Ani Jinba Palmo tr. - The Great Image: The Life Story of Vairochana the Translator
Foreword:
As the illustrious Lochen Ngok, a great translator from the New Schools of Later Translations of Tibet, said:
Vairotsana's knowledge is equal to the sky,
Ka and Chok are like the sun and the moon, and
Rinchen Zangpo is like a star at dawn.
Before them I am like a butterfly.
Worthy of this praise, the great translator Vairotsana, crown ornament of all the Indian and Tibetan scholars, who was equal in realization and accomplishment to the second buddha from Oddiyana, extended the life force of the Buddhist teachings and living beings in Tibet in one lifetime. Understanding that his wondrous biography, the Great Image, is indispensable for spreading the light of the Dharma all over the world these days, the faithful Ani jinba, born in Holland, translated this into English and checked it with many learned ones. Having seen the need for this publication, the old Dilgo Khyentse wrote this foreword. May it be virtuous.
~ Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche - Baudhanath, Nepal, 1989
Extract from Introduction:
Particularly, when one reads any books about Dharma, including the histories of sublime beings, I must beg readers first to recognize the characteristics of the two different kinds of magic. Black magic is the suffering of samsara that tortures beings who are grasping at unreal phenomena such as time, place, and the similarity or dissimilarity of the nature of beings and their ideas, while thinking they are real. These beings circle between rejection and acceptance and continuously suffer because there is no certainty that phenomena exist. This black magic should be abandoned because it always lures us, pretending to be true, even though it is not, created by deluded habit as it is. White magic, on the other hand, is the manifestation of wisdom qualities of all sublime beings, which is the non-grasping freedom of the display of unobstructedness, without any thought of anything within time and space or of the similarity or dissimilarity of the nature of beings and their ideas, and without rejection or acceptance, manifesting continuously in exaltation because no certainty or uncertainty exists within nondualistic wisdom. White magic always brings us the inspiration of joy, always creates love and faith, and always brings about compassion and wisdom, which are the sources of enlightenment, not pretending to be either real or unreal, which is the uncreated manifestation of self-accomplishment.
So whenever we have the time and space, we should read biographies of sublime beings and ponder their qualities in order to receive their blessings and go beyond time and space as they have done. There are many biographies of sublime beings from Tibet; among them, one of the most precious is the life history the Great Image of Vairotsana.
~ Thinley Norbu Rinpoche - New York, 1989
Extract from Second Introduction:
I would like to suggest that you not read this biography as an ordinary novel. Reading novels about love and anger only creates attachment or hatred accordingly. Reading complicated books will just cause dullness. Many philosophical texts have already been translated into English, so I feel that it is now very beneficial to make biographies available. You see, worldly life is based on mimicking. Whoever mimics best is the most successful, even among Dharma practitioners. . .
People sometimes say, "I don't know what the Dharma is or how to practice it," while holding a difficult book on Madhyamaka. They are like travelers without a guide. If they would read biographies, they would know how the great beings of the past lived, how they found their guru and treated and served him. By reading their biographies you can learn how tolerant you should be. . .
Seeing how the great beings of the past acted will help one's practice very much. Biographies, like this one, can have a very positive influence on your life, so you should keep an open mind about it. You may find that there is a lot of repetition, but in one's daily life things are repeated all the time. You should be tolerant when reading these repetitions; it is Tibetan st
There are many general Dzogchen teachings, but it is very hard to find a real Dzogchen practitioner, a Dzogchenpa. . .
So, while reading this biography, you should use Vairotsana as an example of how to act, practice, and contemplate and try to become like him.
~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche - Prapoutel, France, 1990
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