ШЕРАБBDW 3 — чтение «The Devil Debates an Angel», сессия 21
Автоматическая расшифровка записи. Возможны ошибки распознавания: имена, тибетские и санскритские слова. Текст прошёл автоматическую вычитку, людьми не проверялся. Пометка [?] — место, которое на записи не удалось разобрать уверенно.
The Devil Debates An Angel
by the First Panchen Lama
Session 21
Phoenix, October 2025
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
The Devil Debates an Angel
*,,GZHI LAM ‘BRAS GSUM PHYAG RGYA CHEN PO’I NGO BO NGOS ‘DZIN LAS
BRTZAMS PA’I SHES RAB DANG BDAG ‘DZIN GNYIS KYI GSHAGS ‘DEBS,,
[1]
This is an argument which occurred one time between Wisdom and her opponent, whose
name was The Tendency to Think that Things are Real. It all started when Wisdom was
identifying what the word “Mahamudra” meant, at three different stages in a person’s
life: in the way things normally are for them; in the way they are as this person practices
the spiritual path; and as they are when the person reaches the fruit of their practice.
Friends who help each other
[349]
,NGA YANG DE RNAMS KUN GYI GROGS,
,DE RNAMS MED NA NGA YANG MED,
,NGA MED DE RNAMS KYANG NI MED,
,NGED RNAMS GCIG GROGS GCIG GIS BYED,
I too am a friend
To each and every one;
If they could never be,
Neither then could I.
Neither could they be
If I myself never were.
We are mutual friends,
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Each who defines the other.
[350]
,GCIG GCIG YOD NA GNYIS KA YOD,
,GCIG GCIG MED NA GNYIS KA MED,
,GSHOG PA GCIG GIS ‘PHUR MI THUB,
,RKANG PA GCIG GIS ‘GRO MI THUB,
If one of us is there,
Then both of us can be;
If one of us goes missing,
Then both of us go missing.
You cannot fly
With a single wing;
You cannot walk
On a single leg.
[351]
,DES NA GCIG DRIN GCIG LA CHE,
,KHYOD NI GCIG PU MA GTOGS PA,
,KHYOD LA DE RNAMS MED PA YIN,
,BDEN PAR ‘DZIN PA’I NYES PAS LAN,
And so we can say
That each one of us
Is of greater kindness
Than the other.
But you,
You must remain there
Alone, and lonely.
You have none of them
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To be with you—
And it’s all because
You believe that things
Are real.
Appearance, friend to emptiness
[352]
,SNANG BA BRTEN NAS SKYES PA ‘DIS,
,SNANG BA BDEN GRUB MTHA’ NGE DANG,
,SNANG BA GTAN MED MTHA’ GNYIS SEL,
,SNANG BA BDEN PAR MED PA ‘DIS,
,SNANG BA BDEN GRUB MTHA’ DE DANG,
,SNANG BA GTAN MED MTHA’ GNYIS SEL,
The appearance of things
Is the fact
That things arise in dependence;
The appearance of things
Draws a line
To stop things being real;
The appearance of things
Banishes the two extremes
Where nothing exists at all;
The appearance of things
Proves that nothing is real;
The appearance of things
Destroys the extreme
That anything is real;
The appearance of things
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Banishes the two extremes
Where nothing exists at all.
[353]
,GTAN MED MTHA’ DE SEL NUS TE,
,SNANG BA BDEN PAR MED PA YI,
,STONG GZHI CHOS CAN SNANG BA DE,
,YOD PA’I PHYIR NA [f. 255a] MED MTHA’ SEL,
And it surely is the case
That we can banish
The extreme which says
That nothing exists at all;
The appearance of things,
Which says that nothing
Can ever be real
Is something that appears
With what is empty,
With everything
That can be anything;
As such,
It banishes
The idea that nothing exists.
Most intimate friends
[354]
,RGYU MTSAN ‘DI DAG PHYIR NA NI,
,SNANG LAS STONG PA SKYES PA ‘DRA,
,STONG LAS SNANG BA SKYES PA ‘DRA,
,GROGS SU GYUR PA AA CANG CHE,
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The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
For all the reasons
That we’ve named here,
Emptiness arises
All the same from
The appearance of things;
And the appearance of things
Arises all the same
From emptiness.
Ah, can’t you see
What intimate friends they are?
[355]
,SNANG DANG STONG PA’I DRIN GNYIS PO,
,GCIG LA GCIG DRIN CHE BA ‘DI,
,DRIN DU BSAMS NA CHE CHUNG MED,
,SRANG LA BCAL NA YANG LCI MED,
The appearance of things
And emptiness
Are twins of equal kindness;
Each one pays more kindness
To the other than the first.
If you think of how much
Kindness they show,
You cannot say
That one is more,
And one the less.
If you put each
On a separate dish
Of the scale,
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It would balance out
Perfectly.
Emptiness makes compassion great
[356]
,SNYING RJE CHEN PO ZER BA GCIG
,THOG MAR GANG LA SKYES TZAM NAS,
,DUS MNYAM SNYING RJE STONG PA DE,
,PHAN TSUN ‘GRAN NAS SKYES PA ‘DRA,
Once we see
The tiniest start
To the birth of that thing
We refer to as
Great Compassion,
In the very same moment
That compassion is born,
So is its emptiness;
It’s almost as if
They are competing
To see which one
Can take birth first.
[357]
,SNYING RJE STONG PAR RTOGS TZAM LAS,
,DE LAS SNYING RJE CHEN PO DE,
,PHAN TSUN ‘GRAN NAS SKYES PA ‘DRA,
As soon as we realize
That compassion is empty,
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The Devil Debates an Angel
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Then it’s almost as if
Great Compassion
Competes to raise its head.
[358]
,SNYING RJE STONG DANG SNYING RJE GNYIS,
,RGYU ‘BRAS RTA SHIG ‘PHRUG PA ‘DRA,
,RGYU ‘BRAS GO RIMS YOD MCHIS MOD,
,SU NI RGYU DANG SU NI ‘BRAS,
,GO RIMS BRJOD PAR DKA’ BA’I GNAS,
The fact that compassion
Is empty,
And compassion itself,
Are a tandem pair,
Cause & effect
Like a horse and the tick
Attached to its skin.
Cause and effect,
One must admit,
Have a certain order;
But it’s no easy thing
To say which is the cause,
And which is the result,
And which of them comes first.
The Devil’s loneliness
[359]
,CHOS RNAMS KUN LA ‘DIS RIGS ‘GRE,
,BDEN ‘DZIN KHYOD LA ‘DI ‘DRA YI,
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The Devil Debates an Angel
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,RNAM GZHAG GTAN NAS MED PAS NA,
,KHYOD LA CHOS KUN MED PA YIN,
All the things there are
Follow this same pattern;
O You Who Think
That Things Are Themselves,
With you there can never be
In the slightest any such
Understanding of things;
And thus, with you,
Nothing can exist at all.
[360]
,KHYOD NI GCIG PU PHO RENG PO,
,GCIG PUR SDOD PA’I TSUGS THUB CAN,
,RANG RKYA THUB PA’I THER ZUG PO,
,RAG MA LAS PA’I LTOS MED PO,
You alone
Decided to stay single;
You live by yourself,
You get by on your own.
You are the solid one
Who stands alone—
You rely on no one,
You never depend.
[361]
,’GYUR MED RTAG PAR SDOD PA KHYOD,
,RMONGS PA’I NANG NAS RMONGS CHEN PO,
,RMONGS PA BLA MED GONG NA MED,
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,KHYOD LAS RMONGS PA SRID GSUM NA,
,YOD PAR RGYAL BAS GSUNGS PA MED,
You are the one
Who stays forever,
You are the one
Who never changes.
Your dark ignorance
Stands darkest among
All the ignorant ones;
Your ignorance
Is matchless,
Your ignorance
Is supreme;
There is no ignorance
Greater than your own.
There is no ignorance
In all the three different
Realms of sentient existence
That the Victors have ever
Described as being bigger.
Refusing life, and death
[362]
,KHYOD NI MIG CAN CE RE LONG,
,DE YI RGYU MTSAN ‘DI LTA STE,
,SKYE BZHIN DU YANG SKYE BA MED,
, [f. 255b] RGA BZHIN DU YANG RGA BA MED,
You are the blind one,
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With the sightless eyes—
And the reason is that
You refuse rebirth
Even as you are born;
You refuse getting old
Even as you age.
[363]
,NA BZHIN DU YANG NA BA MED,
,’CHI BZHIN DU YANG ‘CHI BA MED,
,’GAG BZHIN DU YANG ‘GAG PA MED,
You refuse the fact
Of illness,
Even as you are sick;
You refuse the fact
Of death,
Even as you are dying;
You refuse the end of things,
Even as you come to your end.
%%%ended Session 20 reading here
[364]
,LUS KYI SGUL SKYOD ‘PHRAL MAR NI,
,BYED BZHIN DU NI SGUL SKYOD MED,
,SKANG LAG LA SOGS BRKYANG BSKUM NI,
,BYED BZHIN DU NI BRKYANG BSKUM MED,
As you perform even
The slightest accidental
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Movement of your body,
You stay without
Moving an inch.
Even as you stretch
And you bend
Your legs and arms
And the like,
You never stretch,
And you never bend.
[365]
,’GRO BZHIN DU NI ‘GRO BA MED,
,SDOD BZHIN DU NI SDOD PA MED,
,NYAL BZHIN DU NI NYAL BA MED,
,GNYID NI LOG BZHIN LOG PA MED,
As you go,
You never go.
As you stay,
You never stay.
When you lay down,
You never lay down;
When you fall asleep,
You never sleep.
[366]
,SAD BZHIN DU NI SAD PA MED,
,ZA YIN ZA YIN ZA BA MED,
,’THUNG GIN ‘THUNG GIN ‘THUNG BA MED,
,GON GYIN GON PA MED DO ZER,
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When you awaken,
You never wake up;
When you eat,
You never eat;
You can drink and drink
And never drink;
You dress but you
Are never dressed.
[367]
,LTA DANG NYAN DANG NOM PA DANG,
,MYANG DANG REG BYA’I BYA BA LA,
,’JUG BZHIN DE DAG MED DO ZER,
,’DI RIGS BRJOD LA ZAD MTHA’ MED,
Even as you engage
In looking, and hearing,
And smelling, and tasting,
And touching different things,
You stand there and say
They cannot exist.
And there’s no end
To the things
You can talk about
In the very same way.
[368]
,MDOR NA CHOS RNAMS RGYU RKYEN LA,
,SKYE DANG LTOS PA BRTEN ‘BREL RNAMS,
,’PHRAL DU BYA BYED ‘GYUR BAR NI,
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The Devil Debates an Angel
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,MTHONG BZHIN MI ‘GYUR ZER BA DE,
In short,
Even as you stand
And observe
How things are born
In causes and conditions,
And how they occur
In reliance,
In interdependence,
And right in front of you
How things do what
They do,
You stand there still
And make the claim
That this is not
The way they are.
[369]
,’KHRUL PA LAS KYANG CHES ‘KHRUL PA,
,SMYO BA LAS KYANG CHES SMYO BA,
,’DI DANG LHAN CIG RTZOD PA ‘DI,
,DE LAS KYANG NI SMYO BA ‘DRA,
You are more mistaken
Than mistaken itself;
You are more insane
Than insanity.
And to continue
Debating together
With someone like you
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Would be something
Even crazier.
[370]
,’DRA YANG DGRA THAG NYE BAS NA,
,RGYUN PAR MI RTZOD KHA MED ‘DUG
And even though
It’s crazier,
I have no choice,
With the enemy
Still standing here
Before me,
But to continue the debate.
[371]
,DGRA LA ‘DI LAS ROD LJI BA,
,’DI ‘DRA’I DGRA YA BYED PA ‘DI,
,SHES RAB NGA NI YI THANG CHAD,
But I don’t see
How the fight could be
More uneven than it is;
And even Wisdom,
She is starting to feel
Exhausted in this role
Of playing your opponent.
[372]
,MI DANG DUD ‘GRO LA SOGS PA’I,
,’GRO BA DRUG PO THAMS CAD DANG,
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The Devil Debates an Angel
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,RDO GONG DANG NI BDEN ‘DZIN RNAMS,
,AA NA TSUGS NI MA GTOGS PA,
,LAB PA LA NI GO RGYU MED,
Talking like this
To humans and beasts
And any of the other
Six different types of beings
And talking to
A lump of stone
And talking to
The tendency to believe
That all these things are real
Is all the same:
You have to really
Push your points,
Because that’s the only
Way they ever
Understand a thing.
[373]
,NGA NYID SGOM LA SHES RAB DANG,
,BRTZON ‘GRUS [f. 256a] LA SOGS MED PAS NA,
You will never find
Wisdom,
Or joyful effort,
Or anything of the like
With those who only
Meditate on The Me,
And nothing else at all.
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[374]
,LABS PA TZAM DU ZAD PAS NA,
,KHA ROG ‘DUG PA’I DUS LA BAB,
,KYE MA SEMS CAN LAS LA DBANG,
For them it’s all
Just talk;
The time has come
For me to hold my peace—
In the end,
It’s karma who rules people.
[375]
,PHA RI LA NI LTOS NAS NI,
,TSU RI’I BLO NI SKYE BA LTAR,
,PHA RIR PHYIN PA’I TSE NA YANG,
,SNGAN {%SNGON} MA’I PHA RI YIN KYANG NI,
,RANG NYID BSDAD LA LTOS NAS NI,
,SNGAN {%SNGON} MA BSDAD PA’I TSU RI LA,
,PHA RI’I BLO NI SKYE BA YIN,
,DE BZHIN SNANG BA STONG PHYOGS BLTAS,
We think of one mountain
As close whenever
Another mountain is far.
But if we go and stand
On that far-off mountain,
Then relative to
Our own position,
We see it as
The mountain here,
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Even though it’s
That far-off mountain
From before;
And the one on which
We stood before
We think of now
As that far-off peak.
This is how
We need to view
The dichotomy of
What appears,
And what is empty.
[376]
,SNANG BA BDEN PAR MED PA DE,
,SNANG BA LAS NI SKYES PA ‘DRA,
,SNANG BA’I PHYOGS NAS BLTAS NA NI,
,SNANG BA SKYE ‘GAG BYED PA DE,
,SNANG BA RANG BZHIN MED PA LAS,
,SNANG BAR SKYES PA KHO NA ‘DRA,
The fact that what
Appears to us
Has no reality
Appears to us
As if it were born
From the way
That things appear.
If we look at things
From the side of
How they appear,
Then the way that
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The appearance of things
Works to start and stop
Appears as though
It could only have
Arisen in appearing
From an appearance
Where nothing has
Any nature of its own.
[377]
,KUN RDZOB BDEN PA THABS SU GYUR PA DANG,
,DON DAM BDEN PA THABS BYUNG GYUR PA STE,
,THA SNYAD LA NI MA BRTEN PAR,
,DAM PA’I DON NI RTOGS MI NUS,
Deceptive reality
Becomes the means;
And ultimate reality
What comes from that means.
Without relying
On terms,
We can never comprehend
The ultimate truth of things.
[378]
,SNANG BA’I NANG NAS STONG PA RNYED,
,CES SOGS ‘DI LA BSAMS NA NI,
,STONG PA SNANG BA LAS SKYES ‘DRA,
“You can discover
Emptiness there inside
The appearance of things.”
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If you think about
Lines like this,
It almost seems as if
Emptiness were born
From within the
Appearance of things.
[379]
,CHOS RNAMS RANG RANG NGO BOS NI,
,STONG PAR NYAMS ‘OG CHUD PA NA,
,STONG GZHI CHOS RNAMS MING RKYANG TZAM,
,BTAGS TZAM BRDA TZAM THA SNYAD TZAM,
Once we slide into
The feeling of how
Things are empty
Of any nature
Of their own,
Then we see
How the things
That have the emptiness
Exist only as names;
Only imputed;
Only in the signs,
Only in the terms.
[380]
,DE LA DPYAD PA MA BYAS PAR,
,MING BTAGS TZAM GYI DNGOS KUN GYI,
,RGYU ‘BRAS BYA BYED SKYE ‘GAG SOGS,
,’KHRUL MED BSLU BA MED PAR NI,
,RGYU ‘BRAS BYA BYED BSKYED TSUL LA,
,NGES PA BCOS MIN ‘DRONGS PA NA,
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And if we can only
Avoid getting
Caught up in them,
We can bring on
A genuine experience
Of certainty towards
The fact of how
All these things
That are only imputed
In names—
Cause & effect,
The way things work,
The way things
Start and stop,
And everything of the like—
Is perfectly unmistaken,
And never deceptive:
We can finally comprehend
The way that cause & effect
And the way things work
Itself is born.
