The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa

by Tsangnyon Heruka

  Your mind-stream will be softer than wool;

  The words mean you’ll be learned in the meaning of terms;

  You’ll cry out your experience by singing songs;

  And you’ll be greeted and escorted by eighty-eight.

  Another evening, Rechungpa dreamt he took off his clothes and began washing with water. Then transforming into a bird, he flew up into a tree and looked into a mirror. He told his dream to Milarepa, who replied:

  Peeling off the clothes of this life’s eight concerns,

  You washed with the stainless water of the instructions.

  The body of the bird of loving-kindness and compassion

  Flew with the wings of the two accumulations

  And landed on the top of the tree of enlightenment,

  Then received the symbolic teachings of the mirror-dakinis.

  On yet another night, Rechungpa dreamt that he was riding backward on a donkey and was wearing a garment of coarse yak hair.*1 When he told the Jetsun of this, he explained:

  You ride the donkey of the Mahayana

  And turn your back upon samsara.

  You greet nirvana right at your front

  And will be the object of hope*2 for all.

  Again, on another night, Rechungpa dreamt that a jewel was placed upon his head. He was wearing stainless clothing on his body and was looking into a rust-free mirror. In his right hand was a vajra and in his left hand he held a kapala filled with food. He was seated upon a lotus seat in the vajra posture, and at his back, light swirled and radiated. His body was ablaze with fire and in front of him a pool of water sprang forth. In his heart, the sun and moon shone. To his left, many men and women were sitting in a row; and to his right, he looked after a single sheep and a herd of goats; then the single sheep multiplied into many. When he told the Jetsun of his dream, the Jetsun said, “This is what your dream means,” and sang this song of realization:

  The jewel is you meditating with the guru at your crown,

  You have the stainless white cotton cloth of the Kagyu lineage,

  And you look at the mirror of the whispered lineage’s pointing out.

  The vajra in your right hand means you have conquered conceptuality;

  Your left shows you sustain the experience of bliss-emptiness.

  The lotus seat means you’re not sullied by faults;

  The vajra posture means you abide in one-pointed samadhi.

  Realization swirls radiantly at your back.

  The signs of heat and experience burst forth in the pool.

  In your body, chandali blazes like fire.

  The sun and moon mean you abide in the state of luminosity.

  On your left, the line of men and women

  Are the dakas and dakinis invited there.

  On your right, the sheep and goats mean you’ll protect your disciples,

  And the multiplying of sheep means the whispered lineage will spread.

  Thus he sang. “Since all of these things will happen, you do not need to remain here at my side. You can now go forth; the time has come for those whom you will tame, so perform vast benefit for self and others.” Then Milarepa sang this song of realization of advice:

  Listen now, my son Rechungpa!

  Since samsara and nirvana depend on conditions,

  If you can rely upon a noble guru,

  The effortless instructions implicitly come.

  Listen now, my son Rechungpa!

  Having abandoned attachment to your home,

  If you can keep to mountain retreats,

  Effortless siddhi will implicitly come.

  If you abandon desire for material wealth—

  Negative karma with fixation as its root—

  And can be without fixation or attachment,

  The guide of great bliss will implicitly come.

  Listen now, my son Rechungpa!

  The root of samsara is giving birth.

  Having cut through the bonds of sons and nephews,

  If you can remain all alone,

  Then the completely pure realm will implicitly come.

  Listen now, my son Rechungpa!

  Though now the genuine dharma has spread,

  It’s mixed with many things that only seem like dharma.

  Many people say they are gurus or masters,

  But they just use nice and captivating speech.

  Go teach them of the excellent lineage, my son.

  Listen now, my son Rechungpa!

  If you wish to practice dharma from the depths of your heart,

  You must employ dharma’s antidote for the afflictions.

  Do not just use hypocritical words.

  Being free of the goal of comfort is important.

  Listen now, my son Rechungpa!

  If you wish to attain the fruition of buddhahood,

  Do not concern yourself with the pleasures of this life.

  Do not lose your true goal that depends on the mind.

  Make meditation stable within your mind-stream!

  “Rechungpa, in the past when I told you to stay, you wanted to go. But now you should go to the sacred site of Jarpo Forest at Shampo Snow Mountain. Benefit sentient beings there at Do of Loro at the border of Tibet.” Then he sang this song of realization:

  Rechungpa, great son of this father,

  Now, go to the land of Ü in Tibet.

  You, most meaningful from among my four sons,

  Go now, and meditate with the guru at your crown.

  You, a son of the lineages,

  Go now and keep samaya without distraction.

  You lamp, a holder of the whispered lineage,

  Go now and clear the darkness of ignorance.

  Go and spread dharma to suitable ones.

  Go and keep it secret from those unfit.

  Go and place the life-force rod*3 of the teachings.

  Go and accept the suitable ones with compassion.

  Go and roam at the southern border.

