The Flight of the Garuda

Song 10 of the classic Vajra songs of Lama Shabkar, illustrating the view of Cutting Through perception and realizing all phenomena as self display, according to the Luminous Great Perfection.

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Song 10

Emaho!

Fortunate and only heart-children,

Appearances are not fixed or certain.

What is light for some is darkness for others.

Some sentient beings on the ground

Perceive earth as earth.

There are sentient beings who perceive earth as fire.

There are sentient beings who perceive earth as enjoyment.

There are sentient beings who perceive earth as suffering.

There are sentient beings who perceive water as water.

There are sentient beings who perceive water as fire.

There are sentient beings who perceive water as nectar.

There are sentient beings who perceive water as a home.

There are sentient beings who perceive water as being earth.

There are sentient beings who perceive fire as fire.

There are sentient beings who perceive fire as enjoyment.

There are sentient beings who perceive fire as a home.

There are sentient beings who perceive fire as being food.

There are sentient beings who perceive space as space.

There are sentient beings who perceive space as a home.

There are sentient beings who perceive space as earth.

Phenomena are, thus, not fixed,

But appear in different ways through the power of habitual patterns.

To perceive the four elements in their separate ways

Is the perception of human beings.

Other beings have the perception of this earth and ground

As being the fires of hell, or as an enjoyable place,

Or as miserable, if they are feeling depressed.

Similarly, fire is enjoyment to the fire gods,

Whereas the pretas, having a fire body, perceive it as home,

And the fire spirits perceive it as being food.

In the same way, water is perceived as fire by hell beings.

The beings in the realm of pretas perceive it as pus and blood.

For the elephant it is earth, and for the gods it is ambrosia.

The gods in the Shentrul Wangje heaven perceive water as precious jewels,

And as a rain of flowers.

For the nagas water is a dwelling place.

In the same way, space is perceived as a home,

As all the gods perceive it as earth.

Everything appears in accordance with

How it is labeled by oneself.

Moreover, when Devaputra asked the Buddha,

"Who has made Mount Meru, the sun, the moon and so forth?"

The Buddha replied, 'They have no other creator,

But appear according to how they are labeled and grasped

Through the habitual patterns and fixations of ones conceptual thoughts.

Everything is made by one’s mind."

Again Devaputra enquired of the Buddha,

"No matter how much one’s thoughts fixate,

From where do the solidity and firmness

Of Mount Meru, the sun, the moon and so forth, come?"

Hereupon the Buddha replied,

"Once in Varanasi, an old woman constantly visualized her body to be a tiger's body.

Everyone in the city saw her as a tiger,

And the city became empty.

If she could do that so quickly,

The mind of habitual patterns, accustomed since beginningless time,

Can indeed make all these things manifest."

Thus is everything created by the mind.

Furthermore, it is said that some non-Buddhists,

In order to bring an end to the distractions of worldly bustle,

Visualized their place to be a quiet solitude,

Whereby it vividly manifested as a quiet place

Which could also be perceived by other people.

Another visualized the sky as rock,

After which it turned to stone which could hinder one's body.

Thus is everything the self-display of mind,

As it is created by mind's discursive thoughts.

All self-display is thus essentially empty.

Moreover, sentient beings of the ephemeral hells

Perceive their bodies to be doors, pillars, ovens, or ropes,

And so experience suffering.

Things therefore appear as "other" according to how

The mind's discursive thoughts have labeled them.

Since all the joys and sorrows of sentient beings in the six realms

Are produced by one's own mind,

Decide with complete confidence that everything

Is the natural form of emptiness, nonexistent and yet apparent,

Through the magical display of one's mind.

After which you should rest in complete equanimity.

It is said that on a single anther of the lotus

Which Buddha Infinite Ocean holds in his hand,

Is contained this entire three-thousandfold universe.

It is also said that at the time of the thögal vision called Awareness Reaching Fullness,

An infinite number of buddha realms

As well as an immeasurable amount of realms containing the six kinds of beings,

Are perceived in each of the pores of one's body.

Displaying emanations to tame these beings,

One accomplishes their benefit as in a dream.

All the phenomena of samsara and nirvana thus are self-display,

And all self-display is groundless and empty.

Gain confidence in the state of emptiness and luminosity free from fixation.

It is further said that in a single speck of dust

There are an infinite number of buddha realms,

As well as countless abodes of the six realms of beings,

A number equal to all the specks of dust that exist.

The Victorious One has said that all these are distinct,

And never disturb or mix with one another.

Also, within the interior of each insect

There are said to be infinite ''cities" of smaller insects.

In the element of space there are infinite worlds

Which are formed facing downwards,

And similarly, others facing sideways and upwards.

Should one question who made all these in such ways,

The Victorious One has taught that everything is made by the mind.

As the nature of mind since the very first is like the sky,

Know that all phenomena are the same in this way.

All the relative sights, sounds, and mental objects,

Are only the self-display of ones own mind.

When one’s mind-stream changes at the time of death,

The outer world is unchanged while the self-display is changing.

Thus is everything the self-display of mind,

And all self-display is groundless and empty.

While nonexistent, it appears vividly like a reflection of the moon in water.

Maintain the experience of this state of awareness in which luminosity and emptiness are nondual.

All visual perceptions are the self-display of mind.

That which appears as the inanimate, external universe is mind.

That which appears as the inhabitants, sentient beings of the six realms, is also mind.

That which appears as the happiness of gods and humans in the higher realms, is mind.

That which appears as the misery of the three lower realms is also mind.

That which appears as ignorance and the five poisonous kleshas is mind.

That which appears as awareness, the self-existing wisdom, is also mind.

That which appears as evil thoughts, the habitual patterns of samsara, is mind.

That which appears as good thoughts, the buddha realms is also mind.

That which appears as obstacles caused by demons and ghosts is mind.

That which appears as benefit, such as divine gifts and siddhis, is also mind.

That which appears as myriad discursive thoughts is mind.

That which appears as the meditation of one-pointed nonthought is also mind.

That which appears as concrete things with attributes and colors is mind.

That which appears as being beyond attributes and complexities is also mind.

That which appears as being one, many, and nondual, is mind.

That which appears as having neither existence nor nonexistence is also mind.

There is no appearance whatsoever other than mind.

One's own body is also created by this mind.

To illustrate this: the mind is like an artist,

The whole three thousandfold world system, all that exists, is painted by the mind.

This picture, drawn by one's own conceptual thoughts,

Has deceived all the childish sentient beings.

It is therefore essential to resolve and then arouse confidence

That everything is the magical display of mind.

***

This is the song which indicates that conceptual thoughts are mind.

Translated and annotated by Erik Pema Kunsang