VAJRA SONGS & PRAYERS
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Gyalwa Götsangpa’s Eight Flashing Lances
Gyalwa Götsangpa’s Melody of the Eight Types of Nonduality
Gyalwa Götsangpa’s Seven Delights
Gyalwa Gotsangpa’s Eight Cases of Basic Goodness Not to Be Shunned
Milarepa’s A Song of Meaningful Connections
Milarepa’s The Anger Cooling Song
Milarepa’s Three Kinds of Confidence in Genuine Reality
Ultimate View, Meditation, Conduct, and Fruition
Profound Definitive Meaning
Auspiciousness that Lights up the Universe
Supplication to Guru Rinpoche
What it Means to be Lucky
Six Questions
Essence of Amrita
Seven Delights
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The Sky-Dragon’s Profound Roar, by The Venerable Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche
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The Aspiration Prayer of Mahamudra, the Definitive Meaning
Composed by The Lord Protector Rangjung Dorje The Third Gyalwang Karmapa
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The Very Essence of Mind, Mahamudra, the One Sufficient Path, by Gampopa
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From : Shenpen Osel
(The Clear Light of the Buddha’s Teachings Which Benefits All Beings)
http://www.shenpen-osel.org/
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Gyalwa Götsangpa’s Eight Flashing Lances
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Namo Ratna Guru!
Oh paragon of beings,
You are the dharmakaya, treasure isle,
The treasure too, sambhogakaya’s myriad forms,
As nirmanakaya you fulfill the needs of wanderers,
Oh precious Lord, I bow respectfully to you.
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A decisive understanding of true reality,
Without preference for either samsara or nirvana,
Conviction reached, the mind wavers no more,
These are three that render view (1) unhindered,
Like a lance that flashes free in the open sky.
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Cutting through the root, it holds its own ground,
The six consciousnesses are unspoiled by alteration,
Free of the effort of trying to remember what to do,
These are three that make meditation (2) fully free,
Like a lance flashing free in the open sky.
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Experiences are natural and unhindered,
Fear, depression, and anxiety are nowhere to be found,
Victory is gained over belief in duality,
These are three that render conduct (3) fully free,
Like a lance that flashes free in the open sky.
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Enlightenment’s five dimensions have been there all along—
They directly manifest through experience.
Desire for buddhahood is exhausted,
These are three that make fruition (4) fully free,
Like a lance flashing free in the open sky.
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Transgressions and downfalls have been pure from the beginning,
Experience is clarity and emptiness without stain,
Self-importance has been dispensed with,
These are three that make sacred commitments (5) fully free,
Like a lance that flashes free in the open sky.
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Wanting for oneself is exhausted,
Love without strife flows in waves,
Undaunted, tireless, unselfish too,
These are three that make compassion (6) fully free,
Like a lance flashing free in the open sky.
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The muddiness of clinging is clarified,
Causes and conditions shine clearly like reflections,
The subtle art of what and what not to do is mastered,
These are three that make interdependence (7) fully free,
Like a lance that flashes free in the open sky.
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Prayers of aspiration set long ago now awaken,
Whatever is done is of benefit to others,
Performance is effortless and natural,
These three make activity (8) unhindered,
Like a lance flashing free in the open sky.
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In this well-known place called White Garuda
This small melody tells of eight lances flashing freely (1-8).
Borne on the waves of the excellent guru’s blessings,
It appeared in the mind and now has been put to song.
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Under the guidance of Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, translated in two separate version by Tony Duff and Jim Scott. These were combined and edited by Ari Goldfield, June 17, 1997.
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Gyalwa Götsangpa’s Melody of the Eight Types of Nonduality
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Namo Guru!
The precious Lord embodies enlightenment’s five dimensions.
I prostrate to and praise this Precious One
Who dispels the darkness of wanderers’ suffering
With nondual, great, everlasting bliss.
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Wonderful visions of yidam deities and
Fearsome apparitions of obstructing demons are
Not separable within the pure expanse—
So! How joyful! How happy! Sudden Victory!
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Obtaining high rebirth or liberation and
Falling into the three unhappy destinations are
Not separable within the pure expanse—
So! How joyful! How happy! Sudden Victory!
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The mind busy with perceived and perceiver and
The peaceful state of nonconceptuality are
Not separable within the pure expanse—
So! How joyful! How happy! Sudden Victory!
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Complete happiness and comfort and
Overwhelming pain and suffering are
Not separable within the pure expanse—
So! How joyful! How happy! Sudden Victory!
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Being well-respected and worshipfully served and
Being derisively laughed at and beaten are
Not separable within the pure expanse—
So! How joyful! How happy! Sudden Victory!
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Wandering alone in mountain retreats and
Traveling the countries of the world are
Not separable within the pure expanse—
So! How joyful! How happy! Sudden Victory!
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Having the finest food and drink and
Living in hunger without nourishment are
Not separable within the pure expanse—
So! How joyful! How happy! Sudden Victory!
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Not crashing the ground with your skull and
Taking birth again and again are
Not separable within the pure expanse—
So! How joyful! How happy! Sudden Victory!
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This is the melody of the eight types of nonduality;
I have but a mere understanding of what true union is;
Not falling into confusion is very important.
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Under the guidance of Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamptso Rinpoche, translated by Tony Duff in January 1996, and edited by Ari Goldfield, June 18, 1997.
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Gyalwa Götsangpa’s Seven Delights
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Namo Ratna Guru!
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When thoughts that there is something, perceived and a perceiver,
Lure my mind away and distract,
I don’t close my senses’ gateways to meditate without them
But plunge straight into their essential point.
They’re like clouds in the sky; there’s this shimmer where they fly.
Thoughts that rise (1), for me sheer delight!
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When kleshas get me going, and their heat has got me burning,
I try no antidote to set them right.
