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Jamgon Kongtrül of Shechen
Photograph by Chögyam Trungpa
"By the way, I was able to acquire a box camera in Tibet, and I got film and chemicals to develop film from China, and ..."continue
How to order the Sadhana
 This 60-page edition of The Sun of Wisdom includes a practice commentary, chöpön procedures, and instructions for making the principal torma.
This beautiful edition is available to all tantrikas (no lung or other permission required) for US/CDN $25, plus shipping and handling.
Prices including shipping and handling
To the US: US $32 (includes $7 s/h)
To Canada: CDN $31 (includes $6 s/h)
For larger quantities, e-mail us for s/h costs.
For shipments beyond the US and Canada, payment must be made by Visa or
MasterCard, so we will charge the actual shipping/handling fees as
required. To place an order, mail your check to Nālandā Translation Committee at the address below for
the total due, including the name of the text ordered, along with your
complete mailing address and phone number, or send an e-mail request to . You are welcome to pay with Visa or MasterCard, although please note that bank fees will be passed along.
Nālandā Translation Committee
1619 Edward Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia
CANADA B3H 3H9
(902) 429-2158
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Links
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THE SUN OF WISDOM
The Nālandā Translation Committee is pleased to announce the publication of The Sun of Wisdom, the guru-yoga sadhana composed by the Vidyadhara for his root guru, Jamgön Kongtrül of Shechen, an incarnation of Jamgon Kongtrül the Great. He was the principal guru to many teachers of the time and gave many of them the direct mind-transmission of the lineage.
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This devotional guru-sadhana was composed by the Vidyadhara in 1967 in Scotland. One weekend, a small conference was convened at a contemplative center there, during which spiritual seekers were offered the opportunity to meet teachers of various traditions. As no one came to visit the Vidyadhara that weekend, he remained in his room on the second floor and composed this sadhana.
As one of the committee's early translation projects, this sadhana was translated with the Vidyadhara in 1976 by Nelson Dudley, Lodro Dorje Holm, and Sherab Chödzin Kohn. This liturgy, which used to be practiced on a regular basis by all tantrikas, has been out of print for many years.
Karma Senge Rinpoche has chosen to incorporate the feast section from this sadhana as an alternative, more elaborate feast offering to be used for The Sadhana of Mahamudra and for the Vidyadhara's sadhanas of Avalokiteshvara and Tröma Nagmo (Black Vajrayogini).
The language of the translation is especially poetic. For example, in a supplication calling out for the guru's blessings, the Vidyadhara describes his teacher using a variety of metaphors:
When you are gone into the space of dharmata,
You are like the king of garudas
In the vastness that encompasses all space.
Bring down the great blessing of awakened mind on your disciple.
When you journey to the victorious mountain of the view,
You are like a white snow lioness.
Your splendor quells sectarian squabbles.
Show your faithful child the liberating path of unification.
When you roam in the fields of meditation,
You are like a carefree mountain antelope,
Utterly free from the complexities of meditation and postmeditation.
Strengthen the realization of your fortunate child.
When you dwell in the palace of buddha activity,
You are like a fearless king,
Spreading everywhere the dignity of your discipline.
Bestow the amrita of awareness on your disciple.
When you dwell in the jungle of disciples,
You are like a great striped tiger,
Subduing with your brilliance the welter of dualistic thoughts.
Cut the bonds of discursive thought of your follower.
In the following passage, the beauty and richness of the natural world is described as a supreme offering to the guru:
Here are pleasure gardens, exquisite and festive,
Splendid with flowers in hues of white, red, orange, and turquoise,
Which spread a vivid, sweet fragrance from blossom and anther.
The lovely, delightful song of the bee is heard.
The wind courts the fruit-bearing trees with its dance of love.
This is the place where the fresh festiveness of summer plays
With a bathing pond beautiful like melted sky,
Lakes where young swans play and frolic,
Beautiful woods offering charming solitudes
Unrivaled by the glories of Brahma.
This is a country of peaceful mountainsides, pleasing to the victorious ones,
With rocky peaks like a staircase of the gods.
Here, from the cascade of a brook sweet to hear,
Comes the unceasing sound of the four noble truths.
Here, for companions, rather than lust and anger, are herds of mountain creatures.
Flocks of beautiful birds,
Carefree, living on food obtained without causing harm,
Sing their melodious song.
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