Timeless Rapture: Inspired Verse from the Shangpa Masters

The Shangpa Masters and Their Lineage 251
At Malabar, a place of power and wealth in Land of the Exalted,
Virtuous signs of blessing arose in a Brahmin’s home
Where the conduct of purity was practiced
And nonvirtue was naturally renounced; to you I pray.
Glory of the doctrine, you took rebirth intentionally
Without attachment to your excellent caste, body, and possessions.
Your innate intelligence
Led you to meditate for your own and others’ benefit; to you I pray.
You saw existence’s happiness and wealth as a dream—
Disillusionment raged in your mind like fires at the end of time.
At Nalanda you renounced home life.
Accomplisher of all noble goals, to you I pray.
The force of your training in previous lifetimes
Kept you from committing natural faults,
And even in dreams you did not associate yourself with vows’
downfalls.
Mighty, ultimate foe-destroyer, to you I pray.
In the exalted land’s east, west, and center,
You received a host of accomplished masters’ heart-essence.
Your ocean of learning filled with the jewels of analysis,
And you became the source of many essential teachings; to you I pray.
In knowledge of the ten subjects of study, you were peerless.
Particularly in the outer and inner tantras
You relinquished hesitation and became an omniscient master.
Lord of transcendent knowledge, to you I pray.
You gained a fortunate inheritance from one million teachers;
Your jewel treasury of direct instructions was unfathomably deep.
Erudite and accomplished master, who gathered the nagas’ wealth
from all sources,
You preserved it for others’ benefit; to you I pray.