Human transcription — may contain minor errors.
1
The Three Principles of the Path
by the Noble Tsong kha pa
(transl. by I. Durovic)I prostrate to the Noble Gurus !
The meaning of the essence of all of the teachings of the Conquerors,
The Path praised by the holy Children of the Conquerors,
And that gateway for the fortunate desiring Liberation
I will explain as best I can.
Those who do not lust after the happiness of existence and,
By putting effort into making leisure and endowment meaningful,
Rely on the path which delights the Conquerors,
Those fortunate ones should listen with a pure mind.
Without pure Definite Emergence, there is no means
To pacify the striving for the happy fruits of the ocean of existence.
Inasmuch as the embodied are totally fettered by
The desire for existence, initially you will search for Definite Emergence.
Leisure and endowment is hard to find and life does not last,
By habituating the mind, turn away from the futilities of this life.
Reflecting over and again on the infallibility of causality and on the sufferings of cyclic existence,
Turn away from the futilities of future lives. 2
If, through such habituation,
Longing for the marvels of cyclic existence does not arise for even an instant and
If the mind striving for complete Liberation arises day and night,
At that point, Definite Emergence has been born.
However, should that definite emergence not be upheld
By the Perfect Mind [of Bodhicitta], inasmuch as it will not become the cause
Of the perfect bliss of Enlightenment,
The intelligent generate the supreme Mind of Enlightenment.
Carried away by the flow of the four raging rivers
Tightly bound up by the fetters of karma hard to loosen,
Ensnared in the iron net of self-grasping,
Totally obscured by the great darkness of ignorance,
Wandering in boundless existence, life after life,
Tormented uninterruptedly by the three sufferings
Upon reflecting upon the predicament of mothers who were in such a situation,
Generate the Supreme Mind [of Bodhicitta] !
Since one who is not endowed with the wisdom realizing the mode of abiding,
Albeit having become accustomed to definite emergence and Bodhicitta,
Will be unable to sever the root of existence,
Strive at means to realize interdependence ! 3
Whoever sees that the causality of all phenomena of cyclic existence and
Nirvana
Is never deceitful and
Has destroyed the targeted object and
Has entered the path which pleases the Buddhas.
For as long as the two-fold understanding of
Appearances as non-deceitful interdependence and
Assertionless emptiness
Appear separate, for so long has the thought of the Sage not been realized!
Eventually, when they are no longer posited separately but simultaneously
and
Through merely seeing interdependence as non-deceitful,
Definite ascertainment destroys all of the modes of apprehension of
objects,
Analysis of the view has been led to fruition.
Moreover, when appearance dispels the extreme of existence,
Emptiness dispels the extreme of non-existence and emptiness
Is understood in the manner of dawning as causality,
One will not longer be ravaged by the view of the extremes.
Upon having realized the essence
Of such Three Principles of the Path,
Dwell as a hermit, oh Child, and having generated the force of enthusiasm,
Swiftly attain your permanent goal !The above was addressed by the glorious Bhikshu Lobsang Dragpa, great in learning, to Ngawang Dragpa, Lord of Tsago.