Patrul Rinpoche (1808-1887)
Advice from Me to Myself
Vajrasattva, sole deity, Master,You sit on a full-moon lotus-cushion of white light
In the hundred-petalled full bloom of youth.
Think
of me, Vajrasattva,
You who remain
unmoved within the manifest display
That
is Mahamudra, pure bliss-emptiness.
Listen
up, old bad-karma Patrul,
You
dweller-in-distraction.
For
ages now you've been
Beguiled,
entranced, and fooled by appearances.
Are
you aware of that? Are you?
Right
this very instant, when you're
Under
the spell of mistaken perception
You've
got to watch out.
Don't let
yourself get carried away by this fake and empty life.
Your
mind is spinning around
About
carrying out a lot of useless projects:
It's
a waste! Give it up!
Thinking
about the hundred plans you want to accomplish,
With
never enough time to finish them,
Just
weighs down your mind.
You're
completely distracted
By all these
projects, which never come to an end,
But
keep spreading out more, like ripples in water.
Don't
be a fool: for once, just sit tight.
Listening
to the teachings—you've already heard hundreds of teachings,
But
when you haven't grasped the meaning of even one teaching,
What's
the point of more listening?
Reflecting
on the teachings—even though you've listened,
If
the teachings aren't coming to mind when needed,
What's
the point of more reflection? None.
Meditating
according to the teachings—
If
your meditation practice still isn't curing
The
obscuring states of mind—forget about it!
You've
added up just how many mantras you've done—
But
you aren't accomplishing the kyerim visualization.
You
may get the forms of deities nice and clear—
But
you're not putting an end to subject and object.
You
may tame what appear to be evil spirits and ghosts,
But
you're not training the stream of your own mind.
Your
four fine sessions of sadhana practice,
So
meticulously arranged—
Forget
about them.
When
you're in a good mood,
Your
practice seems to have lots of clarity—
But
you just can't relax into it.
When
you're depressed,
Your practice is
stable enough
But there's no
brilliance to it.
As for awareness,
You
try to force yourself into a rigpa-like state,
As
if stabbing a stake into a target!
When
those yogic positions and gazes keep your mind stable
Only
by keeping mind tethered—
Forget
about them!
Giving
high-sounding lectures
Doesn't do
your mind-stream any good.
The
path of analytical reasoning is precise and acute—
But
it's just more delusion, good for nothing goat-shit.
The
oral instructions are very profound
But
not if you don't put them into practice.
Reading
over and over those dharma texts
That
just occupy your mind and make your eyes sore—
Forget
about it!
You
beat your little damaru drum—ting, ting—
And
your audience thinks it's charming to hear.
You're
reciting words about offering up your body,
But
you still haven't stopped holding it dear.
You're
making your little cymbals go cling, cling—
Without
keeping the ultimate purpose in mind.
All
this dharma-practice equipment
That
seems so attractive—
Forget about
it!
Right now,
those students are all studying so very hard,
But
in the end, they can't keep it up.
Today,
they seem to get the idea,
But
later on, there's not a trace left.
Even
if one of them manages to learn a little,
He
rarely applies his "learning" to his own conduct.
Those
elegant dharma disciples—
Forget
about them!
This
year, he really cares about you,
Next
year, it's not like that.
At
first, he seems modest,
Then he
grows exalted and pompous.
The
more you nurture and cherish him,
The
more distant he grows.
These
dear friends
Who show such smiling
faces to begin with—
Forget about
them!
Her smile
seems so full of joy—
But who
knows if that's really the case?
One
time, it's pure pleasure,
Then
it's nine months of mental pain.
It
might be fine for a month,
But
sooner or later, there's trouble.
People
teasing; your mind embroiled—
Your
lady-friend—
Forget about her!
These
endless rounds of conversation
Are
just attachment and aversion—
It's
just more goat-shit, good for nothing at all.
At
the time it seems marvellously entertaining,
But
really, you're just spreading around stories about other people's
mistakes.
Your audience seems to
be listening politely,
But then
they grow embarrassed for you.
Useless
talk that just make you thirsty—
Forget
about it!
Giving
teachings on meditation texts
Without
yourself having
Gained actual
experience through practice,
Is
like reciting a dance-manual out loud
And
thinking that's the same as actually dancing.
People
may be listening to you with devotion,
But
it just isn't the real thing.
Sooner
or later, when your own actions
Contradict
the teachings, you'll feel ashamed.
Just
mouthing the words,
Giving dharma
explanations that sound so eloquent—
Forget
about it!
When
you don't have a text, you long for it;
Then
when you've finally gotten it, you hardly look at it.
The
number of pages seems few enough,
But
it's a bit hard to find time to copy them all.
Even
if you copied down all the dharma texts on earth,
You
wouldn't be satisfied.
Copying
down texts is a waste of time
(Unless
you get paid)—
So forget about it!
Today,
they're happy as clams—
Tomorrow,
they're furious.
With all their
black moods and white moods,
People
are never satisfied.
Or even if
they're nice enough,
They may not
come through when you really need them,
Disappointing
you even more.
All
this politeness, keeping up a
Courteous
demeanor—
Forget about it!
Worldly
and religious work
Is the province
of gentlemen.
Patrul, old
boy—that's not for you.
Haven't
you noticed what always happens?
An
old bull, once you've gone to the trouble of borrowing him for his
services,
Seems to have absolutely
no desire left in him at all—
(Except
to go back to sleep).
Be like that—desireless.
Just
sleep, eat, piss, shit.
There's
nothing else in life that has to be done.
Don't
get involved with other things:
They're
not the point.
Keep
a low profile,
Sleep.
In
the triple universe
When you're
lower than your company
You should
take the low seat.
Should
you happen to be the superior one,
Don't
get arrogant.
There's
no absolute need to have close friends;
You're
better off just keeping to yourself.
When
you're without any worldly or religious obligations,
Don't
keep on longing to acquire some!
If
you let go of everything—
Everything,
everything—
That's the real
point!