Gravellona

Gravellona Lomellina - Barbavara - Vignarello
Parco dei tre laghi e camminata tra le risaie





Like a golden divan is the narrow basin,
Round it winds the river, earth's great blessing.
At this time of defilement and corruption
Came you, the ascetic Yogi, full of wonders.
The food you eat is nectar of Non-thought,
The drinks you quaff are natural secretions.
In your mind, there is no disgrace or shame;
In your mind there is nothing clean or filthy.
You act like a madman leading an ascetic life.
For the sake of testing your ability,
We came last summer to this river bank-
To the left of Lashi l'viountain-
And found you in Sendentsema Wood
With your naked body indifferent to shame,
Amusing yourself with the lesser fairies.
We saw you in the mirror silvered thick,
We saw your meditation powers and your wondrous feats,
We saw your body vanish in the sky.
By these wonders we were so amazed
That in midautumn we returned.
You were then meditating in the Tsonlung Cave,
Absorbed in deep Samadhi. We crept in
And saw you wearing clothes of sun and moon
With a precious garland on your head.
Your body was besmeared with ash of cinnabar,
And in your hands, the canopy and victorious banner.
We saw you riding a fierce animal, flying
Through the firmament to vanish in the sky.
Thus we had no chance to harm you.
We came again last summer to put you to the test,
Intending to disturb your meditation.
But your mind was like the ocean,
While your body burned with fire.
Poisonous snakes were writhing round your head
As an adorning diadem.
Leaning on the blade of a sharp knife,
You sat in the lotus posture on a spe
THE HUNDRED THOUSAND SONGS OF MILAREPA
We saw you play a'top a wish-granting
Ball, and swallow a whole mountain.
Thus were we fascinated and bewildered too!
You are a yogi who has mastered Mind-awareness,
And like Indra, you can conjure and dissolve
Your body and perform countless miracles.
In your mind there is no pride, no thought.
You are free of doubt, of hope and fear.
You are a yogi like unto a lion,
For you fear not and have no misgiving.
You are a yogi like a great elephant,
For you will ne'er be frightened by any obstacle.
When one sees you, his heart is full of joy
And the hairs of his body stand on end.
By merely touching and beholding you,
All obstacles are cleared away,
All altruistic deeds accomplished.
You are the Wish-fulfilling Gem,
You are the Yogi, as the heavens great.
Since you have realized what "beyond-words" means
And never would be swayed by thoughts,
Demons can ne'er disturb you!
When we found we could not harm you,
It seemed it was ourselves whom we were mocking.
Thus we have changed our hostile stand,
Conjuring wondrous and delightful visions for you.
You also preached to us the Dharma,
And led us to the harmonious Path and Peace!
On that auspicious night last month
You sowed in us the Buddha-Seed.
The priceless buds in our hearts h:tve grown.
You are the supreme teacher for the Path that no
one can mistake,
You are the shelter and refuge of all beings.
Later, when you go to the Pure Land of Joy18
Where stands the palace of Mijurpa Buddha,
All the great Bodhisattvas will come to greet yo