Cernusco sul Naviglio

Camminata da Cernusco sul Naviglio a Gorgonzola lungo il naviglio Martesana, ritorno con alcune varianti







THE HUNDRED THOUSAND SONGS OF MILAREPA
He contemplates the nature of the Void.
Is he not Mila, the great meditator?
You five maids of magic have sung a song to me;
I, the cotton-clad Yogi, sing in return for you.
We have shared some vows and Karma in the past;
'Til now you have of this been unaware.
How happy must you be to know it now!
In the late spring of last year
You caused all ghosts and Devas
To come here and afflict me.
As the flags unfurled
And the demon-soldiers drew up in array,
All four armies showered missiles down
And tried to harm me in all sorts of ways.
But since I had already realized
That all form is of the mind,
While the mind itself is void,
I was never frightened
By these demonic shadow-shows.
By merely seeing you poor sinful beings,
An unbearable compassion, quite beyond control,
Rose of itself within me.
In return I showered on you
The mercy-rain of Dharma.
You were thus converted
To faithful be, and pious.
To-night as five lovely maids you came;
Once more with your dazzling beauty
You circled and bowed many times before me,
Folding your hands upon your breasts
To show sincere respect.
With your melodious song
You asked me for the Dharma, saying:
"Pray, gather and precipitate the clouds of Bodhi-Mind,
And shower down on us the Dharma-nectar."
Since you have such earnest faith
[I will give you the teaching
And so fulfill your wish].
Upon the lotus-seat a'top my head9
Sits my precious Guru-
The great Translator, matchless Marpa!
Like the immaculate Sambhogakaya,
He sits gracefully upon my head.
From the radiant moon of His sweet compassion,
Cloudless and resplendent,
Emanates bright light,
Shining upon the hearts of His disciples;
It freshens the awakening anthers
And brings quick to blossom
The water-lily of their minds.
You bewitching sorceresses,
Have you ever seen these things?
If not, the reason is your sins.
You should thus confess, without reserve
All that you have e'er done wrong
Since time without beginning;
Else you can ne'er receive my teaching
And may fall into the wretched Realms once more.
Before, you were malignant and were bitter,
Accustoming yourselves to vice;
For you to take an oath meant nothing,
Nor would it have helped the Doctrine.
He who does not respect the Law of Karma,
[Will fall] into the dread Realms of Misery.
You should, therefore, take heed
Of even the smallest sin.
He who knows not the faults of wordly pleasures,
And from his depth of heart does not renounce them,
From the prison of Saf!lsiira can ne'er escape.
He should know that the world is but illusion,
And work hard to subdue his desires (Klesas].
If for the wrongdoings
Of all sentient beings
In the Six Lokas
One has great pity,
He will avoid the Hinayana path;
With a great compassion