A Message to My Beloved Friends
From Hung Kar Dorje Rinpoche on the passing of His Holiness Orgyen Kusum Lingpa
March 5, 2009
One thing we should understand in terms of the view of interdependence is that each and every phenomenon has its own source and reason for being. And so there is a reason why we have come to know one another so well and become such good friends. The reason for this is the presence of conducive conditions and the existence of outstanding aspirations; we can be quite sure about that. Because of our connection that springs from conducive conditions and fine aspirations, whenever any one of us goes through difficult times, the rest of us step forward and try to help out as much as we can.
In recent years, all of you friends, wherever you may be found throughout the world, have provided incredible support to Lama Sang and indeed to all of our projects, and shown utmost concern for us in every possible way. Your kindness is indelible and always will be remembered. In keeping with the current situation, speaking as the representative of body, speech and mind of our precious guru Orgyen Kusum Lingpa, I wish to offer my sincere thanks, one hundred times over, for the kindness of all of Lama Rinpoche's students, wherever you may be found all over the world.
At this time, we are left with no choice but to share with you news that your ears will find repugnant and will bring deep sadness to your hearts. All of us know perfectly well that in recent years the physical health of Lama Rinpoche has not been strong, and that in fact he has had a very serious illness. Beyond that, what you should also now know is that Lama Sang has continually told us that a very serious impediment to his life would occur during his seventy-sixth year, and that it would be very doubtful whether he could overcome this impediment. He is known to have said this repeatedly to hundreds and thousands of people.
Moreover, when he was 23 years old, Lama Rinpoche wrote of a pure vision he had of the Blazing Fire Mountain charnel ground, wherein he said that in the earth cattle year he would return once more to that pure realm. And so in this way, through the coming together of these numerous and varied causes and conditions, the most unfortunate of all circumstances has suddenly come to pass. On February 26, 2009 , on the second day of the new Tibetan earth ox year, precisely at 9:00 o'clock in the morning, as the final unfurling of the glistening flower of his Life Story, the Mind of Lama Rinpoche journeyed to the state of peace.
Still, one thing in which we, his students, can truly rejoice with gladness and be inspired to greater faith regarding Lama Rinpoche's Life Story, is that despite having what is renowned to be a very serious illness, he actually suffered no pain stemming from it. Even while facing the dangers of approaching death and while remaining ill for an extended period of time, without any real prospect for recovery, his speech at all times remained warm and full of good humor. His physical body had none of the odor we would usually associate with someone so gravely ill, but rather gave off a scent like that of fine white sandalwood. In fact, all of his attendants can attest to the fact that he always smelled clean and fresh, like pure water or other fine fragrances. All of us could see quite clearly, too, through the gaze of his eyes and in other ways, signs and indications that he had reached a very high level of view and strength of meditative experience.
My dear and true friends, these recent years have been a time in which we have struggled mightily, trying everything we possibly could, with great effort and sacrifice, to take care of the physical health of our Lama Rinpoche. We found and applied the finest medicines and treatments available anywhere in the world, and likewise made connections with the best doctors and hospitals too. From a spiritual perspective, this served as an accumulation of virtue that was by no means modest. Spiritual rituals and dharani recitations in uncountable numbers were performed and accomplished as well.
Beyond that, vast numbers of disciples offered innumerable, fully pure prayers and aspirations from the bottoms of their hearts with the purest intentions. Even so, this situation came about which was simply too difficult to avert by any means; and so, I ask all of you to please be so kind as to understand that this is what has come to pass.
One thing that is extremely important for all of you to do right now, without wavering in your minds and with stable faith and pure outlook, is to supplicate the Guru and receive the four empowerments over and over again. It would be unproductive simply to allow our minds to be overcome with suffering and sadness, or to lose sight of the truth of impermanence. We must be able to see the living example of our Lama Rinpoche passing into the state of peace as a profound, personal instruction that symbolically points us toward an understanding of the true condition of impermanence. You can also be sure that we will have the opportunity to discuss these matters more fully and in more detail in the near future. I ask all of you to please be so kind as to remain well in your bodies and relaxed in your minds.
Sincerely yours,
Hung Kar Dorje
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Words of Aspiration to the Beating of My Heart:
Yearning for the Swift Return of A Reincarnation
Om svasti! I respectfully greet the Guru of non-dual primal wisdom
who arises in a Vajra Kaya immune to birth and death,
the innate form of the immutable, vital essence of luminosity
that is fully immersed in the expanse of the mudra of great joy.
Glorious Vajra, miracle of Great Oddiyana,
spontaneous presence of the three Kayas, powerful and mighty Vajra Majesty,
Vidyadhara of Jambudvipa, Treasure Lord of Siddhas,
remember me with steadfast and heartfelt love until enlightenment.
Like the whinnying horse voice of Padmisvara,
the virtuosity of Tumchen Wang Drag is inherently perfect.
Your life upheld the very model of a blazing vajra of yogic discipline.
My only father, the Guru of my heart, remains deep in my heart.
Each and every one of your fearless acts of yogic conduct
and every single one of your unceasing, eloquent statements of truth
and every wise and loving aspect of your unerring compassion
fulfilled a Life Story of unlimited scope that is beyond our comprehension.
