Taking Happiness and Suffering to the Path

TAKING HAPPINESS AND SUFFERING

ALONG THE PATI-1 and

'IWEN1Y-ONE ENCOURAGEMENTS TO BE FARNEST

by Tenon Pegyal Ungpa

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• • •

Published by Tulku Kunga

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Tenon Pegyal Lingpa

TAKING HAPPINESS AND SUFFERING ALONG THE PATH Hoi

H I am well, I am happy for I dedicate my well being to accumulating virtue: May happiness and bliss fill the sldesl

If I suffer, I am happy·for I take upon myself the suffering of all beings: May samsara's ocean of suffering be empti~dl If I am sick, I am happy for I exhaust the bad karma of my many past lives: May all living beings be relieved from painl If I die, I am happy for I die into the absolute nature: May the root of rebirth In the cycle of existences be seYeredl If I live long, I am happy: through the two accumulations, May both my aims and those of others be spontaneously accomplished!

Thus, fvr rhe daily practi~ of his disciples, this was written by Kala Raja Dipa1 accordins to the words of the sreat Pandita Sakya Shri and other holy beings. May it be meaninsful!

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'IWEN1Y-ONE ENCOURAGEMENTS TO BE EARNEST Homage to the Guru!

I make offerings to the peerless Guru, the torch on the path of liberation, Visualized upon my head inseparable from the Victorious One born from the lake. Bless us so that myself and the disciples in ~y lineage May find the excellent, unmistaken path! I shall give you here a little encouragement to practice the supreme Dharma earnestly, And will do so in three steps, the first of which Concerns the way to attend a spiritual master.

- 1-

Whoever aspires to free himself from the dungeon of samsaric ignorance, Must first of all rely upon a spiritual teacher. To stan with, you should be wise in searching for a teacher, In the middle, you should care for him as for your own life, through the three ways of pleasing him, 4

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And at the end, you should receive his wisdom mind, like a vase being filled to the brim. Without relying upon a spiritual teacher, there would be no Buddhas throughout the three times, Without being cared for by him, one will never gain liberation, Whoever is under his care will reach the land of everlasting bliss. The Guru is the source of an ocean of siddhis. Therefore, be earnest in relying upon him in the right manner.

-2I shall now explain a little the basic mind training. The city of liberation is like a great jewel Island, The samsara of the three worlds is like a boundless ocean, The one who aspires to freedom is like a strong horse, The guide, the Guru, is like a good captain, The human body blessed with freedom and endowments is like a precious ship. Having considered the causes, similes, and numerical comparisons, If you do not extract now the essence of this human life, I low can you expect to gain such freedom again? Therefore, be earnest in extracting the essence of your freedoms and endowments.

-3Death and impermanence make one feel like a bunerlamp in the wind:

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The messenger of the Lord of Death is swifter than lightning. U you do not mount the horse of fierce endeavor, How will you ever reach the far side of samsara? Be earnest in having no ordinary needs whatsoever.

-4The unfailing karmic laws of cause and effect are similar to the sowing of seeds. If you fail to distinguish minutely what should be done and what should be avoided Regarding positive and negative actions, whether gross or subtle, How will you ever harvest the crop of virtue? Therefore, remembering cause and effect, be earnest in the actions you do or avoid.

-5The three worlds of samsara are like a continent of ogresses, Deceptively attractive in the guise of a beauty: If you don't drastically sever the ties of attachments, How will you ever reach the other shore of the ocean of existence? Therefore, be earnest in casting off craving deep from within.

-6The prepardtion for all virtuous Dharmas is taking refuge. If you don't lay the foundation of all vows,

TWENTY-oNE ENCOUMGEMENrS

You will be like a child endlessly building sand castles. How will you ever obtain the excellent, everlasdng mansion? Therefore, be earnest in observing the precepts of the refuge vows, the root of all.

.7. The great path trodden by all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas Is the enlightened mind of loving-kindness and compassion, as both pledge and pracdce: If you don't train in exchanging, or equadng, yourself and others, How will you ever open the treasure of altruism? Therefore, be earnest in developing the enlightened atdrude of the Great Vehicle.

.8• The great and easy means to purify In this life the unwholesome deeds amassed over many eons Is the special feature of the Mantrayana: If you don't apply the key points of the antidote of the four strengths, How will you ever escape from the net of the two obscurations? Therefore, be earnest in pracdcing the recitation and meditation upon Vajrasattva.

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-9One calls Buddha he who guides the three worlds of existence, As result of having accumulated merit and purified himself during many kalpas. If someone as obscured as I am does not make the' slightest effort, How will he ever obtain the fruit of maturation and purification? Therefore, be earnest in making mandala offerings, which bring about accumulation and purification.

