Bodhi☯️ on Nostr: “The great Nyingma master Mipham Rinpoche wrote this brief, versified Dzogchen ...

“The great Nyingma master Mipham Rinpoche wrote this brief, versified Dzogchen instruction in 1893/4. In it he outlines the key points of Trekchö (khregs chod) or 'Thorough Cut' practice by means of an explanation of the four ways of leaving things as they are (cog bzhag bzhi).”

The Key Points of Trekchö
by Mipham Rinpoche

Dhīḥ! Before the wisdom-being Mañjuśri,
I reverently bow down.
Here I shall explain the key points of Trekchö—
Thorough Cut.

Do not alter the mind but allow it to settle as it is.
And, in such a state, look naturally within.
There will unfold an experience that is indescribable,
Which has no fixed character as either this or that,
And the natural radiance of which will not cease.
This is the genuine state, the natural condition,
The actual dharmatā, beyond conception.
It is the insight born of natural luminosity,
The view: like a mountain, left as it is.

As you simply remain in that natural state,
There is neither meditation nor distraction.
Without suppressing, cultivating, evaluating or analysing,
Allow yourself to settle fully into the genuine state.
This is the natural concentration of dharmatā,
Uncorrupted by the bonds of deliberate action.
Abiding in the yoga that is the King of Space,
This is meditation: like the ocean, left as it is.

As you are settled like this,
Any thoughts and impressions that stir within
And any appearances that occur without,
Should neither be prevented
nor encouraged but left as they are.
As long as you do not stray from this natural state,
Whatever unfolds will bring neither benefit nor harm.
Without concern for good or bad,
acceptance or rejection,
This is action: appearances, left as they are.

As you make progress, all that appears and exists
Will become a single all-embracing sphere
of aware-emptiness,
Within which everything is entirely perfect and complete.
This happens effortlessly,
is spontaneously accomplished.
Any striving to adopt or abandon simply fades away,
And hopes and fears for saṃsāra
and nirvāṇa are no more.
The primordial nature is made manifest —
The fruition: awareness, left as it is.

This instruction including four ways
of leaving things as they are,
Is the ultimate purport of the Thorough Cut.
With these key points, liberation will swiftly be attained
As the most glorious form of Mañjuśrī, Gentle Splendour.

This arose from the lake-like mind of Mipham Jampal Gyepa during the Water Snake year (1893–4)”

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| Translated by Adam Pearcey, 2018.

Bibliography
Tibetan Edition
Mi pham. "khregs chod gnad kyi gdams pa bshad pa." In Mi pham gsung 'bum. 32 vols. Chengdu: Gangs can rig gzhung dpe rnying myur skyobs lhan tshogs, 2007. Vol. 32: 410–412

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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The Song of the Debate Between Wake and Dream by Ju Mipham Rinpoche

Translator’s Forward

“The Song of the Debate Between Wake and Dream is an important work by the great Buddhist scholar Ju Mipham Rinpoche (1846­1912). It has been widely studied and taught by many Tibetan Buddhist masters (especially those of the Nyingma tradition, such as from Larung Buddhist Academy). This work is about a debate between two imaginary figures ­ Wake, representing one’s waking experience, and Dream, representing the dream experience. Despite the fact that the language is easy to understand, it has very profound meanings. The debate actually shakes one’s fundamental attachments and establishes the core view of Buddhism, namely emptiness, or the illusory nature of all phenomena. Following the debate, the second half of the work allegorizes the essence of Buddhist practice of the wisdom tradition. For spiritual practitioners, it is a very important text and should be studied carefully.

So far, I did not find any mention of this great work on English­language web pages, so I decided to translate this text on my own. The text was originally written in Tibetan. This translation is mainly based on the Chinese text translated by Khenpo Yeshe Phuntsok, a great Buddhist scholar from Larung Buddhist Academy. My understandings and inspirations are mainly from my Buddhist teacher Tersar Yingrik Drubpa Rinpoche, who gave this teaching in mid 2018. Another source of reference is the teaching notes by Master Zhiyuan. I also want to thank Elan Hourticolon­ Retzler, Samantha, and Kent Wilcox for helpful suggestions. In the future, it is my hope that there will be additional English ­language commentaries about this work.

I also hope that the translation of this work will inspire people who have been struggling with philosophical problems like the Brain in a vat, or the Dream argument. Contrary to the philosophies, debates, efforts, and conspiracies made by various theorists, the Buddhist answer to these questions is simple: “Yes, we are living in a dream, but it is our own mind who is creating all the dream­like experiences, so we should work with our mind.” The essence of this answer may be partially seen in the popular movie The Matrix.