[381]
,STONG PAS MED MTHA’ SEL BA ‘BYUNG,
,MING RKYANG BTAGS YOD RGYU ‘BRAS LA,
,NGES PA GTING NAS SKYE BAR NGES,
And then emptiness
Acts to eliminate
The possibility
That nothing could exist;
21
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And with certainty
We come to a certainty,
Deep within us,
Of how a cause & effect
Could ever work
That only existed in names.
[382]
,STONG PA NYID KYI LTA BA NI,
, [f. 256b] MTSAN MAR ‘DZIN PA’I DMIGS GTAD NI,
,THAMS CAD MA LUS ‘JIG PA DAGS,
,YOD DANG MED PA’I MTHA’ SPONGS LA,
The view of perfect emptiness
Destroys each and every
Way of looking at things
That holds to the signs of things;
And thus we eliminate
The extremes of existing,
Or not existing.
[383]
,LAS ‘BRAS LA NI NGES PA BSKYED,
,RGYU ‘BRAS BSLU BA MED PAR SOMS,
,DMIGS GTAD MTSAN ‘DZIN KUN BSHIG PAS,
,RGYAL BA KUN LA MCHOD DO GYIS,
We gain certainty
About karma,
And its consequences.
We begin to think
That cause & effect
22
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Phoenix, October 2025
Can never fail us.
We obliterate every
Tendency to believe
In the signs of things
As we focus our attention.
Try your best to make then
This excellent offering
To every Victor there is.
[384]
,SNANG BA RTEN ‘BREL BSLU MED PAS,
,SNANG BA STONG PAR GO BAR GYIS,
,NGES SHES GTING NAS SKYES BYUNG NA,
,BLA MA RNAMS LA MCHOD DO GYIS,
Since the appearance of things—
Things happening in interdependence—
Can never deceive us,
We then understand
The appearance as being empty.
And so we feel certainty
From the bottom of our heart,
Try your best to make then
This excellent offering
To every Lama there is.
[385]
,RTEN ‘BREL RGYU ‘BRAS BSLU MED DES,
,RANG BZHIN GRUB PA’I NGES SHES KYI,
,’DZIN STANGS MA LUS KUN ‘JIG PAR,
,MTHONG BA’I NGES PA BRTEN RNYED TSE,
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,YI DAM RNAMS LA MCHOD DO GYIS,
This understanding
Of interdependence—
The fact that cause & effect
Can never fail us—
Destroys all the ways
In which our certainty
That things exist through
Some nature of their own
Holds things to be.
When thus we have reached
A reliance upon perceiving
That this is how things are,
Try your best to make then
This excellent offering
To every personal Angel there is.
[386]
,SNANG STONG GNYIS PO PHAN TSUN DU,
,RGYU ‘BRAS LTA BUR SHAR BA’I TSE,
,MKHA’ ‘GRO RNAMS LA MCHOD DO GYIS,
And then we see
How these two—
The appearance of things,
And emptiness—
Can appear as if
They were cause and effect:
Try your best to make then
This excellent offering
To every Angel of the sky.
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[387]
,RANG GI RGYU LAS RANG ‘BRAS NI,
,MI BSLUR MTHONG BA NYID KYIS NI,
,BLO GZHAN LA NI LTOS MED DU,
,DMIGS GTAD ZHIG PA’I STONG PAR NI,
,MTHONG TSE CHOS SKYONG MCHOD DO GYIS,
And we come to see
This one thing: that a
Particular result will always
Come, infallibly, from
A particular cause.
And then we are seeing
How things are empty:
We have shattered all
The ways we looked at things,
And no longer rely
On any other state of mind.
Try your best to make then
This excellent offering
To every Dharma protector.
[388]
,RGYU ‘BRAS MI BSLU’I GTAN TSIGS KYIS,
,RTAGS GZHAN LA NI LTOS MED DU,
,YOD MTHA’ BRAL BA’I STONG PAR NI,
,’GRUB PA’I TSUL LAS RANG RGYU LAS,
,RANG ‘BRAS ‘BYUNG BA BSLU MED LA,
,GTING NAS NGES SHES ‘DRONGS PA’I TSE,
,ZHAL BZHI PA LA MCHOD DO GYIS,
The logical proof
25
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Which says that
Cause & effect is infallible
Establishes an emptiness
Free of the extreme
Of thinking that
Things could exist,
Even without our depending
On any other reason.
And then with this
We elicit within ourselves
A certainty, from the
Very bottom of our heart,
Of how it is infallible that
A corresponding result
Will come from
A corresponding cause.
Try your best to make then
This excellent offering
To the Four-Faced One.
[389]
,NGES SHES YUL GYI ‘DZIN STANGS KUN ‘JIG NI,
,RANG BZHIN GRUB PA’I ‘DZIN STANGS YIN PAR GO
When this certainty
Shatters all the ways
In which we used to hold
The objects around us,
Then finally we grasp
The way we always thought
That things could exist
26
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Through some nature
Of their own.
[390]
,NGES SHES YUL GYI ‘DZIN STANGS KYI,
,RGYUN [f. 257a] NI SKYONG RGYU’I ‘DZIN STANGS NI,
,RANG BZHIN GRUB PA BKAG TZAM GYI,
,MED DGAG DE YI RGYUN LA GO
,DE YIS RDO RJE SPUN TSOGS MCHOD,
And there is a way
Of looking at things
Where we protect the flow
Of how we look at things
With that certainty;
And finally we grasp
The flow of the absence
Within the simple denial
That anything could exist
Through a nature of its own.
This then becomes an offering
To the gathering for all of our
Diamond sisters & brothers.
[391]
,STONG NYID LA DMIGS ZHI GNAS SGRUBS,
,LHAG MTHONG BSGOM PA’I MAN NGAG NI,
,STONG PA NYID LA MNYAM PAR ZHOG
May we achieve
That quietude which places
Its focus on emptiness;
27
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
May we sit in
Balanced meditation
Upon emptiness itself,
Using the advices
For meditating on insight.
[392]
,’JOG PAR MA BDE MNYAM GZHAG DUS,
,RNAM BDUN RIGS PAS MA DPYAD NA,
,LHAG MTHONG ‘GRUB PAR GA LA ‘GYUR,
Suppose though it comes
In our balanced meditation
That it no longer feels comfortable
To stay in that focus.
How then could
We ever achieve insight,
If we didn’t know how
To use the reasoning
In seven different parts,
To accomplish our examination?
%%%footnote 7
[393]
,DPYAD PAS GNAS CHA ‘DREN THUB NA,
,SBYIN BDAG RNAMS LA MCHOD DO GYIS,
,SANGS CHUNG MNYAM POR RGYA BAR SHOG ,
Suppose though we are able
To use our examination
To reach a state of fixation.
Try your best to make then
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The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
This excellent offering
To all those sponsors who work
To support the Dharma.
And then at least
May we reach an enlightenment
Equal to that of the lesser Buddhas.
%%%listeners & self-made
%%%point out wording lifted from Je Rinpoche above, in first lines
%%%add headers throughout
[394]
,,BDEN ‘DZIN GYIS NI LAN SMRAS PA,
And then The Tendency To Think
Things Are Real replied,
[395]
,KHYOD KYIS NGA LA ‘GAL ‘DU NI,
,’GRIG ‘GRIG MANG PO LABS PA RNAMS,
,KHYOD RANG LA YANG MTSUNGS PAS NA,
,’GAL ‘DU ‘DI LTAR YOD PAS NYON,
Well, my dear,
You have certainly
Taken some time
To prepare for me
A long list of contradictions
That you accuse me of!
But I have to say
That you yourself
29
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Have the very same problem:
Let me list for you
Just a few of them—
I hope you’ll listen!
[396]
,LTOS GRUB KHYOD KYIS KHAS LEN NA,
,NGA BDEN PAR ‘DZIN LA LTOS NAS NI,
,KHYOD GNYEN PO SHES RAB ZHES BZHAG NA,
,NGA BDEN PA MED PA KHYOD LA ‘GAL,
Given that you accept
This idea of things
Happening in reliance,
Then the fact is
That the spiritual antidote
Which you yourself represent—
The one called “wisdom”—
Relies in the end
On me, the habit
Of holding things as real.
So isn’t the claim
That I myself
Am not something real
A contradiction,
In your own system?
[397]
,RI BONG RVA YI SKAS LEGS LA,
,YOD CHOS LTOS BZHAG SU YIS BYED,
30
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
Who could ever
Take something that
Is really there—
The fact that things
Exist in reliance—
And set it up
On a solid ladder
Constructed of rabbit horns?
[398]
,RUS SBAL SPU YI GOS ‘JAM LA,
,LEGS NYES LTOS BZHAG SU YIS BYED,
Who could ever
Posit some reliance
Between good & bad
In judging the feel
Of a piece of clothing
Constructed of turtle fur?
[399]
,BCOM LDAN ‘DAS KYIS CHOS PHUNG NI,
,BRGYAD KHRI BZHI STONG GSUNGS PA RNAMS,
,NGA YIS GTZO BYAS DUG GSUM DANG,
,NYON MONGS BRGYAD KHRI BZHI STONG LA,
,LTOS NAS GNYEN PO ZHES BZHAG NA,
,NGED RNAMS MED NA KHYOD LA NI,
,’GAL BAS ‘KHOR GSUM [f. 257b] KHAS BLANGS SO,
Now the Conqueror
Has spoken 84,000 different
Heaps of the Dharma;
31
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
And the ones that I lead
Are the three different poisons, %%%
As well as the 84,000
Different negative thoughts.
Now if you say that
There are spiritual antidotes
Relative to these,
Then if all of us
Were never there,
Then you yourself
Have a contradiction,
And are accepting something
Where you chase your own tail
In refusing what you accept!
[400]
,’JIG RTEN THA SNYAD LA LTOS KYANG,
,NYON MONGS KUN GYI GTZO BO NI,
,NGA NYID MED PAR GYUR NA NI,
,DE BAS KHYOD LA CHOS KUN MED,
,’GAL BAS ‘KHOR GSUM KHAS BLANGS SO,
It may be the case
That my existence
Relies upon the terms
Of the everyday world;
But if it were the case then that
The King of Every Negative thought,
My humble self, did not exist,
Then because of that
You would be saying
That nothing at all
32
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
Existed at all.
And then you would be
Accepting a contradiction
That contradicted
Your own position!
[401]
,RGYU MTSAN CI YI PHYIR ZHE NA,
,‘GRO BA DRUG PO THAMS CAD KYI,
,RGYUD LA GTZO BOR NGA YOD PAS,
,DUG GSUM DBANG DU GYUR NAS NI,
,MI DGE BCU LA NYAMS LEN BYED,
,MTSAMS MED LNGA LA GTZO BOR ‘DON,
,SKYE RGA NA ‘CHI’I ‘KHOR LO BSKOR,
,DE NI ‘JIG RTEN SO NAM YIN,
And why is that?
I myself am the king
Within the hearts
Of every single one
Of the six types of beings.
As such, I reign
Over the three poisons,
And guide people’s practice
Of the ten bad deeds. %%%
And I guide folks
To the highlight
Of them all: the five
Immediate bad deeds. %%%
It is I who turns the wheel
Of birth, of getting old,
Of illness and of dying.
33
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
This is the real farming
Going on here
In the world.
[402]
,NYAMS LEN DE LTAR YOD PA NI,
,NGA NYID YOD LAS BYUNG BA YIN,
,YOD LA MED PA SGRO ‘DOGS PA,
,CHAD PA’I MTHAR LHUNG KHYOD LA ‘GAL,
That fact that this
Is how people
Do their practice
All comes only from
My blessed presence.
This habit of yours
Of seeing something
Where nothing is there—
Of saying that everything
That exists cannot exist—
Is a fall off the cliff
Of saying that
Everything there is
Has discontinued;
And thus you
Contradict yourself.
[403]
,’JIG RTEN GRAGS PAS KHYOD LA GNOD,
,YOD BZHIN MED PAR ‘DOD PA NI,
,CE RE LONG BA’I SMYON PAR NI,
34
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
,KHYOD RANG GYUR PAS ‘KHOR GSUM MO,
What the whole world
Knows to be true
Draws your opinions
Into question.
This habit of yours,
Of believing that
Nothing is there
When in actually is,
Is the insanity
Of a person
With eyes wide open
Who sees nothing there.
This is your own problem:
You contradict everything
That you say yourself.
[404]
,’GRO BA DRUG PO KUN LA NI,
,SHES RAB MED BZHIN YOD PAR BSGOM,
,MED BZHIN YOD PAR LTA BA DE,
,RTAG MTHA’I MTHAR LHUNG KHYOD LA ‘GAL,
The entire mass
Of beings within
All the six realms
Possesses no wisdom,
But meditates
Thinking they do.
When someone holds
The viewpoint that
35
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
Something is there
When nothing is there,
They have fallen off
The cliff of believing
That things could
Never change;
And they also contradict
Everything you say!
[405]
,NGA NYID GTAN YOD BSGOM MI DGOS,
,SHUGS ‘BYUNG GANG DGOS THOG TU SLEB,
,KHYOD NI MED PA BCOS NAS BSGOM,
,BCOS MA’I BSGOM GYIS CI LA PHAN,
Now me, I’m a
Permanent resident;
Nobody needs
To meditate, in order
To bring me here.
I happen by the way;
I’m whenever you need;
I come in a flash!
You are someone
Who was never there,
And so people need
To meditate,
To create you artificially.
What’s the use
Of meditating on something
That’s only artificial?
36
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
[406]
,BCOS NAS BSGOMS PA’I GNAS LUGS DANG,
,BCOS MIN GNAS LUGS DNGOS ‘GAL DU,
,KHYOD RANG KHAS BLANGS ‘KHOR GSUM MO,
You yourself
Would have to agree
That the state
Of meditating upon
Something artificially
And a state where
Nothing is artificial
Would have to stand
In direct contradiction
One to the other.
As such, you are only
Contradicting what
You yourself claim
That you believe.
[407]
,RGYU MTSAN BDEN GRUB BDEN MED NI,
,DNGOS ‘GAL YIN CING LTOS GRUB DANG,
,LTOS MED GRUB PA DNGOS ‘GAL DANG,
,BCOS [f. 258a] DANG BCOS MIN DNGOS ‘GAL DU,
,KHYOD RANG KHAS BLANGS ‘KHOR GSUM MO,
You yourself
Would have to agree
That, as reasons,
37
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
Existing in reality
And having no reality
Are directly contradictory.
And so are
Existing in reliance,
And existing without
Relying on anything else.
And so are
Being artificial
And being genuine.
As such, you are only
Contradicting what
You yourself claim
That you believe.
[408]
,PHA RI’I BLO NA SKYE BA DE,
,TSU RI LA NI LTOS GRUB NA,
,GNYEN PO SHES RAB SKYE BA DE,
,BDEN PAR GRUB PA LA LTOS NAS,
,BKAG PA’I SHES RAB SKYE’O ZHES,
,KUN GYIS GLENG BAS KHYOD LA ‘GAL,
The perception
That a mountain
Is over there
Occurs in reliance
Upon a mountain
That is over here.
The arisal of
The antidote, wisdom,
Is something that relies
38
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
Upon things that
Exist in reality.
And so when everybody
Runs around saying
They are going to give birth
To a wisdom that denies things,
They are thus contradicting
You yourself!
[409]
,DGRA NI THAL MO YA MED LA,
,SU YIS SU LA ‘DZING BAR BYED,
,DE BZHIN NGA NYID YOD PA LA,
,KHYOD NI NGA NYID ‘GOG GO ZHES,
Who on earth
Would think to wrestle
With an opponent
That had no arm?
So suppose you
Come and say
That you’re going to
Deny the existence
Of a me who’s a me
Who is standing here.
[410]
,GA-YAS CHUNG DON DU ‘GYUR BA YI,
,BSGOM PA KHANG BTANG BYED PA NI,
,NGA NYID YOD PAS BYED MIN NAM,
,BYED NA NGA MED ‘GAL BAS NA,
,NGA MED KHYOD LA DNGOS ‘GAL LO,
39
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
And so to accomplish
Some meditation
Of little importance,
Here you are claiming
That you will expel me
From our residence.
But isn’t it the case
That you have to do so
Because in fact
I am most certainly here?
