“Bright red in colour: Magnetiser of the three realms[i]. Legs stand stretched and bent: non-abiding in the two extremes. The right, sow’s face: non-conceptual, ultimate reality. Devoid of robes: unpolluted by faults. Blazing like an aeon-ending fire: the light of primordial awareness. The left, wrathful face: demonstrating relative reality.”
“In the place of Uddiyana in the midst of a feast gathering, glorious Virūpa, having seen her ‘face’, was inspired to compose this complete song during that playful display.” —Excerpt from ‘ Garland of Playful Display: Praises to Vajravārāhı‘ by 1st Karmapa
Introduction
Today, for the commemoration of the First Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa’s parinirvana, I re-share and compile together some prior research and translations on the First Karmapa’s yidam deity and connection to Vajravārāhi, including my translation of the magnificent Garland of Playful Display: Praises to Vajravārāhi (ཕག་མོའི་བསྟོད་པ་རོལ་པའི་ཕྲེང་བ།, 2021), said to be composed by the great Indian Mahasiddha, Virūpa and passed down to the 1st Karmapa as contained in his Collected Works. I have re-published it in full below, and one can also download the text as a pf file, see here joyful-garland-praise-to-vajravarahiDownload.
First I share my prior research and translations on the 1st Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa (Dus gsum mkhyen pa, 1110–1193) and his connection to Vajrayogini. As I wrote about here before[i], in the First Karmapa’s Collected Works, there are eleven texts including the five deity form of Vajravārāhı, and four-faced, two-faced and one-faced Vajrayogini practices.
The two-faced one refers to the yogini with a female pig sow’s head squealing loudly (as the second head), Vajravārāhı (Dorje Phagmo). For a reel I made recently, on the symbolism of Vārāhı and the sow’s head in particular, see Who is Vajravarahi? here.
I have translated three texts by the 1st Karmapa on Vajravārāhi, including a short daily sadhana, which can be downloaded on request here. They can only be practiced by those with a suitable Vajravārāhi empowerment and transmission from a qualified master, as well as significant prior practice of the four common and four uncommon preliminaries.
During his life, the 1st Karmapa had several pure visions of Vajravārāhi at one of his main seats in Tibet, Khampo Nenang, including Vārāhı Kechari and also Vajrayogini with one thousand heads and one thousand arms, surrounded by thirty-six yoginis. In Dowo, he had a vision of a four-faced Vārāhı. He also had a vision of a two-faced Vajrayogini at Mount Drushi.
The First Karmapa passed into parinirvana in 1193, at Tsurphu Monastery, Tibet:
“With the far-ranging deeds of his life thus complete, in 1193, Dusum Khyenpa entrusted his books and relics to his main student, Drogon Rechen, to whom he had already handed the prediction letter regarding his next reincarnation. He gave away the remainder of his possessions to various Dharma communities in Gampopa’s lineage.
On the third day of the Tibetan New Year, Dusum Khyenpa gave a final Dharma teaching to the assembly at Tsurphu, lifted his gaze to the sky and entered meditation. He sat thus meditating for the remainder of the morning. At noon, the First Karmapa relinquished the body he had used to benefit beings in that lifetime, and moved on to take the next, as Karma Pakshi, the Second Karmapa.”
For other research and translations and an outline of the Collected Works of the 1st Karmapa, see here.
May this article on the 1st Karmapa and Vajravārāhi be of benefit to the lineage of Karmapas, the teachings, and to infinite beings. May all realize the fully awakened state of Vajrayogini!
Originally written and compiled by Adele Tomlin, 10th November 2020, republished and shared on 22nd December 2025, for the occasion of the 1st Karmapa’s parinirvana commemoration.
1st Karmapa and Vajravārāhi
Nāropa’s lineage of Vajrayogini
The Karmapas are lineage holders of the practice of Vajrayogini as passed down from Nāropa to Marpa to Milarepa to the 1st Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa onwards. As I wrote about here, it is not correct to say that Nāropa did not pass the lineage to Marpa, although some online sources do assert that. What they actually mean is that the lineage the Karmapas received from Marpa is slightly different to the Khacheri Vajrayogini lineage passed down from Nāropa mainly to Sakya masters[ii]. However, the Karmapas did receive that form of Vajrayogini as well.
Pure Visions of 1st Karmapa
During his life, the 1st Karmapa had several pure visions of Vajrayogini. These are detailed in a new English language book, compiled from Tibetan source historical texts on Dusum Khyenpa’s life by HH 17th Karmapa, Orgyen Trinley Dorje. The book is available for free download here. I have also translated a freely downloadable biographical-supplication-to-1st-karmapa.
