Swift Bestowal of Blessings
Our September text of the month is Swift Bestowal of Blessings: A Supplication Calling the Sources of Refuge from Afar. It is a short but profound prayer of devotion, supplication, and aspiration. Rooted in the Sakya tradition, it opens by invoking the Three Jewels and the Three Roots, then turns to the great masters of the lineage, supplicating their blessings for the deepening of renunciation, the awakening of bodhicitta, and the realization of the view. It continues with aspirations for pure vows, for realization of the generation and completion stages, and ultimately for the swift attainment of omniscience.
Three foundational masters of the Sakya lineage are collectively known in Tibetan as sa-ngor-tsar-sum: Sakya Paṇḍita Kunga Gyaltsen, one of the five founding patriarchs of the Sakya tradition; Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo, who established the Ngor lineage; and Tsarchen Losal Gyatso, founder of the Tsar lineage. The prayer also venerates Tartse Khenchen Jampa Kunga Tenzin, the forty-seventh throne holder of Ngor Monastery and one of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo’s root teachers.
Explore full text and related materials in our reading room.
Teaching on the Swift Bestowal of Blessings with Do Tulku Rinpoche
In September, for our Text of the Month event, we welcomed Do Tulku Rinpoche, who gave a teaching on Swift Bestowal of Blessings. In this teaching, Rinpoche introduced the Sakya Lamdré tradition, outlining its origins in India and its transmission into Tibet. He explained the main stages of the path, the importance of devotion and samaya commitments, and the view of the indivisibility of samsāra and nirvāna.
Alongside these explanations, Rinpoche shared stories from the life of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo—his early recognition and training with the Thartse masters, and later his decision to move outside narrow institutional expectations and seek teachings widely across Tibet. These accounts place his path within the story of how Lamdré was practiced and transmitted.
Tutorial on Swift Bestowal of Blessings with Arne Schelling and Maite Castellano Mentxaka
Later that month we continued our study of Swift Bestowal of Blessings with a tutorial led by KVP research coordinator Arne Schelling and the translator of this text, Maite Castellano Mentxaka.
The session centered on reflecting upon the blessings and lineage that empower the work of translation and on exploring the practice of guru yoga by introducing the masters invoked in the prayer. It also highlighted how the entire path is condensed within this brief supplication, concluding with a guided meditation based on the text.