Foreword

To all readers:

I rejoice in and am grateful for this painstaking English translation by Yeshe Gyamtso of the biography of Yongey Mingyur Dorje. This biography is both concise and direct in its message, and has been translated in such a way that the clarity, simplicity, and directness of the Tibetan have been captured. I therefore hope and pray that it will be beneficial and useful to its readers.

Written by the seventh bearer of the name “Yongey Mingyur Dorje Tulku”
at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra on June 27, 2005

Translator's Introduction

In all the religions of this world there have appeared extraordinary individuals who have embodied the wisdom and goodness of their tradition while transcending the status quo of its institutions. These holy men and women capture our hearts in a special way because their lives challenge us to think “out of the box” of our often sleepy and lackluster faith. Their every deed and word awakens what is best within each of us.

Yongey Mingyur Dorje Drakpo Nuden Tsal, who was born in 1628, was such a person. This account of his deeds and words is both touching and humorous, both inspiring and shocking. As we read about his life, we are pushed beyond the reach of understanding and into the undiscovered country of awakened being. Although we cannot become like Mingyur Dorje just by reading about his life, our understanding of awakening could be forever changed by his blessing.

This book includes a brief biography of Mingyur Dorje by Jamgön Kongtrul the Great, extracted from his Lives of the Hundred Treasure Revealers, and the biography of Mingyur Dorje called Chariot of the Fortunate. The latter was begun by Dzigar Tukyi Dorje, and completed by Surmang Tendzin Rinpoche.

Chariot of the Fortunate is largely based upon oral traditions about the life of its subject. It is therefore free from the rigid organization that characterizes many Tibetan biographies. Reading it often feels like being spoken to by the writers, both because of its colloquial language and because of its informal structure. Nevertheless, it tells us a great deal about Mingyur Dorje, and perhaps something about ourselves.

As the Tibetan text of Chariot of the Fortunate is somewhat rare, we have included it in this book. We have made no corrections to the eccentric spelling in the Tibetan text except where the spelling of a word is clearly a copyist's error. By preserving the text as it is, we hope to at least avoid adding to its errors through rash correction. As the Tibetan text of the brief biography by Jamgön Lodrö Taye is widely available, we have not included it here.

This book is meant to inspire us. May everyone who reads it gain at least a glimpse of Yongey Mingyur Dorje's wisdom, kindness, and ability!

Yeshe Gyamtso