Human transcription — may contain minor errors.
The$Canticle$of$the$Stages$of$the$
Path¹
by#the#Noble#Tsong#kha#pa#(135761419)
Translated+by+Ilia+Durovic1²#³#.# With#my#head,#I#prostrate#to#the#foremost#of#the# Śakyas Whose#Body#arose⁴#from#a#myriad⁵#excellent#and#perfect#virtues, Whose#Speech⁶#sates#the#hopes⁷#of#boundless#migrators, Whose#Mind#beholds⁸#every#object#of#knowledge⁹#,without# exception,#as#it#is.¹⁰
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#I#prostrate#to#the#Unvanquished¹¹#[and¹²]#Mañjuśrī¹³,
¹#The#works#relied#upon#in#preparing#this#translation#are#listed#in#the#bibliography.#Since#the##Vive#Virst# liminary#stanzas#of#the#“Canticle#of#Realization”##are#identical#to#those#of#“The#Great#Stages#of#the#Path”,# special#attention#was#paid#to#“The#Four_fold##Annotations#to#the#difVicult#points#of#the#Graduated#Stages#of# the#Path”‘s#commentary##on#the#Vive#Virst#stanzas.#This#contains#four#commentaries#on#the#“Great#stages#of# the#Path”#by#Jamyang#shepa#(J),#Baso#chö#kyi#gyeltsen#(B),#Ngawang#rabten#(N)#and#Prati#Geshe#Rinchen# döndrub#(P).#We#have#translated#them#in#footnotes#where#they#are#relevant. ²#We#have#adopted#during#the#Virst#couple#stanzas#the#subdivision#adopted#by#Thubten#Jinpa#in#his#དཔལ་%ན་ དགེ་%ན་པའི་ལམ་རིམ་དང་.ན་བ0ད་1ི་ཆོས་5ོར།#(“The#cycle#of#Dharma#of#the#Stages#of#the#Path#…”).#However,#from#stanza#12# onwards,#we#have#relied#on#the#natural#flow#of#Tibetan#verse,#even#though#this#entails#much#longer# stanzas#than#a#modern#reader#is#comfortable#with. ³.#The#Canticle#of#the#Stages#of#the#Path#does#not#contain#the#preliminary#homage#to#Mañjuśrī#in#Sanskrit,# “Namo#Mañjughośaya”,#present#in#the#“Great#Stages#of#the#Path” ⁴#B:#“is#the#result#of” ⁵#7ེ་བ།#Literally#“ten#million”. ⁶#J:#“Since#to#whomsoever#he#teaches#the#Dharma#a#single#utterance#also#has#the#melody#fulVilling#the#60#or# 64#branches” ⁷#J:#“The#contingent#and#ultimate#hopes’ ⁸J.#:#“All#phenomena#simultaneously” ⁹J.:#“Since#it#is#realized#by#the#mind” ¹⁰B.:#“This#is#veneration#through#the#three#doors: ¹¹J.:#“through#conquering#the#Maras” ¹²J.:#“Regent#and#Noble#Mañjuśrī”#Jamyang#shepa#considers#that#this#stanza#pays#homage#to#both#Mañjuśrī# and#Maitreya,#in#the#light#of#the#following#stanza,##while#the#grammar#would#also#allows#us#to#read#it#as#a# praise#to#Mañjuśrī#alone. ¹³N.:#Regarding#the#initial#teaching#that#this#treatise#has#both#the#Paths#of#the#Profound#and#of#the#Vast,# since#Atiśa#had: i.#The#lineage#from#Mañjuśrī#to#Nāgārjuna ii.#Later,#the#lineage#from#Maitreya#to#Asaṅga iii.#Yet#later,#the#lineage#from#Mañjuśrī#to#Śāntideva Supreme#sons#of#that#peerless#Teacher, Who,#having#shouldered#the#burden#of#all#of#the#deeds¹⁴#of#the# Conquerors, Disport#themselves¹⁵#in#emanations¹⁶#in##Vields#without#number.
3.# I#prostrate#at#the#renowned#feet# Of#“Nāgārjuna#and#Asaṅga”,#on#the#third#Ground, Ornaments#of#Jambudvipa, Who#commented#on#the#exact#intent#of The#Mother#of#the#Conquerors¹⁷,#extremely#difVicult#to#ascertain.
4.# I#venerate#Dīpamkara¹⁸,#treasure_bearer#of#instructions Encapsulating#the#perfected,#unmistaken,#pith# Of#the#Paths#of#the#Profound#View#and#of#Vast#Conduct Excellently#transmitted#from#the#two#great#trailblazers¹⁹.
#5.# I#prostrate²⁰#reverently#to#the#Virtuous#Friends,#acting#clearly²¹ By#deeds#skillful#in#means,#moved#by#empathy²², Supreme#gateway²³#leading#to#Liberation#for#the#fortunate, Eye#beholding#all#the#multitudinous²⁴###scriptures.
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Inasmuch#as#the#Stages#of#the#Path#to#Enlightenment#excellently#and Incrementally#transmitted#from#Nāgārjuna#and#Asaṅga, Perfect#crown_ornament#of#the#scholars#of#Jambudvipa#and Banner#of#hearing²⁵##limpid#for#migrators, -
FulVills#every#wish#and#hope#of#all#beings,#bar#none,
In#keeping#with#those,#the#successive#praise#[in#the#following]#three#stanzas#and#[the#praise]#of#teachers# other#than#these#comprises,#initially,#the#praise#of#Maitreya#and#Mañjuśrī. ¹⁴J.#“The#Twelve#Deeds#or#deeds#subduing#someone” ¹⁵I#have#used#a#pronoun#in#the#plural#here,#in#keeping#with#Jamyang#shepa’s#commentary#in#note#11. ¹⁶J.#“In#various#mobile#and#motionless#[emanations]” ¹⁷The#Perfection#of#Wisdom#(or#Prajñāpāramitā)#Sūtras. ¹⁸Atiśa#(982_1054) ¹⁹#i.e.#Nāgārjuna#and#Asaṅga ²⁰J.:#Then,#the#praise#of##the#Noble#One#to#his#direct#Gurus,#Namkha#gyeltsen,#Chökyab#palsang#and#so# forth#.#.#.” ²¹J.:#“by#means#of#hearing,#thinking#and#meditating#on#the#meaning#of#the#words#of#all#scriptures#through# the#Stages#of#the#Path.” ²²B.:#“Great#Compassion” ²³B.:#The#Stages#of#the#path#of#the#Beings#of#the#Three#Scopes#and#the#scriptures#teaching#their#topics. ²⁴#རབ་འ7མས། ²⁵Unfortunately,#this#difVicult#verse#is#not#commented#in#8ོ་བཟང་འཇམ་ད7ངས་;ོན་ལམ་’s#commentary. These#precious#instructions##are#a#powerful#king. Merging#the#Vlow#of#a#thousand#worthy#treatises, They#are#also###a##glorious#and#excellently#explained#ocean.
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The#realization#that#all#teachings#are#bereft#of#contradiction, All#scriptures,#bar#none,#dawn#as#instructions, Finding#easily#the#intent#of#the#Conquerors, And# being# also# protected²⁶# from# falling# into# the# abyss# of# # great# evil# conduct -
Hence,# # #among#the#numerous,#learned#and#greatly#fortunate# #beings# of#India#and#Tibet, Who,#with#a#mind#of#an#analytical#bent, Is#not#utterly#enthralled#by#the#supreme#instruction#which#was# taught: The#Stages#of#the#Path#of#the#Three#Beings#? -
Even#should#this#manner#of#succinctly#distilling#the#heart#of#all# Scriptures Be#taught#or#heard#but#once, Through#becoming#certain#of#this#host#of#mighty#waves (The# collection# of# beneVits# accrued# through# explaining# and# hearing# the#Holy#Dharma),#one#should#reVlect#on#that#meaning. -
Then,#the#root#which#accords#excellently#with#the#dependent_arising Of#whatever#excellent#collections#for#this#and#later#[lives], Is,#through#striving#[at#relying#on]#the#holy#Virtuous#Friend,#teacher#of# the#path,
To#rely#correctly#through#thought#and#application;#moreover,
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Upon#seeing#this,#delight#Him#with#the#offering#of#realization#in# keeping#with#his#words, Without#renouncing#Him,#even#at#the#cost#of#one’s#life. I,#the#yogi,#have#practiced#thus, You²⁷#too,#who#wish#for#Liberation,#
26 !Zhöl!བ”ང། ²⁷#Numerous#modern#Tibetan#editions#(such#as#the#Dzongkar#chöde#prayer#book,#<ོང་ཆོས་=་ཚང་ཞལ་འདོན་གཅེས་བAས།,# Taipei#(Taiwan),#2002)#read:#”I#likewise#wishing#for#Liberation”#(“ཐར་འདོད་བདག་1ང་་་”#“)which#is#very#much#at# odds#with#the#verbal#ending#“should#wish#to#act”#(བCང་འཚལ།).#We#have#therefore#translated#in#accordance# with#Thubten#Jinpa’s#critical#Tibetan#edition#(“ཐར་འདོད་Dེད་1ང་་་”)#and#vol.#2#of#%ང་uབ་ལམ་*ི་རིམ་པའི་rིད་ཡིག Should#wish#to#act#thus.
