Advice to Myself
Om Svasti!
I pay homage to the Three Jewels!
The jeweled glory of your goodness is a splendor.
You are a shelter for all the living,
Including the gods.
All my sorrows disappear when I remember you.
There is nothing like you.
Seeds from the different sorts of karma we create Are planted in the earth of our basic consciousness, Where predispositions are stored.
Then harvests of illusory appearance sprout forth.
Bless me that these apparent delusions may fade into space.
The crazy apparitions of the world are like dreams.
They are not real.
But they cause many joys and sorrows.
Don’t chase after them.
Reject the longings inside you.
Lotsawa, don’t get stuck on what happens.
The Dharma of samsara has no heart.
This is obvious.
Humans are a race of lost sheep.
They have endless tasks and duties.
You cannot please them even if you really try.
Lotsawa, stop trying to fit in with people.
If your status is high
Your pride gets even higher.
If you are in dire straights
Everyone puts you down.
If you are middle class
There are reasons to be jealous.
Lotsawa, consider what is at the heart of your employment.
If you act honestly
Most people will hate you.
If you act like a crook
Crap will ripen in your mind.
If you hang out
You are obviously unmotivated.
Lotsawa, consider the results of what you do.
If you talk too much
You can’t abstain from blabbering.
If you don’t talk at all
You will be an idiot in the dark.
If you exaggerate and trivialize
You will be a mindless chatterer.
Lotsawa, consider the meaning of what you say.
If you agree with everyone
Your heart is inconsiderate.
If you ask no questions
You are proud of your lack of education.
If you do all kinds of things
You will see your conditions getting better and getting worse.
Lotsawa, consider what it means when you do something.
If you wear nice clothes
They say you’re collecting students.
If you wear tatters
They will look at you in shame and criticize you: Ha!
If you wear different styles
They will make a lot of repetitive gossip about it.
Lotsawa, consider the situations in which you do things.
If you say nice things
You are a social climber who lacks the Dharma.
If you use rude words
Your enemies gather like clouds.
If you are silent
You cannot penetrate their mean hard faces.
Lotsawa, look at the results of your words. 23
If you live alone
They believe you have given up helping others.
If there are a lot of students around
They think you’re worried about how many are in the group.
If you travel all around
They remember you as a bow-legged traveler.
Lotsawa, look at the way things are put together.
If you live in a lonely place
You will be disturbed
By the need to meet and part from people.
If you are disturbed
They will say you have lost your absorption.
If you do a bunch of different things
You will be caught up in a bunch of daydreams.
Lotsawa, think about what samsara really is.
If you teach well
You can’t concern yourself with what things mean.
If you meditate in equanimity
You can’t pay attention to the things that you want.
If you meditate on what things mean
You’ll be stuck with half a mind.
Lotsawa, consider what has happened to your purpose.
Your followers and those who serve you
Do not scheme out all the bad things they do.
But when you give them good advice over and over They look at you like an enemy.
In response to the kindness of taking care of these people Who are endowed with nothing You are treated badly.
Lotsawa, consider what is in the hearts of your followers.
You can’t help everyone all at once.
If you take care of some of them
There will be some others that think you are their enemy.
If you are fair about it
They will only be offended. 24
Lotsawa, what will you do with corrupt followers?
They don’t do anything
But they bloat their carcasses with pride.
They don’t accomplish their own objectives; They don’t have time to accomplish anything at all.
They engage in the Dharma
But it’s obvious that they are doing harm.
Lotsawa, what’s the use of befriending humans?
If you are pristine and honest
They use that as something to fight about.
If you use skill in many kinds of methods They think you’re trying to deceive them.
Even though you do things without ulterior motives People are never pleased.
Lotsawa, aren’t you entertaining people you can’t accommodate?
If you don’t give up lusting after connections You will always be miserable.
If you give up mingling with them
They say you have no compassion.
No matter what you think about
You will find nothing that is blameless.
Lotsawa, you rush around for a bunch of daydreams.
If you take care of every little thing
You are discriminatory.
If you only take care of only the big things They say your samaya is broken.
If you work to prevent some things and accomplish others Enemies will proliferate, both public and insiders.
Lotsawa, don’t work on worldly Dharmas even if times are bad.
If the assembly is large
They get carried away with disruptions.
If the assembly is absent
They say there is no way to get food.
No matter what you do
There will be cause to worry about your hopes and fears. 25 Lotsawa, what are you trying to do in these evil times?
If you give up luxuries
They toss you around like straw for making bricks.
If you keep your luxuries
They say you are a big hoarder.
If you say you are satisfied
They think you are practicing worldly Dharma.
Lotsawa, think about what is in the hearts of the worldly.
If you confidently give in abundance
They say you are rude.
If you don’t give anything
You cut off your connections.
