A BUDDHIST BIBLE

THE LIFE AND HYMNS OF MlLAREPA

Dwight Goddard 1966

Pages 561/ 2/ 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7

Milarepa's Belief

Upon this, with deep and sincere humility, I knelt, and joining the palms of my hands, with tears in mine eyes, ex- temporaneously sang to my Guru a hymn of praise, offering him the sevenfold worship-as a prelude to submitting the nar- rative of mine experiences and convictions:

1. To the impure eyes of them Thou seekest to liberate, Thou manifestest Thyself in a variety of shapes;
But to those of Thy followers who have been purified, Thou, Lord, appearest as a Perfected Being; obeisance to Thee.

2. With Thy Brahma-like voice, endowed with the sixty vocal perfections,
Thou preachest the Holy Truths to each in his own speech,
Complete in their eighty-four thousand subjects; Obeisance to Thy Word, audible yet inseparable from
the Voidness.

3. In the Heavenly Radiance of Dharma-Kaya Mind, There existeth not shadow of thing or concept,
Yet It pervadeth all objects of knowledge;
Obeisance to the Immutable, Eternal Mind.

4. In the Holy Palace of the Pure and Spiritual Realms, Thou Person illusory, yet changeless and selfless,
Thou Mother Divine of Buddhas, past, present, and future,
0 Great Mother Damema, to Thy Feet I bow.

5. (O Guru), to Thy children spiritual,
To Thy disciples who Thy word obey,
To each, with all his followers, Obeisance humble and sincere I make.

6. Whate'er there be, in all the systems of the many worlds,
To serve as offerings for the rites divine,
I offer unto Thee, along with mine own fleshly form;
Of all my sins, may I be freed and purified.

7. In merits earned by others, I rejoice;
So set the Wheel of Truth in motion full, I pray;
Until the Whirling Pool of Being emptied be,
Do not, 0 Noble Guru.. from the world depart.
I dedicate all merit from this Hymn,
Unto the Cause of Universal Good