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This#base#of#leisure#is#superior#to#a#wish_fuVilling#jewel Obtaining#the#like##will#occur#just#this#one#time: It#is#akin#to#lightning#in#the#sky,#both#rare#and#easily#destroyed. Contemplating#in#this#way,#having#realized#that#all Mundane#activities#are#akin#to#winnowed#chaff, Day#and#night,#continually,##[you]#must#take#the#essence. I,#the#yogi,#have#practiced#thus, You#too,#who#wish#for#Liberation,# Should#wish#to#act#thus.
14.# After#death,#there#is#no#certainty#of#not#being#reborn#in#the#bad# migrations#and It#is#deVinite#that#the#Triple#Gem#protects#from#that#fear, Hence,#Refuge#should#be#most#stable#and Its#precepts#un_degenerated. Moreover,#having#well#contemplated#white#and#black#causality, Rely#upon#realizing#correctly#whats#is#to#be#acquired#and# relinquished. I,#the#yogi,#have#practiced#thus, You#too,#who#wish#for#Liberation,# Should#wish#to#act#thus.
15.# Since,#until#one#has#found#a#base#which#fulVills#the#criteria One#will#not#go#far²⁸,#one#should#train#in#the#causes#lacking#for#its# fulVillment. Since#t’is#of#great#import#to#purify#particularly#karma#and# obscurations#[of] The#three#doors,#besmirched#by#sins,#faults#and#stains One# should# cherish# reliance# on# continually# cleansing# [them# by]# the# four# forces. I,#the#yogi,#have#practiced#thus, You#too,#who#wish#for#Liberation,#
3ེགས་བམ་གཉིས་པ། ཤོགས་9ངས##393#ss. 28 !Zhöl#ས་yོད། Should#wish#to#act#thus.
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Without# striving# at# the# contemplation# of# the# defects# of# the# Truth# of# Suffering, How#will#the#urge²⁹#for#Liberation#arise? Since,# without# having# contemplated# the# stages# of# ingress# into# cyclic# existence,#[the#Truth#of#]#the#Origin, One#will#not#know#the#manner#of#severing#the#root#of#cyclic#existence, One#should#cherish#reliance³⁰#on#the#melancholy³¹#[wishing#for]# deVinite#emergence#from#existence, And#knowledge#of#what#fetters#to#cyclic#existence. I,#the#yogi,#have#practiced#thus, You#too,#who#wish#for#Liberation,# Should#wish#to#act#thus.
17.# Generating#the#Mind#is#the#central#column³²#of#the#Path#of#the# Supreme#Vehicle, It#is#the#foundation#and#basis#of#great#waves#of#conduct, Akin#to#the#elixir#of#transmutation#into#gold³³#for#the#two#collections A#treasure#of#merit#which#includes#myriads#of#collections#of#virtue. Understanding#this,#the#Scions#of#the#Conquerors Hold#the#Supreme,#Precious#Mind#as#the#center#of#their#oath³⁴. I,#the#yogi,#have#practiced#thus, You#too,#who#wish#for#Liberation,# Should#wish#to#act#thus.
