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Tibetan Mahamudra
Selections from
The Union of Mahamudra and Dzokchen
The Song of Immediate Training in Generation and Completion for Beginners
by Karma Chakme Rinpoche
(1613-1678)
As quoted by
Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche
The Quintessence of the Union of Mahamudra and Dzokchen
The mind has no form, color or substance.
It does not exist outside or inside the body, nor in between.
Even if you search for it in every direction, it is unreal.
It has no origin, location, or destination.
It is not nothing; your mind is vividly lucid.
It is not single, for it arises diversely as anything.
It is not multiple, for everything has one essence.
No one knows how to describe its essence.
If one describes it by analogy, there will never be an end to describing it.
You can use many synonyms and terms for it,
Names such as "mind", "self", "alaya", and so on,
But in truth, it is just this present knowingness.
This itself is the root of all samsara and nirvana,
The attainment of buddhahood and falling into lower existences,
Wandering in the bardo, good and bad rebirths,
Aversion, anger, craving, attachment,
Faith, pure perception, love, compassion,
Experiences, realization, qualities, the paths, the bhumis, and so on:
It is this very mind that is the creator of them all.
This very mind is the root of all bondage, the root of all disaster.
When the aorta is cut through, all the senses stop.
For one who has understood and practiced this
There is no dharma that is not included within it.
There is not a hairsbreadth of anything to be meditated on in this.
It is enough to look at the essence without distraction,
Without hope for good or fear of the bad,
Without thinking what it is or what it isn’t.
Whether still or in movement, whether clear or unclear,
Whatever arises, look fixedly at its essence.
When you are meditating in this way in the main practice,
If you are resting blissfully and unwaveringly, that is "stillness".
If you are not resting, but running into the ten directions, that is "movement".
Being aware of whatever appears, whether stillness or movement, that is "awareness".
Though they appear to be different they are one in essence.
Stillness is dharmakaya, movement is nirmanakaya,
Awareness is sambhogakaya, and their inseparability is the svabhavikakaya.
They are the seed or cause for the accomplishment of the three kayas.
Therefore there is no good or bad in stillness and movement.
Therefore do not choose, but maintain whatever arises.
At first repeatedly look for brief periods many times,
Then gradually look for longer and longer.