Like an alchemistic potion turning metal into gold,
What lies in klesha’s power to bestow
Is bliss without contagion, completely undefiled.
Kleshas coming up (2), sheer delight!
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When I’m plagued by god-like forces or demonic interference,
I do not drive them out with rites and spells.
The thing to chase away is egoistic thinking,
Built up on the idea of a self.
This will turn the ranks of maras into your own special forces.
When obstacles arise (3), sheer delight!
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When samsara with its anguish has me writhing in its torments,
Instead of wallowing in misery,
I take the greater burden down the greater path to travel
And let compassion set me up
To take upon myself the sufferings of others.
When karmic consequences bloom (4), delight!
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When my body has succumbed to the attacks of painful illness,
I do not count on medical relief,
But take that very illness as a path and by its power
Remove the obscurations blocking me,
And use it to encourage the qualities worthwhile.
When illness rears its head (5), sheer delight!
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When it’s time to leave this body, this illusionary tangle,
Don’t cause yourself anxiety and grief.
The thing that you should train in and clear up for yourself is
There’s no such thing as dying to be done.
It’s just clear light, the mother, and child clear light uniting,
When mind forsakes the body (6), sheer delight!
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When the whole thing’s just not working, everything’s lined up against you,
Don’t try to find some way to change it all.
Here the point to make in your practice is reverse the way you see it.
Don’t try to make it stop or to improve.
Adverse conditions happen (7); when they do it’s so delightful.
They make a little song of sheer delight!
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Gyalwa Gotsangpa’s Eight Cases of Basic Goodness Not to Be Shunned
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Namo Ratna Guru
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I bow to the lord who grants the bliss that is utterly supreme,
Which takes away the suffering of illness
For every being that is everywhere throughout the reaches of space
By administering the medicine of the three kayas.
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In the pure space of the sky that’s the sky of essential mind itself
The clouds of negative actions thickly gather.
But the mighty force of the powerful wind of the wisdom prana
Does not blow them away, but clears them up like this:
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The illness and its painfulness have neither base nor root.
Relax into it, fresh and uncontrived,
Revealing dharmakaya way beyond all speech and thought.
Don’t shun them, pain and illness are basically good. (1)
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What confusion takes to be taking place is negative forces’ work.
But it is all your own mind, simple, unborn, unceasing.
Without anxiety or even worrying at all,
Don’t shun them; demons and gods are basically good. (2)
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When the agony of illness strikes your four-fold elements,
Don’t grasp at its stopping; don’t get angry when it won’t improve.
Such adversities have the flavor of bliss that’s free of contagion’s blight.
The kleshas are not to be shunned; they’re basically good. (3)
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All of the joy and the pain we go through, all our highs and lows,
When realized, have no ground; they are our friends.
Don’t try to stop pain; don’t try to be happy; be free of all hope and fear.
Samsara is not to be shunned; it is basically good. (4)
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And though this whole life is plagued by the torments of falling ill,
Don’t think that’s bad; don’t plan to get around it.
Then it will be your badge, your proof of conduct of equal taste.
Your suffering’s not to be shunned; it’s basically good. (5)
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The mind that’s sunk in dullness and torpor, when realized for what it is,
Is pure being, pure of every imperfection.
So, free of thinking you should be wishing to clear this all away,
Don’t shun your dense state of mind; it’s basically good. (6)
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Habitual patterns’ imprints, printed throughout beginningless time,
Are the myriad doors illusion comes marching through.
If you do not take them as true, don’t meditate on them as empty.
Don’t shun your thoughts; they’re basically good in themselves. (7)
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The state of coemergence has no birth and knows no death,
Knows nothing of arising or ceasing or staying somewhere.
It’s infinity; it’s the vast expanse of the unconditioned state.
Don’t shun your death; it’s basically good in itself. (8)
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All eight of these things that are not to be shunned, since they’re basically good in themselves,
Need a meditation which turns them into equal taste.
They are the thought that comes from the heart of the uncle and nephew lord.
They are the hammer that hammers down the host of maras.
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They are the practice that’s put into practice by beggars like you and me.
These are the tools that keep us in natural retreat.
They are the bliss supreme that performs the two forms of benefit.
You’ve mastered this from the beginning, old friend, but you better put it into practice.
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A Song of Meaningful Connections, Milarepa
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At your feet oh Marpa from Lhodrak I bow down.
Grant your blessing that this beggar will stay in natural retreats.
That you stalwart benefactors are so fondly gathered here
Makes the right connection for fulfilling the two concerns.
When this body hard to get that so easily decays
Gets the nourishment it needs, it will flourish and be full of health.
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When the pollen from the flowers growing in the solid ground
And the honeydew of raindrops falling from the deep blue sky
Come together, this connection is of benefit to beings.
But what gives this link its meaning is when dharma is included, too.
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When a body that’s illusion by its parents nursed to life
And the guiding instructions from a lama who’s reliable
Come together, this connection brings the practice of dharma to life.
But what gives this link its meaning is when persevering heart bone beats.
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When a cave in the rock in a valley with no human being
And someone really practicing without hypocrisy
Come together, this connection can fulfill your every need.
But what gives this link its meaning is what’s known as the emptiness.
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When a Milarepa’s practice of endurance in meditation
And those from the three realms who have the quality of faith
Come together, this connection brings about the good of beings.
But what gives this link its meaning is compassion in a noble heart.
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When a skillful meditator meditating in the wilderness
And a skillful benefactor providing the wherewithal
Come together, this connection leads to both gaining buddhahood.
But what gives this link its meaning is to dedicate the merit.
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When an excellent lama endowed with compassionate heart
And an excellent student with endurance in meditation
Come together, this connection makes the teaching accessible.
But what gives this link its meaning is the samaya it brings about.
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When the gift of abhisheka with its blessing that works so fast
And the fervent trusting prayer where you’re praying it will come to you
Come together, this connection gets your prayer well-answered soon.