18.# Generosity#is#the#wish_fulVilling#gem#quenching#the#wishes#of#all# migrators, ²⁹དོན་གཉེར། 30 #Kumbum#བ;ེན། ³¹Cོ་ཤས། ³²གGང་ཤིང། ³³གསེར་འHར་Iི། ³⁴Jགས་དམ།A#very#rich#term#in#Tibetan#which#can#mean:#“oath”,#“practice”,#“tutelary#deity”,#etc. The#supreme#falchion##cleaving#the#demon#of#avarice, The#conduct#of#the#Scions#of#the#Conquerors#which#gives#rise#to#inner# fortitude³⁵without#despondency, The#foundation#of#a#repute#which#resounds#in#the#ten#directions, Understanding#this,#the#wise#rely#on#the#worthy#path Utterly#bestowing#[one’s]#body,#wealth#and#virtue. I,#the#yogi,#have#practiced#thus, You#too,#who#wish#for#Liberation,# Should#wish#to#act#thus.
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Ethics#is#water#to#cleanse#the#stains#of#faulty#conduct, Moonlight#which#dispels#the#agonizing#heat#of#the#afVlictions, Resplendent#as#the#Towering#One,#in#the#midst#of#the#Nine#Beings, By#its#force,#all#migrators#venerate#it#without#fear, Understanding#this,#the#Holy#Ones,#will#protect#the#disciplines Which#they#have#authentically#adopted#as#their#eyes. I,#the#yogi,#have#practiced#thus, You#too,#who#wish#for#Liberation,# Should#wish#to#act#thus.
20.# Forbearance#is#the#supreme#ornament#for#the#strong, Offered#by#all#the#ascetics³⁶#tormented#by#the#afVlictions A#Garuḍa#for#the#serpent³⁷#of#hatred, Hardened#armor#against#the#sword#of#abusive#words, Understanding#this,#one#should#become#accustomed#by#various# means³⁸ To#the#armor#of#supreme#forbearance. I,#the#yogi,#have#practiced#thus, You#too,#who#wish#for#Liberation,# Should#wish#to#act#thus.
³⁵!.ིང་Kོབས། 36 #Thubten#Jinpa’s#translation#of#this#line#is#either#based#on#a#different#recension#than#his#own#critical# edition#or#misreads#the#grammar#of#the#clause. 37 #ལག་འ9ོ 38 #This#line#is#missing#in#several#editions#(such#as#the#Dzongkar#chöde#prayer#book,#p.#210). 21.# When#clad#in#the#armor#of#stalwart,#unVlinching³⁹#perseverance, The#qualities#of#scripture#and#realization#will#increase#like#the#waxing# moon#and All#deportment⁴⁰#will#become#meaningful. Whatever#is#initiated,#the#end#of#the#undertaking⁴¹#will#be# accomplished#as# one#wishes, Understanding# this,# the# Scions# of# the# Conquerors⁴²# launched# waves# of#perseverance#dispelling#all#sloth⁴³. I,#the#yogi,#have#practiced#thus, You#too,#who#wish#for#Liberation,# Should#wish#to#act#thus.
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Contemplation⁴⁴#is#the#king#ruling#over#the#mind, Once#set,#t’is#akin#to#the#unwavering⁴⁵#Lord#of#the#mountains Once#dispatched,#it#engages#all#virtuous#objects#of#observation# And#induces#the#great#bliss#of#physical#and#mental#competence⁴⁶, Understanding#this,#powerful#yogis# Continually#rely#on#concentration#which#overcomes#the#foe#of# distraction. I,#the#yogi,#have#practiced#thus, You#too,#who#wish#for#Liberation,# Should#wish#to#act#thus. -
Wisdom#is#the#eye#beholding#profound#suchness, The#path#casting#away#the#root#of#existence#from#the#root⁴⁷, The#treasure#of#qualities#praised#in#all#scriptures, Renowned#as#the#supreme#lamp#dispelling#the#gloom⁴⁸#of# benightedness,
39 #མི་མ=ོག 40 #>ོད་ལམ། 41 #ལས། 42 #Emending#?ལ་@ས་Aམས་Bི་བCམས།##to##?ལ་@ས་Aམས་Bིས་བCམས། 43 #ལེ་ལོ། 44 #བསམ་གཏན།(Sk.#Dhyāna).#The#Sanskrit#term#Dhyāna#derives#from#√dhyai,##“to#think,#to#contemplate”. 45 #གཡE་མFད། 46 #ལས་G་Hང་བ། 47 #Iངས་ནས། (sིང་)#C་བ 48 #Kན་པ། Understanding#this,#the#wise#yearning#for#Liberation Give#rise#to#this#path#with#numerous#efforts. I,#the#yogi,#have#practiced#thus, You#too,#who#wish#for#Liberation,# Should#wish#to#act#thus.
