The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa

by Tsangnyon Heruka

  When shot, it pierces whatever it hits.

  This man doesn’t need it, so I offer it to you, Guru.

  Please lead this black deer to the path of great bliss.

  Please lead Lokchang Marmo to the path of awakening.

  Please lead Gönpo Dorje to liberation.

  In my left hand, I hold a bow.

  It is ornamented with the bark of the white birch.

  When pulled, its sound roars like thunder.

  This man doesn’t need it, so I offer it to you, Guru.

  Please lead this black deer to the path of great bliss.

  Please lead Lokchang Marmo to the path of awakening.

  Please lead Gönpo Dorje to liberation.

  Thus he supplicated with this song. He offered the deer, dog, and so forth to Milarepa and said, “Guru, please accept me as a servant. I will go to my home and get provisions from my family and return. Will the guru stay here? Please tell me where you will be.”

  The Jetsun was pleased with the offering of the deer and that the hunter’s mind had turned toward the dharma. Then he said to the hunter, “Son, that you have abandoned negative deeds and will practice virtue is truly wonderful. But it will probably be difficult for you to go home and then come back later as you intend.74 However, even if you did, because the place I stay is never certain, it will be difficult to find. Therefore, if you want to practice dharma, you should cut all ties to your family and follow me at once. This is the reason why I wander and the place I stay is never certain.” Then he sang this song of realization:

  This unusual man, a repa of mountain retreats,

  In the three months of summer, I meditate in snow-mountains.

  The air clears away any dullness I have.

  In the three months of autumn, I beg for alms in the practice of equal taste.

  I have no tsampa to revive my body’s four elements.75

  In the three months of winter, I meditate in the thick forest.

  It is my blanket that keeps out the cold harsh wind.

  In the three months of spring, I stay in slate hills and plains.

  Those places cut wind, bile, and phlegm.*5

  In all seasons I meditate with undistracted diligence.

  This alleviates the suffering when the body’s elements decay.

  Continuously, without distraction, set out the watchmen:

  That is the way to conquer the five poisons.

  I eat whatever provisions I get:

  Having few desires is the sign of happiness.

  I always put effort into practicing dharma.

  That’s the sign this yogi has great diligence!

  Thus he sang. Then the hunter said, “Such a guru is amazing, indeed! I wish to practice dharma from the depths of my heart. I will go to my family to say a few words to them and gather a few provisions for practice. I will return quickly. Please remain here.”

  The Jetsun replied, “If you really want to practice dharma from the bottom of your heart, then meeting with your family is pointless. To practice dharma by undergoing hardship, you don’t need to have any special provisions. Things like plants and fruits from the trees, these are the substances of austerity; they will do just fine. The time of death for this human life is uncertain. Besides, there is the danger that the excellent intention you have right now might change. You should stay here now. Before you go to speak with your family, first, listen to my advice.” Then he sang this song of realization:

  Now listen! Listen here, you hunter!

  The thunder’s sound is great, but it is empty sound.

  The rainbow’s color is lovely, but it will disappear.

  The mundane world may seem delightful, but it is just a dream.

  Sensory pleasures are blissful, but they’re the cause for nonvirtue.

  Though compounded things seem permanent, they will quickly disintegrate.

  Yesterday’s things aren’t here today.

  A person with us last year, this year may have died.

  A good friend may turn into your enemy.

  Food that’s nutritious could turn into poison.

  Those you care for with kindness fight with you in return.

  One’s own negative action just harms oneself.

  Among one hundred heads, you cherish your own.

  Among your ten fingers, the one cut will hurt.

  Among your family, it’s yourself that you cherish.

  This life is impermanent, you will soon die.

  It’s no good to put off practicing dharma;

  The time has come to help yourself.

  The family you love will propel you into samsara.

  Now the time has come to follow a guru.

  You’ll be joyful in this life and happy in the next.

  The time has come to practice genuine dharma.

  When Milarepa sang this, Khyirawa Gönpo Dorje irreversibly turned toward the genuine dharma and did not go back to his family. He received the instructions from Milarepa and meditated. When he had attained a little bit of experience, he offered it to the Jetsun and said, “Please, accept me with compassion, and tell me the key instructions for how to continue in practice.” Milarepa was pleased and said, “The good qualities of practice are starting to show; now you should follow these practice instructions.” Then he sang this song of realization:

  To follow a noble guru,

  Supplicate from your heart again and again.

  When meditating on the yidams and dakinis,

  Meditate clearly on the creation stage again and again.

  When meditating on death and impermanence,

  Think about death’s uncertain time again and again.

  When meditating on Mahamudra,

  Meditate in short segments again and again.

  When meditating on beings as your parents,

  Remember their kindness again and again.

  When meditating on the profound whispered lineage teachings,

  Bring yourself forth with perseverance.

  To reach the ultimate goal of dharma,

  Make your practice stable without highs and lows.

  To see when your views are concordant with dharma,

  Without doing different things, bring it all into one point.

