The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa

by Tsangnyon Heruka

  If you recognize your own minds, you’ll be free of foes:

  Look on the face of the deity, my disciple-sons!

  If you give rise to compassion, you’ll be free of foes:

  Meditate on cherishing others, my disciple-sons!

  Thus he sang. Then Shengom Repa said, “It is because a yogi like the Jetsun has this way of being happy and free of enemies that we have come to invite you to return. Accordingly, there is no need to remain only in mountain retreats. We ask you to please come back to Tibet and benefit sentient beings there.”

  The Jetsun said, “Staying in mountain retreats is the most genuine form of benefit to sentient beings. I can return to Tibet, but my remaining strictly in solitude like this is not a bad form of virtuous activity, for it repays the kindness of my guru’s command. All of the good qualities of the yogi’s paths and bhumis arise in mountain retreats. Even if one has the good qualities of the signs of experience, it is the heroic pride of a yogi to rely on solitary places. Therefore, you should remain in strict retreat in the mountains.” Then he sang this song of realization:

  Since the guru’s kindness cannot be repaid

  Until sentient beings are completely exhausted,

  I will repay his kindness with practice.

  Though the Jetsun is completely without any want,

  This is the heart advice of all the siddhas.

  The small white-mouthed wild ass of the north

  Even at death, his dignity is not lowered.

  This is not out of hope of being freed;

  This is a wild animal’s heroic pride.

  The carnivorous tigress of the south

  Though starving, she won’t eat the meat of her own kind.

  This is not because there is a need for this;

  This is the great beast’s heroic pride.

  The white snow lioness of the west

  Though cold, she’ll never leave the snow.

  This is not because there is no place to go;

  This is the king of beast’s heroic pride.

  The vulture, king of birds, in the east

  Stretches out the feathers of his wings.

  This is not because he ever has fear of falling;

  This is that high flyer’s heroic pride.

  With Milarepa’s perseverance in meditation,

  He abandons the activities of the world.

  This is not because he cares about praise or fame;

  This is a natural sign of having revulsion.

  Yogis who are liberated from everything

  Wander in remote and solitary places.

  This is not because they have fear of confusion;

  This is the story of all the siddhas.

  The monk disciple-sons gathered here

  Follow the discipline of keeping strict retreat.

  This is not because it’s the desire of a human master;

  It’s the story of traversing the path of freedom.

  For the faithful ones who are fortunate

  I’ve sung this song of key instructions.

  This is not just something done when there’s nothing to do;

  It’s the practice tradition of this lineage.

  Thus he sang. Rechungpa said, “Please accept me that I may practice these. Jetsun, your appearance is not like that of other humans. Who is it that offered this excellent cloth and arura to you?”

  “It was offered by the god of men,” he replied, then he sang this song of realization:

  In the capital of Yerang and Khokhom

  Lives a king, a lord of men.

  Because the Jetsun Tara gave a prophecy

  To this dharma king, a bodhisattva,

  Milarepa received his invitation

  At the Katya Cave in Nepal.

  But for fear of death, I did not go.*6

  Thus, the dharma king of Nepal

  Bestowed upon me this soft white cotton garment

  As a companion for my ashé chandali.

  He bestowed this supreme all-victorious arura herb,

  The antidote for sickness of the elements.

  In the land, here, of that king

  All beings, for seven years, will be free of sickness.

  Thus he sang. The two repas said, “You did not come here for the sake of the eight worldly concerns but to do your practice: how wonderful that is!78 We ask you to now please return to Tibet to benefit sentient beings there.” Because of their fervent requests, the Jetsun went and stayed in Nyen-yön Cave at the confluence of Lachi.

  While Milarepa was staying there, Tseringma came and investigated the Jetsun. As he was enjoying a girl of a low class in the acacia forest, he saw Tseringma in a white silver mirror. Then she saw him vanish into space.

  The next year, when Milarepa was staying in Chonglung, Tseringma again came to investigate the Jetsun. She saw him there riding on a lion with ashes and rakta*7 smeared on his body and wearing a garland of flowers upon his head. For clothing he wore the sun and moon. In his hand he held a parasol and a victory banner. When she approached, she saw him vanish into the sky, and so she was not able to attack him.

  This is the cycle of the Khokhom king making an offering in Mönyul, and a brief account of Tseringma’s investigation for attack.

  *1 Khokhom and Yerang seem to be the modern-day Nepali cities of Bhaktapur and Patan, respectively.

  *2 Traditionally a chakravartin king, a ruler who is particularly potent due to previously accumulated merit, has seven possessions as enumerated in Milarepa’s song below: a precious wheel, jewel, queen, minister, elephant, horse, and general.

  *3 This term is obscure, but clearly refers to Milarepa here.

  *4 Or “phowa,” a yogic practice in which the practitioner’s consciousness is ejected to a buddhafield at the time of death.

  *5 If Milarepa were to die suddenly, and then entered the bardo state, he would be happy, with no regrets.

  *6 Remembering death, the impermanence of life, Milarepa remained in retreat to practice.

