Thogme Zangpo

This was composed in a cave near Ngulchu Rinchen by the monk Tokme, a teacher of scripture and reasoning, for his own and others’ benefit.

| Translated by Adam Pearcey, Rigpa Translations, 2006.

Gyalsé Tokmé Zangpo


Gyalse Thogme Zangpo
Gyalsé Ngulchu Tokmé (Tib. རྒྱལ་སྲས་དངུལ་ཆུ་ཐོགས་མེད་, Wyl. rgyal sras dngul chu thogs med) or Tokmé Zangpo (ཐོགས་མེད་བཟང་པོ་, Wyl. thogs med bzang po) (1297-1371), was born in Puljung, south west of the great Sakya Monastery. He was born in the Wood Sheep year of the fifth sexagenary cycle. An extremely learned scholar, he studied an infinite number of teachings from all traditions. His every instant was devoted to the Dharma which he spread through composition, teaching and debate.
He could teach with total confidence on any subject or text. Also, he was able fully to take upon himself the suffering of others and to give them his wellbeing, and without any expectation as to the result, he was extremely generous to all, particularly the poor, the destitute and the suffering. He met buddhas and deities such as Avalokiteshvara and Tara face to face. He taught many of the greatest teachers of his time in Central Tibet, such as Khenchen Lochen Changchup Tsemo (1303-1380), Butön Rinchen Drup (1290-1364), great Sakya masters and so on. He passed away at the age of 74 amidst wondrous signs of realization.

His Writings

Thirty Seven Practices of All Bodhisattvas by Gyalsé Thokmé Zangpo (Lotsawa House)

Ocean of Good Explanation - a commentary on the Bodhicharyavatara, which Patrul Rinpoche would often take as a basis for teaching the text.

How to Transform Sickness and Other Circumstances - a text on taking sickness, poverty and unfavorable circumstances as means to practice.

The 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva by Thogme Zangpo

How to Transform Sickness and Other Circumstances

by Gyalsé Tokmé Zangpo

Namo guru!

This illusory heap of a body, which, like others, I possess—
If it falls sick, so be it! In sickness I’ll rejoice!
For it will exhaust my negative karma from the past,
And, after all, many forms of Dharma practice,
Are for the sake of purifying the two obscurations.

If I am healthy, so be it! In freedom from sickness I’ll rejoice!
When body and mind are well and remain at ease,
Virtuous practice can develop and gain strength,
And, after all, the way to give meaning to this human life
Is to devote body, speech and mind to virtue.

If I face poverty, so be it! In lack of riches I’ll rejoice!
I will have nothing to protect and nothing to lose.
Whatever quarrels and conflicts there might be,
All arise out of desire for wealth and gain—that’s certain!

If I find wealth, so be it! In prosperity I’ll rejoice!
If I can increase the stock of my merits that will suffice.
Whatever benefit and happiness there might be, now and in the future,
All result from merits I have gained—that’s certain!

If I must die soon, so be it! In dying I’ll rejoice!
Without allowing negative circumstances to intervene,
And with the support of positive tendencies I have gathered,
I will surely set out upon the genuine, unerring path!

If I live long, so be it! In remaining I’ll rejoice!
Once the crop of genuine experience has arisen,
As long as the sun and rainfall of instructions do not diminish,
If it is tended over time, it will surely ripen.

So, whatever happens then, let us always cultivate joy!

In response to a question from a Sakya geshé, asking what should be done in the event of sickness and the rest, I, the monk Tokmé, who discourses on the Dharma, set down these ways of bringing sickness and other circumstances onto the spiritual path.

Sarva mangalam!

| Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2007. Edited by Phillippa Sison. Revised 2012.

How to Transform Sickness and Other Circumstances by Gyalsé Tokmé Zangpo

Nathan Springer