Longchenpa's Advice from the Heart
LONGCHENPA WAS A GREAT Dzogchen practitioner. On the basis of his experience he wrote thirty words of advice for his students. These thirty advices concern certain situations of which it is important to be aware. Maybe not all of them are relevant to our situation, but undoubtedly many of these can be useful for our life. We should remember those which are more meaningful to us, and integrate them in our daily life.
The title of Longchenpa’s text is Nyingtam Sumchupa. Nyingtam means heartfelt words or words from the heart; that is, words that one does not just say to anyone, but only to those close, as advice. Sumchupa means thirty verses. Longchenpa presents this advice as if directed to himself and, by implication, also to his students. The advice concerns mainly persons like Longchenpa; he was a monk and a teacher, so his advice is appropriate for that condition. However the text also contains much advice that can be useful for everybody.
HOMAGE TO THE MASTER
I bow at the fret of my guru, the protector the supreme of the triple gem,
Who from the great clouds of aspirations, the wisdom encompassing the space expanse of reality,
Makes the stream of nectar of the warm rays of compassion fall
Ripening the buds of the three enlightened dimensions in the fields of the students.
With this verse, Longchenpa pays homage to the teacher. He compares his teacher to space and in this space, clouds form the teachings which, like rain descending upon the earth, mature the disciples’ minds.
THE EXHORTATION
By the power of my aspirations 1 became a disciple of the supreme masters of the lineage of accomplishment;
Yet, having spent my time uselessly, I have not made any effort, and now this life is coming to its twilight.
My intention was to behave like an ascetic but now I am a distressed man and seeing others like me,
I have spoken these thirty words of advice to exhort my mind in the spirit of renunciation.
Longchenpa says that because of his fortunate karma in this life he entered the path, met excellent teachers and was taught by them. Despite this good opportunity he passed his time distractedly, and his life was like the growing shadows of mountains that foretell evening. This is true for us as well: while time passes we are always distracted by useless activities.
Longchenpa had the good intention to engage in spiritual practice and other good deeds during his life but, because of his attitude and what he really had been doing, that intention became a mere wish. When he saw that his intentions did not match his actions, he felt sad. For that reason he wrote these words of advice to himself and others like him.
Unlike us, as a young man Longchenpa studied the Dharma under many teachers and later spent most of his life in the mountains. Thus, it seems that Longchenpa wrote this text of advice when he was still young, before deciding to set off for the mountains to dedicate himself to practice.
THE FIRST WORD OF ADVICE
Alas! Having gathered~ by various means, a large circle of people around your self
You may possess a prosperous monastic estate;
Yet, this is only the cause of quarrels and attachment for one's mind.
Live in solitude! This is my advice from the heart.
Through various means we gather many people around ourselves; for example, in a monastery we gather many monks, and as teachers we increase the number of our students. Once this is accomplished, we may think that now all the good conditions are present, but in reality all this is a source of quarrels and of attachment. Thus it is better we stay alone and free. I often think this: I have many students who ask me to come here and there, and I try to make them happy, but my students don’t always follow my advice to apply themselves to the practice. Sometimes they fight with each other, creating many problems, and I also bear the consequences of that. I tell them that we have commitments to maintain. I maintain the commitments with my students, but this is not sufficient. Between students too there must be mutual respect; if they do not respect each other problems arise. We, teacher and students, are in the same boat, so to speak, traveling to a very far destination. If one creates a problem in a boat it affects everyone else in that boat. This is just an example, but Longchenpa gave this advice for such situations.
THE SECOND WORD OF ADVICE
You may display to the crowd expertise iii village rites
In preventing children’s deaths and subduing evil spirits;
Yet, because of craving for food and wealth, your mind is carried off by demons.
Subdue your mind! This is my advice from the heart.
