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Chapter One

The Grand Poem on the Perfectionof Wisdom

by Aryadeva the Brahmin

In Sanskrit: Arya-prajnaparamita-upadesaIn Tibetan: `Phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa'i man ngagThe Instructions on the Perfection of Wisdom

To all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas I offer salutation with full prostration.

By the sun and moon of your realization, you vanquish the misconceptions born from ignorance,While the moisture of your compassion brings living beings to spiritual maturity.To Mañjusri, Lion of Speech, who perfectly accomplishes both aims,I bow down in pure devotion with body, speech and mind.

Here I will explain to the best of my abilities and for others' benefit[The ultimate nature of the mind], the actual meaning of the nondual Perfection of Wisdom,The heart essence of what is to be practiced, devoid of any supportAnd free from conceptually conceived extremes such as eternalist and nihilist views.

Through [spontaneous] awareness free of artifice and corruptionRecognize your mind as the root of both samsara and nirvana.

It is not produced by causes or conditions,Unborn, naturally serene, its nature is emptiness.

To realize [this nature] is like cutting down a tree trunk at the root:No more branches of thoughts will ever grow forth from there.Whatever appears in your mind, real or imaginary,Give as vast offerings to the Lama [and the Triple] Gem.

Offer salutation with full prostration, present homage and offerings,Then, with devotion, go for refuge and generate thealtruistic mind set on enlightenment.Once you have obtained the oral instructions, guard them like your eyes.Even at the cost of your life never abandon the instructions on the bodhisattva's [way of life],And show perseverance in sticking to the training.

Abandon the ten negative acts such as killing and the rest,And encourage others to do likewise.Follow meticulously these instructions to renounce killing and other such acts.Live your life that way.

However, by merely abandoning the ten negative actsYou will not find the supreme path.You should put into practice the six perfectionsAnd encourage others to do likewise.Follow meticulously these six perfections.Live your life that way.

As you get [increasingly] involved in the practice of positive activitySuch as the six perfections and more,Exaltation should be rejected as soon as it arises.

As long as you fail to realize the profound meaning of the Perfection of WisdomAs utterly nondual and devoid of every extremeSuch as virtue and fault, acceptance and rejection, hope and fear,Even though each inclination [of the mind] is transformed into virtue,In this very life you will not attain liberation.

So, with regard to all phenomena,Composite and noncomposite [material and imaginary],Whether the karmic impact is positive or negative,Don't turn anything into a fixed reference or support, not even so much as an atom.

Without, however, relying on skillful means as well,Perfection of Wisdom will not manifest itself,Just as without preparing the fieldNo harvest will ever appear.

And without first having gained certainty about the [definitive] meaning of Prajñaparamita,Even if you practice [the other perfections of] generosity, discipline and patience, perseverance and meditative concentration,[It will be like] a blind man who has lost his stick:How could he possibly figure out the path?

The meaning of the PrajñaparamitaIs not to be looked for elsewhere: it exists within yourself.Neither real nor endowed with characteristics,The nature [of the mind] is the great clear light.

Separate from any kind of mental fabricationAnd naturally purified of conceptual recollectionIs the Buddha, whom one keeps in mind while practicing meditation.

Neither outer nor inner, neither god nor demon,Not existence in samsara's cycles nor nirvana's beyond,Neither manifest nor empty:[Mind is] free from any such dual appearances.This is the Buddha's true intention, his flawless uncontrived view.If looking for a simile, one could say it is like space.

The supreme method here [to realize the nature of mind]Is to unite space and awareness.When thus mixing space and awareness,You spontaneously purify fixed notionsSuch as reality and characteristics, negating and establishing,And you abide in the truth of suchness, dharmata,Free from dualistic subject-object cognition.

With body and mind thus [in their natural state],Without further intervention, a fresh awareness arises,Extending just as far as the reach of empty space,In this vast expanse remain absorbed without constraints or limits.

At that time you will experience a state of consciousnessFree from any support, from any sort of foundation,An awareness abiding nowhere,Not absorbed in either the five aggregates or any outer object.

In desolate rocky mountains or among snowy peaks,In charnel fields and cremation grounds, in wilderness,In villages and in towns, in caves and lonely grottos,Wherever you may be, meditate on nonduality.

Put into practice during all four activities of life [—walking, sleeping, sitting down and eating—]The meaning of the unborn [nature of mind] as the guru has taught.

In the course of your practice,Through the blessing of the paramitasAnd the realization of phenomena as empty,Obstacles will not occur.Within emptiness,How could [obstacles] arise from emptiness?

Once the essence of reality is realized as emptyAnd beyond any signs and characteristics,Resting in this emptiness you will purify to the utmostAll the objects of the five gates [of the senses]:Forms and sounds, odors, tastes and that which can be touched.Though coarse emotional afflictionsWill still arise within and subtle ego-grasping too,In nonduality they'll become self-liberated, and of no more importance.

Having gained such realization, abide in suchness and become liberated;This is like reaching the Golden Islands[Where there are no impurities, no earth or stones].

When someone is killed, his life cut off at the root,There is no further need [for the murderer] to also block the gatesOf the [victim's] sense organs, eyes and the rest.Likewise, when mind itself is cut off at the root,You will realize all phenomena as empty.

Thus to cut off mind itself at the root,To cut through the five poisons of mental afflictions,To cut through extreme views and mental formations during meditation,As well as anxiety, hope and fear in actionsAnd to cut through arrogance [which is grasping at a self]—Since all this is a matter of cutting through ["chöd pa"],This is the real meaning of Chöd.

