The Sole Panacea: A Brief Commentary on the Seven-Line Prayer to Guru Rinpoche That Cures the Suffering of the Sickness of Karma and Defilement

by Thinley Norbu

An esteemed teacher comments on the Seven-Line Prayer, a popular devotional prayer recited daily by practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism.

Of all the heartfelt devotional prayers used as a support for Dharma practice, the Seven-Line Prayer is the most essential, often repeated many thousands of times by practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism. This concise prayer invokes the blessings of Padmasambhava, also called Guru Rinpoche (“Precious Teacher”) and known as the Buddha of our time. Guru Rinpoche brought the Dharma from India to Tibet in the eighth century and is the source of the Tibetan Dzogchen tradition, the Great Perfection teachings that awaken the enlightened nature of one’s own mind.

Although the prayer is short and simple, its different levels of meaning make this commentary a welcome study aid for practitioners. Kyabje Thinley Norbu Rinpoche provides an account of the historical origin of the prayer and the power of its blessings, and comments on its two levels of one, according to the common Mahayana teachings; the other, according to the uncommon Dzogchen realizations. He repudiates various mistaken interpretations and clarifies a number of important philosophical views and meditation methods. The book also includes the text of the Seven-Line Prayer in English and Tibetan.

Genres: Buddhism

208 pages, Hardcover

First published September 2, 2014

About the author

Kyabjé Dungsé Thinley Norbu Rinpoche (Tib. གདུང་སྲས་ཕྲིན་ལས་ནོར་བུ་, Wyl. gdung sras phrin las nor bu; more fully Jigme Tsewang Thinley Norbu Chogley Nampar Gyalway De), eldest son of Dudjom Rinpoche and father of Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, was a prominent teacher within the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, and considered to be an emanation of Longchenpa.