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Summer Ritual at Menri Monastery: The Great Secret Dō Ritual of The Vast Sky

Representation of the phenomenal world with its wondrous and desirable contents created at Menri Monastery

During the 12th-16th lunar days of the 5th lunar month, Menri Monastery together with the Rayna Menling Nunnery will conduct the annual Kha Long Sangwé Dō Chen, The Great Secret Dō Ritual of the Vast Sky. In 2025, these dates correspond with July 7th-11th. The purpose of this elaborate ritual cycle is to pacify or expel obstacles and malevolent energies, rebalance the five elements, attract good fortune, longevity, and positive circumstances, and to bring healing and harmony to the environment and its seen and unseen inhabitants. This ritual was taught directly by the enlightened Lord Tönpa Shenrap Miwoché as a skillful method to work with external, worldly forces that interfere with the happiness and success of sentient beings. These teachings are part of the Second Way of Bön, The Way of the Shen of the Phenomenal World. As in every teaching and ritual of the Yungdrung Bön, the foundation of the practice is unbiased, unlimited compassion. Even when so-called “malevolent spirits” are expelled because of their unwillingness to stop harming others, the expulsion is from a base of compassion for both those being harmed as well as for those causing the harm. By interrupting their harmful actions towards others, it also prevents them from accumulating negative karma. Additionally, every ritual concludes with prayers of aspiration that all beings be happy and peaceful, and ultimately to realize the ultimate state of enlightenment that is beyond any kind of suffering or unhappiness.

To support the ritual of The Great Secret Dō Ritual of the Vast Sky, a representation of the phenomenal world is created along with all the good and precious things within it. These things are offered to the enlightened ones, the worldly protectors, powerful spirits, and all the six kinds of sentient beings. By offering to the deities, the accumulation of merit is increased and previous negative actions are purified. By offering to the worldly protectors, they are delighted and continue to fulfill their vows of protection and bestowing abundance. By offering to the powerful spirits, we bring harmony to our relationship with them and pay any debts that might invoke their retribution. By giving to all the six kinds of sentient beings, we fulfill their desires and their minds become peaceful and satisfied.

His Eminence Menri Pönlop Thrinley Nyima Rinpoche instructing the monks in creating namkha

About Namkha

In addition to the many offerings of torma, precious gems, foodstuffs, flowers and greenery, fragrant smells, soft materials, and so on; this ritual makes abundant use of the ritual object known as a namkha. The Tibetan term namkha literally translates as “sky” or “external space.” This term is often translated as “thread-cross.” There are many different kinds of namkha that have a diversity of form and function. Just as the shape, color, ingredients, and use of a torma is determined by its ritual purpose, so is the shape, color, and function of a namkha determined by its ritual purpose. As for the actual construction, a namkha is created by affixing thin pieces of bamboo or wood together to establish a frame. Then, beginning at the center and working outward, strands of colored wool, yarn, or thread are used to weave a net-like pattern over the frame. The length of the wood or bamboo is notched to allow the colored strands to catch and stay in place. There is a great variation in framework and patterns. For example, if the namkha is being used as a temporary abode of a deity or spirit, the pattern and colors used will be representative of the physical characteristics and hand objects of that deity or spirit. Namkha are used as a dwelling for deities or spirits during a ritual, to attract or repel specific energies and qualities, for protection from danger and disease, and as offerings, among other purposes.

Namkha created for the fire ritual of the deity Duk Kar, the White Umbrella Goddess

Dō Rituals

Buddha Tönpa Shenrap Miwoché taught 365 different types of rituals. The Great Secret Dō Ritual of the Vast Sky is categorized as a dō type of ritual. Because many of the dō rituals make use of namkha, some Western scholars have erroneously stated that the terms dō [Tibetan: mdos] and namkha are synonymous. This is incorrect. There are dō rituals that do not use namkha, and there are many namkha that are used in rituals other than those categorized as dō. In general, dō rituals are the most important of the ransom rituals used for eliminating harm to the life force, diseases, danger, and other disturbances from nonhuman beings. In general, the nonhuman beings causing harm are offered an exchange of desirable things for the release of those being harmed. Namkha are used to invite the enlightened deities who are the objects of refuge for the ritual, and the protectors who subdue the malevolent forces. Other types of namkha are made as offerings to the deities and gifts of exchange for the ransom. Still other types of namkha act as supports for the return of the life force, and the rebalancing of the external, internal, and secret five elements. There are different kinds of dō rituals in order to appeal to the variety of nonhuman beings that create disturbances for humanity and the environment.

