Expressing prayers and aspirations to follow in the footsteps of the Buddha and attain perfect enlightenment—this is what Thaye Dorje, the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, recommended in his Vesak [1] message for May 2021, as the world continued to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic and successive lockdowns.
In order to do this, His Holiness made five sutras known as the royal sutras available to us.
One excellent way of praying and aspiring on this special day is by relying on perfectly pure speech,
he wrote in his message encouraging practitioners to recite them individually or together online.
These Sutras can be described as unfathomable wisdom methods of the Buddhas, writes Gyalwa Karmapa in an introduction that illuminates the meaning of these Five Royal Sutras. They were originally given by Buddha Shakyamuni in the form of spoken words, and we are fortunate that they are still available in written form today. These sutras are vehicles—if you think of yourself as depending on something to move forward. They are paths—if you think of yourself as the vehicle.
These Five Royal Sutras represent paths of aspiration (The King of Aspiration Prayers), purification (Dharani of Vajra Vidarana), view (The Essence of Prajna Sutra), meditation (Noble Sutra of the Wisdom at the Moment of Death), and confession (The Sutra of the Three Sections). They can be recited daily or on particularly auspicious days.
These practices hardly demand any effort. They constitute a lazy path, writes Karmapa. And to encourage us, His Holiness reminds us of our bodhisattva potential. This individualised body, speech and mind is like a boat for a Bodhisattva. Emotions and karma are like the waves and the wind. […] Bodhisattvas use these to sail. So they never fight them. They never deny them. We are in the same state. Isn’t that great news?
These sutras, published in October 2022 in French in booklet form, are regularly recited at Dhagpo Kagyu Ling, particularly during Jigme Rinpoche’s retreats, visits by great masters, and the many commemorations of Dhagpo’s 50th anniversary in 2025.
Since May 2024, Trinlay Rinpoche has been teaching twice a year on The King of Aspiration Prayers. He previously explained the Heart Sutra or Essence of Prajnaparamita.
Furthermore, on December 4, 2023, in a joint statement concerning the reincarnation of Künzig Shamar Rinpoche, the two Karmapas emphasized “the very positive impact that reciting the Vajrasattva mantra at least 100,000 times as soon as possible, with deep regret for one’s past actions, and the Confession Sutra [2] 1,000 times will have on every Karma Kamtsang follower.” This sutra is thus recited daily at Dhagpo, particularly during the daily curriculum.
The booklet of the Five Royal Sutras can be downloaded in printable form here.
May the beneficial words of Karmapa and the recitation of these sutras guide our meditative practice and our path to enlightenment.
[1] Day marking the birth, enlightenment and passing of Shakyamuni Buddha.
[2] Another term for Sutra of Three Sections
Samantabhadra´s King of Aspiration Prayers
Vajra Vidarana
Heart Sutra
Noble Sutra of the Wisdom at the Moment of Death
Sutra of the Three Sections: Confession to 35 Buddhas
