I prostrate to the venerable gurus. I will explain as well as I can, The meaning of the essence of all the Conqueror’s scriptures, The path which is praised by the Conqueror’s excellent children, And the gate for those fortunate ones desiring liberation.
Those not attached to the pleasures of existence and Those who strive to make leisure and good fortune meaningful and Those who have faith in the path that pleases the Conqueror— Those fortunate ones listen with a clear mind.
initially seek [the intention] definately to emerge
Without a pure [thought] definitely to emerge [from cyclic existence], There is no way to stop seeking pleasant effects in the ocean of existence; Also, thirst for existence thoroughly binds the embodied. Therefore, initially, seek [the thought] definitely to emerge [from cyclic existence].
Cultivating the thought, Leisure and fortune are difficult to find and life has no duration Reverses emphasis on the appearances of this life. When one contemplates karma’s inevitable effects and the sufferings of cyclic existence, Emphasis on future lives is reversed.
After meditating in this way, If you do not generate even for one moment Admiration for the marvels of cyclic existence, And if there is always the thought seeking liberation, Then at that time one has generated [the intention]definitely to emerge [from cyclic existence].
Also, if the thought to leave cyclic existence Is not conjoined with pure bodhicitta, Then it will not be the cause of the marvelous bliss of highest enlightenment. Hence, the intelligent generate the supreme bodhicitta.
Those carried in the current of the four strong rivers, Bound by tight bonds of karma, hard to release, Who have entered into the iron net—apprehending [an inherently existent] self, And are covered with much dark ignorance . . . [continued in next stanza]
excellent mind (i.e., bodhicitta, mind of enlightenment)
generate
verbal particle
causative: cause bodhicitta to be generated
cause bodhicitta to be generated
. . . Are born into limitless cyclic existence, And in their births are tortured uninterruptedly by the three sufferings. Contemplating the condition of our mothers in such a state, Generate the supreme bodhicitta.
If one does not have wisdom realizing the mode of subsistence, Then, even though one has meditated on the [intention] definitely to leave [cyclic existence] and bodhicitta, One is not able to cut the root of cyclic existence. Therefore, strive for a method for realizing dependent arising.
Whoever sees the cause and effect of all phenomena Of cyclic existence and nirvana as completely inevitable, and Thoroughly destroy the observed object— They enter the path that pleases the Buddha.
As long as the two, the understanding of appearances—the infallibility of dependent arising, And of emptiness—the non-assertion [of inherent existence], Appear to be separate, there is still no realization Of the thought of Shakyamuni Buddha.
When [the two understandings exist] simultaneously without alternation, And from just seeing dependent-arising to be infallible, Definite knowledge destroys the mode of apprehending [an inherently existent] object, Then the analysis of the view is complete.
Stanza XIII
གཞན་ཡང་སྣང་བས་ཡོད་མཐའ་སེལ་བ་དང༌།Further, [knowledge of the nature of] appearances [existing only nominally] excludes the extreme of existence
other
also
otherwise
appearances (third case agent)
existence (here meaning inherent existence)
extreme, edge
extreme of inherent existence, extreme of permanence
clears
སྟོང་པས་མེད་མཐའ་སེལ་ཞིང་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།And [knowledge of the nature of] emptiness [as the absence of inherent existence] excludes the extreme of non-existence.
Further, [knowledge of the nature of] appearances [existing only nominally] excludes the extreme of existence, And [knowledge of the nature of] emptiness [as the absence of inherent existence] excludes the extreme of non-existence. If one knows the mode of the appearance of emptiness as causes and effects, One will not be captivated by extreme views.
Like that, when you realize just as they are The essentials of the three principal aspects of the path, Resort to solitude and generate the power of effort, Then quickly accomplish your final aim, my son.