Dusum Khyenpa had several pure visions at one of his main seats in Tibet, Khampo Nenang, including Vārāhı Kechari and also Vajrayogini with one thousand heads and one thousand arms, surrounded by thirty-six yoginis. In Dowo, he has a vision of a four-faced Vārāhı[iii]. He also had a vision of a two-faced Vajrayogini at Mount Drushi.
The Texts
The three short texts on Vajrayogini I have translated can be found in The Collected Works of the Garland of Karmapas[iv] (published in Lhasa, Tibet in 2013) and also in an edition of the 1st Karmapa’s collected works published by Dzongsar Khyentse Labrang, India [v]. [Update: December 2025, I have now created a website with the outlines of the Karmapas’ Collected Works, including the 1st Karmapa’s here.]
The first text is a very concise one folio page practice of the Five Deity Vajravārāhı Indian root text [vi], the second a slightly longer (although still short) Sadhana of Five Deity Vajravārāhı [vii]. It is of one-faced Vajrayogini, with both a creation and completion stage. The text details the lineage of the practice referring to Indian siddhas such as Dharikapa, Shinglopa and Karnaripa who are associated with the teachings of the four transmissions given to Tilopa (guru of Nāropa )[ix]. These words appear to have been added after Dusum Khyenpa passed away though as they refer to teachers that came after him:
“In order to perfect the intention and mind of Guru Nāropa , Guru Dharikapa[x] is the lineage. Then, Dorje Chang, Thanglopa, Shinglopa, Karnaripa[xi], Indraripa, Indrabhodi, Nāropa, Marpa, Milarepa, Dagpo [Gampopa], Dusum Khyenpa, Drogon Rechen, Pomdragpa, Karmapa [2nd], Zhonu Rinchen, Shar Gonpo, Kunga Ozer[xii].”
The third is a Garland of Playful Display: Praises to Vajravārāhı[viii]. The Praise is a poetic description of the visualization of two-faced Vajravārāhı and what each aspect of her symbolizes:
“Bright red in colour: Magnetiser of the three realms[i]. Legs stand stretched and bent: non-abiding in the two extremes. The right, sow’s face: non-conceptual, ultimate reality. Devoid of robes: unpolluted by faults. Blazing like an aeon-ending fire: the light of primordial awareness. The left, wrathful face: demonstrating relative reality.” —Excerpt from ‘ Garland of Playful Display: Praises to Vajravārāhı‘ by 1st Karmapa
1st Karmapa’s Biographical background
In terms of the life of 1st Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa, (as mentioned above) recently, the 17th Karmapa, compiled a book on his life (translated by Karma David Chophel). Also, according to a recent teaching on Dusum Khyenpa by the 17th Karmapa[xiii]:
“Long before his eventual birth, Dusum Khyenpa’s coming was predicted in many sutras and tantras, such as the Samadhiraja Sutra. His life-story is filled with miraculous feats of spiritual accomplishment and signs of his high degree of realization, beginning right from when he was still in his mother’s womb.
A a child Dusum Khyenpa became famous for other miraculous feats such as creating springs, leaving handprints and footprints in many boulders, subduing a demon at the age of 8, and making rain fall during a very dry summer at the age of 9. At the age of 11 Dusum Khyenpa was able to pacify conflict throughout the region using extraordinary tantric means. It was at the age of 16, when Dusum Khyenpa ordained as a novice monk[xiv] that he first came to possess the famous black crown that is now synonymous with the Karmapas.
In the historical accounts, at that time Dusum Khyenpa had a pure vision in which 100,000 dakinis appeared and placed the black crown on his head. Together they empowered him as the ‘doer of the activities of all the Buddhas’, and gave him the name Karmapa (he was also called ‘Khampa U-ser’ (yellow-haired Khampa) and ‘monkey-face’) [xv]. In some of the biographies, it is said that all those who were present even saw this vision[xvi].”
There is also an interesting tale as to why Dusum Khyenpa was the student most devoted to Gampopa and thus came to be the head of the Karma Kagyu lineage, with the example of his making a hat with cloth given to him by Gampopa[xvii]. After that:
“Dusum Khyenpa then trained with a number of teachers belonging to the nascent Kagyu tradition. These incuded Milarepa’s own disciple Rechung Dorje Drak (ras chung rdo rje grags pa, 1085-1161); Ponpuk Tongyal (spon phug ston rgyal, d.u.).From these and other lamas he received the full transmission of Gampopa’s teachings, his blending of tantic yoga – such as Mahāmudrā, Cakrasaṃvara, Hevajra, the Naro Chodruk (na ro chos drug) – with Kadampa-derived monasticism. He also studied Lamdre (lam ‘bras) with the Sakya master Senpa Dorje Sengge (gsen pa rdo rje seng ge, d.u.) at Yarlung Pukmoche (yar klungs phug mo che).