  To reap the harvest of the sublime dharma,

  Abandon every last worldly activity.

  Provisions will be offered by the deities,

  So don’t accumulate things through unwholesome deeds.

  Do not become rich by hoarding like a miser;

  This is the samaya of the dakinis.

  Therefore give up such intentions and actions,

  And with your mind, let go of this life.

  Thus he sang. Then Milarepa bestowed all the abhishekas and key instructions in a complete and perfect way. Through meditating on them, the man perfected his experience and realization. He became known as Khyira Repa, one of the heart sons of the Jetsun. From that time forth, as well, the deer and the dog were liberated from the suffering of the lower realms. It is also said that the bow and arrow the hunter offered remain at that cave to this day.

  This is the cycle of meeting Khyira Repa, the heart-son of Milarepa, at Nyishang Gurta.

  *1 “The long robe traditionally worn by Tibetan men and women. When walking through a forest, it is necessary to hold up the bottom so that it does not get caught in underbrush or rocks. (KTGR)” (Stories and Songs: 37).

  *2 “Khyirawa” means hunter.

  *3 The word for offerings here (T: spyan gzigs) refers to material symbolic offerings typically put on a shrine.

  *4 Red Lightning Lady (T: khyi mo glog spyang dmar mo).

  *5 In Tibetan medicine, imbalances of wind, bile, and phlegm are the primary causes for illness.

  27

  The Offering of the Khokhom King and the Scrutiny of Tseringma

  NAMO GURU

  The Jetsun Milarepa was observing silence at the Katya Cave at Nyishang Mountain in Mönyul while remaining in the yoga of con
tinual river flow. At that time, there were several hunters who had come from Nyishang who happened upon Milarepa. Seeing him observing silence and sitting there with a gaze, they had some apprehensions and became afraid. After a moment, they all fled. Then later they returned, aiming their bows at Milarepa.

  They said many things to him, like, “Are you a human or a ghost? If you are a human, then you must be just mocking us.”76 But the Jetsun remained silent, maintaining his gaze.

  The hunters first shot many poison arrows at Milarepa, but none of them pierced him. Then they tried to throw him in the ravine, but they were unable to move his body. They surrounded him with fire, and though the fire burned, Milarepa’s body was not scorched. Then they threw his body over a cliff down to a great river at the base of the rock. But the Jetsun remained in the lotus posture. Then, without touching the water, he hovered above it and moved back up the center of the river. He flew all the way back up again to where he had been sitting before, all the while remaining silent. All of them, amazed, went back to their village and announced to everyone how there was such a man up in a mountain cave.

  Khyira Repa overheard them and said, “Among men, this yogi of Tibet is truly excellent, he is my guru! All of his conduct and activities are signs that he is a genuine siddha. He can even make animals meditate.” Then he told the story of how Milarepa got his deer and dog to meditate and how he himself became a dharma practitioner. From that, everyone there developed faith and respect.

  The fame of the Jetsun came to fill all of the land of Nepal. There was a king of the Nepali cities of Yerang and Khokhom*1 who, when he heard of the Jetsun, also became amazed and developed faith and respect.

  One day, Tara said to the king in a prophecy, “The kashika cloth and all-victorious arura herb that are in your treasury should be taken and offered to the great Tibetan yogi, a great tenth-level bodhisattva who is residing now at Katya Cave in the southern mountains of Nepal in Nyishang. This will have great significance for this and future lives.”

  The king sent a man who spoke the language of Tibet to investigate the situation, and the man came to meet the Jetsun. He saw by the Jetsun’s conduct how he had completely abandoned the concerns of this life and was amazed. Developing faith, he thought, “This is probably Milarepa. However, I must make sure.”

  “Lama, who are you? What is your name?” he asked. “You have nothing to eat or drink; doesn’t this cause you to suffer? What is the reason for having no belongings whatsoever?”

  The Jetsun replied, “I who am called Milarepa of Tibet am a yogi.” Then he sang this song of realization on the reason for how he did not suffer while having no belongings:

  Lord Guru, I prostrate to you.

  I am called Milarepa.

  These days I have no desire for wealth.

  I don’t make any provision of material things.

  First, I’ve no suffering of amassing and hoarding.

  In the middle, I’ve no suffering of protecting what I have.

  In the end, I’ve no suffering of attachment and clinging.

  I have nothing, and having nothing is excellent!

  These days, I’ve no desire for friends or companions;

  I don’t seek to be surrounded by affection and love.

  First, I’ve no suffering of focusing on others.

  In the middle, I’ve no suffering of hostile replies.

  In the end, I don’t have the suffering of parting.

  Having no affectionate and loving companions is excellent!

  These days, I’ve no desire for profit and fame;

  I don’t seek to hear any pleasantries.

  First, I have no suffering of striving for it.

  In the middle, I’ve no suffering of it abating.

  In the end, I’ve no fear of its decline.

  I’m happy with no pleasantries said about me!

  These days, I have no desire for a country;

  I don’t seek out any certain place to stay.

