The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa
Page 8
With the days and nights together totaling eighteen.
The big flakes were big; they fell like thick layers of wool,
Like birds in flight that plummet down.
The small flakes were small; they fell like tiny wheels,
Like bees flying around, then dropping down.
Other small flakes the size of mustard seeds and beans,
Lumped together and fell like balls of sleet.
Snow fell in more sizes than one could count.
High above, the snowy white peaks touched the sky.
Below, the plants and trees were matted and pressed.
The mountains of black donned a blanket of white,
An ocean with waves that were frozen over.
The blue rivers’ waters were put in a shell.
The contour of the land was evened to a plain.
Because this snowfall was so great,
The black-haired people*13 became socked in.
The four-legged creatures were stricken with famine:
Especially the old, weak ones’ sustenance was cut.
Above, the birds’ food source was depleted.
Below, the pikas and mice hid in their stores.
The meat-eating animals were unable to eat.
As for the fate of such sleet and strong wind7
And particularly the fate of me, Milarepa:
That blizzard that came down from above,
The strong winter wind of the new year,
And I, the yogi Milarepa’s cloth, these three,
All fought on the side of the high snow mountain.
But I was victorious over the snowfall, and it melted to water.
Though the wind roared powerfully, it naturally subsided,
And my cloth, like fire, was blazing strong!
Two wrestlers contended there in a life-or-death match.
I gave it the edge of my kingly sword.
I was victorious in that fight where the valiant ones were overthrown;
Thus, all dharma practitioners earned some clout
Especially meditators, twice as much;
In particular, my single chandali cloth showed its greatness.
The four gatherings of illness*14 were put on the scale.8
Then, inner disturbances were completely vanquished.9
Both cold and hot pranas were fully cast out.
Later, the [elements] listened and heeded what was said.10
The demon of snow and sleet was suppressed.
Then, all was resolved and completely still.
Though samsara’s brigade tried, it didn’t succeed.
Thus, this yogi won the fight.
I’m my grandfather’s descendant, with the coat of a tiger;
I’ve never fled wearing the coat of a fox.*15
To my father was born a son of the class of champions;
I’ve never lost in the face of a foe.11
I’m of the family of lions, the king of beasts;
I’ve never lived in a snowless land.
Fate has once again played its joke.12
If you trust that what this old man says has any power,
The practice lineage teachings will spread in the future,
A few siddhas will also come,
And I, the yogi Milarepa,
Will be renowned throughout the lands.
You disciples will have faith
And fame of you will later spread.
I, a yogi, am very well.
You benefactors, how are you?
When he had sung this, the students all danced and shouted with great joy. Milarepa also shouted for joy. When he danced, the boulder shifted and softened like kneaded mud, and the entire surface become full of Milarepa’s footprints and the imprints of his walking stick. The center of the rock also shifted to form stairs. This place, which was formerly called the “Flat White Boulder,” later became known as “Footprint Rock.”
The students invited Milarepa to come to Tsarma in Nyanang, where they offered him service with a feast of thanksgiving. Among the participants was Leksé Bum, who said, “The Jetsun has come here today without any harm done to him; I’m more joyful than ever. Your complexion looks even better than it did before. Your practice must have gone well. Did the dakinis serve you?”
He replied with this song of realization:
I bow my head at the feet of the lord guru.
The dakinis gave me the siddhi*16 of blessing;
The amrita*17 of samaya was so beneficial.
Through an offering of faith, my strength was restored;
The disciples’ gathering of merit was excellent.
For my mind that has the view, emptiness dawns.
In the essence of what’s seen, nary an atom exists.
Viewer and viewed are completely gone.*18
This way of realizing the view is excellent.
My meditation is the river flow of luminosity,
And I don’t divide my meditation into sessions and breaks.
Meditator and meditated are completely gone.
This perseverance in meditation is excellent.
My conduct’s doer and deed are luminosity;
Since dependent arising is resolved to be empty,
Doer and deed are completely gone.
This way of engaging conduct is excellent.
My thoughts of bias dissolved into space;
I’m without hypocrisy, the eight concerns, or hope and fear.
Keeper and kept are completely gone.
This way of keeping samaya is excellent.
I’ve determined my mind is dharmakaya.*19
So to accomplish the benefit of self and other,
Accomplisher and accomplished are completely gone.
This way of accomplishing the fruition is excellent.
The happy song of this old man
Is an answer for these faithful students.
In my retreat of practice I was sealed in by the snow
Where the dakinis made me offerings of provisions.
Water from rocky snow mountains was a most excellent drink.
With no one practicing, practice was glorious.