He spent the next several years in various places in southern and central Tibet and Bhutan meditating in caves and returning to report his progress to Gampopa. Among the sites were Gyu Pelri (brgyud dpal ri) and Shau Tago (sha ‘ug stag sgo/ sa ‘ug stag mgo), near Sakya Monastery. At one point he met a disciple of Nāropa residing at a monastery called Zhunye Bardzong (gzhu snye bar rdzong) who gave him additional Mahāmudrā instructions. While in southern Tibet, in 1154, Dusum Khyenpa founded a monastery called Lhalung (lha lung) in Lhodrak (lho brag), which later became the seat of the Pawo (dpa’ bo) incarnation line.
At the age of 55 (1164), Düsum Khyenpa founded a monastery at Kampo Nénang[xviii]; and at the age of 60 (1169), he started the Panphuk monastery in Lithang, in East Tibet. Later, at the age of 76 (1185), he established an important seat at Karma Gon (see image above), in eastern Tibet (1184). At the age of 80 (1189), he established his main seat at Tsurphu, in the Tolung valley, a river which feeds into the Brahmaputra, in central Tibet.”
1st Karmapa’s Garland of Playful Display: Praises to Vajravārāhı
The Praises by 1st Karmapa are a poetic description of the visualization of two-faced Vajravārāhı and what each aspect of her symbolizes. It stands alone as a praise and visualization. For more on the 1st Karmapa’s connection and writings on Vajrayoginī, please see here.
Interestingly, the Praises contain a reference to Virupa (Sanskrit: Virūpa; bi ru pa or bir wa pa, lit. ’ugly one’) a 7-8th century Indian mahasiddha and yogi who was born in Bengal), who having seen the face of Vajrayoginī amidst a feast gathering, then composed ten verses of Praise spontaneously during that vision. Virupa got the lineage of Vārāhī from Indrabhuti, for more on the lineages of Vajrayoginī, see here.
FIRST KARMAPA’S WORKS ON VAJRAYOGINI
Collected Works TBRC W23651
Volume One
- Indian Root Text of the Exalted Lady section of the Five Deity Vajravārāhı from Master Düsum Khyenpa’s Five Sets of Five (rje dus gsum mkhyen pa’i lnga tshan lnga las phag mo lha lnga’i skor las rje btsun ma’i rgya gzhung).
- Practice of the Five Deity Vajravārāhı (phag mo lha lnga’i sgrub thabs).
- Empowerment Ritual of the Five Deity Vajravārāhı (phag mo lha lnga’i dbang mchog)
- The Yidam of the Precious One, the Four-faced Vajrayogini (rin po che’i thugs dam phag mo zhal bzhi ma).
- Section on the Four-faced Vajrayogini (rdo rje rnal ‘byor ma zhal bzhi ma’i skor).
- Secret Vajrayogini practice (dpal rdo rje rnal ‘byor ma’i gsang sgrub kyi skor).
Volume Two
- Praise of Vajravārāhı – The Joyful Garland (phag mo’i bstod pa rol pa’i phreng ba).
- The Visualisation Instruction of the Two-faced Lady (zhal gnyis ma’i mngon rtogs).
- Practice Guide of the Glorious Vajrayogini and the History of the Exalted Sahaja Lady and others (dpal rdo rje rnal ‘byor ma’i sgrub thabs dang rje btsun ma lhan skyes jo mo’i lo rgyus sogs kyi skor).
- Vajrayogini practice and the story of how Marpa met Niguma.
- Practice and Empowerment of the Two-faced Vajravārāhı Together with Empowerment (phag mo zhal gnyis ma’i sgrub thabs dbang bskur dang bcas pa).
- Practice of the One-faced Lady, Together with the Fire Puja of Four Activities and the Completion Phase (zhal gcig ma’i sgrub thabs las bzhi sbyin sreg rdzogs rim dang bcas pa’i skor).
- Vajravārāhı practice together with Fire Puja of Four Activities and Completion Phase
See Collected Works of First Karmapa, here
Garland of Playful Display: Praises to Vajravārāhı
ཕག་མོའི་བསྟོད་པ་རོལ་པའི་ཕྲེང་བ།
By 1st Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa
རྡོ་རྗེ་ཕག་མོའི་བསྟོད་པ་རོལ་བའི་ཕྲེང་བ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ༎ རྒྱ་གར་སྐད་དུ། བཛྲ་བར་ཨཱ་ཧི་ལྟོ་ཏྲ་ལ་ལི་ཏ་ཨ་མཱ་ལ་ན་མ།
In Sanskrit: Vajravārāhı Totra Lalita Māla བོད་སྐད་དུ། རྡོ་རྗེ་ཕག་མོའི་བསྟོད་པ་རོལ་བའི་ཕྲེང་བ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ།
In Tibetan: Dorje Phagmo Töpa Rolwai Threngwa/
རྡོ་རྗེ་ཕག་མོ་ལ་ཕྱག་འཚལ་ལོ།། dorjé phagmo la chaktsal lo
I prostrate to Vajravārāhı!
