I am free of enemies and without any wealth.
Bandits, you may do as you please!
Although the land of Nyanang is called the Dark Valley,
The people are genuine as in days of old.
The speech they use is genuine and honest.
Their conduct is genuine and completely relaxed.
Their food and drink is genuine and they don’t hold it back.
The land has a genuine, natural forest.
I don’t care much for material offerings
But their food and drink is abundant.
This yogi’s mind is happy there.
There, distractions of busyness are few.
Samadhi of meditative equipoise flourishes there.
So, therefore, it’s to Nyanang that I go.
I’ve obtained control over chandali’s heat.
I’m free of fear over hot and cold winds.
Snow, you may do as you please!
I will not delay my journey this time;
Son, I will not go to your home.
I’ve no desire for arrogant benefactors.
I know nothing about the conduct of pleasing others.
The sun is setting, now ride your horse.
Young man, it’s time to happily go.
Son, may you be free of sickness and have long life.
Thus he declined to go with the young man. Then, with disappointment, the young man replied, “Jetsun, whatever service I offer, you will not accept it. No matter how much I request the dharma, you will not give it. I must be heavily obscured. Now, there’s nothing for me to do but make aspirations and take my own life before you.”
Then he took the razor-sharp dagger that he had and pointed it at his heart. With a cry of lamentation he offered this song:
Great Lord Yogi, now please listen:
I, today, on this morning,
Right at the Silver Spring Stupa,
Saw a man here naked and sleeping.
I thought maybe he was a yogi who was completely crazy
Or else who does all kinds of improper things,
Who’ll display any kind of behavior at all.
Thus, I didn’t think you were a man in whom to put trust.
I had no faith and disrespectfully slandered you.
I didn’t follow the road but went around to avoid you.
This the Jetsun knew very well.
My desolation and remorse are worse than death.
Then when the sun shone softly at its peak
And you crossed the wide blue river,
I saw you floating over the water like a bird.
I saw you surging into space like the wind.
I saw your miraculous body going over.
When you had gone across the great river,
Because I had met such a siddha lord,
“My latent tendencies and obscurations must be small,” I thought.
“I have such great merit,” I thought.
“I have karmic connection and pure aspiration,” I thought.
“I’ve the fortune of the sublime dharma,” I thought.
The level of joy that I felt here today
I have never felt since my mother gave birth to me.
As for my service of offering illusory wealth,
To that, you said, “I don’t need it, I don’t want it!”
Except from you, the yogi Repa Lord,
I’d never heard of that in all of Tibet.
A man more wondrous than you
I’ve never seen among all who practice dharma.
Lord, although you are truly wondrous,
Today, the way that I presented my offerings
Was not agreeable to the exalted lord.
Thus it seems my negative karma and obscurations are great.
It seems I have only the tiniest merit.
It seems I am not qualified to practice the sublime dharma at all.
Now, full of despair and ignorance,
My mind is agitated and I’m so disheartened.
I don’t know the path, I’m completely oblivious.46
Now that I’ve seen a true nirmanakaya,
If I can’t obtain just a few kind words,
It’ll be as though I’ve not met this lord at all.
What will I say to my countrymen?
If I return to my home, how ashamed I will be.
Because of this I shall take my own life.
Sentient beings, once born, must eventually die,
So for me, now seems the best time to go.
I’ll die in the presence of a siddha lord.
With my mind focused on dharma, I will die.
Is there any speech more pleasant to hear than that?*28
Lord, please think of me with your higher perceptions.
Oh! How little merit this young man has!
Thus he supplicated, with total self-rejection. Then the Jetsun thought, “He has such great devoted interest and affection for me, we must have a connection through aspiration. It is certain that this is the one I saw last night in my dream. Now, I must accept him.” In response, he sang this song:
Son, young benefactor, listen to me.
With your strong determination in the mind of virtue,
It’s certain your bad karma and obscurations are few.
With the confident way you spoke just now,
It’s certain you have little pride or self-regard.
Through your persistence and diligence here,
It’s certain you have little laziness.
With the heart of generosity that you’ve displayed,
It’s certain you’ve little avarice or attachment.
With the great prajña and compassion that you’ve shown,
It’s certain you’ve little ignorance or aggression.
With the great devoted interest you’ve shown toward me,
It’s certain you’ve relied on noble ones before.
Therefore, my son, don’t say you’ve fallen into despair.
You, who come from Lower Gyaltrom,
And I, the vagabond from Tsa in Gungtang,
Here, today, on this morning,
Have met at the bank of this wide blue river.
We’ve come together at the base of the Silver Spring Stupa.
This, it seems, is from previous aspirations.
It’s certain we’ve a karmic connection of practice.
It seems the imprint in our all-base has awakened.
This is a song of our excellent tendrel from before.
