Zabmo Yangtik Karchak

Sun, Moon, Planets and Stars

Catalogue of the Zabmo Yangtik

by Longchen Rabjam

Homage to glorious Samantabhadra!

The one encircled by garlands of precious jewelled light,
Ablaze with myriad signs and adorned with minor marks,
Bhagavān protector who has perfected the twofold aim,
With the thousand-petalled lotus of devotion stirring at my crown, I honour you.

The great secret of the wisdom minds of all the victorious ones,
From the spontaneously present space of the vajra pinnacle,
Including all the definitive key points of the direct heart essence,
The Profound Quintessence—its catalogue I shall now elucidate.

The vajra space of the natural great perfection,
The unsurpassable points of the supreme secret essence,
Are included in the explanatory tantras and aural transmission.
Here I shall reveal the definitive meaning of their respective topics.

1. The Explanatory Transmission

First, the definitive vajra topics of the explanatory tantras.
Know that these are fourfold: preliminaries, empowerments, instructions and supportive teachings.
The preliminaries that precede all other instructions and practices
Include, first of all, the history Garland of Light,
Which invites wonder and confidence in the profound teachings.
The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel homage to the lineage
Makes one’s continuum pure and a suitable vessel.
The Constant Rain of Nectar prayer,[1] in turn,
Directly transmits the blessings of the lineage.
The Adornment of the Four Continents maṇḍala
Brings vast accumulation and purifies the two obscurations.
The sādhana of the great paṇḍita Guru Vimalamitra
Opens the secret door to profound teachings and blessings.
The essence practice of the primordial wisdom guru
Makes manifest the profound reality of maturation and liberation.
These six definitive teachings of the preliminary phase thus
Assist the completion of the practice and attainment of siddhis.
They show what is indispensable and crucially important.

Within the stages of the ripening empowerment,
The River of Siddhis elaborate empowerment rite
Purifies the physical body, maturing it into the vajra body.
Its key instructional text providing the lists of names
Identifies to which of the great families one belongs.
The River of Clear Expanse unelaborate empowerment rite
Purifies deluded speech, maturing it into the vajra speech.
Its key instructional text on the symbolism of the vase
Points out the real meaning, the primordial ground.
The extremely unelaborate River of Primordial Wisdom
Purifies deluded conceptual mind, maturing it into vajra mind.
The utterly unelaborate River of Blessings
Brings realization of luminosity in which all obscurations are completely purified.
Their branch text Setting Out the Threefold Samaya
Creates awareness of the points to adopt and avoid in the discipline of Secret Mantra.
Thus, since these seven components of the ripening empowerment
Bring the immature to maturity as the basis of the path,
They are indispensable to the supremely secret sovereign approach,
And everything is therefore included here in these key instructions.
What a sublime practice this is! Emaho!

Among the definitive set of liberating instructions,
The Precious Instructions on the Common Preliminaries
Shows how to engage progressively with the profound points.
The Buddha Union Instruction on the Main Practice
Shows the essence of the great secret definitive path.
The Introduction to the Unaltered Ground Just As It Is
Is a trekchö instruction showing how phenomena are exhausted in primordial purity.
The Wheel of Luminosity instruction on dark retreat
Reveals the supremely secret night-time yoga.
Thus, these four texts of liberating instruction
Are definitive keys to the fruition of yoga within one lifetime.
Since they are so crucial and indispensable,
They are the four heart-like teachings. Emaho!

