Repository of Every Form of Dharma That Might Be Wished For

A Catalogue to the Published Miscellaneous Writings of the

Venerable Guru Jamyang Chökyi Lodrö

by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Oṃ svasti siddhaṃ!

From the clouds of the immaculate liberation of Mañjughoṣa,

An array that is equal to the dharmadhātu,
Appears the form of a guide with inexhaustible intellect and eloquence—
May you remain as my enduring refuge until awakening!
From the glorious interlacement of your compassion-filled mind,
Arose the nectar of excellent explanations, profound and vast,
As medicine bringing benefit and happiness to the teaching and beings
without bias.
Thus, with a mind of pure and noble intention, I pay reverence.
This brief catalogue of the noble guru’s miscellaneous writings has three
parts: 1) The greatness of the author of these treatises; 2) the character of
the texts themselves; and 3) a brief account of the publication process.
1. Greatness of the Author

All that follows is according to what I have heard. Ultimately, our glorious
lord and precious guru was none other than a treasury of wisdom
containing the twofold omniscience of all the buddhas. That is to say, he
was the one who holds the splendour of liberation and activity of the
victorious ones and their heirs and is renowned throughout all the realms
of the ten directions as noble Mañjughoṣa. The sphere of activity of this
great figure is regarded as inconceivable. Yet it is possible to say a little,
following the words of the teacher, the tathāgata.
In the past, in the pure realm known as Equalness (Skt. Samā) he
manifested as the Buddha Nāgavaṃ śāgra and led innumerable students to
the three levels of awakening.[1] Now, in the realm of Eternally Joyous,
Attractive and Inspiring, which lies to the north of this world of Patient
Endurance, he resides as the Buddha Joyful King of the Jewel Pile[2] and
continues to teach the Dharma.[3] In future, he will manifest as the Buddha
Protector All-Seeing in the realm of Immaculately Pure Collection[4] to the
south[5] and, as a buddha, establish the support and supported elements of
the pure realm. It is also said that countless ages ago Mañjuśrī was born as
King Sky[6] in the presence of the Buddha Dragon’s Roar in the eastern
realm of Excellent Element. Having generated bodhicitta, he vowed to train
in the oceanic conduct of the heirs of the victorious ones as the Youthful
Mañjuśrī and to bring beings to maturity through the kind of activity that
even hundreds of billions of buddhas could not accomplish, as stated in
the Sūtra of the Devaputra Susthitamati's Questions.[7] Moreover, in every
aeon Mañjuśrī acts on behalf of sentient beings in ways that many billions
upon billions of buddhas could not, as explained in the Sūtra of the Array
of Virtues of Mañjuśrī's Buddha Realm.[8] In addition, in several great
tantras of the secret mantra, he is described as the lord who presides in all
the maṇ ḍ alas of every buddha family.
Now, in the era of our Teacher, the Lord of Sages, who is the fourth guide to
appear in this Fortunate Aeon, he appears as the foremost bodhisattva heir
and performs wondrous deeds of liberation, such as inspiring the turning of
the Dharma Wheel of the profound and vast teachings, dispelling the
remorse of King Ajataśatru, and so on. He cared for all the learned and
accomplished masters of India, such as the glorious protector Ārya
Nāgārjuna, the bodhisattva Śāntideva, the great abbot Śāntarakṣita and
others, and he unerringly revealed the intent of the Mahāyāna in all its
vastness. Later, he appeared as Ācārya Mañjuśrīmitra, the great paṇ ḍ ita
Vimalamitra, and others, as well as the great champion of the teachings in
Tibet, the sole father Trisong Deutsen, as well as Nubchen Sangye Yeshe,
who held the life-force of the teachings of the Early Translations, the
omniscient king of Dharma Longchen Rabjam, as well as the noble lord
Milarepa, who was the crowning jewel among siddhas in the Land of Snows
and was renowned as an emanation of Ācārya Mañjuśrīmitra; as Situ
Jamgön Tenpé Nyinje from the Kagyü; as the Dharma Lord Jamyang Sakya
Paṇ ḍ ita and others from the Sakya, and as the great luminary Lobzang
Drakpa and other figures of the Kadampa tradition. As these examples
attest, he carried out the activity of the buddhas and served the teachings
without sectarian bias in countless magical emanations who were great
masters in both India and Tibet.
In just the same way, the Tibetan master who was unrivalled in carrying out
the activity of the second buddha during the present age of great
degeneration was the noble guru Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. He had all
the experience and realization of a siddha and bore all the signs of excellent
activity; and he had the wisdom that arises from vast learning and
reflection based on an unbiased discernment of views and philosophical
tenets. By reaching the limits of practice in sūtra and tantra, he fully
developed the signs of meditative attainment. And he extended the vital
force of the teachings of the victorious one through explanation, debate and
composition. This master, whose liberational life was so wondrous,
reappeared in five supreme emanations—of body, speech, mind, qualities
and activity. One of these was praised in vajra statements as the supreme
emanation of the endless ornamental cycle of activity. He was prophesied in
the unobscured pure wisdom vision of the great omniscient Jamyang Lodrö
Thaye[9] and was renowned as Jamyang Chökyi Lodrö Rimé Tenpé
Gyaltsen Palzangpo.
This master was born in the year of the female Water Snake in a hidden
land known as Sa-ngen—the ‘earth knot’ among four so-called knots
connected with the four elements in Kham. His father, Gyurme Tsewang
Gyatso, was a great vajra-holder and a heart-disciple of the two Jamgön
dharma-kings[10] and Minling Trichen Sangye Kunga. He, in turn, was the
son of a master known as the Old Tertön of Ser Valley, an emanation of
Vairotsana in the family line of Terchen Düdul Dorje, who lived to be more
than 150 years old and was without rival in wisdom, realization and
capacity.
When the master reached his seventh year, he was invited by Katok Situ
Orgyen Chökyi Gyatso, a champion of the great secret teachings
of kama and terma, to the great centre of Katok Dorje Den in accordance
with a prophecy of the great Jamgön Kongtrul. There he was enthroned as a
supreme nirmāṇ akāya emanation of the omniscient Jamyang Khyentse
Wangpo. During the formal hair-cutting ceremony he received the name
Jamyang Chökyi Lodrö Tsuklak Lungrik Mawé Sengé. Situ Rinpoche then
appointed his own tutor, Khenchen Tupten Rigdzin Gyatso, to be Jamyang
Khyentse’s teacher. It was with this tutor that Jamyang Khyentse first
learned to read and write. He gained an understanding of the stages of
Dharma practice and easily mastered the major and minor treatises on
grammar.

