King of Dharma
by Yarlungpa Senge Gyaltsen

Listen reverently while I briefly relate the extremely wonderful and
limitless biography of the King of Dharma (Sakya Pandita), protector
of numerous beings, beginning with his birth at glorious Sakya for the
benefit of his disciples on the twenty-sixth day of the second lunar
month of the water-male-tiger year (1182), until his passing away at
the Magically-emanated Temple (at Liang-chou) at dawn on the 14th
day of the eleventh lunar month of the iron-female-pig year (November
28, 1251).

In the form a Naga king of Awakening Thought
beautifully crowned with gems of boundless virtues, you
entered the ocean of undefiled wisdom, your mother -
Mighty One, I bow my head to you.

At the time of your birth the world was filled with light.
Your mother was unhurt, but instead experienced rapture.
In the sky above countless celestials gathered - Best of
Men, I bow my head to you.

Untaught, you knew the Abhidharma. You perfected all
learned virtues from the time of your youth, and many
scholars praised you in the midst of assemblies -
Intelligent One, I bow my head to you.

By Manjushri's grace through twenty-five successive
human births you attained incomparable mastery of the
five main fields of knowledge: art, medicine, grammar,
logic and doctrine - Incomparable One, I bow my head to you.

Because of your excellent studies in every lifetimes, even
in dreams you were directly taught all Dharma teachings
by religious teachers - Perfectly Correct One, I bow my head
to you.

When you were blessed with the "Path Profound", You
beheld your reverend teacher (Dragpa Gyaltsan) as
Manjushri, and gained in a single instant an understanding
of all dharmas - Liberated mind, I bow my head to you.

Through the Path of Means you purified the four elements
and, by recitations, directly beheld the Wrathful Lord; by
your teacher's kindness your understanding became
supreme - Flawless One, I bow my head to you.

Because you refuted all the assertions of faulty
dialecticians and overcome those dialecticians filled with
deluded pride, the fame of your learnedness pervaded the
whole world - Fearless One, I bow my head to you.

Thoughts of clinging you completely abandoned, and
always you freely dispensed gifts of Dharma. You never
forgot for an instant the welfare of others - Loving One,
I bow my head to you.

When, for the sake of your disciples, you feigned illness,
Manjushri and Maitreyanatha came to comfort you, as did
Shantideva and Nagarjuna - Receiver of Comfort, I bow
my head to you.

With their own eyes some pure-minded disciples beheld
you as Manjushri, and for this your fame spread even in
the noble land of India - Spontaneously Arisen One, I bow
my head to you.

"In the iron-female-pig year I shall leave this world" you
said in mid-summer of the wood-female-snake year and
again the last autumn of the iron-male dog year -
Knower of Time, I bow my head to you.

Dwelling in the meditative concentration that sees the
world as a mirage, you never experienced sickness, yet to
purify the obscurations of all disciples, you feigned illness
- Unfathomable One, I bow my head to you.

To incite lazy people to diligent exertion and to increase
the virtue of those less fortunately endowed, repeatedly
you prolonged your lifespan - Sovereign One, I bow my
head to you.

When first you thought of leaving this world, even the
inanimate earth shook in six directions and all bird life
called out many cries - Greatly Kind One, I bow my head
to you.

Once, as you performed the rites of Mandala's creation, the
teachers and deities of the Hevajra mandala appeared
clearly before you - Consecrated One, I bow my head to you.

Avalokiteshvara stroked your head with his hand, Tara
revealed herself in the sky, and you often beheld the
countenance of Manjushri - Most Distinguished One, I
bow my head to you.

Frequently you gazed upon the Buddha "King of
Inexhaustible Tones", upon the Buddha Shakyamuni
together with his disciples, and upon many other
miraculously-emanated mandalas - Most Excellent One,
I bow my head to you.

Reborn as the son of King Aditya, you will win
Enlightenment as "Buddha Vimalashri". Thus did
Jetzun Dragpa Gyaltsan, Virupa and Krishnapa foretell -
Prophesied One, I bow my head to you.

Your secret organ receded invisibly within, upon your
crown an ushnisha head-protuberance clearly arose and
between your brows a curling hair tuft like a snow-white
conch appeared - Perfectly Marked One, I bow my head
to you.

From the sky came sounds of celestial music again and
again, parasols and streamers of rainbow light were
hoisted about you, and the earth itself rocked through
the power of the gods - Obtained of Perfected Peace,
I bow my head to you.

By the force of your love, countless beings were attracted.
You received the highest worship for gods and men, and
you left behind relics of your own body as objects of
worships for the faithful - Intender of Good, I bow my
head to you.

Because again and again, in each and every birth you had
previously studied with many great learned teachers, in
this life you understood every doctrinal system by merely
hearing it once or twice - to you, Kunga Gyaltsan, I bow
my head to you.