SFTH_Interior_Final_REV0709 7/9/09 12:50 PM Page i Straight from the Heart SFTH_Interior_Final_REV0709 7/9/09 12:50 PM Page ii SFTH_Interior_Final_REV0709 7/9/09 12:50 PM Page iii Straight from the Heart Buddhist Pith Instructions Translated and introduced by Karl Brunnhölzl Snow Lion Publications ithaca, new york • boulder, colorado SFTH_Interior_Final_REV0709 7/9/09 12:50 PM Page iv Snow Lion Publications P. O. Box 6483 Ithaca, NY 14851 USA (607) 273-8519 www.snowlionpub.com Copyright © 2007 Karl Brunnhölzl All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publisher. Printed in USA on acid-free recycled paper. ISBN-10: 1-55939-279-7 ISBN-13: 978-1-55939-279-2 Designed and typeset by Gopa & Ted2, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Straight from the heart : Buddhist pith instructions / translated and introduced by Karl Brunnhölzl. p. cm. Translation of selections in Sanskrit or Tibetan. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-13: 978-1-55939-279-2 (alk. paper) ISBN-10: 1-55939-279-7 (alk. paper) 1. Buddhism—Doctrines—Early works to 1800. 2. Spiritual life— Buddhism—Early works to 1800. I. Brunnhölzl, Karl. BQ4165.S86 2007 294.3'4—dc22 2007005951 SFTH_Interior_Final_REV0709 7/9/09 12:50 PM Page v For Mette Tak for all din kærlighed SFTH_Interior_Final_REV0709 7/9/09 12:50 PM Page vi SFTH_Interior_Final_REV0709 7/9/09 12:50 PM Page vii Table of Contents Preface xi In Praise of Prajñ›p›ramit› by R›hulabhadra with a Commentary by Rongdön Shéja Künrig 1 Three Praises by N›g›rjuna 9 A Summary of the Stages of Meditating on the Ultimate Bodhicitta by AŸvagho˝a 23 A Presentation of the Three Natures and Nonconceptual Wisdom by Asaºga 31 Instruction on the Three Natures by Vasubandhu 43 Nine Stanzas on Prajñ›p›ramit› and Their Autocommentary by Kambala 55 From The Prayer Requested by Namké Nyingbo by Padmasambhava 63 The Great Stanzas on Prajñ›p›ramit› by firyadeva 65 Two Texts by AtiŸa 75 Pith Instructions on Mah›mudr› by Tilopa with a Commentary by the Fifth Shamarpa, Göncho Yenla 93 The Entrance into the Prajñ› of Madhyamaka by Candrakırti 119 On Maitrıpa and His Cycle of Twenty-five Works on Mental Nonengagement, Including Sahajavajra’s Commentary on the Ten Stanzas on True Reality 125 SFTH_Interior_Final_REV0709 7/9/09 12:50 PM Page viii viii straight from the heart Vajr›yudha’s Praise to MañjuŸrı with a Commentary by Jamyang Kyentsé Wangbo 191 Padampa Sangyé’s Meetings with Milarepa and the Nun Düdsi Gyi 203 Gampopa’s Song When He Reached Enlightenment 217 Three Songs by Rechungba 219 The Song about the Few by Baromba Tarma Wangchug 231 The Great Elimination of Obstacles by Kyobpa Jigden Sumgön 237 Two Songs by Tragba Gyaltsen 241 Two Texts by Sakya Pa˚˜ita 277 A Song on Impermanence by the Omniscient Longchen Rabjam 283 Songs for and by the Mah›siddha Tangtong Gyalbo 285 Supplication to the Tagbo Kagyü by Pengar Jambel Sangbo with a Commentary by Thrangu Rinpoché 301 The Lamp That Illuminates the Four Dharmas by the Fourth Shamarpa, Chökyi Tragba Yeshé Balsangbo 321 A Song to the Guru by ⁄›kya Chogden 331 Lord Milarepa’s Instructions to Master Gampopa with a Commentary by the Eighth Karmapa, Mikyö Dorje 335 A Pronouncement of Realization: A Song on View, Meditation, Conduct, and Fruition by the Sixth Shamarpa, Chökyi Wangchug 343 The Song of Supplicating Machig Labdrön by Karma Chagmé 383 A Song on the View by Janggya Rölpé Dorje with a Commentary by Ju Mipham Rinpoché 391 A Song on the View by the Thirteenth Karmapa, Düdül Dorje 429 SFTH_Interior_Final_REV0709 7/9/09 12:50 PM Page ix contents ix Two Poems by Patrul Rinpoché 441 Pointing Out Instructions by Künkyen Dashi Öser 447 Pith Instructions on Mah›mudr› by Ju Mipham Rinpoché 451 Instruction to Practice the Divine Dharma with Pith by Gendün Chöpel 453 Appendix: The Four Great and Eight Lesser Kagyü Schools 459 Glossary: English–Sanskrit–Tibetan 461 Bibliography 465 Notes 475 SFTH_Interior_Final_REV0709 7/9/09 12:50 PM Page x SFTH_Interior_Final_REV0709 7/9/09 12:50 PM Page xi Preface his book is an anthology of about sixty texts by forty authors coming from the major strands of Indian mah›y›na and Tvajray›na Buddhism and all four Tibetan Buddhist schools, T spanning two thousand years of Buddhist thought in those two countries. There is great variety in the topics, styles, and lengths of these texts—most of them are poems or songs of realization, some are meditation instructions, and a few are more philosophical treatises. Many of them are translated here for the first time from Sanskrit or Tibetan into a Western language and/or supplemented with commentaries hitherto inaccessible in Western tongues. I have worked on this project in