In that case, you
Would have contradicted
The notion that
I was never here.
As such,
Claiming that I
Cannot exist
Is a direct contradiction
To your own position!
[411]
,NGA YI NYON MONGS CHUNG RIM LA,
,KHYOD KYI GNYEN PO CHE RIM GYIS,
,RIM BZHIN SPANGS PA’I LAM DE LA,
,SA LAM ZHES NI MA BZHAG GAM,
After all,
Aren’t you the one
Who says there are
Levels and paths
40
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
Where we eliminate,
Step by step,
Negative emotions
Starting from smaller ones
And working up to greater
With antidotes that begin
With the more powerful first,
And progress towards those
More subtle?
[412]
,BZHAG NA NGA NYID SPONG BA DE,
,YOD PAS SPONG BA MA YIN NAM,
,MED NA CI ZHIG SPONG BAR BYED,
If that’s the way
You say it works,
Then isn’t the whole idea
Of eliminating me
Based on eliminating
Me because I do exist?
If I did not exist,
Then what would you
Ever be eliminating?
[413]
,SHES BYA PHYED BGOS BYAS PA’I TSE,
,PHYED LA NGA YIS KHYAB PA YIN,
,DE YANG NGA NYID MANG BA TZAM,
,DE LTAR YOD KYANG KHYOD NYID NI,
,NGA NYID MED DO ZER BA ‘DI,
,SMYO BA’AM YANG NA BOG GAM CI,
41
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
,YANG NA SHES PA MED PA YIN,
When you go and divide
All existing things
Into different halves,
Half of them
Are under my purview;
Or you could even say
Mine were more.
And even though
That’s the way it is,
You continue to insist
That I don’t even exist.
Isn’t that simply crazy?
Aren’t you a bit unhinged?
Or are you saying
That’s there no such thing
As the mind itself?
[414]
,NGA NYID ‘BEM LA DMIGS NAS NI,
,GNYEN PO’I MDA’ DE ‘PHEN NAM CI,
,’PHEN NA NGA NYID YOD PAR GSAL,
And say, isn’t it the case
That you are viewing me
As the target,
And shooting at me
With the arrow of
Your spiritual antidotes?
If you are,
42
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
Then it’s clear
That I must exist.
[415]
,NGA YANG KHYOD LA ‘GAL BA YIN,
,MI ‘PHEN MDA’ DE GANG LA RGYAG
,LONG BA MDA’ ‘PHEN BYAS PA DES,
,SHES RAB BSGOM PAR GA LA ‘GYUR,
And now I’ll turn
The contradiction
Back on you:
What were you
Hoping to hit,
With the arrow that
You never shot?
How on earth
Can you say
That a blind man
Shooting arrows
Was meditating
On wisdom?
[416]
,SHES RAB BSGOM LA ‘DZIN [f. 258b] STANGS NI,
,DNGOS ‘GAL ZHUGS PA DGOS PA YIN,
,GAL TE BDEN GRUB ‘PHO BA NA,
,’GYUR BA MED PA’I BDEN GRUB ‘GAL,
,ZHES SOGS SKYON GYIS NGAR MI GNOD,
,RGYU MTSAN ‘DI LTAR YIN PAS NYON,
It must be the case then
That a person who is
43
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
Meditating on wisdom
Looks at things in a way
Where they engage
In direct contradiction.
You tried to raise some
Problems in my thinking,
Saying for example that
If something that existed
In truth could adjust its state,
Then it would be
A contradiction to say
That it existed in truth,
And was immutable.
And yet none of the
Supposed problems
That you raised
Did any damage to me—
And here is the
Reason for that; I hope
You will give it a listen.
[417]
,NYON MONGS LA SOGS CHOS KUN NI,
,GRUB TZAM NYID NAS RANG RANG THOG
,BDEN GRUB RE RE SO SOR NI,
,DUS MNYAM LTOS MED RANG GRUB YIN,
Now whenever any
Of all the things there are—
Negative thoughts and the like—
Simply comes into existence,
44
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
There comes into existence
Along with it its corresponding
Existence in reality.
These are simultaneous;
They rely on nothing else,
And they are self-created.
[418]
,GCIG NAS GCIG TU ‘PHO BA MIN,
,NYON MONGS SKYE BZHIN PA LA YANG,
,BDEN GRUB KYIS KYANG DUS MNYAM SLEB,
,’PHO BA’I TSUL NI MA YIN CING,
None of these
Is something that shifts
From one state to another.
Even in the case
Of negative thoughts
That are in the act
Of arising,
This existence in truth
Arrives simultaneously;
It does not occur
Through a process where
Something has shifted its state.
[419]
,NYON MONGS SKAD CIG SNGA MA NI,
,’GAG BZHIN PA LA’ANG NGA YOD MOD,
,SKAD CIG GNYIS PAR SKYE BZHIN LA’ANG,
,GRUB TZAM LTOS MED NGA YOD PAS,
45
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
When an earlier instant
Of a negative emotion
Is in the process of stopping,
Admittedly I
Must still be there.
And even as that of
The second instant
Is in the act of arising,
I am still there too:
I arrive from the very occurrence;
And I rely on nothing.
[420]
,CHOS RNAMS KUN LA DE BZHIN ‘GRE,
,SNANG BAS DAG PA’I SA PHYOGS SU,
,MUN NAG CHEN PO GCIG PU DE,
It follows the same
For all the things
That exist.
In a spot which is
Totally devoid of light,
There can only be
A great and total darkness.
[421]
,YOD PA’I CHOS RNAMS THAMS CAD LA,
,KHYAB PAR KUN LA YOD MOD KYI,
,CHOS RNAMS KUN LA RE RE NAS,
,MUN PA ‘PHO NI GA LA DGOS,
46
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
And to all the things
That are present there,
The darkness must
Admittedly extend.
But why would we
Have to say that
The darkness had shifted
Over to cover
Each one of all
The things that were there?
[422]
,SKYE ‘GAG KUN LA RIM BZHIN DU,
,MUN PA DE YIS KHYAB PA LTAR,
,DE BZHIN NGA LA’ANG MTSUNGS PA YIN,
This darkness covers,
In gradual order,
Things that start
And things that stop.
Just so, it’s
The very same with me.
[423]
,NGA NI BDEN PAR GRUB PA NI,
,KHAS NI MI LEN KHA MED DANG,
,MI BYED KA MED ‘GRO DRUG GO
,SEMS CAN RNAMS KYIS BCOS PA YIN,
You have no choice
But do accept the idea
That I exist as real.
47
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
Neither do the beings
Of the six types of birth
Have any choice,
But to do the same.
I am fact am a creation
Of all those living beings.
[424]
,GDAGS GZHI CHOS KUN LA DMIGS NAS,
,RTOG PAS PHAR LA BTAGS NAS NI,
,BDEN PAR GRUB PA ‘DUG GO ZHES,
,KHO RANG TSO YIS BCOS PA YIN,
They look at the thing
To call a thing:
At every existing thing.
Their imagination
Sends a name out to it,
And then they say
“This really exists.”
And it is all a creation
Of their own.
[425]
,THAG KHRA LA NI SBRUL ‘DZIN DANG,
,[f. 259a] MTHO YOR LA NI MIR ‘DZIN DANG,
,SMIG RGYU LA NI CHUR ‘DZIN BZHIN,
,KHO RANG TSO YI MNGON SUM LTAR,
They look at a rope
And take it to be a snake;
48
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
They look at a scarecrow
And take it to be a person;
They look at a mirage
And take it to be a pool.
To them it feels
Like a direct perception.
[426]
,NGA YIS BYAS PA MA GTOGS PA,
,BYED SNYING ‘DOD PO NGA RANG MED,
,BCOL BA’I NGO LA BYAS PA TZAM,
,AA CANG CI ZER BLTAS PA YIN,
And so things are made
By me; but it’s not as if
I had some heartfelt desire
To get all of this done.
I was just doing
What people entrusted
Me to do; and now
They look at it
And go around saying,
“Oh my! What’s all this?”
[427]
,BDEN PAR GRUB PA’I NGES SHES KYI,
,NGES NGO SNANG NGO GNYIS KA LA,
,SHES RAB KHYOD NI MI SNANG MOD,
,MED PAR SNANG BA GA NA YIN,
,MED PAR SNANG NA GTAN MED YIN,
There is a state of mind
49
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
Where we feel sure
That things exist as real;
Now admittedly,
Miss Wisdom,
Such things exist
Neither in what you know
Nor in what appears to you;
But now how would things
Ever appear to not exist?
If they appeared to not exist,
They wouldn’t exist at all.
[428]
,SPYIR DU SHES RAB LOS YOD MOD,
,DE BZHIN BDEN MED GNAS LUGS LA,
,MNYAM PAR BZHAG PA’I NGES NGO DER,
,NGA NI MI SNANG BA YIN LA,
,MED PAR SNANG BA GA NA YIN,
,MED PAR SNANG NA GTAN MED YIN,
Now generally speaking,
Miss Wisdom,
We leave you to do
Whatever you want.
And in the same way,
We can say
That I do not appear
To the senses of a
State of mind
Engaged in
Balanced meditation
50
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
Upon the way things are:
On the way that
Nothing is real.
But now how would things
Ever appear to not exist?
If they appeared to not exist,
They wouldn’t exist at all.
[429]
,GTAN MED MIN PA’I RGYU MTSAN NI,
,MNYAM GZHAG DE LAS LANGS PA YI,
,RJES THOB CHOS RNAMS SNANG BA NI,
,BDEN PAR SNANG LAS ‘OS CI YOD,
And now why is it so,
That it’s not the case
That things don’t exist at all?
When we come out
Of that balanced meditation,
Then in the aftermath, things
Do make their appearance;
But it wouldn’t make sense
For them to appear
In any other way than real.
[430]
,DE TZAM MA ZAD SA BCU YI,
,RGYUN MTHA’ TSUN DU BDEN SNANG YOD,
,SHES SGRIB ZER BA’I MING DU BTAGS,
,NGA NYID YOD PA DE YIS SHES,
51
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
And that’s not all:
There are cases where
Things appear as real
All the way up
To the very end
Of the ten different levels. %%%
We refer to them
By the name of
“Obstacle to omniscience”;
And it’s from these
That you can realize
That I am there.
[431]
,KHYOD LA ‘GAL ‘DUR GYUR RO AANG,
,PHUNG PO BDEN MED BSGOM PA YI,
,NGES NGOR PHUNG PO MI SNANG MOD,
,PHUNG PO MED PA GA NA YIN,
And wouldn’t that
Point out a contradiction
In what you believe?
Now admittedly
The parts to the person
Cannot appear to
The perceptions
Of someone who
Is meditating on how
These parts have no reality.
But how could you say
52
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
That this fact proved
That there were no
Such parts at all?
[432]
,DE BZHIN NGA LA’ANG MTSUNGS PA YIN,
,BSKYED RIM BSGOM PA MTHAR PHYIN PA’I,
,GANG SHAR LHA RU SNANG BA YI,
,NGES NGOR PHUNG PO RDOS BCAS ‘DI,
,MI SNANG BAS NA MED PA MIN,
,DE BZHIN NGA LA’ANG MTSUNGS PA YIN,
,MTSUNGS PAR GYUR NA KHYOD LA [f. 259b] ‘GAL,
It’s just the same with me.
When a person has gone
To the final end of their
Meditation upon the
Stage of creation,
Everything appears to them
As a divine being;
These solid parts of a person
Do not appear to them;
But that doesn’t mean
That they don’t exist at all.
It’s just the same with me;
And if it is the same,
Then it contradicts you!
[433]
,GZHAN YANG MKHAS NAS BYIS PA’I BAR,
,RTZOM PA PO MI LA BRTAGS NAS,
,BRTZAMS PA’I BRJOD BYA MI RTOG CING,
53
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
,RTZOM PA PO LA RTOG PAR BYED,
Moreover, from wise ones
Up to infants, they examine
The person who wrote the book;
And give no thought
To the topics they wrote about,
Just focusing on imagining
A person who was the writer.
[434]
,RTZOM PA PO NI DNGOS NGAN NA,
,BRTZAMS DON BRJOD BYA CI ZAB KYANG,
,DNGOS NGAN KHYI PHAG BZHIN POR LTAR,
,DE MTHUN BRJOD BYA ZAB KYANG ‘BOR,
If a person takes
A disgusting thing
As the thing they choose
To write about,
Then no matter how deep
The topic may be,
It becomes just like
That disgusting object—
Like the appearance of
A dog, or a pig—
And people discard
The topic they cover,
In keeping with disgust.
[435]
54
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
,LA LA RTZOM MI CHE CHE MO,
,MKHAS MKHAS CIG GI BRTZAMS CHOS DE,
,BRJOD BYA ZAB PAR MA GYUR KYANG,
,DE LA YID CHES TSAD MAR BYED,
But now when there
Are certain people who
Are supposed to be
Such great great writers,
And we have a composition
Put together by someone
Who is supposed to be
So so very wise,
Then even if the topic
Is nothing so profound,
People take it to be accurate;
People will believe it.
[436]
,DES NI DON DU ‘GYUR BA DKA’,
,DKA’ YANG DE LA NYAMS LEN BYED,
,DES KYANG NGA YI ‘PHRIN LAS RGYAS,
,KHYOD LA ‘PHRIN LAS GA NA YOD,
With things like this,
It’s hard to turn it
Into something meaningful.
And even though
It’s difficult, people still try
To put it into practice.
All this is simply
Spreading my holy work
55
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
Even wider;
How could we say
That you had any
Holy work at all?
[437]
,MKHAS PA TSIG RTZOD LHUR LEN PA,
,BRJOD BYA MI LTA RTZOM MI LTA,
,MANG PO SHES KYANG GCIG LA BRDUGS,
,BRDUGS KYANG GZHAN GYIS SHES MI ‘DOD,
,NGA RGYAL GTZO BOR ‘DON PA YOD,
,DES KYANG NGA YI ‘PHRIN LAS RGYAS,
When the wise take up
An argument,
They don’t consider the topic,
And they don’t consider
The composition.
You can know a lot of things,
But in the end
They come down to one;
And even though
They come down to this one,
Others simply have
No interest in learning it.
And the main thing
It elicits within them
Is pride; this too then
Serves to spread
My holy work still further.
56
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
[438]
,MKHAS LA DE LAS MED NA NI,
,BLUN PO RNAMS LA CI CHAR YOD,
,KHYOD KYI ‘PHRIN LAS GANG DU SONG,
,NGA NI RTAG TU RGYAS PA YIN,
If the wise have nothing
More than this,
Then what can you expect
From fools?
I don’t know
Where your holy work
Has gone off to,
But mine is always
Expanding further!
[439]
,GZHAN YANG MKHAS PA LA LA NI,
,BRTZAMS PA’I BRJOD BYA ZAB LAGS KYANG,
,GSUNG RAB RNAMS NA MED PA YI,
,BRJOD BYA’I DON GCIG ‘DIR YOD MIN,
Besides all that,
It may be the case
That the topics which certain
Wise ones write about
Are actually profound;
But in fact there is not
A single point of value here
Which cannot be found
In the scriptures.
57
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
[440]
,RTZOM MI’I BZO LTA KHA STABS LA,
,GTING NI ZHE SDANG GIS BSKYED NAS,
,KHA LA SNYING RE RJE’O ZER,
,NGA RGYAL DBANG GIS ZAB DON ‘BOR,
When they see the likeness
Of the face of the author,
Deep inside they begin
To have feelings of dislike.
The words coming
From their mouth might include
Platitudes about compassion,
But in fact their pride
Has pushed them to discard
That most profound of thoughts.
[441]
,DE YI RGYUD LA NGA YOD PAS,
,ZAB DON ‘BOR BA MA YIN NAM,
,DES KYANG NGA YI ‘PHRIN LAS RGYAS,
,KHYOD LA ‘GAL ‘DUR GYUR PA YIN,
And can’t we say
That they have discarded
This most profound of thoughts
All because I am there,
Deep within their heart?
And then this too
Serves to spread
58
The Devil Debates an Angel
Phoenix, October 2025
My holy work still farther;
To the point where it
Can truly compete with yours.
[442]
,GZHAN [f. 260a] YANG MKHAS PA LA LA NI,
,BLA MA GONG MA’I GRUB MTHA’ NI,
,BZANG POR RLOM PAS BLO BSGYUR NAS,
,ZAB DON ZAB KYANG RANG GI NI,
,GRUB PA’I MTHA’ DANG MA MTHUN NA,
,’BOR BAR MA ZAD KHA GTONG BA,
,DE LA’ANG NGA NYID YOD PAS LAN,
And then as well
We see some different
Supposed masters
Who entertain the delusion
That if a school of thought
Comes from teachers
Of the distant past,
Then it has to be good.
And then their minds
Begin to turn,
To the point where they
Will reject an idea—
Even though it may be
A deep one, most profound—
If it doesn’t fit
This school of thought
That they’ve decided to follow.
And then they go
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Still further, and begin
To actively criticize.
All this is due as well
To the fact that I
Am parked here.
[443]
,YOD PAR GYUR NA KHYOD LA ‘GAL,
,NGA NYID RGYAS LAS ‘OS CI YOD,
,SHES RAB MED PA’I MKHAS PA ‘GA’,
,BLA MAS SHAR LA NUB YIN ZER,
,DE ‘DRA’I ZAB DON PHOG PA NA,
,DE GA BDEN PAR BZUNG NAS NI,
,YIN NA MA YIN MA GTOGS PA,
,GZHAN GYI ZAB DON CI BZANG YANG,
,BSGOM PA LTA ZHOG KLOG MI BYED,
Now if something exists,
Then that would contradict
Your own point of view;
What choice then
Would there be, except
For my own influence
To expand?
There are some supposed
Masters who focus
On something that
Their lamas have said
Like “East is west,”
And delved to the depths
Of these mysterious words
And decided they must be
The absolute truth.
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And so except for claiming
That what is, is not,
They refuse even to read
The ideas of others—
Regardless of how
Profound they might be—
Much less meditate on them.
[444]
,DE YI RGYUD LA’ANG NGA YOD PAS,
,KHYOD LA ‘GAL ‘DUR BYUNG NA YANG,
,NGA YI ‘PHRIN LAS RGYAS PA YIN,
And in those minds too,
I am there;
Whenever something comes up
To contradict you,
You can rest assured
That my holy work is spreading!
[445]
,MKHAS NAS GNAG RDZI MO BAR GYI,
,SKYA SER PHAL CHER BLA MA LA,
,’BUL BA ZHABS TOG BYAS NAS SU,
,DON DU GNYER BYA ZAB DON ZHUS,
From great masters
Down to cowherds,
And whether they be
Laypeople or the ordained,
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People pay honor
And make offerings
To the Lamas,
And ask for teachings
About the most profound:
The goals they wish
To achieve.
[446]
,ZHUS KYANG GDAB LAN MA BYUNG NA,
,BZANG POR MA MTHONG DAD LOG BSGOM,
,KHA LA CHOS ZHUS LTAR BYAS KYANG,
,DON DU SEMS LA NOR ‘DOD ZHUGS,
And though they do ask,
If they don’t get a reply
To their request,
Then they stop looking
At the situation
As something wonderful,
And start to meditate
On ruining their faith.
And so from their mouths
They have requested the Dharma,
But in fact their thoughts
Are focused on how
To get more money.
[447]
,DE YANG NGA YIS BYAS PA YIN,
,DES KYANG KHYOD LA ‘GAL ‘DUR BYUNG,
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,CI PHYIR NGA MED ZER BA ‘GAL,
All this has again
Been accomplished
By my humble self.
And it once again
Points up the contradictions
In your own position;
I can’t see any reason
Why you should
Contradict yourself
By saying I don’t exist.
[448]
,LA LA BLA MAR GUS GUS BYED,
,’DOD CHOS ZAB DGU BYUNG LAGS KYANG,
,JA BZHUR SUN GCIG MA BYUNG NA,
,LTEB STE LOG NAS LOG LTA BSGOM,
There are some
Who are so so respectful
Of their lama;
And then even
If they are granted
A million profound teachings
That they were seeking,
They turn around
And meditate on wrong view
If it should happen
That they fail to procure
A single brew of tea
They had expected.
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[449]
,DE DON ‘BRAS BU DMYAL BAR ‘PHEN,
,DE YANG NGA YIS BYAS PAS NA,
,KHYOD KYIS NGA MED ZER BA [f. 260b] ‘GAL,
And the end result
Is that they are thrown
Into the realms of hell.
This too was accomplished
Due to my humble self;
Again, you contradict yourself
When you claim then
I never existed.
[450]
,CHOS PAR RLOM PA LA LAS NI,
,CHOS NI GZHAN LAS GAL CHE SKAD,
,RANG GIS CUNG ZAD NYAMS LEN TSE,
,RTAGS MTSAN SPU TZAM BYUNG BA LA’ANG,
,RANG NYID BZANG POR RLOM PA DANG,
,GZHAN DAG RNAMS LA THOS SGROG BYED,
,BSTOD RA CUNG ZAD BYUNG BA LA,
,NGA RGYAL KHAMS GSUM GANG BAR BSGOM,
Some who entertain
The delusion that they
Are great practitioners
Go and take teachings
From others, and prattle on
About how important those were.
Then they go and put
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Those teachings into practice;
And if they get the tiniest sign
Of any progress, they begin
To entertain the delusion
That they are a special person.
And then they run to others
And advertise their achievements;
When someone gives them
The slightest amount of praise,
The conceit they feel
Is sufficient to fill
All three realms
Of the universe.
[451]
,DE YANG NGA YIS BYAS PA YIN,
,NGA MED ZER BA KHYOD LA ‘GAL,
,NGA YI ‘PHRIN LAS ‘DI ‘DRA NA,
,KHYOD KYIS MUN KHUNG GANG DU BSDAD,
Again, all this
Is accomplished
By my humble self—
And so when you say
I never existed,
You are certainly
Contradicting yourself.
If then my holy work
Is so utterly amazing,
I have to think
You’re just sitting there
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Yourself in the dark.
[452]
,MKHAS DANG BSGOM CHEN PHAL CHER GYIS,
,CUNG ZAD SGOM PAR BYED NA YANG,
,RANG NYID ‘DI ‘DRA CIG BSDAD NAS,
,SGOM CHOS PHAR NGOS YOD PA LA,
,LTAD MO BLTA BA’I TSUL DU BSGOM,
The majority
Of your great masters
And meditators
Might do a tiny bit
Of meditation,
But regardless, we are
Staying there like this.
Whatever they’re
Supposed to be meditating on
Is always somewhere
Off there; and so
They meditate on it
As no more than
A spectator.
[453]
,’DI ‘DRA MTHONG NA KHROL BGAD ‘CHOR,
,NGA YI ‘PHRIN LAS ‘DI ‘DRA NA,
,KHYOD NI YI MUG BSGOMS ZHAN ‘DRA,
When I see this kind
Of thing going on,
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I just have to burst out
In loudest laughter.
Since this is the way
Of my holy work,
Your meditation
Is the feeble effort
Of a blockhead.
[454]
,DE LAS DRAG RLOM KHA CIG GIS,
,MNYAM GZHAG DON LA ‘JOG KA MAR,
,RANG NI YOD YOD ‘DRA LAGS KYANG,
,BZHAG PA’I TSE NA SEMS DANG NI,
,GZHAG RGYU KHA KHAR SGOM PAR BYED,
There are even a few
Who think they can
Do better than this;
And so as they begin
To set their mind
On the object of
Their meditation,
They feel as though
They really do exist there;
But once they go
Into their meditation,
They begin to meditate
On how their mind
And what they are
Meditating on
Are somehow separate.
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[455]
,LA LA BDEN MED LUGS BYAS NAS,
,MED PA KHO NA SGOM PAR BYED,
,PHAL CHER SHES PA KHO NA BSGOM,
,LA LAS GSAL TZAM SGOM PAR BYED,
And there are some
Who simply meditate
On a kind of nothingness,
Thinking that this
Is what it means
For something to
Not be real.
In fact they are mostly
Meditating upon
Nothing more than mind;
Others are meditating
Upon nothing more
Than raw awareness.
[456]
,DE NI NGA NYID BSGOM PA YIN,
,YID BYED BKAG PA’I SGOM LA NI,
,KHA NI GTONG ZHING DON LA NI,
,YID NGOR SNANG MED SGOM PAR BYED,
Actually these are all
Meditations on
Nothing more than me!
A meditation where
You stop the process
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Of thought itself
Is nothing more
Than an insult to
The process of meditation;
In actual fact
They are simply
Meditating upon
An absence of anything
Appearing to the mind.
[457]
,DE NI YID BYED BKAG PA’I SGOM,
,’DZIN STANGS ‘GAL BA GA LA YOD,
,’JOG DON ‘DI LA MKHAS KYANG NI,
,DBYE BA PHYED PA [f. 261a] SHIN TU DKA’,
This is nothing more
Than a meditation
Where you try to stop
Yourself from thinking
Anything at all;
How could it ever
Oppose the way that
I hold things to be?
If somehow you could master
The object of meditation
That you have chosen here,
It would be extremely difficult
To make any distinctions at all.
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[458]
,MGO BO ‘KHOR BA’I SA MTSAMS ‘DIR,
,NGAL BA DON MED BYED PA YOD,
,NGA YI CHO ‘PHRUL CHE THABS ‘DIS,
,THAR PA THOB PA NYAMS RE DGA’,
,’KHOR BA SPONG BA RGOD RE BRO,
At this juncture,
Where people have completely
Confused themselves,
They pause to expend
Efforts that are fruitless.
Thus then do I manifest
My own miraculous powers;
And because of them
Some pause to have
A thought that they have
Just attained their freedom;
While I pause to have
A giggle about
The cycle of pain
They have “escaped.”
[459]
,GZHAN YANG MKHAS PA LA LA NI,
,GCIG DANG DU BRAL GTAN TSIGS KYIS,
,DPYAD PA BYED BYED ‘JOG KHAR NI,
,SEMS NI NGAL NAS GNYEN PO YI,
,’DZIN STANGS SHUGS DANG GSAL NGAR SHOR,
And besides all those,
We see some masters
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Who pull out the reasoning
Which says that things
Are neither one nor many.
They use it then
To check and check,
And even as they
Focus their meditation,
Their mind begins to tire—
Which means that
The power of their ability
To maintain their focus,
And its clarity,
Are all of them lost to me.
[460]
,SHOR BA MA RIG YOD PA’I LUGS,
,BYAS NAS MNYAM PAR ‘JOG PA’I TSE,
,’DI YIN ‘DI MIN MED PA YI,
,HANG PO’I NGANG LA MNYAM PAR ‘JOG
In the loss they locate
Misunderstanding itself,
And so as they set
The focus of their meditation,
They start that meditation
At some fuzzy place
Where there no longer exist
Any “It is this” or
“This, it is not.”
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[461]
,LA LAR BYING RGOD BLO GZHAN ZHUGS,
,ZHUGS PA PHRA MO MA RIG PAR,
,DE GA YUN DU SKYONG BAR BYED,
,BSGOM PA SKYON CAN YIN BSAM MED,
Some are going deep
Into other states of mind,
Such as dullness,
And agitation.
Not realizing
They are there, because
It’s a subtle version,
They stay in that place,
Maintaining this meditation
For a very long time.
And all the while
They have not even
The slightest idea
That their meditation
Might be faulty.
[462]
,BYING RGOD BLO GZHAN CHER BYUNG NA,
,MGO NAS SKYAR SGOM MI BYED PAR,
,MNYAM GZHAG DANG DU BZO BCOS BYED,
,BCOS BCOS MANG BA TZAM GYIS NI,
,GNYEN PO’I ‘DZIN STANGS SHOR BA YI,
,GSAL RIG TZAM DE SGOM PAR BYED,
Once other states
Of mind, like dullness
And agitation, have
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Gathered their strength,
One would have to
Start their meditation
Over again from the beginning.
But instead they keep up
This fabricated attempt
To stay in balanced focus.
They end up doing
Their meditation
On nothing more
Than the simple fact
Of awareness—
For they have lost
That way of holding things
Which serves as a
Spiritual antidote.
[463]
,DE NI SHES PA YIN PAS NA,
,DE NYID SGOM PAR BYED PA YIN,
,NGA NYID BSGOM BZHIN MED ZER BA,
,KHYOD LA ‘GAL ‘DU ZHUGS PA YIN,
But since this is
In fact a state of mind,
That’s all they are doing
Their meditation upon.
And you place yourself,
Miss Wisdom,
In a delightful state
Of contradiction,
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Claiming that I
Cannot exist, even as
You meditate upon me.
[464]
,ME DANG SHING NI MA THUG NA,
,SHING NI ‘TSIG PAR GA LA ‘GYUR,
,DE BZHIN NGA DANG GNYEN PO NI,
,’DZIN STANGS THUG PA MANG {%MED} NA NI,
,GNOD PA LTA ZHOG NGA NYID RGYAS,
,KHYOD RANG ‘O BRGYAL MA BYED CIG
If a fire and some wood
Never touch each other,
Then how can the fire
Burn the wood?
It’s the same
With myself,
And the antidote for me.
If the ways we view things
Never collide,
Then not only
Can it do me no harm,
It actually helps me expand.
And then you need not
Trouble yourself.
[465]
,MNYAM GZHAG ‘DI YI THAD DU NI,
,MKHAS PA [f. 261b] RNAMS KYI RDUGS SA YIN,
,BLUN PO MGO BO ‘KHOR SA YIN,
,NGA YI ‘PHRIN LAS RGYAS PA YIN,
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,SHES RAB RKUB TU CHUD PA YIN,
Staying in this
Kind of meditation
Is a place of ruination
For the wise,
And a place for fools
To get their heads
Turned around.
This is where
I can expand
My holy work;
And this is where
Wisdom can be left
Stuck somewhere
Up your butt.
[466]
,MNYAM GZHAG ‘DI YI NGES NGO NA,
,SNANG TSUL CI ‘DRA BYUNG YANG NI,
,BDEN PAR SNANG BA KHO NA YIN,
No matter
What kind of impression
Appears to the senses
Of such a meditation,
Things can only appear
As if they were something real.
[467]
,STONG PA CHOS NYID BDEN MED SOGS,
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,SNANG YANG BDEN PAR SNANG BAS NA,
,GSOR MI RUNG GI LTA BA YIN,
It may be the case
That emptiness,
And the real nature of things,
And the fact that nothing
Is real and the like
May make their appearance
To you at that point;
But because they all
Appear as though
They were real,
This is a way
Of looking at things
That cannot be repaired.
[468]
,STONG PA CHOS NYID BDEN MED SOGS,
,NGES NGOR SNANG BA SKYON YIN NA,
,NGES NGOR SNANG BA YOD DAM MED,
,MED NA MNYAM GZHAG GANG LA BYED,
If things like
Emptiness, or the
Real nature of things,
Or the fact that nothing’s real
Can make their appearance
To your perceptions
In a way which is mistaken,
Then can we even say
They exist to your perceptions,
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Or not? And if not,
Then please, what are you
Meditating upon?
[469]
,BDEN PA BKAG PA’I STONG NYID LA,
,’JOG PAR BYED PA YIN ZER NA,
,DE DAG NGES NGO DE LA NI,
,SNANG NAS ‘JOG GAM MI SNANG ‘JOG
And suppose you say,
“Oh, we are just establishing
An emptiness
Where we have denied
That anything is real.”
Well then,
Are you establishing these
As they appear
To your perceptions,
Or as they fail
To appear?
[470]
,SNANG NA SKYON NI SNGA MAR GNAS,
,SNANG BA MED PAR ‘JOG ZER NA,
,SNANG BA BSDUS DANG YID BYED BKAG
,YID LA BYAR MED BSGOM PA DANG,
,CI YANG MED PA’I SGOM RNAMS NI,
,NGA YI PHYOGS NAS BLTAS TZA NA,
,KHYAD PAR DBYE BA MED PAR GO
,KHYOD RANG DBYE BA CI YIS ‘BYED,
If you say they appear,
Then the problem as we
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Raised it before remains.
If you say things
Are established as
They fail to appear
To our perceptions,
Then the appearance
Is withdrawn,
And any turning
Of the mind is ended.
Which means that now
You have a meditation
Where you don’t turn
Your mind to anything,
Or where you are meditating
On nothing at all.
And if you compare this
To my interpretation of things,
We would have to understand
That no distinction between them
Could ever be made!
And on what basis then
Could you make
Your own distinctions?
[471]
,NGA NI BDEN PAR MED PA YI,
,NGES SHES YOD PA’I KHYAD DES NA,
,SPYIR DU NGES SHES YOD MI PHAN,
,MNYAM GZHAG NGO NA DRIS PA YIN,
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This then is a characteristic
That can apply to
The perception that
I am something
That cannot be real.
As such, it’s not enough—
Generally speaking—
That we have
This particular perception.
It is something
That we can get
Accustomed to during
Even a balanced meditation.
[472]
,NGES NGOR NGES SHES YOD ZER NA,
,DE NI NGA NYID YOD PA YIN,
,CI YANG MED DO ZER NA NI,
,CI YANG MED PA’I SGOM RANG YIN,
You may claim
In response that this
Kind of perception
Is there in how
We see things;
But this is only because
I myself am there.
When someone comes
And says that there’s
Nothing there at all,
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That is exactly
The kind of meditation
We refer to as
“Meditating on nothing at all.”
[473]
,’DZIN STANGS ‘GAL BA’I GNYEN PO MED,
,NGA LA CI YI PHYIR NA GNOD,
,NGA NI BDEN MED NGES PA YI,
,NGES SHES DE YI ‘DZIN STANGS KYI,
,RGYUN NI SKYONG NGO ZER NA NI,
,SKYONG MKHAN SU ‘DRA CIG GIS [f. 262a] BYED,
There is no such thing
As an antidote state of mind
Which doesn’t stand
In contradiction to the way
That another state
Of mind holds things.
And so why
Would anything here
Do any damage to me?
If you were to go
And claim that I was
Maintaining the flow
Of a point of view
Of a realization
That nothing was real,
Then what kind of person
Who maintained such a view
Could you ever be referring to?
[474]
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,BLO CIG LAS NI ‘OS MED MOD,
,DE ‘DRA SAM TSAMS {%SA MTSAMS} GANG NA YOD,
,MNYAM GZHAG NGO NA YOD NA NI,
,DE NI NGA NYID YOD PA YIN,
,NGA MED BSGOM PA GA LA YIN,
Now it doesn’t make sense
That there could be more
Than a single mind.
And so then where is it
That we draw the line?
If it’s at the state
Of balanced meditation,
Then well that’s exactly
Where I stay!
So how could that be
A meditation
Which said that I was gone?
[475]
,MNYAM GZHAG SNGON DU YOD ZER NA,
,MNYAM GZHAG SKYONG LA DES CI PHAN,
And suppose you say
That I am there prior to
That balanced meditation.
Then what would be the use
Of going into the
Balanced meditation?
[476]
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,MNYAM GZHAG RJES SU YOD ZER NA,
,MNYAM GZHAG RDZOGS NAS CI ZHIG SKYONG,
Or suppose you say
That I am there after
That balanced meditation.
What meditation then
Would you practice,
Once you had completed
That balanced meditation?
[477]
,MNYAM GZHAG DUS SU YOD ZER NA,
,YOD DU CHUG MOD SA MTSAMS DANG,
,SDOD PA’I GNAS RTEN GANG DU ‘CHA’,
Or suppose you say
That I am there during
The balanced meditation.
Well, you could say that,
But then what level
Would I be at?
And what would be serving
As the support
That I would rely upon?
[478]
,MNYAM GZHAG RANG LA ‘CHA’ ZER NA,
,MNYAM GZHAG STONG PA NYID YIN PAS,
,DE LA RTEN BCAS SDOD PA NI,
,BLO RANG STONG PAR MA SONG BAR,
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And suppose you say that
The balanced meditation
Consists precisely of that.
Well since this meditation
Is emptiness itself,
Then how could that
State of mind that remained
Depending upon it
Fail to become, itself,
Emptiness as well?
[479]
,BLO DANG STONG PA MNYAM GNAS NA,
,LEGS NA SGYU MA LTA BU TZAM,
,DE MIN MNYAM GZHAG BLOR ‘DUG PAS,
,NGA LA MNYAM GZHAG BYAS BSGOM YIN,
If the mind and emptiness
Remain there together,
Then at the best,
Things are only something
Which is like an illusion.
And if that were not
The case, then since I
Would be there within
The mind in a balanced
Meditation, then you
Would be doing
Your meditation in a
Balanced state, on me!
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[480]
,GTZO BO SEMS RANG STONG PAR NI,
,SONG BA’I MNYAM GZHAG LA GNAS NAS,
,SEMS LAS GZHAN PA’I SEMS BYUNG BLO,
,DE YIS MNYAM GZHAG SKYED ZHE NA,
And suppose you say
That the main mind
Remains in a state
Of balanced meditation
Upon how it itself
Has passed into emptiness;
And then a state of mind
Which is other than that mind,
And is a particular mental function,
Brings about that
Balanced meditation.
[481]
,DE YI SDOD SA GANG NA YOD,
,MNYAM GZHAG DUS SU YOD ZER NA,
,SNGA MA’I SKYON RNAMS SO NA GNAS,
Well let me ask you
Just where that mental function
Is staying then?
And if you reply
That it is there during
The balanced meditation,
Then the issues which
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I raised before remain.
[482]
,MI MNGON TSUL DU YOD ZER NA,
,SPYI NI GTZO BO’I KHAS LEN LTAR,
,GRANGS CAN LA NI ‘GRAN NAM CI,
,SA BON GYIS KYANG MYU GU NI,
,MI GSAL BA YI TSUL BSKYED LTAR,
,BDAG SKYE KHAS LEN GRANGS CAN NI,
,PHRAG DOG SKYE BAR MI ‘GYUR RAM,
And suppose you say
That it is there, but only
In a state where it’s not evident,
Well then have you decided
To compete with all those Numerists? %%%
That is, if you say that
The seed triggers a sprout
In a way where that sprout
Had already been
Laying there, concealed,
Shouldn’t you be
A little nervous that
The Numerists will begin
To feel a tiny bit
Jealous of your position?
[483]
,LA LA ‘DI ‘DRA’I SNANG TSUL LA,
,MGO BSKOR [f. 262b] MANG DU BZED NAS NI,
,CI YANG YID LA MI BYED PA’I,
,SGOM GYIS MI TSE HRIL POR BSGRIL,
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There are some people
Who fall into
A lot of traps about
How things appear this way.
And then they waste
An entire human life
On a meditation where
They try to avoid focusing
Their mind on anything at all.
[484]
,DE ‘BRAS CI YANG MED PA ‘BYUNG,
,’DI DAG NGA YIS BYAS PA YIN,
,DES NA NGA NYID YOD PA YIN,
,NGA MED ZER BA KHYOD LA ‘GAL,
The result of this meditation
I absolutely nothing at all—
Another of my accomplishments.
And so I say again
I most certainly exist;
And for you to claim
I do not is simply
A contradiction.
[485]
,DPYAD MTSAMS ‘JIG {%’JOG} MTSAMS MA SHES NA,
,’DI YANG MGO BO ‘KHOR BA’I RGYU,
,HA CANG DPYAD PA DAG DRAGS NA,
,DE YANG SKYON DU ‘GYUR BA YIN,
If we fail to understand
Where we draw the line
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In our analysis,
And where we draw it
In our determinations,
Then those in themselves
Will turn into yet another
Way to confuse ourselves.
And if we try too hard
In those analyses,
Then they turn into
Problems as well.
[486]
,DPYAD PA MED NA DE BAS SKYON,
,DPYAD MTSAMS ‘JOG LA MKHAS NA NI,
,MKHAS PA’I MCHOG GYUR CIG TU ‘DUG
And yet if we fail
To do any analysis at all,
That’s an even
Bigger problem.
If we can become
Masters in defining
The scope of our analysis,
Then surely we’ve become
One of those very greatest
Of all the masters there are.
[487]
,KHYOD LA CHOD CHOD MANG YOD PAS,
,BSAM BLO THONG LA LAN CIG THOG
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Phoenix, October 2025
,SVA BH’A WA YI SNGAGS DON NI,
,CHOS RNAMS KUN GYI RANG BZHIN NI,
,RNAM PAR DAG PA’I BDAG NYID DE,
What you want to do
Is slice things and dissect them
In way too many ways.
You need to sit down
And give it some thought:
If just a single time
You were to pronounce
The secret word svabhava,
Then that would represent
The true nature
Of all the things there are;
For this is embodiment
Of every form of purity.
[488]
,NGA’O ZHES PA’I NGA RGYAL NI,
,BSGOM PA KUN GYIS ‘JOG BYED NA,
,NGA RGYAL ‘JOG MTSAMS GANG DU BYED,
And if you say
That saying
“I am that”—
Identifying oneself
With that true nature—
Is the very place
We want to reach
In all of our meditations,
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Then just where
Do you plan to position
This divine pride of yours?
[489]
,CHOS RNAMS RANG BZHIN RNAM DAG LA,
,MNYAM PAR BZHAG PA’I BZHAG NGO DER,
,NGA RGYAL YOD MED JI LTAR BYED,
,YOD NA DE NI KUN RDZOB YIN,
Suppose then that you
Are in a deep meditation
Upon the pure nature
Of every existing thing.
Now let me ask you:
Would you say
That this divine pride
Displays itself
To the perceptions
Of this meditation,
Or not?
For if it does,
Then it would have to be
A deceptive sort of reality.
[490]
,DE NI NGA YI NGA RGYAL YIN,
,RANG BZHIN DAG LA DGOS PA CI,
,MED NA NGA RGYAL GANG DU ‘JOG
And then that would be
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A divine pride
That belonged to me!
And then what need
Would you have for
Some pure sort of nature?
But if there were
Nothing there,
Then what would
Your divine pride
Ever focus upon?
[491]
,MNYAM GZHAG DUS SU ‘JOG ZER NA,
,RANG BZHIN RNAM DAG CHA DE NI,
,STONG PA NYID LA ZER BA YIN,
And suppose you say
That you would focus it
Upon the period
Of that meditation,
And that what
You are calling emptiness
Is the element
Of perfect purity there.
[492]
,NGA RGYAL KUN RDZOB CHA YIN PAS,
,MNYAM DU SDOD LUGS JI LTAR BYED,
,NGA RGYAL STONG PAR SONG ZER NA,
,NGA RGYAL SU YIS ‘DZIN PAR BYED,
But now pride is a part
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Of deceptive reality;
And so how could you manage
To keep them together?
And if you say that
Your divine pride
Melts into emptiness,
Well then just who is
The one maintaining
This pride you talk about?
[493]
,STONG PA NGA RGYAL DU SONG NA,
,YANG NA STONG PA MED PA YIN,
,YANG NA NGA RGYAL MED PA YIN,
And if it’s that
The emptiness melts
Into the divine pride,
Well then either
The emptiness is gone,
Or else
The divine pride
Is gone.
[494]
,STONG PA MED PAR GYUR NA NI,
,STONG [f. 263a] PA’I MNYAM GZHAG GANG DU BSGOM,
,NGA RGYAL MED PAR GYUR NA NI,
,STONG LA NGA RGYAL SU YIS ‘DZIN,
If it is that
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The emptiness is gone,
Then can you just
Explain to me
What your meditation
On emptiness is
Meditating on?
And if it’s that
The divine pride is gone,
Then just who is it
Who is holding on
To divine pride
Upon emptiness?
[494]
,GNYIS KA YOD PAS ‘DRES ZER NA,
,SGYU MA LTA BU’I DON YIN GYI,
,STONG PA’I MNYAM GZHAG GA LA YIN,
And suppose
The claim you make
Is that both are there,
And you are mixing them.
I admit that this
Might be what it means
For things to be
Like a magic show;
But how can you claim
That this would be
A balanced meditation
On emptiness?
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[495]
,MNYAM GZHAG NGO NA NGA RGYAL NI,
,SNANG BAR GYUR NA NGA SNANG MOD,
,NGA NI RGYUN DU ‘GROGS PA LA,
,SNANG BAR BSGOM PA GA LA DGOS,
And if it were the case
That divine pride
Were making its appearance
To the perceptions
Of a balanced meditation,
Then admittedly
I would be appearing there.
But it’s not clear to me
Why you would have
To meditate on the idea
Of me being there
As your constant companion!
[496]
,CHOS RNAMS THAMS CAD DKYIL DU NI,
,NGA RGYAL DE NI THE ‘AM CI,
,THE ‘O ZHE NA NGA RGYAL NI,
,RANG BZHIN RNAM PAR DAG CHAR SONG,
,NGA RGYAL SU YIS ‘DZIN PAR BYED,
Let me ask you a question.
Does that divine pride
Have a proper place
Among all the things
That exist?
If you say that it does,
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Then that divine pride
Would have to be
A component
Of everything which is
Totally pure,
In its nature.
And then who would it be,
If you please,
That was maintaining
Their divine pride?
[497]
,NGA RGYAL DE RGYUN YOD ZER NA,
,RGYUN YANG THAMS CAD LA THE NA,
,MI THE THAMS CAD SMOS PA CI,
And if you
Make the claim that
This divine pride
Is something that
Flows in a stream,
Then if this flow
Has its proper place
Among everything,
Then why do you
Keep talking about
All these things not having
Their own proper place?
[498]
,NGA RGYAL STONG NYID MA ZHUGS PAR,
,DE LA NGA RGYAL ‘DZIN ZHE NA,
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,DE NI STONG PA NYID LA NI,
,LTAD MO BLTA BA’I TSUL ‘DRA BAS,
,NGA MED BSGOM PA MA YIN PAS,
,’DZIN STANGS ‘GAL BA’I DON MED DO,
And if you say
You are maintaining
A divine pride
Where that pride
Does not engage
In emptiness,
Then its relationship
To that emptiness
Must be as though it were
A detached observer.
And then—
Since this would not
Be a meditation
Where I was absent—
It would not fit the sense
Of two ways of
Looking at things that
Contradicted each other.
[498]
,SHES RAB KHA LA SMRA BCAD BYIN,
,’O BRGYAL BYAS PA’I KHA NA MED,
It seems, Miss Wisdom,
That I have left you
Simply speechless.
Don’t feel bad;
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That’s natural for someone
Like you who is simply
Tiring yourself out.
[499]
,SH’U N+YA T’A YI SNGAGS DON YANG,
,YUL NI STONG DANG YUL CAN NI,
,RANG BZHIN DBYER NI MI PHYED PA’I,
,BDAG NYID NGA’O ZHES BSGOM NA,
,YUL CAN SU YIS BYAS NAS NI,
,NGA RGYAL CI ‘DRA ZHIG GIS BSGOM,
Now suppose
You try to explain
The meaning of this
Secret expression,
Shunyata,
Still further—
And you say
You are doing a meditation
Where “I am a combination
Of the object, emptiness,
And the subject,
Combined in a single
Nature, indivisible.
Who was it though
That created this
Subject state of mind?
And just what kind
Of divine pride
Is doing the meditation?
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[500]
,YUL CAN SEMS LA BYED PA DANG,
,NGA RGYAL NGA TZAM DES BYED NA,
,DE ‘DRA’I STONG NYID DE LA NI,
,MNYAM PAR BZHAG PA’I BZHAG NGO DER,
,NGA RGYAL DE NI YOD DAM MED,
And suppose you say
That the subject state
Is supplied by the mind,
And that it is
The simple “I”
Of this divine pride
Which is in
Deepest meditation
On this particular type
Of emptiness.
Well then,
Are you saying
That this pride
Makes its appearance
To the perceptions
Of that meditation,
Or not?
[501]
,YOD NA NGA NYID YOD PA YIN,
,MED NA NGA RGYAL SU [f. 263b] YIS ‘DZIN,
If it does,
Then I must
Certainly be there.
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If it doesn’t,
Then who is it
That is maintaining
The divine pride here?
[502]
,STONG PA NYID DANG DBYER MED PAR,
,ZHUGS PA’I NGA RGYAL ‘DZIN ZHE NA,
,STONG NYID RANG DUS DE RU NI,
,NGA RGYAL KUN RDZOB YOD DAM CI,
And suppose you say
That you are maintaining
A divine pride
Which remains indivisible
From emptiness itself.
So are you saying
That there is
A divine pride there—
Something which is
Deceptive reality—
In the same
Moment of time
As the emptiness itself?
[503]
,YOD NA NGA YIS ‘ONGS PA YIN,
,STONG PA NYID DANG ‘DRES NAS NI,
,DBYE BA YOD PA MA YIN NA,
,NGA RGYAL STONG PAR SONG BAS NA,
,STONG PAS NGA RGYAL ‘DZIN NAM CI,
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Because if there is,
Then I will have arrived;
And if I’m mixed up
With emptiness,
And if there is no
Dividing us,
Then that divine pride
Has passed into emptiness;
And then, I suppose,
The emptiness is holding
The pride—am I right?
