Marpa's Dream of Saraha

Marpa was a renowned yogi from southern Tibet (1012-1097), also called the Translator. By making three journeys to India, he brought back to Tibet the teachings of mahamudra. Marpa was a principal figure in the lineage of transmission of the Kagyupa school which is the lineage of my teacher. Marpa is seen as the ideal of the married householder who devotes himself to spirituality without neglecting his worldly obligations.

Here is an excerpt from a poem called, Marpa's Dream of Saraha.

In the cool shade of a grove of plaksa trees, On a tira corpse seat Sat Lord Saraha, the Great Brahman. Then, the pure speech of great bliss arose From the vase of his precious throat. With sign speech in the melody of Brahma, He sang this vajra song which points out things as they are, The meaning of an empty sky free from clouds. Thus, I heard this unborn self-utterance:

"NAMO Compassion and emptiness are inseparable.
This uninterrupted flowing innate mind
Is suchness, primordially pure.

Space is seen in intercourse with space.
Because the root resides at home,
Mind consciousness is imprisoned.

When I meditate on this, subsequent thoughts
Are not patched together in the mind.

Knowing the phenomenal world is the nature of mind,
Meditation requires no further antidote.

The nature of mind cannot be thought.
Rest in this natural state.
When you see this truth, you will be liberated.
Just as a child would, watch the behavior of barbarians.
Be carefree; eat flesh; be a madman.

"Just like a fearless lion,
Let your elephant mind wander free.
See the bees hovering among the flowers.
Not viewing samsara as wrong,
There is no such thing as attaining nirvana.
This is the way of ordinary mind.
Rest in natural freshness.
Do not think of activities.
Do not cling to one side or one direction.
Look into the midst of the space of simplicity."

The exhaustion of all dharmas is the essential truth,
The summit views, mahamudra.
The sign meaning, which captures the essence of mind,
I heard from the mouth of the Great Brahman.

At that instant, I awoke.
I was caught by the iron hook of this unforgettable memory.
Within the dungeon of ignorant sleep,
The vision of insight-wisdom opened up
And the sun dawned in a cloudless sky,

Clearing the dark forest of confusion.
I thought, "Even if I met the buddhas of the three times,
From now on, I would have nothing to ask them."

Some useful definitions:

Vajra

"Diamond" or "adamantine", it stands for true reality, emptiness, the being or essence of everything existing. This emptiness is indestructable like a diamond, that is, imperishable and unborn or uncreated. The spotless purity and translucency of the diamond symbolizes the perfect spotlessness of emptiness, untainted by all the appearances that arise out of it. It is that aspect of reality referred to in Zen in the saying regarding the countless phenomena, "There's not a thing there." This emptiness, however, is not different from things, from all phenomena. It is one and identical with them. This cannot be conceptually "understood" but can be experienced in enlightenment.

Mahamudra

"Great seal," one of the highest teachings of the Vajrayana, which in Tibet is transmitted especially in the Kagyupa school. Mahamudra is described as the realization of emptiness, freedom from samsara, and the inseparability of the two. The "ordinary" practice of mahamudra begins with "dwelling in peace" (shamatha) and leads to transformation of every experience by the qualities of emptiness and luminosity (or clarity). It has sometimes been called "Tibetan Zen."

Samsara

"Cycle of existences," a succession of rebirths that a being goes through within the various modes of existence until it has attained liberation and entered nirvana. Imprisonment in samsara is conditioned by three "unwholesome roots": hatred, desire or craving, and delusion. The essential unity of samsara and nirvana is based on the view that everything is a mental representation, and thus samsara and nirvana are nothing other than labels without real substance, that is, they are empty (shunyata).

Tathata or Suchness

Referring to the absolute, the true nature of all things. Tathata is generally explained as being immutable, immovable, and beyond all concepts and distinctions. "Suchness" is the opposite of "that which is apparent" --phenomena. It is formless, unmade, and devoid of self-nature. Tathata as the thus-being of things and their nonduality is perceived through the realization of the identity of subject and object in the awakening (Bodhi) of supreme enlightenment. Similar in meaning to buddha-nature.

