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The Lineage Supplication, or Dorje Chang Thungma,
is used in Karma Kagyu centers at the start of a practice session. It is
usually recited in Tibetan, but here is an
English version by the Nalanda Translation Committee. [Tibetan style
chanting uses an equal stress on each syllable.]
Great Vajradhara, Tilo, Naro,
Marpa, Mila, Lord of Dharma Gampopa,
Knower of the Three Times, omniscient Karmapa,
Holders of the four great and eight lesser lineages --
Drikung, Tag-lung,
Tsalpa, these three; glorious Drukpa and so on --
Masters of the profound path of Mahamudra,
Incomparable protectors of beings, the Takpo Kagyu,
I supplicate you, the Kagyu gurus.
I hold your lineage; grant your blessings so that I will follow your
example.
Revulsion is the foot of meditation, as is taught.
To this meditator who is not attached to food and wealth,
Who cuts the ties to this life,
Grant your blessings so that I have no desire for honor and gain.
Devotion is the head of meditation, as is taught.
The guru opens the gate to the treasury of oral instructions.
To this meditator who continually supplicates him
Grant your blessings, so that genuine devotion is born in me.
Awareness is the body of meditation, as is taught.
Whatever arises is fresh--the essence of realization.
To this meditator who rests simply without altering it
Grant your blessings so that my meditation is free from conception.
The essence of thought is dharmakaya, as is taught.
Nothing whatever but everything arises from it.
To this meditator who arises in unceasing play
Grant your blessings so that I realize the inseparability of samsara and
nirvana.
Through all my births may I not be separated from the perfect guru
And so enjoy the splendor of dharma.
Perfecting the virtues of the paths and bhumis,
May I speedily attain the state of Vajradhara.
May precious bodhicitta be born in those in whom it has not arisen.
Having arisen, may it not degenerate, and may it continue to develop more and
more.
Dri, Tak,
Sel -- these three, Shri Drugpa, etc. : A less explicit English
translation ca.1970 uses short forms of the lineage names; here they are given
in full.
This prayer is the lineage invocation for the Kagyu practice of
Mahamudra. At one time, the Kagyu did actually consist of "four
great and eight lesser" schools of Mahamudra teaching
lineages, each with a distinct way of practicing. Along with the
Karma Kagyu, the Drikung and the Drukpa are still active. (The Shangpa
Kagyu is not mentioned separately, here.)
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