If you claim you are giving the right amount They say you worship the Eight Dharmas [of the World].
Lotsawa, why do you work so hard to do meaningless things?
Friends, servants, and followers offer sustenance to their teachers Because they are connected in so many ways.
That’s how you get tied up.
Each depends on the other,
But the river of sorrow does not stop.
Lotsawa, observe the condition of samsara.
You can see that the Dharmas of samsara are heartless.
It’s hard to get anything done with them.
Delusion’s hassles are never over,
No matter what you try to do.
It’s easy to get scared.
Lotsawa, think about what you will do when you die.
You go on the paths of the dead all by yourself.
Your dear friends and family
Stand around the side of your bed.
Your thoughts are left behind due to the pain of disease and death.
Lotsawa, nothing helps besides the Dharma.
The mandala of the body is made of the four elements.
They resolve back into the earth, wind, and water. 26 You cannot get up.
Everything you see is washed in tears.
Lotsawa, there is no protector besides the Dharma.
When you die your water and wind energies resolve into fire.
Your mouth dries up, your lips retract, and your tongue withdraws.
You feel like you are being carried away in a terrifying river.
Lotsawa, nothing helps but the Dharma.
When your wind energy resolves into the wind Your body’s wind and fire disappear.
You see tongues of fire surround you.
You can’t handle the fear.
Lotsawa, consider what, besides the Dharma, will help.
Your wind energy resolves into the sky.
Your breath flow stops.
It feels like you are uncontrollably carried away By a large tornado.
Lotsawa, nothing will protect you besides the Dharma.
Your awareness of the world disappears.
You can’t control it.
On the other side
You see the fearful Lord of the Dead.
You can’t figure out what to do.
You become deeply depressed.
Lotsawa, there is no shelter besides the Dharma.
The dead person is shuffled to the side of the bed.
The body can’t get back its breath.
The sound Ngar Ngar comes out from inside the throat.
Lotsawa, nothing besides the Dharma will help.
Your inner workings stop.
The pain is beyond comprehension.
Both eyes turn upward.
The breath is still.
Then all the scary things in the Bardo start to appear.
Lotsawa, nothing helps besides the Dharma.
You might have lived a long time,
Lost in your evil karma.
You may even have obtained a human birth.
Now you won’t be able to do the things you wanted to.
At the time of death each of us must travel alone.
Lotsawa, consider the continuous impermanence of things.
You will leave your country behind.
Be happy that you could visit humanity for a while.
Things that were disgusting are now the things you want to eat.
You dine on a diet of inequity, without master or servant.
Lotsawa, look at the way things are.
You might have followers, students, and sumptuous luxuries In this life, But not one of them will accompany you when you die.
When you get to the other side you’ll want something dependable.
Lotsawa, there’s no friend besides the Dharma.
Renounce all these things that you enjoy.
There is no virtue in pursuing evil,
Yet you go after inequity and sorrow.
If you really think about it you’ll be crying all the time.
Lotsawa, consider getting rid of your samsaric attitudes.
The first priority of bad-tempered people Is usually the development of lust and hatred.
They study, contemplate, and meditate
So that they can decide what to lust for and what to hate.
Most of them don’t think of anything but what they want.
Lotsawa, consider the conditions under which you teach.
You are taken care of by a holy guru.
From the depths of your being
You long for things deep in meaning.
Stop yourself – body, speech, and mind – From sitting around in comfort.
Lotsawa, wrap yourself up alone with the Dharma.
If you study a lot
You will know the generalities of the Dharma.
If you think critically
You scrutinize distinctions and differences.
If you meditate in Samadhi
Realization will dawn in your mind.
Lotsawa, keep the two stages [of generation and perfection] In your mind.
Some have got a faultless human body.
They have opportunity and lack impediments.
But the glory of their youth
Fades away like a cloud in the autumn.
They throw their lives away trying to find distractions.
Lotsawa, keep repeating this in your mind.
Things that appear on the surface
Are like dreams and illusions.
The things that appear within you
Are baggage for an empty mind.
Observe the uncontrived natural state
Of the Mahamudra.
Lotsawa, the ability to remember is dear.
Dit is hoe een Grote Pandita zijn gedachten opschreef in een zomer toen hij in de provincie Sakya woonde, om zichzelf raad te geven.
Als er fouten zijn, of problemen mee zijn hoop ik dat de wijzen het zullen nalaten.
Op grond van dit
Moge alles wat ik doe of wat voelende wezens doen een pad van de Dharma worden.
Mogen we op het niveau komen van de alwetende Overwinnaar waar alles wat er gebeurt goed voelt.
Dit is geschreven door Kunga Gyaltsan Pal Zangpo in het jaar van de mannelijke houten rat11 (1204/05 A.D.) op de achtste dag van de maand van Śravana. Ik hoop dat dit van enorm nut zal zijn voor het onderricht en voor voelende wezens.