Jamyang Khyentse also studied with Situ Paṇ chen Dharmasāra,[11] Shechen
Gyaltsab Rinpoche, Adzom Drukpa Natsok Rangdrol, Dodrupchen Jigme
Tenpai Nyima, Terchen Lerab Lingpa, the Fifth Dzogchen, Khenchen
Kunzang Palden and other teachers of the Ancient Secret Mantra tradition.
His Sakya teachers included Tartse Pönlop Rinpoche Jamyang Loter
Wangpo, Shabdrung Rinpoche Tashi Gyatso, Gatön Dorje Chang Ngawang
Lekpa, Khenchen Samten Lodrö, and Dezhung Choktrul Kunga Gyaltsen.
His main Kagyü teachers were Jamgön Situ Rinpoche Pema Wangchok
Gyalpo, Gyalse Jamgön Choktrul, Khewang Tashi Chöpel, Zurmang Ter and
Trungpa. Among the Gelug, his teachers included the previous and present
omniscient Dalai Lamas, who are the supremely victorious guides of gods
and men, as well as the lord of scholars Geshe Jampal Rolpé Lodrö.
Without the slightest trace of pride, he prostrated himself at the lotus feet
of these great masters of this Snowy Land, as well as other supremely
realized and diligent practitioners in isolated mountain retreats.
Insatiably, he amassed a treasury of dharma teachings that included the ten
major and minor sciences, the Buddha’s word and the commentarial
treatises, the transmitted word (kama) of the Ancient Translations, the
majority of major extant treasure (terma) teachings, empowerments and
instructions from the four major and eight minor Kagyü lineages, the Sakya
teachings on the Path with Its Fruit (Lamdré), the Compendium of Tantras
and Compendium of Sādhanas, the teachings of the old and new Kadam,
the glorious Kālacakra according to the Jonang and Zhalu traditions, and
the Five Great Treasuries. He mastered the views and practices of all these
traditions without mixing or adulterating them, so that when it came time
for him to pass the instructions on and guide disciples, he served each
tradition as if he were its own second Buddha. Without partiality or
attachment and aversion, he revitalized and propagated endangered
teachings and spent his entire life receiving and teaching Dharma. He made
practice the heart of his liberational life and completed countless
recitations for major and minor tantric practices of Old and New
traditions, kama and terma, both for the Three Roots in general and for
individual deities. He had none of the haughtiness that comes from the
eight worldly concerns and never resorted to flattery or deception for the
sake of food and clothing. Instead, he remained a great lord of yogis and a
vanquisher of delusion with the confidence born of inner yoga. He
continually experienced pure visions in which he was guided by the yidam
deities and received prophecies from vidyādharas and ḍ ākinīs. He went on
pilgrimages to forge connections with great vajra places, and he also
opened up new sites. There are even several transmissions of terma that
derive from such occasions. He founded centres of study and practice and
established funds to sponsor monks in all the major and minor monasteries
with which he was connected. This includes the scriptural college known
universally as Kham-jé (after the sandy plain in which it is located beneath
Dzongsar Tashi Lhatsé Monastery), where fifty intelligent monks could
study at a time; the retreat centre of Rongmé Karmo Taktsang, where seven
retreatants (plus a retreat master) could focus on all eight chariots of the
practice lineage; and a centre above Lhundrup Teng in the capital of Derge,
where fifty retreatants could undertake practices from the aural lineage of
the glorious Sakya tradition; as well as the tantric college and retreat