  *7 T: rakta. Rakta is the Sanskrit word for blood, and is transliterated in the original text. “Rakta” is used as a sacred substance in the anuttarayoga tantra (highest yoga tantra) tradition. Here, Milarepa is depicted as demonstrating a form of “yogic conduct.”

  28

  The Five Tseringma Sisters’ Investigation

  Garland of an Array of Pearls

  NAMO GURU*1

  Though born in the range of snowy mountains,

  You are not tainted with worldly faults.

  Because you are blessed by Naropa’s lineage,

  You are an extraordinary one who underwent austerity.

  A supreme healing medicine for the sickness of beings,

  Object of veneration, bright like the sun and moon,

  You who are renowned as the Lord Mila,

  Father Repa, with respect I pay homage.

  In the snowy mountain range of the north, on the border of Tibet and Nepal where the people speak different languages, there in that glorious land, at the prosperous place between Drin and Dingma,*2 was a magnificent marketplace where one could get anything that one wished. It was a palace of the naga king Dungdra, a place where wealth and riches flourished naturally.

  On the east side of a jewel-like rock that looks like a majestically poised lion, and on the left corner of the noble lady Lhamen Tashi Tseringma,*3 in the center of the encircling crystal dwellings of the snow mountain deities,*4 there lies the Menlung Valley where the Mayang River flows. There on the banks of the Lohit River, in a solitary retreat in the Menlung Valley of Chuwar,*5 a place with great blessings, the great Repa Lord, the yogi Mila, was residing, meditating one-pointedly in the yogic practice that is like a flowing river.

  In the first summer month of the male water-dragon year, at midnight on the eighth day of the waxing moon, eighteen great demons came, leading all of the devas and ghosts of phenomenal existence. They exhibited myriad magical displays and omens such as storms and earthquakes. Among those demons
there were five terrifying malevolent rakshasa females who displayed a variety of hideous forms and attempted to disturb Milarepa’s meditative concentration. When this happened, the Jetsun sang this song of realization of “Summoning the Army” to the deities and dakinis:

  Lord, precious guru with the three kindnesses,

  One from Lhodrak, whose name is widely renowned,

  This fortunate one fervently prays to you.

  Father, from unmanifest space, consider me.

  To this solitary place near Chuwar of Drin,

  I, a repa yogi from Tibet,

  Came to meditate with one-pointed concentration.

  When experiences arise from gathering the dhatus,*6

  I see any kind of amazing shows.

  In general, the ghosts of phenomenal existence

  Are assembled here without any left out.

  In particular, these five ladies, these apparitions,

  Show themselves with hideous forms

  And seek to harm me with malevolent power.

  They try to disturb me with obstructions.

  One lady is like a smiling skeleton;

  I see her lift Mount Meru into her lap.

  One’s face, like a jackal, is red, dripping with blood;

  In a single gulp, I see her swallow the ocean.

  One is utterly fearsome with the Lord of Death’s form,

  Crashing the sun and moon like a pair of cymbals.

  One lady, smeared in ashes, roars with laughter;

  I see her throw the stars down to the earth.

  One is ravishing with the form of a goddess,

  A lady whom one never gets enough of seeing.

  I see her smile and try to seduce.

  There are also emanations of yakshas.

  I see them reach out disembodied arms.

  I see them shake all the plants and shrubs.

  They rearrange the earth, rocks, and mountains.

  I see pits surrounding me in the four directions.

  I see the four borders guarded by giants.

  I see the sky filled with fire.

  I see the earth filled up with water.

  The spirits that fill up the surrounding space,

  I hear their thunderous malevolent roars

  With voices that are fearful and discordant.

  They shout, “You can’t stay here! Go away!”

  They shower my body with disease and illness.

  They shout, “We’ll tear your mind from your body!”

  When hindrances such as this arise,

  Guru, you who are endowed with blessing;

  And yidam deities who grant the siddhis;

  Dakas who are naturally present;

  Dakinis who reside within basic space;

  And dharmapalas who guard against hindrances:

  You are my support, so I summon you to battle!

  Marshal the forces of miraculous power!

  Bless the body and speech of this yogi.

  Sages,*7 with your wrathful dress,

  Bare your fangs and dreadful visage.

  Males and females with your awesome wrath,

  Some of you have bodies of the Lord of Death—

  He with form most haughty and insolent.

  Assembly of wrathful ones filling the sky,

  Your mouths let out lightning and tongues of flame.

  Thunderclaps of mantra’s roar

  Make a rain of HUM and PHAT come down.

  With twelve long roars of forceful laughter,

  You drive away the army of obstacles.

  Outer obstacles of body are cleared externally;

  Inner obstacles of mind are cleared from within.

  Bad conditions are transformed into the path of awakening.

  Throw these evil demons down the river!

  Do you hear me, assembly of dakinis and yidams?

  I beseech all of you superior beings!

