Therefore, it’s excellent to accumulate merit.
There is no end to conditioned activities;
Therefore, it’s excellent to abandon activity.
Foolish speech will never be exhausted;
Therefore, it’s excellent to go without talking.
The key instructions alone are like rubbing oil on skin;
Therefore, it’s excellent to follow a learned guru.*2
Experience is like the moon shining upon darkness;*3
Therefore, it’s excellent to meditate like a flowing river.
These excellent ten basic key points
Arose in this repa yogi’s mind.
Men and women of Drin, this is your dharma lot!
Thus he sang. All the men and woman benefactors there took refuge, roused bodhichitta, dedicated, and made aspirations. All of them developed a dharma outlook. Many among them became meditators and some developed good experiences.
This is the cycle of Tashi Tsek.
*1 It is false because you cannot keep them. (TN)
*2 If one only receives the key instructions without understanding the ultimate view, then those instructions are just like rubbing oil on the skin, which just stays on the surface; those instructions alone cannot fully penetrate one’s mind-stream. Therefore one must rely on a guru who is learned and can explain the ultimate view and the meaning of the instructions. (KTGR)
*3 The moon illuminates the darkness only when it is present, but when it sets, the darkness returns. Likewise, meditative experiences are only passing, and one must meditate continually or the experiences will not become stable. (KTGR)
59
The Students of Drin
NAMO GURU
When the Jetsun Milarepa was staying at the Stone Castle of Drin, Dzesé and Khujuk, along with all the other benefactor-students, requested the dharma. On the day they were to depart, Dzesé Bum said, “Please teach some dharma that is easy to understand for all of us who are gathered here today.”
The Jetsun said, “Very well, all of you focus your ears and listen.” Then he sang this song of realization:
Supreme and kind father Marpa, please grant your blessings.
Faithful ones gathered, turn your outlook toward dharma;
Listen for a while without distraction.
You superior men should practice the dharma.
If a superior man is without dharma,
He is like a vulture, the king of birds.
Though his seat is high, it has little meaning.
Middling men should practice dharma.
If a middling man is without dharma,
He is like a tiger with bright stripes.
Though he has great heroic pride, it has little meaning.
Lesser men should practice dharma.
If a lesser man is without dharma,
He is like a merchant’s donkey.
He can carry a big load, but it has little meaning.
Superior women should practice the dharma.
If a superior woman is without dharma,
She is like a painting within a temple.
Though its form is beautiful, it has little meaning.
Middling women should practice the dharma.
If a middling woman is without dharma,
She is like a tiny brown mouse.
Though it’s great at hoarding, it has little meaning.
Lesser women should practice the dharma.
If a lesser women is without dharma,
She is like a female fox.
Though it walks all about, it has little meaning.
You old folks should practice the dharma.
Old folks who are without dharma
Rot from the core, inside-out.
Young men should also practice the dharma.
If a young man is without dharma,
It’s like putting armor and weaponry*1 upon an ox.
Maidens, too, should practice the dharma.
If a maiden is without dharma,
It’s like tying a jewel upon a cow.
Youth should also practice the dharma.
If a youth is without dharma,
It’s like the blooming of a poisonous flower.
Children should also practice the dharma.
If a child is without dharma,
It’s like a thief possessed by demons.189
Whatever there is that’s devoid of dharma,
It will be without any meaning at all.
If you want to live meaningfully,
Then in everything, practice the sublime genuine dharma.
The female benefactor Khujuk said, “Jetsun, you have these monks and disciple-sons here with you now, yet you still are happy living in mountain retreats all alone. Do you have any other good friends?”
“This is what they are like.” Then he sang this song of realization:
I prostrate to the father guru.
This yogi roams in mountain retreats;
There I have twenty-one excellent friends.
The guru, yidam, and dakinis, these three;
They are excellent friends whom I supplicate.
The buddha, dharma, and sangha, these three;
They are excellent friends to whom I go for refuge.
The sutras, tantras, and treatises, these three;
They are excellent friends with whom I study.
The nadis, pranas, and bindus, these three;
They are excellent friends of the path of means’ practice.
Bliss, clarity, and nonthought, these three;
They are excellent friends of meditative equipoise.
Pure vision, devotion, and compassion, these three;
They are excellent friends for accomplishing enlightenment.
The dakas, dakinis, and dharmapalas, these three;
They are excellent friends who clear away obstacles.
Thus he sang. Then she said, “How wonderful! Can you use some examples to tell us what these friends are like when you are with them while doing your practice?”
Milarepa said, “They’re like this.” Then he sang this song of realization:
From great Vajradhara and down,
And up from Marpa the Translator,
Siddha gurus of the lineage,
I supplicate you: please grant your blessings.
Upon the sun and moon seat at the crown of my head
Sit these gurus of the practice lineage.
If I give an example of what they are like:
They’re like a strand of pearls strung together.
To be blessed by the guru—what a delight!
My supports are the three precious jewels;
They look after me, undistracted, with compassion.
If I give an example of what they are like:
They’re like a mother caring for her treasured child on her lap.
To be free of weariness—what a delight!
On my right, the dakas give their blessing;
They clear away all adverse conditions.
If I give an example of what they are like:
They’re like sharp weapons waving over my head.
To have no adverse conditions—what a delight!
On my left the dakinis give their blessing;
They bestow the two kinds of siddhi.*2
If I give an example of what they are like:
They’re like mothers and sisters who surround me with kindness.
To receive all one wants or needs—what a delight!
In front are gathered the dharmapalas with samaya;
They perform the activity with which they’re entrusted.
If I give an example of what they are like:
They’re like servants involved with their work.
To accomplish what one wishes—what a delight!
My three powers of dharmata’s view
Far outshine the lower yana.
If I give an example of what they are like:
They’re like the lion tha
t roams in the snow.
To be free of dread—what a delight!
My meditation, the fledgling wings of wisdom and means,
Soars in the space of dharmata.
If I give an example of what it is like:
It’s like a vulture soaring high above.
To be without worry of falling—what a delight!
My conduct, the thriving stripes of strong, clear intention,
Clears away any drowsiness.
If I give an example of what it is like:
It’s like a tiger roaming the forest.
To be free of fear—what a delight!
My fruition is the three kayas manifest,
With the nirmanakaya that performs benefit for beings.
If I give an example of what they are like:
They’re like the play of the golden spotted fish.
To be free of weariness or fatigue—what a delight!
Sometimes I sing little tunes of realization;
They far outshine appearances.
If I give an example of what they are like:
They’re like the turquoise dragon’s roar in the sky.
Having no apprehension—what a delight!
I, the yogi Milarepa,
Roam without direction in mountain retreats.
If I give an example of what I am like:
I’m like the grazing animals that live in the hills.
To be free of fear—what a delight!
Delightfully I have sung for you
This song of five examples and their meaning, making six.
You humans and devas who reside in the towns,
Without distraction, focus your ears.
Reflecting carefully, look at your own mind.
May you not have any regret at death;
Make auspicious aspirations in accord with dharma.
Thus he sang, and everyone was satisfied. They all put effort into practicing virtue, and among them there were several young people who followed the Jetsun and attended him. To them, Milarepa gave the abhishekas and instructions, and had them meditate. Every one of them gained realization.
This is the cycle of the students of Drin, such as Dzesé and Khujuk.
*1 This term (T: ’khor gsum) refers specifically to armor, helmet, and knife. This was typical gear that young men would wear in Tibet. (TN)
*2 The common siddhis of the higher perceptions and supreme siddhi of enlightenment.
60
Victory Over the Four Maras, and the Response to a Mantrika
NAMO GURU
When the Jetsun Milarepa was staying at the Poto Red Rock Sky Fortress, some students from Ralung in Drin came to meet him. “Please give us an instruction that will benefit our minds,” they said.
The Jetsun replied, “If you all want to practice dharma like me, it would be excellent for you to abandon all things opposed to dharma, as I have. Therefore, abandon them.”
“What things are opposed to dharma?” they asked. Then Milarepa sang this song in reply:
Ka ye! Listen here, you students!
One, activities without any end;
Two, no satisfaction when trying to please others;
Three, idle chatter with no sign of weariness:
These three things are opposed to the genuine dharma.
I leave these three things far behind.
If you leave them behind too, that would be excellent!
One, places that have rules and restrictions;
Two, groups that hope for something in return;
Three, having servants who are required to please:
These three things are opposed to dharma.
I leave these three things far behind.
If you leave them behind too, that would be excellent!
One, masters who have very little knowledge;
Two, disciples who are without any faith;
Three, dharma friends who don’t keep samaya:
These three things are opposed to dharma.
I leave these three things far behind.
If you leave them behind too, that would be excellent!
One, husband and wife who always fight;
Two, enemy sons who come from your own body;
Three, angry servants who look after things:190
These three things are opposed to dharma.
I leave these three things far behind.
If you leave them behind too, that would be excellent!
Thus he sang. Then, with faith, all of the students went on their way.
One time, the Jetsun was blown by a huge gust of wind and fell off a cliff. When he fell, it seemed that a tree had pierced his body. The disciple-sons were very worried, but Milarepa showed them that his body was completely without any wounds and sang this song of realization:
I was blown by a giant gust of wind.
The result of the harm done by this mindless tree
Was pain that was unbearable.
But then the dakinis gave me their medicine.
Thus he sang.
On another occasion the Jetsun fell from the great Poto Rock. When the disciple-sons went to take up his corpse, they saw him sitting there laughing. They asked him what had happened, and he sang this song of realization:
I extended the vulture wings of union,
And flying, I flew down from Red Rock’s peak.
Falling, I fell into a deep abyss;
Playing, I played a joke on my students;
Liberating, I was liberated from samsara and nirvana;
Pointing out, I’ve pointed out bliss-emptiness.
Thus he sang.
Another time, when Milarepa was sitting beside a great rock, a young girl came to him repeatedly telling him that he shouldn’t sit there; yet there he remained.
Then the rock began to slide away, and with a wrathful gaze and wrathful mudra, Milarepa scattered the rock in every direction. His disciple-sons, thinking that he had been seriously injured, went over to him, and Milarepa sang this song of realization:
This flower of a yogi’s body,
The dakinis saved from the life-crushing blow
Of this red rock, Mara’s executioner.
I never worried that such a mara would take me.
Thus he sang. Then his disciples said, “When the rock collapsed, when the Jetsun fell down the cliff, and when his body was pierced by a tree, he was always unharmed. How can this be?”
The Jetsun replied, “My skandhas have been transformed into the rainbow body and my afflictions transformed into wisdom. Since I understand birthlessness, I will never die. Since I have thrown the eight worldly concerns to the wind, it is a sign that the four maras have been brought to shame.”*1
“So, you have defeated the four maras?” the students asked.
“Yes, indeed I have. Furthermore my lineage, for thirteen generations, will not be plagued by such maras.”
One day, a mantrika from Central Tibet came to meet the Jetsun. Seben Repa said to him, “What kinds of siddhas are to be found in the land of Central Tibet?”
The mantrika replied, “There are practitioners whom the spirits give service.”
“That in itself does not mean that they are accomplished practitioners,” said the Jetsun.
Seben Repa asked, “Does the Jetsun also receive such service?”
“I receive it like this.” Then Milarepa sang this song of realization:
Through the cooking and boiling of samadhi
That’s like an inexhaustible treasury of space,
I’m without desire for food for hunger and thirst;
That is looked after by the dakinis.
But I’ve no thought that this makes me a siddha.
Thus he sang. The mantrika said, “Can practitioners who have had visions of their yidam deity be considered accomplished?” Then Milarepa sang this song of realization:
If you see the essence of mind
And clear away the darkness of ignorance,
The daki
nis will also show their faces to you.
In the expanse of dharmata there is nothing to be seen;
It is free of reference point, without mental engagement.
All dharmas are, themselves, self-arisen and self-luminous.
This is spoken of by the dakinis.
There is no more powerful speech than the guru’s.
“The ordinary and the supreme,
All one needs should be accomplished
In this life,” the dakinis too have said.
But even with this, I’ve no thought of being a siddha.
Thus he sang. Then the man said, “With what example can the mind be illustrated?” Then Milarepa sang this song of realization:
This mind itself that is unborn
Cannot be illustrated by any example.
This mind itself that’s without any ceasing
Can be exemplified by anything for those who don’t realize it.
For the realized ones, the mind itself,
And example and exemplified are not two different things.
It’s beyond any object of thought or expression.
This is the blessing of the lineage—how wondrous!
Thus he sang. Then the man’s latent tendencies awakened and he attained unwavering faith in the Jetsun, whom he then followed and attended. Milarepa gave him the abhishekas and key instructions, and the man practiced, becoming a yogi with outstanding realization.
This is the cycle of conquering the four maras and the response to a mantrika.
*1 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.
61
The Disciple-Sons’ Developing Delight, and Displaying Miracles of His Body
The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa Page 72