Intensifying Devotion In One's Heart:
Crying to the Gurus from Afar

NAMO GURAVE

This practice of crying to the gurus from afar is well known to everyone. The key to invoking blessings is devotion, which is aroused by sadness and renunciation. It should not be a mere platitude but be born in the center of one's bones. With decisive conviction that there is no other buddha who is greater than the guru, recite this melodic tune.

Guru, think of me.
Kind root guru, think of me.

Essence of the buddhas of the three times,
Source of the holy dharma of scripture and experience,
Master of the sangha, the noble assembly,
Root guru, think of me.

Great treasure of blessings and compassion,
Source of the two attainments,
Bestower of whatever enlightened activity is desired,
Root guru, think of me.

Guru Amitabha, think of me.
Look upon me from the realm of dharmakaya, free of elaborations.
We of evil karma wander in samsara
Lead us to the pure Realm of Great Bliss.

Guru Avalokitesvara, think of me.
Look upon me from the realm of sambhogakaya, luminosity.
Pacify completely the suffering of the six realms.
Shake us from the depths of the three realms of samsara.

Guru Padmakara, think of me.
Look upon me from the lotus light of Chamara.
We are wretched people without refuge in this dark age.
Quickly protect us with your compassion.

Guru Yeshe Tsogyal, think of me.
Look upon me from the celestial realm, the city of great bliss.
Take us who commit evil deeds from the ocean of samsara
To the great city of liberation.

Gurus of the kama and terma lineages, think of me.
Look upon me from the wisdom realm of unity.
Break through the dark dungeon of my confused mind.
Make the sun of realization arise.

Omniscient Trime Oser, think of me.
Look upon me from the realm of the five natural wisdom lights.
Help me perfect great skill in the originally pure mind
And complete the four stages of ati yoga.

Incomparable Lord Atisha, father and son, think of me.
Look upon me from amidst a hundred devas in Tushita.
Arouse in me bodhicitta,
The essence of emptiness and compassion.

Three supreme siddhas - Marpa, Mila and Gampopa - think of me.
Look upon me from the vajra realm of great bliss.
May I attain the supreme attainment of mahamudra, bliss and emptiness.
And awaken dharmakaya in my heart.

Karmapa, lord of the world, think of me.
Look upon me from the space where all beings everywhere are tamed.
Help me to realize that all dharmas are insubstantial and illusory.
Make appearance and mind dawn as the three kayas.

Kagyus of the four great and eight lesser lineages, think of me.
Look upon me from the realm of sacred outlook.
Help me to clear away confusion in the fourth moment
And complete my experience and realization.

Five Sakya forefathers, noble ones, think of me.
Look upon me from the realm of inseparable samsara and nirvana.
Help me to connect pure view, meditation, and action.
And tread the supreme secret path.

Incomparable Shangpa Kagyu, think of me.
Look upon me from the completely pure buddha realm.
Help me to master the practices of method and freedom
And attain the paths of non-learning and integration.

Great siddha, Tangtong Gyalpo, think of me.
Look upon me from the realm of effortless compassion.
Help me to master the deliberate behavior which realizes insubstantiality.
Help me to gather control in prana and mind.

Only father, Padampa Sangye, think of me.
Look upon me from the realm of the realization of the highest activity.
May the blessings of your lineage enter my heart.
And may conditions and coincidences arise in all directions.

Only mother, Machik Lapchi Dronma, think of me.
Look upon me from the realm of prajnaparamita.
Help me to uproot ego-fixation and self-importance
And realize the simple truth of egolessness.

Omniscient enlightened one of Tolpo, think of me.
Look upon me from the realm endowed with all supreme aspects.
Help me to still the moving breaths in the central channel
And attain the unmoving vajra body.

Jetsun Taranatha, think of me.
Look upon me from the realm of the three mudras.
May I tread the secret vajra path unhindered.
And attain the rainbow body in the celestial realm.

Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, think of me.
Look upon me from the wisdom realm of the two knowledges.
Help me to remove the darkness of my ignorance.
And expand the brilliance of supreme knowledge.

Osel Trulpe Dorje, think of me.
Look upon me from the realm of the five rainbow rays.
Help me to cleanse the impurities of bindu, prana, and mind.
And attain the enlightenment of the youthful kaya in the vase.

Padma Do-Nga Lingpa, think of me.
Look upon me from the unchanging realm of bliss and emptiness.
Enable me to fulfill completely
All the intentions of the victorious ones and their children.

Nga-wang Yonten Gyatso, think of me.
Look upon me from the realm of the union of space and wisdom.
May clinging to the reality of appearances be totally destroyed,
And may I bring whatever occurs to the path.

Son of the victorious ones, Lodro Thaye, think of me.
Look upon me from the state of love and compassion.
Enable me to realize that all beings are my kind parents
And to have the ability to work wholeheartedly to help others.

Padma Kargyi Wangchuk, think of me.
Look upon me from the realm of great bliss and luminosity.
Help me to liberate the five poisons as the five wisdoms
And destroy my clinging to loss and gain.

Ten-nyi Yungtrung Lingpa, think of me.
Look upon me from the realm in which samsara and nirvana are equal.
May natural devotion be born in my being.
May realization and liberation come at the same time.

Kind root guru, think of me.
Look upon me from the top of my head, the abode of great bliss.
May I meet my own mind, the face of dharmakaya
And attain buddhahood in a single lifetime.

Alas! Sentient beings like myself, evildoers with bad karma,
Have wandered in samsara from beginningless time.
Even now we experience endless suffering
Yet do not feel any sadness for even an instant.
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that I give rise to renunciation from my depths.

Although I have obtained a free and well-favored human birth,
I have wasted it in vain.
I am constantly distracted by the activities of this futile life.
At the great objective of liberation I work lazily;
I return empty-handed from a land of jewels.
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that my human birth is meaningful.

There is no one on earth who will not die.
Even now, one after another, they pass away.
I also will die very soon
And yet like an idiot, I prepare to live for a long time.
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that I dispense with leisure and cut short preoccupations.

I will become separated from my lovers and friends.
The wealth and food which I amassed greedily will be enjoyed by others.
Even this body I hold so dear will be left behind.
My consciousness will wander in the unfamiliar bardo and samsara.
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that I realize that I need nothing at all.

The black darkness of destruction receives me.
The fierce red winds of karma chase after me.
Yama's hideous messengers beat and hack me.
Do I have to experience the unbearable suffering of the lower realms?
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that I free myself from the chasms of the lower realms.

My faults are as large as a mountain but I conceal them within me.
Others' faults are as minute as a sesame seed, but I proclaim and condemn them.
Though I haven't the slightest capabilities, I boast about how good I am.
I call myself a dharma person and practice only non-dharma.
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that I subdue my selfishness and pride.

Within I hide the demon of ego-fixation which will ruin me permanently.
All of my thoughts cause my emotions to increase.
All of my actions have unvirtuous results.
I have not even gone in the direction of the path of freedom.
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that I destroy this clinging to me and mine.

Just a little praise or blame makes me happy or sad.
A mere harsh word causes me to lose my armor of patience.
Even when I see helpless ones, compassion does not arise.
When needy people come to me, I am tied up by a knot of greed.
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that my mind blends with the dharma.

I hold dearly to futile samsara.
For the sake of food and clothing, I completely abandon lasting goals.
Though I have everything I need, I constantly want more and more.
My mind is duped by insubstantial and illusory things.
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that I dismiss concern for this life.

I cannot endure even the slightest physical or mental pain,
Yet I am so stubborn that I have no fear of falling into the lower realms.
Though I actually see the inevitability of cause and effect,
I still do not act virtuously but increase my wealth of evil.
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that conviction in karma arises in me.