Now, when meeting with genuine reality,
Son, if you earnestly wish to practice sublime dharma,
If faith has welled from the depths of your being,
If you won’t look back upon this life,
If you truly want to follow me:
Relatives are the dissuasion of maras:
Not thinking they’re real, you should cut their ties.
Food and wealth are the spies of maras:
The more that you get used to it,
The worse things get; abandon your attachment.
Sensory pleasures are the noose of maras:
They’ll certainly bind you; let go of attachment.
Youthful companions are female maras:
They’ll surely deceive you; be cautious of them.
One’s homeland is the prison of maras:
Getting freedom is hard; quickly escape!
Putting all those aside, then you should go:
If you put them aside now, it would be meaningful and excellent.
The dummy of this illusory body must fall away.
If we make a tendrel now, it would be excellent.
The vulture of the mind will surely fly.
If you soared in the sky now, it would be excellent.
If you listen and do as this man instructs,
Son, you’ll have the fortune of the sublime dharma.
I’ll give you the abhishekas and blessings, which are the gateway,
Son, you have taken hold of the path,
And I, this yogi, am full of delight.
Young man, keep this in your mind!
Thus the Jetsun sang and the young man developed joy and was elated. He took the Jetsun’s feet to his head, and made many prostrations and circumambulations. Making a solemn aspiration he went on his way, it is said.
About four months later, when the Jetsun was staying at Menlung Chuwar in Drin, the young man and his nephew came to see him. The uncle offered a piece of turquoise, the bright lamp of the Shuyé clan, and his nephew offered half a measure of gold. But Milarepa would not accept them. At that very time, Guru Bari Lotsawa was building a stupa of Ushnishavijaya*29 in Drin.
The Jetsun said, “Uncle and nephew, it is fine if I do not have these things you have offered, but you can offer them to Guru Bari Lotsawa and request him to give you abhisheka. As for the instructions, I will give them myself.” In this way Milarepa helped them make the connection.
They received the complete abhisheka of Chakrasamvara from Guru Bari Lotsawa, and after that, the guru gave both the uncle and nephew the three outer practices—the cycle of Ushnishavijaya, the practice of extending life called the recitation of Meru Singha, and the cycle of Arya Amoghapasha.*30 For the three inner practices, he gave the sadhana of the Seven Letters of Chakrasamvara, the cycle of the Guru Symbolic Jetsunma, and the sadhana of Kurukulle. After that, the two of them accompanied Guru Bari Lotsawa to Sakya and then returned to where Milarepa was.
Staying with the Jetsun for five years, they received the widely renowned Six Dharmas of Naropa and the Mahamudra lineage of the great lord Maitripa. He nurtured them by giving them the naked instructions and the oral instructions without exception.
Before, the young man’s name had been Shuyé Darma Wangchuk, then later the Jetsun changed his name to Repa Shiwa Ö. Before, concerning himself with worldly customs, he had great attachment. Later, he became one who relinquished worldly concerns. Then, while in the presence of the Jetsun, he offered vows that for the rest of his life he would only wear a single cloth, would never wear leather shoes, would never return to his homeland, and would never keep more than two days’ provisions at a time. With perseverance in meditation, excellent experience arose. The Jetsun was very pleased, and sang this song of realization:
I prostrate to all the noble gurus.
This compassionate practice lineage has great blessing.
The instructions of Marpa and Mila have great power.
This young man, Shiwa Ö, has great endurance in meditation.
Because of the mamos and dakinis he developed quick realization.
Son, if you wish to take your practice to the end,
Without engaging in empty speech,
Practice dharma in an unbiased way.
Don’t wish for noble glories of the past;
Travel in isolated and empty valleys.
Don’t spend time around negative friends or servants;
All alone, engage continually in practice.
Don’t think of becoming a guru yourself;
Keep a humble position and practice meditation.
Don’t wish for signs to quickly come;
Let your meditation last until your death.
Don’t study words or terminology;
Meditate without distraction on the whispered lineage instructions.
If you should think, “Will this benefit me?”
Abandon conventional terms and practice meditation.
Then Shiwa Ö said, “Previously, you said that to train in study without practicing is a deviation from the path. Please say more about this.”
The Jetsun replied, “Someone who hasn’t let go of this life and doesn’t know the key points of practice will deviate. I, a son of Marpa’s lineage, have no deviations. Do not train in words or terminology, and devote yourself to practice.” Then he sang this song of realization:
I bow at the feet of the noble guru.
The teacher who uses bloated words
When debating is cunning, acting like a madman.
When he speaks, he’s like a jaded woman who chatters on and on.
When he sleeps, he slumbers in pompous pride.
When walking, he struts about like a Mongol.
Such men have many deviations and hindrances.
In general, the three realms and six classes have their respective deviations.
Ordinary beings deviate through desirous actions.
Shravakas and pratyekabuddhas deviate by abiding in peace.
