Karma Chagme Machig Sol Deb

The Song of Supplicating Machig Labdrön

by Karma Chagmé

arma Chagmé1050 (1613-1678), also known under the nameR›ga Asya, was born in the area of Ngomtö1051 in SalmoGang1052 in Kham. His father was the great siddha PemaWangtra1053 and his mother, Chökyong Gyi,1054 was consid-

ered a ̃ ›kinı. His parents named him Wangtra Sung,1055 and when he wasfive years old he recognized the resting and moving aspects of the mindand realized the generation stage of deity visualization. From the age ofsix, his father taught him reading, writing, meditation, s›dhana practice,and ritual in the Nyingma tradition. When he was ten years old, hereceived empowerment from the Fifth Situpa, Chökyi Gyaltsen Bal-sang1056 (1586-1657), after which he stayed in solitary retreats until he waseighteen. During that time, he presented his realization to the FourthTrungpa Rinpoché, Kunga Namgyal1057 (1555-1628), who bestowed uponhim the oral transmission of AvalokiteŸvara and the pointing out instruc-tions of Mah›mudr›.

When he was eighteen, Karma Chagmé took refuge and up›saka vowsfrom Trungpa Rinpoché, receiving the name Karma Samdrub.1058 Follow-ing Trungpa Rinpoché’s command, he entered the monastery of Satam,1059

but the disciplinary monks there kept beating him all the time. Finally,after nine months, he decided to leave and go to the seat of the Karma-pas in Tsurpu. He wrote some insults on the walls of his monastery andescaped. At Tsurpu, he was held up outside the walls of the monastery byLama Wagen1060 (“Old Fox”) and the disciplinarians beat him up again.Having escaped them one more time, in the surroundings of Tsurpu, hehappened upon a monastic barber, who approached him and said that itwas not appropriate to behave in such a way and then leave. He contin-ued that this assembly of monks is well-trained and learned and that thislama is Maitreya in person. Finally, the barber accompanied Karma

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Chagmé to the assembly hall of Tsurpu, where he turned out to be theSixth Shamarpa, Chökyi Wangchug. Thus, Karma Chagmé became adisciple of both the Tenth Karmapa, Chöying Dorje, and the SixthShamarpa.

He studied the classic topics of the sÒtra tradition (such as Madhya-maka and prajñ›p›ramit›), the five treatises of Maitreya, the HevajraTantra, and The Profound Inner Reality. During his studies, he entered theWhite MañjuŸrı sam›dhi of victory in debate, thus becoming renownedas being unassailable when discussing the dharma. The Sixth Shamarpaordained him as a novice, giving him the name Karma Loblam.1061 Uponreceiving full monastic ordination, his name was changed to KarmaChagmé (“Karma without Attachment”), since the Karmapa declaredhim to be one of his own physical manifestations, “who has not beenattached, will not be attached, and is without attachment.”1062 KarmaChagmé also received instructions on Mah›mudr› and the Six Dharmasof N›ropa from the Karmapa’s secretary, Lodrö Norden,1063 and a numberof empowerments and reading transmissions from Lama Wagen. Once,when he made offerings and prayed in front of the relics of the SixthShamarpa, the wisdom of Mah›mudr› was born in his mind stream.

Thereafter, he joined the monastery of Tubden Nyingje Ling1064 of theSurmang tradition and continued his studies. When the Karmapa and theShamarpa visited this monastery, he received further instructions onMaitreya’s treatises, Jigden Sumgön’s famous Single Intention of the Gen-uine Dharma, Mah›mudr›, Cakrasa˙vara, Vajrav›r›hı, and many otherteachings and empowerments for six months. Then, he accompanied theKarmapa on his travels for about one and a half years and became famousthroughout Tibet. In his twentieth year, Karma Chagmé passed a publicexamination during the great Kagyü prayer festival in front of many thou-sand monks. Later, upon taking the bodhisattva vows in front of the Jowostatue in Lhasa, while being full of devotion within a state of nonconcep-tual pure awareness, Karma Chagmé offered one finger of his left hand asa butter lamp.1065

