The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa
Page 66
The Jetsun thought, “Rechungpa has accompanied me for a very long time, and I do not know if we will meet again.” Milarepa journeyed with him for a distance. When they reached the top of the pass, the Jetsun said, “In what manner will you go?” Then Rechungpa offered this song of his manner of going:
Taking the genuine dharma’s view as an example:
I’ll go to the border of appearance-emptiness.
Eliminating eternalism or nihilism, I’ll go.
Taking the unchanging path, I’ll go.
Though my view may be feeble, I have no regrets.
Taking the genuine dharma’s meditation as an example:
I’ll go to the border of bliss-luminosity.
Eliminating agitation and dullness, I’ll go.
Taking the path of luminosity, I’ll go.
Though my meditation is feeble, I have no regrets.
Taking the genuine dharma’s conduct as an example:
I’ll go to the border of yogic discipline.
Eliminating improper behavior, I’ll go.
Taking the path of nonattachment, I’ll go.
Though my conduct is feeble, I have no regrets.
Taking the genuine dharma’s samaya as an example:
I’ll go to the border of perfect purity.
Eliminating hypocrisy and deceit, I’ll go.
Taking the path without pretense, I’ll go.
Though my samaya is feeble, I have no regrets.
Taking the genuine dharma’s fruition as an example:
I’ll go to the border of spontaneous presence.
Eliminating hopes and fears, I’ll go.
Taking the four kayas’ path, I’ll go.
Though my fruition is feeble, I have no regrets.
Taking the Jetsun Marpa as an example:
I’ll go to the border of the whispered lineage.
Eliminating conventional terms, I’ll go.
Taking the path of key instructions, I’ll go.
Though my taking dharma to the path is feeble, I have no regrets.
Taking my guru Milarepa as an example:
I’ll go to the border of perseverance.
Eliminating laziness, I’ll go.
Taking the path of diligence, I’ll go.
Though my diligence is feeble, I have no regrets.
Taking myself, Rechungpa, as an example:
I’ll go to the border of having good fortune.
Eliminating wrong views, I’ll go.
Taking the path of devotion, I’ll go.
Though my supplication is feeble, I have no regrets.
Thus he sang. Milarepa said, “Your manner of going is excellent. Now, I tell you, if a child stays by his mother’s side, he grows up well. If an egg is warmed by the hen’s heat, it will easily come to hatch. If meditators stay with their gurus, then they will not deviate. Although you are leaving without heeding what I say, I will never forsake my love for you, and you should continually supplicate me.”
Then Rechungpa wept with tears and said, “I always see the Jetsun as the Buddha in person, and previously, I have never put my hopes in anyone but the Jetsun. Still now, until attaining buddhahood myself, I place my hopes in no one but the Jetsun. After this life, in the bardo, too, please be my refuge and guide.” Then he offered this melody:
Guru, with the Buddha’s mind of great compassion,
Please be a guide for me, Rechungpa.
I wish to go to the pass of view,
But eternalism and nihilism lurk in many places,
The agitating bandits of bias are many,
And the pass of perceiver and perceived is too long.
Thus, until I’ve gone to the pass of genuine perfection,
Be your son’s guide, O Precious One!
Liberate all my fears, O Nirmanakaya!
I wish to go to the pass of meditation,
But agitation and dullness lurk in many places,
Reference points are treacherous and tight,
And the leaves of concepts agitate [the mind].177
Thus, until reaching the field that is unborn and free of elaborations,
Be your son’s guide, O Precious One!
Liberate all my fears, O Nirmanakaya!
I wish to reach the treacherous path of conduct,
But [cannot] due to attachment that has accompanied me for too long,
The tight, treacherous places of hypocrisy,
And the agitation of the bandits of improper conduct.
Until I reach the path of spontaneity without attachment,
Be your son’s guide, O Precious One!
Liberate all my fears, O Nirmanakaya!
I wish to build the fortress of samaya
But I have studied very little,
The neighbors of the antidote are of low class,
And the gate of duplicity is very great.178
Thus, until I am surrounded by the trench of purity, unborn,
Be your son’s guide, O Precious One!
Liberate all my fears, O Nirmanakaya!
I wish to have fruition in its entirety,
But the traces of samsara and nirvana go far.
The path of nirvana is treacherous and tight,
And the bandits of hope and fear bring agitation.
Thus until I reach the household of the four perfect kayas,
Be your son’s guide, O Precious One!
Liberate all my fears, O Nirmanakaya!
Rechungpa wishes to roam the lands,
But this illusory body’s desire for comfort is great.
There is little basis for faith in Tibet,
And the bandits of arrogance bring agitation.
Thus, until the son comes into the father’s presence,
Be your son’s guide, O Precious One!
Liberate all my fears, O Nirmanakaya!
