Song of the Tricosmic Master

by Khaydrub Choje Gelek Palzangpo (1385-1438)

Written by Khaydrub Choje Gelek Palzang-po, who learned a great deal by sitting for many years at the lotus feet of Je Rinpoche.

O Je Tsongkhapa, master of the three worlds,
Who surpasses all others in compassion,
The eye through whom all beings
Can receive ultimate vision,
Peerless Refuge of liberation seekers,
To you, a supreme and incomparable Lama,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

In the very presence of the Victorious One
You entered the ways of enlightenment;
Here in this Land of Snow Mountains
You were renowned as Lobsang Drakpa;
Now in Tushita Pure Land you abide,
Famed as Wisdom Essence;
To you, mightiest of Bodhisattvas,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

By the force of ripening merits
You read the teachings and, without study,
Understood texts even in the language of mystics.
To you of naturally perfect excellence
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

From the time your sun-like body
Slipped radiantly from your mother’s cloud,
You ever shunned the dancing lights
Of the world and its vain fortunes;
To you I offer my spiritual aspirations.

From very youth you held no distaste
Toward the austerities of Buddhadharma
But secured yourself in perfect discipline.
To you who for countless lifetimes knew
The power of familiarity with meditation,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Having unrelentingly examined in depth
The words and meanings of Buddha’s teachings,
Constantly and with spontaneity you practised
The guidelines discovered therein.
To you, a treasury of vast knowledge,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Not satisfied with strings of empty words,
With subtle reason you fathomed that point
Not perceived by the millions of scholars;
To you who beheld reality itself
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Were all logicians to analyse
Your teachings a hundred times,
Not even a fraction’s fraction
Of your words would prove wrong.
To you of flawless mind
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Who but you has seen as they are
All the concepts contained
In the texts of the ancient masters?
To you in whom all teachings
Arose as practical advice
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

When the dust clothing the earth
Is inscribed by your lotus feet
Which always rests on the crowns of sages,
That dust becomes an object
Well worthy of worship by men; to you
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Although a fully omniscient one
Were to challenge your ethical temper,
Not a hint of a flaw
Could ever be discovered:
To you, a perfect renunciate,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Like an ocean of wish-fulfilling gems
Is the immeasurable depth of your love,
Beyond even the bounds of clairvoyance.
To you, a mine of benevolence,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

What load of benefit to beings
Is not carried by your mind so mighty:
For did you not reach the zenith
Of deeds sending endless waves?
To you of miraculous compassion
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

If each breath you release
Acts only as medicine to beings,
Why try to describe the effect
Of your stores of merit and wisdom?
To you, friend of the three worlds,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom,
Daily appeared directly to you
And rained ambrosial streams of teachings,
The synthesis of the minds of Buddhas,
Past, present and future;
To you I offer my spiritual aspirations.

“In the lotus garden of the Muni’s teachings
You are likened to a sun amongst Buddhas;”
With these very words Maitreya Buddha
Praised you when in a vision he appeared;
To you I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Beholding the sublime forms of countless Buddhas,
You directly received the transforming powers
Of Saraha, Luipa and the other mahasiddhas;
To you, a supreme and perfected being,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Having in a dream been given the blessings of
Nagarjuna, Aryadeva, Buddhapalita and Chandrakirti,
Experience of the Very Dharma, profound emptiness,
Arose within you; to you, who has abandoned
Even the imprints of confusion,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

With the subtle meditation in samadhi centred
Upon reality itself, clear like the sky,
You moved not for a moment
Even in post-meditation
From viewing mind as illusory;
To you I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Having mastered the oceans of tantras,
Pinnacle of all Buddhas teachings,
You indeed are a perfect Lama
Inseparable from All-pervading Vajradhara;
To you I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Master who practised exactly as taught
The essential profundities of tantra’s two stages,
The ultimate paths, as never before
Shown by another in this land,
And then accomplished their purpose,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

By perfecting the coarse and subtle deity-yogas,
You eliminated the habitual thought patterns
That conceive existence as profane.
To you whose mind never stirs
From the blissful flow of mystic mandalas,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Coasting in the central nadi on a current of air,
You perceived the quintessence of emptiness,
The clear light itself, mahamudra,
Experiencing the summit of great bliss;
To you, the one of vajra mind,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Due to the force of your infinite prayers,
Countless disciples spontaneously were drawn
To the path that pleases all Buddhas;
To you, Refuge of all the world,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

In an era when nothing but the empty name
of “Doctrine” was upheld by teachers and trainees,
You brought into the light the three higher trainings
To you, the Great Reviver,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

When you determined consciously to pass away,
Hosts of Dakas and Dakinis beyond imagination,
Making offerings filled the skies.
To you I offer my spiritual aspirations.

Mind focused on the clear light of Dharmakaya,
Your body transformed into a luminous sphere and,
In the bardo, illusory body yoga fulfilled Sambhogakaya.
To you who gained supreme siddhi
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

From this moment onward in all future lives,
May I sit before your lotus feet
And, hearing your teachings,
Practise only as delights you.

May I be blessed to abandon both
Viewing this life as something to crave
And yearning for happiness for myself alone.
And may I never abandon the bodhimind,
The wish to attain Buddhahood for all.

With clear wisdom focusing on the subtle,
May I fathom the perfect words of Buddha
And ascend the path of knowledge.
Thus may I arise to dispel the darkness
Of the ignorance pervading beings’ minds.

May I have power to discover
The import of the many tantras
And to practise single-pointedly
The profound significance of their two stages,
Unhindered by inner or outer obstacles.

In brief, may I receive grace to understand
All the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni,
Especially those of the peerless Vajrayana,
Just as do the Awakened Ones.
Thus may I bring light to the world.

By the virtue of this aspiration,
May I in all future lives never be
Parted from you, a perfect Lama,
And may I dwell with the taste of the teachings
That arose from the depths of your experience.

Because of whatever goodness
I have done or will do,
May you gaze upon me with pleasure,
And may I always unwaveringly practise
Precisely in accord with your advice.

By the power of the mighty deeds
Of Lama Je Tsongkhapa, the tantric Guru,
Until enlightenment may I never fall
From the good path praised by all Buddhas.

Footnote: Extracted from the Lifeand Teachings of Tsong Khapa (Edited by Prof. R. Thurman)

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