Finally, he traveled to Kham, doing extensive debate rounds on his wayat various monastic colleges. He established a mountain hermitage atBalri1066 Hill in Nedo1067 and stayed there—mostly in strict retreat—untilthe end of his life. From age thirty-six onward, he practiced the Six Dhar-mas of N›ropa, Mah›mudr›, and AvalokiteŸvara in the form of Jinas›gara

384 straight from the heart


in a thirteen-year long retreat. During the later part of this retreat, he rec-ognized the “treasure-finder” Mingyur Dorje.1068 After he had finished hisseclusion, he bestowed numerous empowerments and transmissions ofthe terma tradition, such as for the cycle of the Space Dharma,1069 to some-times several thousands of disciples. Since that time, when the founder ofthe Béyül1070 lineage of the Nyingma School—Günsang Sherab1071—received these transmissions directly from Karma Chagmé, they have con-stituted the essential practices of that lineage. Once, when KarmaChagmé thought that he should go back to Central Tibet to receive moreinstructions on the tantras, the Sixth Shamarpa appeared in a vision andimparted the heart of the matter to him, prophesying that he wouldaccomplish it if he kept practicing it one-pointedly. He also had manyvisions of yidam deities, gained command over all dharma protectors, andshowed all the signs and experiences of progressing through the variouslevels of realization, such as displaying many miraculous powers. Not onlydid he travel to Sukh›vatı himself, but also showed his mother, hisnephew, and his servant the path to that pure realm.

In 1678, after having declared to his disciples that it was time to go toanother realm, Karma Chagmé passed away, his mind fusing with theheart of Amit›bha. While his physical remains dissolved into light, rain-bows and a rain of flowers appeared spontaneously and many relic pillsformed. After his cremation, images of Jinas›gara were found to haveformed on his bones.

In brief, Karma Chagmé spent most of his life as a wandering yogin indifferent mountain retreats. It is said that he attained the Mah›mudr›level of “greater one taste”1072 in one lifetime. There were many who real-ized mind’s basic nature simply through receiving empowerments,instructions, or a few words of advice from him. As the colophon of hissong to Machig Labdrön so typically says, he only wrote something downwhen someone requested a teaching. Then he would hand over the sheetsto that person, who usually went away with them. So after his death,nobody had a complete set of his teachings. It is said that he authoredmore than fifty-five volumes. Some of his teachings were collected later,but many seem to be lost. The most famous of his works are Chagmé’sMountain Dharma1073 and The Experiential Instructions of the Noble GreatCompassionate One, The Quintessence of Making the Unity of Mah›mudr›and Dzogchen a Living Experience.1074

the song of supplicating machig labdrön 385


The Song of Supplicating Machig Labdrön 1075

Namo Guru Æ›kiye

At a place one cubit above the crown of my head,On a triple-layered seat of lotus, sun, and moon,In a tent of dense clouds of rainbow light,In truth inseparable from the guru in whom I have confidence,Sits the Mother that gives rise to the four noble ones,1076

Ma Labkyi Drönma. Her body is white in color,Her long hair hanging loosely down her back.Her face is peaceful and smiling, her three eyes looking into space.Her body [is clad in] a wide-sleeved robe of white silk, fluttering

in the wind.Held together at her waist by a girdle of red and white silk.Her legs are in the vajra position.On a moon at her heart, the letter A is surrounded by her mantra.With her right hand she plays a golden ˜amaru,Which fills a trichiliocosm with its sound.Thus, from the place Akani˝˛ha, the pure realm of the

dharmadh›tu,Her sons, the assemblies of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and siddhas,Arrive like small pieces of paper dancing in a breeze,All melting into Machig’s body.With her left hand she plays a bell of white silver,Its ringing sound pervading the ten directions.The assemblies of the ˜›kinıs in the twenty-four placesArrive like a swirling blizzard,All melting into the Mother’s body.

