For the Well-being of the Following and the Environment

Father, protector of wanderers
You who've fulfilled your heartfelt wish
At your feet, Oh Marpa the Translator
I bow down in gratitude

All of you students, whose lives have brought you here
All of you have been so kind to me
And I have also been kind to you
Equally kind we are, teacher and students
I pray we meet in True Joy's pure domain

All of you good people who live here at this place
May you enjoy long life and merit full
And may wrong thinking not come to you
Your wishes be fulfilled to Dharma true

This country too, may it enjoy prosperity
Be free of sickness and of fighting free
Enjoy good harvests, the good grain growing well
May everyone be happy and may all of their endeavors
Be ways of living Dharma through and through

May those who've seen my face or heard what I have had to say
And those who keep my story in their minds
Those who've only heard of it or only heard my name
May we all meet in True Joy's pure domain

Anyone who lives by this story of my life
Or uses it to practice Dharma by
Or writes it down, explains, or listens to it being told
Or reads it through, makes offerings, or lives up to its spirit
May we all meet in True Joy's pure domain

And what of all those people yet to come in future times
If they can also learn to meditate
In weathering the hardships and managing hard times
May they be free of hindrance and not stray

Those undertaking hardships for the Dharma's sake
Build up merit far too great to tell
Those who inspire others to take up this call
Their kindness stretches far too far to tell

For those who hear of this austere way to live
Blessings gather far too high to pile
These are three qualities beyond all measurement
And through the blessing of these three, may merely hearing set them free
By merely wishing, may their wish come true

And may all those places where I've settled for a while
Be sites of joy and comfort to the mind
And all of my possessions, however few they be
Wherever they end up, may they bring joy

And just as the elementary principles
Of earth and water, fire, wind and space
Are everywhere you go, may I be just like that as well
May I be everywhere that you might go

May nagas, gods, and so on, in their eight battalion ranks
And lokapalas and all hordes of fiends
May they not wreak their havoc even for an instant's time
Their every wish fulfilled to Dharma true

May every creature down to the smallest worm
Fall into samsara never more
For each and every one, without a single one left out
May I be there to lead them on their way

Composed by the Lord of Yogins Milarepa.
Under the guidance of Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, translated and arranged by Jim Scott, Karme Choling, Barnet, Vermont, July 1995, Tibetan page 824. Translation copyright 2012, Jim Scott