Without needing toil, the harvest was ripened.
Without hoarding and maintaining, which is ever only temporary, my storehouse was filled.
By looking at the mind, everything was seen.
By remaining humble, the royal throne was seized.
My resolve to reach the highest peak, that’s the guru’s kindness.
As for you gathering of disciples and benefactors,
The kindness of your service with faith
I repay with dharma.
May all who have come here be filled with joy!
Thus he sang. The teacher Shakya Guna offered prostrations to Milarepa and said, “Today, the Jetsun has come here unharmed by the great snow storm, and all we students have also survived. This coming together of master and disciples has made us extremely happy. Today, we thank you for your kind gift of teaching the dharma. We also ask you to teach us dharma about what arose in the meditative experience of the Jetsun this winter.”
In response to the teacher Shakya Guna, the Jetsun sang this song of realization on the six essential points of meditative experience as a departure gift for the students:
I bow at the feet of the lord guru with the threefold kindness.*20
As to my meditative experiences in solitary retreat:
This evening, in these auspicious full rows,
All the disciples gathered who fill these seats,
Headed by you, the teacher Shakya Guna,
Were brought together through pure aspiration;
Then, the benefactor Dormo and his wife,*21
Along with you students who have a connection
Of dharma and samaya, offered a request.
You asked the father to give dharma as a departure gift—
For the sake of that request, here is my reply:
I had revu
lsion toward the things of samsara.
Disillusioned, I went to Lachi Snow Mountain,
To the solitary site of the Cave of Taming Demons.
For me, the yogi Milarepa,
Meditation experiences dawned during those six months.
Thus, I’ll sing this song of six essential points:
From examples of six outer objects,
You’ll understand the six inner faults.
For the six fetters that bind without any freedom,
I used the methods, the six paths of liberation.
Once I gained confidence in the six expanses,
The experience of the six types of bliss dawned.
If I don’t sing the song, having mentioned these points,
You will not be able to understand their meaning.
So, here’s an explanation of what these words mean:
If it is obstructing, it isn’t space.
If it can be counted, it isn’t the stars.13
If it trembles or moves, it isn’t a mountain.
If it’s increased or diminished, it isn’t the ocean.
If a bridge reaches across, it’s not a great river.
If it can be seized, it isn’t a rainbow.
These six are the outer examples.
If it has reference points, it is not the view.
If there’s dullness and agitation, it’s not meditation.
If there’s adopting and rejecting, it is not conduct.
If there are concepts, it is not yoga.*22
If there’s dawning and waning, it is not wisdom.
If there’s birth and death, it’s not buddhahood.
These six are the inner faults.
If anger is strong, that’s the fetter of the hell realm.
If there is great avarice, that’s the fetter of the pretas.
If there is great ignorance, that’s the fetter of the animals.
If passion is great, that’s the fetter of the humans.
If there’s strong jealousy, it’s the fetter of the asuras.*23
If there is strong pride, that’s the fetter of the devas.
These six are the fetters that bind without freedom.
If faith is strong, that’s liberation’s path.
If you rely on the learned and righteous, that’s liberation’s path.
If your samaya is pure, that’s liberation’s path.
If you wander in mountain retreats, that’s liberation’s path.
If you stay alone, that’s liberation’s path.
If you engage in practice, that’s liberation’s path.
These methods are the six paths of liberation.
Coemergence is the primordial expanse.
To be free of “outer or inner” is the expanse of awareness.
To be free of “clear or obscured” is the expanse of wisdom.
That which pervades all is the expanse of dharma.
To be free of movement and change is the expanse of bindu.*24
Unbroken continuity is the expanse of experience.
These are the six expanses with confidence.
Chandali’s blazing in the body brings bliss.
Right and left prana entering the avadhuti brings bliss.*25
In the upper part, river flow of bodhichitta brings bliss.
In the lower part, the pervading of clear bindu brings bliss.
In the middle, white and red meeting through play brings bliss.
Contentment through the bliss of undefiled body brings bliss.
These are the six blisses of the yogi’s experience.
Now, this is my song of six essential points,
The melody of my meditation experience during these six months,
May you disciples enjoy it as a feast.
You happy people gathered here today,
By drinking beer as amrita, all are pleased.
This old song sung by this old man
Had to be sung to please you disciples;
Let this suffice as my dharma gift for now.
Apply yourselves in auspicious dharma with joyful heart.
May this aspiration of pure activity be fulfilled.
Thus he sang. Then Shendormo said, “Although meeting the precious Jetsun is like meeting the buddhas of the three times, these people who don’t even serve you, follow you, or practice the dharma, let alone have devotion toward you, are more stupid than animals.”