A Song By Gampopa

I offer you the following song by the Tibetan Buddhist saint Gampopa. Gampopa lived in Tibet from 1079-1153. Gampopa founded the monastic tradition of the Kagyupa, which is the lineage of my teacher. My teacher, the venerable Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, has written a book on the teachings of Gampopa called Instructions of Gampopa. He is the abbot of Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Buddhist monastery in Woodstock, NY.

Gampopa sang:

I sing a song from the dharmadhatu of great bliss.
I speak these words in the state of wisdom,
Thus resolving the truth of nonduality.

This compassion that is free from attachment and that benefits others --
Seize firmly as supreme upaya.

This coemergent consciousness --
Seize firmly as wisdom.
When uncertainty arises, that is it.

These discursive thoughts of fixation --
Seize firmly as dharmakaya.
When one experiences this, the essence is seen.

Sights and sounds, the habitual patterns of labeling --
Seize firmly as ultimate truth.
When uncertainty arises, that is it.

These discursive thoughts are the birth of fixation.
When one has mastered this, the truth is seen.

If one desires to realize the truth of this,
Practice continuously, like a river.
Rest loosely, without further fabrications.
Rest naturally without seeking further.
Rest easily without thinking.

Experience and realization are one.
When realization is uninterrupted, that is it.
When it is as limitless as space, that is it.
When one sees one's mind as Buddha, that is it.

Now, I may have realized the true dharmata.
Fixation may have been self-liberated.
Without thinking, I may have spontaneously achieved realization.

This is not ordinary, and is not for the ordinary.
This cannot be understood by great learning.
This cannot be known by great knowledge.
This is not for the labeling of discursive thought.

I remain on the path of blessings.
I attend to the words of the guru.
It is the faithful who achieve realization.
Is your realization like this, all you great meditators?
This should not be told to everyone.

You might find the following definitions helpful when reading the poem:

• Dharmadhatu - "realm of dharma", the true nature that permeates and encompasses phenomena. As a space or realm, then, the realm of dharmas is the uncaused and immutable totality in which all phenomena arise, dwell, and pass away.
• Dharmakaya = "body of the great order", the true nature of the Buddha, which is identical with transcendental reality, the essence of the universe. The dharmakaya is the unity of the Buddha with everything existing.
• Dharmata = "nature of the dharmas", the essence that is the basis of everything. Synonymous with Buddha-nature. Dharma = the cosmic law, the great "norm," underlying our world; above all, the law of karmically determined birth.
• Upaya = "skillful means or methods", upaya is the activity of the absolute in the phenomenal world, which manifests as compassion. From the standpoint of enlightened understanding, individual beings are not perceived as suffering, since nothing exists other than the dharmakaya, the absolute. However, when regarding the universe from the point of view of compassion, enlightened beings recognize suffering, which arises from attachment to forms, everywhere. In order to liberate beings from their suffering-ridden state, enlightened beings (boddhisattvas) devise all possible means (upaya) helpful toward the attainment of nirvana. These are supported by the limitless compassion of the dharmakaya.

A Poem By James Greenbaum

A wonderful poem from my younger brother that was inspired by watching the movie, 2001: A Space Odyseey.

From: James Greenbaum
Sent: Thursday, November 28, 2002 7:03 PM
Subject: HAL 9000

Unlimited light beam energy accelerating at beyond infinity with the weight of the universe the mass of our ability times the height of our standing combined with gravity and the architecture of our reality breathes life into substance suspending in a circular journey where ends meet beginnings.

IBM Think Pads on the desks of our times strange weird fixtures fly through our minds beautiful motions commotions and chimes ringing an old man dies a sperm cell divides fabulous colors filter emotions the form falls on an iris with all of its movement compared to a nebula growing in space with the whale of a tail that swims in the black depths of our brains refusal to see graphic two stage images of canyons skin on the surface of planets or persons.

"If I knew the way, I would take you there ... it's a hand me down come through oooh the mu-zic...."

Gravey pours from a bird dressed for the killing feasting our hearts to content with the seasons reasons alone not enough for sustation holding on to dreams of youth conversations.

Irony flies from a twisting steel blades magnetically turning our lectrical days lecturns chads lentil soup prescriptions presidential pardons political plays.

In the heat of the fire a masquerade burns face lighting icons crystal tube displays symbols God left us whenever we cry cymbals crashing brightly in the forever night sky.