Shangpa Lineage Prayer
Namo Guru!
Vajra Bearer, lord of all families of enlightenment,
Father, kind spiritual master, to you I pray.
Supreme Bliss, Binder of the Net,
Glorious Heruka, to you I pray.
Widsom Dakini Niguma,
In the expanse of uncontaminated bliss and emptiness, to you I pray.
Lady Sukasiddhi,
In your abode, perfect raptures’s celestial realm, to you I pray.
One hundred fifty scholars and accomplished masters,
In your abode, the palace of manifest enlightenment that appears according to others’ needs, to you I pray.
Son of the dakinis, learned and accomplished Kyungpo Naljor
Endowed with the tantras’ five ultimate teachings, to you I pray.
Noble Mokchok-pa, bodhisattva in your final life,
Holder of the single-discipline lineage, to you I pray.
Noble Kyergang-pa, Bodhisattva Powerful All-Seeing One
In the body of a pure meditator, to you I pray.
Noble, great Nyenton,
Hidden form of the six families’ lord, to you I pray.
Noble Sangye Tonpa, exemplar of the seven-jewel lineage
And their lives of freedom, to you I pray.
The three noble, learned, and accomplished masters,
The ground on which the river of our lineage flowws, to you I pray.
Lineage from the illustrious masters Jakchen Gyaltsen Bum and Samding Zhonnu Drub,
Endowed with wondrous lives of freedom and enlightened activity, to you I pray.
Noble Tsultrim Gon, Ritro-pa,
And Shangkar Rinchen Gyaltsen, to you I pray.
Noble Kuklung-pa, Namgyal-wa,
And Gyagom Lekpa Gyaltsen, to you I pray.
Noble Tangtong Gyalpo, who accomplished immortality
And was accepted by the dakini, to you I pray.
Glorious Kunga Drokchuk,
Whose conduct of tantric discipline guided beings, to you I pray.
Noble Draktong-pa,
Who actualized the true experience of ultimate enlightenment, to you I pray.
Noble Taranata, Heruka,
Illustrious Lord of Secrets, to you I pray.
Masters who preserved the glorious Shangpa Instruction Lineage,
A series of sublime individuals, to you I pray.
The Five Tantras’ Deities
In your abode at my body’s five indestructible energy centers, to you I pray.
Male and female wisdom dakinies,
In drops of the body’s vital essence, circles of five-colored light, to you I pray.
Swift Awakened Protector,
In your abode, the charnel ground of compassion’s display, to you I pray.
Outwardly, may appearances of conceptual deluded thoughts collapse;
Inwardly, may I realize the relative and ultimate to be inseparable;
Between, may my intrinsic face, ultimate enlightenment, manifest,
And may I then empty the depths of the three realms’ wheel of life!
***
This prayer is from A Sea of Blessing compiled by Jamgon Kongtrul. Translated by Ngawang Zangpo in Timeless Rapture: Inspired Verse of the Shangpa Masters.
Prayer to the Seven Jewels of the Shangpa Tradition
Namo guru
Vajradhara, master of all aspects of awakening,
Father, kind guru,
I pray to you.
Supreme Bliss, weaver of webs,
Glorious Heruka,
I pray to you.
Niguma, dakini of awareness,
Whose home is the expanse of undissipated bliss and emptiness,
I pray to you.
Lady Suka Siddhi,
Whose home is the dakinis’ realm of joy,
I pray to you.
One hundred fifty learned masters,
Whose home is the palace of response to students,
I pray to you.
Learned master Kyungpo Naljor,
Heir of the five ultimate tantras,
I pray to you.
Noble Mokchokpa, in your last life as an awakening being,
Holder of the transmission that is given to just one,
I pray to you.
Noble Kyergangpa,
All-seeing One in the form of an immaculate practitioner,
I pray to you.
Noble Nyenton the Great,
Secret master of the six realms,
I pray to you.
Noble Sangye Tonpa,
Who completes the ideals of the seven-jewel lineage,
I pray to you.
Holders of the wonderful Shangpa Lineage,
A progression of great teachers,
I pray to you.
Deities of the five tantras [*]
Whose homes are the five indestructible energy centers,
I pray to you.
Wisdom deities, male and female,
Whose home is the five vital drops of light in the body,
I pray to you.
Fast-acting Lord of Awareness,
Whose home is the charnel ground where compassion takes expression,
I pray to you.
When, outside, the confusion of conceptual projections collapses
And, inside, I know directly that what is and the appearance of what is are not separate
And, between these, I know that I am actually pure being,
May I pull the patterns of the three worlds out by their roots.
***
This is an abbreviation of the prayer that opens A Sea of Songs of the Shangpa Masters, translated by Ken McLeod.
[*] Note: The five deities are Creator of Delight (Hevajra), associated with inner heat; Supreme Bliss (Chakrasamvara), associated with karma mudra; Lord of Mystery (Guhyasamaja), associated with enchanted form and clear light; Great Illusion (Mahamaya), associated with dream yoga; and Fearsome Vajra (Vajrabhairava), associated with awakened action.
Additional Resources
ShangpaKagyu.org website published by Dharmapala Association, Château de Plaige, seat of Shangpa Lineage in the West.