The Jetsun replied, “If someone doesn’t have pure devotion toward me, that is fine; but if someone does not practice dharma when they have obtained a precious human life at a time when the Buddha’s teachings have spread, that is extremely foolish.” Then he sang this song:
I bow at the feet of Marpa the Translator.
Now listen, you faithful benefactors:
When the genuine dharma has extensively spread,
To carelessly engage in nonvirtue is extremely foolish.
With this body and its freedoms and resources so hard to get,
To squander this human life is extremely foolish.
To constantly dwell in the charnel grounds
Of decrepit-walled cities is extremely foolish.
Spouses are just like guests at a gathering.*26
To bicker and fight with them is extremely foolish.
The self-resounding of illusory words of renown,
To get attached to these is extremely foolish.
Enemies that are fleeting just like a flower,
To risk your life fighting them is extremely foolish.
In the house of deception of one’s relatives,
To despair when one of them dies is extremely foolish.
Toward the borrowed wealth that’s like a dewdrop,
To be knotted up with miserliness is extremely foolish.
As for this body, this bag of filth,
To scrub it, desiring it to be good, is extremely foolish.
This supreme food, this nectar of instruction,
To sell it for food and wealth is extremely foolish.
This assembly with many foolish ones,
If you’re clever, through the sublime dharma you’ll become self-sufficient.
If you’re smart, you’ll do as this yogi does.
Thus he sang. The students assembled there said, “Please accept us. Although we are not as clever or as smart as the Jetsun, we will try to avoid falling into such foolish things. Please stay here with us as a resident lama teaching the dharma for those of us who are living, and performing the pure land rituals for those who have passed away. Please continually remain here with us.”
Then the Jetsun replied, “I must meditate at Lachi Snow Mountain as my guru prophesied. I will only stay here a little while. Anyway, I don’t know anything about the mundane activities of pleasing you benefactors. Also, if I stay, you would only come to view me with contempt.” Then he sang this song of realization:
I bow at the feet of Marpa from Lhodrak.
You male and female benefactors gathered here,
With deeply heartfelt unwavering faith
Toward me, the yogi Milarepa,
Supplicate free of hypocrisy.
By staying continuously in a single place,
When you’re with people a short time, you’ll get sick of them.
If you get too familiar, you’ll naturally have contempt for them.
If you stay for long, by not meeting expectations there’ll be much offense.
With such ill temper and fighting, samaya is disturbed.
Bad friends make excellent virtuous activity fly away.
By falsely boasting of your greatness, you’ll gather bad karma.
Talk a lot about rights and wrongs, and enemies will surround you.
Being deceitful with bias is a great negativity.
Expecting thanks for faith offerings, negative thoughts will disturb you.14
Taking food offerings from the dead is a debt one can’t bear.
You people’s resident lamas are really shoddy.
If you’ve contempt for those you spend time with, you’ll feel dejected.
Leaders of the masses suffer at the time of death.
Therefore, if yogis of mountain retreats
Resort to villages, it’s a great loss.
I am going to mountain retreats with no fixed direction.
That you faithful ones gathered merit is wonderful.
You male and female benefactors gathered here,
Saying “Be our lama” makes an excellent imprint:
It’s by our connection of aspiration we have met again and again.
Thus he sang. Then they said, “We students would not get sick of listening to you, but the Jetsun would get sick of us. Although we fervently requested you to stay, there’s no way you will listen. Please do look upon us and return quickly to Lachi again and again.”
They made many offerings to Milarepa, but he did not accept them. The students gathered there all were amazed. With great delight, they rejoiced and gained unwavering faith in the Jetsun.
This is the cycle of the song of the snow.
*1 In Tibet, a square-shaped vessel for measuring grain which contains six phul. One “dré” is approximately one quart.
*2 “Students” throughout the entire work directly translates the Tibetan word “nyama” (nya ma), distinct from “disciples,” which translates the Tibetan “lobma” (slob ma). The word often implies a group of female students, but here it refers to both male and female lay students. Thrangu Rinpoche explains that Nyamas are lay dharma students who, on the new and full moon days of the lunar month, come to see a teacher and receive teachings and practice. The full moon day is called nya gang and is the source of their name, “nyama” (Thrangu 2001: 27).
*3 A puja is a ritual ceremony entailing many offerings.
*4 Saga Dawa is the name of the fourth month in the Tibetan calendar; it generally falls in late spring.
*5T: gsa’ gzigs. “Snow leopard” seems to be correct, though there may be another, possibly extinct species to which this refers. (DPR)