Tibetan Buddhist Shabkar Tsok Druk Rangdrol (1781-1851) on Compassion

Shabkar Tsokdruk Rangdrol (1781–1851) was a Tibetan Buddhist yogi and poet from Amdo. Shabkar's yogic and poetic skill is considered second only to Milarepa.

Shabkar's works express non-sectarian ideals similar to those of the 19th century Rimé movement, even though he predates the movement by about three decades and never met with any of the Rime masters from Kham. Shabkar also held that even non-Buddhist religions are manifestations of the Buddhas:

Thus, one should know all the tenets of the religions of Buddhism and non-Buddhism—for example, other religions, Bönpos, the Chan Buddhists, the Nyingma, the Kagyus, the Sakya, the Geluks, and so forth—to be the emanations of the buddhas and bodhisattvas.^[1]

Avalokiteshvara, mighty great treasure of compassion,

From my heart I invoke your blessing 

By this blessing may compassion be born in my mind

And in the minds of all beings under the sky.

 

If someone has compassion, he is a Buddha;

 

Without compassion, he is a Lord of Death.

With compassion, the root of Dharma is planted,
Without compassion, the root of Dharma is rotten.

One with compassion is kind even when angry,
One without compassion will kill even as he smiles.

For one with compassion, even his enemies will turn into friends,
Without compassion, even his friends turn into enemies.

With compassion, one has all Dharmas,
Without compassion, one has no Dharma at all.

With compassion, one is a Buddhist,
Without compassion, one is worse than a heretic.

Even if meditating on voidness, one needs compassion as its essence.
A Dharma practitioner must have a compassionate nature.

Compassion is the distinctive characteristic of Buddhism.
Compassion is the very essence of all Dharma.

Great compassion is like a wish-fulfilling gem.
Great compassion will fulfill the hopes of self and others.

Therefore, all of you, practitioners and laypeople,
Cultivate compassion and you will achieve Buddhahood.

May all men and women who hear this song,
With great compassion, benefit all beings!” 

Shabkar Tsok Druk Rangdrol (1781-1851) Matthieu Ricard, transl.
The Life of Shabkar: The Autobiography of a Tibetan Yogin, p. 501