Thus he sang. The Jetsun said, “I will see you off and pray for your auspicious journey.” Then he sang this song of realization:
If you ask what my lineage is,
My lineage is not bad, it’s an excellent one.
It is the lineage of great Vajradhara.
May this excellent lineage have auspiciousness.
May my son, Rechungpa, have auspiciousness.
If you ask who are my gurus,
My gurus aren’t bad, they are excellent.
My Gurus are Marpa and Ngok, these two.
May these excellent gurus have auspiciousness.
May my son, Rechungpa, have auspiciousness.
If you ask what is my genuine dharma,
My genuine dharma’s not bad, it’s excellent.
Mahamudra is my genuine dharma.
May the genuine dharma have auspiciousness.
May my son, Rechungpa, have auspiciousness.
If you ask what my yidam is,
It’s not a bad yidam, it is excellent.
Vajrayogini is my yidam.
May this excellent yidam have auspiciousness.
May my son, Rechungpa, have auspiciousness.
If you ask who my dharmapalas are,
They aren’t bad dharmapalas, they’re excellent.
My protectors are Mahakala and Mahakali.
May these excellent protectors have auspiciousness.
May my son, Rechungpa, have auspiciousness.
With the view, conduct, and meditation, these three,
May my son, Rechungpa, have auspiciousness.
With the ground, path, and fruition, these three,
May my son, Rechungpa, have auspiciousness.
With the nadis, pranas, and bindus, these three,
May my son, Rechungpa, have auspiciousness.
With bliss, clarity, and nonthought, these three,
May my son, Rechungpa, have auspiciousness.
The Buddha is true, and the dharma is true,
Likewise the sangha, too, is true.
Thus, may auspiciousness be stable and never waver.
If you ask who I am,<
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I am the yogi Milarepa.
May Milarepa’s auspiciousness fall upon his son!
May the son’s auspiciousness exceed that of his father!
Thus he sang. Then Milarepa gave further advice, “When you arrive in Ü, a bitch will grab you by the leg. When that happens, do not forget the guru or your practice.” Then as the Jetsun sat there, Rechungpa prostrated to him and circumambulated.
Then the Jetsun thought, “He will turn to look back at me, so I will stay here until he does. Otherwise, Rechungpa will be sad.” Thus, Milarepa stood there for some time, but Rechungpa did not turn back to look. Then the Jetsun thought, “He goes without looking back at all. Have wrong thoughts about his guru and dharma brothers arisen for him? He is someone who can follow the dharma and the lineage, and keep it secret.” Then Milarepa bound his prana once, and went ahead of Rechungpa. In front of a rock shaped like a majestically poised lion, there, he emanated the forms of seven repas. Then, to test Rechungpa, together they sang this song of realization in single voice:
You repa, on the path, listen here,
Who are you, and who is your guru?
Who are your grandparents, and who are your ancestors?
Who is your lineage, and what are your key instructions?
What is your meditation, and what is your monastery?
What’s the name of this mountain, and what is this rock?
Which direction is it that you are bound?
Who is it that told you to go?
And who is it that is going now?
What manner is it that you go?
Then Rechungpa thought, “There is no other repa who would say such things before me here; these are emanations of the Jetsun.” Offering prostrations, he sang this song of realization on his manner of going:
Father, great Jetsun, please listen to me,
Since you ask who I am,
I am Rechungpa of Gungtang.
My guru is Milarepa.
My grandparents are Marpa and Ngok.
My ancestors are Tilopa and Naropa.
My key instructions are those of the dakinis’ whispered lineage.
My lineage comes from great Vajradhara.
My meditation is of Lachi Snowy Range.
This mountain here is called Pee-Ling Surkha.
This rock here is a majestically poised lion.
I go in the direction of Ü.
The one who said to go is the Jetsun Guru.
This is how I go; please give some dharma for going.
When Rechungpa had sung this, all the emanations dissolved back into Milarepa’s actual form. “Since you did not look back at me at all as you went, I came here to test you. There is no fault with your samaya. The samaya between you and me is pure, and since we are free of meeting and parting, now, go on to Ü.”
Delighted at this, Rechungpa touched the crown of his head to the Jetsun’s feet, made many aspirations, and journeyed on to Ü.
Then the Jetsun went back to the Belly Cave and the same students from before came bringing many things to offer their respect and service. When they realized that Rechungpa was not there, they took the things they had brought to offer him and buried them in a brass vessel179 within the cave.
They came to the Jetsun who was sitting in the open area around the cave. The students said, “Jetsun, previously you did not get up very early. Why have you gotten up so early today?”
The Jetsun replied, “I accompanied Rechungpa for a short while to see him off on his journey to Ü. Upon my return, I felt very sad, and so I have just been sitting here.”
The students said, “Did the Jetsun not try to dissuade Rechungpa from going to Ü?”
