Avalokiteśvara Series

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Four-Armed Avalokiteśvara

Courtesy of Himalayan Art Resources

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Your thousand arms are the thousand universal monarchs,

Your thousand eyes the thousand buddhas of this fortunate age,

You who teach each and every one of us according to our needs,

Lord Avalokiteśvara, to you I pay homage!

A series of texts related to the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteśvara (spyan ras gzigs):

Aspiration Prayers

A two-verse prayer of aspiration to follow Avalokiteśvara, the Great Compassionate One, and contribute to his enlightened activity.

Dukngal Rangdrol

A daily sādhana of Dukngal Rangdrol (sdug bsngal rang grol), 'Natural Liberation of Suffering', the Avalokiteśvara practice from the Longchen Nyingtik that is either classed as a peaceful yidam or secret-level guru practice from the peaceful male-vidyādhara section of the cycle.

A detailed description of the deities in the retinue of the Great Compassion One (Mahākaruṇika) according to the practice of Dukngal Rangdrol.

This 'guidance' or nedren (gnas 'dren) practice is intended to help guide the deceased to enlightenment by purifying the various realms of saṃsāra and granting empowerment. It belongs to the Natural Liberation of Suffering (sdug bsngal rang grol) set of Avalokiteśvara practices, which, in turn, are part of the Longchen Nyingtik revelation.

The gaṇacakra feast offering text to accompany the practice of Dukngal Rangdrol (Natural Liberation of Suffering) from the Longchen Nyingtik.

A practice of confession and fulfilment (bskang bshags) for the Great Compassionate One, Natural Liberation of Suffering (Dukngal Rangdrol) within the Longchen Nyingtik cycle.

A description of the goddesses in the retinue of the Great Compassion One (Mahākaruṇika) according to the practice of Dukngal Rangdrol.

Jigme Lingpa himself composed this self-initiation (bdag 'jug) for the Natural Liberation of Suffering (Dukngal Rangdrol, sdug bsngal rang grol) practice of the Longchen Nyingtik cycle at the request of a lama called Rinchen Dorje.

This is one of two commentaries by Jigme Lingpa on the Dukngal Rangdrol practice of Avalokiteśvara that he himself revealed. Here, Jigme Lingpa offers a word-by-word explanation of the sādhana, both its preliminaries and its main part, in a simple yet precise manner. He does not comment on the feast offering section, which was added only later by the First Dodrupchen, Jigme Trinle Özer (1745–1821).

The sādhana of Dukngal Rangdrol (sdug bsngal rang grol), 'Natural Liberation of Suffering', is the Avalokiteśvara practice from the Longchen Nyingtik that is classed either as a peaceful yidam or as the secret-level guru practice from the peaceful, male-vidyādhara section of the cycle.

The largest commentary on Dukngal Rangdrol, this text provides a detailed explanation of how to do a retreat on Avalokiteśvara according to the Longchen Nyingtik. Drawing on Jigme Lingpa's own commentary The Visionary Instructions, the manual explains how beginners should practise the approach phase and how more advanced practitioners can practice the approach and accomplishment phases in union. The text concludes with an overview of how the path is brought to fruition.

Guru Yoga

A simple guru yoga based on the form of Avalokiteśvara known as Resting in the Nature of Mind (Semnyi Ngalso).

Mantra

A prayer to Tsultrim Zangpo, whose Prayer of the Six Syllables, was rediscovered as a treasure by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo.

Praise

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

This is the commonly recited version of Bhikṣuṇī Lakṣmī’s famous praise of Avalokiteśvara, often known as the Po Praise. It includes several differences from the version preserved in the Tengyur, as noted in the text.

This is the version of Bhikṣuṇī Lakṣmī’s famous praise of Avalokiteśvara (known as the Po Praise) that appears in the Kriyātantra section of the Tengyur (Toh 2738).

Prayers

A simple two-verse prayer to Avalokiteśvara written at the request of a disciple from Washul, Amdo.

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.

This brief prayer to Avalokiteśvara, combined with the famous mantra oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ, is a heartfelt request for blessings and inspiration, so that all obstacles to the path may be overcome and bodhisattva activity may be accomplished.

Thangtong Gyalpo recalled this supplication to Noble Avalokiteśvara from the devotional practices of a previous lifetime as the bhikṣu Padma Karpo.

Sādhanas

This brief sādhana of Avalokiteśvara in the form of Mahākāruṇika, The Great Compassionate One, incorporates instructions on examining the nature of mind according to the approach of Mahāmudrā. It is included within the Compendium of Sādhanas (sgrub thabs kun btus).

A very concise and simple practice of Four-Armed Avalokiteśvara, the Great Compassionate One (Mahākāruṇika; thugs rje chen po).

This simple practice of Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, includes a visualisation to accompany the recitation of the six-syllable mantra, oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ, or, optionally, the seven-syllable mantra, oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ hrīḥ.

This sādhana of Mahākāruṇika, The Great Compassionate One, incorporates instructions on examining the nature of mind according to the approach of Mahāmudrā. It is included within the Compendium of Sādhanas (sgrub thabs kun btus).

A popular practice of Avalokiteśvara in his four-armed form, this sādhana was discovered by Rigdzin Gödemchen Ngödrup Gyaltsen as part of the Northern Treasures (byang gter) revelation.

Revealed during a vision in 1557, this is a sādhana of the five self-arisen Avalokiteśvara brothers ('phags pa rang byon mched lnga). These are four ancient statues associated with King Songtsen Gampo, i.e., Ārya Vati Zangpo, Ārya Bukham, Ārya Jamali, and Ārya Lokeśvara, as well as the self-visualization of Avalokiteśvara generated by the practitioner.

One of the most popular Avalokiteśvara liturgies in Tibet, this practice of visualization and mantra recitation for the Great Compassionate One (mahākāruṇika) is attributed to the great adept Thangtong Gyalpo.

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