Mahāmudrā: The Swift Way

Mahāmudrā: The Swift Way to Become a Lord of Realization

by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye

Embodiment of all sources of refuge, noble guru,
Inspire us with your blessings, I pray!

Now that you have this unique opportunity, free and well-favoured,
Use it, I beg you, to practise Dharma for the benefit of future lives.
Human life is like the sun shining between the clouds:
It can be gone in a moment, with nothing accomplished.
And regret at the moment of death will be to no avail.
So practise straightaway with diligent enthusiasm.

The Dharma is vast and it has many forms,
But the teachings that bring Buddhahood in a single lifetime
Are the two ultimate systems of Mahāmudrā and Dzogchen.
The Mahāmudrā of bliss and emptiness on the path of means
Is the actual practice of secret mantra,
But those who practise it are few and far between.
The Mahāmudrā of the innate on the path of liberation
Is an easier practice offering great reward at little risk,
And is of benefit to all, regardless of capacity.

For this, take the practice to heart in its essential form.
Motivate yourself with reflection on impermanence and death,
And limit all unnecessary activity and projects.
Generate disgust and renunciation from the depths of your heart
For the whole of saṃsāra and its three realms.
Purify your mind with the preliminaries in the beginning.
Then, for the main part, practise guru yoga,
And let your devotion develop and increase.
With your body in the correct posture,
Look into the essence of mind, be it moving or still.
Whether it is in motion or not,
Its nature remains the same.
So settle in an unaltered experience of its essence.
It's crucial that you're constantly mindful and aware.
When a stable stillness of mind develops,
Then, without deliberate clinging or fixation,
Blend it with sensory perceptions and states of mind,
And thereby integrate your thoughts into the path.
When seeing a fleeting thought in the present moment,
By viewing its essence with penetrating presence,
It is freed by itself and dawns as dharmakāya.
There's no other activity in the essence of mind,
So don't manipulate mind in the next moment.
If, without trying to apply a patch to your thoughts,
You remain relaxed, undistracted while not meditating,
In the natural flow of genuine mind, as it actually abides,
You will swiftly become a powerful lord of realization.