The fixed number of teachings that support all the rest include
Fully Fledged Garuḍa, which reveals the ultimate enlightened intent;
Unsurpassable Universal Nature, which reveals the general themes of the instructions;
Encapsulation of the Profound, which reveals the nature of enlightened intent;
Heart of Luminosity, which reveals the practice of threefold radiance;
Heart of Definitive Meaning, which reveals the transcendence of realization;
Heart of the Ultimate Principle, which reveals the great vault of realization;
Ground, Path and Fruition, which reveals the nature of the instruction;
The Four Sequential Yogas, which reveals the heart of the practice;
The Profound Precious Instruction, which reveals the crucial points of the instructions;
The Quintessential Elixir, which reveals the infallible underpinnings;
Yogic Conduct, which reveals the means of developing strength and enhancement;
Clarification of Time, which reveals the signs of death and measures for averting them;
Ultimate Instructions for the Moment of Death, which reveals the practice for the time of dying;
Essence of Liberation Through Wearing, which reveals enlightenment without meditation;
Essence of Profundity, which reveals the most refined of instructions;
Essence of Topics, which reveals the themes of the instructions;
And Summary Themes of the Guidance, which reveals the modes of instruction.
In these ways, the eighteen supplemental teachings
Decisively lay out the key points of the practice without error.
Complete and unerring, they teach in definitive essential points.
Everything is complete in each, each is needed for the whole,
Like fragments of a mirror or the limbs of a body.
How wondrous these secret supplemental teachings,
Crucial, indispensable pith instructions. Emaho!

These all constitute the definitive scriptural transmission
That comprehensively reveals the essence of the explanatory lineage,
Distilling the vital essence of the seventeen tantras,
The three tantras of liberation through wearing,
And one hundred and seventeen texts and four volumes,
Together with the secret inventory, of the Khandro Nyingtik.
Here, it is set out definitively in its most essential, profound form.
How wondrous this explanatory textual transmission! Emaho!

2. The Aural Transmission

The essential instructions of the aural transmission
Include preliminaries, empowerment, guidance, and supplemental teachings.

First, within the definite preliminary teachings,
The Key Summary reveals how to confer the instructions.
The Clouds of Blessings reveals the homage to the lineage.
The Rain of Siddhis reveals the prayer to the lineage.
Thus, the these three teachings of the definitive preliminary
Show how the instructions are given, how blessings are received and how one becomes a suitable vessel.
They are such important aids to the practice
As to be indispensable. How wondrous! Emaho!

The stages of the ripening empowerments
Are definitively set out in the precious Illuminating Lamp.
The empowerment of awareness, the fundamental nature of naturally arisen blessings,
Is the most sublime of all. How wondrous! Emaho!

As for the stages of the liberating instructions,
The Great Guide to the Supreme Secret Path
Is the amazing guide that brings about freedom.
It is a wondrously clear and practical guide. Emaho!

The teachings that support all of the above include the following.
Revitalization in Primordial Freedom, which reveals the ultimate realization,
The exhaustion of phenomena beyond mind, pure like space;
The Mirror of the Heart, which reveals the practice for the present time.
It concerns naturally present realization free from any doubt;
The Ultimate Mirror, which reveals the crucial points for the bardos;
It concerns naturally appearing, naturally free buddhahood;
The Essence of Practical Instructions, which reveals the superlative practice;
It concerns seeing the luminous dharmatā in this life;
The Mirror of Crucial Points, which reveals the major supporting instructions.
It concerns the clear meaning of the vast and profound intent.
Thus, these five texts of the supporting instructions
Definitively set out the unchanging key points of the aural transmission,
Presenting the key themes succinctly and without error—
The most profound essential instructions laid out as an inventory.
This aural transmission is superior to others. Emaho!

As guardians of all these profound teachings,
The Triple Wrathful Protectors reveals the profound seal of practice.
As its ancillary practice, there is A Downpour of Blessings.
Dispelling obstacles and fulfilling every need—
How wondrous the practice of the oath-bound treasure keepers! Emaho!

Thus, there are thirty-five sections to the explanatory transmission
And ten sections to the profound aural transmission,
Together with the two sections of the guardian practice.
When the catalogue is included as well,
This produces a total of forty-eight sections for the Zabmo Yangtik,
In which the definitive great secret, the ultimate essence is set out.
How wondrous this most refined of vehicles! Emaho!

