Nyima's blog

The Aspiration of Samantabhadra

HO
All that appears and exists, all of samsara and nirvana,
Has one ground, two paths and two results.
It is the display of awareness and ignorance.
Through the aspiration of Samantabhadra
May all be fully awakened
In the citadel of the dharmadhatu.

The ground of all is uncomposed,
An inexpressible, self-arisen expanse
Without the names "samsara" and "nirvana."
If it is known, buddhahood is attained.
Not knowing it, beings wander in samsara.
May all beings of the three realms
Know the inexpressible ground.

I, Samantabhadra
Know naturally that ground
Without cause and condition.
I am without the defects of superimposition and denial of outer and inner.
I am unobscured by the darkness of mindlessness.
Therefore, self-appearance is unobscured.
If self-awareness remains in place
There is no fear even if the three-fold world is destroyed.
There is no attachment to the five desirables.
In self-arisen, non-conceptual awareness
There is no solid form or five poisons.

The unceasing lucidity of awareness
Is five wisdoms of one nature.
Through the ripening of the five wisdoms
The five families of the first buddha arose.
From the further expansion of wisdom
The forty-two buddhas arose.
As the display of five wisdoms
The sixty blood drinkers arose.
Therefore, ground-awareness never became confused.
As I am the first buddha,
Through my aspiration
May beings of samsara's three realms
Recognize self-arisen awareness
And expand great wisdom.

My emanations are unceasing.
I manifest inconceivable billions,
Displayed as whatever tames beings.
Through my compassionate aspiration
May all beings of samsara's three realms
Escape the six states.

At first, for bewildered beings
Awareness did not arise on the ground.
That obscurity of unconsciousness
Is the cause of bewildered ignorance.
From that unconsciousness
Emerged terrified, blurry cognition.
Self - other and enmity were born from that.
Through the gradual intensification of habit
Sequential entry into samsara began.
The five poisonous kleshas developed.
The actions of the five poisons are unceasing.
Therefore, since the ground of the confusion of beings
Is mindless ignorance,
Through the aspiration of myself, the buddha,
May all recognize awareness.

The connate ignorance
Is a distracted, mindless cognition.
The labeling ignorance
Is holding self and other to be two.
The two ignorances, connate and labeling,
Are the ground of the confusion of all beings.
Through the aspiration of myself, the buddha,
May the thick, mindless obscurity
Of all samsaric beings be dispelled.
May dualistic cognition be clarified.
May awareness be recognized.

Dualism is doubt.
From the emergence of subtle clinging
Coarse habit gradually develops.
Food, wealth, clothing, places, companions,
The five desirables and beloved relatives --
Beings are tormented by attachment to the pleasant.
That is mundane confusion.
There is no end to the actions of dualism.
When the fruit of clinging ripens,
Born as pretas tormented by craving --
How sad is their hunger and thirst.
Through the aspiration of myself, the buddha,
May desirous beings
Not reject the longing of desire
Nor accept the clinging of attachment.
By relaxing cognition as it is
May their awareness take its seat.
May they attain the wisdom of discrimination.

Through the emergence of a subtle, fearful cognition
Of externally apparent objects
The habit of aversion grows.
Coarse enmity, beating and killing are born.
When the fruit of aversion ripens,
How much suffering there is in hell through boiling and burning.
Through the aspiration of myself, the buddha,
When strong aversion arises
In all beings of the six states,
May it be relaxed without rejection or acceptance.
Awareness taking its seat,
May beings attain the wisdom of clarity.

One's mind becoming inflated,
An attitude of superiority to others,
Fierce pride, is born.
One experiences the suffering of disputation.
When the fruit of that action ripens
One is born as a god and experiences death and downfall.
Through the aspiration of myself, the buddha,
May beings with inflated minds
Relax cognition as it is.
Awareness taking its seat,
May they realize equality.

Through the habit of developed dualism,
From the agony of praising oneself and denigrating others,
Quarrelsome competitiveness develops.
Born as an asura, killed and mutilated,
One falls to hell as a result.
Through the aspiration of myself, the buddha,
May those who quarrel through competitiveness
Relax their enmity.
Awareness taking its seat,
May they attain the wisdom of unimpeded activity.

Through the distraction of mindless apathy,
Through torpor, obscurity, forgetfulness,
Unconsciousness, laziness and bewilderment,
One wanders as an unprotected animal as a result.
Through the aspiration of myself, the buddha,
May the light of lucid mindfulness arise
In the obscurity of torpid bewilderment.
May non-conceptual wisdom be attained.

All beings of the three realms
Are equal to myself, the buddha, in the all-ground.
It became the ground of mindless confusion.
Now, they engage in pointless actions.
The six actions are like the bewilderment of dreams.
I am the first buddha.
I tame the six types of beings through emanations.

Through the aspiration of Samantabhadra,
May all beings without exception
Be awakened in the dharmadhatu.

A HO
From now on whenever a powerful yogin
Within lucid awareness without bewilderment
Makes this powerful aspiration,
All beings who hear it
Will be fully awakened within three lives.

When the sun or moon is grasped by Rahu,
When there is clamor or earthquakes,
At the solstices or at the year's change,
If he generates himself as Samantabhadra
And recites this in the hearing of all,
All beings of the three realms
Will be gradually freed from suffering
And will finally attain buddhahood
Through the aspiration of that yogin.


From the Tantra of the Great Perfection Which Shows the Penetrating Wisdom of Samantabhadra, Chapter Nine.

Translated by Lama Yeshe Gyamtso and The Dzogchen Ponlop, Rinpoche.