“I did. I tried to dissuade him like this,” then he sang this song of realization:
My treasured son, Rechungpa, has gone to Ü
If what he wants does not befall him,
He does not listen to what others say.
“I must see the two faces of the Jowo,” he said.
“I must see Loro and Nyal,” he said.
“I must see glorious Samye,” he said.
“I must see the dharma center of Lhasa,” he said.
Then this is what I said to him:
“When relying upon the root guru,
What good is the Jowo Shakyamuni?
When roaming in the temple of rugged mountains,
What good are the seats of Marpa and Ngok?
When listening to the whispered lineage key instructions,
What good are the places of Loro and Nyal?
When looking at the show of your own mind,
What good are the sights of glorious Samye?
When cutting doubts from within,
What good is the dharma center of Lhasa?”
This is what I said to him.
Rechungpa, whom I raised with love,
Today has gone away to sun-like Ü.
When you students come, it’s merely a gathering.*4
Thus he sang. Then the students said, “At this time when the guru’s body has become old, it is important [for his students] to stay nearby. Even though you tried to dissuade him, he did not listen. It was heedless of him to go.”
The Jetsun replied, “Rechungpa does not have any samaya related to shame or heedlessness.” Then he sang this song of realization:
Though parents raise their treasured children,
Only a few in a hundred will help their old parents.
Of the disciples that do not have such samaya, too,
Only a few in a hundred will help their aged master.
The father’s been left behind just like an old dog,
And the son, like a white lion, has gone to Ü.
The father, like a fox, has been left behind,
While the son, a striped tiger, has gone to Ü.
The father’s been left just like an old rooster,
While the son, like a vulture, has gone to Ü.
The father’s been left just like an old ass,
While the son, a Dochen stallion,*5 has gone to Ü.
The father’s been left just like an old cow,
While the son, a wild yak, has gone to Ü.
With his body finer than a god’s, he has gone to Ü.
With words softer than silk, he has gone to Ü.
With speech clearer than a bell, he has gone to Ü.
With mind brighter than brocade, he has gone to Ü.
Smelling sweeter than sandalwood, he has gone to Ü.
Thus he sang. The students said, “You have so much love for him, so surely you arranged a companion to go away with him. Are you not wearied from going such a long distance?”
“I sent him off in this way,” then he sang this song of realization:
When he left, he was accompanied by an excellent companion.
Other companions come and go,
But Rechungpa’s companions are free of coming and going.
That supreme friend is self-arisen wisdom.
Accompanied by him, my son Rechungpa has gone.
When he left, he was riding an excellent horse.
Other horses lose their stride,
But Rechungpa’s horse will never lose its stride.
It is the stallion of prana and mind.
Riding this, my son Rechungpa has gone.
When he left, he was wearing very warm clothes.
With other clothes, one gets hot or cold,
But Rechungpa’s clothes don’t let him get hot or cold.
That cloth is chandali’s blazing fire.
Wearing this, my son Rechungpa has gone.
When he left, he had fine food to eat.
Other foods may be delicious and sweet,
But Rechungpa’s food isn’t delicious or sweet.
Samadhi has the supreme, excellent taste.
With this food, my son Rechungpa has gone.
When he left, he carried excellent wealth.
Other wealth may be stolen by foes,
But Rechungpa’s wealth can’t be stolen by foes.
The wish-fulfilling jewel of the whispered lineage,
Accompanied by this, my son Rechungpa has gone to Ü.
Thus he sang. Milarepa was a little sad, and he sat down. Then the students said, “Rechungpa seems to be indifferent to you. The Jetsun should just put him out of his mind. You still have others with you like Repa Shiwa Ö and Seben Repa. They can attend you here at the Belly Cave.”
The Jetsun replied, “Yes, there are many other repas but few are like Rechungpa. Though there are many students, few truly have faith.” Then he sang this song of realization:
Nyenchung Repa*6 of Gungtang,
Ngendzong Dewakyong of Chenlung,
Seben Tashi Bar of Dotra,
Drigom Lingkhawa of Takmo,
These are my four heart-like sons.
But Rechungpa was with me since he was small,
My friend since childhood is a thorn in my mind.
Now Rechungpa has gone; I think of him and I am sad.180
The view that is imputed with conventional terms,
Though it’s called the “view,” it’s just lip service.
Those who abandon the distraction of perceiver and perceived
And realize it one-pointedly are very few.
The meditation that is unborn within the mind,
Though it’s called “meditation,” it is only shamatha.
Those who join shamatha and vipashyana
And penetrate this vital point are very few.
The conduct done with sporadic mind,
It’s called “conduct,” but it’s just busyness.
Those who overpower the eight worldly concerns
And master the dharma are very view.
The samaya that’s contrived with duplicity,
Though it’s called “samaya,” it’s merely deceit.