Having, as a prelude, sung this hymn of seven stanzas, I then continued: Inseparable from Dorje-Chang Himself art thou, my Guru.. with thy consort, and thine offspring. In virtue of thy fair and meritorious deeds, and of the power of the waves of grace proceeding from thy boundless generosity, and of thy kindness beyond repayment, I, thy vassal, have imbibed a little knowledge, in the sphere of understanding, which I now beg to lay before thee. Out of the unchanging State of Quiescence of Eternal Truth, be pleased to listen unto me for a little while.
I have understood this body of mine to be the product of Ignorance, as set forth in the Twelve Nidanas.. composed of flesh and blood, lit up by the perceptive power of conscious-ness. To those fortunate ones who long for Emancipation, it may be the great vessel by means of which they may procure Freedom and Endowments; but to those unfortunate ones, who only sin, it may be the guide to the lower and miserable states of existence. This, our life, is the boundary-mark whence one may take an upward or downward path. Our present time is a most precious time, wherein each of us must decide, in one way or the other, for lasting good or lasting ill. I have under-stood this to be the chief end of our present term of life. Here, again, by holding on to Thee, 0 powerful Lord and Saviour of sentient beings like myself, I hope to cross over this Ocean of Worldly Existence, the source of all pains and griefs, so difficult to escape from. But to be able to do so, it is first of all necessary for me to take refuge in the Precious Trinity, and to observe and adopt in a sincere spirit the rules prescribed. In this, too, I see the Guru to be the main source and embodi-ment of all good and happiness that can accrue to me.
Therefore do I realize the supreme necessity of obeying the Guru's commands and behests, and keeping my faith in him unsullied and staunch. After such realization, then deep medi-tation on the difficulty of obtaining the precious boon of a free and well-endowed human birth, on the uncertainty of the exact moment of death, on the certain effect of one's actions, and on the miseries of sangsaric being, cannot fail to compel one to desire freedom and emancipation from all sangsaric ex-istence; and to obtain this, one must cleave to the staff of the Noble Eightfold Path, by which only may a sentient being ob-tain that emancipation. Then, from the level of this Path, one must pass on, by degrees, to the Higher Paths, all the while observing one's vows as carefully as if they were one's own eyes, rebuilding or mending them should they become in the least impaired. I have understood that one who aimeth at his individual peace and happiness adopteth the Lower Path (the Hinayana). But he, who from the very start, devoteth the merit of his love and compassion to the cause of .others, I un-derstand belongeth to the Higher Path (the Mahayana). To leave the Lower Path and to enter upon the Higher Path, it is necessary to gain a clear view of the goal of one's aspira- tions, as set forth by the unexcelled Immutable Path (the Vajra-Yana).
Again, to gain a clear view of the Final Goal, it is essential to have a perfectly well-accomplished Guru, who knoweth every branch of the four kinds of initiatory rites without the slightest misunderstanding or doubt regarding them; he alone can make the Final Goal thoroughly explicit to a shishya. The ceremony of initiation conferreth the power of mastering abstruse and deep thoughts regarding the Final Goal. In meditating on the Final Goal, step by step, one hath to put forth all one's en-ergies, both of grammatical and logical acumen; as well as, through moral and mental reasoning and internal search, to discover the non-existence of the personal Ego and, therefore, the fallacy of the popular idea that it existeth. In realizing the non-existence of the personal Ego, the mind must be kept in quiescence. On being enabled, by various methods, to put the mind in that state as a result of a variety of causes, all (thoughts, ideas, and cognitions) cease, and the mind passeth from consciousness (of objects) into a state of perfect tranquil- lity, so that days, months, and years may pass without the per- son himself perceiving it; thus the passing of time hath to be marked for him by others. This state is called Shi-nay (Tran- quil Rest). By not submitting oneself to the state of total oblivion and unconsciousness (of objects), but by exerting one's intellect or faculty of consciousness in this state, one gaineth the clear ecstatic state of quiescent consciousness. I
Although there be this state, which may be called a state of superconsciousness (Lhag-tong), nevertheless, individuals, or ego-entities, so long as they are such, are incapable of experi- encing it. I believe that it is only experienced when one hath gained the first (superhuman) state on the Path to Buddha-hood. Thus, by thought-process and visualization, one treadeth the Path. The visions of the forms of the Deities upon which one meditateth are merely the signs attending perseverance in meditation. They have no intrinsic worth or value in them- selves.
To sum up, a vivid state of mental quiescence, accompanied by energy, and a keen power of analysis, by a clear and in- quisitive intellect, are indispensable requirements; like the low- est rungs of a ladder, they are absolutely necessary to enable one to ascend. But in the process of meditating on this state of mental quiescence (Shi-nay), by mental concentration, either on forms and shapes, or on shapeless and formless things, the very first effort must be made in a compassionate mood, with the aim of dedicating the merit of one's efforts to the Uni- versal Good. Secondly, the goal of one's aspirations must be well defined and clear, soaring into the regions transcending thought. Finally, there is need of mentally praying and wish- ing for blessings on others so earnestly that one's mind-processes also transcend thought. These, I understand, to be the highest of all Paths.
Then, again, as the mere name of food doth not satisfy the appetite of a hungry person, but he must eat food, so, also, a man who would learn about the Voidness (of Thought) must meditate so as to realize it, and not merely learn its definition. Moreover, to obtain the knowledge of the state of supercon-sciousness (Lhag-tong) , one must practice and accustom one-self to the mechanical attainment of the recurrence of the above practices without intermission. In short, habituation to the contemplation of Voidness, of Equilibrium, of the Inde-scribable, and of the Incognizable, forms the four different stages of the Four Degrees of Initiation,-graduated steps in the ultimate goal of the mystic Vajra-Yana (or Immutable Path). To understand these thoroughly, one must sacrifice bodily ease and all luxuriousness, and, with this in mind, face and sur- mount every obstacle, being ever willing to sacrifice life itself, and prepared for every possible contingency.
As for myself, I have not the means to a recompense thee, my Guru and the Reverend Mother,-my benefactors; your loving kindness is beyond my power to repay by any offer of worldly wealth or riches. So I will repay you by a lifelong de- votion to meditation,and I will complete my final study of your Teachings in the 'Og-min Heaven.