“You who embody all refuges, Machig Labdrönma,I supplicate you from the depths of the strength of my heart.Grant your blessings that I may get to the very pithOf this body, the precious riches and freedoms difficult to obtain.It is uncertain when its enemy, the lord of death, comes,So grant your blessings that I may have accomplished a mind

without regret.



Grant your blessings that I may not feel guiltyAt the courthouse of him, the king of dharma.1077

No matter in which of the six kinds of birthplaces I may be born,I will suffer,

So grant your blessings that the doors to being born there may bebarred.

Grant your blessings that trust may arise in my mindIn the [three] jewels who are definitely refuges without betrayal.Grant your blessings that love and compassion may ariseFor the six types of beings, my kind parents.Grant your blessings that I may gain stabilityIn my own mind as actually being the bare dharmak›ya.Once the body, speech, and mind of Ma Labkyi Drönma and

myself,Just like pouring water into water,Have become inseparable and one,May I lead all those who are connected with me to great bliss.”

Through the power of this my supplication,The great Mother melts into light, which dissolves into me.My true own mind free from reference points is stripped naked.

Now, look in here, look at your own mind.Looking at mind, it is not seen, there is no entity there.This dharma of emptiness is your own mind.Mind is not nonexistent either, it appears as anything whatsoever.The dharma of vividly aware wisdom is your own mind.

If mind is happy, look at the nature of being happy.The dharma of bliss-emptiness is Mah›mudr›.If mind is luminous, look at the nature of being luminous.The dharma of luminosity-emptiness is Mah›mudr›.If mind is empty, look at the nature of being empty.The dharma of being nonconceptual is Mah›mudr›.

When looking in here, there is nothing to be seen.The dharma of ordinary mind is stripped bare.



When looking out there, everything is like a rainbow.Each form is clearly distinct, but their nature is empty.The dharma of all that can possibly appear is a self-appearing

illusion.

Whatever thoughts of the five mental poisons may surface,Through looking at their own face, they are at peace in their

own place.This is the instruction of the dharma of the five poisons being

self-liberated.

Whatever expressions of happiness or agony your mind maydisplay,

Through looking at their own face, they are at peace in their own place.

This is the dharma of equal taste, Mah›mudr›.

As whichever of all the manifold expressions of fear your mindmay appear,

Through looking at their own face, they are at peace in their ownplace.

This is the dharma of Cutting Through, Mah›mudr›.

Whatever expressions of suffering your mind may come up with,Through looking at their own face, they calm down in their own

place.This is the genuine dharma of the Pacification of Suffering.

The mind free from all existence, nonexistence, permanence, and extinction

Is the genuine dharma of Madhyamaka.That there is not a single phenomenon that is not perfect within

the mindIs the genuine dharma of the Great Perfection.



The minds of the Victors above, your own mind,And the minds of your mothers—the six kinds of beings—are one

in nature.To see this is the inseparability of cyclic existence and nirv›˚a.

Leave this mind without a point to which you direct it in yourmeditation.

This is naked ordinary mind.Leave the mind without something to look at and a looker.This makes Mah›mudr› a living experience.

The dharma of untainted view and conductIs to guard your three vows like your eyeballs.This means to carry along the two rivers of Kadampa1078 and

Mah›mudr›.

It is the attainment of stability of your own true mind,Which is given the name “fruition.”This is the fruition of the dharma of the secret mantra’s system.

Thus I wrote on the thirteenth day [of this month] by the side of a butter lamp.

You who have the persevering strength of heart for accomplishment in one lifetime,You Lady, who hold the lineage of Ma Labdrön,Have commissioned me [to compose this] out of confidence in me.Therefore, make your daily practice with confidence in these words.

R›ga Asya sent this on a sheet of paper from his camp at the Dharma Moun-tain in Upper Yöl to the Mountain Cave Lady.1079 Maºgalam, may there beauspiciousness!



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Karma Chagme Machig Sol Deb