  First, I’ve no suffering of taking sides.

  In the middle, I’ve no suffering of craving for my country.

  In the end, I’ve no suffering of trying to please others.

  Having no certain place to stay is excellent!

  Thus he sang. With faith, the man went back to the king and offered a thorough report about what Milarepa was like. The king also developed faith and respect and said to the man, “Go and invite him and see if you can persuade him to come here. If you cannot, then present him these two things.” The king gave him the kashika cloth and the all-victorious arura herb, and sent the man off.

  When the servant again met the Jetsun, he said to him, “The dharma king of Khokhom and Yerang has sent me to invite the great yogi of Tibet. Please, you must go.”

  The Jetsun replied, “Generally, when I go into towns, I don’t try to please other people. In particular, I don’t try to please kings. I have no desire at all for the material enjoyments of good food or drink. There are no stories or talk of dharma practitioners freezing or starving to death. People who serve kings abandon the guru. So, to do as Marpa from Lhodrak has commanded me, I will not go. You may go back to where you came from.”

  The man said, “I have come here alone for the express purpose that a great king has summoned this yogi. Would it not be best for you to come?”

  The Jetsun said, “I too am a great chakravartin king. There is no king who is happier or who has amassed more riches and power than I have.”

  The man replied, “If you have the seven royal possessions of a chakravartin king, then you are indeed a greater and richer king.*2 Show me!”

  “If your worldly king with his retinue of ministers also obtained a dominion such as mine, then he would truly be a supreme king. He would have wealth and power in this life and the next.” Then he sang this song of realization:

  Your king and ministers who wish for happiness,

  If they protect a dominion like the yogi Milarepa’s,

  Then in this life and the next, they’ll have prosperity.

  This is what Milarepa’s dominion is like:

  Faith is my precious wheel;

  I engage in virtuous action day and night.

  Wisdom is my precious jewel;

  It fulfills the hopes of everyone, self and other.

  Discipline is my precious queen;

  She adorns me with her ravishing beauty.

  Meditative concentration is my precious minister;

  He gathers the two accumulations of merit and wisdom.

  Heedfulness is my precious elephant;

  It carries the great load of the Buddha’s teachings.

  Diligence is my precious supreme horse;

  It carries the afflictions to the land of egolessness.

  Hearing and contemplation is my precious general;

  He subjugates the army of the enemy, wrong thinking.

  If you had a dominion like this,

  You would gain the renown and glory of a king.

  Always victorious over unfavorable conditions,

  Your subjects would be incited to virtuous action.

  Mother sentient beings, without any left out,

  May you fulfill this king’s command!

  Thus he sang. The envoy said, “This is the way of dharma. How wondrous! Yogi, if you will definitely not come, the king has said to offer you these two things.” Then he offered him the kashika cloth and the all-victorious arura herb. The Jetsun accepted the offerings with dedications and aspiration prayers.

  At this time, Rechungpa and Shengom Repa both had come to invite Milarepa [back to Tibet]. Unable to track down the Jetsun, on the road they encountered bandits from Nyishang and Nepal. When they were about to be attacked, they cried out that they were yogis and begged them not to attack.

  The bandits replied, “Only the Sentsa*3 yogi [Milarepa] can be considered a true yogi.77 Poisonous arrows will not strike him, fire cannot burn him, and water will not carry him away. If you throw him off a cliff, he flie
s back up. He even refused the invitation of the king of Khokhom.”

  Then the two repas offered the bandits a gift and asked them to show them where Milarepa was, and so the bandits showed them.

  When they met the Jetsun, they saw he was wearing the kashika cloth and had placed the all-victorious arura herb upon a flat rock. The two repas made prostrations to the Jetsun and asked, “Have you been well?” inquiring after his health.

  The Jetsun replied, “I’m well, and this is the way in which I’m well!” Then he sang this song of realization:

  This is a land where many flowers grow

  In the midst of where trees dance and sway.

  It’s a land where many birds sing myriad songs.

  It’s a place where monkeys and langurs train their skill.

  In such a solitary place as this

  To roam in mountain retreats alone feels good.

  Meditating with the guru at my crown feels good.

  The self-blazing heat and bliss of chandali feels good.

  The self-liberated eight concerns of illusory body feel good.

  Self-purified confusion, like a dream, feels good.

  Luminosity free of the darkness of ignorance feels good.

  Buddhahood without practicing transference*4 feels good.

  If the bardo came right away it would feel good.*5

  In the undefiled space of great bliss I feel good.

  I, an old father who feels so good,

  I’m familiar with the sweet and delicious fruits.

  I’m familiar with the cold and warmth of mountain water.

  Reflect on my meaning, and understand.

  Did those bandits not overtake you?

  If so, you should contemplate your previous karma.

  When you have no wealth, you are free of foes:

  Abandon hoarding and maintaining, my disciple-sons!

  If you tame your mind-streams, you’ll be free of foes:

  Abandon your anger and aggression, my disciple-sons!