I’m not afraid of steep rocky cliffs.
People call me a human, but
I am the son of the garuda, king of birds.
While inside the egg, I developed my wings.
When I was a baby, I slept in the nest.
When I was a youth, I guarded its gates.
A full-grown garuda, I fly in the sky.
I have no fear of the sky’s expanse.
I’m not afraid of narrow ravines.
People call me a human, but
I am the son of the colossal whale.
In my mother’s womb, my golden spots grew.
When I was a baby, I slept in the nest.
When I was a youth, I led the school.
A full-grown great fish, I roam the vast sea.
I have no fear of the sea’s mighty waves.
I’m not afraid of hooks or nets.
People call me a human, but
I am a son of the Kagyu gurus.
In my mother’s womb, I gave rise to faith.
When I was a baby, I entered the gateway of dharma.
When I was a youth, I put effort in study.
An adult, I wander in mountain retreats.
Though ghosts may be savage, I am not afraid.
Though demons play many tricks, I am not afraid.
When the lioness stands in the snow, her paws do not freeze.
If the lioness’s paws froze in the snow,
Her perfected three powers would be of little use.
The flying garuda cannot fall from the sky.
If the great garuda could fall from the sky,
Its broad wingspan would be of little use.
When the whale swims in water, it cannot drown.
If the great whale succumbed to the water and drowned,
Being born in the water would be of little use.
Iron boulders cannot be destroyed by stones.
If iron boulders could be destroyed by stones,
For smelting and refining, they would be of little use.
I, Milarepa, have no fear of ghosts.
If Milarepa had fear of ghosts,
Realizing the abiding nature would be of little use.
You band of ghosts, demons, and obstructing spirits here,
How sublime it is that you’ve come at this time.
Don’t hurry; relax and stay for a while.
Let’s chat about everything under the sun.
You’re hurried? Aw! You can stay just one night!
We’ll vie in a contest of all our three gates
And we’ll see the difference between virtue and nonvirtue.
I won’t let you leave until you’ve made some obstacles.
If you should go back without making obstacles,
How ashamed and embarrassed to have come here you’ll be.
After he sang this, Milarepa got up with confidence in his practice and charged in amongst the demons. The atsaras glanced, blinking, back and forth, in fear. The force of their quivering bodies made everything inside the cave shake slightly. Then, all of the atsaras swiftly dissolved into a single remaining one, and with one strong gust of wind, he too vanished.
Then Milarepa thought, “The king of obstructing spirits, Bhinayaka, really gave it a go! The gust of wind that blew away my wood and clothes before was also his magical doing. But because of the guru’s compassion, he was not able to get to me.” Then his practice was enhanced beyond comprehension.
This single cycle has three different names: “The Attack of Bhinayaka, King of Obstructing Spirits,” “The Six Remembrances of the Guru,” and “The Red Rock of Chonglung.”
VIRTUE!
*1 Roasted barley flour, a Tibetan staple.
*2 T: bser ma. This is the equivalent of cold prana (or qi in the Chinese tradition) and literally means “wind,” or “air.” When the prana becomes imbalanced then various health problems ensue.
*3 Amolika is a type of stone connected with celestial realms that is often referred to in Tibetan literature (Kunsang 2006: 213).
*4 Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion, is traditionally depicted wearing a krishnasara deer skin over his left shoulder and heart to symbolize love and compassion. Deer skins, generally, also serve as meditation seats for Buddhist yogis. “As an asana [or seat], the deer-skin is believed to enhance the solitary tranquility and awareness required by an ascetic, with the purity of sattvic energy of the deer being absorbed by the practitioner” (Beer 2003: 62).
*5 Taught to be the condensed practices of the tantras, the Six Dharmas are chandali, illusory body, dream yoga, luminosity yoga, practice of the bardo, and transference.
*6 Ü is the central region of Tibet.
*7 “Great Sorcerer” was Marpa’s nickname for Milarepa because of the sorcery he had learned and used to take revenge on his own townsmen.
*8 Here, “Jetsun” refers to Marpa.
*9 Making life and practice equal means to practice throughout one’s entire life.
*10 In this context, “atsara” is a type of demon.
*11 Tormas are small offering cakes that are traditionally offered to protectors and local deities.
*12 “E MA!” is an exclamatory word indicating amazement.
*13 Literally, “accomplishes”; realized ones who have attained great accomplishment in practice.
*14 On the Tibetan plateau, rain clouds generally come from the south.
*15 A formless spirit that causes harm to others.
*16 The four maras, or demons, are the mara of the skandhas, the mara of the Lord of Death, the mara of the afflictions, and the mara of the godly son (or worldly pleasures).
*17 The three powers are “the powers of body, speech, and mind” (Goldfield, in Stories and Songs: 21).
2
Journey to Lachi Chuzang
NAMO GURU
After staying at Chonglung Rock, the lord of yogis, the Jetsun Milarepa, journeyed through Tongla Pass toward the snowy mountain range of Lachi in order to meditate and fulfill the command of his guru. When Milarepa arrived at Tsarma in Nyanang, the gateway of the site of Lachi, there was a grand wedding being held by the local people of Tsarma.
People were chatting, saying, “Right now, there is a man named Milarepa who remains in mountain retreats where there are no humans and makes austerity his livelihood. He is a true practitioner.”
While they were discussing the Jetsun’s fame, Milarepa approached the door of the place where they were talking. A beautiful young woman adorned with exquisite jewelry came outside. This was Leksé Bum.
“Yogi, where do you come from?” she asked.
“I am the meditator Milarepa who stays in the mountains with no fixed location,” the Jetsun replied. “Lady benefactor, I have come to make a connection with you by requesting food and drink, so if you please, you should give me some.”
“Since your livelihood is honest, I can bring you some,” the woman said. “But, are you really the one they call Milarepa?”
The Jetsun answered, “It would be meaningless for me to lie to you.”
Delighted, she rushed inside and said to all the participants, “That beloved dharma practitioner whom earlier you said lived far away is now right here at our door!”
Then everyone went outside. Some of them prostrated and some of them inquired in detail about Milarepa’s story. Convinced that it really was Milarepa, they invited him inside, offering him abundant respect and service. Everyone had great faith and devotion.
At the head of the row was a young man, a wealthy benefactor. This was Shendormo. After he had a long conversation with the Jetsun, he asked, “Now, Lama, where will you go?”
“I’m going to Lachi to meditate,” he said.
“Then you must stay in our homeland, Kyogmo Demon Valley, and bless the land there,” he said. “We will offer our service so you will have no hardship.”
A teacher of the dharma who was there said, “Aha! The master and benefactor have agreed with each other. L
achi is in fact another name for none other than Kyogmo Demon Valley. Lama, if you stay there, I personally will also serve you as much as I can and request teachings.” This was the teacher Shakya Guna.
Then the benefactor said, “Our remote home—alas—it’s a lovely place! But fearing the excessive affliction brought by ghosts that manifest there, no one wants to stay. Please hurry to our land.” With that, the whole gathering prostrated to him.
The Jetsun said, “I am going quickly, but I’m not going for the sake of your land. It is because I have a command from my guru I must fulfill that I am going.”
“That is fine with us. We will give you excellent provisions and send servants with you,” they said.
The Jetsun said, “I’m not someone who needs companions or excellent provisions in mountain retreats. First, I will go by myself. But that you have offered your help is truly wonderful; we can see if there is something you can do later.”
Then the Jetsun, on his own, went to Lachi Snow Mountain. When he got near the pass, spirits there sent down powerful magic. When he had progressed only a short way up the pass, there suddenly came a storm. Loud thunder roared and lightning flashed. The mountains on each side of the valley shifted, causing water to come down and collect. The water became a great lake agitated with strong waves. The Jetsun used a yogic gaze and lanced down his walking stick, making the water flow back down into the ground and disappear. This place is known as Demon Pond.2
Then Milarepa went down some distance, and the spirits made the mountains break against each other, with waves of churning boulders crashing around. When this happened, the dakinis made a path in the valley for Milarepa that was shaped like a mountain snake racing downward. The path that pacified the avalanche is known as the High Road of the Dakinis.
The weaker of the spirits then naturally receded, but when the stronger ones were not able to defeat Milarepa, they tried again. Reaching the end of the High Road of the Dakinis, the Jetsun used a yogic gaze to subjugate the negative spirits. When their magic was pacified, he put his footprint in the rock where he sat. He went on a bit further, the sky cleared, and he became cheerful. Milarepa then sat up on a high perch. Giving rise to a samadhi of loving-kindness toward sentient beings, his practice was enhanced immensely. This place is known as the Heights of Loving-Kindness.
Then he went to Chuzang. While dwelling there within the yoga of continual river flow, on the tenth evening of the seventh month of the male fire tiger year, a great demon in the form of Bharo of Nepal came leading an army of spirits. They filled all the earth and sky of Chuzang Valley. They threw mountains and thunderbolts toward the Jetsun, making a fierce rain of weapons fall upon him. They called his name out, shouting frightful things like “Get him! Kill him!” and displayed many ugly forms. Thinking, “The spirits are trying to get to me,” he sang this song of realization about the dharma of the truth of cause and effect:
I prostrate to all gurus.
I go for refuge in the lord who is so kind!
The magic of you male and female demons
Appeared to my eyes as an array of confused appearances.
Alas! For you pretas,*1 I feel such compassion.
This human you have not been able to harm.
The result of your previously accumulated bad karma
Is now experienced in your body of karmic ripening.
In this form, your minds move throughout the sky.
With evil intent—your afflicted motivation—
You savagely act in body and speech,
Saying, “Kill, cut, beat, and break!”
As for this repa yogi who’s free of concepts,
My mind is without fear, I have confidence in view.
