When resting evenly in meditation with the points of body,
If appearances cease and you are without thoughts,
These are the doings of a lethargic shamatha.
But when you rouse yourself with mindfulness,
It’s like a candle, self-luminous and shining bright,
Or like a flower that’s naturally vivid and clear.
Like looking with your eyes at the glow of the sky,
Awareness-emptiness is naked, open, and clear.

That nonconceptuality that’s luminous and clear
Is the arising of the shamatha experience.
On the basis of that meditative experience,
While supplicating the precious jewels,
Gain certainty by studying and contemplating the dharma.
Take the vipashyana that brings the understanding of no self
And tie the sturdy rope of shamatha to that.
Then that strong noble being with love and compassion
Through the mighty strength of rousing bodhichitta to benefit others,
Having been lifted up with a pure aspiration
To the completely pure path of seeing,
There, vipashyana directly realizes the purity that cannot be seen
And then the faults of mind’s hopes and fears will be known.
Without going anywhere, you’ll arrive at the Buddha’s ground.
Without looking at anything, you’ll see dharmakaya.
Without achieving anything, your aim will be spontaneously accomplished.

Milarepa

from the book The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa: A New Translation

translated by Christopher Stagg


Read a random quote or see all quotes by Milarepa.