Namkha of various auspicious symbols

The scripture for the Kha Long Sangwé Dō Chen is almost one thousand pages in length. It includes chapters dedicated to instructions for the construction of ritual items, texts for the ransom rituals for men, women, and children, rituals for stopping and healing illness and contagious disease, rituals for renewing and fulfilling sacred vows, rituals for calling upon the magically powerful and benevolent worldly protectors, rituals for strengthening the life force and prosperity, rituals for appeasing the many kinds of nonhuman spirits, rituals for forcefully repelling negative forces, and so on. The overall purpose of all of these rituals is to bring peace and happiness within the world of appearances, and to generate faith in the Yungdrung Bön teachings which will guide all sentient beings to the ultimate goal of liberation from all the suffering of cyclic existence.

Raven Cypress Wood and Khenpo Nyima Künchap Rinpoche prepare namkha for an elaborate ritual offering to the lu [Sanskrit: naga]

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Celebration of the 90th Birthday of H. H. the 14th Dalai Lama Gyalwa Rinpoche & Statement Regarding the Continuation of the Dalai Lama Lineage

July 6th is celebrated as the birthday of the one born as Lhamo Döndrup, recognized at the age of two and formally installed at the age of fifteen, as the leader of the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism and therefore both the spiritual and secular leader of Tibet. Upon his enthronement, he was renamed Jetsun Jampel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso: Holy Lord, Gentle Glory, Compassionate Defender of the Faith who is an Ocean of Wisdom. He is known as Yizhin Norbu Rinpoche, the Precious Wish-fulfilling Jewel, and referred to as Gyalwa Rinpoche, Most Precious Conqueror, by Tibetans. He is known around the world as His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

The title Dalai Lama was first given in 1578 C.E. to Sonam Gyatso, leader of the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism, by the Mongolian leader Altan Kahn who had just received teachings from him. The term Dalai Lama is a combination of the Mongolian word dalai meaning ocean, and the Tibetan word lama commonly meaning spiritual master and literally translated as mother of the soul, or highest mother. Sonam Gyatso became known as the 3rd Dalai Lama because the two previous leaders of the Geluk school were posthumously awarded the title. Beginning with the 5th Dalai Lama in the 17th century, the authority and influence of the Dalai Lamas expanded beyond sectarian boundaries into all schools of Tibetan Buddhism as well as becoming enjoined with the secular function of governing the country of Tibet.

Upon the occasion of his 90th birthday, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has issued a public statement regarding the continuation of the Dalai Lama lineage.

Statement Affirming the Continuation of the Institution of Dalai Lama

(Translated from the original Tibetan)

On 24 September 2011, at a meeting of the heads of Tibetan spiritual traditions, I made a statement to fellow Tibetans in and outside Tibet, followers of Tibetan Buddhism, and those who have a connection with Tibet and Tibetans, regarding whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue. I stated, “As far back as 1969, I made clear that concerned people should decide whether the Dalai Lama’s reincarnations should continue in the future.”

I also said, “When I am about ninety I will consult the high Lamas of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions, the Tibetan public, and other concerned people who follow Tibetan Buddhism, to re-evaluate whether or not the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue.”

Although I have had no public discussions on this issue, over the last 14 years leaders of Tibet’s spiritual traditions, members of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile, participants in a Special General Body Meeting, members of the Central Tibetan Administration, NGOs, Buddhists from the Himalayan region, Mongolia, Buddhist republics of the Russian Federation and Buddhists in Asia including mainland China, have written to me with reasons, earnestly requesting that the institution of the Dalai Lama continue. In particular, I have received messages through various channels from Tibetans in Tibet making the same appeal. In accordance with all these requests, I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue.

The process by which a future Dalai Lama is to be recognized has been clearly established in the 24 September 2011 statement which states that responsibility for doing so will rest exclusively with members of the Gaden Phodrang Trust, the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. They should consult the various heads of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions and the reliable oath-bound Dharma Protectors who are linked inseparably to the lineage of the Dalai Lamas. They should accordingly carry out the procedures of search and recognition in accordance with past tradition.

I hereby reiterate that the Gaden Phodrang Trust has sole authority to recognize the future reincarnation; no one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter.

Dalai Lama

Dharamshala

21 May 2025

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama with His Eminence Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche.

Around the world on this day, devotees will begin the day with a large fumigation and smoke offering, and then present offerings and prayers to an image of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Especially on this day, there will be many prayers for his long and healthy life.

Prayer for the Long Life of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Gang ri ra wé kor wé zhing kham su
In a heavenly realm, surrounded by a chain of snow mountains,

Pen dang dé wa ma lü jung wé né
The source of all happiness and help for beings

Chenrezik wang Tenzin Gyatso yi
Is Tenzin Gyatso, Chenrezik in person.

Shyap pé kal gyé bar du ten gyur chik
May his life be secure for hundreds of eons!