Geshes deviate in how they collect their charity.
Teachers deviate with the fortress of words.
Bhikshus deviate by pretending to be good.
Yogis deviate by falling into insanity.
Meditators deviate into the view of vacuous emptiness.
Then, every kind of ignorance is a grave deviation.
For the dakinis’ breath of the whispered lineage,
Thinking there are deviations, that itself is a demon.
Shiwa Ö, while at the side of the Great Repa,
If you think you’ll fall into deviations, then you are deceived.
Abandon your doubts and practice meditation.
When directly applying the naked instructions,
If you think there are deviations, don’t take them as real.
Son, don’t worry about studying terms.
Meditate one-pointedly and you’ll obtain the result!
Abandoning conventional terms, he meditated one-pointedly in the presence of the guru, enduring great loss with respect to clothing and food. At that time, one of his friends from before came there. Seeing him in his impoverished state, without any material provisions such as food and clothing, his friend, giving rise to false compassion, said, “Shuyé Darma Wangchuk, you used to be wealthy, the treasured child. Now you’ve become an old beggar with nothing to eat or wear. How awful for you!” In reply, Repa Shiwa Ö sang this song of realization:
The Father Jetsun Guru is the nature of Buddha.
A support of having a place to make offerings are both of my parents.
But my other relatives have been a cause for samsara;
Therefore, I’ve relinquished all close relations.
To be alone by oneself is the nature of Buddha.
A support for virtuous activity are dharma friends.
But three or more is the cause for idle chatter;
So therefore I remain alone by myself.
A single word of instruction is the nature of Buddha.
A support for virtuous activity are small manuals with instructions.
But the cause of pride is a variety of many texts;
So therefore I’ve abandoned taking notes.
Mountain retreats in the wilderness are the nature of Buddha.
A support for virtuous activity is seeking provisions.
But the cause of attachment is material things;
So therefore I’ve relinquished my fatherland.
The country without fixed direction is the nature of Buddha.
A support for virtuous activity is the faithful ones’ alms.
But the cause for the afflictions is many retinues and servants;
So therefore I’ve relinquished retinues and servants.
Giving rise to great faith, the friend from before made many offerings of wealth.
The Jetsun was very pleased with Shiwa Ö, who served as his attendant until he passed into parinirvana. He completely received all the key instructions of practice and thus cut through all deviations of experience and realization. The nephew did not become a repa yogi, at which the Jetsun was slightly displeased. He became known as the foolish and noble Sangye Kyap, and kept a small monastery at Rana in Nyanang, it is said.
As for Repa Shiwa Ö, after the Jetsun passed into parinirvana, when he had meditated at the Golung Menchu Cave in Padruk, he perfected all the qual
ities of the paths, bhumis,*31 experience, and realization. He became able to move unimpededly through rock in the practice caves, and in that very life went to a celestial realm.
This is the cycle of Repa Shiwa Ö at the Silver Spring Stupa, and so forth.
*1 The bird referred to here (T: ’ol ba) is possibly the red-billed chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), which is very common in the Himalayan region. (DPR)
*2 T: lte ba. Umbilical cord.
*3 The tantras of Tibet’s early phase of translating dharma, also referred to as Nyingma.
*4 Sometimes called Red-Faced Za, which is a mixed translation/transliteration of the Tibetan (T: gza’ gdong dmar nag).
*5 This is a reference to Milarepa’s hardships of building the towers under Marpa’s supervision. See chapter 2 of the second section of Tsangnyön Heruka’s Life of Milarepa.
*6 The four streams of the whispered lineage coming from Tilopa consist of the yogas of chandali, dream, luminosity, and illusory body.
*7 An ornamental strap that is tied around the neck of the horse of someone of wealth or high class (T: mgul dom g.yer khas gzengs bstod de). (DPR)
*8 This seems to be the festival that Shiwa Ö is going to when he meets Milarepa, though the exact nature of the festival remains obscure.
*9 This probably refers to a Tibetan tradition of planting a spear or staff with a flag on it for the first contestant who crosses the finish line in a race, and the “prize” is more literally something like a ceremonial scarf (T: kha btags). (DPR)
*10 The three nails here are probably view, meditation, and conduct. (DPR)
*11 The three nose-points refers to the tips of three different nadis that open at the forehead center, at the throat, and at the secret place. These are referred to in certain subtle-body practices, particularly in the father tantras (Kongtrul 2008: 314).
*12 Yogic exercises for the subtle body.
*13 Tibetan boots require straps that wrap around the leg in order to properly hold them up. The lion heads and crocodiles are most likely designs etched into pieces of ornamental metal that the boot straps are strung through. (TN)
*14 The rivers of birth, old age, sickness, and death.
*15 The contemplation of death and impermanence is taught to be the cause for developing the desire to practice dharma.
The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa Page 22
