Tibetan Buddhism is a religion with a rich culture that emerged from a wide range of practices, which include the complete scope of the Buddha’s teachings from the Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana levels. Different groups belonging to Tibetan Buddhism include the Nyingmapa, founded by Padmasambhava; Kagyupa, founded by Tilopa; Sakyapa, founded by Gonchok Gyelpo and his son Gunga Nyingpo; and Gelugpa, founded by Tsong Khapa Lobsang Drakpa. The teachings of Tibetan Buddhism puts a focus on the awareness of death and the ephemeral nature of life, leading to diligence in meditation and spiritual practice.

Mandalas, prayer flags, and thangka paintings are visual imagery used as reminders for practitioners on the path. One of the renowned masters of this religion is Milarepa. Magician, yogi, poet, hermit – many names have been attributed to this most famous figure of Tibet’s history. This Himalayan saint lived from 1052 to 1135 and his story of personal redemption has continued to be an inspiration to many generations. Through songs called dohas, Milarepa imparted divine teachings on spiritual devotion and wisdom. Today, we present to you the excerpts – “The Song of Realization” and “The Enlightenment of Rechungpa” – from the holy text of Tibetan Buddhism with the compilation titled, The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa.

Blessed viewers, thank you for your loving presence for today’s episode of Between Master and Disciples. Join us again next Wednesday for part 2 of the excerpts from The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television for Planet Earth: Our Loving Home, up next right after Noteworthy News. May Heavens bless your life with much joy and beauty!

We appreciate your amiable company for today’s episode of Between Master and Disciples. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television for Planet Earth: Our Loving Home, up next right after Noteworthy News. May you always be immersed in the loving grace of Heaven.

Kind viewers, it’s a pleasure to have you with us for today’s episode of Between Master and Disciples. Join us again next Wednesday for part 3 of the excerpts from The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa. Coming up next is Planet Earth: Our Loving Home, right after Noteworthy News. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television. May we realize the immense blessings which Heaven showers on us constantly.

The Song of Realization Obeisance to all Gurus The Jetsun Milarepa returned to the Nya Non from the Happy Town of Mang Yul. His former patrons were all delighted to see him again and begged him to stay in Nya Non permanently. At the foot of a huge tree stood a belly-shaped rock, beneath which there was a cave, and Milarepa took up his abode there. Then the Venerable Shaja Gun and a number of patrons of Nya Non came and asked him what progress and Realization he had attained during his sojourn in other places.

In answer he sang: I make obeisance to Marpa, the Translator. During my stay elsewhere I realized that nothing is; I freed myself from the duality of past and future’ I apprehended that the Six Realms do not exist. I was delivered once and for all from life and death, And understood that all things are equal. I shall cling no more to happiness and sorrow. I realized as illusion all that I perceive, And was freed from taking and from leaving. I realized the truth of Non-difference, And was freed from both Samsara (cycle of reincarnation) and Nirvana (Eternal Bliss) I also realized as illusions the Practice, Steps, and Stages.

My mind is thus devoid of hope and fear. The patrons again asked Milarepa, “What else did you understand?” Milarepa replied, “Well, to please you, I will sing an appropriate, helpful song”: One’s parents provide the outer cause and conditions; One’s Universal Seed Consciousness is within; The acquired pure human body is between these two. With these three endowments one stands apart From the Three Miserable Realms. By observing the wearisome process of birth in the outer world, The longing for renunciation and the faith for Dharma (true teaching) will grow from within. In addition, one should e’er remember the teaching of Buddha; Thus will one be freed from worldly kinsmen and enemies.

The Father-Guru provides help from without; Self-discrimination arises from the effort within; Between these two grows confidence and conviction. Thus is one freed from all doubt and confusion. One thinks of sentient beings in the Six Realms without, While unbounded love shines from the mind within. Between the two come the experiences of meditation. Thus one is freed from all partial compassion. Outwardly, the Three Kingdoms are self-liberated; Inwardly, self-present Wisdom brightly shines; Between the two, faith in Realization stands firm. Thus fade anxiety and fear.

The Five Desires manifest without; Non-clinging Wisdom shines within; A feeling of the two tasting as one Is experienced in between. Thus one is freed from the distinction of weal and woe. The absence of act and deed appears without, The departure of fear and hope is seen within; Between the two, and from you apart, Is the sickness that comes from effort, Thus one is freed from choosing between good and evil. The Venerable Shaja Guna said to Milarepa, “My dear Jetsun, your mind has long been absorbed in Purity, yet though I was with you before, I never received a definitive and convincing teaching from you.

Now, please give me the Initiation and instruction.” The Jetsun complied with his request, and made him start practicing. After some time, Shaja Guna had an experience, and came to Milarepa, saying, “If Samsara and manifestations do not exist, there is no need to practice Dharma; if the mind is non-existent, there is no need for the Guru; but if there is no Guru, how can one learn the practice? Please explain the nature of these things and enlighten me upon the Essence of Mind.” Milarepa then sang: Manifestation is not something coming into being; If one sees something happen, it is merely clinging. The nature of Samsara is the absence of substance; If one sees substance therein, it is merely an illusion.

