Talk
On November 28, 2025, Dr. B. Alan Wallace gave a unique teaching on A Supplication to the Precious One from Oddiyana for the Spontaneous Fulfillment of One’s Intentions (known in Tibetan as the “Sampa Lhundrupma” prayer), which was revealed by Jikme Nuden Dorje, also known as Dzongter Kunsang Nyima. As in all his teachings, Dr. Wallace provides rich context for listeners not only to understand but also experience the full depth of what this prayer has to offer our own minds and our world at large.
Dr. Wallace guides our approach to this prayer by first reflecting on the centrality and power of stories in human experience. This fact is evident in our everyday internal monologues, the world’s religious traditions, and even modern science. With this in mind, Dr. Wallace consolidates what could be years of instruction into mere hours of commentary on the Dzogchen approach to shamatha and vipashyana—practices that help us release the human tendency to tell and cling to stories at all, and allow us to make manifest the Buddha within.
A clear understanding of these practices is essential for long-term retreat in the modern age, where measuring “progress” or “success” along the nine stages of shamatha is less likely to bear the intended fruit of dissolving the coarse mind into the substrate consciousness than simply maintaining an unbroken continuity of the awareness of that which is aware. Dr. Wallace weaves these ideas into a teaching on how to approach the Sampa Lhundrupma prayer as a stage of generation practice, the inspiration for which arose from Dr. Wallace’s own practice in retreat. While empowerment is required to practice self-generation as Guru Padmasambhava in the guided meditation offered during this session, any practitioner can engage with the prayer as a supplication. (Dr. Wallace describes both approaches during the session.) We are delighted to share this guidance with you in hopes that you will engage in this prayer for the benefit of all beings in these times, which in so many ways display the qualities of a degenerate era.
Note: During the guided practice, Dr. Wallace makes reference to the Vajrasattva visualization for purification. In-depth guidance for this practice is available through Dr. Eva Natanya’s commentary on the Seven Preliminaries according to the Revelations of Dudjom Lingpa, available for free via the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies.
Accompanying Resources