But to give this link its meaning a little bit of luck might help.
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Oh master Vajradhara, the essence of Akshobhya,
You know my joys and sorrows—and what this beggar’s going through.
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The Anger Cooling Song, Milarepa
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(Sung to restrain Rechungpa from attacking the scholar insulting his guru)
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Oh jewel that crowns my head, oh lord and guardian of beings,
Kind Marpa, yours the feet at which I bow.
Send your blessing that turns adverse conditions into path.
Rechung, son, please listen just a moment, keep your head.
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Practitioners whose bellies and mouths are full,
When things go against them act like everybody else,
Let their tempers run away, make their own suffering.
To pick a fighting partner is to lose it all for sure.
Son, wait a minute, listen to your lama’s words.
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The king of dharmic view is like the sky.
Son, train awareness’ garuda chick-like wings.
Don’t let your garuda youthful wings go weak on you.
If you let your garuda wings go weak on you,
There’s a danger you’ll fall down in the ravine of narrow mind.
Son, Rechungpa, please listen to your lama’s warning words.
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The king of dharmic meditation is the sea.
Son, make your little fish of awareness extra strong.
Don’t let your little fish’s extra strength go weak on you.
If you let your little fish’s extra strength go weak on you,
There’s a danger it will slip into delusion’s net.
Son, Rechungpa, please listen to your lama’s warning words.
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The king of dharmic conduct is the snow mountain.
Son, make your lion cub of awareness extra strong.
Don’t let your lion cub’s extra strength go weak on you.
If you let your lion cub’s extra strength go weak on you,
There’s a danger in the blizzard of eight dharmas it will get lost.
Son, Rechungpa, please listen to your lama’s warning words.
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The king of dharmic fruit is like a jewel-encrusted isle.
Let your merchant youngster of awareness set up shop.
Don’t let your merchant youngster’s vigilance go weak on you.
If you let your merchant youngster’s vigilance go weak on you,
There’s a danger that the jewel of pure being will get lost.
Son, Rechungpa, please listen to your lama’s warning words.
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Don’t let your anger get out of hand, my son.
The first one to be burned will be your own mind-stream.
Don’t let your feelings get the upper hand, my son.
But use the remedy, apply the antidote.
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Kamalashila, Schloss Wachendorf, Germany, August 23, 1994
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Three Kinds of Confidence in Genuine Reality, Milarepa
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At the feet of Marpa the translator I bow.
From meditating here and there in natural retreats
I’ve gained confidence that there is no arising.
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This swept away my taking past and future lives as two,
Exposed all six realms’ appearances as false,
And cut right through believing all too much in birth and death.
I’ve gained confidence in everything as equal.
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This swept away my taking happiness and grief as two,
Exposed the ups and downs of feelings as false,
And cut believing there are some to have and some to shun.
In inseparability I’ve gained confidence.
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This swept away samsara and nirvana seen as two,
Exposed the exercise of paths and levels as false,
And cut right through believing all too much in hope and fear.
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Ultimate View, Meditation, Conduct, and Fruition
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The view is original wisdom which is empty;
Meditation, clear light free of fixation;
Conduct, continual flow without attachment;
Fruition is nakedness stripped of every stain.
This view, the original wisdom which is empty,
Risks getting lost in just being talk and no more.
If certainty which is in touch with what’s meant does not follow,
The words will not manage to free you of clinging to self.
And that’s why definitive certainty means so much.
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The meditation, clear light free of fixation,
Risks getting lost in just being settling.
If original wisdom does not emerge from within you,
You might settle steadily but this will not set you free.
But wisdom does not come of dullness and agitation.
And that’s why nonwandering mindfulness means so much.
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This conduct, continual flow without attachment,
Risks getting lost in only being a pretense.
If the view and meditation are not included,
The eight worldly dharmas may mix with your yogic pursuits.
And that’s why the freedom from clinging and veils means so much.
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Fruition as nakedness stripped of every defect
Risks getting clothed in the garments of attributes.
If delusion is not overcome from its source on the inside,
Your practice may aim very far, but fall very short
And that’s why correcting delusion means so much.
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Profound Definitive Meaning
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Sung on the Snowy Range
For the mind that masters view the emptiness dawns.
In the content seen not even an atom exists.
A seer and seen refined until they’re gone:
This way of realizing view, it works quite well.
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When meditation is clear light river flow,
There is no need to confine it to sessions and breaks.
Meditator and object refined until they’re gone:
This heart bone of meditation, it beats quite well.
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When you’re sure that conduct’s work is luminous light,
And you’re sure that interdependence is emptiness,
A doer and deed refined until they’re gone:
This way of working with conduct, it works quite well.
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When biased thinking has vanished into space,
No phony facades, eight dharmas, nor hopes and fears,
A keeper and kept refined until they’re gone:
This way of keeping samaya, it works quite well.
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When you’ve finally discovered your mind is dharmakaya,
And you’re really doing yourself and others good,
A winner and won refined until they’re gone:
This way of winning results, it works quite well.
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Auspiciousness that Lights up the Universe
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Namo Guru Hasa Vajra Ye!
You see that everything in samsara and nirvana
Is merely dependently arisen.
You see the dharmata, the true being,
That is the essence of all dependent arising.
The power of your great insight
Fills the universe with auspicious light.
Oh mighty Shepa Dorje,
Please rise up now from within my heart.
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Ground’s basic nature transcends conceptuality,
And like watermoons, appearances arise dependently.
May everyone realize that this is true
And dispel the darkness cast by doubt and wrong view.
And may their realization’s auspiciousness
Light up the whole universe!
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The vision of your wisdom is amazing.
You see just how things are, you see everything.
As parents love their children, so you love all beings.
You bring us benefit and happiness.
Your power makes disciples out of your enemies.
May your auspiciousness light up the universe!
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For samsara’s cause, clinging to “I” and “me,”
The dharma realizing selflessness is the greatest remedy.
May all beings use it to pacify
Their confused belief that there is an “I.”
And by the power of this great happening
May auspiciousness light up the universe!
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The ways of ordinary beings, you have left behind—
Noble ones who realize reality, the true nature of mind.
May you lead all ordinary beings,
Who have not yet entered, to the path of peace.
And by this may auspiciousness
Light up the whole universe!
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May the yidams who bestow the siddhis
And the protectors who clear obstacles away
Eliminate all harmful conditions—
Everything adverse to the path.
And by this may auspiciousness
Light up the whole universe!
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May the noble path of nonviolence
Flourish in all the worlds there are.
When beings meet and interact,
May the connections they make be filled with love.
And by this may auspiciousness
Light up the whole universe!
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At the twilight of this century,
That has been one of such prosperity,
May struggle over wealth and gain
Disappear and not be seen again.
Free from strife and violence,
May all enjoy great abundance.
And by this may auspiciousness
Light up the whole universe!
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This has been a century
When science has advanced incredibly.
Amazing and wondrous, these new machines
That have brought the gods’ enjoyments to human beings.
May they be used with skill supreme
To end violence and cause peace to reign.
And by this may auspiciousness
Light up the whole universe!
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May the sciences that explore outside
Be joined with the inner science of the mind
To excellently put an end
To mistaken views and confusion.
And by this may auspiciousness
Light up the whole universe!
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The source of all this auspiciousness
Is the true nature of mind, so luminous!
So may realization of mind, just as it is
Set the universe ablaze with auspicious excellence!
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Through all of this auspiciousness,
Wherever its light may be seen,
With the love and the compassion
That make bodhicitta mind supreme,
May this thought arise in everyone:
“Other beings’ happiness is as important as my own.”
And may excellent virtue and auspiciousness
Always increase, never diminish!
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On December 29, 1997, in the Garden of Translation near the Great Stupa of Boudhanath, Nepal, this was spoken extemporaneously by the one only called .
“Khenpo,” Tsultrim Gyamtso. Translated by Ari Goldfield.
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Supplication to Guru Rinpoche
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The Prayer That Appearances Be Liberated As the Deity
That Sounds Be Liberated As Mantra
That Thoughts Be Liberated Into Pure Being
All these forms that appear to eyes that see,
All things on the outside and the inside,
The environment and its inhabitants
Appear, but let them rest where no self’s found;
Perceiver and perceived when purified
Are the body of the deity, clear emptiness –
To the guru for whom desire frees itself,
To Orgyen Pema Jungnay I supplicate.
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All these sounds that appear for ears that hear,
Taken as agreeable or not,
Let them rest in the realm of sound and emptiness,
Past all thought, beyond imagination;
Sounds are empty, unarisen, and unceasing,
These are what make up the Victor’s teaching –
To the teachings of the Victor, sound and emptiness,
To Orgyen Pema Jungnay I supplicate.
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All these movements of mind towards its objects,
These thoughts that make five poisons and afflictions,
Leave thinking mind to rest without contrivances.
Do not review the past nor guess the future.
If you let such movement rest in its own place,
It liberates into the dharmakaya –
To the guru for whom awareness frees itself,
To Orgyen Pema Jungnay I supplicate.
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Grant your blessing that purifies appearance
Of objects perceived as being outside.
Grant your blessing that liberates perceiving mind,
The mental operation seeming inside.
Grant your blessing that between the two of these
Clear light will come to recognize its own face;
In your compassion, sugatas of all three times,
Please bless me that a mind like mine be freed.
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Spoken by Guru Rinpoche to Namkhai Nyingpo
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Under the guidance of Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche and under the auspices of Marpa Institute of Translation, translated and arranged by Jim Scott.
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What it Means to be Lucky
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The Excellent Path Laid with Precious Gems
E ma ho!
Now you have got what’s so hard to get,
The precious freedoms and advantages.
This one life alone means so little.
So why be so obsessed with it?
If to do some good for yourself and others too,
You listen to dharma, and then reflect,
Then you are so fortunate—
This is what it means to be lucky.
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This life is quite impermanent;
It will definitely disappear.
You think everything will stay just as it is—
How to come out from this confusion into the clear?
Cut the root of samsara’s confused appearances
By meditating on the meaning of what you’ve heard.
If you do this, you are so fortunate—
This is what it means to be lucky.
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If you do good, you’ll be happy.
If you do bad, you’ll suffer pain.
Think well about how karma works
And you’ll gain certainty that it’s an unfailing law.
If then you act in a rightful way,
Doing what you should do and giving up the rest,
Then you are so fortunate—
This is what it means to be lucky.
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The nature of samsara is the three sufferings.
When you know this in your heart, and it’s not just something you say,
And so you can free yourself and others from samsara’s ocean,
You cut off suffering right at the root.
If you can do that, then you are so fortunate—
This is what it means to be lucky.
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Meditating on impermanence
Cuts off attachment to this life.
Thinking over and over of samsara’s suffering
Makes you realize how worthless samsara is.
This gives you the determination
To strive for nirvana’s liberation
If you do this, you are so fortunate—
This is what it means to be lucky.
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Knowing samsara’s cause is belief in “I,”
You know its remedy to be selflessness.
So if you apply scripture and reasoning
To gain certainty that there is no self,
And if you meditate on selflessness, you’re so fortunate—
This is what it means to be lucky.
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All beings have been your father and mother.
Knowing this, you train your mind in love and compassion.
This makes you stop worrying so much
About your own comfort and happiness.
When you give rise to supreme bodhicitta—
This is what it means to be lucky.
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Everything in samsara and nirvana,
Without exception, is neither one nor many
So all phenomena are empty of essence.
