Song of the Denma

 GURU PADMASAMBHAVA

The Earth Goddesses in Oddiyana, along with their retinues, exalt and glorify the Guru:

HUM

He is born of the lake, he has come to Oddiyana;

there he was a prince and worker of prodigies.

Detached from the world, as his method he chose playfulness.

To him, Padma Gyalpo, obeisance and praise.

He came to India and presided on the Diamond Throne,

triumphed over the fourfold Mara, [1] equaled all the Buddhas,

and assumed the guise of a bhiksu in accordance with the rules of the code.

To him, Shakya Senge, obeisance and praise!

He came to Zahor and presided in Magadha;

in the Chilly Grove cemetery he practiced necromancy

and made twelve Baskets [2] shine in the depths of his heart.

To him, Padmasambhava, obeisance and praise!

He came to the tirthikas and presided in the Garden of Joys,

filling the horizons with his voice and his renown

and clarifiying in peoples' hearts the Formulas [3] outer and inner,

To him, Dorje Dolod, obeisance and praise!

He came to Vaisali and presided in the Funeral Land,

neither conceiving of repose nor seeking contemplation.

Indivisible and containing every directions, he extended as far as heaven.

To him, Padma Todtreng, obeisance and praise!

He came to Kashmir and presided at Singhapura,

winning over all who stayed to listen,

and the Greatly Benevolent was like a father and mother.

To him, Loden Chogsed, obeisance and praise!

He came to Khotan and presided in Yang Leshod Grotto;

he mastered, in the castle of the yaksas, the eight classes of the gnomes of pestilence,

brought to submission the three worlds [4], and dominated the three realms. [5]

To him, Senge Dradog, obeisance and praise!

He came to the heart of Tibet and presided in the enclosure of Tiger's Cave.

Emanation of Amitabha, he protected men,

leading a multitude of the dakinis of the four orders.

To him, Dewa Ngodrub, obeisance and praise!

He came to the rakshasas and presided on Tail of the Yak Island,

tamed the ogres and red faces on the Glorious Copper Mountain, [6]

and bore off the living to felicity.

To him, Padma Jungnay, obeisance and praise!

~ from Canto 49 of The Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava (8th c.), Padma bKa'i thang as recorded by Yeshe Tsogyal, rediscovered by Terchen Urgyen Lingpa (b. 1323), Dharma Publishing, 1978

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[1] The four demons of the skandhas, emotions, death and optimism[2] The twelve divisions of Highest Yoga Tantra (Anutarrayogatantra) consist of six father tantras comprising the aspect of skilful means and six mother tantras of discriminative awareness.
[3] A reference to mantra.
[4] The nether world of nagas, the surface world of humans and the upper world of gods.
[5] The realms of desire, form, and formlessness
[6] Padmasambhava manifested the pureland of Zangdog Palri (Glorious Copper-Colored Mountain) after he left our earth for a different world system. Here is "An Aspiration Prayer to Journey to the Glorious Copper-Colored Mountain" by H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche.