The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa

by Tsangnyon Heruka

  When taming malevolent male and female demons

  It makes trulkhor and ascetic practice strong.

  When the body is afflicted by illness,

  Awareness and space mix into one.

  When subtle concepts start to arise,

  The bubble of the afflictions is burst.

  When lying in bed, hidden, all alone,

  Awareness settles nakedly.

  When staying in the midst of many people,

  Look at the essence of whatever arises.

  When dullness sets in, use PHAT to clear it away.

  When thoughts proliferate, cut them at their root.

  When agitated, rest within space.

  When mind follows after an object,

  Look right at the reality of suchness.

  With this Dharma of Pacifying Suffering,

  When bad omens arise, it turns them into auspicious fortune,

  So thoughts, you may do whatever you like.

  When afflicted with illness, practice is enhanced,

  So elements of the body, you may do whatever you like.

  When death comes, it is taken to the path,

  So, Lord of Death, you may do whatever you like.

  As for this Dharma of Pacifying Suffering,

  It’s the intention of the Victorious Ones of the three times.

  It’s the secret word of Vajradhara.

  It’s the key instruction of the four ranks of dakinis.

  It’s the upadesha of the whispered lineage’s vital points.

  It’s the key to the upadeshas’ skillful means.

  It’s the Dharma of Pacifying Suffering!

  The Jetsun was pleased as he sat there loosely clothed, completely exposed. Dampa Sangye said, “On your body, there’s one thing you should keep hidden, but you have it there exposed, like the conduct of a madman. You shouldn’t act in this way.” Then the Jetsun sang this song of realization on the way of a crazy man:

  I prostrate to the guru lord.

  I take refuge in the one who is so kind.

  Please clear obstructions and adverse conditions.

  Lead me down the path in harmony with dharma.

  About this yogi Milarepa here,

  Others ask, “Is he really crazy?”

  I also wonder if I am crazy.

  To tell of the crazy nature of such craziness:

  The father, son, and lineage are crazy.

  At the top of the lineage, Vajradhara is crazy.

  The forefather Tilopa Sherap Sangpo is crazy.

  The ancestor Naropa, the great pandit, is crazy.

  My old father, Marpa Lotsawa, is crazy.

  And I, Milarepa, too am crazy.

  This lineage of the great Vajradhara

  Was driven crazy by the demon of the spontaneous four kayas.

  The forefather Tilopa Sherap Sangpo

  Was driven crazy by the demon of Mahamudra.

  The ancestor Naropa, the great pandit,

  Was driven crazy by the demon of yogic practice.

  My old father, Marpa Lotsawa,

  Was driven crazy by the demon of the four sections of tantra.

  And I, Milarepa, too am crazy:

  I’m driven crazy by the demon of prana and mind.

  I’m driven crazy by the view that is free from bias.

  I’m driven crazy by the self-luminous meditation that’s reference-free.

  I’m driven crazy by the self-liberated conduct free of fixation.

  I’m driven crazy by the fruition free of hope and fear.

  I’m driven crazy by samaya that’s free of deceit.

  Not only am I crazy, but demons harm me:

  As male demons, the guru’s instructions harm me.

  As female demons, the dakinis’ blessings harm me.

  The demon of blissful mind has come to stay for good.

  The ghost-lady of realization always spies upon me.

  There are not only demons, but there is also illness:

  Mahamudra gives me pain in my back.

  At my front, I’m pained by the Great Perfection.

  I’m seized by the chronic illness of the vase breath.

  Above, I’m afflicted with the fever of wisdom.

  Below, I’m afflicted by the cold of deep samadhi.

  In the middle, the heat and cold of bliss-emptiness quarrel.

  The key instructions are vomited from my mouth like blood,

  And the bliss of dharmata fills up my lungs.

  Not only is there sickness, but I’m also dying:

  In the expanse of view, bias has died.

  In the expanse of meditation, agitation and dullness have died.

  In the expanse of conduct, hypocrisy has died.

  In the expanse of fruition, hope and fear have died.

  In the expanse of samaya, deceit has died.

  In the state of the three kayas, the yogi has died.

  On the morning after the death of this yogi,

  Not with a shroud of woolen cloth,

  But with outer appearances, my corpse will be wrapped.

  Not with ordinary twisted twine,

  But with the rope of the avadhuti will my corpse be bound.

  It will not be carried by some snot-nosed nephew,

  But the child of awareness will take it up

  And carry the dead corpse of this yogi away.

  Not on the yellow earthen path

  But on the path of great enlightenment will it be carried,

  And the four ranks of dakinis will be its guide.

  The Kagyu gurus will lead the procession,

  Not to mountains covered in rust or grass,

  But up the mountain of glorious Samantabhadra.

  Not the foxes and wolves of the charnel grounds,

  But foxes and wolves of means and wisdom will enjoy it there!

  Then what remains will be buried in the tomb of Vajradhara.

  Thus he sang. Dampa Sangye was very pleased by what Milarepa sang, and said, “Yogi, your way of being crazy is truly excellent.”

  The Jetsun said, “Wouldn’t it be great if we arranged and performed a ganachakra offering with us yogis gathered here?”

