Treasure Texts and the Compilation of the Longchen Nyingtik Ngöndro
Here we will say a few words about our latest addition, Jigme Lingpa's treasure revelation The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel: The Outer Practice of Guru Yoga from the Heart-Essence of the Vast Expanse.
The Longchen Nyingtik Ngöndro that most people are familiar with was compiled at a later stage by the First Dodrupchen Jigme Trinle Özer. Most of the sections, such as the four thoughts, refuge, bodhicitta, mandala offering and kusulu, were taken from a text by Jigme Lingpa called Miscellaneous Writings for the Common and Uncommon Preliminary Practices.
The guru yoga section was then based on The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel: The Outer Practice of Guru Yoga, which is the actual treasure revelation. It consists of the visualization, the seven branch offering and several prayers, and at the end one also finds The Visualization for Receiving the Four Empowerments. Then Jigme Trinle Özer wrote the supplementary sections, also adding the lineage prayer The Continuous Shower of Blessings: A Prayer to the Lineage of the Great Perfection’s Heart-Essence of the Vast Expanse.
In any case, this is the reason why many of you who have practiced the Longchen Nyingtik Ngöndro will be familiar with most of The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel: The Outer Practice of Guru Yoga. However, a large section of ‘small writings’ (yigchung) that contain explanations and crucial advice were not included in the compilation by Jigme Trinle Özer. We can therefore highly recommend paying special attention to that section. It starts with the following:
“Surrendering totally, sincerely and without any hypocrisy, recite the mantra like the flow of a river, and visualize receiving the four empowerments.
If the visualization isn’t clear or you are despondent and so on, purify all appearance and existence, the world and its inhabitants, into a pure vision of the play of the awakened body, speech and mind of the Guru from Uḍḍiyāna and pray fervently to him.
Whenever you feel elated or awareness becomes vividly clear, let go of any fixed reference point and sustain a lucid awareness of the present moment.”
All the way up to:
“Ema! This cycle of the outer practice of guru yoga
Of the Heart-Essence of the Vast Expanse,
Profound and significant and endowed with great blessing and power,
Was set forth in the palace of the central channel of luminosity
By knowing awareness, Lotus Skull-Garland,
In the manner of the blessed sign transmission.
When the time had come to benefit beings,
The door to the sky-treasury of mind treasures
Was opened through the circumstance of profound interdependence
And this ultimate, utterly profound teaching was revealed.
Samaya. Seal, seal, seal.”
Guru Lake-Born Vajra
Courtesy of Himalayan Art Resources
The Third Dodrupchen Jigme Tenpe Nyima has written a commentary on the text called The Staircase that Leads to Lotus Light: Essential Instructions on Guru Yoga.