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91st Anniversary of the Parinirvana of Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche

Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche

The 13th lunar day of the 4th lunar month is the anniversary of the parinirvana and the attainment of the rainbow body of Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche. In 2025, this date coincides with June 9th. Shardza Rinpoche was a Yungdrung Bön monk, teacher, scholar, and realized practitioner of the modern age. Born in 1859 in Kham, Tibet, at the age of nine an esteemed lama told his parents that he should become a monk. Being their only son, the parents refused. Shardza soon became quite ill. Seeing that their son was not recovering, the parents agreed to allow him to take ordination. At this, Shardza quickly recovered. He was the attendant for his root lama, Tenzin Wangyal, for many years. At the age of eighteen, he took the full vows of a Yungdrung Bön monk from the abbot of Yungdrung Ling Monastery.

Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche depicted as a yogi with long hair and a white robe

Throughout his life, Shardza Rinpoche was known for a disciplined adherence to every vow that he had taken throughout his life. Although his view and practice were vast and high, he maintained diligence in performing virtue and avoiding the smallest non-virtue. He continually performed the preliminary practices and recited many millions of mantra, especially the SA LÉ Ö mantra. He composed many concise practices for purifying negativity and accumulating merit and wisdom, such as his Aspiration Prayer of Giving and Receiving. (For the publicly available English translation, go to the Publications page of this website. For a brief explanation of the prayer, see previous article: https://ravencypresswood.com/2020/01/31/an-aspiration-prayer-of-giving-and-receiving-gift-translation/ )

“For those with a great deal of negative actions in this lifetime, having requested a remedy because they will certainly ripen during future lifetimes, the remedy of performing virtue is very powerful. Having ripened negative actions, the mere exhaustion of that karma (through pain and/or illness), enlightenment is certain. Therefore, this pain and illness of yours is very amazing when it is voluntarily accepted!

Even now, whenever more pain or illness arises, continuing to persevere with your religious practices, venerations, and acts of pure virtue would be incredibly amazing!

When you imagine that there will be no unhappiness in the future (due to this negative karma being exhausted), supremely praise the emptiness of that particular pain or illness.

Be inspired by the power of this antidote, even when what you don’t want arises.

Take the suffering and misery of others onto yourself by adopting others’ happiness and suffering through the practice of giving and receiving.” 

Shardza Rinpoche’s advice to the female practitioner Khandro Wangi Dronma. 
Hair and nails of Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen that were recovered after his attainment of the rainbow body
Hair and nails of Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen Rinpoche that were recovered after his attainment of the rainbow body

He taught a multitude of disciples, organized the reconstruction of temples, went on pilgrimages, and spent a great deal of time in isolated retreat. A prolific writer, he wrote at length on subjects such as Bön history, instructions for the practice of Tibetan yoga, preliminary practices for Dzogchen, condensed summaries of each of the None Ways of Bön, and detailed instructions for the advanced practice of inner heat, known as Tummo. When Shardza Rinpoche was 75 years old, his disciples noticed that his behavior changed. He seemed more casual and became delighted when playing with children. He was seen doing miraculous things such as walking without his feet touching the ground or setting his bowl down in space.

In 1934 at the age of 76 during an offering ceremony, he began to spontaneously sing songs of realization.  A few days later, he sewed himself inside a tent and forbid any of his disciples to open it.  The next day, rainbow lights began appearing above and around the tent. After three days, the ground shook. By the 4th day, rainbow-colored mist was seen coming through the seams of the tent. On that 4th day, Shardza’s disciple Tsultrim Wangchuk, afraid that his lama’s body would completely disappear and leave nothing as an object of veneration and inspiration, opened the tent. He found Shardza’s body enveloped in rainbow light, levitating in midair, and shrunken to the proportional size of a one year old child. The area around his heart was still warm but most of the nails of the hands and feet had fallen onto the seat below. For the next forty-nine days, a multitude of disciples came to pay their respect and receive blessings. After that, the precious remains were placed into a reliquary chorten. From time to time, many people have reported seeing clear or rainbow-colored light emanating from this reliquary chorten.

Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen’s reliquary chorten at his retreat center in Amdo, Tibet

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Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of His Eminence Menri Yongdzin Lopön Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche

On February 6, 2025 in Kathmandu, Nepal within the new meditation temple at Palden Triten Norbutsé Monastery, the Yungdrung Bön community will gather and rejoice in the 100th birthday of His Eminence Yongdzin Lopön Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche. Once His Eminence has entered the mediation hall and taken his seat upon the grand throne, many mandala offerings of glorious things will be offered and prayers for his long life will be chanted.

“Supplication to the Lord of Refuge, Menri Yongdzin Lopön Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche

How marvelous! Teacher of the three trainings and protector of migrating beings, you are an emanation of the omniscient Nyi Wang who perfects enlightened intention with dynamic energy. Having the total perfection of the abiding nature of sutra and trantra, you hold and protect the teachings through your completely pure enlightened activities. To Yongdzin Mawé Wangpo I supplicate! 