  Dampa Sangye replied, “Well then, since you are the Tibetan here, you should host the ganachakra for this Indian.”

  With that, the Jetsun took the top part of his skull, along with the brains, off of his head, and with his two knees and his neck, he built a three-legged hearth. Then sending out the blazing fire of chandali from his navel, he lit the fire, and from his brains, the five-colored lights radiated forth.

  Dampa Sangye emanated seven different buddha forms standing on seven tall stalks of grass. Then the Jetsun, too, as an object for making the offering, emanated the eight guardian goddesses of the Chakrasamvara mandala. Once they were in place, he emanated seven forms of himself upon the seven stalks of grass, and offered a ganachakra with the six satisfactions.*3

  The Jetsun’s stalks of grass bent slightly and he asked Dampa Sangye, “There is no difference between the vase breath of us two practitioners. Why is it that my blades of grass are bent like this?”

  Dampa Sangye replied, “There is no difference between the qualities of our realization and what we have abandoned. The only difference is that you were born in Tibet. Our view and conduct is exactly the same, and in the future, the disciples of the lineage, too, will come to have the same view and conduct.”

  Then, through their magical powers, each of them went back to their individual abodes.

  This is the cycle of Tongla.

  *1 Acharya (T: a tsa ra) means master, or teacher, in Sanskrit. Here, instead of using the usual Tibetan translation for the term (slob dpon, pronounced “loppön”), the text uses a transliteration, indicating that the speaker thinks of the individual as a yogi or teacher from India.

  *2 “The practice in which one does not concern oneself with the causes of suffering, but rather focuses directly on the suffering itself. To do the practice, analyze t
he suffering to see if it truly exists or not. When you have determined its true nature, look straight at its essence, and let go and relax. (KTGR)” (Stories and Songs: 113).

  *3 “The six satisfactions (tshim pa drug) are: (1) the offering of samadhi satisfies the deities of the mandala; (2) amṛita satisfies inner original wisdom; (3) the bliss of blazing and dripping satisfies the deities in one’s body; (4) the feast of food and drink satisfies the yogis and yoginis; (5) offerings of song and dance satisfy the dakinis; and (6) spirits to whom we owe karmic debts are satisfied by the gift of the residual torma. (Tulku Pema Wangyal Rinpoche and Trulzhig Rinpoche. Many thanks to Gene Smith for his help in obtaining this description.)” (Stories and Songs: 116).

  54

  The Hook of Compassion for the Dead, and Establishing His Sister Peta in Enlightenment

  NAMO GURU

  When the Jetsun Milarepa was staying at the Nyanang Belly Cave, in a place nearby called Lashing there was a large community of Bön practitioners. Among them was a rich Bönpo who had faith in the Buddhist dharma. Without the other Bönpos knowing, he had given respect and service to the Jetsun, received the abhishekas and key instructions, and practiced them.

  The man had been stricken by a fatal illness and all of his relatives had gathered. In his last testament, he said to them, “When I die, offer all of my wealth and belongings to the master Jetsun and his disciples, and ask them to perform the funeral rites. In this life, you all have followed Bön, but in the next life you should follow the Buddhist dharma that is so beneficial.”

  But the people gathered there did not find this to be worthwhile for them to listen to. Thus, out of fear they would not invite the Jetsun and his disciples, the dying man said to a girl who was there, “Go get me a knife.”

  “To do what with?” she asked.

  “Since no one will listen at all to my requests, I will kill myself. You will probably be condemned because you didn’t listen.”

  They all replied, “Very well, we will do as you say.”

  “Do not taint my funeral rites for the next life by doing our Bön rituals. Invite the Jetsun here,” and with that, he died.

  Then, according to that Bönpo’s last testament, they invited the master Jetsun and several of his disciples to come, and they stayed in the upper level of the house. On the lower level, the Bönpos performed their rituals.

  During the rites, beside the Bönpos’ mandala there stood the Bönpo who had just died, wearing a blue tunic and drinking beer. Peta, Milarepa’s sister, saw this, and the Bönpos said to her, “Milarepa and his gang are always disputing with us, but our practice has actually brought a man back from the dead. His has done no such thing.” They sat there mocking Milarepa, while Peta went to tell the Jetsun what had happened.

  “This is not the man back from the dead. This is something else they conjured up to make others believe in their practice. Shiwa Ö, you go down to them, take the apparition by his ring finger, and ask him what was the secret name that the Jetsun Milarepa gave him at the Nyanang Belly Cave when he was given the abhisheka.”

  Shiwa Ö went down as the Jetsun had told him. Unable to bear the brilliance of the Jetsun’s compassion, just as Shiwa Ö approached, the apparition said, “I will go. I am the Bönpos’ thug, a demonic apparition named Ramizin. The Bönpos’ practice is useless, so I have come to act as their bully.” Then Shiwa Ö chased the apparition who wore the blue tunic down between the houses. On the other side of the mountain he turned into a wolf, it is said.185

  Then everyone believed that it was not the man back from the dead. The Jetsun said, “Your dharma shows the path for Yama’s messenger.*1 But I show the way for those who have died.”