ཏཱཾ་དུས་གསུམ་རྣམ་དག་ཟག་མེད་གཞལ་ཡས་ཁང་༎ ཉེས་པའི་སྐྱོན་སྤངས་སྣ་ཚོགས་པད་མའི་དབུས༎
tam dü sum namdak zakmé zhalyékhang nyepé kyön pang natsok pemé ü
From TAM a completely pure, stainless palace of the three times, at the centre of a multi-coloured lotus: completely free of faults and sins.
བདག་མེད་ལྷུན་གྲུབ་མི་རོ་གདལ་བའི་སྟེང་༎ གདུལ་བྱའི་དོན་སྟོན་ཉི་མའི་གདན་སྟེང་ན༎
dakmé lhündrub mi ro dalwé teng duljé dön tön nyimé den teng na
On top of a human corpse: spontaneously accomplished selflessness. On a sun seat: teaching for the benefit of disciples.
ཤེས་རབ་མཐར་ཕྱིན་ཐབས་མཆོག་རོལ་པའི་སྐུ༎ བདེ་བའི་་ཉམས་རྒྱས་བཅུ་དྲུག་ལོ་ལོན་ཚུལ༎
sherab tarchin thab chok rolpé ku dé wai nyam gyé chudruk lo lön tshul
A playful form: the supreme method of prajñāpāramitā. Sixteen year old aspect: the flourishing experience of bliss.
ཁམས་གསུམ་དབང་མཛད་ལེབ་རྒན་དམར་བའི་མདོག། མཐའ་གཉིས་མི་གནས་བརྐྱང་བསྐུམ་འགྱིང་བག་ཅན༎
kham sum wang dzé leb gen marwé dok tha nyi mi né kyangkum gying bagchen
Bright red[1] in colour: Magnetizer of the three realms[2]. Stance of legs stretched and bent: non-abiding in the two extremes.
ཡེ་ཤེས་འོད་ཚོགས་བསྐལ་པའི་མེ་ལྟར་འབར༎ ཀུན་རྫོབ་ཚུལ་སྟོན་ཞལ་གཡོན་ཁྲོ་མོ་སྟེ༎
yeshe ö tshog kalpé mé tar bar kündzob tsul tön zhal gyön thromo té
Blazing like a kalpa-ending fire: the mass light of primordial awareness. Left wrathful face: demonstrating relative reality.
དོན་དམ་རྟོག་མེད་གཡས་པ་ཕག་གདོང་ཞལ༎ སྐྱོན་གྱིས་མ་གོས་ན་བཟའ་དང་བྲལ་མ༎
döndam tokmé yepa phak dong zhal kyön gyi ma gö na za dang dral ma
Right sow pig face: non-conceptual ultimate reality. Without clothing: unpolluted by faults.
མཚན་མ་རྒྱན་གཅོད་གཡས་པ་གྲི་གུག་སྟེ༎ བདེ་བའི་རོ་མྱོང་གཡོན་པ་ཐོད་ཁྲག་བསྣམས༎
tsenma gyen chö gyepa driguk té dewé ro nyong yönpa tötrak nam
Right [hand] holds a curved knife: severing adorning characteristics. Left [hand] holds a skull-cup of blood: the experiential taste of bliss.
རྣལ་འབྱོར་རྟགས་མཚན་ཁ་ཊྭཱཾ་གྱེན་དུ་འཛིན༎ སེམས་བྱུང་རྣམ་དག་མགོ་རློན་དོ་ཤལ་ཅན༎
naljor taktshen khatwam gyendu dzin semjung namdak go lön doshal chen
Bearing a Khatvanga staff aloft: symbolising the yogi. Necklace of freshly severed heads: completely pure mental factors.
བདག་མེད་རྒྱན་ཅན་རུས་པའི་འཁོར་ལོས་མཛས༎ རྟོགས་པས་མ་བཅིངས་དབུ་སྐྲ་ཐུར་དུ་གྲོལ༎
dakmé gyenchen rüpé khorlö dzé tokpé ma ching utra thurdu drol
Surrounded by beautiful, bone ornaments: endowed with selflessness. Hair flowing loose: unbound by concepts.
རྒྱལ་བའི་གདུང་སོབ་རིགས་ལྔའི་ཐོད་པས་བརྒྱན༎ སྟོང་པའི་རྒྱས་བཏབ་རྡོ་རྗེའི་ཕྲེང་བས་བསྡུ༎
gyalwé dung sob rik ngé töpé gyen tongpé gyetab dorjé trengwé dü
Adorned with a skull crown of five: Victorious Regent of the five families. Gathered in a vajra garland: sealed with emptiness.
