If you’re not free now, when will you ever get to be free?
People of Tingri, your chance to eat comes only one time in a hundred.
Padampa Sangye was a Buddhist mahasiddha of the Indian Tantra movement who transmitted many teachings to Buddhist practitioners in Tibet in the late 11th century. Padampa Sangye’s last testament to the people of Tingri is known by various names in English ‘The Tingri Hundred’ or the ‘Hundred Verses’ ~ from Wikipedia.
Note ~
”When the Indian sage Padampa Sangye arrived in Tibet, he found the people in the area of Tingri, which is on the Tibetan side of Mt. Everest, to be especially amenable to his instruction. He therefore settled in Tingri and established a monastery.”
Source of Hundred Verses Translation and above quote ~ https://wahiduddin.net/budh/hundred_verses.htm
Some short Extracts from the Verses follows…
Just as worn-out clothes can never again be made as new,
It’s no use seeing a doctor once you’re terminally ill;
You’ll have to go. We humans living on this earth
Are like streams and rivers flowing toward the ocean –
All living beings are heading for that single destination.
Now, like a small bird flying off from a treetop,
I, too, will not be here much longer; soon I must move on.
*
If you spend the present meaninglessly and leave with empty hands,
People of Tingri, a human life in the future will be very hard to find.
*
Since you won’t be staying in this world forever,
People of Tingri, make your preparations for the journey now.
*
Inside the forest, monkeys may be living happily at ease,
People of Tingri – but at the edges forest fires are closing in all round.
*
If you wander in distraction, you’ll waste the freedoms and advantages of human life;
People of Tingri, make a resolute decision now.
*
The day you die, there’s no one who’ll protect you;
People of Tingri, be ready to have yourselves alone to count on.
*
The morning’s ravishing flower will wither by nightfall;
People of Tingri, don’t put your hopes in your body.
*
Visitors to market day, their trading finished, on the morrow have dispersed;
People of Tingri, your friends will part from you, be certain.
*
All beings of the six realms have cared for you as parents;
People of Tingri, towards them cultivate your love and compassion.
*
Capture that most sublime of countries, the constant land of the natural state;
People of Tingri, where there is no transition or change.
*
Imbibe that most sublime of drinks, the ambrosia of mindfulness,
People of Tingri, whose flow is never interrupted.
*
In a state of emptiness, whirl the spear of pure awareness;
People of Tingri, the view is free of being caught by anything at all.
*
In a state of natural spontaneity, train in being free of any holding back;
People of Tingri, in the action there is nothing to abandon or adopt.
*
Desire and hate appear, but like birds in flight, should leave no trace behind;
People of Tingri, in meditation be free of clinging to experiences.
*
Your notions of the outer world derive from the mind within;
People of Tingri, let the solid ice be melted into liquid.
*
With its freedoms and advantages, human life is like a treasure island;
People of Tingri, do not come back an empty-handed failure.
*
When emotions arise, bring antidotes to bear on them;
People of Tingri, let free all concepts in their very nature.
*
Frequenting virtuous friends is bound to make your own good qualities arise;
People of Tingri, follow your spiritual teachers.
*
This old Indian master will not stay in Tingri, he will go away;
People of Tingri, it is now that you must clarify your doubts.
OM SHANTI
Generally just Being. Nothing in particular, no claims to fame. I like gardening and the sea, nature, art in all forms from poetry to films and everything in between, and being in the company of my family.
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