Advice for Bumthang Lama

Advice for Bumthang Lama[1]

from The Essential Amrita of Profound Meaning: Oral Instructions and Practical Advice Bestowed Upon Fortunate Followers, Eye-opener to What is to be Adopted and Abandoned

by Chokgyur Dechen Lingpa

Relying on the guru and the Three Jewels,
You should uphold discipline, with your own mind as the witness.
Don’t scatter your thoughts. Train one-pointedly in calm abiding.
With the personal liberation vows, establish the foundation.

To begin with, arouse bodhicitta, the mind set on supreme awakening.
In the middle, benefit others from within a non-conceptual state.
In conclusion, through excellent dedications and aspirations,
Extract the essence of the Great Vehicle bodhicitta.

With the devotion that sees the guru as buddha,
Train in the generation stage that recognizes environment and beings as divine,
And attain the fruition of the Secret Mantra Vajra Vehicle—
The completion stage of the unity of bliss and emptiness.

In particular, rest in the awareness of mind essence.
Abide in the inconceivable, inexpressible, clear-empty state.
Whatever thoughts arise, like rain falling on a lake,
They are self-liberated. To maintain this is a Great Perfection pith instruction.

Were you to ask a hundred gurus, there would be no more than this.
Were you to read a thousand volumes of scripture, it would all come down to this.
So now don’t be too distracted, but apply yourself to meditation.
Since study, reflection, and meditation are the highway of the path,
You must exert yourself in them, and not get distracted!

Getting lost in distraction, accumulating wealth, just chatting idly—
Can you really bear to loaf around in such a meaningless way?
Don’t you see the great looming abyss of samsara?!
Make meaningful this human body of yours, endowed with freedom!
Please, I request you, create the auspicious conditions for reaching awakening in this life.

This heart advice was given by Chokgyur Lingpa
To Bumthang Lama of Mön. May it bring goodness!

| Samye Translations, 2023.

Bibliography

Source text

mChog gyur gling pa, “rjes 'jug skal bzang rnams la bstsal pa’i zhal gdams bslab bya nyams len gyi skor spang blang mig 'byed zab don snying gi bdud rtsi.” In mChog gling bka’ ’bum skor. Vol. 36 of mChog gling bde chen zhig po gling pa yi zab gter yid bzhin nor bu’i mdzod chen po, 112–113. Kathmandu, Nepal: Ka-nying Shedrub Ling monastery, 2004.

Version: 1.0-20231206