  The relatives of the Bönpo who had died said, “Does the Jetsun see the one who has died? If you can’t see him, how can you show him the path?”

  “I see him. Because of the negative karma that he had previously committed, and by lacking just a slight bit of virtue, he has been born as a small, long-bodied bug in the upper valley, under a mound of yellow dried dung. I will now take him to the place of liberation.”

  “Then, let us be witness to this so that we may believe you; show us how you take a bug to liberation.”

  “Very well, let us proceed,” the Jetsun said.

  Then all of the people who were gathered there together went to the mound of dried yellowish dung. First, Milarepa called out the man’s secret name, “I am your guru Milarepa! Come here!” he said. Then out from under the dung came the bug who then coiled up in the Jetsun’s lap and lay there. The Jetsun taught some dharma and then performed transference, ejecting*2 the bug’s consciousness.

  The dead body of the bug gave off subtle rays of light that dissolved into the Jetsun’s heart center. After mingling with the Jetsun’s mind for a while, the consciousness of the man became a brilliant glowing white A syllable. It was ejected from the Jetsun’s heart center into space and went higher and higher in the sky. Then he uttered, “The precious Jetsun has placed me in the bliss of liberation. Thank you!” Seeing this, everyone believed what had happened. They prostrated, telling the Jetsun how incredibly wondrous this was.

  The Jetsun said, “There are many more wondrous things than this.” Then he sang this song of realization:

  May I receive the wondrous guru’s blessings.

  I supplicate at the wondrous Marpa’s feet.

  With your kindness and devotion, please look upon all beings in samsara with compassion.

  First, I was able to meet this lord:

  This is the greatest of all wonders.

  I obtained the key instructions of the whispered lineage:

  This is the greatest of all wonders.

  I abandoned mundane, worldly deeds:

  This is the greatest of all wonders.

  I stayed in remote mountain retreats:

  This is the greatest of all wonders.

  Realization and experience arose from within:

  This is the greatest of all wonders.

  Alone, I developed endurance in hardship:

  This is the greatest of all wonders.

  I have no interest in the eight worldly concerns:

  This is the greatest of all wonders.

  I have been able to please my guru:

  This is the greatest of all wonders.

  The way that this Bönpo gave his last testament:

  This is the greatest of all wonders.

  His relatives did as he asked:

  This is the greatest of all wonders.

  When dead, he became liberated:

  This is the greatest of all wonders.

  Faith was born in this assembly here:

  This is the greatest of all wonders.

  Thus he sang. The relatives of the Bönpos said, “The object of his faith was unmistaken, indeed. In order to attain buddhahood at the time of death, one must do just as he has done.”

  Then Repa Shiwa Ö said, “We all need to have a guide for the path such as we have here today. But to meet one and to have devotion toward him is very difficult.”

  The Jetsun said, “You disciple-sons, to guide others on the path, these are the things you need.” Then he sang this song of realization:

  The support of the Kagyu lords’ blessing is excellent;

  With it, one can attain the siddhi of the dakinis’ lineage.

  You disciple-sons with unerring dharma lineage:

  To purify the results of negative karma,

  You must keep the vows within your mind-stream.

  To be the resident lama of benefactors,

  Bodhichitta and compassion must expand.

  To be the master of an assembly of many,

  You must have the qualities of realization.

  To please the guru who is a siddha,

  You need great perseverance and pure vision.

  To partake of the food of the deceased,

  You must have the good qualities of the path of seeing.

  To guide the consciousn
ess beyond this life,

  Signs of the higher perceptions and accomplishment must come forth.

  To transform perceptions for those who have lost faith,

  You must be able to create miraculous emanations.

  Today in the mandala of the weekly rites,*3

  We must help [the deceased] directly take hold of the path.

  Bönpo disciple-sons and benefactors,

  Do not have any doubts in your mind.

  Thus he sang, and Milarepa’s sister Peta said, “Brother, you have performed the weekly rites in this way for the dead here, but you did not do anything for our very own parents.”

  The Jetsun took his sister’s hand and said, “Peta, you do not need to cry. To repay the kindness of both of our parents, I acted in this way.” Then he sang this song of realization:

  I supplicate the guru lords.

  Accept me with your compassion, that I may repay my parents’ kindness.

  The amulet of my mother’s body,

  And the king of kindness of my ancestors,

  When they left behind their illusory bodies,

  They mixed their consciousnesses with my own mind.

  They dissolved into the heart of the Victorious One, mind itself.

  Through compassion, a pure realm of rainbow light dawned.

  Their bodies, appearance-emptiness, dissolved into the deity’s form.

  To attain the self-arisen deity—how wondrous!

  Their speech, sound-emptiness, mixed with ineffable mantra.

  To merge their voices with mantra—how wondrous!

  Their minds, wandering in the bardo, were summoned through samadhi.

  Awareness, clarity-emptiness, was naturally pointed out.

  Mind’s own place was seized, so they are without confusion.

  To be free of movement and change—how wondrous!

  Throughout the period I engaged in practice,