Clean-Clear: Refuge, Bodhicitta and the Nature of the Mind brings together introductory teachings given in England in 1976 and the Netherlands in 1980, as Lama Yeshe guides students in exploring the foundations of the Buddhist path with his characteristic warmth, clarity and wisdom. Compiled and edited by Nicholas Ribush, this is the second volume in a series of Lama Yeshe's collected teachings, following Knowledge-Wisdom: The Peaceful Path to Liberation.
Appendix 2: The Bodhisattva Vow Ceremony
Short outer mandala65
Sa zhi pö kyi jug shing me tog tram
Ri rab ling zhi nyi dä gyän pa di
Sang gyä zhing du mig te ül wa yi
Dro kün nam dag zhing la chö par shog
This ground, anointed with perfume, strewn with flowers,
Adorned with Mount Meru, the four continents, the sun and the moon:
I imagine it as a buddha land and offer it.
May all transmigratory beings enjoy this pure land.
Inner mandala
Dag gi chag dang mong sum kye pe yül
Dra nyen bar sum lu dang long chö che
Pang pa me par bul gyi leg zhe ne
Dug sum rang sar dröl war jin gyi lob
The objects of my attachment, anger, and ignorance—
Friends, enemies, strangers, body and enjoyments—
I offer them with no sense of loss. Please kindly accept them,
And bless me to pacify the three poisons in dependence on their own objects.
Refuge and bodhicitta
Sang gyä chhö dang tshog kyi chhog nam la
Jang chhub bar du dag ni kyab su chhi
Dag gi jin sog gyi päi tshog nam kyi
Dro la phän chhir sang gyä drub par shog
I take refuge until I am enlightened
In the Buddha, the Dharma and the Supreme Assembly.
By my merits of generosity and so forth,
May I become a buddha to benefit transmigratory beings.
Generating aspiring bodhicitta
Dro kün si shi jig pa le dröl chir
Dzog päi jang chub tob par dö päi sem
Deng ne sung te sang gye ma tob bar
Sog gi chir yang mi tang sung
war gyi
In order to free all beings from the terrors of [both] samsara and [nirvana’s] peace,
I wish to achieve complete enlightenment.
From now until I reach buddhahood,
I will hold this wish and never forsake it, even to save my life.
Engaged bodhicitta and the bodhisattva vows
La ma gyäl wa sä chä nam
Dag la gong par dzä du söl
O lamas, victors and spiritual children
I beseech you to listen to me.
Ji tar ngön gyi de sheg kyi
Jang chhub thug ni kye pa dang
Jang chhub sem päi lab pa la
De dag rim shin ne pa tar
Just as previous sugatas
Generated bodhicitta
And practiced by stages
The bodhisattva trainings,
Dag kyang dro la pän dön du
Jang chhub sem nyi kye gyi shing
Jang chub sem päi lab pa la
Rim pa shin du lab par gyi
For the benefit of all beings,
I too vow to generate bodhicitta
And practice the trainings of the bodhisattvas
One by one. Rejoicing and remembering
Rejoicing and remembering
Deng dü dag tshe drä bu yö
Mi yi si pa leg par thob
De ring sang gyä rig su kye
Sang gyä sä su da gyur to
Now my life has been given meaning,
This human life has been made worthwhile;
Today I am born into the family of buddhas—
I have now become a buddha’s child.
Da ni dag gi chi nä kyang
Rig dang tün päi lä tsam te
Kyön me tsün päi rig di la
Nyog par mi gyur de tar ja
From now on and in every way possible
I shall act in accord with this lineage;
This flawless and pure lineage
I shall never disgrace.
Dedication
Jang chhub sem chhog rin po chhe
Ma kye pa nam kye gyur chig
Kye pa nyam pa me pa yi
Gong nä gong du phel war shog
May the precious supreme bodhicitta
Not yet born arise.
May that arisen not decline,
But increase more and more.
Notes
65. After Geshe Tharchin, Six-Session Guru Yoga. Lama added the mandala offering at the beginning and omitted or modified some of the Tibetan here, replacing certain verses with instruction in English. [Return to text]