ཨེ་མ་ཧོ༎   བསླབ་གསུམ་བསྟན་པའི་བདག་ཉིད་འགྲོ་བའི་མགོན།། ཀུན་མཁྱེན་ཉི་དབང་རྣམ་རོལ་དགོངས་རྩལ་རྫོགས།། མདོ་སྡེ་སྔགས་ཀྱི་གནས་ལུགས་རྫོགས་པ་ཆེ།། བསྟན་པ་འཛིན་སྐྱོང་འཕྲིན་ལས་རྣམ་པར་དག། ཡོངས་འཛིན་སྨྲ་བའི་དབང་པོར་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས༎ སྐྱབས་རྗེ་སྨན་རིའི་ཁྲི་འཛིན་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་མཆོག་གིས་ཕྱི་   ཟླ་ ༣་ཚེས་༨་ལ་བསྟོད་པའོ།

é ma ho, lap sum ten pé dak nyi dro wé gön, kün khyen nyi wang nam röl gong tsal dzok, do dé ngak kyi né luk dzok pa ché, ten pa dzin kyong trin lé nam par dak, yong dzin ma wé wang por söl wa dep”

Written by the supreme Lord of Refuge, the 33rd Menri Trizen Rinpoche on the 8th lunar day of the 3rd lunar month.

A Bön Song for Welcoming One Hundred Years

You are a Shen whose speech is the great essence of the hundred thousand treasuries of sutra and tantra. Great protector of the teachings of the 84,000 Doors of Bön, during this present time you have greater kindness than a thousand enlightened ones. We rejoice that you have reached the age of one hundred!

The expressions of your realization and your hundreds of acts are solid pillars of the three trainings. Your utterly fulfilling knowledge of the three aspects turns the thousand-spoked wheel of Bön. Unequaled holder of the golden throne, because of a multitude of requests, You subsequently composed thirteen volumes of your collected works.

Embodiment of Drenpa, Master Subduer during the 500 years of decline, you have held, protected, and increased the essence of the Bön teachings during the one hundred years of your long life. Having the completely pure three vows of the hundred-petaled, saffron robe, may your lotus feet remain stable for hundreds of eons!

(Thus, this great celebration marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of the principal teacher of the Leader of Menri, the divine Lord of Refuge, Lopön Mawé Wangpo Tenzin Nadak, the supremely glorious master. As the fortunate Bön community of former students of The Bön Children’s Welfare Center of Topgyal Sarpa at Pal Shenten Menri Ling and others who are continually protected by your wisdom and kindness, offer these auspicious wishes. Mutsuk Marro!)

Newly finished statue of His Eminence Menri Yongdzin Lopön Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche

Offerings to the Lama

How Marvelous!

Within a completely pure and unchanging miraculous realm is the spiritual master, the essence of the Enlightened Ones of the three times. In order for the migrating beings of the six destinies to cross the ocean of cyclic existence, please remain seated upon the jeweled throne, upon faultless cushions of a radiant lotus, sun, and moon within the unsurpassed palace of the immeasurable three places! AH OM HUNG CHI PAR RAYNA TA TSEN RA YO DZA

Prostrations

How marvelous! To the lama who is the embodiment of all of the Victors and spiritual masters, principally by Bön practitioners, but including all sentient beings who are as limitless as the sky; we offer prostrations with our body, prostrating with our arms, legs, and head! We prostrate with our speech, chanting with a joyous and inspired melody! We prostrate with our mind, prostrating with single-pointed motivation and devotion! May the negative actions and defilements of our three doors become purified! AH OM HUNG CHI PAR RAYNA KO PUNG AKSHO TRI TSE GU DÜN HRUN

Admission of Wrongdoing and Purification

In the presence of my principal lama who is chief among the supreme objects of refuge, I admit my actions of wrongdoing and non-virtue that I have committed from the beginning until this very day. I admit corrupting the three vows and defiling the promises that I’ve made. I admit my pretension even though I do not understand the nature of mind. Please bestow complete purification and the supreme attainment! AH OM HUNG CHI PAR RAYNA KO PUNG AKSHO TRI TSE U DUK SHA YA NI SOHA

Mandala Offering

How marvelous! To the great, unmatched lama possessing characteristics, I present unequaled external, internal, and secret offerings. Externally, I offer a variety of nice things of the environment and its inhabitants. Furthermore, I offer my own body and its vitality as an ornament. I present these offerings with non-attachment. 

Internally, I offer the arising of my mental and physical aggregates. I offer my accumulated realization that whatever arises as subject and object is illusory. Furthermore, I present these offerings within the vast space of self-liberation.

Secretly, I offer the natural radiance of my unborn mind, which is unceasing and understands whatever arises as enlightened manifestation and wisdom. Furthermore, I present these offerings within a completely vast and all-pervasive space. AH OM HUNG CHI PAR RAYNA ZUR NAM DÉ SHO HA RA TIM TIM YÉ SOHA

The Five Offerings

How Marvelous! Free from extremes and unchanging is the container of the mind. Free from elaborations, I establish the wick of great self-liberation. I fill the lamp of authentic, completely pervasive great bliss. To the One who has characteristics, I present this butter lamp to look upon with the eye.

