From “The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa”
Translated by Garma C.C. Chang.
[herein selections from Milarepa’s songs to his patrons of Junpan Nanka Tsang]
Oh, good patrons,
Pray follow my Path and my example;
Abandon evil, and practice good deeds.
Spontaneously from my heart
I give you this instruction.
“The essential instructions on the View, Meditation, and Action”
The grace of my Guru enters my heart;
Pray help me to realize the truth of the Void!
In answer to my faithful patrons,
I sing to please the Deities and Buddhas:
Manifestation, the Void, and Non-differentiation,
These three are the quintessence of the View.
Illumination, Non-thought, and Non-distraction
Are the quintessence of the Meditation.
Non-clinging, Non-attachment, and complete Indifference
Are the quintessence of the Action.
No Hope, no Fear, and no Confusion
Are the quintessence of Accomplishment.
Non-attempt, Non-hiding, and Non-discrimination,
These three are the quintessence of the Precept.
[subsequently]
I bow down at the feet of my Guru.
Deep in the forest by man untrod,
I, Milarepa, happily practice meditation.
With no attachment and no clinging,
Walking and tranquility are both pleasing.
Free from sickness and disorder, I willingly sustain this body of illusion;
Never sleeping, I sit in the comfort of quietude.
Abiding in the Samädhi of Non-permanence, I taste enjoyment.
Continuance in Heat-Yoga without cold isindeed felicitous.
With no cowardliness or dismay,
Joyfully I follow the Tantric practice;
With no effort I perfect the cultivation;
With no distraction whatsoever,
Remaining in solitude, I am truly happy.
These are the pleasures of the body.
Happy is the path of both Wisdom and Means!
Happy the Yoga of Arising and Perfecting; the meditation of the Two-in-One.
Happy the Prajna; the awareness of no-coming-and-going!
Happy the absence of talk; no friends and no chatting!
These are the pleasures of words.
Happy is the understanding of Non-grasping;
Happy the meditation without interruption;
Happy the accomplishment without hope or fear;
Happy the action done without defilement.
These are the pleasures of Mind.
Happy is the illumination with no thought and no mutation!
Happy the great bliss in the purity of Dharmadhätu!
Happy the Non-ceasing Realm of Form!
This little song of great happiness
That flows freely from my heart,
Is inspired by meditation,
By the merging of act and knowledge.
Those who aim at the fruit of Bodhi
May follow this way of yogic practice.
“The Twelve Meanings of Mind”
I bow down at the feet of my Guru.
Oh good patrons! If you wish to realize the Essence of Mind,
You should practice the following teachings:
Faith, knowledge, and discipline,
These three are the Life-Tree of Mind.
This is the tree you should plant and foster.
Non-attachment, non-clinging, and non-blindness,
These three are the shields of Mind;
They are light to wear, strong for defense,
And the shields you should seek.
Meditation, diligence, and perseverance,
These three are the horses of Mind;
They run fast and quickly flee!
If you look for horses, these are the right ones.
Self-awareness, self-illumination, and self-rapture,
These three are the fruits of Mind;
Sow the seeds, ripen the fruit,
Refine the fluid, and the essence emerges.
If you look for fruit, these are the fruit you should seek.
Sprung from yogic intuition,
This song of the Twelve Meanings of Mind is sung.
Inspired by your faith, continue with your practice, my good patrons!
Milarepa then decided to go to Yolmo Snow Range.
Notes:
- View, Meditation, and Action; or View, Practice, and Action (T.T.: ITa., sGom., sPyod.): “View” is the knowledge or principle upon which all meditations are based and religious activities conducted. “Practice” refers to the yogic exercise of the View; Action” to a state in which the yogi is absorbed in the View while carrying out daily activities. The following example illustrates these terms: In the case of the Mahamudra teaching, the View is the understanding of the void nature of Mind; the Practice is the contemplation on this understanding; and the Action is the mindfulness of this View in daily activities, meaning that the yogi is able to remember his meditation experience even during all the vicissitudes of daily existence.
- Non-permanence: The realization of higher Samädhis should transcend both transitoriness and permanence.
- Wisdom and Means (Skt.: Prajna [and] Upaya; T.T.: Thabs. [and] Çes.Rab.): Wisdom is the understanding, or the View, or the “eye” of the yogi, while Means are the methods, the techniques, or the “legs.”
- Dharmadhätu (T.T.: Chos.dWyin.): This term has several different meanings. Here it means the Universal, Infinity, Totality, and the like.
- Life Tree (T.T.: Srog. Çin.): a symbolic term used to denote the life force upon which the existence of one’s life depends. It also refers to the spine. Sometimes it denotes the center pillar in Buddhist stúpas.
- Self awareness, self-illumination, self-rapture (T.T.: Ran Ri., RangSal., Ran bDe.): Despite the fact that the nature of Mind is indescribable, it can be apprehended through an illustration of its three main characteristics, i.e., self-awareness, self-illumination, and self-rapture, of which, though existing all the time, the un-initiated are not aware. Being conscious of consciousness (or self-awareness) is to approach the threshold of Enlightenment; the self-illuminating and self-rapturous aspects of mind were claimed by Buddhist sages, who found, in their mystical experiences, that the mind was itself illuminating and blissful.