Alice Bel Colle

Escursione sulle colline dell' alto Monferrato a cavallo tra le province di Asti ed Alessandria partendo da Alice Bel Colle




MILAREPA'S FIRST MEETING
\iVITH RECHUNGPA
Obeisance to all Gurus
As PROPHESIED by [Marpa], Milarepa went to the upper part of
Gung Tang. When he arrived at the Castle there, he found that
many people were building a house and asked them for some food.
They replied, "We are working on this building. You can see that
we are very busy and have no time for that sort of thing. It looks
as though you have plenty of time to spare, so why don't you join us
in the work?" ·
Milarepa said, "Yes, I now have plenty of leisure, but I have earned
it by finishing the construction of my 'house' in my own way. Even if
you do not give me any food, I will never work on a worldly build-
ing, which I would most certainly abandon." The men asked him, "How
did you build your house, and why do you spurn our work so
strongly?"
Milarepa sang in reply:
Faith is the firm foundation of my house,
Diligence forms the high walls,
Meditation makes the huge bricks,
And Wisdom is the great cornerstone.
With these four things I built my castle,
And it will last as long as the Truth eternal!
Your worldly houses are delusions,
Mere prisons for the demons,
And so I would abandon and desert them.
The workers said, "What you have sung is most enlightening. Please
also tell us whether, in your way of life, you have anything like
Milarepa's First Meeting with Rechungpa 107
farms, properties, relatives, companions, wives, and children? It seems
to us that these things are worth more than you have suggested. Please
tell us what possessions you have that are so much better than ours?
Why do you look upon our way of life as worthless?"
Milarepa answered:
The Alaya Consciousness1 is the good earth,
The inner teaching is the seed that is sowed,
Achievement in meditation is the sprout,
And the Three Bodies of Buddha are the
ripened crop.
These are the four lasting mainstays of
heavenly farming.
Your worldly farming, delusive and deceiving,
Is merely the slave-labor of the hungry;
Without hesitation I discard it!
The fine warehouse of Siinyata,
The Supramundane Jewels,2
The service and action of the Ten Virtues,
And the great happiness of Non-outflow3 -
These four jewels are the lasting proper-
ties of Heaven.
Your worldly jewels and possessions are
deceiving and delusive;
Like deceptive magic spells, they lead you astray.
Without any hesitation, I discard them.
The Father and Mother Buddha are my parents,
The immaculate Dharma is my face,
The assembly of Sangha are my cousins and nephews,
And the guardians of Dharma are my friends.
These four are my lasting, heavenly kinsmen.
Your worldly kinsmen are deceitful and delusive;
Without hesitation I throw all ephemeral
associates away!
The Blissful Passing• is like my father,
The Blissful Illumination in well-done
work is (my background],
The Two-in-One is my glossy, lustrous skin,
The Experiences and Realization5 are my