The Verses that Saved Sakya from Sickness: A Prayer for Pacifying the Fear of Disease

Thangthong Gyalpo, www.FPMT.org.

Three respected lamas have individually recommended reciting—and have given the oral transmission for—The Verses that Saved Sakya from Sickness: A Prayer for Pacifying the Fear of Disease composed by Thangthong Gyalpo to help stop the spread of Covid-19.

Oral Transmissions of the Prayer

Please note that FPMT, the office of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, one of the lamas who has recommended this prayer, has published on their website:

"Watching this video attentively can qualify as having received the oral transmission of the following mantra and prayers, if viewed with the intention of receiving the oral transmission from Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Please note that, according to tradition, if one is taking an oral transmission from Lama Zopa Rinpoche, this establishes a guru-disciple relationship. 

Those listening without intending to receive the oral transmission are not establishing a guru-disciple relationship and do not receive the oral transmission, but may still enjoy the teachings."

His Holiness the 41st Sakya Trichen

On March 12, 2020 The Sakya Tradition (the Sakya translation team) announced on Facebook that His Holiness the 41st Sakya Trichen recommends reciting this prayer.

His Holiness has recorded a video message in Tibetan and gave the oral transmission of the prayer. You can watch the video, which has English subtitles, on sakyatradition.org or Facebook.   

His Holiness the Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje

On January 28 His Holiness the Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje asked everyone present at the 37th annual Kagyu Monlam to recite this prayer with the aspiration to benefit all sentient beings.

Here is the English language translation used at the Kaygu Monlam. The Lotsawa House website has the prayer in Tibetan, French, German, and Italian.

His Holiness the Karmapa was unable to attend the Kagyu Monlam but gave the oral transmission of the prayer over the loudspeaker.



To hear the announcement made in Tibetan translated into English watch this video.

His Holiness the Karmapa later added, "... when sentient beings have fear or danger, we have to do something to free them from that danger. For example, when there are natural disasters, predators, the dangers of war, famine, and plague, we need to do whatever we can to free them from that danger, support, and help them.

"The current example is the Covid-19 virus in China which has infected more than 75,000 people so far and killed more than 2,300. Just noting the news is not sufficient, we should ask ourselves, 'What can I do to help?' From one perspective, the situation is truly terrible but for a bodhisattva, it is a great opportunity to benefit other sentient beings. We have to work according to our own abilities and capacities."

His Holiness the Karmapa emphasized that, at the very least, we can make aspirations such as "May this disease come to an end," "May this epidemic be pacified," "May all sentient beings be freed from suffering," and "May all be cured from the illness."

Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the spiritual director of FPMT, has recommended several prayers including The Verses that Saved Sakya from Sickness: A Prayer for Pacifying the Fear of Disease.

FPMT refers to the prayer by a different name: The Vajra Speech of Mahasiddha Thangton Gyalpo: The Blessed Prayer Known as "Libersating Sakya from Disease" and also shared a slightly different English translation.

This is one of four prayers Lama Zopa Rinpoche recommends to stop the spread of Covid-19. The five prayers and recommended mantra, the Vajra Armor mantra, have been compiled on the FPMT website.

Watch this video to receive the oral transmission of the mantra and the five prayers.



A draft transcript of this video is available on the FPMT website.

Join an Online Group to Practice Together

FPMT teachers Venerable Amy Miller and Venerable Tenzin Namjong are gathering people together online to recite the prayer and the other practices Lama Zopa Rinpoche recommends.

Venerable Amy Miller

Venerable Amy Miller is using Zoom to gather a group together to recite the prayer and the other practices recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. She did it on March 28 and April 1, and may continue to do so, with the dates April 4 and 8 confirmed. Details on the Shantideva Center website.

Watch her explain and lead the practice in this recording of the March 28 Zoom meeting.



The links to the practices she is leading are in that YouTube video's description.

Sangha in Maratika, Nepal

Venerable Sarah Thresher, Venerable Tenzin Namjong, and a small group of other monastics are livestreaming on YouTube using the Choe Khor Sum Ling YouTube channel, gathering people together to recite the prayer and the other practices recommended by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

They livestream daily from their location in Maratika, Nepal at 4:30 AM PT.

Watch them explain and lead the practice in this recording of the March 29 YouTube livestream.



The practice booklet the group in Maratika is using is linked to in the YouTube video description.

Please note that updates may be made to the practice booklet over time. To ensure you are using the most current version please check the video description in the most recent video.

Subscribe to the Choe Khor Sum Ling YouTube channel and sign up to receive notifications so that you will be reminded to join the practice when they go live on YouTube. Here's how to do that if you need some help.