Refuge and Bodhicitta Prayer
Prayers in phonetic Tibetan and English, followed by a translation of individual words and phrases
Prayer in phonetic Tibetan and English
Sangye chö dang tsog kyi chog nam la
‘In the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha’
Jang chub bar du dag ni kyab su chi
'Until enlightenment I go for refuge.’
Dag gi jin sog gyi pai sönam kyi
‘By the merit of practicing giving and so forth,’
Dro la phen chir sangye drub par shog
‘To benefit all sentient beings may I attain Buddhahood’
Word-By-Word Translation
First Line
Sangye chö dang tsog kyi chog nam la = ‘In the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha’
Sangye = Buddha
Chö = Dharma
Dang = and
Tsog kyi chog nam =‘Supreme Assembly’, i.e. Sangha
Tsog = collection, assembly
Kyi = [of]
Chog = supreme
Nam = (a plural marker)
La = in, at, to
Second Line
Jang chub bar du dag ni kyab su chi = 'until enlightenment I go for refuge’
Jang chub = enlightenment
Bar du = until
Dag = I
Ni = (topic marker also used for metrical length)
Kyab su chi =‘go for refuge’
Kyab = refuge
Su = in, at, to
Chi = to go [honorific form of dro]
Third Line
Dag gi jin sog gyi pai sönam kyi = ‘By the merit of practicing giving and so forth’
Dag = I
Gi = by
Jin sog = literally ‘giving and so forth’, understood to mean giving and the rest of the Six Perfections
Jin = from jinpa ‘giving, generosity’ (the first of the Six Perfections)
Sog = and so forth
Gyi pai = from gyipa ‘to do, to practice’
Sönam = merit
Kyi = by, through
Fourth Line
Dro la phen chir sangye drug par shog = ‘To benefit all sentient beings may I attain Buddhahood’
Dro la phen chir = ‘in order to help sentient beings’
Dro = from drowa ‘sentient being’, literally ‘goer’. This refers to sentient beings trapped in wandering or ‘going’ around in samsara.
La = in, at, to
Phen = aid, help, benefit
Chir = for, in order to
Sangye drug par shog = ‘May I accomplish Buddhahood’
Sangye = Buddha
Drug par shog = ‘May I accomplish’
Drugpar = from drugpa ‘to accomplish’
Shog = may (in the sense of “let it be so!”)
Many Tibetan words have multiple meanings and definitions, and can be translated in various ways. Thanks to John Tasevski for this material.