Supplication to Palden Lhamo

Supplication to Palden Lhamo

Sole Mother, Lady Victorious over the Three Worlds,
Please pay attention here and now!
You overpower the whole apparent world, samsara and
nirvana.
By heroically guarding the Dharma and Dharma-holders,
With the four types of actions, flashing like lightening.
You soar up openly, like the full moon in the midst of a
garland of,
Powerful Dharma Protectors.
Powerful Dakini Protector, I prostrate to your omniscient
being.
Who is Palden Lhamo and why do we have a
supplication to her?
Palden Lhamo is best known as a protector of the
Dalai Lamas and is also the wrathful deity considered to
be the principal Protector of Tibet.
She is a Dharmapala which means Dharma
Protector or Guardian of the Teachings and they are
deities who protect the Buddhist teachings from being
diluted and its transmission from being disturbed or
distorted. These protectors are sometimes emanations of
Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, and sometimes spirits, god or
demons who have been subjugated by a great spiritual
master and bound under oath. Among the best known are
Ekajati, Mahakala, Dza Rahula and Damchen Dorje Lekpa.

Palden Lhamo is specifically the primary female

Wisdom Protector of Himalayan and Tibetan Buddhism.
Supplicating her and making offerings to her is extremely
beneficial and is said to be very helpful to the practitioner
in overcoming their spiritual and worldly obstacles.
Palden Lhamo's story is one of sadness and intrigue.
She was married to the evil king Shinje, the king of the
Dudpos, who at the time of their marriage had assumed
the form of king of Lanka and was very hostile to
Buddhism. She had vowed either to make him gentle and
favorable towards the Dharma, or else see to it that she
put an end to the kings dynasty.
Palden Lhamo tried very hard over many years, but
she could not improve the kings evil ways. So she
determined to kill their son who was being raised to be
the one to finally do away with Buddhism in that
kingdom.
During the king's absence, she killed her son and
flayed him, then drank his blood using his skull for a cup
and also ate his flesh. She then left the palace and using
her son's skin as a saddle cloth, set off for her northern
home on one of the king's finest steeds.
When the king returned, seeing what had happened,
he seized his bow and shot off a poisoned arrow, but the
arrow only pierced the animal's rump where it stuck fast.
Palden Lhamo neutralized the poison, and removed the
barb and the wound become an eye.
Description of Palden Lhamo

Palden Lhamos appears as a fierce female ogress,

with jutting teeth and fangs.
Her three eyes she has the ability to see into past,
present and future realms without any type of
obstruction.
Dark blue in color representing her attainment of
great bliss the realization of emptiness.
She is completely enveloped in transcendental
wisdom fire.
Her right hand is in the sky holding a skull cup
representing the destruction of obstacles.
The skull cup is filled with blood, representing great
bliss.
She carries a human-skin bag full of diseases that
she has collected from those who invoke her.
Her legs are in a semi-relaxed posture and chains
connect one ankle to the other.
The flayed skin represents the control over creating
future karma.
Explanation of the Supplication
The Three Worlds the cyclic existence which
ensnares the six classes of living beings who endure
suffering comprises three world-systems namely: the
world-system of desire, the world-system of form, and the
world-system of formlessness.

As a female Wisdom Protector, Palden Lhamo

overpowers Samsara and Nirvana with her transcendent
knowledge, the wisdom of emptiness, or prajnaparamita.
This insight is often referred to as Mother of All Buddhas
and why she is referred to as the sole mother in her
supplication.
Four types of enlightened activity:
Pacifying activities include pacifying illness,
malevolent forces, negativity, obscurations,
enemies, fears, obstacles, black magic, and so
forth.
Enriching activities are designed to cause lifespan,
merit, wisdom, splendor, retinue, wealth, strength,
prosperity, happiness, dharma, and other such
factors to flourish.
Magnetizing activities are used to bring something
or someone under one's control. This may include
humans, such as kings, ministers, queens, or
scholars; nonhuman beings, including gods,
serpent beings, and malevolent spirits; glory, such
as experience, realization, and enlightened
qualities; and material goods like food, drink,
clothing, and jewelry.
Subjugating activity as well. These include
summoning, separating, binding, suppressing,
averting, killing, and expelling.
Full moon represents compassion and bodhicitta.

Dakini literally means moving through space. The

feminine principle associated with wisdom. This term has
several levels of meaning. There are ordinary Dakinis
who are beings with a certain degree of spiritual power,
and wisdom Dakinis who are fully realized.
Protectors are the root of action, which means they
fulfill the enlightened activity of the lineage of realized
ones. In the Nyingma tradition, the specific protector is
the dakini, for it is she who specifically protects the
dharma.
So I hope this talk has been helpful to you in
understanding Palden Lhamo and the meaning behind her
prayer.