Nam-mkhai snying-po - Mother of Knowledge: The Enlightenment of Yeshe Tsogyal

Plate 2: Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal

hen I first came to this country, and before there were so many large and difficult projects to take up so much of my time, I was able to give regular Tibetan and philosophy classes. A few of my students kept up their studies, and I recommended various texts for them to read in Tibetan. Jane Wilhelms, one of these students, began to read the life of Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal. As her interest in the text increased, I encouraged her to translate certain passages, and gave her guidance as she proceeded. Eventually we decided that a translation of the whole work would give Dharma students a valuable resource for understanding the authentic Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

Once we began work on the translation, I read the text aloud to Jane, and provided a word for word translation. This process continued for some time, but in 1978, as work began on the Nyingma Edition of the bKa'-'gyur and bsTan-'gyur, we had to set this project aside, along with many others. When we resumed work on the text this year, I once again reviewed difficult passages in detail. Later, Deborah Black and Leslie Bradburn edited the completed manuscript.

Rendering the life of Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal into English has been a difficult undertaking. The Tibetan is in the old style, and contains a mixture of prose and poetry which is rich in images and examples that have no parallel in Western culture. There are many esoteric terms and descriptions for which there are no meaningful English equivalents. Most important, even the simple narrative contains multilevel meanings, and it is impossible for the translation to present them all.

Faced with these difficulties, we have decided to present the text as clearly and simply as possible. Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal's life story is a revelation of spiritual transformation, and the original Tibetan reveals the depth of her experience, the inner meaning of her initiations, and her visionary understanding. Tibetans have spent hundreds of years finding ways to express the power and richness of such experience within the constraints of language, and, at the time this book was written, possessed a terminology developed for precisely this purpose.

Until the English language develops similar resources, we felt that the inner beauty and wonder of Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal's life story would shine forth most clearly through a direct and straightforward presentation. Pursuing the esoteric implications of the text would only risk confusion. And in any case the conceptual mind would find itself unable to grasp the significance of much of what was being said. Still, it is good to bear in mind that a translation of this work on the esoteric level would look very different.

Even in terms of simply presenting the narrative of the story, I do not feel that we have always been completely successful. Although we have presented a number of the most important technical terms in a glossary, this does not resolve every problem or remove every imperfection. In the future, when Western students of Tibetan and the Dharma have gained more experience with this kind of work, we can hope to do better. Yet there is no reason to delay publication for years by chasing after perfection. Our readers have been waiting many years for this work, and I sincerely believe that its publication can be of benefit.

However, readers of the life of Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal should also bear in mind that the experiences and the practices undertaken by Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal on her path toward realization can only be successfully carried out by those with proper preparation. Even then, the guidance of an established and qualified spiritual teacher, one who is a complete master of the tradition, is essential. The risk for anyone attempting to pursue such practices on their own, or without full preparation, is simply too great.

I would like to dedicate this book to all Dharma students interested in the Vajrayana path. Studying the life of Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal, they will find an excellent example of the relationship between student and teacher and the importance of devotion.