As you inherently are Guhyapati and Padmasambhava,
and so are secretly capable of rending the illusion of phenomenal existence,
not trapped within the network of concepts of "birth" and "death",
how could interdependent notions like "coming" or "leaving" even apply,
or make any difference to you?
Even so, in view of our habitual ideas that tend to hold on to things as everlasting,
the image of an iron hook tugging away at one's heart still hardly describes
how it is to witness the example of your departing into the expanse so suddenly.
Think of me, think of me, Great Father who is so very kind.
As pearl-white flowers of wistful recollections of you
spring from my streaming tears of sadness and longing
until they form a brimming pool in my heart,
Dear Father, are you not watching me with your treasured love?
At the age of 23, in the presence of Laughing Supreme Horse,
you were told: "Come to Blazing Fire Mountain when seventy-six!"
Entrusted with prophecies, you delightedly committed to do so.
Father, is your love for your son that modest?
Suddenly roused from the all too brief, pleasant dream
of my father's fine home filled with warm currents of wisdom and love,
I, your orphaned child who has been left entirely on my own, am so troubled,
crying out my pain and grief to myself.
All of the tears falling from the petals of pairs of downcast eyes
of each of your disciples who hold faith and yearning for you in their hearts
align in a choreographed dance of sadness, of recall and longing,
that casts an overcast pall over the entire face of the globe.
We, your orphaned children who feel so sad and hurt
because we take imputed objects to be very real,
feel tightness in our chests and cannot catch our breaths,
so depleted are we of the energy spent yearning for you.
At the heart of the lotus blossom of our memories of you
gathers an endless stream of nectar of faith and longing.
Should this uncontrived, auspicious circumstance please you,
then swiftly exhibit the dancing flight of a magical bee!
Put everywhere on display limitless, magical formulations
of the sublime wisdom of Heroic Manjusri, which overflows from within,
of the treasury of compassionate love of the White Lotus Holder, which you master,
and of the glory of the power and might of the Lord of Secrets (Guhyapati),
which you ably possess!
I aspire that you swiftly return in the form of a Supreme Emanation
who, with the dharani of perfect recall, retains all words that are heard,
in whom is born deep certainty about all subjects for reflection,
and for whom meditation and non-meditation arise as the true nature,
free of concept-bound limitations.
As soon as you are born, may the tendencies from your past training reawaken,
may the forces of love, compassion and intelligence grow strong within you,
and may you turn the dharma wheels of profound and vast sutra and tantra.
May you take fine birth as a Master who guides all those connected to him!
I pray that in a Kaya of primal wisdom whose nature is none other than Padma,
bearing a boundless ocean of mind treasures, the Father's wealth,
you swiftly return as a sublime, mad Terton emanation
who fully alleviates the fallen fortunes of the teachings and people of Tibet.
Reveal yourself right now as a King of spiritual friends
who is no different from our peerless teacher, the Victor Longchenpa
who holds the secret of unbounded, vital luminosity,
the face of empty-aware dharmakaya that equalizes samsara and nirvana.
As we are dangerously accustomed to solidifying our confused grasping and fixation,
candidly appear as the executioner of obstructors in the three realms,
the keeper of the unending treasury of secrecy in a Victor's form,
and once more step forward as the illusory, heroic Lord of Secrets.
Incorruptible vidyadhara who has mastered vajra vitality,
whose infinite activity to the ends of space is spontaneously accomplished,
keep us all at the forefront of your retinue in every lifetime,
please arise as the undying, miraculous Master of the Sanctuary.
Since we think only of you, like a forlorn child missing its mother
or like someone dying of thirst yearning for water,
may that for which we hope and pray, day and night,
come true without delay through the blessings of the Three Jewels.
As dharmata is primordially unfabricated and pristine,
and since interdependent causes and effects are infallible,
through the power of our fully pure and genuine wishes and aspirations,
may our aims be accomplished and hopes bear fruit, swiftly and without any hindrance.
The holy Terton emanation, Pema Tumdrag Dorje, when he was 23 years old, wrote of his vision of the Blazing Fire Mountain charnel ground, wherein was prophesied that in the appointed year of the variegated cow he would depart for the pure realms. Accordingly, the Terton, when he reached the age of 76, on just the second day of the new earth ox year of the Tibetan calendar, at precisely 9 o'clock in the morning, allowed his Attention to come fully to rest in the dharmadhatu.
With the pure aspirations of the supreme emanation Tsang Yang Jamtso and Tulku Durtrod Repa, among others, serving as an auspicious foundation, these very words of lamentation and aspiration for the swift return of a Tulku were composed by, among the progeny of the supreme Terton, the Lord of Refuge himself, the white water lily, the one to whom has been applied the name of a rebirth of Do Khyentse Yeshe Dorje, Hung Kar Dorje, even while his thoughts were taken up with faith and sadness, on the tenth day of the very same month.
May the virtue of this composition at the very time when we implore our Lama Rinpoche to rouse himself from the luminous domain of dharmata bring about its fulfillment just as we request!
This English translation was expeditiously prepared on the very same day by Sherab Dorje, upon whom His Holiness Orgyen Kusum Lingpa bestowed the name of Nesang Waxi Lama Dorje Nyima, a past master of His Holiness' own family lineage. May the auspiciousness of this connection endure forever and ever, until every last one of His Holiness' aspirations and activities for the welfare of sentient beings is fully realized and accomplished. Ge'o!
Download a PDF of this prayer including the original Tibetan
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