  Go to meditate at Shampo Snow Mountain

  Go find a retreat at Tibet’s border at Do.

  Thus he sang. When Rechungpa was prepared to depart, he prostrated to the Jetsun and offered some words with this melody.

  Rechungpa, great son of this father,

  Goes to Ü as the guru commands.

  While Rechungpa is traveling to Ü,

  Grant me blessings with your vajra body.

  With your speech of Brahma, clear all obstacles.

  With your mind free of concepts, guide me on the path.

  Father Jetsun, please stay in good health.

  While your son Rechungpa is traveling to Ü

  Please continue to be my kind guide.

  When I go, O Precious One,

  Embodiment of the buddhas of the three times,

  Protector of beings, may you be well.

  You with higher perceptions and miraculous power,

  With your eye of dharma, may you be well.

  Precious one with kindness that cannot be repaid,

  One who clears the darkness of ignorance, may you be well.

  So meaningful to meet, with your magical power,

  Guide to enlightenment, may you be well.

  Then as Rechungpa departed, the Jetsun sang this song of realization on the view, meditation, and conduct:

  Son, do not take on any biased views.

  For meditation, keep to mountain retreats.

  For conduct, abandon negative friends.

  For samaya, let your perceptions remain harmonious.

  For fruition, contemplate your death!

  “Son, in the year of the female wood-rabbit, on the fourteenth day of the horse month, you should return here. It is very important that you do.” Then he gave Rechungpa a piece of gold and many bits of heart advice. Though Rechungpa found it nearly unbearable to be separated from his guru, he was determined to go to Central Tibet as the guru commanded. Then as he wept, he offered this song of aspiration to meet his guru again:

&
nbsp; The rivers of India and the rivers of Nepal

  Are different in terms of the lands where they flow.

  But the rivers are all of single taste;

  They all will meet in the ocean’s expanse.

  The sun that dawns from the east,

  And the moon that rises from the west,

  Are different in relation to the four continents.

  But their light is all of single taste;

  It all meets in the cloudless sky.

  The minds of the Victorious Ones and the six types of beings

  Are different only in terms of ignorance.

  The mind itself is of single taste;

  They all meet in the dharma expanse.

  The father Jetsun who stays in the mountains

  And I, Rechungpa, who roam the lands

  Are different only in terms of our illusory bodies.

  In the dharmakaya we’re of single taste.

  We’ll meet in the realm of Akanishta.

  Father Jetsun, please stay well.

  I, Rechungpa, will go to Ü.

  Taking the Jetsun’s feet to his crown, he made many aspirations and departed for Central Tibet.

  While he was staying in a monastery at Jarpo Forest, there was a lady*4 who came to offer her confession to him. At first, he would not see her, but then after a while, out of great compassion, and at the earnest requests of Rinchen Drak, he granted her an audience. As she was poor and destitute, she suffered with her three gates, and Rechungpa had great boundless compassion for her. Moved, he wept and gave her a piece of gold, then sang this song of realization:

  At the feet of Mila, supreme among beings, I supplicate.

  I think of your kindness again and again: please accept me with compassion.

  Your talk is unlike any I’ve heard.

  When I was in my guru’s presence,

  The large piece of turquoise, our basis of quarreling,

  Was placed upon the mandala.

  Seeing that made my hairs stand on end.

  Before, he told me, “Don’t go to Ü.”

  Now, “To Ü you must go,” he says.

  I think of this and am truly amazed.

  In the life example of the Father Jetsun,

  There was no difference between gold and dirt.

  He told me, “Here, now, take this gold.”

  Thinking of this, I give rise to joy.

  With this gold that was given to me by my father,

  Make many statues of the buddha,

  And through that, purify the obscurations of your body.

  Recite many dharanis and mantras;

  Through that, you’ll purify the obscurations of speech.

  Make many stupas and tsa-tsas;

  Through that, you’ll purify mind’s obscurations.

  Inwardly, leave your mind as the witness.

  Ultimately, practice the whispered lineage key instructions.

  Again and again, supplicate the lord,

  And from time to time give rise to regret.

  Act in this way and accomplish great benefit.

  Thus he sang. With great love, he accepted both the lady and the uncle under his care. He gave them the instructions of the whispered lineage, put them to meditate, and through that the uncle became free of leprosy. It is said that the lady, giving rise to excellent experience and realization, became an excellent yogini who benefited others.

  This is the cycle of the Later Journey to Central Tibet.

  *1 This sets up a pun, which appears in the song below. The word for a particular type of coarse yak-hair cloth, which is black in color and often used to make tents, is the same as the word for “hope” (re ba).

  *2 See above note.

  *3 A “life-force rod” (T: srog shing) is a long piece of wood that is specially chosen and prepared with blessings and consecration, then placed as the axis and energetic center of a sacred stupa or statue.

