Testament of Rigdzin Kumārādza

Testament of Rigdzin Kumārādza

from the Vima Nyingtik

When the noble guru Kumārādza was demonstrating the passing of his physical form in the upper Dang Valley in Dakpo, he spoke a testament, recorded below in writing, for the sake of future generations.

oṃ āḥ hūṃ. This is the advice of the renunciant beggar Zhönnu Gyalpo:

Ema! I sought to sustain the essential nature and investigate my own awareness,
And I realised the non-referential, free from conceptual elaboration, free from extremes.
Kumārādza dies in a state of dharmakāya.

Gazing into the natural expanse, I learned to harness awareness,
And I realised the single sphere of peaceful and wrathful maṇḍalas.
Kumārādza dies in a state of sambhogakāya.

I prioritized the compassionate assistance of other sentient beings,
And in freedom upon arising, awareness met the mother, dharmatā.
Kumārādza dies in a state of nirmāṇakāya.

Primordial, original buddhahood is stainless, pristine.
Naturally radiant ground-phenomena have dissolved into their source.
Kumārādza dies in the inner sphere of spontaneous presence.

My profound and quintessential instructions
I have condensed and presented as the heart of practice.
My followers, my dear, fortunate children,
However you practice, let it accord with the Dharma.

Let these final remarks of mine, my parting words,[1]
Be passed on to the sincere for the sake of future generations.
There is nothing exact, nothing hard and fast, here.
This appearance is not to be trusted or fixated upon.
I, a wretched one! A kind and precious one! Phaṭ phaṭ! Ha ha phaṭ!

So saying he demonstrated the passing of his wisdom mind. The great earth shook. The noice of cymbals resounded spontaneously in the sky. A pavilion of rainbow light appeared. And beings were left in a state of wonder. Ithi!

| Translated by Adam Pearcey with the generous support of the Tsadra Foundation, 2026.

Bibliography

Tibetan Edition

klong chen rab 'byams. snying thig ya bzhi. 13 vols. Delhi: Sherab Gyaltsen Lama, 1975. Vol. 6: 482–483 (1 folio)

Version: 1.0–20261012