Origins of Secret Mantra – Day Eight
20 August, 2026
On this final day of this year’s Mar Ngok Summer Teachings, His Holiness Gyalwang Karmapa began by greeting all those listening to the teachings. Then he proceeded to give a reading transmission and explanation of the new Long-Life Prayer he had composed for the masters of the Karma Kamtsang lineage. This prayer was recently uploaded online and is also included here.
A Short Prayer for the Long Life of the Holders of the Kamtsang Lineage
Through compassionate manifestations, Lokeshvara
Tames the many beings of all realms in the ten directions.
May the seventeenth emanation of Simha, the Sixth,
Live long, and may his activity flourish.
I pray that the Thousand Blazing Lights, the Dharma Lord Maitreya,
Vairochana embodied, the Lord of Secrets Vajrapani,
The greatest siddha Pawo, Nagarjuna’s emanation*,
And other precious great masters live long lives.
May all the great beings, wherever they may be,
Who preserve and spread the teachings of the Buddha,
Live long and overcome all obstacles
So that the banner of the teachings may soar in all directions.
The first stanza transforms into a prayer an image from a dream I had in 2020, whereas the latter two were written for the long life of all those who uphold Buddhism in general and the traditions of the Practice Lineage in particular. Through this, may a blaze of auspiciousness ornament the world!
Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje
August 16, 2026
* These three lines refer to the six heart sons: Shamar Rinpoche, Chamgon Tai Situ Rinpoche, Jamgon Kontrul Rinpoche, Goshir Gyaltsab Rinpoche, Pawo Rinpoche, and Treho Rinpoche
An Explanation of the New Long-Life Prayer
This long-life prayer for Karma Kamtsang lineage holders has three stanzas. The first stanza came to His Holiness in a dream in 2020. He explained that in his dream, he saw something written on a text. Having remembered it clearly when he woke up, he wrote it down and kept it. At that time, the text was in the form of a supplication rather than in the form of a long-life prayer. His Holiness did not show it to anyone initially as he was a little embarrassed. Later, he chose to share it in confidence with a few friends but did not share it widely. Then recently, he had the thought that we should have a prayer for the long lives of Kamtsang lineage holders, one which mentions their names in a way that would be clear but one where the prayer is still short so that it can be recited easily. The prayer currently recited only says “Karmapa and holders of the lineage” without stating their names. The seven holders of the Kamtsang lineage, that is the Karmapa and six heart sons, are now all named in this new long-life prayer.
His Holiness spoke about each of the three stanzas. The first stanza, as His Holiness had previously explained, was the verse that appeared as a confused appearance, as like an interdependent connection, in his dream in 2020. The second stanza contains the names of the other six holders of the Kamtsang. He said at present, we often talk about the Karmapa and the heart sons collectively as the seven masters. However, at the time of the 9th Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje, there were four or five heart sons, which we know through the 9th Karmapa’s collected works. Later, in the collected works of the 13th Karmapa Düdul Dorje, there is a long-life prayer to the Karmapa’s five heart sons. It is said that there is also a thangka with the six of them, that is the 13th Karmapa and the five heart sons, that the Karmapa probably drew himself, and that there were three or four stanzas beneath each of the heart sons. This was before Jamgön Rinpoche was included as a heart son because the first Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thaye had not yet appeared.
Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thaye was a great holder of all the lineages. His reincarnation was the Karse Kongtrül and he was a great master of the outer, inner, and the great realization of the Mahāmudrā. Therefore the 16th Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje included Jamgön Kongtrül as one of the heart sons. The 1st and 2nd Jamgön Kongtrül are also included in our lineage vows. This is why at present, we talk about the seven holders of the Kamtsang lineage, who are the Karmapa and now six heart sons: Shamar Rinpoche, Tai Situ Rinpoche, Jamgön Rinpoche, Goshir Gyaltsap Rinpoche, Pawo Rinpoche, and Treho Rinpoche.
The second stanza begins “I pray that the Thousand Blazing Lights”. The “Thousand Blazing Lights” represents Shamar Rinpoche. He is an emanation of Amitabha so Thousand Blazing Lights refers to him. We don’t say the actual name because these days, in our degenerate times, people may get a little shocked, explained His Holiness. He added that when we hear the names of these masters, we should feel tears and get goosebumps but because of the time in which we live, people may have strange reactions instead. His Holiness continued by saying that “Dharma Lord Maitreya” refers to Tai Situ Rinpoche. “Vairochana embodied” refers to Jamgön Rinpoche because it is said he is an emanation of Vairochana and of the translator Vairotsana. “The Lord of Secrets Vajrapani” refers to Goshir Gyaltsap Rinpoche. “The greatest siddha Pawo” is Pawo Rinpoche. Treho Rinpoche is said to be an emanation of Nagarjuna. Moreover, the name “Treho” in Tibetan isn’t a particularly nice word, therefore “Nagarjuna’s emanation” in the prayer refers to Treho Rinpoche.
The last stanza of the prayer starts with “May all the great beings, wherever they may be”. This includes all of the individuals who preserve and spread the teaching of the Buddha. They are not necessarily people who sit on high thrones. Rather, these are people who have true altruistic feelings towards the teachings and serve them, whether they are noble or ordinary individuals, whether they are monastic or lay members, old or young. No matter who they are, if they have true altruistic feelings for and serve the teachings, they become people who uphold the teachings, said His Holiness. All those people, whoever or wherever they are, may they live long and overcome outer and inner obstacles, and may the banner of the teachings soar in all directions. His Holiness said this means “may this happen, so be it”.
His Holiness stated that the reason he wrote this prayer was for all beings who uphold the Buddhist teachings, in particular the Karma Kamtsang teachings, who are like ornaments. No discrimination was made in who they are, where they live or where they are from, whether they are male or female, or what nationality or ethnicity they are. The prayer was to be a wish for all of them to live long lives. In addition, the previous long-life prayer didn’t include the names of the heart sons, as previously mentioned. After a request and encouragement by a khenpo, His Holiness felt that as today was Medicine Buddha Day, it was a good day to introduce and explain his new long-life prayer.
