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SARAHA ON MAHAMUDRA MEDITATION
COMMENTARY
TThhee mmaahhaassiiddddhhaa SSaarraalhJaa KHENCHEN THRANGU RINPOCHE
TRANSLATOR OF THE SONG AND EDITOR
MICH ELE MARTIN
TRANSLATOR OF THE ORAL COMMENTARY
PETER O'HEARN
WISDOM PUBLICATIONS • BOSTON
S~ng
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SARAHA ON MAHAMUDRA MEDITATION
COMMENTARY
KHENCHEN THRANGU RINPOCHE
TRANSLATOR OF THE SONG AND EDITOR
MICHELE MARTIN
TRANSLATOR OF THE ORAL COMMENTARY
PETER O'HEARN
WISDOM PUStiCATIONS • BOSTON
About the Translators
MICHELE MARTIN has bttn a Buddhist practitioner for over thirry years. After
receiving graduate degrees from Yale, she studied in Japan, India, and Nepal with
masters of medit2tion and scholars, while .also ~rving as .an oral translator and
editing Buddhist books. Her publications include MUJic in tht S/ry: TIJt Lift, Art,
nnd ilnchings of tlJt 17th Karmnpn Ogytn Trinity Dorjt and translations from
Tibetan texts on philosophy and meditation. She lives in Ihe Catskill Mountains
of upstate New York.
PETER O'HEARN (Lama Yeshe Gyamrso) has completed twO three-year retreats
under the guidance of Kalu Rinpoche and is one of the most respecled transla
tors of the Kagyu lineage. He is a translator at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, the
~at of the Gyalwang Karmapa in the West, and travels widely as a translator for
the main Kagyii lamas. Among his published work are TIN Instructions ofG am
pupa and PrtcioUJ Esstnu: Tk Inn" Autobiography ofTnrhm Borwa] Dorjt. He
lives with his wife and daughter in the Hudson Valley.
Wisdom Publications, Inc
199 Elm Strttt
Som~rville MA on.H USA
www.wisdompubs.org
Commentary@:lzoo6byThtangu Rinpoche.
Root text, oudine, ~pp~tatu~, and introducrion ({;I wo6 by Michele M~rtin.
All rights re5<'rved.
No parr of rhi, book may hi' ~produced in any form Or by any m~s, electronic Or
mechanical, including photocopying. recording, Or by ~ny inform~tion storage and
,,"ri~val 'y>lClll UI uodUJolug'e:. nOw k.uuwlI 01 I~lel devdopoJ, w,t1LOul pc""i"io"
in writing from the publi~her,
library afGmgm. CAtaJag;ng-;n-Puhlicatian Datil
Thrangu, Rinpoche, 1933-
Song for the King , S~ralu on maharnudra meditation I commentary, Khenchen
Thrangu Rinpoche ; translator of the Song and ~diror, Michele Martin; tunslator
of the oral commentary, ~ter O'Hearn.
p. ern.
Indudes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-86171-503-9 (pbk. : ~lk. paper)
I. Sarahapada, S[h cent. Dohakosa. z. Religious lif<,--Bllddhism. 3. Maharnlld",
(Tanlric rite) I. Sarahapada, 8th cent. Dohakosa. Engli,h.lI, Martin, Michele, 194Z
III. O'Hearn, Petn, 1959-1Y. TItle.
BQ7775.Sz6jTS7 lOo6
Z94·3'H3S-dCll
loo60005}8
ISBN o-H6171-jO}-9
to 0,9 08 0,7 06
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Cover designed by Elizahl'th Lawrence.
Back cover photo by Michele Martin: Thrangu Rinpoche on retreat at a Guru Rio
poche cave in the Helambu tegion ofNepaJ"s Himalayas,
Interior designed by Gopa & Ted2, Inc. Set in Adobe Garamond 11.25/16.8.
Fromi.piece: The mah:i5iddba Saraha; emern TIbet, eighteenth century, opaque
w;nercolor on colton. D=il from a t:rngka of four mah:i5iddh .., 0 wo6 Mu",um
of Fine Arts, Boston,
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Contents
Editor's Introduction
I. Approaching Mahiimudrii 9
2. The Song Begim 17
3. Ground Mahdmudrii 45
4. Path Mahdmudrd 79
5. FrnitiuTi Mahiimudrii 115
Appendixes
1. A Songfor the Kingwith Karma Trinlepa's Outline 123
2. A Songfor the King in Tibetan 141
3. A Comparison of the Root Texts 153
4. Some Reflections on Dran med 157
Nores 161
Glossary 167
Bibliography 181
A Brief Biography ofThrangu Rinpoche 184
v
For the Seventeenth Gyalwang Karmapa,
Ogyen Trinley Dorje
May his life be long and fruitful
May compassion like his unfold
in the hearts of every living being
Editor's Introduction .
