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.