A spiritual song composed by Lama Neljorpa for Ani Tshering, along with a brief context.

Ani Tshering began her Dharma practice under Lama Neljorpa and spent many years meditating in solitude. Over time, as she met her teacher and fellow practitioners, she started sharing accounts of miraculous experiences. For instance, she claimed that a tiger had come to listen to her teachings and that her presence had improved the harvest in the area where she practiced, etc.

One day, she visited Lama Neljorpa and recounted an unusual experience. While traveling from Wangdue in central Bhutan to Trashi Yangtse, a bird had followed her the entire way. However, as she neared Lama Neljorpa’s retreat, where he and his students lived, the bird suddenly stopped and disappeared. She claimed that the bird must have been her spiritual guardian.

Upon hearing this, Lama Neljorpa explained that the bird was likely a spirit drawn to Ani Tshering due to her pride. However, it could not enter the retreat because the presence of the Lama and his students prevented it. He advised her not to be swayed by pride or boast about her supposed spiritual attainments.

Yet, when speaking to others, he still recognized her as an exceptional female practitioner, despite her slight tendency toward pride.
In time, Ani Tshering became a highly accomplished meditator and a respected Chöd master. Later in her life she gathered her own group of students and, when she passed away, remained in Thukdam.

𝘓𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘛𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴:

𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘥𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘪 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺,
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘵.

𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦— 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮ā𝘳𝘢 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘢— is 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘺𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦, 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.

𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸, 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦. 𝘌𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸, 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵.

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮-𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘸𝘯𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵—𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴—𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘋𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘴, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦.

This account is based on the recollections of Lama Neljorpa’s living disciples and Dharma friends of Ani Tshering.

May their lives inspire our own 🌈

Listen, folks, I have to tell you, nobody respects Guru Rinpoche more than me. Believe me. Some say he's the Second Buddha. I say, yes, fantastic guy. The best. You look at all the siddhis he has, the miracles, absolutely tremendous. When he came to Tibet, boom, those demons, gone, just like that. People say, Donang Trungpa, how do you compare to Guru Rinpoche?’ And I tell them, listen, he’s on another level, okay? Amazing guy. A real winner. Probably the best tantric master, okay Before he came, Tibet was a mess. Total disaster. Black magic everywhere. Demons in our streets, sorcerers in our schools, corrupt kings. Very bad people, the worst. Then Guru Rinpoche shows up, and let me tell you, huge success. He tamed all the spirits, built Samye... beautiful monastery, by the way, they say it was modeled after a cosmic mandala, and let me tell you, I know mandalas, I’ve seen the best mandalas. And the teachings? Incredible. The Tantras, mind-blowing stuff. He even hid termas. Can you believe that? I like that. Great planning. Now, people say to me, 'what about your own realization?’ And I say, look, I’ve done ngöndro, probably more than anyone. People are amazed by my prostrations. They see me and say, ‘Wow, incredible devotion.’ I do Vajrakilaya practice… incredible, powerful, very powerful. I negotiate with dakinis, and believe me, nobody does phowa better than me in the region. Dewachen, fantastic, beautiful land, nice border, no problem. And the samaya? Perfect. Impeccable. People tell me, 'your discipline is tremendous.’ And they’re right. But let’s get back to Rinpoche, because I really respect him, folks. Great Rinpoche, I've met many Rinpoches, none like him. He taught the whole system, made Tibet great, and let me tell you, we love Tibet, don’t we, folks? Beautiful land, highest mountains, so high, unbelievably high, the roof of the world. And Guru Rinpoche? He saw it all. He knew it all. If he were here today, he’d say, Donang, you’re doing great, you’re spreading the Dharma in a huge way.’ And I’d say, ‘Thank you, Rinpoche, coming from you, that means a lot.’ Because we need wisdom. We need compassion. We need to make Tibet great again, folks, thank you.

So I told king langdarma that "you and these woke bonpos are trying to uproot my empire" but I told him, I told langdarma, and langdarma is a great guy by the way, I told him "you're a great man, langdarma, I sure hope the haters and the nyingmapas and Pelgyi Dorje don't come after you" but then Pelgyi Dorje did, so I can't do too much about that.

All phenomena should be laughed at.

Mistaken compassion

An example of this mistake is feeling pity for practitioners who face many hardships on their path for the sake of Dharma practice, such as living in mountain caves and lacking food and warm clothing. It is wrong to pity them and think as follows: “Well, what poor people! They will starve to death!”. Who we should pity are those who commit bad deeds, such as commanders of large armies and war heroes who kill hundreds and thousands of people and whose hatred will take them later to the lower hell worlds. We should show compassion to those who need it.

Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche

Sarvaṃ ca yujyate tasya śūnyatā yasya yujyate |
Sarvaṃ na yujyate tasya śūnyaṃ yasya na yujyate ||

All is possible when emptiness is possible.

Nothing is possible when emptiness is impossible.

-Chapter 24, verse 14, of the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Nāgārjuna).

The Madman Heruka from Tsang 1452-1507, was an author and a master of the Kagyu school of Tantrik Buddhism. Born in Tsang Tibet, he is best known as a biographer and compiler of the Life of Milarepa and The Collections of Songs of Milarepa. Tsangnyön Heruka was a Nyönpa "religious madman". He was ordained as a monk as a child, but at the age of 21 he renounced his vows and trained under various tantrik yogis from different schools. After Heruka left the monastery, he became a wandering yogi for the rest of his life, never staying in one place permanently. He was known to keep his hair long, carry a khatvanga and drink from a kapala (skull bowl). When local villagers saw his body covered in human ashes and blood with his hair adorned by human fingers and toes, they gave him the name 'Nyönpa' (madman). He later used the name Trantung Gyelpo "King of the Blood-drinkers" which he received from the deity Hevajra in a vision, "blood drinker" being the Tibetan name for the deity Heruka. These eccentric ways were influenced by an Indian sect of yogis called Kapalikas "skull-bearers", who practiced austerities as well as dressing in loincloths and human ashes and carrying symbols of the dakinis such as bone ornaments and skulls. Many monks questioned his behavior and way of dress but Tsangnyön Heruka Trantung Gyelpo was known to strongly defend his unconventional practice through rigorous argument and accurate quotations from scriptures. One day He appeared on a market place naked with brown sugar in one hand and feces in the other eating from both. Another day he was seen eating the brains of someone who had died of smallpox. It's said from this time on he was completely free from all misunderstandings and the dualities of samsara and nirvana became one and the same to him.

“If the mind wanders even the tiniest bit when you are reciting the mantra, your practice will accomplish nothing. The obscurations of your speech might diminish from reciting the mantra in this fashion, but you will certainly not accomplish the results you are seeking through the sadhana.

A quote from Guru Rinpoche says, “A person who experiences mental wandering while performing vajra recitation will never achieve any result, even from reciting the mantra for an eon of time.”

Of course, this is not surprising. If, while speaking to someone, you fail to look them in the face and instead allow your vision to wander everywhere else, you cannot establish the mental, visual or personal contact that would make your conversation a meaningful exchange. Similarly, if you recite mantra with a wandering mind, you cannot comprehend the substance of the mantra. So how can you expect to achieve results? You are just playing a game.”

Gyatrul Rinpoche