[504]
,MNYAM GZHAG DUS SU YOD ZER NA,
,MNYAM GZHAG RANG DUS STONG NYID YIN,
,STONG NYID RANG GI DUS SU NI,
,NGA RGYAL YOD NA SNGA MA YI,
,SKYON NI SO NA GNAS PA YIN,
And suppose you say
That the emptiness is there
During the time
Of that deep meditation.
In that case,
The meditation is—
During its own duration—
Emptiness itself.
And then if there
Is a divine pride
Within the time frame
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Of the emptiness,
Then the problems
That we mentioned before
Remain there, just the same.
[505]
,NGA RGYAL STONG PA GNYIS PO NI,
,GNYIS KA MED PA MA YIN PA’I,
,SNANG STONG TSOGS PAR GNAS ZHE NA,
And suppose you say
That the two
Of divine pride
And emptiness reside
In a combination
Of appearances & emptiness
Which is not
An absence of the two.
[506]
,DE NI RJES THOB SKYONG LUGS YIN,
,STONG PA’I MNYAM GZHAG GA LA YIN,
,MGO BO ‘KHOR BA’I SA MTSAMS ‘DIS,
,NGA YI ‘PHRIN LAS RGYAS RGYAS ‘DRA,
,SHES RAB PHRAG DOG BYED BYED ‘DRA,
That though is the way
We carry on with things
During the aftermath. %%%
How on earth
Could you say it was
A deep meditation
Upon emptiness?
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When people get confused
About how to draw the line
Between these two,
Then surely my holy work
Is growing ever more widely,
And all you can do,
Miss Wisdom,
Is sit there feeling
More and more envious.
[507]
,’DI YI SKABS SU LA LA NI,
,RANG LA BLO GTAD MA BYUNG BAS,
,SNGAGS KYI SKABS NI YIN ZHES SMRA,
,SNGAGS LA GTAD SO MED PA NI,
,DE BAS KYANG NI NGO MTSAR CHE,
At this particular juncture,
Some make the claim that—
Because there is no directing
The mind anywhere at all—
This has to be a moment
When we are experiencing
The teachings of the secret word.
But honestly the claim
That in the secret teachings
There is ever a point
Where we no longer
Direct our mind
Is even weirder
Than everything else
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They’ve been claiming here.
[508]
,N’A DA ‘OD GSAL BSDUS PA YI,
,STONG SANG DE LA MNYAM ‘JOG NA,
,DE ‘DRA’I STONG SANG CI ‘DRA ZHIG
And suppose you say
That we are going into
A deep meditation
On the sheer absence,
As the lightning bolt
Withdraws into
The clear light.
Well then,
Can you tell me
Just what that
Sheer emptiness is like?
[509]
,RTEN DANG BRTEN PA RIM GYIS NI,
,N’A DA’I BAR DU BSDUS NAS NI,
,N’A DA YID NGOR BSDUS PA YI,
,STONG SANG DE DANG RIL ‘DZIN DANG,
,RJES GZHIG SDUD RIM BYAS PA YI,
Suppose then that
This earth, and all
Who live upon it,
Withdraw on up to
The lightning bolt.
And then
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To our perceptions
The bolt as well withdraws
Until all we have
Is that sheer emptiness.
Then we go through
Alternating stages
Of the withdrawal,
Drawing things together
Then tearing them apart.
[510]
,STONG SANG DE DANG YID BYED NI,
,BKAG PA’I STONG PA DE DANG NI,
,CI YANG YID LA MI BYED PA’I,
,STONG PA’I RNAM PA DE RNAMS KYI,
,KHYAD PAR SPU RIS GANG GIS ‘BYED,
And then we stop
Turning our mind
Towards anything at all;
And together with that
There is only an emptiness,
A sheer emptiness
Along with the absence
Where we have put a stop
To thinking about anything.
What then are you
Going to use, to make
Any fine distinctions
Between all the differences
Between things here?
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[511]
,YID [f. 264a] LA SNANG BA BSDUS MNYAM DANG,
,BSDUS PA’I STONG SANG ‘DRA MNYAM DANG,
,NGA MED BSGOM PA’I GNYEN PO NI,
,’DZIN STANGS ‘GAL BA MED MNYAM NA,
,KHYAD PAR YOD CES TZAM GYIS NI,
,MI TSAD DBYE BA PHYE ZHIG GO
The way that the light
Of awareness
Withdraws in the mind
Is all the same;
The likeness of
Sheer emptiness which
Comes with the withdrawal
Is all the same;
The way in which
The antidote which meditates
Upon how I do not exist
Bears no contradiction
In the way it holds things
Is all the same;
And you can go on
Making endless distinctions
Where you simply insist
There must be some difference.
[512]
,SNANG LA RANG BZHIN MED PA YI,
,DKYIL ‘KHOR BSGOM PA SNGON SONG NAS,
,DE NYID NYER BSDUS BSDUS PA YI,
,STONG SANG DE LA SNGAR GYI NI,
,RANG BZHIN MED PA’I ‘DZIN STANGS DE,
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,YOD PAS GNYEN PO ‘GAL ZHE NA,
And suppose you assert
That first we meditate
Upon a sacred world
Where things may appear,
But have no self-nature.
And then you claim
That indeed your antidote
Does work in opposition,
Because of the fact
That this sheer emptiness
Where we have withdrawn
In the withdrawal of suchness
Is maintaining that manner
Of looking at things
Where—as before—
They have no nature at all.
[513]
,CANG MED BSGOM PA’I GANG ZAG DE,
,SKYE BA THOG MA MED PAS NA,
,RANG BZHIN MED PA’I TSIG TZAM CIG
,SNGON CHAD THENG GCIG BSGOM MYONG NAS,
,RANG BZHIN MED PA’I ‘DZIN STANGS TE,
,YOD PAS GNYEN PO ‘GAL BAR MTSUNGS,
A person who meditates
On the idea that nothing
Exists at all
May perhaps have heard,
In the beginningless string
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Of all their previous lifetimes,
A single mention of how
Nothing has any
Nature of its own;
And they may have experienced,
On some single occasion
In the distant past,
A meditation upon that.
If they were to maintain
This way of looking at things
Which said that they
Had no nature of their own,
Then that would be equivalent
To a counteracting antidote.
[514]
,MNYAM GZHAG SKYONG BA’I DUS SU NI,
,’DZIN STANGS ‘GAL BA’I SGOM MED NA,
,SNGON CHAD YOD DO ZER BA DANG,
,PHYIN CHAD BSGOM MO ZER BAS NI,
,MNYAM GZHAG SKYONG DUS GANG LA PHAN,
,LTOGS DUS ZA RGYU’I SPAG MED NA,
,NANG NA RTZAM PA YOD ZHAN ‘DRA,
Suppose that during
The actual period when
We are carrying out
A deep, balanced meditation
We fail to meditate
In a way that contradicts
The manner in which we’ve
Been holding things to be.
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Oh we can make the claim
That at some point in the past
We used to have
A meditation like that;
Or that at some point
Later on we intend to try
A meditation like this,
But here at this moment,
When we are actually
Trying to do the meditation,
What good will either do us?
It’s like for example
When it’s time to eat, and
You’re feeling quite hungry,
But you don’t have any
Balls of roasted barley dough
To pop into your mouth;
So you sit there dreaming
About some great barley flour
You have in a can at home!
[515]
,LA LAS SEMS DANG N’A DA NI,
,KHA KHAR BYAS NAS N’A DA NI,
,SDUD RIM DE LA SEMS KYIS NI,
,BLTA BA’I TSUL DU BYAS NAS SU,
,SEMS NI DE KHAR BSDAD NAS NI,
,N’A DA BSDUS PA’I STONG SANG LA,
,SEMS KYIS BLTA BA’I TSUL DU BYED,
,DE ‘DRA SGOM GYI GANG LA THE,
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And there are some
Who separate
The lightning bolt
From the mind;
And then as they
Withdraw the bolt,
Their mind takes the role
Of a mere onlooker.
Here the mind remains
Rooted to its spot,
And observes, from afar,
That sheer emptiness as
The lightning bolt withdraws.
How could we ever say
That this kind of meditation
Was hitting the nail
On the head?
[516]
,LA LAS SEMS DANG N’A DA GNYIS,
,DBYER MED BYAS NAS N’A DA NI,
,BSDUS PA’I STONG SANG DE LA NI,
,DE GAR BSDAD PA’I SEMS KYIS BLTA,
Some decide though
That the mind
And the lightning bolt
Are indivisible;
And they use the mind
Which is staying there
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To look at the sheer
Emptiness which results as
The lightning then withdraws.
[517]
,RGYU [f. 264b] MTSAN CI YI PHYIR NA NI,
,N’A DA’I SNANG BA BSDUS PA TZAM,
,SEMS NI DE GAR LUS PA YIN,
,SEMS KYANG MNYAM DU DAG CE NA,
Now what could be
The reason why—
When the appearance
Of the lightning bolt
Is withdrawn—
The mind itself
Is left in that same spot?
Suppose you answer this
By saying that the mind
Is also purified together
With that withdrawal.
[518]
,MI NI GSON POR MER BSREGS TSE,
,PHUNG PO TSIG TSE SEMS TSIG GAM,
,PHUNG PO GTAN MED GYUR PA NA,
,SEMS KYANG GTAN MED GYUR TAM CI,
Suppose then that
They take a human being
Who is still alive,
And burn them in a fire.
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Do you think that
The mind is burned,
When the body is?
Do you think that
When the body has
Completely disappeared,
The mind is also
Completely gone?
[519]
,N’A DA’I SNANG BA ZHIG PA NA,
,DER ‘DZIN BLO NI MI SKYE BA,
,BYE BRAG SMRA BA’I LTA BA ‘DRA,
,DE ‘DRA ‘DI NI MI ‘DOD DAM,
But don’t you think that
This idea—that when
The appearance of the
Lightning bolt is destroyed,
The mind which holds to it
Can no longer arise—
Is a bit similar to accepting
The viewpoints that are held
By those of the Detailist School? %%%
[520]
,N’A DA’I SNANG BA YAL BA LA,
,BDEN PAR MED PA’I DON ‘JOG NA,
,NAM MKHAR SPRIN PHUNG YAL BA DE,
,SPRIN GYI GNAS LUGS YIN LAGS SAM,
If you decide to claim
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That what we mean when
We say that things aren’t real
Is that the appearance
Of the lightning bolt
Has faded away,
Then are you also saying
That when puffs of clouds
Fade away up in the sky,
Then this constitutes
The true nature of a cloud?
[521]
,SEMS NI RANG GI NGOS NAS NI,
,RANG BZHIN MED PA’I DON CIG LA,
,SEMS KYI GNAS LUGS MA BYAS NA,
,NGA YI ‘PHRIN LAS RGYAS SU ‘GRO,
,DE BZHIN CHOS RNAMS KUN LA MTSUNGS,
If a person fails
To note a single item
Without any nature
Of its own emanating
From the side of the mind,
And consider that
To be the true nature
Of that mind,
Well then we can say
That my holy work
Has expanded once again.
And the same follows
For every existing thing
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That there is.
[522]
,STONG PA NYID KYI GO BA NI,
,RNAM PAR DAG PA MA CHAGS SHING,
,BLA MA’I MAN NGAG MED PA DANG,
,RANG DGAR LAM ‘DI LA ‘JUG PA’I,
,SO SKYE RNAMS LA MGO BO NI,
,’DI YI THANG {%THAD} DU ‘KHOR SA ‘DUG
Let’s consider those
Common beings who
Have yet to develop
A completely pure
Understanding of just
What emptiness is;
And who hold no
Personal advices
From their Lama;
And who’ve taken off
Onto the path
All on their own accord.
These are the types
Who are likely to run
In circles on topics like these.
[523]
,DES NA BLA MA MKHAS PA BSTEN,
,BSTEN PA TZAM GYIS MI CHOG PAS,
,SGRO ‘DOGS LEGS PAR ZHIB PAR NI,
,BCAD NAS NGES SHES SNYING NAS NI,
,’DRONGS KYANG TSIM PAR MA MDZAD PAR,
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,NGOMS PA MED PAR CHAD CIG AANG,
And so it is
That you must come
To rely upon a Lama
Who is a master.
But don’t be satisfied
Just with that;
Try to eliminate
Even the most very subtle
Of all your tendencies
To overestimate
The reality of things,
And bring on in your heart
Some true conviction
Of what is right.
Continue your investigations
Relentlessly, and never
Rest content in your understanding.
[524]
,DAL ‘BYOR DON YOD MDZOD CIG AANG,
,BDEN ‘DZIN NGA YIS DRANG GTAM YIN,
,SHES RAB KHA PO CHE YANG NI,
,SHES RAB YUD TZAM CIG LA NI,
,KHA PO KHAMS GSUM GANG [f. 265a] BAR ‘DON,
Strive to give meaning then
To the fact that you
Have achieved the various
Spiritual leisures and fortunes.
This, for once,
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Is a bit of sincere advice
From my humble self,
The tendency to believe
That things could ever be real.
To put it bluntly,
Wisdom has a big mouth.
In the outburst of
A single moment,
Wisdom, she can
Produce enough words
To fill the three sectors
Of the entire universe!
[525]
,KHAMS GSUM ‘KHOR BA’I SEMS CAN TSO,
,KHYED RANG TSO YI NGOS NAS NI,
,NGA NI BDEN PAR MA BZUNG NA,
,NGA YI NGOS NAS KHYED TSO LA,
,BDEN PA’I CHA NI RDUL TZAM MED,
Now if all you living beings
In those three realms
Of the universe
Come to consider me,
From your own side,
As something that
Cannot be real,
Then from my side too,
I will consider all you
As lacking a single atom
Of any true existence.
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[526]
,BDEN GRUB RDUL TZAM MED PA LA,
,YOD PA LTAR DU MA ‘DZIN CIG ,
And so my final advice
To you is that you
Should never consider
Things that possess
Not a single atom
Of real existence
As if they actually did.
[527]
,,SHES RAB KYIS NI LAN SMRAS PA,
And Wisdom replied in her turn—
[528]
,CHOS SKUR NGA RGYAL ‘JOG PA LA,
,LABS LABS JI LTAR MANG LAGS KYANG,
,ROL BRGYA SHAL BA GCIG GIS CHOD,
,LEGS PAR NYON LA LAN THOB CIG
Now about this practice
Of divine pride,
Where you see yourself
As the ultimate body
Of an actual Buddha.
Up to now you
May have spent
A long time learning
A great many things,
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But here you can fulfil
A thousand roles
All in a single swoop.
Listen well, and
Tell me what you think.
[529]
,SNGA SOR DPE LA LAN THEBS NA,
,DON LA LAN NI THEBS PAR ‘GYUR,
,CHU PHOR PHYED PHYED PA GNYIS NI,
,GCIG TU DRIL BA’I TSE NA NI,
,DE GNYIS DBYE BA YOD DAM MED,
First please give me
A reply about
A certain illustration,
And in so doing
You will answer about
The point at hand.
Let’s say that you fill
A cup up halfway
With water; and then you
Repeat this once again.
If you pour them both
In a pitcher, and
Mix them together,
Can you after that
Divide the one,
From the other?
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[530]
,YOD NA CHU GNYIS KHYOD KYIS PHYE,
,MED NA SNGA MA’I CHU DE NI,
,RTING MA’I CHU RU SONG NGAM CI,
,SONG NA SNGA CHU PHYI CHU GANG,
,MING GI KHYAD PAR YOD DAM MED,
If you can,
Then what you have
Divided is two
Different waters.
If you can’t,
Is it that the first water
Has turned into the second?
If it has then please,
Tell me what’s the difference
Between the expressions
“Earlier water,”
And “later water”?
[531]
,YOD NA SNGA MA’I CHU DE GANG,
,MED NA SNGA MA’I CHU DE NI,
,RTING MAR BLUG PA MA YIN NAM,
,BLUG NA MING GI KHYAD BYUNG BAS,
,DE YANG KHYOD LA ‘GAL BA YIN,
If there is a difference,
Then which of the waters
Is the earlier?
And if there is
No such difference,
Then wouldn’t it be
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The case that the
Earlier water
Was the one
On the bottom?
And if it were,
Then wouldn’t there be
A difference there?
And wouldn’t that
In itself contradict
Your views?
[532]
,’DRES NAS ‘BYED RGYU MED ZER NA,
,’DRES DUS RANG DU SNGA CHU DE,
,YOD DAM MED PA KHYOD KYIS SMROS,
,MED NA BLUG BZHIN GANG DU SONG,
,PHOR PA GANG BA’I RGYU MTSAN CI,
And suppose you claim
That they have been
Mixed together,
And cannot be separated.