Now, what should we do? Simply follow and maintain one’s curiosity, glean the core meaning of the debate, and carefully examine the nature of reality. It will give you the deepest of inspirations.

May all gain wisdom!”

~ Forest Rui Jiang, December 2018. Silicon Valley, California

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The Song of the Debate Between Wake and Dream

Authored by The Omniscient Ju Mipham Rinpoche
English translation by Forest Rui Jiang

“Om Swasti (may all be auspicious),

Homage to the sublime Manjushri .
After sincere prostration, I say the following.
The wonderful experience in the dream last night I had,
The daytime phenomenon I now encounter,
Those two initially arise in a similar way,
Those two eventually disappear in a similar way.

Dream holds that what appears in the dream is real,
Wake thinks that what appears
when one is awake is real.
Now Wake and Dream debate on who is real.

Wake, while solidifying his appearances, says:
“Dream, your appearance is a deceptive illusion.”

Dream, being fickle and chaotic, refutes:
“not only I am illusory, you are also deceptive!”

“I, Wake, am not deceptive. There is clear proof of that:
things clearly appear so I am real.”

Dream, being honest, replies to Wake:
“The same is true for Dream, so your statement is not definitive!”

[Wake:] “Today, you disappeared, so it is definitive.”
[Dream:] “Tomorrow, you will also disappear, so it is not definitive!”

[Wake:] “I experience directly (through my senses), so it is definitive.”
[Dream:] “I also experience things directly, so it is not!”

[Wake:] “My day experience is stable and lasts long, so it is definitive.”
[Dream:] “There are both long­lasting as well as fleeting phenomena in both Wake and Dream!”

[Wake:] “In a dream, one can go through a mountain in no time.
I will admit that you are real if one can do this when one is awake.”

[Dream:] “If now there are proper conditions, one also achieves that ,
Without conditions, there is no way to do that even in a dream!”

[Wake:] “It does appear without conditions in a dream.”
[Dream:] “Then, why it is not constantly like this?!”

[Wake:] “You dream about dead relatives with deep affection,
and you could also have kids or nephews you never had in reality.

I, Wake, do not have such things.”
[Dream:] “If the appearance (of relatives and so on) could not establish their existence,

Why you think your kids and and other relatives exist when you are awake?”
[Wake:] “(In a dream) the deceased
may come back to life.
The non­existent may appear to exist.
They existed in you Dream, but have now disappeared.”

[Dream:] “Things that have passed on
in your eyes are seen by me,
Phenomena non­existent for you appear for me,
Our positions are fundamentally equal!”

[Wake:] “Though one may enjoy heavenly cuisine in the dream
that cannot dispel the hunger and thirst after waking up.”

[Dream:] “One may have a peaceful nap in a magnificent palace.
That cannot protect you against rain in the dream!”

[Wake:] “You only arise from delusion and have no real significance.”
[Dream:] “The feelings of hunger and so on in the waking state are also illusory!”

[Wake:] “When waking up, one realizes that the dream is unreal.
In a dream, how can you know the unreality of the waking experience?”

[Dream:] “The dream experience exposes
the unreality of the waking experience.
How could the waking experience disprove
the existence of dream experience?”

At that time, Wisdom, the Chief Justice,
sends Miraculous Wisdom, the Judge,

To tell the two debating parties:
“if you keep arguing like this,
there could be infinite words, but the evidence is already enough.
Let me adjudicate for you two.

“Both of you are real, but at the same time also unreal.
When not examined, both are real at their own positions.

“When examined, every change of phenomenon
leads to a revelation.
Actually (the two are) equal without differences.

“Although both of you are unreal,
Dream admits his delusion, hence he has the quality of being honest.

“Wake, you are delusional but refuse to admit it.
Being so stubborn, and not giving up the wrong idea, you should be punished.

“Dream, though being dull and delusive, at least has integrity.
Wake, though being astute and skillful, is actually more ignorant.

“The stableness and unstableness
are conditioned upon habituation.
The two (dream and waking experience)
are same in terms of effects.

“Now, Wake. You should follow after Dream.
The view and action should be unified for both of you.”

After saying so, (the Judge) ties up Wake
with the rope of mindfulness,
and hands the rope to Dream, not allowing Wake to leave

“You two should not argue but live in harmony,
Otherwise, you will become the demon bringing sufferings to the billion­fold (entire) universe.