And knowing that, if you meditate on profound emptiness,
Then you are so fortunate—
This is what it means to be lucky.
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Meditating on emptiness cuts the root of existence.
Love and compassion free you from the extreme of peace.
When you bring together wisdom and means
That are stuck in neither existence nor peace’s extremes,
Then you are so fortunate—
This is what it means to be lucky.
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When you’ve made the mahayana path your sturdy base,
And you know so excellently
The way that the totality of appearance
Is an infinite expanse of purity,
Then the four empowerments
Will ripen your continuum.
When you practice profound creation and completion—
This is what it means to be lucky.
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The fruit of this creation and completion
Must ripen at the appropriate time.
This depends on your pure vision
Of your vajra brothers and sisters—it must increase!
So if pure vision dawns in your mind—
This is what it means to be lucky.
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Another reason you might be lucky—
The freedoms and resources, this excellent base,
Is hard to find, and what’s harder than that
Is using it to practice dharma correctly.
So if you are on the path of correct practice—
This is what it means to be lucky.
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Knowing what it means to be lucky
Day and night, without distraction
In order to accomplish great benefit
For the teachings and for all beings
May all of us practice
The dharma of the lucky ones.
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On December 27, 1997, in the Garden of Translation near the Great Stupa of Boudhanath, Nepal, this was spoken extemporaneously by the one only called .
“Khenpo,” Tsultrim Gyamtso. Translated by Ari Goldfield.
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Six Questions
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Mind has even more projections than there are dust motes in the sun.
Is there an accomplished yogi here or a yogini
Who sees the appearance of things laid bare in the very bed where it lies?
The basic nature of things is not produced by cause or condition.
Is there an accomplished yogi here or a yogini
Who gets to the very bottom of this, cuts down to its very root?
.
Mind’s impulse to sudden thought cannot be stopped by hundreds with spears
Is there an accomplished yogi here or a yogini
Who sees that attachment can dissolve, be freed in and of itself?
.
The movement of thinking mind cannot be locked in an iron box
Is there an accomplished yogi here or a yogini
Who sees that discursive mind itself is empty in itself?
.
The sensory enjoyments even wisdom deities do not shun
Is there an accomplished yogi here or a yogini
Who’s able to see through the transparency of the process of consciousness?
.
What about the appearance of the six kinds of objects that go with the consciousnesses?
Not even the hands of Victorious Ones can put a stop to that.
Is there an accomplished yogi here or a yogini
Who can see there is no object there behind the appearances?
.
*******************************************************
.
Essence of Amrita
.
A Commentary on the Meaning of the Six Questions
Namo Guru Hasa Vajra Ye!
You realized genuine reality
And by the power of your realization
You taught your disciples, your daughters and sons,
Not to try to make thoughts go away
Because thoughts are already liberated
In the very spot where they are.
Oh great one, Shepa Dorje,
I bow at your feet, respectfully.
.
Limitless numbers of thoughts come out of habitual tendencies’ spring.
So if you don’t know how to self-liberate thoughts
Without trying to make them go away,
You’ll never be free of getting rid of your thoughts
As they come up one after the other!
Thoughts self-liberated, not given up, is
Definitive meaning’s profound point.
.
The basic nature of things is not produced by cause or condition.
If you can’t cut through your subtle ideas
About the way things really are,
Your own theories about reality
Will shackle you in chains.
So baselessness and rootlessness are
Definitive meaning’s profound point.
.
“Mind’s impulse to sudden thought cannot be stopped by hundreds with spears.”
This is how Milarepa sang it and so
There must be another way—
It’s attachment dissolving naturally,
Free as soon as it dawns.
This way of liberation is
Definitive meaning’s profound point.
.
Thoughts’ movement between the three times cannot be locked in an iron box.
So know that conceptuality
Is the great self-emptiness.
Self-liberation of your thoughts is
Definitive meaning’s profound point.
.
Form, sound, smell, taste, and touch and the qualities they possess—
Even wisdom deities
Don’t refrain from enjoying them.
The six consciousnesses self-liberated
Is spacious relaxation.
Taking sense-pleasures to the path is
Definitive meaning’s profound point.
.
What about the appearance of the six kinds of objects that go with the consciousness?
There isn’t anyone, whoever it may be,
Who can put a stop to that.
So knowing that the object appearing there
Has no substantial existence
And taking appearance to the path is
Definitive meaning’s profound point.
.
So that’s the way of definitive meaning—it’s incredibly profound.
And since samsara and nirvana are not different things—they’re equality,
And since rejected and gained are nondual—they’re equality, too
Definitive meaning’s profound way is present naturally.
.
May you find doubt-free certainty in profound definitive meaning,
And get used to not taking one thing up
And abandoning another,
And get used to not practicing one thing and
Giving up something else.
And may the benefit of self and other be
Accomplished naturally.
.
On December 28, 1997, in the Garden of Translation near the Great Stupa of Boudhanath, Nepal, this was spoken extemporaneously by the one only called .
“Khenpo,” Tsultrim Gyamtso. With thanks to Jim Scott for his translation and arrangement of Milarepa’s song, The Six Questions, it was translated by Ari Goldfield. .
Revised February 10, 1998.
.
*******************************************************
.
The Aspiration Prayer of Mahamudra, the Definitive Meaning,
Composed by The Lord Protector Rangjung Dorje The Third Gyalwang Karmapa
.
Namo guru,
.
1
Gurus and yidams, deities of the mandala,
Buddhas of the three times in the ten directions and your sons and daughters,
Please consider us with kindness and understanding, and
Grant your blessing that these aspirations may be accomplished exactly as we ask.
.
2
Sprung from the snow mountain of pure intentions and actions
Of myself and all sentient beings without limit,
May the river of accumulated virtue of the threefold purity
Flow into the ocean of the four bodies of the Victorious Ones.
