In What Can I Trust

I have asked the same question over and over.

This has been my quest

Ever since I can remember,

I have asked, "In what can we trust?"

 

The Universe has responded with one answer.

Over and over and over again

The answer has always been Emptiness.

Although I did not have a word for it

Until I took Refuge in the Three Jewels

The answer has always been

I can trust the Clear Light of Emptiness and Bliss.

 

And because it was the Three Jewels

That taught me to see the Clear Light

Directly with my Wisdom Eye and

To achieve on rare occaisions the

Sambhogakāya - Body of Bliss,

I also trust in the Three Jewels.

 

And because it was my Guru,

The learned Vajra Master, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche,

Abbot of Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Monastery,

My great and completely worthy spiritual friend,

That granted me refuge in the Three Jewels,

And bestowed upon me the name

Karma Lodrö Gyaltsen --

Victorious Banner of Intellect,

I also trust in my Guru.

 

And because it was the Karma Kagyu lineage

Of Tibetan Buddhism,

Which traces its origins to

Shakyamuni Buddha through Marpa the Great Translator,

An unbroken lineage headed by a succession of reincarnations

Of the incomparable Gyalwa Karmapa,

That brought to me the great Kagyu teacher,

My Guru, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche,

I also trust in the Kagyu lineage.

 

And because it was Avolokiteshvara,

The Maha Boddhisattva,

Known in Tibet as Chenrezig,

That proclaimed the ultimate Dharma teaching,

The Prajna Paramita Sutra,

Which cleared my mindstream of any doubt

Of the truth of the Natural Great Perfection,

The Naked Awareness of Emptiness,

I also trust in Avolokiteshvara.

 

And because it was my Mentor,

The learned Vajra Master, Khenpo Tsultrum Gyamtso Rinpoche,

Who empowered me in an unbroken line of transmission,

From the Maha Yogi Padmasambhava,

With the unmatched teaching of

The Progressive Stages of Emptiness,

I also trust in my Mentor.

 

And because it was Shakyamuni Buddha

That turned the Wheel of Dharma three times,

Establishing the foundation of the path

To enlightenment in the current age,

With ultimate skillful teachings such as

The Four Noble Truths, and

The Eightfold Path,

Without which foundation,

The Clear Light of Emptiness

Would surely burn a hole in my meager consciousness,

I also trust in Shakyamuni Buddha.

 

And because it was the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali

That has guided me in the ways of meditation,

The Eight-Limb Path,

Culminating in my attainment of Samadhi,

Including concentration on the Kurma Nadi,

Sustaining me in equanimity in the midst

Of this Dark Age of turmoil, and false gurus,

I also trust in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali.

 

And because it was the Dakini Vajrayogini,

The Highest Yoga Tantra Yidam,

The Dakini who is the Essence of all Buddhas,

That has protected me and

Saved me from death numerous times,

She knocks on doors and walls to guide my actions,

She directs my thoughts to create with sacred geometry,

She carries a curved drigug knife in her right hand

Displaying her power to cut the delusions and

Obstacles of her followers,

She drinks the nectar of blood from a skull cup in her left hand

Symbolizing her experience of the Clear Light of Emptiness and Bliss,

I also trust in the Dakini.

 

And because it was R. Buckminster Fuller

The Great Architect and Inventor,

Who discovered the coordinate system of Universe and

Shared his deep insight into the generalized principles of

Nature's geometric systems in his book Synergetics, and

Who once heard a voice speak to him from the Void,

"You no longer require temporal attestation for your thoughts,"

I also trust in Bucky.