Dzogchen Refuge Prayer

Refuge In Tibetan

Sanjay, cho dang gedung la kyapsutsiwo
Lama, Yidam, Khandro la kyapsutsiwo
Tsa, Lung, Tigle la kyapsutsiwo
Chuku, Lonku, Truku la kyapsutsiwo
Rang sem tong-sel ngowo la kyapsutsiwo

English Translation

I take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha
I take refuge in the teacher, the archetype, the Dakinis
I take Refuge in the channels, the Qi, the life force drops
I take refuge in the Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, Nirmanakaya
In the true nature of my own mind emptiness-clarity, I take refuge

Explanation

The Outer Refuge:

Sanjay, cho dang gedung la kyapsutsiwo
I take refuge in the buddha, dharma, sangha

That means ALL Buddhas, everywhere. Every when. That means the true nature of all life, the direct perception of Buddha nature of which all living beings are capable, which at some point in the infinity of forever, all beings will/do/have realized. Where all beings ARE all Buddhas.

The Dharma in all its many forms which points the way to this realization.

The Sangha, all Beings seeking to know their true nature.

The Inner Refuge:

Lama, Yidam, Khandro la kyapsutsiwo
I take refuge in the teacher, the archetype, the dakinis

The Lama: The teacher and all your teachers who point the way. The root guru who shows you that which is beyond concepts, the lineage gurus who are inseparable from the true nature of your own mind.

The Yidam: The symbolic archetypes that speak to your unconscious, which dance the symbols beyond the four times, showing you the true nature of your own mind, of mind without an owner.

The Khandro: the wild free energy of the Dakinis. The dance of the thoughts and phenomena, without the constraint of any limiting belief system.

The Secret Refuge:

Tsa, Lung, Tigle la kyapsutsiwo
I take Refuge in the channels, the Qi, the life force drops

The Tsa: The energy channels, which contain all universes.
The Lung: The energy of life. It enlivens all universes
The Thigle: The life force essence drops. The arising of the time/space continuum.

The Total Refuge:

Chuku, Lonku, Truku la kyapsutsiwo
I take refuge in the Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, Nirmanakaya

Dharmakaya: The utter emptiness, inconceivable, unlimited and vast beyond all knowing. It is unborn, undying, always there, and forever unchanging. Look directly at it. Who looks

Sambhogakaya: The utter transparency of that emptiness, its potential for all possibilities. No limits, no projections, no opinions to cloud it. Complete openness without the limiting concepts of “self” and “other”. Openheartedness is the natural state of all life.

Nirmanakaya: The aliveness of that transparent emptiness. The dance of thought and form. The see-er and that which is seen. Transparent emptiness dancing. Birth and death. Thoughts arise and vanish, never having been any thing at all.

The Ultimate Refuge:

Rang sem tong-sel ngowo la kyapsutsiwo
In the true nature of my own mind emptiness-clarity, I take refuge