The prayer of the all-good Buddha from the Dzogpa Chenpo tantra of the all-pervading mind of Kuntuzangpo
HO! All appearing phenomena and the possibilities of samsara and nirvana
Have one source, but there are two paths and two results,
A miracle of knowing and unknowing.
Through this powerful prayer of Kuntuzangpo
May all beings realize the perfectly enlightened state
In the palace of dharmadhatu.
The source of everything is uncompounded,
Self-arising, infinite, inexpressible,
Beyond labels “samsara” and “nirvana.”
Knowing this suchness is buddhahood.
Unknowing beings wander compulsively.
May all beings of the three realms
Realize the nature of the inconceivable source.
Furthermore, I, Kuntuzangpo proclaim:
The nature of the source is free from causes and conditions.
The source is realized by spontaneously arising awareness.
It is not named be errors of exaggeration such as “inside” and “outside.”
It is not obscured by the darkness of mindlessness.
Therefore, there are no stains of mistaken perception.
Cultivate this fresh, pristine awareness,
And the three worlds are free from destruction and terror.
Unattached to the five objects of sensory pleasure,
Self-arising awareness is free of discursive thought,
Solid forms, and the five poisons.
The radiating clarity of awareness is unceasing.
This single nature is five-fold wisdom.
In action, the five-fold wisdom
Is the five primordial buddhas.
When this wisdom expands,
Forty-two buddhas arise.
The expressive power of the five-fold wisdom
Brings forth sixty herukas.
Therefore, original awareness is never deluded.
I am the primordial Buddha.
By my powerful prayer
May all beings in the three realms of samsara
Recognise self-arising awareness and
The expanding capacity of the great wisdom.
My emanations are unceasing.
Inconceivable billions of emanations are dispatched
In whatever varieties are needed to help sentient beings.
By my powerful, compassionate prayer,
May all beings of the three realms
Be liberated from the ways of the six realms of classes of beings.
In the beginning, delusion arises and sentient beings
When awareness of the source is forgotten.
The mind becomes numb and dull;
This is the first ignorance and the cause of every ill.
Instantly unconscious,
One’s thoughts wander aimlessly; one is seized by hope and fear.
This begets “I and other”, “friend and enemy”,”
And through clinging, this becomes habitual.
Descending from that comes samsara
And the increasing afflictions of the five poisons.
There is no end to the activity of the five poisons.
So, the source of the delusion of sentient beings
Is the numb, dull mind born of forgetting.
I am the Buddha. By the power of my prayer
May all beings clarify the dull mind, release all clinging, and recognize self-awareness.
Through co-emergent ignorance
One’s consciousness is unmindful and distracted.
Through conceptual ignorance
One separates self and other.
These two, co-emergent and conceptual ignorance,
Form the basis of sentient beings confusion.
I am the Buddha. By the power of my prayer
May all the beings in samsara
Remove the dark cover of mindlessness,
Clear away dualistic grasping,
And recognize self-awareness.
Dualistic conceptions are the genesis of doubts,
Which develop from subtle, small attachments]
Into powerful habitual patterns.
Food, clothing, wealth, place, companionship,
The five desirable sensory objects and loving relations—
Being anxious and possessed by desiring these objects,
This is the darkness of the world.
There is no end to dualistic activity!
The ripened fruit of attachment is birth as a hungry ghost
Who suffers unrelenting poverty and expectation.
To be born in this state of hunger and thirst is terrible.
I am the Buddha. By my powerful prayer
May all beings engulfed by desire and attachment
Neither reject desire’s pleasure,
Nor accept its sorrow,
But relax mind into its own state,
Restore self-refreshing awareness
And realize discriminating wisdom.
When external phenomena arise
There is subtle fear and trembling
Which gradually develops into the habitual pattern of hatred.
Increasingly powerful attachment to enemies
Leads to violence and murder,
The agony of burning and boiling in hell.
I am the Buddha. By my powerful prayer
May all sentient beings of the six realms
No longer cling to enemies when anger arises,
But relax their own mind,
Restore self-refreshing awareness
And realize mirror-like wisdom.
A conceited mind
Will criticise and challenge others.
This is how strong pride develops.
One will suffer the experience of incessant quarreling and fighting.
When the fruit of this action ripens
One is born as a god who will experience falling down and transferring.
I am the Buddha. By my powerful prayer
May all conceited beings
Ease their mind into its own state,
Restore self-refreshing awareness
And realize equanimity wisdom.
The habitual pattern that develops when dualistic conceptions increase
Is to praise oneself and belittle others. From this unpleasantness
Comes increasing jealousy, rivalry, quarreling, and fighting,
Which leads to birth as an anti-god and a killer.
The result is a fall into hell.
I am the Buddha. By my powerful prayer
May beings with increasing competitive thoughts, who quarrel and fight,
No longer cling to enemies, but relax their own mind,
Restore self-refreshing awareness
And realize all-accomplishing wisdom.
Being mindless and distracted,
Foggy, dull, forgetful,
And unconscious causes laziness and ignorance to increase.
The result is to wander helplessly in the animal realm.
I am the Buddha. By my powerful prayer
May those who wander in the darkness of ignorance
Awaken the radiant clarity of mindfulness,
And by the power of this, realize the wisdom of dharmadhatu.
All the sentient beings of the three realms
And I share the same basic nature.
But lacking mindfulness and wandering aimlessly,
They perform actions that have no meaning.
These six types of actions are like deluded dreams.
I am the primordial Buddha.
In order to tame the beings of the six realms by emanation and display,
I Kuntuzangpo, pray:
May all sentient beings, without exception
Reach the perfect enlightenment in the palace of dharmadhtu.
A HO Hereafter, when a powerful yogi or yogini
With clear radiating awareness, without delusion,
Performs this powerful prayer,
All those who hear it
Will reach enlightenment after three births.
At the time of the eclipse of the sun or moon,
When the sky thunders,
During earthquakes, solstices, or at the changing of the year,
At these times, visualize yourself as Kuntuzangpo
And recite this prayer that will be heard by everyone.
Do this for the all the beings of the three realms.
The performance of this prayer by yogis and yoginis
Will relieve suffering,
And eventually all beings will reach buddhahood.
From the Tantra Which Clearly Shows the Unimpeded Realisation of the Buddha Kuntuzangpo in the Great Perfection, this is the ninth chapter, the prayer that will lead sentient beings to the enlightened state without any choice. By practicing this may all sentient beings achieve the perfect true-nature state. May their highest aspirations be fulfilled for the benefit of all sentient beings. With sincere gratitude to the Dharma Samudra in Boulder, Colorado.
