With great respect I bow down to the Lotus-Feet of the revered gurus who are identical with the great Vajra Dhara2.
I prostrate myself in front of His supreme Body, Mouth and Mind!
I bow down to my guru and his omnipresent miraculous powers!
He who grants all wishes (of ours),
He who possesses all the merits and virtues,
He who is the mighty master, the embodiment of Vajra Dhara!
To him, the mighty lord of eight merits, I render my obeisance,
Gathering all the quintessence of the profound Tantras.
The accomplished masters Deropa and Naropa, through their lineage, handed down this teaching!
It is known as the Six Yogas of Naropa,
It is the teaching heard in all directions!
Following its path, the hard-working and well-gifted disciples
Are led to the plane of the saviours!
Through a careful and continuous study
Of the teachings by the successive gurus in the lineage,
I now elucidate for you the way to liberation!
123:* We have, in the text, allowed the translator's Naropa, frequent Milarepa and Dumo to stand, instead of correcting to Nāropā, Milaraspa and Gtum-mo, since the loose orthography in such instances does no severe violence to the actual pronunciation. Similar instances were treated likewise. Ed.