Christopher Wilkinson: ‘Dit deel is gewijd aan de geschriften van Sakya Pandita, en bevat een biografie van hem geschreven door de koning van Gungthang, Zhang Gyalwa Pal. Sakya Pandita is onder de Tibetanen beroemd om zijn bijdragen op het gebied van logica, ethiek en folklore. Zijn Schat op de Wetenschap van de Logica (Tshad ma rig Ger), Discriminatie van de Drie Geloften (sDom gsum rab dbye), en Schat aan Welsprekende Aforismen (Legs bshad rin chen gter) zijn monumentale bijdragen aan hun klassen van literatuur. Deze werken hebben in de hele wereld enorme aandacht getrokken, vooral onder de geleerden. De huidige verzameling vertalingen is bedoeld om Sakya Pandita’s karakter te onthullen als een dichter die bijdroeg aan vele gebieden van kunst en magie. Tijdens zijn leven werkte hij hard aan de wederopbouw van de Samye Bibliotheek, een van de allereerste bouwwerken tijdens de dynastieke periode van Tibet. Hij droeg in hoge mate bij aan inspanningen voor openbaar onderwijs en een duidelijke presentatie van de boeddhistische leer. Bij politieke historici is hij vooral bekend door zijn reizen naar China, waar hij met zijn twee neven heen reisde en in feite Tibet’s ambassadeur aan het Mongoolse hof aldaar was. In zijn laatste jaren trok hij zich terug in Wu Tai Shan. Ik heb korte werken, correspondentie en poëzie vertaald die hij in de loop van zijn leven schreef in een poging om mijn lezers Sakya Pandita’s menselijkheid en verlichte geest te laten zien zoals hij die zelf uitdrukte. Ik wil deze werken niet analyseren of becommentariëren, omdat ik geloof dat zij voor zichzelf spreken. De Sakya Kabum, of Verzamelde Werken van de Sakya Stichters, bestaat uit ongeveer vijftienduizend pagina’s geschriften in vijftien delen door vijf mannen: Kunga Nyingpo, Sonam Tsemo, Dragpa Gyaltsan, Sakya Pandita, en Chogyal Phagpa. Sakya Pandita’s geschriften nemen drie delen van deze collectie in beslag. De vertalingen die u leest vormen een greep uit de inhoud van het levenswerk van Sakya Pandita en maken deel uit van een grotere vertaalinspanning waarvoor ik, op dit moment, delen heb voltooid die de werken van alle vijf de Sakya-stichters vertegenwoordigen en die binnenkort zullen worden gepubliceerd. Het is mijn bedoeling om met deze vertaalinspanningen door te gaan op weg naar een allesomvattende verzameling van hun geschriften, terwijl ik hoop dat het huidige compendium de lezers een voorproefje zal geven van de kwaliteit en de verscheidenheid van de literatuur die u mogelijk zult ontdekken. Kritische lezers zullen natuurlijk veel ruimte voor verbetering vinden. Merk op dat ik Sakya Pandita’s eigen spelling van Sanskritische leenwoorden in zijn werk heb gevolgd, in plaats van ze te normaliseren tot een gecorrigeerde vorm van klassiek Sanskriet. In de meeste van deze vertalingen zijn Tibetaanse namen omgezet in een vorm die voor Engelse lezers gemakkelijk te lezen en uit te spreken is. In het geval van historische passages, zoals die in Sakya Pandita’s Biografie van zijn goeroe, heb ik het Tibetaans getranscribeerd in Wylie Romanisatie, zodat historisch geïnteresseerden in staat zullen zijn deze informatie te gebruiken bij hun onderzoek. Ik verontschuldig mij voor enig ongemak dat dit compromis in de weergave van Tibetaanse woorden kan veroorzaken. Er zijn veel leenwoorden die al algemeen gebruikt worden in het Engels, zoals “nirvana.” U zult een zeer klein aantal leenwoorden zien die ik niet heb vertaald. Een daarvan is “Upadesha,” dat verwijst naar een soort direct, van persoon tot persoon, vaak van mond tot oor, en ervaringsgericht advies met betrekking tot een lering of praktijk. Het woord “samaya”, dat verwijst naar de geloften of verplichtingen die men op zich neemt bij het betreden van het esoterische Vajrayana pad, is een ander. Ik doe mijn best om het Engels van de koning te gebruiken, waarbij ik hybride gebruiken en terminologie vermijd die verwarrend zouden kunnen zijn voor iedereen, behalve voor een bepaalde klasse ingewijden. Dit boek bevat geen esoterica waarvoor speciale machtigingen of privileges nodig worden geacht. Er zal inhoud zijn die aanzet tot onderzoek en discussie, wat ik een goede zaak vind.’