centres of Katok, which he arranged to be restored and extended. His
activity was thus truly without bounds.
His disciples included the throne-holders and their heirs from the two
Sakya palaces, who are sovereigns of all the teachings; all the abbots and
vice-abbots (shabdrung) of Ngor; the Sixteenth Gyalwang Karmapa; Tai
Situ Pema Wangchen; the eighth Khamtrul Dogyü Chökyi Nyima and
others from the Kagyü tradition; Minling Khenpo and Minling Chung
Rinpoche; Minling Dung Rinpoche;[12] the supreme incarnations and
holders of the teachings from Katok, Palyul, Shechen and Dzogchen; the
two incarnations of the great Tertön Chokgyur Dechen Lingpa; and
countless other great beings from Kham and Central Tibet; as well as
Tibetan government officials and lay people from Derge, Nangchen,
Lhatok; the three of Go, Dra and Mar; the two of Ri and Chab; Lingtsang,
Gyarong, and the various states of Hor; the regions of the Golok chieftains;
Jangpa, the three of Bapa, Lithang and Gyalthang; the dharma-king of
Sikkim and so on. People from all walks of life prostrated themselves at his
feet and received ripening and liberating nectar. He thus brought countless
beings to the level of purification and emancipation.
He transmitted the ripening empowerments and liberating instructions for
the great Precious Treasury of Revelations (Rinchen Terdzö) once, the
Compendium of Sādhanas three times, the Treasury of Instructions
(Damngak Dzö) twice, the congregational and discipular Path with Its Fruit
(Lamdré) four times, the earlier and later Nyingtik, the treasures of
Mindrolling and the treasures of Chokgyur Lingpa four times. In these and
other ways, he turned the Wheel of Dharma without interruption.
He sponsored innumerable statues including the central figure of
Mañjughoṣa in the upper-storey temple at Dzongsar, together with the
images of Guru Rinpoche and glorious Atiśa to his right and left; elegant
life-size gold and copper images of the five Sakya patriarchs, as well as
many hundred golden statues of deities from the Old and New tantras, for
which the central figures are up to an arrow’s length in height and the
major figures of the retinue are a cubit in height while the lesser figures are
a handspan in size. In the Temple of the Emanations of the Three Families
at Kham-jé he sponsored the gold and copper image of Maitreya, which is
thirty-two hands in height and studded with various jewels. He also
sponsored the gilded copper Buddha statue at Katok which is more than
three storeys in height. He commissioned numerous painted images,
including sets of thangkas for the Buddha’s previous lives according to The
Wish-Fulfilling Vine,[13] the successive Kalkī kings [of Shambhala], and the
previous lives of the lord guru Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. He sponsored
the carving of printing blocks at Derge Gönchen, Katok, Shechen and
Dzongsar, including those for the thirteen volumes of Lord Khyentse
Wangpo’s collected writings, two volumes of Mipham’s writings, and three
volumes of the Khecarī Compendium[14]. Together with the imagery that he
sponsored at Kham-jé college and the Taktsang retreat centre, this
illustrates his vast contribution in the sphere of activity.
Having completed his spontaneous activity for his own and others’ benefit,
he displayed the act of withdrawing his rūpakāya form into
the dharmadhātu in the temple monastery at Gangtok, the capital
established by Chögyal Phuntsok Namgyal in Sikkim, which is a hidden
land first opened by Lhatsün Namkha Jigme, one of the master’s own
previous incarnations.
2. His Writings

