THE RADIANT SUCCESSION OF SHAMBHALA: THE FIFTH DHARMA RAJAH SURESVARA

1

Now the fifth Dharma Raja of Shambhala,
The second to be named, Suresvara, Lord of Asuras,
The Destroyer of the Cities of Delusion,
Rules from the Crystal Palace of the Kalapa Court.

Dharma Raja Suresvara enters this world as an emanation
Of the self-born lord of ceaseless wrath, The Vajrakumara Vajrakilaya.

Vajrakilaya’s towering body is radiant black,
He has three heads and six arms.
In his two central hands, he rolls a kila of meteoric iron
Whose top pierces the summit of the sky
And whose point penetrates the depth of existence.
In his embrace he holds his consort, pale blue as snow in moonlight.
Together, they blaze with all consuming-bliss.
This is the utter inseparability of space and awareness,
The primordial freedom that cuts through liberation.

2

The Dharma Lord Suresvara appears in the center of a field of flowers
Where he sits on the earth amid fragrant blossoms, beside a treasure vase.
His face is pale gold and his expression is still and thoughtful
As if he is looking into the ebb and flow of time.
His hair and mustache are black and cool.
He wears the gold crown of a Dharma King
Surmounted by an emerald which radiates black light.

He wears a gold brocade robe adorned with springing tigers .
His sash is dark blue as a clear autumn sky.
He wears the gold necklaces, earrings and bracelets of an earth-protector.

In his right hand, he holds a golden arrow with red garuda feathers and an obsidian tip.
Which pierces space and opens the display of the sense fields.
In his left hand, he holds a bow made from the leg of a black antelope,
The power of yearning that projects all the realms of life and death.

Without concern, he fingers these great weapons as playthings,
And one feels paralyzed in his presence,
Full to the brim and completely empty.

3

In his unchanging secret form, the Dharma Raja Suresvara
Is glowing red like the all-consuming fire of time,
Youthful, radiant, naked to the waist.
He smiles, but his gaze is unmoving and fearless.
Because all aspects of the world are inseparable from his being,
He wears a crown of unconditioned love made from pink utpala flowers.

He wears swirling red silk pants and a skirt of blue brocade
Adorned with gold blazing clouds of flame.
His body is adorned with golden necklaces,
And his arms with gold bracelets, and a scarf the color of laurel leaves.
He sits before his fiery palace
On a burning throne surmounted by the three jewels.

With his raised right hand, he plays an ivory damaru,
From which emerge the vowels and consonants of creation and destruction
Filling the whole of space.
In his left hand he holds a lotus the color of dawn
On which stands the blue jewel of the Buddha-nature itself,
Glowing amid the gold flames of totality.

His consort, still and white a cloudless noon sky,
Sits next to him holding the sun-disc
In which all the myriad displays of mind unfold and fade.