24.# [The#yogi⁴⁹]#through#seeing#that#mere#single_pointed#contemplation# Is#unable#to#sever#the#root#of#cyclic#existence#and#that Irrespective#of#how#much#a#wisdom#bereft#of#the#path#of#calm#abiding# analyzes, T’is#unable#to#counter#the#afVlictions, After#setting#that#wisdom#decisively#assessing⁵⁰#the#mode#of#being⁵¹ On#the#motionless#steed#of#calm#abiding, With#the#sharp#sword##which#cognizes#the#middle#lacking#extremes, The#wisdom#of#vast,#correct⁵²#analysis#destroying#all#targets⁵³#of# observation#grasping#at#extremes, Enhances#the#intelligence#realizing#suchness. I,#the#yogi,#have#practiced#thus, You#too,#who#wish#for#Liberation,# Should#wish#to#act#thus.
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Through#single_pointed#habituation,#concentration#will#be# established; What#need#is#there#to#say⁵⁴#that#individual#investigation#analyzing# appropriately Dwells,# as# well,# # unwaveringly# and# with# utter# stability# on# the# mode# of#being. Wondrous#are#those#who#strive#at#establishing#a#union#of Calm#abiding#and#insight#after#beholding#the#generation#of# concentration. I,#the#yogi,#have#practiced#thus, You#too,#who#wish#for#Liberation,#
49 #It#is#impossible#to#produce#a#coherent#translation#of#this#stanza#without#supposing#the#presence#of#an# implicit#subject,#“the#yogi”,##carried#over#from#the#previous#stanza. 50 #u་ཐག་བཅོད་པ། 51 #ཡིན་Oགས། 52 #uལ་བཞིན། 53 #གཏད། 54 #Rོས་པར་ཅི་འཚལ། Should#wish#to#act#thus.
26.# Praised#be#those#who#go#beyond##the#deportment#of#the# Scions#of#the#Conquerors Through#the#union#of#method#and#wisdom,#after#meditating On#the#emptiness#of#space_like#equipoise#and The#emptiness#of#illusion_like#subsequent#attainment. Realizing#that,#it#is#the#system#of#the#fortunate#not#to#be#satisVied# With#a#biased#path⁵⁵. I,#the#yogi,#have#practiced#thus, You#too,#who#wish#for#Liberation,# Should#wish#to#act#thus.
27.# Having#generated#just#that#shared#path##necessary#for Both##the#causal#and#the#resultant#supreme#Paths#of#the#Great#Vehicle, That#reliance⁵⁶#on#utterly#perfect#instructions#after#having#entered The#ocean#of#the#collections#of#Tantra#in#reliance#on#a#Lord Of#erudite#navigators Has#made#this#attainment#of#leisure#and#endowment#meaningful. I,#the#yogi,#have#practiced#thus, You#too,#who#wish#for#Liberation,# Should#wish#to#act#thus.
28.# It#is#for#the#sake#of#habituating#my#own#mind#and For#the#sake#of#beneViting#fortunate#others,#as#well That#I#have#explained#in#easy#terms# The#path#of#utter#perfection#which#delights#the#Conquerors. Through#that#virtue,#I#utter#the#prayer: “May#all#migrators#also[attain]#and#never#be #Bereft#of#the#worthy#path!” I,#the#yogi,#have#practiced#thus, You#too,#who#wish#for#Liberation,# Should#wish#to#act#thus.
55 #ཕོགས་རེའི་ལམ། 56 #T.J#critical#edition#བ;ེན་པ།,# zhöl,#བUེན། This+ memento,+ a+ concise+ + presentation+ of+ the+ practice+ of+ the+ Stages+ of+ the+ Path+ to+ Enlightenment,+ was+ composed+ at+ the+ mountain+ hermitage+ of+ the+ Park+ of+ Utter+ Victory+ of+ Geden+ by+ the+ the+ glorious+ Bhikṣu+ Lobsang+Dragpa,+a+renunciant+who+had+studied+extensively.