  *4 The lady here, though not explicitly named, seems to be the Princess Dembu. In other versions of Rechungpa’s story, the king was displeased at Rechungpa’s eventual departure. The king blamed the princess and, as punishment, gave her away to the first man to arrive at the palace on the next morning, which turned out to be a maternal uncle with a skin disease (T: mdze, something similar to leprosy).

  It seems, here, that the turquoise was a basis of quarreling between Rechungpa and the princess. Below, the “uncle” with leprosy, again, is not specifically named, but is synchronous with Princess Dembu’s new partner in the other versions of the story (Roberts: 208–213).

  58

  Tashi Tsek

  NAMO GURU

  When the Jetsun Milarepa was at Lhadro in Drin, there was a benefactor named Tashi Tsek who offered his service to the Jetsun. At that time there were many benefactors receiving dharma teachings. Tashi Tsek said, “Jetsun, when I hear lots of dharma taught like this, in the short term, I have a feeling of great joy. Although I don’t think I will be able to do a great deal of both practice and study, since the Jetsun himself has done meditation practice, I now have faith in what meditation can do. Ultimately, would I be most happy doing meditation?”

  “Explanations are given and trained in for the sake of meditation. Therefore, if one studies without practicing and meditating, then study is useless.” Then he sang this song of realization:

  Teaching dharma without practice just brings pride.

  A son adopted but not cared for becomes a destructive demon.

  Without instruction, a load of books is a useless burden.

  Without transmission, they’re the yoke of swindlers; whom will they benefit?

  When hearing the deception of the provisional yana, one is happy;

  But no one wants to hear the definitive speech of the guru.

  Faithful benefactors and disciple-sons, practice sublime dharma!

  Don’t listen to those who are heedless and deceptive.

  Rely on humble, true words that are without fault.

  Thus he sang. Then Milarepa said, “If you want to definitively practice the dharma, do lots of training. It will be helpful if you practice for a while in accord with its meaning. If you talk a lot, you will just become confused toward the higher and lower views; and doing many seemingly good things without truly taking hold of the mind, you will be deceived. If you have great attachment to this mundane world, though you may practice dharma, your practice will be full of hypocrisy. Furthermore, some dharma practitioners focus on their own few accomplishments and, developing pride about the good qualities of those, lose their faith in the good qualities of the previous masters and do not receive any blessing.

  “If you think you have lots of leisure to practice dharma, when actually there is no leisure at all, then when death comes, what is there to do? You should use all of the dharma understanding you have, and practice by looking inwardly. If someone does not combine study and practice into one, they may know a lot and think, ‘I should practice,’ but there will be no end to what can be intellectually known.

  “If you speak with a noble master rich in the dharma, he will say there is not a bit of the dharma one doesn’t need; you will have lots of profound key instructions but will not know which ones to actually practice. You may choose one to practice, but then when signs of experience do not come, you may think, ‘Should I be doing a different practice?’ and no accomplishment of any kind will ever come. It will be like someone who studies something new for a long time but forgets what he knew before, like a flower in the hand of a child.”

  Then Milarepa sang this song of realization:

  Listen again, faithful benefactors:

  Not understanding the strength of the truth of karma,

  Evil ones hope to attain liberation;

  But they are pained by the passing of days, months, and years.

  Unhappy ones are joyful when the days and months go by:

  “Will this season be a good one?” they always ask.

  Without being aware, their human l
ife passes on.

  This is the discernment of a foolish man.

  If you’re truly determined to practice the dharma,

  Make offerings to pure objects;

  Take refuge in the three precious jewels;

  Give service to the guru lord;

  Be respectful to each of your parents;

  Give generously without hope of repayment;

  Do benefit for those who are powerless;

  Engage in conduct with your mind-stream concordant with dharma.

  If you practice dharma, you don’t need much.

  Having many commitments is false.*1

  Look to see if your mind-stream is joined with these!

  Thus he sang. Then the benefactors said, “What you have said is easy to understand and helps our minds. We will practice in accord with your instructions. Please, give us more dharma advice that is appropriate for our understanding.”

  The Jetsun replied, “If you will listen, I have many excellent methods to share. Will you listen?”

  “We will most certainly listen; please tell us,” they said.

  “Well then, since this will be beneficial for you in both this life and the next, it would be excellent if you did this.” Then he sang this song of realization:

  Well then, male and female benefactors,

  If you want to cultivate the ultimate crop,

  And you will listen to what I say:

  Every being will surely die;

  Therefore, it’s excellent to practice genuine dharma.

  Though you gather illusory wealth, it will slip away;

  Therefore, it’s excellent to practice generosity.

  Though you’ve deep love for worldly relatives, they will part from you;

  Therefore, it’s excellent to meditate on nonduality.

  Though you build illusory castles from earth, they will collapse;

  Therefore, it’s excellent to keep to solitary places.

  Though you’ve food and drink for your body, it will all be used up;