Generally, any text that has the three qualities of a Buddhist treatise, which
has been written by someone with the three qualifications for composition
and which avoids the six faults of heterodox treatises, is a product of the
precious teachings of Buddha, as the Tathāgata stated. Lord Maitreya said:
Whatever those of perfectly undistracted mind have expounded,
Solely in accordance with the teaching of the Victorious One,
And conducive to the path for attaining liberation,
Should also be placed on the head, like the Buddha’s own words.[15]
Although this is certainly the case, since sublime beings have no arrogance,
their minds are peaceful and controlled. As a result, whenever anyone
requested the sublime guru to compose something, he would say, “For the
likes of me to write such a thing would achieve nothing more than my own
fatigue. It would be far more beneficial to teach, propagate and practise the
words of the great masters of the past.” He would repeatedly say such
things. He thus had no intention that his writings should ever be compiled;
in fact, he usually gave away the original to whoever requested a particular
text. That is why most of the writings from the period of his youth have
been dispersed in all directions. Later, when he lived with Khandro
Rinpoche Tsering Chödrön at his seat, there were several volumes to his
collected writings. But, owing to the turbulence of the period, not all of
these could be taken. When passing through the major sites of Ü and Tsang
the master composed mainly miscellaneous works, such as praises and guru
sādhanas. Now, at Khandro’s request, there has been an effort to gather
whatever disciples have in their possession and to copy whatever is still to
be found in his own handwriting. The devoted, intelligent student and
renunciant monk Jamyang Trinlé has earnestly done the work of checking
everything. When the master’s handwritten texts were copied out, his
shrine-master Lama Jamyang Lodrö Chokden, proofread them, put them in
order and so on, on the basis of his familiarity. Amenities during the
printing process were provided by the steward Ngawang Chöpal Gyatso,
who undertook hardships of body, speech and mind; and the proofreading
of the blocks was carried out by the master’s personal calligrapher Tsering
Tashi. Könchok and all the other workers at the printing house for the
preservation of enlightened speech at Kyabje Khamtrul Rinpoche’s
monastery in Tashi Jong in the noble land of India made great efforts out of
pure motivation and produced these two volumes of writings.
As to the contents, the first volume, which bears the sign of É, contains the
following:
ka) To begin, the especially sublime autobiography of the master, which
engenders confidence.
kha) A collection of praises, delighting all the victorious ones and
increasing the splendour of the two accumulations.
ga) A collection of supplications, like dancing clouds filled with the nectar
of blessings, and longevity prayers, vajra words of truth for bringing about
immortality.
nga) Guru yoga practices, which grant the supreme experience of wisdom
nectar.
ca) A collection of sādhanas, like a store of all the attainments that could be
wished for.
cha) A collection of practical guides and instructional notes, refining the
essential nectar of profound meaning.
The second volume, which bears the sign of WAṂ , contains:
ja) A collection of advice, like garlanded beams of nectar from the moon of
universal benefit.
nya) A collection of songs, which is a secret treasury of spontaneous
vajra gīti.
ta) A collection of petitionary offerings to the dharma protectors, which
resemble lightning flashes of swift activity.
tha) A collection of commentarial notes, which provide a feast for
intelligent minds.
dhīḥ) Special miscellaneous works in five parts, which are like a jewelled
treasure vase that bestows twofold accomplishment.
hrīḥ) A collection related to the profound meaning of the perfection stage,
which resounds with the splendid music of co-emergent wisdom.
śrīḥ) A collection of pilgrimage guides, like a magical script of wondrous
virtue and goodness.
a) A collection of aspiration prayers, which is like an ocean in which to
enjoy the splendour of spontaneously accomplishing twofold benefit.
3. The Publication Process

