A Lost Child’s Melancholic Cry for its Mother

by Khenpo Lodro Donyod Rinpoche

August 22, 2004

Sovereign of the ocean of the mandalas and [Buddha] families, lord of refuge Vajradhara, whose name is difficult to utter, Karma Ngedon Chokyi Lodro, may the first light of your supreme, sun-like emanation swiftly dawn!

Namo Guru Vajradhara Ye

Adorned by of the luster of the essence of the emerald,
Agent of the enlightened activity of all the victors without exception,
Prajnaparamita, the exalted source of the four noble ones,¹
Oh Jetsuma, I prostrate to you, our only mother!

Our lord father, the sun of beings, has set behind the western peak.
This semblance of departure is beyond me.
Can this be real or is it just a dream?
If this is possibly true, Oh Tara, Oh Mother Tara!

All notions shattered, this orphan is trapped in a cell of misery.
Gaze upon us and see the plight of this situation!
Please manifest your enlightened activity that the radiant sun of beings,
The supreme emanation of the glorious lama, swiftly rise again!

Coemergent primordial awareness is beyond expression.
By merely directing your essential outlook that’s beyond description,
Primordial awareness, beyond conception, is transferred to others’ mind streams.
Beyond obscuration, may the supreme emanation of the lama swiftly come again!

From the divine expanse of the pristine dharmadhatu
You summon beings with the thunderous roar of the melody of the nada,
And rain down the authentic Dharma of profound peace, free from elaborations.
May the genuine guide, the supreme emanation of the lama swiftly come again!

Lama, lord of the dharma, your exalted wisdom having completely matured from its youth,
You perfectly transmit the teachings of the provisional and definitive meaning
To all those beings in need of your guidance.
May the peerless, supreme emanation of the lama swiftly come again!²

By the four means of gathering and the six paramitas, ³
In your ripening and liberating of beings
Your undaunted courage is forever without weariness and fatigue.
May the unfailing, supreme emanation of the lama swiftly come again!

Your scholarship and discernment are like that of Manjushri.
Your glorious conduct is equal to that of Nyewar Khor . ⁴
Your noble qualities are those of a great bodhisattva.
May the unequaled, supreme emanation of the lama swiftly come again!

Your stainless wisdom eye sees far and wide.
With great loving kindness you impartially gaze upon beings.
Endowed with the ability to guide immeasurable being who are difficult to tame,
May the incomparable, supreme emanation of the lama swiftly come again!

The splendor of your noble activity is like the dawning of the morning sun.
Through your learning, reflection and meditation; explanation, clarification and composition
The lotus grove of the sage’s teachings flourish in the ten directions.
May the venerable, supreme emanation of the lama swiftly come again!

Outwardly, you are perfectly adorned by the vows of individual liberation.
Inwardly, you are thoroughly imbued with bodhicitta.
Secretly, you have completely realized the profound intended meaning.
May the lord of the dharma, the supreme emanation of the lama swiftly come again!

Thus, by the divine blessings of the three roots,
And by the power of my completely pure faith and samaya,
Lord of the mandala, glorious lama,
May the first light of your supreme, luminous emanation swiftly dawn again!

For the grace of beings and all the genuine doctrines without discrimination,
Fully emulating the examples of your predecessor’s
Wisdom, loving kindness and ability; qualities of renunciation and realization, and so forth
May your spontaneous enlightened activity be continuous, pervasive and gloriously blaze!

Incomparable refuge and protector of beings and of all the general and particular teachings, sovereign protector of the doctrine, lord of refuge Vajradhara, known by the name Karma Ngedon Chokyi Lodro, has temporarily demonstrated entering the repose of the dharmadhatu as the shared merit of his disciples was insufficient. Thus, we followers have been plunged into the darkness of suffering, alas, we are at a loss for what to do.

However, toward the fulfillment of the supreme protector’s wishes for the teaching and beings, presently we are carefully attending to the various phases of the rituals. At this time, together with one voice, Khenpo Shereab Gyaltsen, Umdze Tsultrim Gyatsho, and all the other retreatants residing in the retreat center, Zung Juk Ga Tsal Ling, at the seat of the glorious supreme lama, along with the dharma brother Nyishangwa Lama Sherab Gyaltsen, and the closely attending monks of the refuge protector have made offerings and requested me to quickly compose a prayer for the lama’s swift return.

So as not to refuse, with all of the lord of refuge, Vajradhara’s qualities of body, speech and mind and profound kindness welling up from the depths of my heart, I, Lodro Donyod, a khenpo merely in name, who in this and all my future rebirths as the most meek disciple seeks protection in the soothing shelter of the protector’s compassion, have one pointedly prayed. May these hopes and desired results be accomplished just as intended!

Sarvamangalam!

These provisional translations were attempted by Ngodup T. Burkhar and Eric Triebelhorn.

¹ Four noble ones: shravakas, pratekyabuddhas, bodhisattvas, and buddhas.

² In Tibetan, Rinpoche's name, Ngedon Chokyi Lodro, is woven into the verse. A possible translation of his name would be "Exalted Wisdom of the Definitive Meaning of the Dharma."

³ Four means of drawing being: giving what's necessary; speaking pleasantly (in accordance with beings dispositions); being in concordance with the ways of the world; and being a living example of one's teachings.

⁴ Nyewar Khor was a prominent disciple of the Buddha, an arhat, who exhibited stainless moral conduct.