“If in harmony, you would be the guide of the world of three times (past, present and future).
Understanding that, both of you will have benefits.”

From here on, Wake and Dream know that they are not different.
And they treat phenomena from both sides equally.

At that moment, the debate ends between the two.
Then, the perceptions of the two minds are unified into one.

Combining the words of same and different,
Wake and Dream sing an improvised song together:

[Wake & Dream:] “‘We are different
and different’, people would say.
We are actually same and same. They are wrong.

“The significance of same and same,
is mentioned by few, and understood by fewer.

“Understand that the waking perception is equality,
and the dreaming perception is the same. It is not deceptive.

“This meaning is extremely important, but those who are ignorant think
that Wake and Dream (are different and) appear alternately.

“Now, the teaching from the King of Magical Illusion
is not just plain words. We carefully look into its meanings.

“In the blissful play of touching each other,
we taste the sweetness without eating.

“We enjoy the intoxicating dance without drinking,
we watch the mirage­like drama without rehearsing.

“O. This is the supreme teaching, surpassed by nothing.
Dear friends, please remember this in your heart.”

Then, the two unite into one,
and the one dissolves into space.

Then, Miraculous Wisdom the Judge
presents this result to Wisdom the King.

The King is delighted and smiles:
“Your mediation is in such a good manner.

“From here on, up till to the end of space,
you may soar freely like a Garuda bird with wings widely open.

“The sovereignty of the Kingdom of Fearless Emptiness,
I now bestow on you. Please kindly protect it!

“In this garden of emptiness,
wind blows, and pure honey falls.

“Eat it, eat it, as you go.
O. This will never be exhausted!

“There, the barren woman’s daughter,
virtuous and beautiful,
being pleasant and satisfactory, joyfully plays.

“This never­aging youthful consort is bestowed on you,
in union with you. Enjoy the miraculous bliss.

“With the bliss of touching her,
all the ease and pleasure in this three worlds,

“are like vomit compared to nectar.
The craving towards those (mundane happiness) now should be loosened!

“As such, if you say this and act according to it,
you will be in union with Wisdom the King.”

The above­mentioned metaphorical words are of experiential nature, are easy to understand when carefully examined, otherwise obscure are of significant meaning if carefully pondered, otherwise they are insignificant, and are written at the place of great bliss by the one named “Dhih!”

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“Jamgön Mipham Gyatso, also known as Ju Mipham Rinpoche, was a great Nyingma scholar practitioner and writer of the 19th and 20th centuries. He was born in the Derge region of eastern Tibet into the Ju clan, a family said to be descended from the ancient Tibetan gods.

In his life story, he is described as a child prodigy who was able to memorize and retain all the texts he read from an early age. Throughout his life, he was said to have been able to remember and deliver commentary on many texts after receiving only the reading transmission.

At the age of fifteen, he undertook eighteen months of intensive retreat on Mañjuśrī, who was his lifetime meditation deity. Later in life, he was often said to be an emanation of that wisdom deity. After his retreat, he confided to some of his students that from then on he had always been able to understand any text he read. From his guru Patrul Rinpoche, he received teachings on
Śāntideva’s Bodhicharyavatara.

It was said that Patrul Rinpoche confirmed that after only five days of teaching, Mipham Rinpoche had mastered both the words and the meaning of this seminal text.

Mipham Rinpoche received teachings from luminaries of both the Sarma and Nyingma schools. He was a student of the eminent masters Jamgön Kongtrul with whom he studied grammar, and his root guru Jamyang Khyentsé Wangpo from whom he received the complete transmission of the orally transmitted or Kama and revealed or Terma lineages.

His collected works fill more than thirty volumes and span an extraordinary range of topics. Although he is famous for his philosophical works, he also wrote treatises on astrology, medicine, poetry, politics, and tantra. He wrote a popular compilation on the epic story of the great warrior king, Gesar of Ling, an emanation of Guru Rinpoche. Mipham Rinpoche also composed devotional works such as a large number of aspiration prayers, sādhanas, and guru yogas. Of the sādhanas perhaps the most popular is the Treasury of Blessings, a sādhana of Buddha Śākyamuni.

It is said that Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo requested him to write commentaries on many of the core texts of Indian Buddhism that reflected the thinking of the Nyingma tradition. Prior to this undertaking, most of the Nyingma monasteries had relied upon commentaries produced by the Sarma schools. In fulfilling his lama’s command, Mipham reinvigorated the intellectual milieu of the main Nyingma shedras, and his texts are studied today as the core texts. In addition, he introduced the training in formal debate into the Nyingma shedras.