If you are a monk or a Lama people invite you to perform rites, or pujas as they are commonly known. Many monks and Lamas involved in that become puja-monks or puja-lamas. When I first arrived in Sikkim, India, where I was intending to live, I had no one to sponsor me, and I had to make money to live. Although I wanted to work I was unable get a job. At that time, many people, hearing that I was an incarnation, a learned Lama, asked me to perform rites in their homes. So I started to perform various rites for them at their houses. At the end of the rites, these households would offer me money and food. In that way, doing one or two pujas a week, I could make my livelihood. The families for whom I was performing rites advised other families, who also needed a Lama to do a puja at their house, to invite me. So my schedule became busier, as now I was performing rites three times a week; and after some weeks, I had to perform them every day; in that way I was becoming a puja-lama. I had no problem earning a living, but rites performed in this way are just for one’s livelihood. Many monks and Lamas in monasteries support themselves that way, by performing village rites. Longchenpa refers to that
‘Preventing children’s deaths’ refers to rites for curing children when they are ill or suffer from another problem. Usually, people invite monks or Lamas to perform such rites. In Tibet, people in the countryside are used to inviting monks and Lamas to perform rites when cattle, horses, and other domestic animals are struck down by a disease, or to perform rites in order to eliminate the negativity responsible for bad luck and misfortunes in the family. ‘Subduing evil spirits’ refers to rites for eliminating provocations. Where there is some provocation, usually people in Tibet ask an expert for a divination and if the divination indicates that specific rites need to he done in order to overcome the provocation, since common people do not know how to perform rites, it is the custom to invite a Lama. For example, if astrological calculations show that a person’s life condition is negatively affected in the current year, customarily people think of requesting a monastery to perform some rites.
One cannot ask a monastery to perform rites for oneself without making an offering. Thus, one offers money and other necessities, and the monastery performs the rites or dispatches monks to perfom these rites in one’s house. If a monk or other practitioners have the qualifications for performing such rites, they become puja—lamas. Such a ‘job’ creates attachment to money, wealth and food, and that is why some monks and Lamas agree to perform pujas in the first place. In this case, one’s mind is dominated by the demons, in that one is not applying the practice for the right purpose.
While I lived in Sikkim I acted as a puja-lama for many months. After some time, I received news that my father and my brother were held in prison in Tibet. The Chinese were accusing them because I was reported to be in India, working against the Chinese. Although other Tihetans were indeed involved in anti-Chinese activities, I never participated in these. Thus I decided to return to Tibet in order to prove that I was not working against the Chinese.
I traveled to the border between Sikkim and Tibet where I stayed for about a week. There, a householder asked me to stay in his house and perform rites for my own sake and theirs while waiting at least a week so as to check out how the situation in Tibet was evolving. I did the puja of Tara for more than a week and during that time, every day I received news that the situation in Tibet was becoming worse and worse. I also had a clear dream which indicated I should not go back to Tibet. The householder advised me not to return to Tibet, because if I were to do so the Chinese, instead of liberating my father and my brother, would put me in prison too. I decided not to set off for Tibet and went back down to Gangtok. However, I did not
want to live any longer as a puja-lama. I asked the government of Sikkim for a job; my request was accepted and I was offered one. Everyday I used to work in an office like an ordinary person till I went to Italy. This gave me the opportunity to pursue my studies and to practice.
Considering such situations, Longchenpa reminds us that what is most important is to re-educate our mind, to watch what kind of intention we have, what plans we have. If we see that we have a negative intention, we should change it and cultivate a good intention. We usually take various vows to control our body, speech and mind so as not to create negative karma. If we check our intention with awareness, we can control ourselves with no need of any vow.
Now That I Come to Die
Intimate Guidance from One of Tibet's Greatest Masters
Now That I Have Come to Die presents his heartfelt advice to his closest disciples in poetic verse form on how to make the teachings a path of transformation.
This new book, translated by Herbert Guenther, also focuses on the powerful practices of the Four Immeasurables: the qualities of equanimity, love, compassion, and joy. His commentary, never before published in book form, shows how systematic practice of these "catalysts of being" can upend the usual routines of our daily existence and lead us beyond the limits we have learned to take for granted. Longchenpa's writings, in clear and luminous prose, have the power to awaken our own innermost knowing and inspire us to act on the knowledge we already have. "If you have read me, you have met me." Longchenpa.
