Ten Innermost Jewels of Kadampa Geshes

By Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Lama Zopa Rinpoche suggests this be made a part of the daily practice of monks and nuns.

These are the ten innermost jewels of the Kadampas. By merely keeping them in the heart, the fortress of delusion collapses, the ship of evil negative karma disintegrates and one will reach the very blissful ground of remedy. Therefore, if one has these ten innermost jewels, one will achieve liberation and enlightenment quickly and without hardships; and, by the way, one will attain the happiness of this life and the happiness of all future lives.

I request the possessor of the mighty one, the kind Gurus, the direct and indirect Gurus, please bless me to give up this life, as in the holy biographies of the previous holy beings.

By seeing sickness, old age and death, the unequaled son of Tsetsang (Prince Siddhartha) felt great sadness and then abandoned his reign of the kingdom. At the end of six years, having lived the austere life of an ascetic, on the banks of the great river Naranza, he became fully Enlightened. Like that, as in the life stories of the previous holy beings who reflected on impermanence and death, felt great sorrow, gave up this life, practiced in solitary places and achieved Enlightenment in one life; in this way, reflect on the nature of the uncertainty of death: Why shouldn’t I give up the activities of this life– home, field, house, relatives, food, wealth–all of which do not allow pure Dharma practice to arise?

Except for the needs for survival-the three robes, begging bowl, and so forth–, I won’t keep gold or jewels or anything extra, not even one piece, for myself. What is definite to occur for me is death. At that time, wealth, family, friends (cats and dogs, too) will not benefit me. Furthermore, there is the suffering of separation from them. By reflecting in this way, I should give up seeking the means of this life.

I should entrust the depths of my attitudes to the Dharma. I should entrust the depths of the Dharma to the beggar. I should entrust the depths of the beggar to death. I should entrust the depths of death to the cave. I should proceed well with the uncaptured vajra. (By proceeding with vajra mind, not changing from renouncing this life, I practice Dharma without being captured by the beloved ones.)

I should definitely leave behind the vajra without shyness. (Leave behind worldly concern: Whatever people say about me, good or bad, I won’t change my mind when I go out into the world with renunciation for this life. This mind is the vajra without shyness.)

The transcendent wisdom vajra should accompany me. (I should equalize Dharma and my life together without transgressing the commitment to renouncing this life I live in.) I should attempt to be out of line with the human beings. (I should be out of line with worldly human beings who are attached to this life.) I should keep the lowly position, wearing ragged clothes.

I should reach to the line of dogs and achieve to the line of devas. (Accept the loss of food, clothing and reputation. No matter how much hunger, thirst, hardship happens, I will bear it to practice Dharma. When one gives up all the works of the mundane world and completes one’s practice in solitary places, one achieves the Supramundane Deva of the Deva, which is Enlightenment in this life.)

In short, the impermanence and death will come soon. Now is the time to give up this life. Due to the compassion of the Guru and my own virtue, may I be able to give up the work of this life.

If one recites these words verbally and reflects on their meaning, one will be able to give up quickly the works of this life completely

Colophon
This text was written by the highly attained lama, Tsokdrug Rangdrol. It was translated by Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche on the 23rd day of the first month of the year of the Earth Rabbit, March 10, 1999, at Kacho Dechen Ling, Aptos, CA, USA; dictated to Ven. Lhundup Ningje. May all beings benefit . Reprinted with permission from Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. For further information, please visit www.LamaYeshe.com