- 10If you lack confidence that you can dominate the experiences of the bardo, Without securing the method provided by the Skillful and Compassionate One for great sinners To energetically achieve Buddhahood without meditating, How will you ever evade the tortuous defiles of the bardo of existence? Therefore, be earnest in taking up the path of transference.

- 11 -

For the yogin endowed with confidence in the view and meditation, All experiences act as a fan helping a fire to burn: If you lack the supreme Dharma of the Pacification of Suffering, 12

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TWENTY-oNE ENCOURAGEMENTS

How will you ever sever the bonds tied by the Four Demons? Therefore, at all times, be earnest in the practice of "cutting through the ego."

- 12Second, I shall explain a little the main practice. If renunciation, the vows of personal liberation, compassion, Bodhicitta, And the secret mantrayana's union of appearances and emptinessThe vital points of the three vows - are not complete, How will you ever attain consummate Buddhahood? Therefore, be earnest in cultivating mindfulness and careful concern.

- 13Someone with insufficient knowledge resembles a maimed person trying to climb a rock, Someone who studies the scriptures for the sake of becoming a scholar Is like a person who searches for lethal weapons. In shan, if you do no~ know your own tradition, How will you, a blind person lost in the middle of a vast plain, ever find the path? Therefore, be earnest in bringing your experience to its ultimate depth.

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. 14. As sign of having learned, your pride must recede, As sign of having meditated, your emotions must abate:

If there are no signs telling that you have merged the Dharma with your being, How will a mere reflection of knowledge and meditation do any good? Therefore, be earnest in taming you own being.

. 15. The spiritual tradition of the sutras and tantras is immensely vast, Yet, there is no other way to exterminate the obscuring emotions, the three poisons: At the root of all. if you do not subdue your own capricious mind, How will you ever cut the taproot of samsara? Therefore, be earnest in scrutinizing your own faults .

. 16. Without reliance on each of the three vehiclesThe VO'WS of individual liberation, of the Bodhisattvas, and of the MantrasTo cut that old tree of the three poisons That stands in the middle of the.plain of samsara, How could there be means to transform beings of different mental dispositions? Therefore, be earnest in suppressing the root, the three poisons.

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. 17. According to the training for individual liberation, One will cut each leaf and each branch, at the cost of great hardship; According to the Great Vehicle, one will cause the roots to rot, Following which, the branches and leaves will dry up all at once; According to the Mantrayana, one will experience everything as the path, Like a peacock that feeds on poisonous plants: If you do not realize the real point of this, How will you ever become a vessel for the three vows? Therefore, focus earnestly on the means of taming the three poisons. . 18.

lf the three vows are not transmuted; you will not realize their unity. The tree of Bodhisattva precepts, rooted in pratimoksha vows, Bears the fruits of the Mantrayana: If you do not have confidence in the way of enhancing their respective qualities, How can you ever carry the three vows on the path? Therefore, be earnest in this root of all Dharmas .

. 19. Although clear visualization and firm pride are emphasized in the development stage,

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Awareness of the symbolic meanings and of the illusory nature Allows the completion stage to transcend the four conceptual extremes: If you do not realize the union of development and completion, means and wisdom, How will you ever disentangle yourself from dualistic clingings? Therefore, be earnest in perceiving appearance and emptiness as inseparable. ·

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According to the Great Perfection, phenomena are the vast play of appearances. When you train in experiencing all appearances as illusions devoid of reality, If you do not realize that appearances are the mind and that all is primordial purity, How can you express this with conventional words? Therefore, be earnest in maintaining the recognition of the ultimate nature.

. 21Last, I shall explain the concluding part.

Non-meditation is the supreme meditation. Yet, if beginners are allured by the mere word "non-meditation," They will fall prey to distraction. So, if you don't develop your diligence, A initial stability in meditation will not lead you to liberation 20

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Therefore, be earnest In maintaining the continuity of awareness. If you practice In this way, you will fulfill your guru's wishes, You will repay your parents' kindness and accomplish both your alms and those of others. In the present you will have a happy frame of mind; Ultimately you will gain the citadel of Samantabhadra. 0 fortUnate disciples of the sole father Padma Do not leave these twenty-one admonitions to be earnest Upon the pages of this book, but lay them upon your mind! These words were spoken by the Ignorant, dharmaless, longhaired, And thoughtless old father Kama Raja. Having being requested by a yogin with the name of Druk, in a letter accompanied with fine presents, And urged by disciples, headed by the diligent practitioner Ngador, who said they needed such an advice, I, the worst disciple in the excellent lineage Of the supreme and authentic Guru Jamgon Dharma Mati, 2 Wrote this in the excellent and glorious sacred place of Senge Dzong Keu Tsang.3 By the merit of this, I pray to be able to lead all sentient beings effortlessly To the level of Samantabhadra, the inner absolute expanse. May the aspirations of all faithful ones be fulfilled!

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