English
Deutsch Español Français Italiano Nederlands Português 中文 བོད་ཡིག
Explore Projects Updates About Donate
The Home of Tibetan Buddhist Texts in Translation
ISSN 2753-4812
ISSN 2753-4812

Khenchen Ngawang Palzang Series

Tibetan Masters Khenchen Ngawang Palzang

English (38) | Deutsch (4) | Español (2) | Français (13) | Italiano (2) | 中文 (2) | བོད་ཡིག (38)

Vimalamitra realized the maṇḍala of the supreme state,

Longchenpa revealed the dharmakāya Samantabhadra,

And you, Ngaki Wangpo, are inseparable from them both—to you I pray:

Inspire me with your blessings so that my own mind and your wisdom-mind merge as one!

Texts by and about the great Dzogchen master Khenchen Ngawang Palzang (ngag dbang dpal bzang, 1879–1941), also known as Khenpo Ngakchung:

Advice

General advice on the common preliminaries followed by pithy instructions on the practice of the Great Perfection.
Advice Dzogchen 19 Oct 2024
Verses of advice composed for Lama Kunga of Kharnang in Golok, which stress the importance of genuinely practising the fundamental teachings, from the outer preliminaries through to meditation on emptiness.
Advice 23 Jan 2025
In these verses of general advice, Khenpo Ngaga encourages a disciple named Kalgön to prioritize sincere practice by applying the teachings of Longchenpa.
Advice 8 Jan 2025
Verses of advice, composed at the request of the master's vajra companions, on the purity of everything that appears and exists, transcending all notions of friendliness and hostility, pleasure and pain.
Advice 15 Aug 2024
In these verses Khenchen Ngawang Palzang offers a lesson in humility as he expresses dismay at his plight and issues a heartfelt plea for the guru's guidance.
Advice 25 Jun 2024
In this text from his collected advice, Khenchen Ngawang Palzang warns of the dangers of "fascination with irrelevant, verbose, and exotic discourses" and encourages followers to properly scrutinize their own minds and seek buddhahood for others' sake.
Advice 26 Sep 2024
Verses of advice that stress the importance of recollecting impermanence, training in study, contemplation and meditation, and avoiding the pitfalls of dry scholasticism.
Advice Scholasticism 8 Nov 2024
In these verses of pithy advice, which Khenchen Ngawang Palzang sent from his retreat hermitage of Jönpalung, he urges two disciples named Chödrak and Wangchuk Rabten to apply the teachings sincerely while emphasizing bodhicitta and devotion.
Advice 7 Feb 2025
These words of advice, written for a female disciple, cover every aspect of the path, up to and including the Great Perfection. The text is included in the 53-volume Ḍākinī Treasury anthology.
Advice Ḍākinī Treasury 21 Nov 2023
Verses of advice for a sincere disciple on "the heart of the matter" and "Dharma's essence", the Dzogchen practice of Trekchö.
Advice Dzogchen 10 Oct 2024
This blunt advice for a student called Tsamdowa Parong Lhawang includes the Tibetan syllable aṃ/ang — indicating insistence or encouragement and translated here as "hey!" — in each of its four verses.
Advice 9 Apr 2025
Advice on how to transform feelings of hope and fear or strong panic by visualizing Guru Padma Tötreng Tsal and recognizing all appearances as the deity's expression. From such a perspective, in the recognition of non-duality, ordinary dualistic perception seems incredible.
Advice 3 Dec 2024
Simple advice on the cause and effect of actions, the benefits of exchanging happiness for suffering, and the necessity of reciting the Seven-Line Prayer and Vajra Guru mantra.
Advice 11 Jul 2024
Verses outlining what Khenchen Ngawang Palzang says he has understood about the view of the Nyingma School of Early Translations, together with warnings about the dangers of partiality and polemicizing.
Advice Scholasticism 5 Mar 2025
extracted by Khenchen Ngawang Palzang
This text from volume two of Khenpo Ngaga's collected works is extracted verbatim from chapter three of "Presenting the Vajra Path of Secret Conduct" (gsang spyod rdo rje lam bstan), which is part of the Khandro Yangtik. As with many titles in Khenpo Ngaga’s collected works that he did not author, this passage was likely extracted to serve as the topic of teaching.
Khandro Yangtik 6 Nov 2025
The bulk of this text is a verbatim extract from Jigme Lingpa's auto-commentary to his Treasury of Precious Qualities. This is followed by two unattributed verses. In the absence of a colophon explaining the text's purpose, we speculate that it might have served as notes for a lecture.
Advice Yönten Dzö 21 Oct 2025
Uncompromising verses of advice, encouraging followers to consider whether or not they are on the right path of renunciation, faith, and self-sufficiency.
Advice 30 Aug 2024

Aspiration Prayers

This short, untitled aspiration prayer is contained in a miscellaneous prayer section of Khenchen Ngawang Palzang's collected works. In the older, undated edition from which this translation is made, it appears between two other short prayers, set apart only by section marker symbols.
Aspiration Prayers 11 Aug 2025

Buddhist Philosophy

This brief text draws on the oral tradition of Patrul Rinpoche to explain three categories of dependent arising found in Longchen Rabjam's Great Chariot: 1) the dependent arising of the fundamental character (gshis) or ground (gzhi) of reality, 2) the dependent arising of saṃsāra, and 3) the dependent arising of nirvāṇa.
Dependent Origination Notes 24 Oct 2023
In this brief text, the celebrated Dzogchen scholar and adept Khenpo Ngawang Palzang summarizes the four main Indian Buddhist tenet systems traditions (according to Tibetan doxographers): 1) Vaibhāṣika, 2) Sautrāntika, 3) Cittamātra (Mind Only) and 4) Mādhyamika (Middle Way), which is further divided into Svātantrika and Prāsaṅgika.
Tenets Two Truths 17 Mar 2018

