Negrar

Percorso ad anello da Negrar passando per:
- Santa Maria di Valverde (9.7 km)
Escursione collinare in Valpolicella




THE HUNDRED THOUSAND SONGS OF MILAREPA
Wish to practice the white Dharma of Buddha,
Pray remember the meaning of this song.
Though worldly happiness and pleasure
Seem delightful and pleasing,
They soon will pass away.
Though high-ranking ladies are proud and exultant
In their lofty dignity,
What refuge and shelter do they have?
To dwell in the fiery home of Saq1sara
Sometimes seems pleasant, but is mostly misery.
If a well-endowed and well-loved son
Has no self-respect and makes no self-effort,
His father will meet nothing but distress.
If a disciple commits evil deeds,
He must fall into Saq1sara,
No matter how superb his Guru may be.
You maidens of Heaven, the conjurers of
the pigeons!
It is easy for you to ask for Dharma,
But hard to have deep faith in it.
You should remind yourselves
Of the inevitable misfortunes
Connected with worldly joys.
The pains and miseries of this life,
You should regard as friends leading
you toward Nirval)a.
As for me, I am very grateful for
The misfortunes I have met.
Oh, my friends, bear this in mind, and do the same!
The Devas smiled at Milarepa and said, "We shall do so." Then
they made obeisance and circumambulated him many times. The Jet-
sun then asked the angels, "Why did you come here in pigeon form?"
They replied, "You are a yogi who has not the slightest attachment
to yourself, nor any desire for this worldly life. It is only for the
sake of Bodhi and the welfare of sentient beings that you have re-
mained in solitude and meditated without distraction. With our heav
enly eyes,· we have been able to see you; and with respect and faith
we now come to you for Dharma. But in order to [conceal our real
form from] sinful beings, we have transformed ourselves into pigeons.
We pray that your Reverence will now be kind enough to go up into
Heaven with us to preach the righteous Dharma for us." But Milarepa
replied, "As long as life lasts, I shall remain in this world to benefit
sentient beings here. You must know that Heaven is far from de-
pendable; it is not eternal, and one should not rely on it. To be born
in Heaven is not necessarily a wonderful thing. You should pay heed
and foiiow these instructions":
I bow down at the feet of Marpa Lho Draug.
Oh, Father Guru! Pray grant me your
grace-wave and accomplishment.
You, eight beauties of the Deva-realm,
Have offered me white rice, the wondrous
fruit of Dhyana.
Eating it my body is strengthened, and my
mind enlivened.
As a token of my gratitude, I sing this
song of Dharma to you.
Now, lift up your ears, and listen to me carefully.
Even though one reaches the highest Heaven
of the White Devas, 4
It has no permanent value and meaning!
Lovable and touching are those flowers of
youth in Heaven.
But however pleasant it may seem to be,
In the end comes separation.
Although the bliss in Heaven seems to be very great,
It is merely a deceitful mirage, a
bewildering hallucination;
In fact, it is the very cause of the
return to suffering!
Thinking of the miseries of the Six Realms in Sa111sara,
I cannot help but have a feeling of disgust
and aversion -
A feeling of anguish and distressed emotion!