རྣམ་ཐར་གསུམ་མཚོན་སྤྱན་གསུམ་དམར་ལ་བཟླུམ༎ མི་བསྐྱོད་རིགས་འཛིན་སྤྱི་གཙུག་རྡོ་རྗེས་མཚན༎
namthar sum tsön chen sum mar la dum mi kyö rikdzin chitsuk dorjé tshen
Three round, red eyes: symbolizing the three liberations[3]. Vajra at the crown apex: unshakeable awareness-holder.
མ་ལུས་མཚན་སྤྲས་གྲོལ་བས་ཅི་ཡང་སྣང་༎ དབྱིངས་ལས་མ་གཡོས་རྡོ་རྗེ་ཕག་མོར་འདུད༎
malü tshen tré drolwé chiyang nang ying ley ma yö dorje phag mor dü
Liberating all adorning characteristics without exception, Unwavering from the expanse, to Vajravārāhı, bow down!
རྣལ་འབྱོར་མར་འདུད་མཁའ་འགྲོའི་གཙོ་མོར་འདུད༎ རིགས་ཀྱི་ཡུམ་འདུད་འགྲོ་བའི་འབྱུང་གནས་འདུད༎
naljormar dü khandrö tsomor dü rik kyi yum dü drowé jungné dü
To the yoginī bow down! To the chief of ḍākinīs, bow down! To mother of the families, bow down! To source of wanderers, bow down!
ཉམས་དང་རྗེས་མཐུན་དབྱངས་ཀྱི་ང་རོ་ཡིས༎ ཚེས་བཅུའི་དུས་སུ་དཔའ་བོ་སྟོན་བྱས་པས༎
nyam dang jetün yang kyi ngaro yi tshé chü dü su pawo tön jepé
Who with a roaring sound concordant with experience, teaches the dakas on the tenth date,
བདེ་བའི་རོ་མྱོང་དོན་གྱི་མཐའ་གསལ་ཏེ༎ སྟོང་ཉིད་ངང་ནས་ཉམས་ཀྱི་དབང་ཐོབ་ཤོག༎
dewé ro nyong dön gyi tha sal té tongnyi ngang né nyam kyi wang thob shok
Completely clear meaning, experiential taste of bliss. May we attain the power of experience from within emptiness!
རྡོ་རྗེ་ཕག་མོའི་བསྟོད་པ་རོལ་པའི་ཕྲེང་བ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ༎ That is called the Garland Of Playful Display: Praises to Vajravārāhı.
ཨུ་རྒྱན་གྱི་གནས་སུ་ཚོགས་གྲལ་དུ་དཔལ་འབིར་བ་པས་ཞལ་གཟིགས་ནས་དེའི་དུས་སུ་རོལ་པས་མགུར་དུ་བཞེངས་པ་རྫོགས་སོ༎
In the place of Uddiyana in the midst of a feast gathering, glorious Virūpa[4], having seen her ‘face’, was inspired to compose this complete song during that playful display.
ཆོས་ཀྱི་དབྱིངས་ཀྱི་ཕོ་བྲང་ནས༎ སྟོང་ཉིད་སྙིང་རྗེའི་ངང་ལ་བཞུགས༎
chos kyi dbyings kyi pho brang nas stong nyid snying rje’i ngang la bzhugs
From the palace of the dharmadhātu, abides emptiness-compassion.
འགྲོ་ལ་སྙིང་རྗེའི་སྐུར་བསྟན་པའི་རྗེ་བཙུན་མ་ལ་ཕྱག་འཚལ་ལོ༎
dro la nyingjé kur tenpé jetsünma la chaktsal lo/
To the teacher who has compassion for all wanderers, to venerable lady pay homage!
གཡས་པ་གྲི་གུག་ནམ་མཁར་ཕྱར༎ གཡོན་པ་བནྡྷ་ཐུགས་ཀར་འཛིན༎ སྐྲག་གྲོལ་གཅེར་བུ་ཕྱག་གཉིས་མ༎
yepa driguk namkhar char/ yönpa bendha tukkar dzin/ trak drol cherbu chak nyi ma
In the right, a curved knife held aloft in space. In the left, holding a skull-cup at the heart. Hair flowing loose, naked with two arms.
མགོ་བོའི་ཕྲེང་བའི་དོ་ཤལ་ཅན༎ ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ལྔ་ཡི་གར་མཛད་མ༎ རྣལ་འབྱོར་མ་ལ་ཕྱག་འཚལ་ལོ༎
gowö trengwé doshal chen/ chakgya nga yi gar dzé ma/ naljorma la chaktsal lo/
A necklace garland of heads; five mūdras of the dancing lady, to Vajrayoginī pay homage!
