Thupten Shedrub Gyatso, who was a Tulku in one of the Palyul Monasteries, wrote this commentary. His present incarnation, Rago Chogtrul currently lives in Tibet.
Translation by Khenpo Tenzin Norgey ~ Spring, 2004,
Palyul Retreat Center, Mc Donough, NY USA ~Wood Monkey Year 2131
Homage to you whose face is like
The gathering of a hundred full moons in autumn,
Shining resplendent light
In the perfect, spacious constellation of a thousand stars.
The second verse is homage to Yangchenma,Tib the “Treasure of Wisdom”. The “Lady with a shining face like an array of hundred autumn full moons,” means her face is a hundred times fairer and more beautiful than the moon. Her right hand holds a mirror, which is like a full moon engraved with an HRI[i] syllable. The “perfect spacious constellation of a thousand stars,” refers to the field of her wisdom, which is abundantly spacious, and vast, like the countless, resplendent rays of the full moon. This light clears the darkness of the ignorance of practitioners, which is the cause of dullness, disease and possession by evils. It opens the door to the treasury of knowledge by illuminating the light of the four specific perfect understandings. These are the perfect understanding of the Dharma[ii], (teachings) the perfect understanding of the definitive meaning, perfect confidence (in the doctrine) and the perfect knowledge of the Victorious Ones, (brilliance). According to a tantra, the inner meaning is “to serve the mother of the sphere” which means emptiness or the nature of mind. In order to look at our innate self, the face of the ultimate Vajravarahi, we must accumulate merit[iii] and purify our mind-streams[iv], so that they are like an “array of a hundred pure white moons.” Because of these practices, the door to her blessing will be opened by our true inclination. In that way, we can see ultimate luminosity and ignite our dynamic wisdom.
[i] HRI syllable ~ Seed syllable of Avalokiteshvara.
[ii] dharma skt ~ It is an ambiguous Sanskrit term, here we can take it as spiritual path.
[iii] merit ~ Good karma, the energy generated by positive actions of body, speech and mind.
[iv] mind-stream ~ The continuation of consciousness, Buddhist way of expressing our mind.