To my Guru, the Great Dorje-Chang,
To Damema, the Mother of all Buddhas,
And to all Princes Royal, the Avataras,
I make as offering, to Their ears, this essence learning gleaned.
 
If there be heresy or error in my speech,
I pray that They will kindly pardon it,
And set me then upon the Righteous Path.
 
Lord, from the sun-orb of Thy Grace,
The radiant Rays of Light have shone,  
 
And opened wide the petals of the Lotus of my Heart,
So that it breatheth forth the fragrance born of Knowl-edge,
For which I am for ever bounden unto Thee;
So will I worship Thee by constant meditation.
Vouchsafe to bless me in mine efforts,
That good may come to every sentient being.
Lastly, I ask forgiveness, too, for any lavishness of words.
Then my Guru replied, I have conferred upon thee the Su-preme, Mystic, Ear-Whispered Truths, as revealed by the Deities and transmitted to me by my Lord Naropa. To no other of my disciples have I imparted them; nay, nut even to the foremost. To thee I have handed them on in an entire and perfect manner, like unto a vessel filled to the very brim.
Then he invoked the Tutelary Deities to bear witness to the truth of these statements.
The Guru having delivered this deeply impressive discourse sang the following song extempore:
To desire much, bringeth a troubled mind;
(So) store within thy heart (these) precepts wise: Many seeming Thats are not the That;
Many trees bear nought of fruit;
All Sciences are not the Wisdom True;
Acquiring these is not acquiring Truth.
Much talking is of little profit.
That which enricheth the heart is the Sacred Wealth; Desirest thou wealth? then store thou this.
The Doctrine which subdueth passions vile is the Noble Path;
Desirest thou a safe path? then tread thou this.
A contented heart is the noblest king;
Desirest thou a noble master? Then seek thou this.
Forsake the weeping, sorrow-burdened world;
Make lonely caves thy home paternal,
And solitude thy paradise.
Let Thought riding Thought be thy tireless steed,
And thy body thy temple filled with gods,
And ceaseless devotion, thy best of drugs.
To thee, thou energetic one,
The Teaching that containeth all of Wisdom I have given;
Thy faith, the Teaching, and myself are one.
And may this Perfect Seed of Truth, thus to my son entrusted,
Bring forth its foliage and its fruit,
Without corruption, without being scattered, without withering.
Having sung this, the Guru placed his hand upon my head, and said, My son, thy going away breaketh my heart; but since all composite things are alike liable to dissolution it can-not be helped. Yet remain with me a few days more; examine thy texts, and if thou find in them uncertainties, have these cleared. I obeyed, and on my remaining for some days my un- ertainties touching the texts were cleared up.
Then my Guru asked me, Son, hast thou seen, and dost thou believe? I replied, Yes, Lord and Guru, impossible is it not to believe; I myself will emulate Thee in devotion, till I, too, obtain these powers.
He answered, That is well, my son. And now thou art fit- ted to take thy departure, for I have shown to thee the mir- age-like nature of all existing things. Realize this fact for thy. self, going into retreat in mountain recessess, lonely caves, and the solitudes of wildernesses.
Having done this, I paid him due worship, and expressing a wish for a future meeting started home. I reached there after three days, feeling somewhat elated at the development in the art of controlling the breath which this betokened.
Thus did all come about-mine obtaining the Truth in its entirety, my thorough study of it, and, while thus engaged, my being impelled by a significant dream to take leave of my Guru and return home.