.""
o·
S
AMHA HAS INSPIRED SEEKERS OF TRUTH for centuries with his spir
itual songs and the legends of his life. Prominent among the eighty
four masters ofIndia, he lived most probably in ninth-century BengaL
1
Tradition holds that Saraha was the first to introduce mahamudci as the
central practice of meditation,2 and its relevance along with its lineage
continue to the present day. On his visits to the West in the 19705, the
Sixteenth Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, recommended mahamudra
because it transcends all cultural barriers. The essence of Buddhist med
itation is to tame our mind, and mahamudra practice does this through
working directly with mind's nature, which is found to be the same in
all living beings. Once this nature has been recognized, awareness of it
is sustained in every situation, from medicacion sessions to all facecs of
daily life. Over time, whatever arises is experienced as clear and fresh,
beyond expression, and transparent to its radiant, empty nature.
Woven with analogies, spontaneous song is a natural medium for
the expression of this ultimate reality. For this reality cannot be captured
by a net of words and concepts but only indicated through the oblique
lines of allusion. Metaphors have the capacity to evoke an experiential
reality that transcends the intellect. and so they are not only a teaching
tool to deepen understanding but an opening into another dimension.
Saraha sang his songs to bring his listeners to enlightenment.
1 A SONG FOR THE KING
Thrangu Rinpoche's commentary belongs to the living oral tradition
in which these verses began. Given in Colorado during the summer of
2001, his talks range from the basic points to the most subtle, all of
which he has chosen for their relevance to meditacion practice. The style
of presentation reflects the oral tradidon, which comes around w a wpic
from different directions, allowing this repetition to settle an idea more
deeply into our minds. The tone is close to conversational, Rowing in a
timeless setting of spiritual friend and disciples. Thrangu Rinpoche
based his explanations on a text by Karma Trinlepa (1456-1539), who
has written the most extensive commentaries on Saraha's trilogy-his
spiritual songs for the people, the queen, and the king.
A Songfor the King is the shortest of the three compositions and the
most profound, for it presents in greatest detail Saraha's unique interpre~
tation of mahamudci. The eminent Kagyii scholar Pawo Tsuglak Trengwa
(1504-66) wrote that the songs correspond to the three kayas, or dimen~
sions: A Song for the People relates to the nirmal).akaya; A songfor the
Queen relates to the sambhogaiciya, and, finally, A Songfor the King relates
w [he dharmakaya, which makes it the most subtle and succinct.3
In their Indian form, songs of realization were presented in a flow of
verses without an overt structure. It was the Tibetan commentaries that
added the outlines and gave a topography to the landscape [he songs
explored. In particular, Karma Trinlepa's outline is Guite detailed and
could actually serve as a summary of his whole commentary.
To introduce the song, lec us look at an overview. At the beginning,
Karma TrinJepa uses the occasion of the traditional homage to elucidate
four major obstacles w practice. This discussion functions as the tradi~
tional preliminaries for a text or practice. Following this, he presents [he
usual precis of a text, which alerts the reader to the range of its content,
by dividing the verses into a summary of mahamudra, according to
ground, path, and fruition. He then returns to each one of these for an
extensive discussion as he builds the rest of his commentary.
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 3
In the longer presentation, Saraha's verses on the ground start with
his advice to keep it clear of attachment, especially to the various signs
of accomplishment that might arise from practice. This is a theme
that runs throughout the song, as these attachments arc the basic way
that we deviate from an authentic path. In all the major manuals on
mahamudra, instructions on how to practice are followed by descrip
tions of how to avoid obstacles-all the diversions and sidetracks that
lead us astray. Saraha distributes these cautions liberally throughout
his song.
After warning us of dangers, Saraha defines classic concepts, such as
the nonduality of appearance and emptiness, and then he points out the
essential nature of mind. When we are meditating, it is important to
know what we are seeking, for this goal will guide the whole process of
practice. Therefore, in the beginning Saraha points to ultimate reality,
the fruition that is the realization of mind's very nature. Finally, he speaks
about cause and effect, which constirute the level of relative truth, and
about the perils of fixating on scholastic analysis.
Having provided this ground, Saraha begins his mapping of the path
with another series of verses on the dangers of attachment, in particular
the peril of taking meditative experience to be something real and truly
existent. Once this is complete, Saraha sets forth the actual path through
his unique presentation of mahamudra. laid out as the four symbols or
stages of practice: (I) mindfulness, (2) nonminding, (3) the unborn, and
(4) beyond the intellect.
In his commentary on A Songfor the People. Karma Trinlepa gives a
detailed explanation of these four stages in increasingly subtle levels.·
Since the third and secret one has been emphasized by Thrangu Rin
poche and prefigures the discussion in this book, it might be useful to
look at it brieRy. In A Songfor the People, Saraha's verse reads:
