Fiumelatte

Percorso ad anello da Fiumelatte passando per:
- Castello Di Lierna (8.2 km)
all' andata seguendo la variante bassa del sentiero del Viandante, e tornando sulla strada provinciale in riva al lago molto panoramica ma purtroppo abbastanza trafficata



The Shepherd's Search for Mind
"Who is he?"
"His name is 'Friend Bodhi-Heart'."
"Where is he now?"
"In the House of the Universal Seed Consciousness."1
"What do you mean by that?"
"My own body."
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The elder boy then said, "Lama, we had better go, as you cannot
guide us." But the younger one said, "Do you mean this Consciousness
is mind itself, and that the physical body is the house of the mind?"
"Yes, that is correct."
The boy continued, "We know that although a house usually be-
longs only to one person, many people can enter it, so we always
find a number of people living in one house. In the same way, is
there only one mind in the body, or are there many? If there are
many, how do they live together?"
"Well, as to whether there is only one mind in the body or many,
you had better find that out by yourself."
"Revered One, I will try."
At this point, the boys took their leave and went home. Next morn-
ing, the younger boy returned and said to Milarepa, "Dear Lama,
last night I tried to find out what my mind is and how it works. I
observed it carefully and found that I have only one mind. Even
though one wants to, one cannot kill this mind. However much one
wishes to dismiss it, it will not go away. If one tries to catch it, it
cannot be grasped; nor can it be held by pressing it. If you want it
to remain, it will not stay; if you release it, it will not go. You try
to gather it; it cannot be picked up. You try to see it; it cannot be
seen. You try to understand it; it cannot be known. If you think it
is an existing entity and cast it off, it will not leave you. If you
think that it is non-existent, you feel it running on. It is something il-
luminating, aware, wide-awake, yet incomprehensible. In short, it is
hard to say what the mind really is. Please be kind enough to ex-
plain the meaning of the mind."
In response, Milarepa sang:
Listen to me, dear shepherd, the protector
[of sheep)!
By merely hearing about sugar's taste,
Sweetness cannot be experienced;
Though one's mind may understand
What sweetness is,
It cannot experience directly;
Only the tongue can know it.
THE HUNDRED THOUSAND SONGS OF MILAREPA
In the same way one cannot see in full
the nature of mind,
Though he may have a glimpse of it
If it has been pointed out by others.2
If one relies not on this one glimpse,
But continues searching for the nature of mind,
He will see it fully in the end.
Dear shepherd, in this way you should observe
your mind.
The boy then said, "In that case, please give me the Pointing-out-
Instruction,3 and this evening I will look into it. I shall return to-
morrow and tell you the result." Milarepa replied, "Very well. When
you get home, try to find out the color of the mind. Is it white, red,
or what? What is its shape? Is it oblong, round, or what? Also, try
to locate where in your body it dwells."
The next morning when the sun rose, the shepherd drove the sheep
before him, and came to Milarepa, who asked, "Did you try last night
to find out what the mind is like?" The boy replied, "Yes, I did."
"What does it look like?"
"Well, it is limpid, lucid, moving, unpredictable, and ungraspable;
it has no color or shape. When it associates with the eyes, it sees;
when with the ear, it hears; when with the nose, it smells; when with
the tongue, it tastes and talks; and when with the feet it walks. If
the body is agitated, the mind, too, is stirred. Normally the mind
directs the body; when the body is in good condition, the mind can
command it at will, but when the body becomes old, decayed, or
bereft, the mind will leave it behind without a thought as one throws
away a stone after cleaning oneself. The mind is very realistic and
adaptable. On the other hand, the body does not remain quiet or
submissive, but frequently gives trouble to the mind. It causes suffer-
ing and pain until the mind loses its self-control. At night in the state
of sleep the mind goes away; it is indeed very busy and hard-working.
It is clear to me that all my sufferings are caused by it [the mind]."
The Jetsun then sang:
Listen to me, young shepherd.
The body is between the conscious and
unconscious state,
While the mind is the crucial and decisive factor!
He who feels sufferings in the lower Realms,
Is the prisoner of Sarpsara,
Yet it is the mind that can free you from Sarps