  Thus the Jetsun proclaimed this song of realization, fervently supplicating the guru and yidams. Then the horde of ghosts, led by the eighteen great demons, thought, “With the way this yogi has just spoken, is he concerned at all? Some concepts have arisen in his mind, and it seems he is, so we will have a chance to contend with him! We are somewhat pleased by this, but since we still do not know the extent of Milarepa’s meditative experience or inner confidence in realization, we will try to intimidate the Jetsun with more frightful and terrorizing speech. We must find out what fearless confidence of view he has!” Then the multitude of ghosts sang this song to the Jetsun, “A Prophecy of Hindrances”:

  Singing your song so vividly clear,

  Elucidating with skill in singing,

  You summoned an army of dakinis and deities.

  With such conduct of a yogi in mountain retreats,

  Are you not a great repa with yogic discipline?

  We have no physical body, no support for mind,

  So we’re terrible and fearful, it’s definitely true!

  Though we instill anguish in others’ minds,

  With attentive ears, now listen to our song.

  The one who is named the Nam Lo King,

  A turquoise dragon with golden wings,79

  Beneath where he soars in the midnight sky,

  Lies a valley, an auspicious forest and meadow.80

  Surrounded by the petals of the Lhamen Snow Range,*8

  This pasture is the unequaled Menlung Valley.

  There, on this special eighth day of the lunar month,

  During the waxing of the moon,81

  Just past midnight, in the sky shrouded in darkness,

  Gathers a host of eighty-four thousand obstructing spirits.

  We devas and ghosts of all phenomenal existence—

  From the lesser devas*9 up in the sky,

  To the mahoragas down beneath the earth—

  Emanations with unpleasant form;

  With magical bodies we’ve come to this place.

  We’ve contemptuous and malevolent minds

  And we do many things to harm and disturb.

  Chiefly, there are the eighteen great demons,

  Then the retinue demons that guard the ten directions,

  And the fifteen great demons that strike children.

  In particular, here are the five great rakshasa demonesses.

  When they smell the flesh and blood of humans,

  They cannot help but smack their lips.

  These are rakshasa women of worldly deeds.

  We devas and rakshasas assembled here

  Discussed and cast our dice for lots.

  The ominous cross-mark*10 has fallen on you!

  The casting we charted said it’s you we should take!

  You’ve fallen into this and there’s no way out!

  Since you haven’t any control,

  Your vitality and life-force will be taken away.

  We’ll snuff the ins and outs of your breath.

  Your consciousness will be parted from its support.

  We’ll eat your body, all its flesh and blood.

  Your life and good fortune will come to an end.

  You’ll be taken away by the Lord of Death.

  The noose of negative karma has taken its hold.

  Here, in the last watch of the night,

  You must pass over to the other side.

  All of the actions you’ve done previously,

  Do you have regret for them now, or not?

  Yama’s messenger*11 will take you away;

  Are you prepared to die happily, or not?

  Do you have confidence that’s free of fear

  Toward the great abyss of the three lower realms, or not?

  These are our questions for you, yogi.

  Tonight you’ll have to follow after us

  And the Yama of karma will be your guide.*12

  The light and dark of the bardo is very frightful;

  You must go to some other unseen land.

  Thus, for your body, it’s time for
a refuge, a guide.

  For speech, it’s time to ride the horse of aspiration.

  For mind, it’s time to go*13 to another city.

  Kyihu! Kyihu! Alas, you poor yogi!

  You have no relatives or any friends.

  In this place so horrifying and full of anguish,

  The path of solitude is hard to traverse.

  You must go alone without any companion.

  Don’t stay! Don’t stay! You must quickly go!

  Thus all of the ghosts and demons sang.

  Then the Jetsun reflected, “All you ghosts, as well as all other phenomena that exist, are just projections of the mind. There is nothing that isn’t like that. This is taught in all of the sutras, tantras, and treatises. This very essence of mind that is naturally luminous and free from all elaborations is what was pointed out to me through the nectar of my noble guru’s oral instructions. The nature of mind is free of arising and ceasing. Even if the Lord of Death’s army of millions and billions should surround it and rain down a myriad of weapons, they could not kill, cut, or transform [mind’s nature] into something bad. Even if a billion light rays of the buddhas of the three times and ten directions should gather with their good qualities combined, it could not be fabricated to be made truly existent as the form of something with color or form. [Mind’s nature] is this very uncontrived basic character.

  “This present body is taken as real due to clinging to perceiver and perceived. And the end of these aggregates made up of the base elements that have been born is death. So, if you devas and ghosts have a need for them, then I will happily give them to you. All things are impermanent and changing phenomena. Right now, while I have control, if I exercise generosity with my mind, then I would do great benefit by giving away my body.

  “Now, because of the confused concepts of perceived and perceiver, I see all the images of these devas and ghosts here. These appearances of harmers and someone to be harmed are like floaters that appear to an obscured eye. Since beginningless samsara, by the power of ignorance—the cause—obscurations arose through continual habituation to negative tendencies, these concepts which are adventitious coverings like clouds or fog. So then, why do I have such fear and anguish toward them?”