Now as for the tangible demons of strong longing for manifest reality,Of passionate attraction, of hatred or aversion,How does one cut through these?Depending on whether your experience is excellent, medium, or ordinary,Remain in spontaneous absorption free of thought, similar to a dense forest;Meditate with your concentration aimed at these [demons], as if you were endowed with supernatural powers;Or, like [using] a sharp axe, firmly establish [their non-existence] by analysis and reasoning.

What are known as the intangible demonsConsist of magical manifestations of gods and demons, and of arrogance.If overcome with fear, remain absorbed in this fear,Just like directing the burning needle of moxibustion with sharp precision onto the flesh.

With the Three Jewels for your sole shelter and refuge,Remain as one who lives below the constellations of the starry sky.Any dealings, close or distant, with gods or demons should be abandoned.Once and for all sever [all ties with] close friends and relatives.

The definitive sign [of realization] in Chöd is to be free from fear.The level of final accomplishment in the practiceIs the spontaneous pacification of magical interferences [of gods and demons].

But if your practice is not right you will run away in panic[Chased by such magical interferences].Don't flee but remain unwavering, solid like a doorframe,Even if terror or panic arise.Immutable, like a wooden stake, eradicate all negativity,Force down and subdue [any demonic interference].

Such are the authentic oral instructions [on Chöd].

When you are thus meditating on nondual Prajñaparamita,The local gods and demons can't stand it,And in despair cause magical interferences of all kinds,Real, imaginary or in dreams.In dealing with these,Those of most excellent [meditational capacity] should remain absorbed in the meaning of the nondual [nature of mind];Those of medium capacity should concentrate on those very wonders;Those of average capacity should transform their aggregates into an offering of food.Next, generate an awareness that experiences mind free of any reference points [or mental fabrications].

Having moved to desolate spots,When magical displays of gods or demons arise,Separate awareness from the material body [through transference of consciousness].The physical body is like a stone—nothing can harm it—And mind has no real existence, being similar to space.So who or what could possibly be harmed?Pondering this, remain in suchness, with no anxiety, no fear.Even when it feels as if gods and demons are carrying away your body,That inanimate corpse,Don't move an inch from the seat you have taken,Nor feel scared or think of danger.

Whatever wandering thoughts arise are demons that arise from your own mind.And mind has not even an atom of existence: no place where it comes from,No place where it abides, no place for it to go to, either.Once liberated, it is not where Buddhahood comes from;Still confused, it could not possibly be drifting through samsara

[For this natural state is beyond both liberation and confusion].All virtuous and negative deeds are totally pure,Primordially pure, primordially liberated, primordially Buddhahood.Still, not to shun faults and negative acts, that's a mistake!

Attachment to a philosophical tenet is obscuration.Nondual, self-liberated is the ultimate nature [of the mind].Take refuge in the essence of realityAnd generate the mind set on enlightenment.

When encountering inner obstructions,Meditate on nonduality in the wilds.If you wish to benefit someone [through the practice of Chöd],Generate compassion as a preliminary,Then realize how yourself, the sick person, the demon and the illnessAre all empty [devoid of inherent existence].Then cleanse by means of mudra and meditate upon emptiness.The patient should then lie down facing you.If thereby the disease is not pacifiedTake the patient to a desolate spot, take refuge and generate the mind set on enlightenment.Three times step over the sick person and follow this by meditation [on emptiness]Free from extremes [and reference points].Next [in the patient's name] present a mandala offeringTogether with the small sticks and pebbles over which you have invoked the blessing.

The gods of the upper regions should be viewed as sacredAnd the nagas of the lower regions should be subdued.Any task you request from them, the nagas will accomplish.

Thus befriend through rites the gods from wherever you resideAnd force all nagas into submission, making them act as your servants.Towards guru, yidam-deities, dakinis and protectors, you should feel like their only child.

Once the tangible demons are cut off,The visual world will no longer appear as an enemy.Once the intangible demons are cut off,Male and female harm-bestowing yaksas will be bound by oath.

These and other excellent qualities by means of which to benefit [others]Will eventually become immeasurable.

Advice given by the Brahmin Aryadeva, The Grand Poem Explaining the Perfection of Wisdom, [is hereby completed].

[Colophon]Following direct oral translation made by the Precious Master DampaRinpoché, the pandita from India, in Dingri at the Fern Forest Retreat,Zhama Lotsawa revised [the Tibetan text] and established the definitiveversion.

[Prayer for Auspiciousness]OM SVASTI!In the vast cloud of the profound and secret [teachings] by "the descendant of Iksvaku" [Sakyamuni],If the drum of summer [thunder] of the feats in the equally profound Chöd practiceResounds even just a little thanks to this composition,The joy in the play of the peacocks [beings to be tamed] is bound to increase.

On the meaning of the wisdom, the Conqueror's middle turning of the wheel,Space of the Vajra Queen, space of the Triple Gate to liberation,This very explanation by the supreme authority Aryadeva himselfHas been reprinted, motivated by the three kinds of devotion.By the moon's crystal orb of merit thereby accumulated,May the dense darkness of karma and delusory obscurations be lit;And by the festive banquet of the utterly white light, highest of all,May the kunda flower of mind blossom throughout the triple world.

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Excerpted from Machig Labdrön and the Foundations of Chöd by Jérôme Edou. Copyright © 1996 by Jérôme Edou. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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