.
3
So long as this is not accomplished,
Through all my lifetimes, birth upon birth,
May not even the words “evil deeds” and “suffering” be heard
And may we enjoy the splendor and goodness of oceans of happiness and virtue.
.
4
Having obtained the supreme freedoms and conjunctions of the precious human existence, endowed with faith, energy, and intelligence,
Having attended on a worthy spiritual friend and received the pith of the holy instructions,
May we practice these properly, just as we have received them, without obstacle or interruption.
In all our lives, may we practice and enjoy the holy dharma.
.
5
Hearing and studying the scriptures and reasonings free us from the obscuration of not knowing.
Contemplating the oral instructions disperses the darkness of doubt.
In the light born of meditation what is shines forth just as it is.
May the brightness of the three prajnas grow in power.
.
6
By understanding the meaning of the ground, which is the two truths free from the extremes of eternalism and nihilism,
And by practicing the supreme path of the two accumulations, free from the extremes of exaggeration and denial,
Is attained the fruit of well-being for oneself and others, free from the extremes of samsara and nirvana.
May all beings meet the dharma which neither errs nor misleads.
.
7
The ground of purification is the mind itself, indivisible cognitive clarity and emptiness.
That which purifies is the great vajra yoga of mahamudra.
What is to be purified are the adventitious, temporary contaminations of confusion.
May the fruit of purification, the stainless dharmakaya, be manifest.
.
8
Resolving doubts about the ground brings conviction in the view.
Then keeping one’s awareness unwavering, in accordance with the view, is the subtle pith of meditation.
Putting all aspects of meditation into practice is the supreme action.
The view, the meditation, the action — may there be confidence in these.
.
9
All phenomena are illusory displays of mind.
Mind is no mind — the mind’s nature is empty of any entity that is mind.
Being empty, it is unceasing and unimpeded, manifesting as everything whatsoever.
Examining well, may all doubts about the ground be discerned and cut.
.
10
Naturally manifesting appearances, that never truly exist, are confused into objects.
Spontaneous intelligence, under the power of ignorance, is confused into a self.
By the power of this dualistic fixation, beings wander in the realms of samsaric existence.
May ignorance, the root of confusion, be discovered and cut.
.
11
It is not existent — even the Victorious Ones do not see it.
It is not nonexistent — it is the basis of all samsara and nirvana.
This is not a contradiction, but the middle path of unity.
May the ultimate nature of phenomena, limitless mind beyond extremes, be realized.
.
12
If one says, “This is it,” there is nothing to show.
If one says, “This is not it,” there is nothing to deny.
The true nature of phenomena, which transcends conceptual understanding, is unconditioned.
May conviction be gained in the ultimate, perfect truth.
.
13
Not realizing it, one circles in the ocean of samsara.
If it is realized, buddha is not anything other.
It is completely devoid of any “This is it,” or “This is not it.”
May this simple secret, this ultimate essence of phenomena, which is the basis of everything, be realized.
.
14
Appearance is mind and emptiness is mind.
Realization is mind and confusion is mind.
Arising is mind and cessation is mind.
May all doubts about mind be resolved.
.
15
Not adulterating meditation with conceptual striving or mentally created meditation,
Unmoved by the winds of everyday busyness,
Knowing how to rest in the uncontrived, natural spontaneous flow,
May the practice of resting in mind’s true nature be skillfully sustained.
.
16
The waves of subtle and coarse thoughts calm down by themselves in their own place,
And the unmoving waters of mind rest naturally.
Free from dullness, torpor, and, murkiness,
May the ocean of shamatha be unmoving and stable.
.
17
Looking again and again at the mind which cannot be looked at,
The meaning which cannot be seen is vividly seen, just as it is.
Thus cutting doubts about how it is or is not,
May the unconfused genuine self-nature be known by self-nature itself.
.
18
Looking at objects, the mind devoid of objects is seen;
Looking at mind, its empty nature devoid of mind is seen;
Looking at both of these, dualistic clinging is self-liberated.
May the nature of mind, the clear light nature of what is, be realized.
.
19
Free from mental fabrication, it is the great seal, mahamudra.
Free from extremes, it is the great middle way, madhyamika.
The consummation of everything, it is also called the great perfection, dzogchen.
May there be confidence that by understanding one, the essential meaning of all is realized.
.
20
Great bliss free from attachment is unceasing.
Luminosity free from fixation on characteristics is unobscured.
Nonthought transcending conceptual mind is spontaneous presence.
May the effortless enjoyment of these experiences be continuous.
.
21
Longing for good and clinging to experiences are self-liberated.
Negative thoughts and confusion purify naturally in ultimate space.
In ordinary mind there is no rejecting and accepting, loss and gain.
May simplicity, the truth of the ultimate essence of everything, be realized.
.
22
The true nature of beings is always buddha.
Not realizing that, they wander in endless samsara.
For the boundless suffering of sentient beings
May unbearable compassion be conceived in our being.
.
23
When the energy of unbearable compassion is unceasing,
In expressions of loving kindness, the truth of its essential emptiness is nakedly clear.
This unity is the supreme unerring path.
Inseparable from it, may we meditate day and night.
.
24
By the power of meditation arise the eyes and supernormal perceptions,
Sentient beings are ripened and buddha fields are perfectly purified,
The aspirations that accomplish the qualities of a buddha are fulfilled.
By bringing these three to utmost fruition — fulfilling, ripening, and purifying — may utmost buddhahood be manifest.
.
25
By the power of the compassion of the Victorious Ones of the ten directions and their sons and daughters,
And by the power of all the pure virtue that exists,
May the pure aspirations of myself and all sentient beings
Be accomplished exactly as we wish.
.
*******************************************************
.
The Sky-Dragon’s Profound Roar
The Venerable Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche
.