ཧཾ་ཡོཾ་ས་བོན་ལས་བྱུང་པའི༎ མཐིང་ཤུན་མདོག་ཅན་ལྷ་མོ་ནི༎
ham yom sabon le jungwe/ thingshun dogchen lhamo ni/
From seed syllables HAṂ YAṂ, copper-coloured goddess,
ཐོད་ཁྲག་བདུད་བཞི་འཇོམས༎ ཡ་མ་ནི་ལ་ཕྱག་འཚལ་བསྟོད༎
thötrak dü zhi jom/ ya ma ni la chag tshal tö/
A blood-filled skull-cup: conquered the four maras. To Yamani, pay homage and praise!
ཧྲིཾ་མོཾ་ས་བོན་ལས་བྱུང་པའི༎ དུང་གི་མདོག་ཅན་ལྷ་མོ་ནི༎
hrim mom sa bön lé jung wé/ dung gi dok chen lha mo ni/
From seed syllables HRIṂ MOṂ, the conch-shell coloured goddess,
མགོ་བོ་རློན་པའི་དོ་ཤལ་བྱས༎ རྨོངས་བྱེད་མ་ལ་བདག་བསྟོད་དོ༎
gowo lön pé do shel jé/ mong jé ma la dak tö do/
A necklace of freshly severed heads; to Mohani[5] I praise!
ཧྲི་མཾ་ས་བོན་ལས་བྱུང་པའི༎ གསེར་གྱི་མདོག་ཅན་ལྷ་ལྔ་མོ་ནི༎
hri mam sa bön lé jung wé/ ser gyi dok chen lha nga mo ni/
From the seed syllables HRIṂ MAṂ, the golden-coloured goddess,
ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ལྔ་ཡིས་བརྒྱན་པ་སྟེ༎ སྐྲག་བྱེད་མ་ལ་བདག་བསྟོད་དོ༎
chak gya nga yi gyen pa té/ trak jé ma la dak tö do/
Adorned with the five symbolic mūdras, to Tragjema I praise!
ཧུཾ་ཧུཾ་ས་བོན་ལས་བྱུང་བའི༎ ལྗང་གུའི་མདོག་ཅན་ལྷ་མོ་ནི༎
hum hum sa bön lé jungwé / jang gü dok chen lha mo ni/
From the seed syllables HUṂ HUṂ, the green-coloured goddess,
ཁ་ཊྭཾ་རྩེ་གསུམ་ཕྱག་ན་བསྣམས༎ སྲེག་བྱེད་མ་ལ་ཕྱག་འཚལ་བསྟོད༎
kha twam tsé sum chak na nam / sek jé ma la chak tsel tö/
Holding a three-pronged Khatvanga staff, to Sekjema pay homage!
ཕཊ་ཕཊ་ས་བོན་ལས་བྱུང་པའི༎ དུ་བའི་མདོག་ཅན་ལྷ་མོ་ནི༎
phat phat sa bön lé jung wé/ duwé dok chen lha mo ni/
From the seed syllables PHAT PHAT, the smoke-coloured goddess,
ཉི་མའི་གདན་ལ་བརྐྱང་བསྐུམ་བཞུགས༎ ཙཎྜི་ཀ་ལ་ཕྱག་འཚལ་བསྟོད༎
nyi mé den la kyang kum zhuk/ tsindaka la chak tsel tö/
Abiding on a sun seat with legs stretched and bent, to Tsindaka pay homage!
ཚིགས་སུ་བཅད་པ་བཅུའི་བསྟོད་པ་རྫོགས་སོ༎ ༎
tsik su ché pa chui tö pa dzok so//
The ten verses of praise are complete.
Endnotes for the Praises
[1] The Tibetan leb rgan seems to be a type of Indian gur gum, a tree which bears white fruit. [2] The three realms are the desire realm (‘dod khams, kAmadhAtu), form realm (gzugs khams, rUpadhAtu), and formless realm (gzugs med khams, arUpyadhAtu).
[3] These are the three liberations (stong pa nyid, mtshan ma med pa, smon pa med pa).
[4] Virupa (Sanskrit: Virūpa; Tib. bi ru pa or bir wa pa, lit. ’ugly one’) was born in Bengal, a 7-8th century Indian mahasiddha and yogi, and the source of important cycles of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism.
[5] Literally the one who makes stupid/dull.
ENDNOTES
[i] Vajrayogini and the Karmapas, Adele Tomlin, September 2020: https://dakinitranslations.com/2020/09/05/vajrayogini-and-the-karmapas/.
[ii] Translator-scholar, Sarah Harding, also wrote an interesting Tsadra Foundation blog post about a historical contention that Marpa does not have the Vajravārāhı transmission, something that Marpa himself clearly disagrees with, and one of Marpa’s texts on Vajrayogini practice is included in the 6th Karmapa’s Collected Works.
