The Ganges: Essential Instructions on Mahāmudra
Sanskrit: Mahāmudra Upadeshaṁ
Tibetan: Chaggya Chenpö Menngag
Homage to glorious coemergence!
Intelligent Nāropa, forbearing of suffering, you have endured
hardships and are devoted
to the guru. Thus, though mahāmudra cannot be shown, take this
to heart, you fortunate one!
O! Look well at worldly phenomena! Dream-like and illusory, they
cannot last! [But]
they are not dreams or illusions in actuality. Therefore, when
giving rise to disenchantment,
you have insight into 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, mahāmudra is attained. These worldly affairs are the
useless causes of suffering.
Look at the ultimate essential meaning [that 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 mahāmudra.
For example, [if] the root of a tree with flourishing branches
and foliage is cut, its ten
thousand branches and hundred thousand leaves wither.
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 labeled ‘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 mahāmudra 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
mahāmudra.
By habituating yourself to that, unsurpassable awakening 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 there 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 mahāmudra will not be seen through
expounding the [secret]
mantra and parāmita [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 fortunate wayfaring beings take to heart this essential
advice on mahāmudra.
On the banks of the River Ganges, this was taught to Nāropa by
Lord Tilopa. May it be virtuous!
Translation by Ari Kiev
Copyright © The Gar Chöding Trust, 2005. All rights reserved.
This text, available online
at www.gar-choding-trust.org, is free for verbatim reproduction
and distribution.
