Jamgon Mipham - White Lotus: An Explanation of the Seven-Line Prayer to Guru Padmasambhava

Buddha Shakyamuni

Guru Rinpoche

The Padmakara Translation Group gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Tsadra Foundation in sponsoring the translation and preparation of this book.

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2007 by the Padmakara Translation Group

Cover art: Guru Padmasambhava. Used by permission of Thinley Norbu Rinpoche.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Mi-pham-rgya-mtsho, Jam-mgon Ju, 18461912.

White lotus: an explanation of the Seven-line prayer to Guru Padmasambhava / Jamgn Mipham; translated by the Padmakara Translation Group.

p. cm.

Includes translation of Tibetan commentaries and Tibetan texts.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

eISBN 978-0-8348-2567-3

ISBN: 978-1-59030-511-9

(hardcover: alk. paper)

1. Padma Sambhava, ca. 717ca. 762Prayers and devotionsHistory and criticism. 2. Rin-ma-pa (Sect)Prayers and devotionsHistory and criticism. I. Comit de traduction Padmakara. II. Title.

BQ5593.P3M536 2007

294.3443dc22

2007015360

C ONTENTS

A GURU-YOGA BASED ON THE S EVEN- L INE P RAYER

T HE ORIGIN of the Buddhist teachings in our world was the Buddha Shakyamuni, who in his unequaled compassion for beings and his wish to bring them all to perfect freedom is praised in the scriptures as a white lotus among the thousand Buddhas of this fortunate kalpa. Before he passed into mahaparinirvana, the Buddha prophesied that his activities would be prolonged and his teachings propagated and protected by Padmasambhava, whom Tibetan Buddhists frequently refer to as Guru Rinpoche, the Precious Master.

Invited by the Dharma king Trisongdetsen at the advice of the great abbot Shantarakshita, Guru Rinpoche went to Tibet and spread the teachings there on a vast scale. He made Tibet and the whole of the Himalayan region into a sacred land where the Buddhadharma would prosper even after it had long disappeared in India. Thanks to the power of Guru Rinpoches blessings, not only the oral and treasure transmissions of the Nyingmapas but also the teachings and practices of the other schools of Tibetan Buddhism have been able to flourish and have been preserved intact into our time. All of us who have an interest in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition should be keenly aware of the debt we owe to Guru Rinpoche.

He is the perfect teacher, the guide for those who wish to progress on the path; and all prayers addressed to him are of immense value. Of these, the most important is surely the Seven-Line Prayer. Not only is it the most powerful of invocations, but its every word is filled with deep meaning. Thanks to the marvelous wisdom and learning of Mipham Rinpoche, we have a commentary that lays before us all the different ways in which the Seven-Line Prayer can be understood. It shows how this precious invocation contains the whole of the Secret Mantra in concentrated form.

At whatever stage we are, beginners or otherwise, the Seven-Line Prayer should be our constant companion. It is like a golden key to the treasure house of the teachings. Above all, to recite the Seven-Line Prayer is the best way to invoke Guru Rinpoche so that we can rest in his presence, cultivate devotion toward him, and thus receive his blessings.