[iii] Dusum Khyenpa’s Spiritual Biography in Verse (pp.219, The Life and Teachings of Dusum Khyenpa. Khenpo David Karma Choepel and Michelle Martin, translators. Woodstock: KTD Publications, 2019).
[iv] In Karma pa sku phreng rim byon gyi gsung ‘bum phyogs bsgrigs/. TBRC W3PD1288. 1: 341 – 341. lha sa/: dpal brtsegs bod yig dpe rnying zhib ‘jug khang /, 2013?.
[v] In The Collected Works of Dusum Khyenpa (gsung ‘bum/_dus gsum mkhyen pa/. TBRC W23651. 1: 389 – 402. gangtok: dzongsar chhentse labrang, 1980.)
[vi] Indian Root Text of the Five Deity Varahi (Phag mo lha lnga’i skor las rje btsun ma’i rgya gzhung /.) In Karma pa sku phreng rim byon gyi gsung ‘bum phyogs bsgrigs/. TBRC W3PD1288. 1: 341 – 341. lha sa/: dpal brtsegs bod yig dpe rnying zhib ‘jug khang /, 2013?.
[vii] The Tibetan text is called: Phag mo lha lnga’i sgrub thabs/. In Karma pa sku phreng rim byon gyi gsung ‘bum phyogs bsgrigs/. TBRC W3PD1288. 1: 342 – 345. lha sa/: dpal brtsegs bod yig dpe rnying zhib ‘jug khang /, 2013?.
[viii] The Tibetan text is called: rDo rje phag mo’i bstod pa rol ba’i phreng ba zhes bya ba/.
[ix] The four special lineages/transmissions; 1) sgyu lus ‘pho ba’i bka’ babs: the yoga of illusory body and consciousness transference. 2) rmi lam gyi bka’ babs the yoga of dreams. 3) ‘od gsal gyi bka’ babs the yoga of clear light mind. 4. gtum mo’i bka’ babs: the yoga of psychic heat. Mother Tantra came from Sumati, Shinglopa, Thanglopa, and Karnaripa. Tilopa taught that he heard these teachings from Karnaripa.
[x] This seems to be referring to King Dārikapa who was the King of Jhalandhara at the time of Luipa (nya’i rgyu ma za ba), a mahasiddha of India, a guru of Naropa. Online sources say that: “The Guru Darikapa was once the King of Pataliputra, known as Indrapala then. He was bought as a slave and served a prostitute for twelve years at the command of Luipa. Dharikapa, a king who abdicated his throne to become a disciple of the mahasiddha Luipa. Having renounced all possessions, Dharikapa offered himself in slavery to Luipa in order to cover the fee paid to one’s guru. In time, Luipa sold Dharikapa to a temple dancer named Dharima. After he had served her for twelve years, one day Dharima witnessed Dharikapa sitting on a levitating throne and teaching the tantric path to enlightenment. Begging his forgiveness for his enslavement, she asked to become his disciple.
[xi] In terms of the mother tantra, these are said to have come from Sumati, Shinglopa, Thanglopa, and Karnaripa. Tilopa taught that he heard these teachings from Karnaripa.
[xii] The Tibetan reads: rje nA ro paN chen gyis rgyud sdom pa rgya mtsho la brtan nas ‘di’i sgrub thabs ‘di bla ma nA ro pa’i thugs dgongs rdzogs pa’i phyir/ bla ma dh+ha ri ka pas so// ‘di’i rgyud pa ni/ rdo rje ‘chang thang lo pa/ shing lo pa/ kar+Na ri pa/ Indra ri pa/ Indra bo d+dhi/ nA ro pa/ mar pa/ mid la dwag po/ dus gsum mkhyen pa/ ‘gro mgon ras chen/ spom brag pa/ kar+ma pa/ gzhon nu rin chen/ shar dgon pa/ kun dga’ ‘od zer/ bsod nams dpal/ de bdag la’o//
[xiii] See: https://kagyuoffice.org/anniversary-of-dusum-khyenpa/
[xiv] From his Treasury of Lives biography:
“When Dusum Khyenpa was sixteen, in 1124, he took novice ordination with the Kadam monk Trewo Chokgi Lama (tre bo mchog gi bla ma), a disciple of Ngok Lotsāwa Loden Sherab (rngog lo tsA ba blo ldan shes rab, 1059-1109) and his uncle, Ngok Lekpai Sherab (rngog legs pa’i shes rab, 1018-1115). Chokgi Lama gave him the name Chokyi Drakpa (chos kyi grags pa). He entered into two years of retreat at Treka Drak (tre ka brag) with other Kadam lamas, learning the Cakrasaṃvara and other tantric lineages of Atiśa Dīpaṃkara from Yol Chowang (yol chos dbang, d.u.), who was a disciple of Atiśa himself, and Geshe Trarawa (dge bshes kra ra ba, d.u.), Yol Chowang’s disciple. It is said that when Dusum Khyenpa was sixteen he was given a black hat woven from the hair of ten thousand ḍākinī.”
