), he also added other elements from various pith instructions. Translated by Chönyi Drolma. Read text >
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Highlights from archive
Aspiration for the Stages of the Path | Lamrim
by Tsongkhapa Lobzang Drakpa
This very short prayer of aspiration, just seven quatrains long, focuses on accomplishing the stages of the path (lamrim) as a means to benefit all beings. Read text >
A Song of Amazement Inspired by Practice Experience | Meditation
by Sera Khandro
This song of amazement originates in a vision that Sera Khandro had while staying in retreat at Nyimalung in Amdo at the age of twenty-nine. The text is her response to the spirits and demons who appeared to her and asked what she was doing. Read text >
* Lotsāwa ལོ་ཙཱ་བ་; lo tsā ba n. Title used for native Tibetan translators who worked together with Indian scholars (or paṇḍitas) to translate major buddhist texts into Tibetan from Sanskrit and other Asian languages; it is said to derive from lokacakṣu, literally "eyes of the world". See also paṇḍita.
