The Sole Panacea

The moment you invoke me, I, Padmasambhava,
Have no choice but to come and give you my blessing.

Of all the devotional prayers used to support Dharma practice, the seven-line prayer is the most essential, often repeated thousands of times by Tibetan Buddhist practitioners. This concise prayer invokes the blessings of Padmasambhava, also called Guru Rinpoche (“Precious Teacher”) and known as the Buddha of our time. Guru Rinpoche brought the Dharma from India to Tibet in the eighth century and is the source of the Tibetan Dzogchen tradition, the teachings of the Great Perfection that awaken the enlightened nature of our mind.

Although the prayer is short and simple, its different levels of meaning make this commentary a welcome study aid for practitioners. Kyabje Thinley Norbu Rinpoche offers a history of the origin of prayer and its power of blessing, and commentaries on two levels: one, according to common Mahayana teachings; and another, according to the uncommon realisation of Dzogchen. The author repudiates various misinterpretations and clarifies a number of important philosophical views and meditation methods. The book also includes the seven-line prayer in English and Tibetan.

KYABJE THINLEY NORBU RINPOCHE (1931-2011) was a scholar and an eminent adept of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, with many devoted students in the West and also in Asia. He was recognised as an emanation of Longchenpa, a great scholar and siddha of the fourteenth century. Some of Rinpoche’s books are: A Cascading Waterfall of Nectar, White Sail, Magic Dance, and The Small Golden Key.

Author: Kyabje Thinley Norbu Rinpoche
Language: English
Publisher: Shambhala South Asia
Binding: Soft Cover
Paperback: 184 pages