Translators’ Introduction
“Examine my words like a goldsmith examines gold. Don’t take my word just because it is my word.” Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche often paraphrases this advice of the Buddha. Rinpoche’s reference directly invites, encourages, and challenges students of the buddhadharma to make these teachings their own. Examining the Buddha’s words, or the words of our teachers, requires the ongoing process of the Three Wisdoms: hearing, contemplating, and meditating. It is through this process that we engage ourselves in the path of genuine personal transformation.
Chekawa Yeshe Dorje’s Seven Points and Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye’s commentary, The Seven Points of Mahayana Mind Training: A Guide to Benefit Those Embarking on the Authentic Path to Enlightenment, are sparkling gold—worthy of our most discerning examination. We have come to see that the intention of this and all lojong texts is to serve as a practical guide to recognizing, seizing, and uprooting our manifold self-centered tendencies—with a healthy dose of humor. Since this is perhaps the slipperiest and most challenging aspect of our personal and spiritual growth, we need determination and openness to comprehend clearly each of Chekawa’s and Jamgon Kongtrul’s profound and illuminating words.
During the process of translating the Seven Points and Jamgon Kongtrul’s commentary, Kongtrul Rinpoche encouraged us to think of our work as an exercise in deep personal understanding. Mining the accurate meaning of a text such as this certainly requires a subtle and delicate consideration of context, purpose, and application: basically, what it means to really practice these teachings at every twist and turn of life. So in this way we understand the words “Examine my words like a goldsmith examines gold” as applying to translation as well.
Throughout the process of translating this text, we’ve come to see that there is really no way of separating student from translator. Indeed, the Buddha’s phrase itself seems to equate study and practice with translation and empowers all students of dharma as translators of sorts. Working with teachings such as these through the process of the Three Wisdoms makes the words authentic personal assimilations, makes them part of our being, as they are meant to be.
We would like to thank Ken McLeod for his translation of the slogans and Jamgon Kongtrul’s commentary, The Great Path of Awakening, as well as the other wonderful translations of the Seven Points. These have held us to a very high standard, and we are so grateful for this indirect encouragement. This version from Vairochana’s Legacy is meant only to supplement what has already been so proficiently and poetically translated.
Translation is a deep and personal journey, and we make aspirations that we may have the merit to continue our endeavors, both for our own understanding and in order to contribute in our small way to the transplantation of the dharma in the Western world. As the saying goes, the dharma has no owner, it belongs to whomever studies it and puts it into practice. We will strive to own it ourselves, and at the same time, may our efforts also support and protect the legacy of Tibet’s, where the dharma has survived and flourished for hundreds and hundreds of years. We who have benefited so much from this legacy feel profoundly indebted to the effort and perseverance of all the illustrious beings of the Snow Land of Tibet.
Kongtrul Rinpoche has been there for us every step of the way to give clarification and explanation on certain challenging slogans or phrases. We are utterly indebted to our kind teacher for his years with us at Guna Institute in India, where we learned not only the skills of translation, but more important, how to think clearly and deeply, and how to bring the teachings into our own experience. With this, our first publication, we also would like to thank His Eminence Tai Situ Rinpoche for his encouragement and support, and for honoring us with the name Vairochana’s Legacy. May all beings benefit.
—VAIROCHANA’S LEGACY