Purifying negativity
I offer them vast and fragrant clouds
Of supreme incense that steal the mind;
And I offer delicacies of the gods,
Together with a variety of food and drink.
Purifying negativity
With my palms pressed together
And my mind fearful of suffering,
Prostrating myself again and again,
I confess them all before the Protectors.
Guarding alertness
A crazy, untamed elephant in this world
Cannot inflict such harm
As the sufferings of the deepest hell
Caused by the rampaging elephant of the mind;
Guarding alertness
Break open even the bones
And look right down to the marrow.
Make your own investigation -
'Where is its essence?'
Guarding alertness
Just as a stork, a cat, or a thief
Accomplish their aims with skill and patience,
So should I accomplish my spiritual goal
Of attaining the state of enlightenment.
Guarding alertness
I should keep places clean and not throw litter
But dispose of it correctly.
Moreover, I should not defile
Water or land used by others.
Guarding alertness
To sleep, I should lie in the appropriate position -
Just as Protector Buddha lay when he entered parinirvana -
And before falling asleep, with alertness,
Make a definite decision to rise quickly.
Relying upon patience
I should not become impatient
With heat and cold, wind and rain,
Or sickness, confinement, or beatings;
For, If I do, the pain will only increase.
Relying upon effort
By depending upon this boat-like human form,
We can cross the great ocean of suffering.
Since such a vessel will be hard to find again,
This is no time to sleep, you fool!
Relying upon effort
If a snake lies dying on the ground,
Crows will act like brave eagles and attack it.
In the same way, if my self-confidence is weak,
Even the slightest adversity will be able to harm me.
Relying upon effort
Therefore, to complete the virtuous actions mentioned above,
I will engage in them with the same enthusiasm
As that with which an elephant, tormented by the heat of the day,
Plunges into a cool, refreshing pool.
Relying upon effort
Therefore, just as I would jump up
If a snake were to crawl into my lap,
So, whenever sleep or laziness threaten,
I will swiftly remove them from my mind.
Relying upon mental stabilisation
Just as a bee takes pollen from a flower,
So should I gather only what I need to sustain my practice
And then, without clinging, return to abide in solitude
As if I had never met anyone.
Relying upon mental stabilisation
When shall I withdraw into the forest
And live among the trees
With birds and deer who say nothing unpleasant
But are a joy to live with?
Relying upon mental stabilisation
Before such time as this body of mine
Is borne aloft by four pall bearers
And worldly beings grieve my passing,
I will withdraw to the solitude of the forest.
Relying upon mental stabilisation
Although we jealously guard our lover from others' advances,
The Lord of Death will take them from us
And their body will be burned or buried in the ground;
So what is the point of our jealousy and attachment?
Relying upon mental stabilisation
Since both dead bodies and living bodies
Are mere collections of flesh and bone,
Why am I attracted to living bodies but not to dead ones?
Thinking in this way, I should stop attachment to others' bodies.
Relying upon mental stabilisation
You have no desire for the body of an insect, however small,
That emerges from a pile of dung;
So why do you desire a gross, impure body
That is produced from thirty-six impure substances?
Relying upon mental stabilisation
Just as I regard the hands and so forth
As limbs of my body,
So should I regard all living beings
As limbs of a living whole.
The perfection of wisdom
Furthermore, demonic forces are constantly striving
To cast us into the vast wasteland of the lower realms.
There are many mistaken paths to mislead us,
And we find it difficult to resolve stultifying doubts.