For the Benefit of Beings Pervading Space: A Meditation-Recitation on the Vastly Compassionate One
by Thangtong Gyalpo
Begin with going for Refuge:
I and all beings equal to the limits of the sky itself, all sentient beings, at this time, from this moment forward, until the heart of awakening is reached
Go for refuge in the sacred and resplendent Gurus,
Go for refuge in the hosts of Yidams and Mandala Deities,
Go for refuge in the Buddhas, the Transcendent and Accomplished Conquerors,
Go for refuge in the sacred Dharma.
Go for refuge in all of the noble Sangha,
Go for refuge in the Dakas, Dakinis, Dharma Guardians, and Protectors who Possess the Eye of Primordial Wisdom.
Having gone for Refuge, engage in the meditation on Chenrezik:
In the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Supreme Assemblies of Sangha,
I go for refuge until complete awakening.
Through the merit of my practice of generosity and the other far-reaching perfections,
May I accomplish Buddhahood in order to benefit beings.
Generating the Deity:
On the crown of my head and those of all other sentient beings pervading space
There rests a white lotus and moon seat.
From the HRIH on the lotus and moon seat appears the Supremely Noble Chenrezik:
white, clear and luminous, and radiating five-colored light rays.
Smiling charmingly, he gazes with eyes of great compassion.
He has four arms: the first pair are joined together,
the second, lower pair hold a crystal rosary and a white lotus.
He is adorned with ornaments of silk and precious jewels.
He wears the skin of a wild deer, which covers his upper part.
Amitabha adorns his head.
His two noble legs and feet rest in the vajra-asana posture.
His back is supported by a stainless moon.
He is the essence in which all sources of Refuge converge.
Thinking that oneself and all sentient beings are supplicating in a single voice, recite as follows:
Noble Master, Protector whose exalted body is not clothed by fault,
Whose head is adorned with a perfect Buddha
Who gazes on beings with eyes of great compassion
I prostrate and pay homage to Chenrezik!
Accumulate as many repetitions of this homage as you are able.
The Seven-Branch Prayer:
To the Noble Chenrezik, the Powerful One;
to all the Victorious Ones and their bodhisattva heirs
abiding throughout the ten directions and three times:
To all of you, I prostrate with faith.
Flowers, incense, butter lamps, scents,
Food, music, and many other offerings:
I entreat the hosts of Noble Ones to accept them.
I confess all negativity accumulated from beginninglessness until the present moment:
the ten non-virtuous actions, the five grave misdeeds of limitless consequence,
and all actions committed under the power of the disturbing emotions in my mind —
I confess all of my destructive actions.
I rejoice in all of the virtue accumulated throughout the three times
by shravakas, pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas,
each and every ordinary being, and all beings:
In all of their merit, I rejoice!
In accordance with the wishes,
intellects and individualities of sentient beings,
Please turn the Dharma Wheel
of the Great, Lesser, and common vehicles.
For as long as samsara is not emptied,
out of your great compassion, do not pass into nirvana,
but rather please look after sentient beings
drowning in the ocean of suffering.
May whatever merit I have accumulated
become the cause for the complete awakening of all;
For the the endless succession of beings
May I become a splendid leader!
If you are inclined, do the Supplication to Chenrezig, which was Bhikshu Padma Karpo’s daily practice commitment.
I supplicate you, Guru Chenrezig.
I supplicate you, Yidam Chenrezig.
I supplicate you, Supremely Noble Chenrezig.
I supplicate you, Lord Protector Chenrezig.
I supplicate you, Lord of Love Chenrezig.
Hold us with your great compassion, Victorious One of Vast Compassion.
In limitless samsara, uncountable ones are wandering:
Without respite, these beings are experiencing suffering.
Protector, other than you they have no other refuge.
Please bestow your blessings that we may attain omniscient buddhahood!
By the force of accumulating negative karma since beginningless time,
Sentient beings are born as hell beings through the power of anger,
And thus experience the suffering of intense heat and cold.
May they all be born in your presence, Supreme Deity.
OM MANI PADME HUNG
By the force of accumulating negative karma since beginningless time,
Sentient beings are born as in the realm of the hungry ghosts through the power of greed,
And thus experience the suffering of intense hunger and thirst.
May they all be born in your supreme pure realm, the Potala.
OM MANI PADME HUNG
By the force of accumulating negative karma since beginningless time,
Sentient beings are born as animals through the power of confusion,
And thus experience the suffering of foolishness and mental dullness.
May they all be born in your presence, Protector.
OM MANI PADME HUNG
By the force of accumulating negative karma since beginningless time,
Sentient beings are born in the realm of the humans through the power of attachment,
And thus experience the suffering of separation and discontentment.
May they all be born in your supreme pureland of Sukhavati.
OM MANI PADME HUNG
By the force of accumulating negative karma since beginningless time,
Sentient beings are born in the realm of the demi-gods through the power of jealousy,
And thus experience the suffering of fighting and arguing.
May the all be born in your pureland, the Potala.
OM MANI PADME HUNG
By the force of accumulating negative karma since beginningless time,
Sentient beings are born in the realm of the gods through the power of pride,
And thus experience the suffering of changing and falling.
May the all be born in the Potala, your pureland.
OM MANI PADME HUNG
Wherever I am born, in all my lifetimes
Through my deeds being like unto Chenrezig’s
May I completely free the beings of impure realms,
and spread the supreme and noble sound of the Six Syllables in the ten directions.
Supremely Noble One, through the power of praying to you,
May the beings who I am to tame
pay the closest attention to cause and effect, and diligently practice virtuous actions,
and for the sake of all beings, may they become fully suffused with the Dharma!
These words were spoken by the Mahasiddha Thangtong Gyalpo, on the occasion that he recollected his earlier lifetime as Bhikshu Padma Karpo. From his twentieth to his eightieth year, he observed the fasting ritual called Ngunnay, and recited this supplication to the Noble Chenrezig one-pointedly.
It is endowed with supreme blessings. So it is!
And then:
Thus, through this one-pointed prayer,
from the noble and exalted form of the deity radiate rays of light
which purifies impure karma, impure appearances, and the confused mind.
The external world is the pureland of Sukhavati
and the body, speech, and mind of the living beings therein
are the awakened form, speech and mind of the mighty Chenrezig.
Appearance, sound, and awareness are inseparable from emptiness.
OM MANI PADME HUNG
Accomplish as many recitations of this mantra as you are able.
Finally, let the mind rest equanimously in its own essential nature, without giving rise to conceptual reference towards the three spheres of agent, object, and interaction.
My body, the bodies of others, and all appearances are the noble and exalted form of Chenrezig;
All sounds and noises are the melody of the Six Syllables;
All thoughts and concepts are the expanse of vast pristine wakefulness.
By this virtue, may I quickly
attain the state of mighty Chenrezig
and place every single being, without exception
on that very same level.
This text, known as a ‘A Meditation-Recitation on the Vastly Compassionate One: For the Benefit of Beings Pervading Space’, is imbued with the speech-blessing of Mahasiddha Thangtong Gyalpo.
Thus, through the merit of meditating, reciting, and my other practices,
May I and every being with whom I am connected,
As soon as we are born, may we fully traverse the ten grounds, and from that,
May we send forth emanations in the ten directions for the benefit of others.
By this virtue, may all beings
Complete the collections of merit and pristine wisdom,
And may they obtain the two sacred kayas
Which arise from merit and pristine wisdom.
Bodhichitta is precious:
Where it has not arisen, may it be born!
Where it has already arisen, may it not decline,
But increase forever more!
Translated by Erick Tsiknopoulos (Sherab Zangpo).
Comments