Manjushri Namasamgiti

"Dedicated to the longevity of Knowledge on this planet" - Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche

Surativajra, having received these teachings directly from Vajrasattva, bestowed them upon Manjushrimitra, the most learned individual of the time, and advised him to write commentaries. While practicing in the caves near Bodh Gaya, Manjushrimitra gave important Atiyoga teachings so Sri Simha, Jnanasutra and Vimalamitra. As the head of five hundred Panditas at Nalanda, Vimalamitra was most likely the one to transmit this Manjushri lineage within the great university, where the study and practice of Namasamgiti became the basis for understanding the higher teachings. Sri Simha presumably transmitted the text to the Lotus-Born Guru Padmasambhava, whose own handwritten devanagari copy for recitation was found at Samye monastery. According to Manjushrimitra, this text of Namasamgiti is part of the hundred thousand chapters of the Manjushri Sutra, and is interpreted in distinctive ways in accord with different traditions.

India, Tibet, China and Nepal maintain traditions of chanting the Namasamgiti while offering butterlamps that symbolize the Buddha's wisdom light embodied in Manjushri. Every year during the Nyingma Monlam Chenmo in Bodh Gaya, the Manjushri Namasamgiti is being chanted daily. Though in the past the Namasamgiti has not often been recited in large assemblies, since the Monlam started in 1989, its recitation has become very popular. Over the last twenty years, the participants have repeated it at least 20 million times. Chanting Namasamgiti is an excellent way to clear obstacles and accumulate merit.

(Arya Manjushri Namasamgiti, Dharma Publishing 2010)