When notice was given of this publication, the sovereign of all the buddha’s
teachings, our lord and refuge, the object of veneration for all existence and
quiescence, the holder of the white lotus and supremely victorious one,
Ngawang Lobzang Tenzin Gyatso[16] offered 500 Indian rupees together
with words of encouragement, like the great drum of the gods. He praised
the omniscient lord and guru as especially sublime, superior to other
holders of the teachings in Kham and Tibet and extraordinary in his loving
care. He said that since the master was so wondrous in his vast, impartial
vision for the Dharma, the publication of his writings would greatly
advance the cause of non-sectarianism among the teachings and beings,
and the task should therefore be swiftly accomplished.
The two precious tutors[17] offered 50 rupees each. The guru’s heart-son,
the precious incarnation of the great Tertön Chokgyur Lingpa, offered 300
rupees. The great holder of the glorious Drukpa Kagyü teachings Khamtrul
Döngyü Nyima offered 300 rupees. The great dharma lord of Punakha in
the magnificent dharma country of Bhutan, Khenchen Jamyang Yeshe
Senge made an advance payment of 2000 rupees, which served as a basis
for printing most of the collection.[18] Karma Yönten Taye, a monk from
Zurmang, donated 150 rupees. The Tibetan monk Jigme Ngödrup donated
50 rupees. The monk Tenpa Sangye donated 10 rupees. Derge Trakya Yiga
donated 20 rupees. Rigdzin Dorje offered 30 rupees. Nyala Bumdrak
Rinpoche offered 100 rupees. The Bhutanese nun Purbu Drolma offered 20
rupees. Damchö Gamo, another nun from Bhutan, donated five rupees. The
supreme incarnation Zhadeu Trulshik Gyurme Ngawang Dongak Tendzin
offered 100 rupees. With this as a basis, I myself offered whatever else was
needed to cover the costs of printing, as well as the expenses for editing and
proofreading.
Thus, with this task now accomplished, I hope that in future it will be
possible to publish in stages whatever remains, those writings of the
precious guru that are certainly still in the possession of his devoted
followers, as a supplement to the present volumes.
From the flowers of the Dharma of the victorious ones, which is profound
and vast,
The wondrous essence of the hearts’ oceanic dhāraṇī and confident
eloquence,
Is lovingly arranged as a delightful, healing medicine for the bee-like ones
of fortune,
Set out with fingers of kindliness—how wonderful this is!
Pleasant words, well arranged, like a vast hundred-petalled lotus, soft
and gentle,
Profound in meaning, wondrous and rich with the honey of a hundred
tastes,
Succinct and easy to understand, a reviving cure for all, supreme and
ordinary,
Which grants the youth of liberation to beings who pervade the whole of
space.
Even in fragments, such writings are like excellent refined gold;
And so, with some concern, we set about this virtuous task
To offer them as a splendour of lotus-like intelligent minds.
May they provide a feast of benefit and happiness!
With the precious guru’s profound realization perfected in basic space,
May the life of his supreme incarnation be long and his activity vast.
May his teaching, practice and fourfold activity be unconfined.
And the non-sectarian teachings of the victorious ones spread and endure.
May the armour of dharmic and secular self-governance in Tibet hold
firm.
May the holders of the teachings live harmoniously and may dharma
practice and activity thrive.
As the brilliant light of a new golden era dawns,
May the qualities of the higher realms and definitive goodness bloom!
May I and others, all who are connected on this path,
Always be cared for by the Mañjughoṣa Guru.
Before all the buddhas in all the infinite realms of the ten directions,
May we perfect the oceanic conduct of the noble.
Seizing the vital energy of the chariot of all the buddha’s teachings,
This path of delighting the victorious through explanation, debate and
composition,
May I gain the strength to uphold it, untainted by considerations of self-
interest,
For as long as space itself endures.
The force of unfailing memory and confident eloquence,
By adopting this, the armour of Vajra Sharpness,[19]
May I be able to follow the liberating life of all the buddhas,
And bring a gentle rain of Dharma, secret and profound.
On the occasion of completing this virtuous act, since the all-seeing lord’s
calligrapher, the learned Tsering Tashi repeatedly requested me to write
something of this kind, I, Tashi Paljor Tamché Drubpé Dé, a servant
sustained by the uncommon kindness and affection of the gentle lord and
dharma king, wrote this in the hall of the Mahāguru Subjugating
Appearance and Existence (complete with retinue), which was recently
constructed by Queen Kalsang Chödrön at the Kyerchu temple to the
south-west[20] of Rinchen Pungpa Dzong in Paro, in the Southern
Medicinal Land of Four Districts.[21] May this be a cause of never turning
from the light of delighting the glorious protector guru. Sarvadā
maṅgalam.

| Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2019. With many thanks to Alak Zenkar Rinpoche for his
gracious assistance and to the Khyentse Foundation and Terton Sogyal Trust for their
generous support.

Bibliography

Tibetan Editions
Dil mgo mkhyen brtse. “rJe btsun bla ma ‘jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros kyi
gsung thor bu’i skor spar du bsgrubs pa’i dkar chag chos tshul mi zad ’dod
dgu’i bang mdzod” in 'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros/ (rgya gar bir'i par
ma/). TBRC W21814. 2 vols.
______. “rJe btsun bla ma ‘jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros kyi gsung thor
bu’i skor spar du bsgrubs pa’i dkar chag chos tshul mi zad ’dod dgu’i bang
mdzod” in 'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros kyi gsung 'bum. TBRC
W1KG12986. 12 vols. Bir, H.P.: Khyentse Labrang, 2012. vol. 12: 383–401
Secondary Sources
Aris, Michael. “'The Admonition of the Thunderbolt Cannon-Ball' and Its
Place in the Bhutanese New Year Festival” in Bulletin of the School of
Oriental and African Studies vol. 39 No. 3 1976, pp. 601–635.
Dilgo Khyentse. The Life and Times of Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö:
The Great Biography by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and Other Stories.
Boulder: Shambhala. 2017

Version: 1.4-20220203

1. This is explained in the Śūraṃgama-samādhi Sūtra. ↩

2. rab dga’ rin chen brtsegs pa’i rgyal po ↩

3. This is seemingly based on the Aṅgulimālīya Sūtra. ↩

4. rdul bral yang dag bsags pa ↩

5. As explained in the Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka Sūtra. ↩

6. rgyal po nam mkha’ ↩

7. Susthitamati-devaputraparipṛcchāsūtra ↩

8. Mañjuśrībuddhakṣetraguṇavyūhasūtra ↩

9. i.e., Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye (1813–1899). ↩

10. i.e., Jamgön Kongtrul and Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. ↩

11. i.e., Katok Situ Chökyi Gyatso (1880–1925). ↩
12.i.e., Minling Trichen Gyurme Kunzang Wangyal (1931–2008).
The Tibetan also refers to his sibling(s) (sku mched). ↩

13.i.e., the Bodhisattvāvadānakalpalatā of Kṣemendra, an

anthology of stories. ↩
14.mkha' spyod be'u bum, a collection of ritual practices related to
Vajrayoginī in the Sakya tradition. ↩

15.Uttaratantra V, 19. ↩

16.i.e., H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. ↩

17.i.e., H.H. the Dalai Lama’s senior tutor Ling Rinpoche and junior
tutor Trijang Rinpoche. ↩
18. This is a reference to the 65th Je Khenpo, who served in that
role from 1965 to 1968. This helps in dating the publication of the
collection and the present catalogue as it means that Dilgo
Khyentse could not have written the latter before 1965. ↩

19.rDo rje rnon po, an epithet of Mañjuśrī. ↩

20. Literally the magnetizing direction (dbang phyogs). ↩

21.i.e., Bhutan. On this term see Aris 1976: 43 n. 63. ↩