Ani Jinba Palmo's Articles on Lions Roar

Vajra songs of the Dzogchen lineage, from Ani Jinba Palmo’s translation of The Great Image: The Life Story of Vairochana the Translator. The Great Image is the biography of the great Tibetan translator Vairotsana1, one of the earliest translators of tantric texts from Sanskrit into Tibetan and an important figure in the Nyingma tradition, the oldest of the four schools of Buddhism in Tibet. Recorded by his foremost disciples, this biography contains not only the details and events of Vairotsana’s life, but also the history of the Ati Yoga (Dzogchen) doctrine in general and the historical background of the Buddhist doctrine in detail, including how it appeared in the celestial and human realms through the mind lineage of the conquerors, the symbol lineage of the vidyadharas, and the hearing lineage of individuals. This excerpt traces the Dzogchen lineage of the human realm, in India, beginning with Prahevajra (Tib., Garab Dorje), who received the transmission directly from the sambhogakaya buddha Vajrasattva. Brief biographies of each lineage holder precede short spontaneous songs (dohas) through which the teacher transmits the Dzogchen view, followed by the student’s expression of his or her realization. King Helu Bhadhe and his wife, the Brahmini Effortful, had a son, King Dhahena Talo, who was a direct disciple of the nirmanakaya Prahevajra 2 from whom he had received the transmission of mind essence. Dhahena Talo also supplicated Manjushrimitra to give him the complete transmission. This is when Manjushrimitra condensed the meaning for Dhahena Talo in a song: Enlightened mind is the five major elements: Not manifest and all pervasive, it is space. Wisdom earth produces buddhahood in the mind. Wisdom water washes away habitual tendencies. Wisdom fire burns up dualistic fixations; Wisdom wind carries you to the unshakable state. The nature of mind itself also appears as the five elements; When you clearly realize their source as being no different from mind, Rest in the uncontrived training of self-manifesting and self-subsiding. Thus he sang. Then King Dhahena Talo perfectly understood what this meant and expressed his own realization as follows: I am Dhahena Talo, Whose mind is like the expanse of space. The expanse of space has neither center nor limit, And enlightened mind has neither center nor limit. To remain undistracted within that nature Without limit or center is meditation. Thus he sang. He realized the essential truth and gained mastery over longevity. King Dhahena Talo and his wife Queen Victorious Effort had a son, the elder Prince Rajahasti, who received the transmission of mind essence from the nirmanakaya Prahevajra and who also requested it from his father, King Dhahena Talo. Dhahena Talo summarized the essential meaning for his son, the elder Rajahasti, in a song: Enlightened mind is the buddhas of the three times: From there the past buddhas came, There the present buddhas abide, And there the future buddhas will be awakened. The intent of the buddhas of the three times is your own mind. Thus he sang. The elder Prince Rajahasti understood perfectly what this meant and expressed his own realization as follows: I am the elder Prince Rajahasti; Having realized enlightened mind to be nonarising self-knowing, I hold the lineage of Samantabhadra and Vajrasattva. Without progressing in the three stages I instantly reached buddhahood; My mind is equal to the buddhas of the three times. Thus he sang. Princess Parani had received transmission of the mind essence from the nirmanakaya Prahevajra and also requested it from her elder brother Rajahasti. The elder Rajahasti summarized the essential meaning for her in a song: As mind is without aggregates, it doesn’t grow or decay; As mind is without birth or death, it can’t be wounded or killed; As everything is contained in mind, mind itself is dharmakaya: Realizing this is the wisdom of the buddhas. Thus he sang. Princess Parani understood perfectly what this meant and expressed her own realization as follows: I am Princess Parani, For whom enlightened mind does not arise or cease. Once you realize that mind is free of arising and ceasing, You attain the view of the conquerors of the three times, Beyond meeting with or parting from the expanse of realization. Thus she sang. Naga King Takshaka, an emanation of a bodhisattva who benefited the nagas 3, perceived that the wondrous essence of the doctrine, the Great Perfection, had appeared in the human realm. He took birth as the son of the outcaste Apar Dharmu Jnana and his wife Sagara and was called Naga King or Nagaraja Sitrita. He met the nirmanakaya Prahevajra in person and heard his words. He received the maturing empowerment from the elder Prince Rajahasti and requested Princess Parani for the essence of the teachings. The princess summarized the essential meaning for Naga King thus: Don’t block the six sense fields, enjoy them at ease and with joy, So that whatever you enjoy enhances enlightenment. Confident in mastering