But let me ask you something,
And give me a good answer:
As they were being mixed,
Was there at that point
Some water that was
Earlier, or not?
If there were not,
Then during the pouring
Wherever did it go?
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And then how was it
That the pitcher got full?
[533]
,YOD KYANG ‘DRES NAS DBYE BA NI,
,’BYED MI THUB KYANG YOD CE NA,
,MI GSAL BA YI TSUL YOD DE,
,KHYED RANG STENG DU ‘KHOR GSUM MO,
And suppose you say,
“Well actually,
There was an earlier water,
But once the two
Were mixed together,
They could not be
Separated from each other.
But don’t you contradict
Your own positions
When you say
That the two were there,
But just in a way
That nobody could see it?
[534]
,DE BZHIN CHOS SKU’I NGA RGYAL LA’ANG,
,MTSUNGS PAR GYUR PA ‘DI LTA STE,
,YUL CAN BDE BA [f. 265b] CHEN PO DANG,
,YUL NI STONG PA NYID GNYIS NI,
And it’s all the same
When we talk about
Divine pride with
The ultimate body
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Of an Enlightened Being—
Here’s why.
First you have
The subject state of mind,
Which is great bliss.
And then second
You have the object,
Which is emptiness itself.
[535]
,DBYER MI PHYED PA’I BDAG NYID DE,
,NGA’O ZHES PA’I NGA RGYAL LA,
,BZHAG PAR GYUR PA TZAM GYIS NI,
,DE NI STONG PA NGANG DER ZHUGS,
,CHU LA CHU BZHAG JI BZHIN NO,
These two form
An indivisible combination;
And just by saying
That this exists
To the perceptions
Of the divine pride
Which says that
“This is me,”
We fall into
A realm of emptiness.
It’s just as if
We had poured
Water into water.
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[536]
,STONG NYID DU ZHUGS NGA RGYAL NI,
,MNYAM GZHAG NGO NA MED MOD KYANG,
,MNYAM GZHAG DUS DER YOD KYANG NI,
,DBYE BA ‘BYED PAR GA LA NUS,
Now admittedly it’s the case
That there cannot be
A sense of divine pride
Engaging in some emptiness
To the perceptions of a person
Engaged in deep meditation.
Still, it is there
During that deep focus;
Although there isn’t any
Possible way
We could separate the two.
[537]
,CHOS CAN BDE BA CHEN PO LA’ANG,
,DE BZHIN DPE NI MTSUNGS PA YIN,
,’O NA NGA RGYAL GANG DU ‘DZIN,
,NGA RGYAL MNYAM GZHAG DUS SU ‘DZIN,
That metaphor we used
Is the same as well
For our example here—
For the feeling of great bliss.
But what then is it
That the divine pride
Holds on to?
For that divine pride
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Is doing its holding
During this period
Of deep meditation.
[538]
,’DZIN TSUL RANG GI DNGOS GZHI NI,
,YUL CAN BDE BA CHEN PO DANG,
,YUL NI STONG PA NYID GNYIS NI,
,DBYER MED RO GCIG GYUR PA YI,
And just how
Does the pride
Do its holding?
There at the main stage,
The subject state of mind—
Great bliss—along with
The object of emptiness,
These two, become
A single song, indivisible.
[539]
,BDAG NYID DE NI NGA’O ZHES,
,NGA RGYAL DE YI ‘DZIN STANGS NI,
,MED DGAG TZAM GYI GSAL NGAR DANG,
,SHUGS LDAN DRAG LA GRIMS PA YI,
,RGYUN LA MNYAM PAR BZHAG NAS NI,
,BYINGS RGOD MED PAR SKYONGS SHIG GO
And the way in which
The pride holds its object
Is to say, “I am
The combination
Of the two”; we maintain
A strong sense of detail
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With nothing more than
A simple absence of things.
And so you must
Be sure to maintain
A meditation where
You stay in deepest focus—
Free of dullness & agitation—
Concentrating fiercely.
[540]
,’DI DANG SKABS NI ‘GA’ ZHIG TU,
,GZHON NUS BDE BA MYONG BA BZHIN,
,BRJOD DU MED PA’I NYAMS CIG YOD,
,LKUGS PAS RMI LAM RMIS PA BZHIN,
,SMRA RU MED PA’I NYAMS CIG YOD,
At some points
In this process,
We experience a bliss
Like the one that
Young lovers might feel;
It is a state of being beyond
All description at all.
It’s a dream that a deaf mute
Suddenly enjoys.
We experience a sensation
Which is beyond
All verbal description.
[541]
,’DI DAG KHYOD KYIS GO BA MED,
,GO YANG KHYOD NI MA RIG PAS,
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,YID CHES BYED PAR GA LA ‘GYUR,
,KHYOD KYI THAD DU GSANG SGROG GO
All these are not
Things that you could
Ever comprehend.
And even if you
Understood my words,
Still though—since
You are a state
Of misknowing things—
I don’t see how
You could come
To a belief in what I say.
But now, let me share
With you a secret.
[542]
,N’A DA RIL ‘DZIN RJES GZHIG SOGS,
,’OD GSAL SDUD DON ‘DI LTA STE,
,NYI MA’I ‘OD KYIS MUN BSAL BAS,
,CHOS KUN GSAL BAR SNANG BA LTAR,
Here is what it looks like
As we withdraw things
Into the clear light,
During the process
Of steps like holding
The entire lightning bolt,
And then seeing it collapse.
When the light of the sun
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Banishes some darkness,
Everything that’s present
Becomes clear as day.
[543]
,DE BZHIN SHES RAB [f. 266a] ’OD KYIS NI,
,BDEN ‘DZIN MUN PA BSAL BA YI,
,’DZIN STANGS MED DGAG TZAM ZHIG LA,
,GSAL BAR SHUGS LDAN DRAG GRIMS PA’I,
,RGYUN GYI MNYAM GZHAG SKYONGS SHIG GO
It’s just the same
When the light of wisdom
Clears away the darkness
Of holding things
To exist in truth.
The way in which
Things are held to be here
Consists of no more
Than a simple absence.
And then you must strive
To maintain a state
Of deep meditation
Where you hold to that
In a steady flow,
With great clarity,
With perfect power,
With fierce focus.
[544]
,’OD GSAL ZHES SU BTAGS PA YIN,
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,SEMS DANG N’A DA DBYER MED DE,
,DE ‘DRA’I ‘OD GSAL DU ZHUGS PAS,
,DE NI STONG PAR ZHUGS PA YIN,
This then is what
We refer to as
“The clear light”—
The mind and
The lightning bold
Are indivisible.
And when we remain
In this kind of clear light,
That’s what it means
To be staying in emptiness
[545]
,SHES RAB ‘OD KYIS SEMS KYI NI,
,BDEN ‘DZIN MUN PA BSAL BA DE,
,SEMS KYI GNAS LUGS YIN LAGS NA,
,BDEN ‘DZIN KHA LA SMRA BCAD BYIN,
The light of wisdom
Clears away
The darkness of
The habit of holding
Things to be real;
And if this is
The real nature
Of the mind,
Then finally
We have managed
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To plug your mouth,
My dear tendency
To believe that things
Are real.
[546]
,GNAS LUGS ‘DI LA RMONGS PAS NA,
,KHYOD LA MA RIG MING BYUNG MOD,
,NGA NI MKHA’ LA NYI ZLA ‘DRA,
,SHAR BA TZAM GYIS MUN PA SEL,
And since you are
Totally ignorant
Of this real way
Things are,
You have admittedly
Earned yourself the name
Of “misunderstanding.”
I, on the other hand,
Am like the sun and moon
Standing in the sky:
I simply shine, and then
The darkness flees from me.
[547]
,KHYOD NI GTI MUG RANG BZHIN LAS,
,LUG LTAR LUS PA MA YIN NAM,
,N’A DA LA NI SMOS CI DGOS,
,RTEN DANG BRTEN PA’I DKYIL ‘KHOR NI,
,BSGOM PA LA YANG KHYOD KYI NI,
,’DZIN STANGS ‘GAL BA’I GNYEN PO YOD,
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Your very nature
Is one of darkest ignorance;
And so can’t we say
That you’ve been left behind,
Like a lost little lamb?
We don’t even need
To talk about things
Like the lightning bolt;
A person could even
Just simply meditate
On that heavenly body
Of a world to stand on
And those who stand
Upon it. Even that
Would be enough
To provide an antidote
Which contradicts
The way that you
Hold to things to be.
[548]
,DE YI RGYU MTSAN CI PHYIR NA,
,LUS SEMS BDEN PAR MED PAR NI,
,NGES PA’I NGES SHES DE NYID KYI,
,’DZIN STANGS STONG PA NYID ZHUGS PA’I,
,GZUNG RNAM RTEN DANG BRTEN PA YI,
,DKYIL ‘KHOR DU NI SHAR BAS NA,
And what would be
The reason for that?
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Think of this one
Clear perception which sees
That neither body nor mind
Has any true existence.
The way it holds to things
Is to engage in emptiness;
At which point
What it holds to
Displays itself as an
Entire world,
With those who stand
And what they stand upon.
[549]
,THA MAL LUS KYI BDEN SNANG DE,
,SNANG LA RANG BZHIN MED PA YI,
,LHA SKUR BSGOMS PAS BKAG PAS NA,
,NGES NGOR LHA SKU MA GTOGS PA,
,THA MAL LUS KYI BDEN SNANG MED,
Think of the way
Of the normal body,
Where it appears
As though it were real;
And now suppose
That this appearance
Is blocked by meditating
Upon our body as that
Of a divine being Herself.
And now to our perceptions
Appears only the holy body
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Of a divine body—
We lose then any vision
Of some real existence to
Our normal, everyday form.
[550]
,NGES NGOR MI SNANG BA YIN GYI,
,MED PAR SNANG BA MA YIN NO,
,MED PAR SNANG NA GTAN [f. 266b] MED YIN,
The way it works here
Is that this vision
Cannot appear
To our perceptions;
It’s not the case though
That it appears
As non-existent—
Because if it did,
Then it would not
Exist at all.
[551]
,SNANG NGO’I BDEN SNANG MA ZHI YANG,
,NGES NGOR LHA SKU BSGOM PA DE,
,JA {%JI} CHER ‘PHEL ZHING RGYAS PA YI,
,DBYER MED BRTAN PA THOB GYUR NA,
It may be the case
That we have still been
Unable to put to rest
The way things appear
To us as if they were real.
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And yet if we can manage
To gradually increase
And develop the way
In which we meditate
On an Angel’s divine form,
We can attain a state
Which is firm, where we
Are indivisible from them.
[552]
,SNANG NGO’I BDEN SNANG GTAN LOG PAS,
,DE GNYIS SRANG MDA’ MTHO DMAN BZHIN,
,ZHEN PA’ANG DE BZHIN MTSUNGS PA YIN,
At this point we will have
Stopped, entirely,
The appearance to
Our perceptions that
Things could ever be real.
With that then these two
Swing the other way,
Moving like the dishes
Of a scale, one descending
As the other begins to rise.
Which we feel
An attraction to
Will follow just the same.
[553]
,STONG PA NYID LA GNYIS SNANG NI,
,NUB PA ZHES BYA DE NAS ‘BYUNG,
,KHYOD DANG ‘DZIN STANGS ‘GAL BA YI,
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,GNYEN PO YOD PA MA GO BA’I,
,YUS CHEN NGA LA BTZONGS ZHEN ‘DRA,
What we refer to
As the discrepancy
Fading in the face
Of emptiness is a thing
That starts from here.
Those prideful ones
Who fail to comprehend
That there is an antidote
Which holds things
In a way that directly
Contradicts how
You yourself hold to them
Feel like they would
Like to sell me out.
[554]
,SEMS DANG N’A DA DBYER MED DE,
,SNANG LA RANG BZHIN MED YIN PA,
,DE NI ‘OD GSAL DU ZHUGS PAS,
When we see the mind
And the lightning bolt
As indivisible,
One from the other,
And what appears
To us is that nothing
Has any nature
Of its own,
Then that is the point
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Where we have
Entered the clear light.
[555]
,KHYOD DANG ‘DZIN STANGS ‘GAL BA YI,
,GNYEN PO YOD BZHIN DE NYID NI,
,’OD GSAL STONG PA NYID ZHUGS PAS,
,ME NI ‘BAR BA NYID KYI KHAR,
,SHING NI BSNAN PA NYID DANG MTSUNGS,
When thus a person
Possesses the antidote
Which stands opposed
To the way that
You see things,
Then they are one
Who has entered in
To the clear light,
Perfect emptiness.
They become just like
A person standing
At the side of a blazing
Fire, and thrusting
A stick of wood into it.
[556]
,’DI ‘DRA’I TSUL NI GCIG SHES NA,
,DE BZHIN KUN LA BSGRES MDZOD AANG,,
And then once
You comprehend
A single case like this,
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I would ask you
To apply it to each
And every other case.
[557]
,,BDEN ‘DZIN GYIS NI LAN SMRAS PA,
And again The Tendency To Think
Things Are Real replied—
[558]
,KHYOD DANG TSIG PHRENG MKHAS PA ‘GAL,
,THA SNYAD LABS TSE ‘GRIG ‘GRIG ‘DRA,
,MNYAM GZHAG DON LA ‘JOG KHA RANG,
,TSIG SKYON TSUN CHAD SPANG KHA MO,
To say you were
A master of poetics
Would be a true contradiction.
When you express yourself
In words, everything
Seems to be in order.
But when you get to
Trying to describe
What happens in meditation,
You are a little lady
Who seems to have trouble
Avoiding mistakes
In the words you choose.
[559]
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,MNYAM PAR BZHAG PA’I NGO DER NI,
,KHYOD DANG MKHAS PA BSGOM CHEN ‘GA’,
,CI SGOM ‘DI SGOM MED PA DANG,
,CI ZER ‘DI ZER MED PA DANG,
,GAR ‘GRO ‘DI’I ‘GRO’I GTOL MED CING,
,BDEN PAR MED DANG GTAN MED GNYIS,
,NGO DER DBYE BA ‘BYED MI THUB,
When we get to the topic
Of deep meditation,
It would seem that you
And a number of your
Supposed master meditators
Have trouble deciding
That you are meditating on,
Or not;
Have trouble trying to
Say something, or not—
There’s no saying, really,
Where exactly all of you
Are trying to go.
And to minds like these,
I don’t see how you
Can make the distinction
Between not existing
In reality,
And not existing
At all.
[560]
,DE ‘BYED THUB PAR MA GYUR NA,
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,YOD DANG BDEN PAR [f. 267a] YOD PA GNYIS,
,NGO DER DBYE BA MI PHYED PAS,
,MTHA’ GNYIS LA NI GNAS PA YIN,
,DE YANG NGA YI SHES ‘DOD DO,
And if a person
Were unable to divide
Between the two of these,
Then for them there would
Be no dividing
Between the two of existing,
And existing in reality.
And this would put them
Straight into the two extremes;
This is the doubt
I have of you.
[561]
,NGO DER DBYE BA MA PHYED NA,
,THA SNYAD LA PHYE PHAN PA MED,
,NGO DER DBYE BA MA PHYED PAS,
,MGO BO ‘KHOR TSAD DE RU ‘KHOR,
If to your own perceptions
You are unable to make
This distinction,
Then it doesn’t help
Anything that you can
Make the distinction verbally.
And if in the end
You can still not make
This distinction,
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Then that is the measure
Of true confusion
For someone confused as you.
[562]
,NGO DER DBYE BA ‘BYED ZER NA,
,’DI DAG LA NI LAN THOB CIG
And if you claim
That to these perceptions
You are indeed able
To make these distinctions,
Then I ask you to
Give me some answers
To the following
Questions I’ll pose.
[563]
,NGA NI BDEN PAR MED PA LA,
,MNYAM PAR BZHAG PA’I BZHAG NGO DER,
,NGA NI BDEN PAR MED LAGS KYANG,
,STONG GZHI CHOS CAN NGA DE NI,
,BZHAG NGO DE NI YOD DAM MED,
So let’s consider
The perceptions of
A deep meditation
Focused on the fact
That nothing is real.
It may be true that—
To these perceptions—
I am not a thing
That exists as real.
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But let me ask you
A question:
Does the “me”
Which serves as
The thing which
Has the emptiness
Exist to the perceptions
Of that meditation,
Or not?
[564]
,YOD NA NGA NYID YOD PAS NA,
,RTAG PA’I MTHAR NI MA LHUNG NGAM,
,NGA MED BSGOM PA’I DON CI YOD,
If it does,
Then I myself
Exist as well.
