Milarepa - His Teachings

Milarepa

The Shepherd Boy and his Mind

A young shepherd by the name of Sanje Jhap who was sixteen years old became interested to know what his mind really was. Milarepa tested his ability by instructing him to go for Refuge to the Three Precious Ones and then to visualize a Buddha-image in front of his nose. The boy was not seen for seven days and his father feared that he was dead. They found him in a clay pit sitting upright and asked him why he had not returned home for seven days. The boy said that they must be joking for he had only been there a short time - but it was seven days.

While giving him instructions Milarepa sang to him about his mind:

Listen to me, dear shepherd, the protector (of sheep)!
By merely hearing of the taste of sugar,
Sweetness cannot be experienced,
Though one's mind may understand
What sweetness is,
It cannot experience it directly,
Only the tongue can know it.
In the same way, one cannot see in full the nature of mind,
Though he may have a glimpse of it
If it has been pointed out by others
If one relies not on this one glimpse,
But continues searching for the nature of mind,
He will see it fully in the end.
Dear shepherd, in this way you should observe your mind.