Up in the sky’s expanse, true being, unborn, forever pure,
Beautiful is the world below me—how many colors do I see.
But when I look, I can’t find anything that’s born or has a root.
So the time has come to meditate on true reality, of ego-clinging free.
All my possessions, all that I enjoy, are like rainbows in the sky.
Even their smallest parts have no essence—they don’t exist at all.
So when I enjoy illusory pleasures, empty/appearing tea and beer,
It’s time to rest in mind’s full moon—empty awareness, radiant clarity.
.
The stages of practice of the Tathagata’s view and meditation
Are skillful methods that clear away ordinary thoughts.
So I train in appearance and mind’s being without base or root—
When sickness and death suddenly strike, I’ll be ready, without regret.
.
In the pattern that this world and life’s appearances weave,
Visions of parents, relatives, and friends are like illusions and dreams.
Like morning mist, they are fleeting, and at the time they dissolve,
That’s the time to search for unborn confused mind’s basic reality.
.
In the baseless, rootless, and empty confused appearances of life
We suffer from heat and from cold and from so many other things.
But diligence in Secret Yana’s practices, so powerful,
Makes fox-like cowardice be free all by itself—the time has come!
.
To what we beautify with hats and clothes, to this heap of elements
We offer tasty food and many other things—whatever we may find pleasing.
But the carelessness and craziness of this life will end one day.
So be ready to be fearless of the judgment of the mighty Lord of Death.
.
From the country of great snow mountains, a realm of dharma,
Having crossed many hills and valleys and now flying through the sky,
I purify illusory flesh and blood into empty/appearing deity.
Paths and bhumis’ realizations self-liberated—in this I train.
.
Ha Ha! Dechen Rangdrol’s* conduct that’s attachment-free.
Ah Ho! It’s time to fly in the expanse of sky of spacious Mother.
.
This was spoken extemporaneously by Dechen Rangdrol while traveling in the expanse of sky from Los Angeles to Honolulu. October 29, 1998, and was later translated by Ari Goldfield with the help of George Eudy.
.
*Editor’s note: Dechen Rangdrol, one of Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche’s names, means “Great Bliss, Self-Liberating” or “The Great Bliss of Spontaneous Self-Liberation.”
.
*******************************************************
.
The Aspiration Prayer of Mahamudra, the Definitive Meaning
Composed by The Lord Protector Rangjung Dorje The Third Gyalwang Karmapa
.
Namo guru,
.
1
Gurus and yidams, deities of the mandala,
Buddhas of the three times in the ten directions and your sons and daughters,
Please consider us with kindness and understanding, and
Grant your blessing that these aspirations may be accomplished exactly as we ask.
.
2
Sprung from the snow mountain of pure intentions and actions
Of myself and all sentient beings without limit,
May the river of accumulated virtue of the threefold purity
Flow into the ocean of the four bodies of the Victorious Ones.
.
3
So long as this is not accomplished,
Through all my lifetimes, birth upon birth,
May not even the words “evil deeds” and “suffering” be heard
And may we enjoy the splendor and goodness of oceans of happiness and virtue.
.
4
Having obtained the supreme freedoms and conjunctions of the precious human existence, endowed with faith, energy, and intelligence,
Having attended on a worthy spiritual friend and received the pith of the holy instructions,
May we practice these properly, just as we have received them, without obstacle or interruption.
In all our lives, may we practice and enjoy the holy dharma.
.
5
Hearing and studying the scriptures and reasonings free us from the obscuration of not knowing.
Contemplating the oral instructions disperses the darkness of doubt.
In the light born of meditation what is shines forth just as it is.
May the brightness of the three prajnas grow in power.
.
6
By understanding the meaning of the ground, which is the two truths free from the extremes of eternalism and nihilism,
And by practicing the supreme path of the two accumulations, free from the extremes of exaggeration and denial,
Is attained the fruit of well-being for oneself and others, free from the extremes of samsara and nirvana.
May all beings meet the dharma which neither errs nor misleads.
.
7
The ground of purification is the mind itself, indivisible cognitive clarity and emptiness.
That which purifies is the great vajra yoga of mahamudra.
What is to be purified are the adventitious, temporary contaminations of confusion.
May the fruit of purification, the stainless dharmakaya, be manifest.
.
8
Resolving doubts about the ground brings conviction in the view.
Then keeping one’s awareness unwavering, in accordance with the view, is the subtle pith of meditation.
Putting all aspects of meditation into practice is the supreme action.
The view, the meditation, the action — may there be confidence in these.
.
9
All phenomena are illusory displays of mind.
Mind is no mind — the mind’s nature is empty of any entity that is mind.
Being empty, it is unceasing and unimpeded, manifesting as everything whatsoever.
Examining well, may all doubts about the ground be discerned and cut.
.
10
Naturally manifesting appearances, that never truly exist, are confused into objects.
Spontaneous intelligence, under the power of ignorance, is confused into a self.
By the power of this dualistic fixation, beings wander in the realms of samsaric existence.
May ignorance, the root of confusion, be discovered and cut.
.
11
It is not existent — even the Victorious Ones do not see it.
It is not nonexistent — it is the basis of all samsara and nirvana.
This is not a contradiction, but the middle path of unity.
May the ultimate nature of phenomena, limitless mind beyond extremes, be realized.
.
12
If one says, “This is it,” there is nothing to show.
If one says, “This is not it,” there is nothing to deny.
The true nature of phenomena, which transcends conceptual understanding, is unconditioned.
May conviction be gained in the ultimate, perfect truth.
.
13
Not realizing it, one circles in the ocean of samsara.
If it is realized, buddha is not anything other.
It is completely devoid of any “This is it,” or “This is not it.”
May this simple secret, this ultimate essence of phenomena, which is the basis of everything, be realized.
.
14
Appearance is mind and emptiness is mind.
Realization is mind and confusion is mind.