This unmoving and naturally clear incense burner is filled with the non-grasping, radiantly clear light of pure incense. The fresh and continuous smoke permeates everywhere. I present this incense to the Protector of beings.

This unfabricated and self-clear water offering bowl is filled with unobstructed, playful self-arising offering water. Having added various ornaments of non-attachment such as nectar and medicine, I present this offering water for the enjoyment of the Dimension of great kindness. 

The primordial Buddha of the conch shell of the mind is filled with manifested experience and realization like an utpal flower. Radiating the wonderful light of spontaneously benefitting others, I present this flower of enlightened activity to the Heart of great kindness. AH OM HUNG NÉ TING SHIM PÖ DANG RA BONG NGÉ NÉ RA ZUR NAM DÉ SHO HA RA TIM TIM SOHA

Praise of the Enlightened State

How marvelous! At the crown of my head, the changeless palace of great bliss, abides the state of Künzang, completely equipoised and free from extremes. I pray to the dimension of the Bön lamas, please hold the migrating beings of the six realms in your compassion and loosen the mind-stream!

At the neck, the space of the palace of Ogmin, are the peaceful and wrathful deities who have the major and minor characteristics. I pray to the dimension of lamas of the Dzok ku, please hold the migrating beings of the six destinies in your compassion and loosen our mind-stream!

At the center of the heart, is the realm of the manifested subduer of migrating beings, the One who teaches whatever is needed and performs a variety of enlightened activity. I pray to the dimension of manifested Lamas, please hold the migrating beings of the six destinies in your compassion and loosen our mind-stream!

To the collective of all the victorious Lamas who has the endowments of leisure and fortune, who teaches the entire collection of scripture with completely pure speech, who has the extensive wisdom of knowledge and kindness, and a mind free from elaboration, who protects migrating beings like their own children with their exalted qualities that come forth, who has spontaneous enlightened activity as limitless as the sky; I pray to the unrivalled Lama, please hold the migrating beings of the six destinies in your compassion and loosen our mind-stream!

I pray to the One who is unrivaled and who has perfected the Three Bodies, please hold the migrating beings of the six destinies in your compassion and loosen our mind-stream! I pray to the One whose speech is the ornament of the world, please hold the migrating beings of the six destinies in your compassion and loosen our mind-stream! I pray to the One who blazes like the incomparable udum flower, please hold the migrating beings of the six destinies in your compassion and loosen our mind-stream! I pray to the One who is free of defilements and has the two kinds of knowledge, please hold the migrating beings of the six destinies in your compassion and loosen our mind-stream!

Receiving the Accomplishments

You, my Lama, who has brought cyclic existence and nirvana under your power, I, and your other followers, pray; please bestow benefits that are as limitless as the sky to migrating beings!  Please grant our wishes to be continuously without separation from your presence! Continuously hold us with your unequalled compassion, we pray!

Aspiration Prayer

Until I obtain complete enlightenment, not born in a negative place, may I obtain a body of renunciation with the advantages of the leisures and fortunes. Having practiced the three trainings and loosened the mind stream,  and having traveled the paths and the grounds, from the state of complete buddhahood, may I accomplish benefit that is equal to the vastness of the sky!

༄༅། །ཨེ་མ་ཧོ།      རྣམ་དག་འགྱུར་མེད་སྤྲུལ་པའི་ཞིང་ཁམས་ནས། དུས་གསུམ་སངས་རྒྱས་ངོ་བོ་བླ་མ་རྗེ། འགྲོ་དྲུག་འཁོར་བའི་ཆུ་ལས་བསྒྲལ་བའི་ཕིར།       བླ་མེད་ཕོ་བྲང་གཞལ་ཡས་གནས་གསུམ་དུ།   སྐྱོན་བྲལ་པདྨ་གསལ་འཚེར་ཉི་ཟླའི་གདན།  གཅན་ལྔ་རིན་ཆེན་ཁྲི་ལ་བཞུགས་སུ་གསོལ།།    ཨ་ཨཱོྃ་ཧཱུྃ༔   ཅི་པར་རདྣ་ཐ་ཚན་ར་ཡོ་ཛ༔