this king of awareness, The training is to let the six senses remain free. Thus she sang. Naga King understood perfectly what this meant and expressed his own realization as follows: I am Naga King Nanda, For whom the unrejected emotions are the five great wisdoms. Not giving up the three poisons, I perfect them as body, speech, and mind. Not indulging in samsara, it is the great bliss path of enlightenment. The realization of the buddhas of the three times has arisen in me! Thus he sang. The daughter of King World Guard, Yakshini Changchubma, who was qualified, intelligent and very devoted, requested Naga King Nanda for the essence of the teachings. He fully bestowed it and summarized the essential meaning in a song: Enlightened mind is the never-waning banner of victory. Unchanging throughout the three times, it is a swastika 4; It is the standard of triumph over the battle with samsara: To understand this is the king of realization. Thus he sang. Yakshini Changchubma understood perfectly what this meant and expressed her own realization as follows: I am Yakshini Changchubma, Whose mind is awakened from the beginning, The great self-existing bhagavan. Samsara has always been utterly pure; Realizing the nature of mind, I found the intent of the Buddha! Thus she sang. A man of low caste called Rahuta and his wife, Joyful Dhari, had a daughter called Barani, who was a prostitute. She was very clever and intelligent and definitely the Mahayana type. She requested the essence of the teachings from Yakshini Changchubma, who gave it and summarized the essential meaning in a song: Buddhas and sentient beings are inseparable from the beginning; That is the essential point to understand. Once you fully realize your nondual mind as dharmakaya, There is nothing else to train in. Thus she sang. The prostitute understood perfectly what this meant and expressed her own realization as follows: I, the prostitute Barani, Have realized the king of views, enlightened mind. As mind is neither male nor female, union does not intimidate me. Mind is without birth or death; it won’t die through killing. Since all phenomenal appearance is nectar, nothing is clean or unclean from the beginning. Thus she sang. The son of the Kashmiri king Bhibhi Rahula and his wife, Shila Kumara, the Kashmiri abbot called Rabnang, a pandita who had reached the highest degree in learning, requested the essence of the teachings from the prostitute Barani. She bestowed it in full and summarized the essential meaning in a song: The result of enlightened mind does not depend on a cause. The instruction of enlightened mind does not depend on the statements. The awakening of enlightened mind does not depend on mind. Nonapparent and causeless, enlightened mind is like space; Devoid of color, it has no reference point. Thus she sang. Rabnang understood perfectly what this meant and expressed his own realization as follows: I, the abbot Rabnang, Have realized the self-existing, naturally calm great dharmakaya. All phenomenal existence occurs from the nature of this great being. However it occurs, mind does not diminish or increase. Thus he sang. In the country of Oddiyana, Shri Raja and his wife, Renowned, had a son called Maharaja, who was a scholar in Oddiyana. He was learned in the five sciences and became a great pandita in the Topknot area in Oddiyana. He was interested in the essential truth and requested it from the Kashmiri abbot Rabnang, who transmitted it in full and summarized the meaning in a song: The nature of mind is awakened from the very beginning; There is nothing else to do but get used to it. This training can’t be understood through reason. Not to be distracted from the nature of mind, that is meditation. Thus he sang. The abbot of Oddiyana, Maharaja, understood perfectly what this meant and expressed his own realization as follows: I am Maharaja, Who meditated on mind and transcended the meditation object. Watching the mind, there is nothing to see, But seeing that there is nothing to see is the real seeing. To be undistracted from this nature of non-seeing is meditation. Thus he sang. At that time there was a princess called Gomadevi, who was qualified and very inspired by the essential truth. She requested transmission of the essential meaning from the Oddiyana scholar Maharaja, who bestowed it in full and summarized the meaning in a song: The nature of the single sphere is indivisible from the three times; In that nature of self-liberation, there is no path to be traveled. The nature of things is free from the limitations of words and can’t be engaged in; Realizing the unlimited, there is no other object of meditation. Thus he sang. Princess Gomadevi understood perfectly what this meant and expressed her own realization as follows: I am Gomadevi, For whom the five elements are the five families of consorts And the aggregates the five buddha families. The constituents and sense bases are the male and...

In Translation: The View of the Conquerors

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