With my heroic lion’s walk,
In body, I hold to the fortress of the deity’s form;
In speech, I hold to the fortress of mantra’s sound;
In mind, I hold to the fortress of luminous clarity.
My sixfold collection’s*2 own essence is empty.
For a yogi who is like this,
Your dark preta magic can do no harm.
The results of virtue and negativity are fact.
By repeatedly accumulating causes that match their result,
You’ll go to the lower realms—how sad that is!
Alas! All you afflicted pretas,
You don’t realize the genuine nature—how sad!
This waiflike Milarepa here
Explains the dharma through singing songs of instruction.
The sentient beings in this world,
All of them have been my parents.
Because they have been so kind, I feel pain when they suffer.
Thus, you should turn from your malevolent mind.
Is it not good to think of karma, cause and effect?
Is it not good to engage in the ten virtuous actions?
Remember these excellent words and examine them.
Understand their meaning and put them into practice.3
Thus he sang. Then the army of ghosts said, “Your clever speech doesn’t fool us. We’re not going to leave you in peace!” With that, the army increased in number and their magic grew greater.
Then the Jetsun thought to himself and said accordingly, “Army of ghosts, because of my guru’s kindness, the magic of obstructing demons is an ornament of the mind of this yogi who realizes the abiding nature. Send it all even more strongly, and I’ll join it with supreme bodhichitta.” Then he sang this song, “The Seven Great Ornaments”:
I bow at the feet of Lord Marpa the Translator.
I, a yogi who’s realized the abiding nature,
Will sing you a song of great ornaments.
You male and female demons gathered here
With your minds undistracted, listen intently.
With the stupa of supreme Mount Meru in the center,
In the south, a glow of deep blue lapis
Ornaments the sky of Jambudvipa.*3
Playing above Yugandhara Mountain*4
Are the luminous pair, the sun and moon,
Which ornament the four continents far and wide.
By the miraculous power of the bodhisattva nagas,4
Rain pours down from the sky’s expanse
And ornaments the solid earth.
From the water vapor of the outer ocean,
Southern clouds form in the heavens above.
Thus, clouds of the south ornament the heavens.
By the interdependence of the elements—heat and moisture—
In summer, rainbows gleam upon green mountains.
Rainbows ornament the grassy hills.
In the west, rivers flow from Lake Manasarovar,*5
So the plants in the south, in Jambudvipa, flourish.
They’re an ornament for all the beings there.
I’m a yogi who keeps to mountain retreats.
By the power of meditating on the emptiness of mind,
The magic of male and female yakshas*6 and ghosts has appeared.
Such magic is an ornament of my practice.
Now, listen well, all you spirits.
This human here, do you know who I am?
If you do not know who I am,
I am the yogi Milarepa!
The flower of loving-kindness has blossomed in the depths of my heart.
By means of this pleasing song,
I’ve taught the dharma with words that are true.
With altruistic mind, I’ve given this counsel.
Though you’ve not given rise to supreme bodhichitta
And performed the benefit of other beings,
Once you’ve abandoned the ten nonvirtuous deeds,
How could you not have your own liberation and peace?
If you listen to this man, there will be great benefit.
Practice dharma now, and your happiness will last!
Thus he sang. Most of the spirits came to have faith and respect toward the Jetsun. With their magic pacified, they said, “Yo
gi, you are truly wondrous! If you had not communicated to us the way things are, and had we not seen the signs, we would not have understood. Now we will not cause obstacles for you. Although it was very kind of you to teach us this dharma regarding karma and results, our habits of negativity are strong and our intellect is weak, so we didn’t fully understand. Please, now, teach us dharma that contains few words and has great meaning, that is easy to understand and to take along with us.” Then he sang this song of realization, “The Seven Things It Is”:
I bow at the feet of Marpa the Translator.
Grant your blessings that I may be skilled in bodhichitta.
Without any words that are meaningful and true,
Such songs, though nice, are merely a lute.
Without illustrating the dharma through fitting examples,
Such poetry, though learned, is just a guitar.
If dharma has not merged with your mind-stream in a practical way,
Saying “I understand” is just deception.
If you’re not practicing the meaning of the whispered lineage instructions,
Staying in retreats is just making things hard for yourself.
Not practicing dharma that will certainly do benefit,
To toil over mundane matters is just difficult work.
Without regarding subtle karma, cause and effect,
Though your words give great counsel, it’s just a wish they convey.
Without practicing the meaning of the words,
Giving mere lip service is just a lie.
Abandon nonvirtue, and it’s inherently accomplished.
Practice virtue, and it’s implicitly accomplished.
Roll that all into one point and practice that.
Saying lots of words is of little help;
You should practice in accord with this vital key point!
Thus he sang. Those who had requested the dharma had faith and respect for the Jetsun and did many prostrations and circumambulations. Every one of them returned back to where they had come from. However, the leader of the spirits, Bharo, along with several of his retinue, again sent magic upon Milarepa just as before. Then Milarepa sang this song of realization on the dharma of cause and effect:
The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa Page 6