I am hateful toward enemies and attached to friends.
I am stupefied in darkness as to what should be accepted and rejected.
When practicing the dharma, I fall under the influence of dullness, torpor and sleep.
When not doing the dharma, I am clever and my senses are alert.
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that I conquer my enemy, the emotions.

From outside, I look like an authentic dharma practitioner,
But inside, my mind is not mixed with the dharma.
Like a poisonous snake, emotions are concealed within me.
When I encounter difficulties, the signs of a bad practitioner are revealed.
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that I can tame my own mind.

I don't realize my own bad faults.
I maintain the form of a practitioner while engaging in non-dharmic pursuits.
I am thoroughly habituated to the emotions and non-virtuous activity.
Again and again I give birth to a mind of virtue and again and again it stops.
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that I see my own faults.

As each day passes, I come nearer and nearer to death.
As each day passes, my personality is more and more rigid.
Though I attend my guru, my devotion is steadily obscured.
Affection for my dharma companions and sacred outlook grow weaker and weaker.
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that I tame my wild nature.

I've taken refuge, aroused bodhicitta, and made supplications,
But devotion and compassion are not born in the depths of my heart.
Since I give lip service to dharmic action and spiritual practice,
They become routine and don't touch me.
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that whatever I do becomes dharma.

All suffering comes from desiring happiness for oneself.
Although it is said that buddhahood is attained by considering the welfare of others,
I arouse supreme bodhicitta while I concentrate on my own desires.
Not only do I not benefit others, I casually cause them harm.
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that I exchange myself for others.

The guru is buddha in person, but I regard him as an ordinary man.
I forget completely his kindness in giving profound instructions.
When my own desires aren't fulfilled, I ignore him.
Doubts and skepticism about his actions and behavior cover my mind.
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that unobscured devotion will increase.

My own mind is the Buddha but I never recognize it.
Discursive thoughts are dharmakaya but I don't realize this.
There is an unfabricated natural state but I cannot keep to it.
Letting be is the way things are but I don't believe it.
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that natural awareness will be free in itself.

Death is certain to come but I can't take it to heart.
The holy dharma truly benefits, but I can't practice it properly.
Karma and its results are certainly true, but I do not act on them properly.
Mindfulness and awareness are certainly necessary
But I don't rely on them and am swept away by my distractions.
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that so that I maintain undistracted mindfulness.

Because of my former evil actions, I was born at the end of the dark age.
All that I have previously done has caused me suffering.
Because of evil friends, I am covered by the shadows of evil deeds.
My dharma practice has been sidetracked by my meaningless chatter.
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that I can persevere in the holy dharma.

At first, I thought of nothing but the dharma,
But in the end, the results are evil existences and samsara.
The flower of freedom has been cut down by the frost of non-virtue!
People like me, the dregs of the world, ruin their own ultimate goals.
Guru, think of me; look upon me quickly with compassion.
Grant your blessings so that I will follow the holy dharma to completion.
Grant your blessings so that I will give birth to deep sadness.
Grant your blessings so that I dispense with leisure and cut short preoccupations.
Grant your blessings so that I take to heart the certainty of death.
Grant your blessings so that conviction in karma arises in me.
Grant your blessings so that the path is free from obstacles.
Grant your blessings so that I am able to exert myself in practice.
Grant your blessings so that evil situations are brought to the path.
Grant your blessings so that I continually apply the remedies.
Grant your blessings so that genuine devotion arises in me.
Grant your blessings so that I meet the natural state.
Grant your blessings so that insight is awakened in my heart.
Grant your blessings so that I destroy confusion and projections.
Grant your blessings so that I attain buddhahood in one lifetime.
Precious guru, I pray to you.
Kind lord of the dharma, I cry to you with longing.
I am an unworthy person who has no other hope but you.
Grant your blessings so that my mind mixes inseparably with yours.

Written by the peerless Jamgon Kongtrul