The
Ganges: Essential Instructions on Mahamudra Advice
to Naropa by Mahasiddha Tilopa given
by Homage to
glorious coemergence! Intelligent Naropa, forbearing of suffering, you have endured hardships and are devoted to the guru. Thus, though mahamudra cannot be shown, take this to heart, you fortunate one! O! Look well at worldly
phenomena!
Like dreams and illusions that cannot last, they do not exist in
actuality. Therefore, giving rise
to
disenchantment, abandon worldly activities. Completely
severing the
connections of attachment and aversion – the
domain of samsara – meditate alone in mountain and forest
hermitages!
When, through remaining
in an
ongoing state of non-meditation, non-attainment is attained, mahamudra
is
attained. These worldly affairs
are the
useless causes of suffering. Look at the
ultimate essential meaning [the realizes] the futility of deliberate
action! The truth that
transcends the
intellect will not be seen by means of the intellect. The point of non-action
will not be
reached by means of deliberate action. If
you want to achieve
the point of non-action transcending thought,
sever the root of mind itself and rest in naked awareness! Leave the polluted water
of
conceptual thoughts in its [natural] clarity. Without
affirming or
denying appearances, leave them as they are. When
there is neither acceptance nor
rejection, [mind] is liberated into mahamudra. For example, [if] the
root of a tree
with flourishing branches and foliage is cut, its ten thousand branches
and
hundred thousand leaves whither. For example, even the
accumulated
darkness of a thousand aeons is cleared away by a single lamp flame. Similarly,
an instant of the luminosity of
mind itself dispels aeons of accumulated negativity and obscuration
without
exception. If people of inferior
intelligence
[can] not abide in the ultimate meaning, they [should] hold the vital
point of
wind energies and give up exerting [themselves] in awareness. Until
you abide in the ongoing state of
awareness by means of myriad gazes and [modes of] focused attention,
make
effort! For example, if you
examine the
center of space, the one who fixates on the boundary and center ceases
to
be. Likewise, when you
investigate the
mind with the mind, the multitude of thoughts ceases and you see the
nature of
mind. For example, [when]
vapors from the
earth or clouds disperse into space, they have gone nowhere and yet do
not
remain anywhere. So it is with the
multitude of thoughts that arise from the mind: by seeing the mind
itself, the
waves of thoughts dissipate. For example, space
transcends color
and form. It is immutable and
without a
tinge of black or white. Similarly, the
mind itself, beyond color and form, is untainted by the white and black
phenomena
of virtue and evil. For example, the clear
and pure orb
of the sun is not eclipsed by the darkness of a thousand aeons. Likewise,
aeons in cyclic existence cannot
obscure the luminous essence of mind itself. For example, although
space is
labelled ‘empty,’ space itself is indescribable by
such [terms]. Similarly, though the
mind itself is
described as ‘clear light,’ there is no basis for
designating it as such
through verbal expressions. For example, in space,
what is
supported by what? Like [space], the
mahamudra that is mind itself has no supporting ground.
Rest
at ease in the uncontrived, innate
continuity. When the bonds are
loosened,
there is no doubt of release. In that way, the nature
of mind is
like space. There is no phenomenon
not
included in that. Completely give up
physical activity
and remain at ease. Without much speech,
[sound] is like an echo. Without
thinking, look at decisively resolved reality. The body is
insubstantial, like the
hollow stalk of a reed; and the mind,
like the center of space, transcends the realm of thought.
Rest
at ease in that state, without releasing
or placing. When the mind is
without a
focal point, that is mahamudra. By habituating yourself
to that,
unsurpassable a wakening is attained. When there is no object
of focus,
the mind is naturally clear. When there
is no path, the path of the Buddhas is entered. By
habituating
non-meditation, unsurpassable awakening is attained. Transcendence of all
subject and
object [duality] is the king of views. When
there is no distraction, that is the king
of meditations. When thee is no
deliberate effort, that is the king of conduct. When
there is neither
expectation nor doubt, the fruition is made
manifest. The uncreated ground of
all is clear
of the obscuring veil of propensities. Do
not engage
meditation and post-meditation, [but] rest in the
uncreated essence. [Thus, outer]
appearances, [inner] perceptions and intellectual faculties are
exhausted. The complete release of
limits is
the supreme king of views. Boundlessness,
deep and
vast, is the supreme king of meditations. Freedom
from action, abiding in its own
state, is the supreme king of conduct. Freedom
from
expectation, abiding in its own state, is the supreme king
of fruitions. To a beginner, [mind] is
like a
waterfall. In the middle, it flows
gently, [like] the River Ganges. At
the
end, it is like the confluence of a stream [with the ocean] –
like the meeting
of mother and child. The luminosity that is
mahamudra
will not be seen through expounding the [secret] mantra and paramitta
[vehicles], the scripture collections including the vinaya, or even
through
individual philosophical scriptures and tenet systems. When you fabricate
nothing in the
mind and are devoid of any wish, [thoughts] are like self-arising,
self-subsiding ripples in water. When
a
wish arises, luminosity is obscured and not perceived. Preserving the vows
conceptually,
you violate the samaya on the level of ultimate meaning.
If
[mind] does not stray from the
non-abiding, unobjectified ultimate meaning, the unimpaired samaya is a
lamp in
the darkness. When, devoid of any
wish, you are
not confined to a position, all the teachings of the scripture
collections
without exception will be realized. If
you exert yourself in this truth, you will be freed from the prison of
samsara. If you [cultivate] even
meditation
upon this truth, all unawareness, negativities and obscurations will be
burnt
away. [Thus,] it is known as
the lamp of
the teachings. Those foolish people who
are disinterested
in this truth are continually carried off and wasted by the great river
of
cyclic existence. How sad that they
[endure] the unbearable suffering of evil rebirths! If you want release from
suffering,
follow a masterful guru! Becoming infused
with [the guru’s] blessing, your mind will be liberated! If you rely on the
action mudra, the
wisdom of bliss and emptiness will arise. [Thus],
unite the
blessings of method and wisdom! The [seed essence]
should slowly
descend, stop, reverse and spread. It
should be brought to its innate abode and pervade the body. When there is no
fixation to that,
the wisdom of empty bliss arises and, flourishing like the waxing moon,
one
[attains] longevity without greying hair. One
becomes lustrous
and radiant, with power like that of a lion. The
common attainments will be swiftly
accomplished, leading to the supreme [attainment]. May this essential
advice on
mahamudra abide in the hearts of fortunate transient beings. On the banks of the
River Ganges,
this was taught to Naropa by Lord Tilopa. May
it be virtuous! Translation by Ari Kiev,
with
editorial suggestions by Khenpo Konchog Tamphel.
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