The nature of mind is two-in-one; If one discriminates or sees opposites, It is one’s attachment and affection. The qualified Guru is the Lineage-possessor; It is then folly to create one’s own Guru. The Essence of Mind is like the sky; Sometimes it is shadowed by the clouds of Thought-flow. Then the wind of the Guru’s inner teaching Blows away the drifting clouds; Yet the Thought-flow itself is the illumination. The Experience is as natural as the sun- and moon-light; Yet it is beyond both space and time.

It is beyond all words and description. But assurance grows in one’s heart, like many stars a’shining; Whenever it so shines, great ecstasy arises. Beyond all playwords lies the nature of the Dharmakaya; Of the action of the Six Groups, it is utterly devoid. It is transcendant, effortless, and natural, Beyond the grasp of self and non-self. Dwelling forever in it is the Wisdom of Non-clinging. Wondrous is the Trikaya, Three in One. He then told Shaja Guna not to become attached to pleasure, fame, and the world, but to devote himself to the practice of the Dharma all his life and urge others to do likewise.

Then Milarepa sang: Hear me, you well-gifted man! Is not this life uncertain and delusive? Are not its pleasures and enjoyment like a mirage? Is there any peace here in Samsara? Is not its false felicity as unreal as a dream? Are not both praise and blame empty as an echo? Are not all forms the same as the Mind-nature? Are not Self-mind and the Buddha identical? Is not the Buddha the same as the Dharmakaya? Is not the Dharmakaya identical with Truth? The enlightened one knows that all things are mental; Therefore one should observe one’s mind by day and night.

If you watch it, you can still see nothing. Fix then your mind in this non-seeing state. There is no self-entity in Milarepa’s mind; I, myself, am the Mahamudra; Because there is no difference between Static and Active Meditation, I have no need for the different stages in the Path. Whatever they may manifest, their essence is Voidness; There is neither mindfulness or non-mindfulness in my contemplation. I have tasted the flavor of Non-existence; Compared to other teachings, this is the highest. The Yoga-practice of the Nadis, Prana, and Bindu The teaching of Karma Mudra and of Mantra Yoga, The practice of visualizing Buddha and the Four Pure Positions.

These are only the first steps in Mahayana. To practice them uproots not lust and hate. Bear what I now sing firmly in your mind; All things are of the Self-mind, which is void. He who ne’er departs from the Experience and Realization of the Void, Without effort has accomplished all practice of worship and discipline. In this are found all merits and marvels! Thus Milarepa sang, and the teacher, Shaja Guna, devoted himself to practicing meditation. He attained an extraordinary understanding and became one of the intimate Son-Disciples of the Jetsun. This is the story of Milarepa’s ripening the priest, Shaja Guna of Nya Non, in the Belly Cave.

The Enlightenment of Rechungpa Obeisance to all Gurus Having circled Di Se Snow Mountain, Milarepa and his disciples returned to the Gray Cave of Dorje Tson of Gu Tang. The former patrons all came to visit the Jetsun, and asked him about his welfare and health. He told them that he felt extremely well and in turn inquired after their health. They replied: “It is by good fortune that under your protection and blessing, we too, are all very well and have not suffered from sickness or loss of life.

We, on our side are very glad to learn that you have successfully made the pilgrimage to Di Se without having met any difficulties on your way. Please be kind enough to sing us a song of your well-being.” Milarepa answered, “I am as happy as this – listen!” And he sang the “Twelve Happiness of Yoga:” Like avoiding the pitfalls of evil, Happy is it to practice the Yoga of Renouncing One’s-Own-Land. Like a good horse freeing itself from the bridle, Happy is it to practice the Yoga Free-from- Subject-and-Object! Like wild beasts creeping low on the ground, Happy is it to practice the Yoga of Conviction! Like vultures gliding freely through the sky, Happy is it to practice the Yoga without hindrances. Like a shepherd restfully watching his sheep, Happy it is, in Yoga practice, To experience the Illuminating Void.

Like the huge Mount Sumeru standing firm On the ground at the world’s center, Happy is it to practice the steadfast Yoga without disturbance. Like the wide rivers flowing freely, Happy is the continual sensation of the Yoga Experience. Like a corpse lying quiet in the cemetery Doing nothing and having no worries, Happy is the Yoga of Non-action. Like a stone thrown in the ocean, that never returns, Happy is the Yoga of No-returning! Like the sun shining in the sky, All other lights o’ershadowing, Happy it is to practice the Yoga Brighter than all lights. Like leaves falling from the Dali tree, That can never grown again, Happy is it to practice the Yoga of No-birth.

This is the song of the “Twelve Happiness of Yoga.” Now I present it to you, my patrons, as a gift of Dharma (true teaching). After listening to this song, the patrons all returned home with deep faith in their hearts. To test the accomplishment and experience of Rechungpa, and also to find out how strong was his spirit of renunciation, one day Milarepa casually sang for him the song of “Twelve Deceptions”: Worldly affairs are all deceptive; So I seek the Truth Divine. Excitement and distractions are illusion; So I meditate on the Non-dual Truth. Companions and servants are deceptive; So I remain in solitude.