ཕྱག་ནི།  

ཨེ་མ་ཧོ།   རྒྱལ་བ་ཀུན་འདུས་དཔོན་གསས་བླ་མ་ལ།   སྒྲུབ་གཤེན་གཙོར་བྱས་མཁའ་མཉམ་སེམས་ཅན་གྱིས། ལུས་ཕྱག་ཡན་ལག་ལྔ་ལྡན་ཕྱག་འཚལ་ལོ།།     ངག་ཕྱག་སྤྲོ་དགའི་དབྱངས་ཀྱིས་ཕྱག་འཚལ་ལོ།།      ཡིད་ཕྱག་རྩེ་གཅིག་མོས་འདུན་ཕྱག་འཚལ་ལོ།།          སྒོ་གསུམ་ལས་ངན་སྡིག་སྒྲིབ་བྱང་གྱུར་ཅིག ཨ་ཨཱོྃ་ཧཱུྃ༔     ཅི་པར་རདྣ་རྐོ་ཕུང་ཨཀྴོ་ཁྲི་ཙེ་གུ་དུན་ཧྲུན།   

བཤགས་པ།               

ཨེ་མ་ཧོ།   ཡུལ་མཆོག་གཙོ་བོ་བླ་མའི་སྤྱན་སྔར་རུ།     བདག་ནི་ཐོག་མར་འཁྲུལ་ནས་ད་ལྟའི་བར། སྡིག་བཅུ་ལས་སོགས་མི་དགེ་གྱུར་ཚད་བཤགས།  སྡོམ་གསུམ་འགལ་སྲིད་ཁས་བླང་ཉམས་པ་བཤགས། སེམས་ཉིད་མ་རྟོགས་གཟུ་ལུམ་གྱུར་ཚད་བཤགས།    བྱང་དག་ཚངས་པ་མཆོག་གི་དངོས་གྲུབ་སྩོལ།། ཨ་ཨཱོྃ་ཧཱུྃ༔      ཅི་པར་རདྣ་རྐོ་ཕུང་ཨཀྴོ་ཁྲི་ཙེ་ཨུ་དུག་གཤའ་ཡ་ནི་སྭཱཧཱ།

མནྡལ་ནི།

ཨེ་མ་ཧོ།  མཚན་ལྡན་བླ་མ་མཉམ་མེད་ཆེན་པ་ལ།     བླ་མེད་མཆོད་པ་ཕྱི་ནང་གསང་གསུམ་འབུལ། ཕྱི་རུ་སྣོད་བཅུད་འདོད་ཡོན་ཇི་སྙེད་པ།   དེ་ཡང་རང་གི་ལུས་སྲོག་རྒྱན་ལ་སོགས།     དེ་ཡང་ཆགས་མེད་བློ་ཡིས་ལིང་གིས་འབུལ།      ནང་དུ་རང་གི་འབྱུང་དུག་ཕུང་པོ་ལ།     རྟོགས་ཚོགས་གཟུང་འཛིན་འཁྲུལ་པ་ཅི་ཤར་ཡང་།      དེ་ཡང་རང་གྲོལ་ཀློང་དུ་ཁྲོལ་གྱིས་འབུལ།    སྐྱེ་མེད་སྙིང་པོ་སེམས་ཀྱི་རང་མདངས་ལ།  འགག་མེད་སྐུ་དང་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཅི་ཤར་ཡང་།   དེ་ཡང་ཁྱབ་བདལ་ཀློང་དུ་ཕྱམ་གྱིས་འབུལ།།  ཨ་ཨཱོྃ་ཧཱུྃ༔      ཅི་པར་རདྣ་ཟུར་ནམ་དེ་ཤོ་ཧ་ར་ཐིམ་ཐིམ་ཡེ་སྭཱཧཱ།

རྣམ་ལྔ་ནི།         

ཨེ་མ་ཧོ།  མཐའ་བྲལ་འགྱུར་མེད་སེམས་ཀྱི་རྐོང་བུ་རུ།    སྤྲོས་བྲལ་རང་གྲོལ་ཆེན་པོའི་སྡོང་བུ་བཙུགས། ཁྱབ་བདལ་བདེ་ཆེན་གཉུག་མའི་སྒྲོན་མེ་བལྟམས།     མཚན་ལྡན་སྤྱན་ལ་ལྟ་བའི་ཞུག་མར་འབུལ།། གཡོ་མེད་རང་གསལ་ཆེན་པོའི་སྤོས་ཕོར་དུ།      འཛིན་མེད་རང་མདངས་འོད་གསལ་སྤོས་དཀར་བླུགས། སོ་མ་རང་ལྷུག་རྒྱུན་གྱི་དུད་པ་འཐུལ།         འགྲོ་མགོན་ཤང་ལ་བསྣོམ་པའི་སྤོས་མཆོད་འབུལ།།        མ་བཅོས་རང་གསལ་ལྷུག་པའི་ཏིང་ཕོར་དུ།     མ་འགག་རོལ་པ་རང་ཤར་ཡོན་ཆབབ་བླུགས།     སྣ་ཚོགས་རྒྱན་ཤར་ཆགས་མེད་རྩི་སྣམ་བཏབས།   དྲིན་ཆེན་སྐུ་ལ་སྤྱོད་པའི་ཡོན་ཆབ་འབུལ།། ཡེ་ནས་རང་སེམས་སངས་རྒྱས་དུང་ཕོར་དུ།           ཉམས་རྟོགས་མངོན་གྱུར་ཨུ་དཔལ་མེ་ཏོག་བླུགས། ལྷུན་གྲུབ་གཞན་ཕན་ལེགས་པའི་འོད་ཟེར་འཕྲོ།  དྲི་ཆེན་ཐུགས་ལ་འཕྲིན་ལས་མེ་ཏོག་འབུལ།།    ཨཱ་ཨཱོ་ཧཱུྃ༔    ནེ་ཏིང་ཤིམ་ཕོད་དང་ར་བོང་ངེ་ནེ་ར་ཟུར་ནམ་དེ་ཤོ་ཧ་ར་ཐིམ་ཐིམ་སྭཱཧཱ།

