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Milarepa
Worldly
Things Are Pitiful
The
Jetsun was about to leave Nya Non for other hermitages, but the partrons
of that place besought him to stay with the utmost earnestness. The Jetsun
replied: 'If I do not die, I shall try to come back to your village. If
for some time we cannot see each other, try at times to remember and practise
these things.'
Whereupon
he sang :
Alas, how
pitiful are worldly things!
Like precious jade they cherish
Their bodies, yet like ancient trees
They are doomed in the end to fall.
Sometimes bridle your wild thoughts
And pay heed to the Dharma.
Though you
gather wealth
As hard as bees collect their honey,
The ills that upon you may fall
Can never be foretold,
Sometimes bridle your wild thoughts
And pay heed to the Dharma.
One may
offer to a Lama
Loads of silk for many years;
But when an ill-fortune descends,
Like a fading rainbow
One's faith at once dissolves.
Sometimes bridle your wild thoughts
And pay heed to the Dharma.
Like a pair
of mated beasts,
Lovers live together,
But calamity by the wolf's attack
May fall on you at any time.
Sometimes bridle your wild thoughts
And pay heed to the Dharma.
You may
cherish your dear son,
Like a hen hatching her egg;
But a falling rock may crush it at any time.
Sometimes bridle your wild thoughts
And pay heed to the Dharma.
A face may
be as pretty as a flower,
Yet at any time it can be spoiled by violent hail.
Think at times of how this world
Is sorry, transient and futile.
Though son
and mother have affection
For each other, when discords arise,
Like foes they clash and quarrel,
Sometimes towards all sentient beings
You should feel compassion.
Baking in
the warm sunlight
May be pleasant and a comfort,
But a storm of woe may rise
And choke you at any time,
Remember sometimes the deprived,
And give alms to those in need.
Oh, dear
men and women patrons,
For him who cannot practise Dharma,
All his life will be meaningless,
All his acts wrong-doings!
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