Report October 2021
In the month of October it was Jigme Lingpa’s 223rd anniversary. For that special occasion we were delighted to share with you a translation of the catalogue of his collected works written by Getse Mahapandita: Precise Discernment of Dharmas: A Catalogue of the Complete Collected Works of the Omniscient King of Dharma, Rigdzin Jigme Lingpa
Getse Mahāpaṇḍita Gyurme Tsewang Chokdrup was an important Nyingma scholar from Katok Monastery who famously wrote a catalogue to the Collected Nyingma tantras (Nyingma Gyübum). Through his connection with the Derge royal family, he arranged for the printing of the Nyingma Tantras and the writings of Longchenpa and Jigme Lingpa, and took personal responsibility for proofreading them.
Getse Mahāpaṇḍita wrote this catalogue to the collected writings of Jigme Lingpa on the occasion of their publication in Derge in or after 1802. He begins with a biography of Jigme Lingpa, then identifies the patrons of the printing, the King and Queen of Derge, and the one who requested the publication, Dodrupchen Jigme Trinle Özer. This is followed by the actual catalogue, which lists all Jigme Lingpa’s writings except those of the Longchen Nyingtik revelation, for which there is a separate catalogue by Jigme Losal Özer (which is here on our website). The text ends with a section consisting of long citations from the sūtras expounding the benefit of publishing works that belong to the Great Vehicle, and finally a section with poetic stanzas of praise.
Getse Mahāpaṇḍita Gyurme Tsewang Chokdrup, from his collected works published by the Sichuan Minorities Publishing House
“With your eye of wisdom, you eliminate all the faults of existence.
Having gone to the other shore of great purity,
You are a mirror that reflects all phenomena.
Your name, Self-Arisen Vajra, adorns this world.”
For those who like to spend a few minutes remembering the qualities of Jigme Lingpa, we can recommend the following texts, which are some of our favourite texts and prayers and which have been translated for the most part in the context of the Longchen Nyingtik Project:
By Jigme Lingpa himself:
A Prayer Recalling the Life and Liberation of the Great Perfection Adept Rangjung Dorje
A Prayer to Rigdzin Jigme Lingpa Invoking His Previous Incarnations
By Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö:
"Thinking of the trifling concerns that are the bounties of this life,
You do not try to combine worldly ways with Dharma,
But practise pure yogic discipline, free from hypocrisy—
To you whose ways would delight Saraha himself, I pray!"
"By practising the yogas of the path’s two stages,
The knots of your channels, vital essences, and wind-energies were naturally freed,
Enabling you to master, without study, all knowable things.
Lord, Guru Mañjughoṣa, to you I pray!"