Indeed, good people, this worthy wishes to assemble the ship of the Dharma, a precious gift, to rescue sentient beings from the four torrents (birth, old age, sickness, death). He wishes to set up the great bridge of the Dharma for those sunk in the morass of views. He wishes to produce the light of knowledge for those in the darkness of delusion. He wishes to point out the path of the sages to those lost in the wilderness of the mundane whirl. He wishes to dispense the medicine of the Dharma to those suffering from the illness of afflictions. He wishes to give the element of immortality to those assailed by birth, old age, and death. He wishes to cool those burning with the three fires (hatred, attachment, ignorance) by means of the water of tranquility. He wishes to give great comfort to those suffering from sorrow, grief, misery, and depression. He wishes to give those bound in the prison of existence the knowledge to break out. He wishes to give the sword of wisdom to those tied to views. He wishes to show the door of liberation to those locked in the city of the triple world (desire realm, form realm, formless realm). He wishes to show the direction of safety to those moving in dangerous directions. He wishes to comfort those suffering from the joint operation of the afflictions. He wishes to lend a hand to those terrorized by the perils of falling into states of woe (the lower realms of animals, pretas and hell realms). He wishes to show the citadel of nirvana to those struck by the murderous clusters (the Five Skandas, ‘aggregates’ in English: 1. form, 2. sensation or ‘feeling’, 3. perception or discrimination, 4. mental formations [ideas, concepts, opinions etc], and 5. consciousness or discernment). He wishes to tell those surrounded by the serpents of the elements how to escape. To those loitering in the ghost-town of the senses, he wishes to show the way out by the light of wisdom. Those on wrong paths he wishes to lead into the right path. To the friendless he wishes to show true spiritual friends (gurus). To those clinging to the realm of the infantile unenlightened condition he wishes to initiate into the teachings of the sages. To those clinging to the city of the mundane whirl he wishes to lead to the city of omniscience.
Note on the image: His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje is the head of the 900 year old Karma Kagyu Lineage and guide to millions of Buddhists around the world.Currently 29 years old, the Karmapa resides in his temporary home at Gyuto Monastery in India after making a dramatic escape from Tibet in the year 2000. The Karmapa is currently visiting the Unites States. http://kagyuoffice.org/
