This doha was composed by the Mongolian scholar-poet Zava Damdin (b. 1976) in tender remembrance of the recent passing of his lifelong friend Hatagin Gotov Akim, the highly-regarded Mongol scholar-historian. Rinpoche’s doha is translated here into English as faithfully as possible by someone who, too, was touched by Akim’s passing. It is a poem of grief, gratitude, and deep regard for someone whose life was devoted to language and learning. What follows is both lament and tribute: a luminous farewell to someone whose presence shaped the lives and minds of so many of us…

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RESTING IN THE DEPTH OF MEANING

(English translation)

 

The tempered steel pen slackened and fell

A wild goose from the open steppe was coming

Yet he did not wait for it.

 

When he first came into this world,

he came with song overflowing,

bringing laughter as a gift.

And when he departed,

all at once it grew hushed and still:

the sky dimmed,

the wind grew thin and worn

and, leaving behind a grief beyond words,

he was gone.

 

Spring snow runs down the mountain’s breast

It was for writing, simply, that he lived.

A small room filled with books,

the brown-gold sunlight entering through a narrow window,

the modest portraits of learned Teachers,

the bronze Buddha his father left behind,

the offering things, the old sutras,

the gathered volumes of books he wrote and translated—

a whole little world with no companion other than these.

As if a shadow had been drawn across it,

it has become motionless, and silent.

 

Like the wolf of the snowy mountain

who seems only to rejoice the more, as the cold deepens,

so, in working through the meanings of texts,

the more difficult the meaning,

the deeper his mastery grew.

And now, those singular doors of meaning

have closed forever,

following their keeper

into another realm.

Yet young students, searching for their hidden latches,

will surely open new doors.

The legacy you left shall endure.

 

Do wild creatures range over hundreds of mountains?

Do sages make their way among the storied mountains

handed down through the ages?

Do billions of human beings live only

for the sake of making a living?

A rarer being is one who dwells

within the meaning inside meaning.

 

This was written, remembering the kindness of Teacher Akim,

by the mountain’s blessed poor son,

in a pause between meditations.

May we meet again, life after life.

28.03.2026

Soyombot Oron

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If there are any errors of interpretation in the above translation, they are of my own making.

For these, I sincerely and humbly apologise.

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УТГА ДОР ОРШЪЮУ

(Original Mongolian)

 

Хаттай ган үзэг уяран ойчив

Хээрийн галуу ирж яваа

Гэвч түүнийг тэр хүлээсэн үгүй

Энэ дэлхий дор ирэхүй дороон 

Дуу цалигуулж инээд бэлэглэсээр ирсэн

Буцхауй дороон нам жим болж 

Тэнгэр бүүдийж салхи зэвэрч 

Үг үгүй гуниг төрүүлээд одчухуй 

Хаврын цас энгэр даган урсана

 

Бичих хэмээж л тэр амьдарсан 

Бичиг ном дүүрэн бяцхан өрөө

Жижигхэн гэгээвчээр тусах нарны бор туяа

Эрдэмт багш нарын даруухан хөрөг нүгүүд

Эцгийн үлдээсэн хүрэл бурхан тахил, хуучин судар

Орчуулсан, бичсэн номын цоморлиг 

Ондоо хамигаа ч үгүй нэгэн орчил

Яг л сүүдэр татуулсан юм шиг 

Хөдөлгөөн үгүй чимээгүй болжухуй

 

Цаст уулын чоно хүйтрэх тусам баясах мэт

Дуун утгыг хөрвүүлэхүй дороон

Утга бэрх тусам улам улам мэрэгшин ормуй

Эдүгээ харин зарим утгын өвөрмөц хаалга 

Эгнэгт хаагдаж эзнээ дагаад

Өөр орчил лугаа шилжжүхүй

Гэвч оюут залуус оньсыг нь хэрэгсэж

Өөр олон шинэ үүд нээх болмуй за

Таны үлдээсэн өв үргэлжлэх амуй

 

Зуу зуун уулсыг бэдсэн араатан амьтан байх буюу

Зуун зууныг дамжсан домог түүхт уулсыг мэргэд бээр бэдьюү

Олон тэрбум хүмүүн амь зуулгын төлөө амьдрах буюу

Онцгой төрөлхийтэн утгын доторх утга дор оршъюу

 

Үүнийг Аким багшийн ачийг санан

Уулын буянт бядуу хөвгүүн бээр дияаны завсарлагаар бичив

Үүгээр төрөл тутамдаа учрах болтугай! 

28.03.2026

Соёмбот Орон

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FURTHER READING

Landscape 01: The Dog of Heaven

Out and About 03: Asia-Pacific intercultural meeting at Gobi’s Delgertsogt Mountain