His commentaries include those on the Mulamadhyamakakarika or Root Stanzas on The Middle Way by Nagarjuna; the Madhyamakāvatāra, Introduction to the Middle Way by Chandrakirti; the Jñānasārasamuccaya, or Compendium on the Heart of Wisdom by Aryadeva. He also authored commentaries on treatises of logic by Dharmakīrti and Dignāga; commentaries on the Five Treatises of Maitreya; and commentaries on several works of Vasubandhu including the Abhidharmakosha. In addition, he authored The Lion’s Roar: A Commentary on Sugatagarbha.

Mipham and the Two Truths

Mipham’s commentary on the ninth chapter of Shantideva’s Bodhicaryavatara, the Shertik Norbu Ketaka or Ketaka Jewel was criticized sharply by Geluk scholars, particularly his contemporaries Japa Dongak and Pari Lopzang Rapsel. His presentation of the two truths refuted the previous explanations of Je Tsongkhapa and the Sakya master Gorampa Sonam Senge. Also controversial was his commentary on the Madhyamakalamkara of Śāntarakṣita which similarly privileged the ultimate truth. His emphasis on Buddha Nature as the ground of all and the link between sutra and tantra is fundamental. Modern biographers note that one of Mipham’s unique perspectives was the integration of tantric and Great Perfection (Dzogchen) view onto sutra interpretation.

Mipham the Practitioner

Although he is most famous as an author and scholar, it appears that Mipham spent much of his life in retreat. The colophons of his works mention that they were written during breaks from his retreats. He also composed a number of short pithy advice texts on the key points of Dzogchen practice. In the 1870s and 80s, he spent about thirteen years in retreat in the “Tiger Den” cave of Rongme Chime Karmo Taktsang near Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo’s monastery, Dzongsar.

Mipham Rinpoche passed away in 1912 at his hermitage at Ju, north of Dzogchen Monastery.”

“According to one account shortly before he died, Mipham told his attendant:

Nowadays, if you speak the truth, there is nobody to listen; if you speak lies everyone thinks it is true. I have never said this before: I am not an ordinary person; I am a bodhisattva who has taken rebirth through aspiration. The suffering experienced in this body is just the residue of karma; but from now on I will never again have to experience karmic obscuration. … Now, in this final age, the barbarians beyond the frontier are close to undermining the teaching. [So] there is no point whatsoever in my taking rebirth here…I have no reason to take birth in impure realms ever again.

This may be interpreted as a statement that his mindstream would have no further 'emanations' (Wylie: sprul pa (emanation body); sprul sku (tulku)). Conversely, according to another account in which he mentions the mindstream in passing and prophesies the shortly before his death to his student Khenpo Kunphel:

Now I shall not remain long in this body. After my death, in a couple of years hence, war and darkness shall cover the earth, which will have its effect even on this isolated snow land of Tibet. In thirty years time, a mad (smyo) storm of hatred will grow like a fierce black thundercloud in the land of China, and in a further decade this evil shall spill over into Tibet itself, so that Lamas, scholars, disciples and yogis will come under terrible persecution. Due to the demon-king Pehar taking power in China, darkness and terror ('bog) will come to our sacred land, with the result that violent death shall spread like a plague through every village. Then the three lords of materialism (gsum-gyi-kla-klos) and their cousins will seize power in Tibet, spreading war, famine and oppression. No one will be safe. Now, very soon, my mind-stream will be gathered up in the pure-land of Tusita, from whence many emanations [of myself] shall then come forth in future years. I shall not take rebirth in Tibet. In twenty years, seek me in the northern lands of distant Uttarakuru, and elsewhere, east, west, north and south. Fear not, we shall be re-united again, as father and son. Now go!

In the above account, shortly after the departure of Khenpo Kunphel he stated publicly, "Now, soon I shall depart. I shall not be reborn again in Tibet, therefore do not search for me. I have reason to go to Shambhala in the north."

Subsequently, a number of emanations have been recognized.

According to E. Gene Smith "At least three rebirths were recognized in the decade following his death: 1) Zhe chen Mi pham (a grandnephew of Mi pham rgya mtsho); 2) Tshe dbang bdud 'dul (1915/16-42) the last prince of Sde dge; 3. Khyung po Mi pham, an incarnation recognized by Rdzong gsar Mkhyen brtse 'Jam dbyangs chos kyi blo gros."

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Image from Shechen Frescos