LONGCHENPA WAS A GREAT Dzogchen practitioner. On the basis of his experience he wrote thirty words of advice for his students. These thirty advices concern certain situations of which it is important to be aware. Maybe not all of them are relevant to our situation, but undoubtedly many of these can be useful for our life. We should remember those which are more meaningful to us, and integrate them in our daily life.
The title of Longchenpa’s text is Nyingtam Sumchupa. Nyingtam means heartfelt words or words from the heart; that is, words that one does not just say to anyone, but only to those close, as advice. Sumchupa means thirty verses. Longchenpa presents this advice as if directed to himself and, by implication, also to his students. The advice concerns mainly persons like Longchenpa; he was a monk and a teacher, so his advice is appropriate for that condition. However the text also contains much advice that can be useful for everybody.
HOMAGE TO THE MASTER
I bow at the fret of my guru, the protector the supreme of the triple gem,
Who from the great clouds of aspirations, the wisdom encompassing the space expanse of reality,
Makes the stream of nectar of the warm rays of compassion fall
Ripening the buds of the three enlightened dimensions in the fields of the students.
With this verse, Longchenpa pays homage to the teacher. He compares his teacher to space and in this space, clouds form the teachings which, like rain descending upon the earth, mature the disciples’ minds.
THE EXHORTATION
By the power of my aspirations 1 became a disciple of the supreme masters of the lineage of accomplishment;
Yet, having spent my time uselessly, I have not made any effort, and now this life is coming to its twilight.
My intention was to behave like an ascetic but now I am a distressed man and seeing others like me,
I have spoken these thirty words of advice to exhort my mind in the spirit of renunciation.
Longchenpa says that because of his fortunate karma in this life he entered the path, met excellent teachers and was taught by them. Despite this good opportunity he passed his time distractedly, and his life was like the growing shadows of mountains that foretell evening. This is true for us as well: while time passes we are always distracted by useless activities.
Longchenpa had the good intention to engage in spiritual practice and other good deeds during his life but, because of his attitude and what he really had been doing, that intention became a mere wish. When he saw that his intentions did not match his actions, he felt sad. For that reason he wrote these words of advice to himself and others like him.
Unlike us, as a young man Longchenpa studied the Dharma under many teachers and later spent most of his life in the mountains. Thus, it seems that Longchenpa wrote this text of advice when he was still young, before deciding to set off for the mountains to dedicate himself to practice.
THE FIRST WORD OF ADVICE
Alas! Having gathered~ by various means, a large circle of people around your self
You may possess a prosperous monastic estate;
Yet, this is only the cause of quarrels and attachment for one's mind.
Live in solitude! This is my advice from the heart.
Through various means we gather many people around ourselves; for example, in a monastery we gather many monks, and as teachers we increase the number of our students. Once this is accomplished, we may think that now all the good conditions are present, but in reality all this is a source of quarrels and of attachment. Thus it is better we stay alone and free. I often think this: I have many students who ask me to come here and there, and I try to make them happy, but my students don’t always follow my advice to apply themselves to the practice. Sometimes they fight with each other, creating many problems, and I also bear the consequences of that. I tell them that we have commitments to maintain. I maintain the commitments with my students, but this is not sufficient. Between students too there must be mutual respect; if they do not respect each other problems arise. We, teacher and students, are in the same boat, so to speak, traveling to a very far destination. If one creates a problem in a boat it affects everyone else in that boat. This is just an example, but Longchenpa gave this advice for such situations.
THE SECOND WORD OF ADVICE
You may display to the crowd expertise iii village rites
In preventing children’s deaths and subduing evil spirits;
Yet, because of craving for food and wealth, your mind is carried off by demons.
Subdue your mind! This is my advice from the heart.