སྐུ་བསྟོད་ནི།                

ཨེ་མ་ཧོ།   སྤྱི་གཙུག་འགྱུར་མེད་བདེ་བའི་ཕོ་བྲང་དུ།   ཀུན་སྙོམས་མཐའ་བྲལ་ཀུན་བཟང་ངང་ལ་བཞུགས། བླ་མ་བོན་གྱི་སྐུ་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས།     འགྲོ་དྲུག་ཐུགས་རྗེས་བཟུང་ལ་བདག་རྒྱུད་ཁྲོལ།། མགྲིན་པ་འོག་མིན་དབྱིངས་ཀྱི་ཕོ་བྲང་ན།    ཞི་ཁྲོའི་སྐུ་ལ་མཚན་དང་དཔེ་བྱད་ལྡན།   བླ་མ་རྫོགས་པའི་སྐུ་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས།      འགྲོ་དྲུག་ཐུགས་རྗེས་བཟུང་ལ་བདག་རྒྱུད་ཁྲོལ།།      ཐུགས་ཀ་འགྲོ་འདུལ་སྤྲུལ་པའི་ཞིང་ཁམས་སུ།  གང་མོས་སྐུར་སྟོན་སྣ་ཚོགས་འཕྲིན་ལས་མཁན།   བླ་མ་སྤྲུལ་པའི་སྐུ་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས།        འགྲོ་དྲུག་ཐུགས་རྗེས་བཟུང་ལ་བདག་རྒྱུད་ཁྲོལ།།    དལ་འབྱོར་སྐུ་ལ་རྒྱལ་བ་མ་ལུས་འདུས།        ཚངས་པའི་གསུང་གི་བཀའ་རྒྱུད་མཐའ་དག་སྟོན།        སྤྲོས་བྲལ་ཐུགས་ལ་མཁྱེན་བརྩེའི་ཡེ་ཤེས་རྒྱས།       ལེགས་འབྱུང་ཡོན་ཏན་འགྲོ་ལ་བུ་བཞིན་སྐྱོབས། རྩལ་མེད་ལྷུན་གྲུབ་ནམ་མཁའི་མཐའ་དང་བྲལ།      བླ་མ་འགྲན་ཟླ་བྲལ་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས།   འགྲོ་དྲུག་ཐུགས་རྗེས་འཟུང་ལ་བདག་རྒྱུད་ཁྲོལ།།         མཉམ་མེད་སྐུ་གསུམ་རྫོགས་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས།     འགྲོ་དྲུག་ཐུགས་རྗེས་འཟུང་ལ་བདག་རྒྱུད་ཁྲོལ།། སྨྲ་བའི་འཛམ་གླིང་རྒྱན་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས།    འགྲོ་དྲུག་ཐུགས་རྗེས་བཟུང་ལ་བདག་རྒྱུད་ཁྲོལ།།     མཚུངས་མེད་ཨུ་དུམ་འབར་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས།       འགྲོ་དྲུག་ཐུགས་རྗེས་བཟུང་ལ་བདག་རྒྱུད་ཁྲོལ།། སྒྲིབ་མེད་མཁྱེན་གཉིས་ལྡང་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས།     འགྲོ་དྲུག་ཐུགས་རྗེས་བཟུང་ལ་བདག་རྒྱུད་ཁྲོལ།།

དངོས་གྲུབ་ཞུ་བ་ནི།         

བླ་མ་ཁྱེད་ནི་འཁོར་འདས་རང་དབང་བསྒྱུར།       བདག་སོགས་རྗེས་འབྲང་གསོལ་འདེབས་བུ་རྣམས་ལ། ནམ་མཁའི་མཐའ་དང་བྲལ་བའི་འགྲོ་དོན་སྩོལ།།    འབྲལ་མེད་རྒྱུན་དུ་འགྲོགས་པའི་སྨོན་ལམ་སྩོལ།། མཉམ་མེད་ཐུགས་རྗེས་རྒྱུན་དུ་བཟུང་དུ་གསོལ།།

སྨོན་ལམ་ནི།       

ཇི་སྲིད་རྫོགས་པའི་སངས་རྒྱས་མ་ཐོབ་བར།     དེ་སྲིད་གནས་ངན་ལུས་སྤང་དལ་འབྱོར་ཐོབ། བསླབ་གསུམ་རྒྱུད་ཁྲོལ་ས་ལམ་དུས་གཅིག་བསྒྲོད།   རྫོགས་སངས་རྒྱས་ནས་མཁའ་མཉམ་དོན་བྱེད་ཤོག

Translations from the Tibetan by Raven Cypress Wood ©All Rights Reserved. No content, in part or in whole, is allowed to be used without direct permission from the author.

