02 Seven-Line Prayer To The Guru Rinpoche (구루 린포체께 드리는 7행 기도)

SEVEN-LINE PRAYER TO GURU RINPOCHE LYRICS; (구루 린포체께 드리는 7행 기도)

HUNG! On the northwest border of the country of Oddiyana,

In the pollen heart of the lotus,

Marvelous in the perfection of your attainment

You are known as the lotus born

And are surrounded by your circle of many dakinis.

By following in your footsteps

I pray that you will come and confer your blessings.

GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUNG!

SEVEN-LINE PRAYER TO GURU RINPOCHE’S MEANING;

White Lotus: An explanation of the seven-line prayer to Guru Padmasambhava. Padmakara Translation Group. Shambhala Publications. Boston. 2007.

The prayer begins with the syllable HUNG.  Considered the seed syllable of the mind of all the Buddhas, it invokes the enlightened mind of Guru Rinpoche himself. Mahayana—Great Vehicle—Buddhism, of which Tibetan Buddhism is one path, recognizes that beyond the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, there are past, present and future Buddhas, all characterized by minds that have fully reached their enlightened potential.

The sacred land of Oddiyana is the homeland of the dakinis, and where Guru Rinpoche was born from the center of a lotus.  It is thought to have been located in what is now the Swat Valley in Pakistan or nearby in eastern Afghanistan.  On Oddiyana’s northwestern frontier was a sacred lake whose perfectly pure water was full of lotus blossoms.  Guru Rinpoche revealed himself on the pistil of the largest and most beautiful lotus, one that grew in the center of the lake and was surrounded by an array of other blossoms, their colors symbolizing the five wisdoms mentioned above.

Tibetan Buddhists recognize Guru Rinpoche as the ultimate and unfailing protector to whom to pray with complete trust and confidence.  Knowing that he is an undeceiving source of refuge, we ask to be able to free ourselves from worldly concerns and follow in his footsteps, practicing his teachings unceasingly and with irreversible faith and devotion.  This is not blind faith, but faith born of study and personal experience.  We ask Guru Rinpoche to come and bestow his blessings upon us, to free us from the sufferings of worldly life.  Here again we must remind ourselves that we are seeking to recognize ourselves in Guru Rinpoche and Guru Rinpoche in ourselves.  This is how his blessing manifests.

The invocation concludes with Guru Rinpoche’s mantra: GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUNG.  GURU means the unsurpassed teacher, and PADMA is the first name of the master of Oddiyana.  SIDDHI refers to the supreme and ordinary accomplishments and powers that he has achieved and that are our goal.  With HUNG, we call upon the precious master, entreating him to bring forth our supreme wisdom and compassion, the two poles of enlightenment.

Thus we supplicate the great master Guru Padmasambhava, embodiment of all the Buddhas of the three times.  We reveal the place and manner of his birth, the extraordinary nature of his greatness and his actual name.  The fifth line mentions Guru Rinpoche’s retinue, the display of his compassion, whose activities benefit beings according to their needs.  Next, the sixth line conveys how we should pray: having recognized the Guru’s qualities, we turn our hearts to him and pray with irreversible faith, yearning to become inseparable from him.  Joining the seventh line with the mantra, the blessings of his compassion enter into us, our minds are blessed and we are sure to gain accomplishment.

Jigme Lingpa (1730-1798), author of the next prayer, is considered the premier poet-visionary of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.  The Nyingma, or “old school” is based on the teachings Guru Padmasambhava originally brought to Tibet.  JigmeLingpa was a mystic and a yogi-hermit, famous for his mastery of esoteric doctrines and his visionary meditative experiences.

This prayer is a feast song offered to the guru during a ritual feast, a tsog.  Such feasts traditionally follow a group practice, and are celebrated together by a master and disciples.  At the conclusion of the feast,
the students offer a song to their teacher.  JigmeLingpa’s is one of the best beloved feast songs of the Nyingma lineage.