[xv] The 17th Gyalwang Karmapa also related how throughout his life Dusum Khyenpa was known by a series of different names, including Khampa U-ser, ‘the yellow-haired Khampa’. “Since he was a child he was blond,” the Gyalwang Karmapa said, “and his face was just like the face of a monkey.” Karmapa told the story of how in a previous life Dusum Khyenpa had insulted a monk, telling him his face looked like a monkey. With this one act, the Gyalwang Karmapa explained, he created the karma to be reborn with monkey features himself for many lifetimes, and Dusum Khyenpa was the last of these monkey-faced lives. See: https://kagyuoffice.org/anniversary-of-dusum-khyenpa/.
[xvi] The Kagyu Office website states that: “Upon receiving his monastic vows, Dusum Khyenpa had a vision that the Buddha presented him with a black hat. He later fashioned a physical hat modelled on the one in his vision, and this became the first material hat associated with the Karmapa line. At this time, he was given his epithet “Karmapa,” or “Being of Enlightened Activity,” as a secret name. “
[xvii] “Although Gampopa was guiding vast numbers of students at this point, Dusum Khyenpa’s tremendous devotion to Gampopa lent a distinct flavor to their lama-disciple relationship. During one of the periods Dusum Khyenpa was staying at Daklha Gampo, Gampopa distributed cloth to his three close disciples from Kham—Seltong Shogom, Phagmodrupa and Dusum Khyenpa, known among Gampopa’s disciples as the Three Men from Kham. Gampopa instructed each of them to make a hat from the material. Dusum Khyenpa valued so highly the cloth he received from his lama that he painstakingly fashioned it into the most beautiful shape he could. Some time later, Gampopa called the three disciples and asked them to bring the hats they had made. Seltong Shogom had neglected to attend to the task, and when the summons came, he hastily attempted to craft the material into a hat-like shape. Dusum Khyenpa, meanwhile, arrived with the resplendent hat he had taken such care to construct.
Dusum Khyenpa’s exertions with the fabric reveal a great deal about his character. His care in transforming what Gampopa had given him into a glorious crown was interpreted as an auspicious sign for the future of the lineage he had received from Gampopa—the lineage known today as the Karma Kagyu. Indeed, Dusum Khyenpa’s efforts to preserve and value what Gampopa had given him have yielded beautiful and long-lasting results.”
[xviii] According to an online tourist source: “With height of (6,204m/20,350ft), Mount Genyen is located in Lithang, western Sichuan. It is the third highest mountain in Sichuan and it is surrounded by over 30 peaks exceeding 5,000m/16,400ft ASL. It is regarded as the 13th most holy mountain amongst the 24 holy mountains of Tibetan Buddhism. It is located at the heart of Mount Genyen in the Gamula Valley east to the peak of Genyen. It is a small monastery with grey walls and red roof standing on the rock.”
Bibliography/ Further Reading
- The First Karmapa. Dusum Khyenpa. 2019. The Life and Teachings of Dusum Khyenpa. Khenpo David Karma Choepel and Michelle Martin, translators. Woodstock: KTD Publications.
- Jackson, David. 2009. “The Black Hats of the Karmapas.” In Patron and Painter; Situ Paṇchen and the Revival of the Encampments Style, pp. 39-69. New York: Rubin Museum of Art.
- Richardson, Hugh. 1998 (1958-1959). “The Karma-pa Sect: A Historical Note.” In High Peaks, Pure Earth. Michael Aris, ed. London: Serindia, pp. 337-378.
- Roerich, George, trans. 1996. The Blue Annals. 2nd ed. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas, pp. 474-480.
- Tomlin, Adele, 2020. Vajrayogini and the Karmapas, http://www.dakinitranslations.com.
- Biography of Dusum Khyenpa by 2nd Zhamarpa (Zhwa dmar 02 mkha’ spyod dbang po. 1978. Dus gsum mkhyen pa’i rnam thar dgos ‘dod kun ‘byung) In The Collected Writings (Gsung ‘bum) of the Second Zhwa dmar Mkha’ spyod dbang po. Gonpo Tseten, Palace Mon., Gangtok 1978, vol. I, pp. 435-504.
- Dragpa Jungner (Grags pa ‘byung gnas) 1992. Gangs can mkhas grub rim byon ming mdzod. Lanzhou: Kan su’u mi rigs dpe skrun khang, pp. 19-20.