Kulaprabha

There are said to be three means through which we can realize the nature of our mind: meditation, the accumulation of merit, and devotion. On this phase of the retreat, we’ll begin all three using a poem by Tsongkhapa which he begins by saying of the Buddha:

“Seeing and speaking of dependent arising,
he was wisdom supreme, teacher supreme.
I bow to him who knew and taught
the all-conquering dependent arising.”

The poem should well enable us to express our devotion to the Buddha and also provide a comprehensive Mahayana framework for deepening our understanding of his core teaching. The programme for the retreat will begin with a few days of looking at and reflecting on the poem together. After that we’ll go into silence and enter a programme of meditation, reflection and devotion on Tsongkapa’s verses.

I came across a volume of Tsonkhapa’s devotional writings, called “The Splendour of the Autumn Moon” translated by Gavin Kilty (Wisdom Publications, ISBN 0-86171-192-0). It’s well worth while getting a copy of it. (Try Abebooks for good quality, often new books, at secondhand prices.) Tsongkhapa lived in the 14th century and was a great re-discoverer and systematiser of the Dharma for Tibetans of his time. This poem in particular spoke to me - reminding me that reading devotional poetry is a delight in itself and, in hard times, helps us regain something of our original inspiration to practise the Dharma.

When I read Gavin Kilty’s introduction, it not only revealed an aspect of Tsongkhapa I hadn’t known about but also gave me a better perspective of why he is one of the Teachers of the Past on the WBO Refuge Tree. In 14th century Tibet there were so many texts available that the core message of the Buddha was in danger of becoming lost sight of. Kilty describes how Tsongkhapa

“… almost single-handedly rediscovered and clarified the message of the Buddha - a message that had become dissipated over the centuries. With an appetite for thorough research and an astonishing memory, he ploughed through the scriptures of ancient India and contemporary Tibet, searching to knit together the various strands of the Buddha’s thought. As a result, he produced some of the most authoritative literature on Buddhist philosophy and practice the world had ever known.”

I’m hoping that this monk, scholar and poet can serve to give inspiration to the rather similar situation which exists in the West today, where so many teachings, books and texts are available from so many different Buddhist sources and traditions; how do we discriminate between them? The poem shows the way: go back to the core teaching, the heart of the Buddha’s doctrine and use that to examine everything else.

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