Composed by The First Panchen Lama (1567-1662) and translated by Geshe Michael Roach.
Composed by The First Panchen Lama (1567-1662) and translated by Geshe Michael Roach.
This selection of exquisite poetry by Lobsang Chukyi Gyeltsen comes from his biography as it appears in the classic work on the lives of the masters of the Lam Rim lineage written by Yongdzin Yeshe Gyeltsen, tutor to His Holiness the Eighth Dalai Lama. Much of the poetry here was never included in the First Panchen Lama’s traditional collected works, but has rather been taken from a secret tradition of chanting his poems at the tantric college located in his monastery of Tashi Lhunpo. The poems were written throughout his long life, starting from the age of 14, and they convey his inner progress in developing the steps of the path to Enlightenment. They also illustrate the manner in which he conducted his life and practice in the external world. In that sense, these poems are a real example for us to follow, and this selection was made to relate to particular steps of the path that we ourselves are working on.