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Birthday of the Leader of the Yungdrung Bön Religious Tradition, the Supreme 34th Menri Trizin Rinpoche

November 11, 2024 is the birth anniversary of the leader of the Yungdrung Bön religious tradition, the Lord of Refuge and 34th Holder of the Golden Throne of Menri Monastery, the supreme Lungtok Dawa Dargyal Rinpoche. He was born in the Domé region of Tibet and was given the birth name of Norbu Sampel. His family were members of the Pel Shenten Gamel Yungdrung Dargyal Ling community. At the age of five he began school and at the age of eight he began to learn the foundational teachings of Yungdrung Bön. At the age of eleven he entered Gamel Monastery and received the name Zöpa Tsöndrü and received genyen vows. Upon reaching the age of seventeen, he received novice monk vows and was given the name Tsultrim Nyima. One year later, he entered the Gamel Dialectic College.

In 1994, the 33rd throne holder of Menri Monastery, the lord of refuge Lungtok Tenpé Nyima Rinpoche returned to Tibet for the first time since his exile. During his visit to Gamel, he bestowed the complete 250 renunciate vows upon the future 34th throne holder and received from him the name, Dawa Dargyal Wangpo.

Although he had completed his geshe degree in 1996, he traveled to India the following year and began his studies in the Menri dialectic college. In 2012 at the age of 39, he received his Menri Geshe degree in the presence of H.H. 33rd Menri Trizin Rinpoche. He fulfilled many roles within Menri Monastery after his graduation such as serving as treasurer and general secretary. On September 14, 2017 the 33rd Menri Trizin Rinpoche showed the truth of impermanence and passed beyond his physical body. Acting as the general secretary, it was the responsibility of Geshe Dawa Dargyal to organize the memorial and cremation rituals.

Following many days of traditional prayers and rituals, on the morning of January 1, 2018 Geshe Dawa Dargyal was selected as the 34th Menri throne holder. His enthronement ceremony took place on February 20, 2018, the 5th lunar day of the first Tibetan which coincided with the birth anniversary of the second buddha and the one who established Menri Monastery, Nyammé Sherab Gyaltsen.

ཁྲི་འཛིན་སོ་བཞི་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་གསོལ་འདེབས།

Supplication of the Great 34th Throne-holder

ཨེ་མ་ཧོ།

How wonderful!

གྱེར་བསྟན་རིན་ཆེན་མཚན་ཡང་ལྡོག་པའི་ཞིང་།།

In a land isolated from even the name of the precious Bön teachings,
ལུང་རྟོགས་པད་མའི་དགའ་ཚལ་བཞད་པའི་མགོན།།

The oral transmissions and realizations blossomed in the master’s pleasure garden of lotuses.
འཕྲིན་ལས་རྟ་བདུན་སྣང་བ་གཤེགས་པའི་རྗེས།།

Following the enlightened activities of the departed Sun who had appeared,
ཆ་རྫོགས་ཟླ་བའི་མགོན་ལ་གསོལ་བ་འདེབས།།

I supplicate to the master who is a completely full Moon in every way!

མཆོག་གསུམ་ཡེ་ཤེས་སྒྲིབ་བྲལ་སྤྱན་ལྡན་གྱིས།།

By having the eye of immaculate wisdom of the three jewels,
རྒྱལ་བའི་འཕྲིན་ལས་སྐྱོང་བའི་མགོན་བསྐོས་པ།།

You were appointed the Lord who protects the enlightened activities of the buddhas.
གང་འདིའི་གསང་གསུམ་བཞེད་དོན་ལྷུན་གྲུབ་པའི།།

Spontaneously accomplishing any wish of the three secret places,
ཐུགས་མཆོག་གཡེལ་མེད་དམ་པར་མཛད་དུ་གསོལ།།

I supplicate to the excellent, undistracted supreme mind!

Supplication prayer written by H.E. Yondzin Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, translated from the Tibetan by Raven Cypress Wood
Raven Cypress Wood with the supreme 34th Menri Throne holder

Raven Cypress Wood ©All Rights Reserved. No content, in part or in whole, is allowed to be used without direct permission from the author.

All Translations from Tibetan by Raven Cypress Wood

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