between other major tasks over several years and the criteria that made me include the texts presented here became more numerous as time went by. Some caught my attention through their beautiful poetry or powerful imagery, others through their profound pith instructions. Others share very per- sonal advice for life, which seems to come directly from the mouth of the author sitting right in front of us. A number of these works even serve as immediate and profound practice instructions. Several are just delight- fully unconventional or even outrageous, letting in a lot of fresh air on petrified views or musty traditions. Most of them are simply unknown precious gems that, in my eyes, definitely deserve a wider audience. In particular, this goes for the texts coming from the Tibetan Kagyü lineage, so this is also a small contribution to present more of the rich heritage of that tradition. What all of the texts have in common is that I just person- ally like them a lot—they started to inspire me at some point in my Bud- dhist life and continue to do so. Since each of the works is preceded by a brief introduction and a short biography of its author, no lenghty introduction is needed here. However, just a few words on the overall spirit of the book may be in order. As for the biographies contained here, one needs to consider that the sense of SFTH_Interior_Final_REV0709 7/9/09 12:50 PM Page xii xii straight from the heart history and the purpose of hagiography in ancient India and Tibet was very different from ours. “Hard” historical facts or dates are often absent or neglected and most biographies are mixed or consist entirely of what we in the West would call “legends,” containing a good deal of “supernat- ural” stories and feats. Also the attributions of certain texts to certain authors are often disputed by modern scholars on the basis of a number of criteria. But it is to be kept in mind that all those biographical accounts were never meant as precise historical documents, but as edifying exam- ples for students on the same spiritual path to expand their limited out- look by “mind-blowing” stories. Furthermore, attempts to pin down the exact affiliations of individual masters with certain fixed views, schools, or lineages must often fail, since Buddhist teachers always guide individual disciples through individual means, which can vary greatly depending on the audience, the student’s capacities, external circumstances, and so on. When considering the vast- ness and diversity of Buddha ⁄›kyamuni’s teachings, he was the best example for that approach, which still continues to be employed in all Buddhist traditions to this day. In that vein, some of the texts and songs in this volume directly address sectarianism and a rigid “black-and-white” outlook on what is right and wrong or what is an authentic Buddhist teaching and what not. Given that all Buddhist teachings are meant as a help for beings in their individ- ual situations in life, the question is not what is absolutely right or polit- ically correct, but what makes sense and is beneficial for a certain person at a certain time and place in their life. Needless to say, that can be the exact opposite of what is good for somebody else. Thus, the skillful means of masters to guide limitless sentient beings are and must be as limitless as those beings with their limitless afflictions, dispositions, and faculties. What counts in the end is whether the practical application of specific teachings leads those beings to freedom from ignorance, afflictions, and suffering or not. As Maitreya’s Sublime Continuum says, this is the crite- rion for genuine dharma, no matter who teaches it: The words that are endowed with welfare, are connected to the dharma, Relinquish the afflictions of the three realms, And teach the benefit of peace SFTH_Interior_Final_REV0709 7/9/09 12:50 PM Page xiii preface xiii Are the words of the Great Seer1—their opposite is something else. Whatever is explained by someone with an undistracted mind, Inspired solely by the teachings of the Victor, And in accordance with the path of attaining liberation Is to be placed on your head just like the words of the Great Seer.2 The SÒtra of the Treasury of the Tath›gata declares: K›Ÿyapa, it is as follows: Some people may suffer from the unfounded worry that [they have swallowed some] poison. They say, “I drank poison! I drank poison!” and beat their breasts and lament. For their sake, a person who is skilled in medical treatments will act in such a way as to remove this unreal poison [by, for example, administering an emetic], thereby overcoming the [person’s] belief that stems from sus- pecting [the ingestion of] poison.