If you are a monk or a Lama people invite you to perform rites, or pujas as they are commonly known. Many monks and Lamas involved in that become puja-monks or puja-lamas. When I first arrived in Sikkim, India, where I was intending to live, I had no one to sponsor me, and I had to make money to live. Although I wanted to work I was unable get a job. At that time, many people, hearing that I was an incarnation, a learned Lama, asked me to perform rites in their homes. So I started to perform various rites for them at their houses. At the end of the rites, these households would offer me money and food. In that way, doing one or two pujas a week, I could make my livelihood. The families for whom I was performing rites advised other families, who also needed a Lama to do a puja at their house, to invite me. So my schedule became busier, as now I was performing rites three times a week; and after some weeks, I had to perform them every day; in that way I was becoming a puja-lama. I had no problem earning a living, but rites performed in this way are just for one’s livelihood. Many monks and Lamas in monasteries support themselves that way, by performing village rites. Longchenpa refers to that
‘Preventing children’s deaths’ refers to rites for curing children when they are ill or suffer from another problem. Usually, people invite monks or Lamas to perform such rites. In Tibet, people in the countryside are used to inviting monks and Lamas to perform rites when cattle, horses, and other domestic animals are struck down by a disease, or to perform rites in order to eliminate the negativity responsible for bad luck and misfortunes in the family. ‘Subduing evil spirits’ refers to rites for eliminating provocations. Where there is some provocation, usually people in Tibet ask an expert for a divination and if the divination indicates that specific rites need to he done in order to overcome the provocation, since common people do not know how to perform rites, it is the custom to invite a Lama. For example, if astrological calculations show that a person’s life condition is negatively affected in the current year, customarily people think of requesting a monastery to perform some rites.
One cannot ask a monastery to perform rites for oneself without making an offering. Thus, one offers money and other necessities, and the monastery performs the rites or dispatches monks to perfom these rites in one’s house. If a monk or other practitioners have the qualifications for performing such rites, they become puja—lamas. Such a ‘job’ creates attachment to money, wealth and food, and that is why some monks and Lamas agree to perform pujas in the first place. In this case, one’s mind is dominated by the demons, in that one is not applying the practice for the right purpose.
While I lived in Sikkim I acted as a puja-lama for many months. After some time, I received news that my father and my brother were held in prison in Tibet. The Chinese were accusing them because I was reported to be in India, working against the Chinese. Although other Tihetans were indeed involved in anti-Chinese activities, I never participated in these. Thus I decided to return to Tibet in order to prove that I was not working against the Chinese.
I traveled to the border between Sikkim and Tibet where I stayed for about a week. There, a householder asked me to stay in his house and perform rites for my own sake and theirs while waiting at least a week so as to check out how the situation in Tibet was evolving. I did the puja of Tara for more than a week and during that time, every day I received news that the situation in Tibet was becoming worse and worse. I also had a clear dream which indicated I should not go back to Tibet. The householder advised me not to return to Tibet, because if I were to do so the Chinese, instead of liberating my father and my brother, would put me in prison too. I decided not to set off for Tibet and went back down to Gangtok. However, I did not
want to live any longer as a puja-lama. I asked the government of Sikkim for a job; my request was accepted and I was offered one. Everyday I used to work in an office like an ordinary person till I went to Italy. This gave me the opportunity to pursue my studies and to practice.
Considering such situations, Longchenpa reminds us that what is most important is to re-educate our mind, to watch what kind of intention we have, what plans we have. If we see that we have a negative intention, we should change it and cultivate a good intention. We usually take various vows to control our body, speech and mind so as not to create negative karma. If we check our intention with awareness, we can control ourselves with no need of any vow.
Now That I Come to Die
Intimate Guidance from One of Tibet's Greatest Masters
Now That I Have Come to Die presents his heartfelt advice to his closest disciples in poetic verse form on how to make the teachings a path of transformation.
This new book, translated by Herbert Guenther, also focuses on the powerful practices of the Four Immeasurables: the qualities of equanimity, love, compassion, and joy. His commentary, never before published in book form, shows how systematic practice of these "catalysts of being" can upend the usual routines of our daily existence and lead us beyond the limits we have learned to take for granted. Longchenpa's writings, in clear and luminous prose, have the power to awaken our own innermost knowing and inspire us to act on the knowledge we already have. "If you have read me, you have met me." Longchenpa.
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