The marvellous intent of the victorious buddhas is expressed
In the final, ultimate expression, the supreme definitive wheel,
Wherefrom at the pinnacle of the great secret vajra vehicle,
Through the union of unsurpassed generation and completion,
Is the supremely secret stage of the Great Perfection,
With its three sections: Mind, Space and Pith Instructions.
The most profound, the Pith Instructions Series,
Has four sections: outer, inner, secret and unsurpassed.
Their essential meaning is brought together within the unsurpassed.
Its most profound essential points from explanatory and whispered transmissions
Are all included and made clear here.

Such a profound teaching, a wish-fulfilling jewel,
A supreme instruction, so rare within this world,
As if the sugata essence were directly apparent,
Is a dharma of this final phase of existence. Emaho!

Whoever encounters this will cross the ocean of existence in this lifetime,
And reach the island sanctuary of freedom and transcendence of misery.
They will discover the dharmakāya, liberative awakening, from within,
Perfecting the wisdom mind of a victorious one while within physical form.

This Dharma gateway to the sky-like ultimate
Adorned with the sun of immaculate clear light,
Pervades the whole of appearance and existence, the world and its contents, saṃsāra and nirvāṇa.
How excellent is the precious awakening mind. Emaho!

Whoever encounters such a way has the greatest fortune.
All those who put into practice are vidyādhara beings.
Those who reveal its essential meaning are actual buddhas,
Who have appeared for the sake of living beings. Emaho!

My glorious protector, the gracious vidyādhara,
Vimalamitra himself, an actual sugata incarnate,
Appeared directly in this age in the Land of Snows.
Having met him, I received this profound teaching.

Day and night, I recall his unimaginable kindness
And experience boundless faith, heartfelt devotion,
Through the power of which, blessings are uninterrupted,
And the view, samādhi and realization naturally unfold.

It is beyond union and separation—the ultimate dharmatā sphere.
On the path of the blissful ground, mental ease in uninterrupted.
The yoga of illusion, the vast infinity of space—
Natsok Rangdrol has taken up residence in dharmatā reality.

Let the fortunate followers of future generations
Always hold this text in the highest regard.
Here I have disclosed and clearly set forth
The profound heart teachings of my practice.

I entrust these secret inventories of the Zabmo Yangtik
To the trio of the Mistress of Mantra, Za and Damchen.
Corrupting the collection with texts that differ from those listed here,
Taking texts and revealing them to those without the transmission,
Or revealing them to unsuitable vessels—punish such violations!
Sever their life force, steal their breath, pluck out their eyes!
Should fortunate masters of the teachings appear,
Confer the secrets and cause them to flourish and spread.

Through the blessings of the gurus of the three lineages of transmission,
The power and splendour of the oath-bound guardians of pronouncements,
The words of truth of the ḍākinīs and adepts,
And the strength of my own karma, aspirations and merit,
May the teachings of Zabmo Yangtik spread far and wide!
May the way to freedom for the fortunate be illuminated!
May the wish-fulfilling jewel of altruism always be present!
And may there be auspiciousness and well-being in abundance!

This concludes the catalogue to Zabmo Yangtik called Sun, Moon, Planets and Stars, which was composed by Natsok Rangdrol, a yogin of the sovereign vehicle, who possesses the broad intellect of one who has heard much on the topics of the Sugata’s teachings and the eyes of insight that come from a thorough training in the definitive tantras, commentaries and pith instructions of the great secret approach. The text was written on the slopes of Gangri Tökar, in the palace of Samantabhadra, which is bathed in the light of a crystal moon and elevated by the victory banner of clusters of jewelled light, during the autumn time when flowers and fruit are ripe. May it prove virtuous! Virtuous! Virtuous!

| Translated by Adam Pearcey with the generous support of the Tsadra Foundation, 2025.

Bibliography

Tibetan Edition

klong chen rab 'byams pa dri med 'od zer. "zab mo yang tig gi dkar chag nyi zla gza' skar" In snying thig ya bzhi. 13 vols. Delhi: Sherab Gyaltsen Lama, 1975. Vol. 13: 553–563 (5.5 folios)

Version: 1.0-20250722