________________________Supplementary+stanzas+of+dedication⁵⁷:
Since#such#an#encounter#with#the#Teachings#of#the#peerless#Teacher
Is#due#to#the#kindness#of#the#Guru,
I#dedicate#this#merit#as#well#to#all#migrators,#without#exception,
Being#upheld#by#a#holy#Spiritual#Friend.
Whatever#the#Pure#Field#in#which#it#is#appropriate#for
My#Guru,#Lobsang#Dragpa,#to#dwell,
Whether#it#be#Tuṣita#or#Sukhāvatī#etc,
May#myself#and#others#be#reborn#as#foremost#among#[his]#entourage.
May#whoever#has#seen,#heard#or
Even#brought#to#mind#these#prayers
Enact#without#discouragement#
The#great#waves#of#prayers#of#the#Scions#of#the#Conquerors,#without#
exception.
Initially,#strive#greatly#at#extensive#study,
In#between,#may#all#the#systems#of#the#treatises#dawn#as#instructions,
Finally,#practice#always#day#and#night.
All#this#as#well,#I#dedicate#to#the#spread#of#the#Teachings.
_______________________57 #These#additional#stanzas#were#composed#by#a#direct#disciple##of#Je#Tsong#kha#pa#and#are#frequently#added#to#the#“Canticle#of#the# Stages#of#the#Path”#when#it#is#recited. Bibliography
བ་སོ་ཆོས་&ི་(ལ་མཚན། མཁན་ཆེན་ངག་དབང་རབ་བ4ན། 5ན་མ6ེན་འཇམ་ད9ངས་བཞད་པ། <་=ི་དགེ་བཤེས་རིན་ཆེན་དོན་ ?བ་: ལམ་ རིམ་ཆེན་མོའི་དཀའ་གནད་Aམས་མཆན་B་བཞི་Cོ་ནས་ལེགས་པར་བཤད་པཐེག་ཆེན་ལམ་Eི་གསལ་Fོན།!(“A!Lamp!for!the!Great!Vehicle! excellently!explaining!by!means!of!the!four>fold!!annotations!to!the!difficult!points!of!the! Graduated!Stages!of!the!Path”,!Tehor!Tenzhug!Committee,!Dharamsala,!2005
Gོ་བཟང་འཇམ་ད9ངས་Iོན་ལམ(18th!cent.!):!ལམ་རིམ་པ་Jང་Kའི་ཟིན་Lིས་Gོ་་གསལ་(་མཚM་འNག་ངོགས།!(“A! Gateway!to! the! Ocean!of!the!Clear!Mind:!Notes!on!the!Small!Stages!of!the!Path”! (གOང་འBམ་པོ་ཏི་༡!!ཤོགས!!༤༣༡!>! ༨༡༢)
!ཕ་བོང་ཁ་བདེ་ཆེན་Wིང་པོ(1878>1941):!ལམ་རིམ་Jང་K་དང་Xར་ལམ་དམར་Yིད་Zགས་མའི་གOང་བཤད་[ལ་ \བས་&ི་ཟིན་Lིས།! (“Notes!on!the!occasion!of!an!joint!explanation!of!the!Small!Stages!of!the!Path!and!the! Swift!Path”!(པོ་ཏི་༩!!!ཤོགས!!!༡༥༣!>!༧༣༨)
དཔལ་ན་དགེ་ན་པའི་ལམ་རིམ་དང་Wན་བaད་&ི་ཆོས་\ོར།!(“The!cycle!of!Dharma!of!the!Stages!of!the!Path!and!the! Oral!instructions!of!the!Glorious!Ganden!tradition”), བོད་&ི་གbག་ལག་གཅེས་བdས་པོད་eེང་༦། བོད་&ི་ གbག་ལག་ཞིབ་དgོད་ཁང།!Institute!of!Tibetan!Classics,!Noida!(India),!2005
hོང་ཆོས་i་ཚང་གི་ཉེར་མཁོའི་ཞལ་འདོན་གཅེས་བdས་ཆོས་kོད།!(Dzongkar!chöde!prayer!book),The!corporate!Body!of! the!Buddha!Educational!Foundation,!Taipei!(Taiwan),!2002)
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