Prayer for the swift rebirth of Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche, Mipham Chokyi Lodroe

Prayers for the Swift Rebirth of Shamar Rinpoche, Mipham Chökyi Lodrö

Update: After I uploaded my English translation and transliteration of Beru Khyentse Rinpoche's prayer for the swift rebirth of Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche (see below), Karmapa Thaye Dorje composed a further wonderful prayer. Having already been transliterated and translated into English by my friend Erin under the guidance of Khenpo Karsang Tenzin, I added it to the post. 

Further Update: There is now also a revised version of the prayer composed by Karmapa Thaye Dorje available which was distributed by the Karmapa International Buddhist Society. Consequently, the older version was removed and replaced by the latest version.

 

Prayers for the Swift Rebirth of Shamar Rinpoche, Mipham Chökyi Lodrö

Authored by Karmapa Thaye Dorje

  

A German translation of the prayer can be found here.

Prayer for the Swift Rebirth of Shamar Rinpoche, Mipham Chökyi Lodrö

Authored by Beru Khyentse Rinpoche

Namo guru Dharmamatiye!

I bow down to Guru Chökyi Lodrö!

de chen zhing gön mi yi nam trül pa|             

Drub gyü ten pe sog shing mi pham pa|

Emanation of Buddha Amithaba, undefeatable life-tree of the practice lineage,

sha mar chö kyi lo drö chog nyi kyi|              

dag sog kal men nyam thag ci chir dor|

Excellent One, Shamarpa Chokyi Lodroe, why did you abandon us destitute misfortunate ones?

lobur mi tün kyen gyi zhi we ying|                 

tim ne dül dje lhag ma ma kyang par|

Out of a sudden you dissolved into the sphere of peace due to unfavourable conditions, and left your remaining students unprotected behind.

kam tshang ring lug nyag tra di dag kab|     

nya ngen de pa kye ma kyi hü lag|

The long Kamtshang[1] tradition has been weakened and mourns at your parinirvana!

ön tang dül dje jug pa mi dor wa|                  

mi ngön ying ne thug dje tser gong te|

Yet, not abandoning the guidance of your students, due to your compassion you lovingly think of them from within the imperceptible sphere.

dag sog tö dje yong kyi re chöl che|              

trül pe da zhel nyur du djön gyur cig|

May the full moon of your manifested rebirth swiftly appear for the sake of us who depend on you and are in your care.

                                                                   

dön gyü nying po pal den karma pa|                       

yab se gyü che dam tshig gong bu cig|

Heart of the ultimate lineage, Glorious Karmapa, along with the lineage of fathers and spiritual sons, unified in their commitments,

sang sum dze trin gang ge gyün shin du|       

pheb ne chog trül tsö me nyur djön shog|

May the awakened activities of the three mysteries of (body, speech and mind) flow like the Ganges stream so that your supreme emanation effortlessly appears.

di ke dag gi de dam tsang ma yi|                   

söl dab mö la gön po kye khyen ne|

Even though I have prayed with these words out of faith and pure intention, and you will indeed behold me protector,

ten sung ma gön seng dong yab yum sog|     

tha tshig ma yel dong drog trin le dze|

I request the guardians of the doctrine, Mahakali, Mahakala, Simhamukha, deities and consorts etc., to not forget their oath, and engage in supportive activity.

---

[1] An alternative name for the Karma Kagyu tradition.

A pdf of the English translation of the prayer can be downloaded here.

Like to read more?  
The 37 Practices and the Four Seals of the Dharma
A teaching on loving kindness and compassion

20 Signs of progress in Buddhist practice
5 common misperceptions about Buddhism  
Why Buddhist studies - Buddhist Studies Part 1 
Eight Good Reasons for Engaging in Buddhist Studies at the University of Vienna 
Impressions from a Workshop on Buddhist Translation 

Please be so kind and support Buddhism and More by sharing, linking, and liking!

 
Follow me on Google+

In Memoriam Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche (1952-2014)

Many of you have probably already heard the sad news about the recent passing of Kunzig Shamar Rinpoche, Mipham Chokyi Lodro (1952-2014). It spread like a shock wave through the Karma Kagyu Buddhist centers in Europe. Not only was he the lineage holder of the tradition, but he had also spent years and years teaching in the West, mainly in the United States and Europe. 

Having just completed a weekend course at his Bodhi Path Center in Renchen Ulm, Germany, His Holiness unexpectedly passed away in the morning of June 11th 2014. It was learned that he suffered from a sudden heart attack and died immediately.

Shamar Rinpoche in Dhagpo Kagyu Ling, June 2013

Under the guidance of his brother Jigme Rinpoche who was also present when he passed away, all traditional procedures were followed. After that, Shamar Rinpoche remained in the so-called thugs dam, a post mortem meditative state carried out by experienced meditators, until Friday the 13th 2014. Since this date falls together with Saga Dawa, the highest Buddhist holiday, it is considered very auspicious.

The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva and the Four Seals of the Dharma

Ngulchu Thogme Sangpo's  
37 Practices of a Bodhisattva

The Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva (Tib. Rgyal sras lag len so bdun ma) is a short Buddhist text authored by the Tibetan master Ngulchu Thogme Sangpo (1295–1369).  It enjoys enormous popularity throughout all the different Buddhist traditions in Tibet and is also one of my favorites. 

This is also one of the reasons why I decided to take up the text here on this blog. Another is that it sums up the Buddhist path in a very condensed way, but still does so in a very complete way. Simply reading the root verses alone is already very touching. With the hope to inspire myself and others who also do not have that much time to engage in extensive studies at the moment, I will start to explain the work here little by little. 

While doing so, I will rely on different explanations I received over the years, and on existing Tibetan commentaries. Nevertheless, I will also try to relate the verses to our present time and see what we can learn from them for our daily life.

Being aware of the fact that its author, Ngulchu Thogme Sangpo, lived in Tibet during the early 14^th century, one may of course wonder whether the teachings therein are of any relevance for us today. It is well-known that Buddhism was able to easily adapt very quickly to different cultural surroundings throughout its long history of approximately 2500 years. Different Buddhist traditions found in Sri Lanka, Japan, Tibet and elsewhere are a witness of this fact.