Arising is mind and cessation is mind.
May all doubts about mind be resolved.
.
15
Not adulterating meditation with conceptual striving or mentally created meditation,
Unmoved by the winds of everyday busyness,
Knowing how to rest in the uncontrived, natural spontaneous flow,
May the practice of resting in mind’s true nature be skillfully sustained.
.
16
The waves of subtle and coarse thoughts calm down by themselves in their own place,
And the unmoving waters of mind rest naturally.
Free from dullness, torpor, and, murkiness,
May the ocean of shamatha be unmoving and stable.
.
17
Looking again and again at the mind which cannot be looked at,
The meaning which cannot be seen is vividly seen, just as it is.
Thus cutting doubts about how it is or is not,
May the unconfused genuine self-nature be known by self-nature itself.
.
18
Looking at objects, the mind devoid of objects is seen;
Looking at mind, its empty nature devoid of mind is seen;
Looking at both of these, dualistic clinging is self-liberated.
May the nature of mind, the clear light nature of what is, be realized.
.
19
Free from mental fabrication, it is the great seal, mahamudra.
Free from extremes, it is the great middle way, madhyamika.
The consummation of everything, it is also called the great perfection, dzogchen.
May there be confidence that by understanding one, the essential meaning of all is realized.
.
20
Great bliss free from attachment is unceasing.
Luminosity free from fixation on characteristics is unobscured.
Nonthought transcending conceptual mind is spontaneous presence.
May the effortless enjoyment of these experiences be continuous.
.
21
Longing for good and clinging to experiences are self-liberated.
Negative thoughts and confusion purify naturally in ultimate space.
In ordinary mind there is no rejecting and accepting, loss and gain.
May simplicity, the truth of the ultimate essence of everything, be realized.
.
22
The true nature of beings is always buddha.
Not realizing that, they wander in endless samsara.
For the boundless suffering of sentient beings
May unbearable compassion be conceived in our being.
.
23
When the energy of unbearable compassion is unceasing,
In expressions of loving kindness, the truth of its essential emptiness is nakedly clear.
This unity is the supreme unerring path.
Inseparable from it, may we meditate day and night.
.
24
By the power of meditation arise the eyes and supernormal perceptions,
Sentient beings are ripened and buddha fields are perfectly purified,
The aspirations that accomplish the qualities of a buddha are fulfilled.
By bringing these three to utmost fruition — fulfilling, ripening, and purifying — may utmost buddhahood be manifest.
.
25
By the power of the compassion of the Victorious Ones of the ten directions and their sons and daughters,
And by the power of all the pure virtue that exists,
May the pure aspirations of myself and all sentient beings
Be accomplished exactly as we wish.
.
*******************************************************
.
The Very Essence of Mind, Mahamudra, the One Sufficient Path
by Gampopa
.
Homage to the genuine gurus.
.
The Mahamudra of Gampopa, the One Sufficient Path, has three sections:
1) To Have a Decisive Understanding About the True Nature,
2) The Introduction to the Fundamental Character, and
3) Training on the Path of Suchness.
.
1) To Have a Decisive Understanding About the True Nature
— Mahamudra has no causes.
— Mahamudra has no conditions.
— Mahamudra has no methods.
— Mahamudra has no path.
— Mahamudra has no result.
(i.e. Like: The mind is empty of inherent existence. That is the affirmation of emptiness.)
.
2) The Introduction to the Fundamental Character
— “Mahamudra has no causes,” and yet faith and devotion are the causes of mahamudra.
— “Mahamudra has no conditions,” and yet genuine gurus are the conditions for mahamudra.
— “Mahamudra has no methods,” and yet uncontrived mind is the method of mahamudra.
— “Mahamudra has no path,” and yet undistracted mind is the path of mahamudra.
— “Mahamudra has no result,” and yet the mind liberated into dharmata is the result of mahamudra.
(i.e. Like: Like: But, still, the mind has to capacity to experience, be conditionned and deconditionned. That is the affirmation of dependent origination. Those two aspects, emptiness and clarity are complementary, inseparable. That is the view of the Middle Way.)
.
3) Training on the Path of Suchness
— As the preliminary practice, meditate on guru yoga with faith, devotion, and respect, three times during the day and three times at night.(i.e. preliminaries)
— As the main practice, rest within the state of uncontrived mind with undistracted recognition.(i.e. Samatha)
— As the conclusion, recognize whatever appears as your own mind and train your awareness with skill.(i.e. Insight)
— Relying upon the sequential arising of experiences, exert yourself in meditation until conceptual mind is exhausted.
.
There are two ways in which experiences arise: as unfavorable experiences and as favorable experiences.
.
— As for the first: All unfavorable experiences – whatever they are, such as dullness, agitation, illness, fear, fright, or doubt – arise from your meditation. Therefore, recognize them to be experiences. Without abandoning them, meditate, taking those very things as the object of your view and meditation.
.
— As for favorable experiences:
—— First, the experience of the mind’s abiding arises.
—— Based on that, the experience of the essence, emptiness, arises.
—— Based upon that, the experience of attaining realization arises.
—— Based upon that, the experience of turning away from attachment arises.
With that sequential arising of experiences, you should exert yourself in practice without any complacency.
—- The mind’s merely abiding at first is not sufficient – you must meditate in order to see the essence.
—- Merely seeing the essence is not sufficient – you must meditate in order to attain realization.
—- Merely attaining realization is not sufficient – you must meditate in order to turn away from attachment.
—- Merely turning away from attachment is not sufficient – you must meditate so that, through the liberation of conceptual mind into dharmata, conceptual mind is exhausted, phenomena are exhausted, and you awaken.
.
This completes The Very Essence of Mind, Mahamudra, the One Sufficient Path.
.
Translated into English orally and later revised by Elizabeth Callahan.
.
*******************************************************
.
[End]