Calling the Guru from Afar

Khenpo Ngawang Palzang adapted this devotional prayer to Longchen Rabjam from a famous song addressed to the Karmapa written by the Fifth Shamarpa, Könchok Yenlak (1525–1583).
Calling the Guru from Afar 8 Jan 2020

Dzogchen

by Nyoshul Khenpo Jamyang Dorje
Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche recalls the advice of Khenpo Ngawang Palzang, who managed to encapsulated the Dzogchen practice of Trekchö (khregs chod) in a single pithy instruction.
Advice Dzogchen 21 Nov 2014
While Khenpo Ngawang Palzang was accumulating the maṇḍala offering as part of the Longchen Nyingtik preliminary practices, he received this pointing-out instruction from Longchenpa in a pure vision.
Dzogchen 29 Jan 2024
by Nyoshul Khenpo Jamyang Dorje
Definitions of the five wisdoms (ye shes lnga), i.e., the wisdom of dharmadhātu, mirror-like wisdom, wisdom of equality, wisdom of discernment and all-accomplishing wisdom, according to the oral tradition of Khenpo Ngawang Palzang, aka Khenpo Ngakchung.
Advice Dzogchen Notes 15 Aug 2015

Guru Rinpoche Prayers

A four-line prayer to Guru Padmasambhava requesting the pacification of obstacles and the bestowal of attainments.
Guru Rinpoche Prayers Guru Padmasambhava 21 Jul 2019

Prayers

A short prayer to Nyoshul Lungtok Tenpé Nyima, requesting his blessings as a means of overcoming obstacles and fully realizing the Great Perfection.
Prayers 2 Oct 2025
A four-line prayer to the tertön Ngwang Tendzin alias Tutop Lingpa (1858–1914), who was one of Khenchen Ngaga's main teachers.
Prayers 18 Aug 2025
A three-verse prayer to the great Khenpo Ngawang Palzang—here referred to as Dorje Zijitsal—listing some of his previous incarnations and invoking his blessings.
Prayers 6 Apr 2019
A short prayer for invoking the blessings of Amitābha, Avalokiteśvara, Tārā, Princess Gonjo, and Khenchen Ngawang Palzang himself.
Prayers 27 Oct 2025
A four-verse prayer to attain realization and enlightenment either in the present lifetime or during the intermediate states of dying, dharmatā or becoming.
Prayers Dying & the Bardos 21 Jul 2019
by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö
A short, two-verse supplication to the famed Dzogchen master Khenchen Ngawang Palzang (1879–1941) alias Khenpo Ngakchung, from whom Jamyang Khyentse received teachings.
Prayers 19 Oct 2020
A four-verse praise, which Khenpo Ngawang Palzang composed in 1907 when he was receiving teachings on Dharmakīrti’s Pramāṇavārttika from Khenpo Lhagyal (1879–1955). At first, he had some difficulty understanding the text, but when he invoked Mañjuśrī, his difficulties disappeared and he composed this prayer.
Mañjuśrī 23 Oct 2025
This prayer to Avalokiteśvara is taken from a collection of prayers called "Cloud-banks of Blessings" (gsol 'debs byin rlabs sprin phung) in volume one of Khenchen Ngawang Palzang's collected works.
Avalokiteśvara Prayers 30 Sep 2025
A short prayer to the principal holders of the Vima Nyingtik collection of Dzogchen teachings, from Samantabhadra down to Khenchen Ngawang Palzang himself.
Vima Nyingtik 30 Oct 2025

Sādhanas

arranged by Khenchen Ngawang Palzang
This arrangement of the Vajrakīlaya practice entitled Overpowering the Forces of Māra adds the relevant sections of the Palchen Düpa that are required for recitation.
Düpung Zilnön Vajrakīlaya Vajrakīlaya Restricted 6 Nov 2025

Songs

Verses expressing sorrow at the nature of saṃsāra from an "old master of fictions" who recognizes the illusoriness of appearances.
Songs and Poems 9 Apr 2024
This undated song was composed to console fellow disciples after the passing of their Dzogchen teacher, most likely Nyoshul Lungtok (1829–1901/2) but possibly Katok Situ Chökyi Gyatso (1880–1925), the Second Pema Norbu Rinpoche (1887–1932), or some other figure.
Songs and Poems 17 Apr 2024

Tārā

A short prayer invoking and praising Tārā in her twenty-one emanations and calling upon her to dispel obstacles and assist progress along the path to ultimate realization.
Tārā 29 Apr 2019
Khenchen Ngawang Palzang

Khenchen Ngawang Palzang

Photographer unknown

Name variants:

Dorje Zijitsal
Jampal Gyepa Zilnön
Khenpo Ngaga
Ösal Rinchen Nyingpo
Pema Ledrel Tsal
Tsultrim Gyatso

Further information:

Khenchen Ngawang Palzang’s Counsels Project
Treasury of Lives Author Bio
BDRC Author Profile (P724)

Download this collection:

EPUB  PDF 

DONATIONS

If you find this site useful, please consider helping us to achieve our goal of translating more classic works from the Buddhist tradition and making them freely available. Please support us on Patreon.

Quick Links

Words of the Buddha | Indian Masters | Tibetan Masters | Topics

Tools

Other Sites

84000 | Rigpa Wiki | Himalayan Art | Buddhist Digital Resource Center | Treasury of Lives

Social

Bluesky | Facebook | Instagram

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

LICENSE

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

ISSN 2753-4812

This website uses cookies to collect anonymous usage statistics and enhance the user experience.
Decline
Accept