But then haven’t you
Fallen into the extreme
Of saying that things
Could never change?
What then would be
The point of meditating
On the fact that
I’m not there?
[565]
,MNYAM GZHAG NGO NA MED MOD KYANG,
,MNYAM GZHAG DUS SU YOD ZER NA,
,YOD PA DER NI DA YOD PAS,
,DE NI NGA YI MNYAM GZHAG YIN,
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,NGA MED BSGOM PAR GA LA ‘GYUR,
And suppose you claim that—
Even though I don’t exist
To the perceptions of
That meditation—
I do indeed exist during
The meditation’s time.
And yet for me
To be there during
The time it is there,
You would have to say
That this is my meditation.
How then could you
Be meditating on the idea
That in fact I was not there?
[566]
,MNYAM GZHAG DUS DER MED ZER NA,
,CHAD PA’I MTHAR NI MA LHUNG NGAM,
And if you claim
That during the period
Of the meditation,
I am in fact not there,
Wouldn’t you then be falling
Into the extreme of saying
That everything had discontinued?
[567]
,SU ZHIG BDEN PAR MED PAR BSGOM,
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,STONG GZHI MED PA’I STONG PA DE,
,CI ‘DRA BA CIG KHYOD KYIS SMROS,
Who then exactly
Would you be meditating upon
And saying that they weren’t real?
How could you ever have
An emptiness without
Anything that was empty?
Tell me that!
[568]
,NGA NI STONG PAR DAG ZIN NAS,
,YOD KYANG DBYE BA MI THUB NA,
,DBYE BA MED KYANG NGA DE NI,
,YOD PA GANG ‘DRAR YOD KYANG NI,
,DE YOD SA RU NGA YOD PAS,
,NGA MED BSGOM PAR GA LA ‘GYUR,
Once you have sent me
Into the purity
That emptiness represents,
Still though I exist there.
And even if you cannot
Separate me out,
And there is no
Division of that kind,
I do continue to exist.
And what kind of existence
Do I have then?
I am there in fact
Where there is any kind
Of existence.
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And so I cannot see
How you could ever
Meditate upon some fact
That I was not there at all.
[569]
,DE GA NGA YI MNYAM GZHAG NI,
,YIN PA KHYOD KYIS MA SHES PAR,
,BSGOM PAS CHOS SKU THOB LA RE,
That fact is that you
Have trouble understanding
That this is my meditation;
And still you have
Some kind of hope that by
Performing this meditation,
You could achieve
The ultimate body
Of an Enlightened Being.
[570]
,DE ‘DRA’I RGYU ‘BRAS YA MTSAN CAN,
,KHYOD KYIS SHES NA NGA LAS NI,
,KHYOD RANG RANG MA RIG TU ‘DUG
This then is truly
A very weird version
On the law of cause & effect.
And if this represents
What you understand,
Then I would have to say
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That you are more
Misunderstanding
Than I ever was!
[571]
,DE LTA YIN [f. 267b] NA RNAM RTOG NI,
,CHOS SKU YIN PA CIS MI ‘THAD,
,SEMS CAN THAMS CAD THOG MED NAS,
,’BAD MED CI PHYIR GROL MI ‘GYUR,
,DE ‘DRA DE YANG NGA YI GROGS,
And if in fact
That were the case,
Then how could it be
Wrong for us to say
That thinking of things
The wrong way was itself
The ultimate body of
An Enlightened Being?
And then every living being
Would have gained
Their liberation since time
With no beginning,
And without any effort
At all!
And so we can say
That this sort of thing
Is a comrade in arms for me.
[571]
,DA LTA’I BSGOM PA PHAL MO CHE,
,SGOM LUGS DE LTAR BYED PA NI,
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,SHING GI DKYIL GYI SRIN BU YIS,
,DKYIL DU ZHUGS NAS SHING ZA LTAR,
The majority of meditation
That people do nowadays
Involves a way of meditating
That they do in just
This very same manner.
Actually it reminds me
Of the way a woodworm
Burrows down into
The middle of a piece
Of wood, and then
Eats the wood from there.
[572]
,KHA LA NGA MED BSGOM MO ZER,
,BSGOM BYA’I DKYIL DU NGA BCUG NAS,
,BSGOMS PAS NGA NYID ‘PHEL BA YIN,
,’DI TSUL MA THINGS BSGOM PA NGAL,
You sit there talking
About how you’re meditating
On the fact that I
Don’t even exist;
And yet I have slipped
In there to the very middle
Of the meditation;
And it’s me that
You’re meditating on—
Which only helps me grow.
You haven’t yet
Figured out how
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This all works, and so
You continue to sweat
In your meditations.
[573]
,SHES RAB KYIS NI LAN SMRAS PA,
And Wisdom,
She replied this way—
[574]
,BUD MED KHRAM MO’I KHA THAG BZHIN,
,CAL COL MANG YANG DON GO CHUNG,
,RMONGS CHEN KHYOD NI NGA RGYAL GYI,
,RTZOM MI’I BZO TA BLTA BLTA DANG,
,TSIG SKYON CI ‘DUG BLTA BA DANG,
,SDEB SBYOR LEGS NYES BLTA BLTA BAS,
,ZAB DON LEGS PAR SMRAS LAGS KYANG,
,KHYOD LA DON DU ‘GYUR BA DKA’,
You are blabbering on
With chatter like a woman
With something to hide,
But there’s very little
Understanding behind it all.
O Master of Ignorance,
You in your arrogance
Keep focusing on what
An author might look like,
On what mistakes they might
Make in their choice of words;
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You sit there evaluating
Their compositional skills.
You speak eloquently about
The deeper meaning of things,
But it’s hard to find
Anything you say that
Will ever be meaningful.
[575]
,KHYOD LA DKA’ YANG RANG NYID NI,
,DOGS PA GCOD PA’I GZHI TZAM YIN,
,GZHAN DU’ANG MNGON THOGS YOD BSAM MED,
You work hard,
But in the end you are
Nothing more than
Someone that we need
To view with some suspicion;
And I do suspect
That the faults you raise
May not apply to
Anyone else at all.
[576]
,KHYOD RANG LAN CIG ‘DEBS SNYAM NA,
,GZHAN SKYON RTOG PA’I BLO SPANGS NAS,
,LEGS PAR NYON LA BSAM BLO THONG,
And if you are thinking
That you would like
To blast some answer
To me now,
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Then let me ask you,
Just for a moment,
To drop this attitude of
Looking for faults in others,
And listen to what
I am about to tell you,
And give it some
Honest thought.
[577]
,BUD SHING LA NI ME ‘BAR TSE,
,’BAR GYIN RANG GIS MNYAM GZHAG NGOR,
,SHING DE SNANG BAR MA GYUR MOD,
,’BAR BA’I MNYAM GZHAG RANG DUS SU,
,SHING DE YOD PAS ME ‘BAR MOD,
,MED NA ME NI GANG LA ‘BAR,
When some firewood
Has broken out
Into healthy flames,
And we focus
Our concentration
On the wood
Even as it blazes,
One would have to agree
That the firewood itself
Is not something which
Appears then to our perceptions.
During the bright blaze
Of balanced meditation,
We can admittedly say
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That at this moment
The fire leaps up
Because the wood is there.
If the wood weren’t there,
Then what would the fire
Be burning?
[578]
,’BAR ZHING CHES CHER ‘BAR BA DE,
,GOMS SHING BRTAN PAR GYUR BA’I MTHAR,
,SHING DE TSIG NAS BRLAG [f. 268a] PA LTAR,
When the fire blazes,
Blazes ever higher,
We are becoming
Even more accustomed to it,
Even more solid in it.
Then, at the end
Of this process,
The wood is consumed,
And lost to us.
[579]
,DE BZHIN BDEN ‘DZIN BUD SHING LA,
,SHES RAB ‘OD KYI ME ‘BAR BA’I,
,’BAR ZHING RANG GI MNYAM GZHAG NGOR,
,BDEN ‘DZIN BUD SHING MI SNANG BA,
,MED PAR SNANG BA GA LA YIN,
It’s just the same with
The blaze when the fire
Of the light of wisdom
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Blazes atop
The firewood of
This tendency to believe
That things are real.
And then to the perceptions
Of our mind in meditation
The firewood of believing
That things are real
Ceases to appear.
How could something
Ever make a bright appearance
From a state where
It no longer existed?
[580]
,MNYAM GZHAG NGO NA MED PA DE,
,BDEN PAR MED PA’I DON YIN GYI,
,CHAD MTHAR LHUNG BA GA LA ZER,
,THA SNYAD DU YANG MED PA NI,
,CHAD PA’I MTHAR LHUNG ZHES BYA’O,
When something no longer exists
To the perceptions of deep meditation,
This is what we refer to
When we say that it possesses
No real existence.
How then could we call that
Falling into the extreme
Of saying that everything
There is had ceased to be?
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Rather, it’s the claim
That things do not exist
Even in a nominal sense
That we refer to
As having fallen into
The extreme of thinking
That everything there is
Has simply discontinued.
[581]
,MNYAM GZHAG DO {%NGO} NA MI SNANG YANG,
,MNYAM GZHAG DUS SU YOD PA LA,
,SHES RAB ‘OD KYI ME DE NI,
,’BAR GYI DE LAS GZHAN DU NA,
,JI TZAM ‘BAR YANG ‘DI DUS KYI,
,BDEN ‘DZIN BUD SHING GA LA ‘TSIG
The fire of the light
Of wisdom blazes
For things that are there
During the deep meditation,
But which cannot appear
To the perceptions of
That meditation.
If it where not this way,
Then no matter how much
This wisdom blazed otherwise,
How could it at that point
Burn the firewood of holding
That things exist in truth?
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[582]
,KHONG RANG TSIG SAR KHO RANG LAS,
,’BAR GYI GZHAN DU MA YIN NO,
A blaze can only
Rise from something
Where that same thing
Is being burned—
If could not be
Any other way.
[583]
, GAL TE TSIG GO ZHE NA NI,
,’DRE NI SHAR DANG YA STAGS NUB,
,RKUN MA SPANG LA RJES GCOD NAGS,
,DE ‘DRA’I RGYU ‘BRAS YA MTSAN CAN,
And if you continue
To insist that it burns,
Then you must be living out
A very strange cause & effect,
Where an evil spirit
If hanging around
The door to the east,
And you place an offering
To appease them
Outside the door facing west.
Or you secure the doors
To your house,
Before you finish
Chasing the burglar out.
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[584]
,DPE DON GNYIS KYIS GO NUS KYANG,
,GAL PO CHE YI YANG SKYOR NA,
,NGA NI BDEN PAR MED PA LA,
,MNYAM PAR BZHAG PA’I BZHAG NGO DAR {%DER},
,NGA NI MI SNANG BA YIN KYANG,
,RTAG MTHAR LHUNG BAR MI ‘GYUR ZHING,
,’DI YIS MED MTHA’ SEL BA YIN,
Now normally a person
Can understand a point
Once we offer them both
A metaphor and an explanation
Of exactly what it refers to.
But since this item
Is so very crucial,
Let me repeat myself.
When I am in deep meditation
On the fact that nothing
Is real, then to my perceptions
At that moment, I am not
Something which can appear—
But that doesn’t imply
That at that moment
I have fallen into the extreme
Of thinking that things
Would have to last forever;
And this in fact
Would also eliminate
The possibility of falling
Into the extreme of
Thinking that nothing exists.
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[585]
,CI PHYIR STONG GZHI CHOS CAN GYI,
,NGA NI YOD PAS NGA MED KYI,
,MTHA’ NI AE SEL KHYOD RANG LTOS,
And you should try
To notice here whether—
If it’s the case
That I am present
As an example of that
Thing which possesses
The emptiness—
Then wouldn’t the extreme
Of thinking that I
Did not exist at all
Be automatically prevented?
[586]
,BZHAG DUS NGA NI YOD PAS NA,
,YOD BZHIN DE GA BDEN MED DU,
,BSGOM GYI GZHAN DU MA YIN NO,
,DE YIS RTAG MTHAR LHUNG BA SEL,
If when these things
Are decided,
I am standing there
Existing, then what is
Happening is that
People are meditating
On the fact that
Right there, right then,
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I am something
That cannot exist as real—
And it cannot be
Any other way.
This then prevents
Us from falling into
The extreme of saying that
Things could last forever.
[587]
,DE GA BDEN MED BSGOM PA LA,
,SHING SRIN [f. 268b] DPE YI MTSUNGS PA ‘KHRUL,
,DE GA BDEN MED MI BSGOM PAR,
,’JOG NA SHING SRIN MTSUNGS PA YIN,
If we can accomplish
Our meditation on the fact
That nothing is real
At this very point,
Then the metaphor
Of a woodworm
Deep in the wood
Would no longer hold true.
If we posit the case
That we cannot at this point
Meditate on the lack
Of something real,
Then truly we fit
The metaphor of
The woodworm in the wood.
[588]
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,MNYAM GZHAG DUS SU NGA MED NA,
,SU ZHIG BDEN PAR MED PAR BSGOM,
,STONG GZHI MED PA’I STONG PA DE,
,CI ‘DRA BA CIG KHYOD KYIS SMROS,
And if it’s the case
That I am absent
There at the point where
We’re in deep meditation,
Then tell me please
Who is it that’s performing
That meditation upon the fact
That things don’t exist
As real?
You will have to tell me now
Just what it looks like
When you have an emptiness
Without anything to be
What’s empty.
[589]
,’KHOR GSUM BYUNG LA NGO TSA MED,
,GONG ‘OG ‘GAL LA KHREL GZHUNG MANG,
,GTI MUG RANG MA RIG GI NI,
,SGRA BSHAD DON DU TSANG NGO AANG,
It seems as though
You have no compunction
At all about contradicting
What you yourself have said;
After all, you have laid out
Contradictions all over
The length of our discussion—
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Things you should have
Been ashamed to say.
Truly you are that thing
We all call “dark ignorance”;
Truly, can’t we say
That you perfectly fit
The literal meaning of
The term “misunderstanding”?
[590]
,KHO BO BDEN PA’I TSIG SMRA YI,
,KHONG GYI BRDZUN TSIG SLU CHOS ‘DI,
,RANG GZHAN MGO BO ‘KHOR BA’I RGYU,
,BRDZUN PA SPONGS LA BDEN PA SMROS,
All the words
I have shared with you here
Are absolutely true;
And the teachings
That you have presented
Are nothing but a lie,
Aimed at deceiving people.
Isn’t it time you gave up
All these lies, these attempts
To confuse yourself
And other people too?
Isn’t it the time
For you to tell the truth?
[591]
,YANGS PA’I RGYAL KHAMS NYI SHAR ‘DRA,
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,SBAL CHUNG LHA RDOR JI BZHIN DU,
,KUN DGA’ BLO GROS ‘PHEL PHYIR YIN,
For the truth is a sun
That rises over
The entire land we live in;
And tadpoles are become like
Gods of Diamond,
For that sun has fed
The growth of all
Their joy, and all
Their wisdom.
[591]
,MKHAS PAS KHREL BAR DGONGS NA’ANG,
,BZOD PA GNAS LUGS DANG {%NGANG} DU BZHES,
,BDAG LA SDIG MED MDZAD DU GSOL,
And o you wise ones,
Keep your thoughts
In humble fear
Of doing wrong;
Remain in a state
Of serenity,
Based upon the reality
Of the way that all things are.
And I pray that
Every one of us
Will be able to avoid
All evil deeds.
[592]
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CES PA ‘DI YANG BTZUN PA BLO BZANG CHOS KYI RGYAL MTSAN GYIS
SMRAS PA DGE LEGS SU GYUR CIG ,, ,,
These words are spoken by the humble monk whose name is
Lobsang Chukyi Gyeltsen; may they bring virtue and
goodness to all.
[593]
,MI BZAD SNYIGS MAS SBAGS PA’I DUS MTHA’ ‘DIR,
,RGYAL BAS BSNGAGS PA DBEN PA’I RI KHROD DU,
,TSUL KHRIMS DAG PA’I GZHI LA GNAS BCAS TE,
,SGO GSUM DGE LA BRTZON RNAMS SKAL BA BZANG,,
We are in the end of days,
When unbearable degeneration
Poisons this very world.
And so I enjoyed great fortune
To have the chance to exert myself
In these good deeds expressed
In my body, speech, and mind
Here in a mountain retreat—
In that kind of isolation
So highly praised
By the Victorious Ones—
At a site where people
Have kept their morality pure.
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