Happy Full Moon of Lord Buddha´s Miracles, culmination of the great prayer festival instituted by Lord Tsonkhapa.
Je Tsongkhapa's unceasing love and admiration for our Teacher, the Buddha, was expressed in so many scriptures of his divine hand, but again, his Praise to the Buddha for teaching Dependent Origination is a constant source of joy and wisdom.
Happy day to all!
Here just some verses of his Poem:
PRAISE TO THE BUDDHA FOR TEACHING DEPENDENT ORIGINATION
34
No need to speak of many teachings
When even a vague understanding
Of just one facet of your teachings
Brings supreme delight!
35
Alas! My mind is marred by ignorance.
Although I have long since taken refuge
In the bounty of your excellence,
I have yet to gain even its smallest part.
36
But before this stream of life runs out,
As it courses toward the Lord of Death,
I am thinking myself fortunate to have
Gained just a little faith in you.
37
Among teachings, the teaching on dependent arising;
Among [the types of] wisdom, wisdom of dependent arising.
Like the Buddhas in the [many] worlds,
You, and no others, know these to be
completely supreme.
38
Everything you taught
Is based on dependent arising-
designed to effect nirvana.
And your every deed-
to yield nothing but peace.
39
O, how marvelous your teachings are!
Since they bring peace to all
Whose ears they reach,
Who would not want to uphold them reverently?
40
This system, free from contradiction
from top to bottom,
Overcomes all rivals and
Grants to beings the two goals.
In this I take increasing delight.
41
For its sake you gave
Again and again over countless eons,
At times your body, at times your life,
Your dear family and ample wealth.
42
Upon seeing the virtues of that Dharma
Fathomed by your mind,
I was drawn like a fish on a hook.
How unfortunate not to have heard
that teaching directly from you!
43
By the force of that sorrow,
My mind can't give up that thought;
Like a mother whose mind is consumed
By thoughts of her dear son.
44, 45
But when the thought of you teaching
comes to mind-
"This is how the Master taught,
Blazing with the splendor of his
Signs and marks, encircled by an orb of light,
And speaking with such a pure voice"-
Just the image of the Muni that
I conjure in my mind soothes this pain,
As does the light of the moon for one
Tormented by the heat of the sun.
46
Those who are unskilled
Have made of your most excellent system,
A complete tangle,
Much like the bel ba dza.
47
Upon seeing this,
I relied upon the works of sages
And diligently sought
Your true intent again and again.
48
At that time, the more I studied the many texts
Of our own and others' systems,
The more my mind was
Completely troubled by a net of doubt.
49, 50, 51
The way of your highest vehicle,
Which rejects the extremes of
Being absolutely or not being at all,
Would be explained, as you prophesied,
By Nagarjuna, whose treatises,
Like a garden of moonflowers,
Blossomed, through the great kindness of my Lama,
Beneath the white light beams of the
Brilliant explanations of the Glorious Moon, (Lord Chandrakirti)
Whose waxing orb of stainless wisdom
Moves unimpeded through the sky of scriptures,
Outshining constellations of false speech
and clearing the heart of the darkness of extreme views.
At last my tormented mind found true relief.
52
Among all his deeds,
The act of teaching is supreme.
And of his teachings, this one is supreme.
Therefore, the wise should
remember the Buddha for this!
53
I became ordained as your follower,
And studied your teachings in no meager way;
-A monk who exerted himself
in his spiritual practice.
In this way I respectfully
Honor that Great Sage.
54
Since it is through the great kindness of a Lama
That one even meets with such teachings
Revealed by the consummate Teacher,
I dedicate the virtue of composing this work
to all beings without exception.
May it serve as a cause for them to be taken
Under the care of holy spiritual guides.
55
May the teachings of the One who only benefits others
Remain undisturbed by the winds of bad thoughts,
until samsara's end.
And may the world always be filled with beings
who have gained faith in the Master
Through achieving correct understanding
of his teaching system.
56
In all my future lives,
even at the cost of life or limb,
May I never stop or for a single moment slacken
In upholding this, the Muni's excellent system,
that clarifies the true nature of dependent arising.
