Formless realm

THE MAHAMUDRA ASPIRATION OF TRUE MEANING
Namo guru.

All masters and yidam deities of the mandalas,
Victorious ones and spiritual sons throughout the three times and ten directions,
Pay heed to me and bestow your blessings
That I may attain accomplishment in accordance with my aspirations.

Springing forth from the snow mountain of the pure thoughts and deeds
Of myself and all countless beings,
May streams of virtue, undefiled by the threefold concepts,
Flow into the ocean of the four kayas of the victorious ones.

For as long as we have not attained that,
May we, throughout our succession of lives and rebirths,
Never even hear the words misdeeds or suffering,
But enjoy this splendorous ocean of happiness and virtue.

Having obtained the supreme freedoms and riches, possessing faith, endeavor and intelligence,
We have followed an eminent spiritual guide and received the nectar of oral instructions.
Without any obstacles for accomplishing them correctly,
May we, in all our lives, practice the sacred teachings.

By learning the scriptures and through reasoning we are freed from the veil of ignorance.
Through contemplating the oral instructions we overcome the darkness of doubt.
With the light resulting from meditation we illuminate the natural state as it is.
May the light of this threefold knowledge increase.

Through the nature of the ground, the two truths free from the extremes of eternalism and nihilism,
And the supreme path, the two accumulations free from the limits of exaggeration and denigration,
We attain the fruition of the two benefits free from the extremes of existence and peace.
May we connect with such a teaching free from error.

The ground of purification is mind essence, the union of being empty and cognizant.
That which purifies is the great vajra-like practice of Mahamudra.
May we realize the immaculate dharmakaya ð the fruition of having purified
All the passing stains of confusion, that are to be purified.

To have cut misconceptions of the ground is the confidence of the view.
To sustain that undistractedly is the key point of meditation.
To train in all the points of practice is the supreme action.
May we possess the confidence of view, meditation and action.

All phenomena are the illusory display of mind.
Mind is devoid of `mind' ð empty of any entity.
Empty and yet unceasing, it manifests as anything whatsoever.
Realizing this completely, may we cut its basis and its root.

We have mistaken our nonexistent personal experience to be the objects,
And by the power of ignorance, mistaken self-cognizance to be a `self.'
This dualistic fixation has made us wander in the sphere of samsaric existence.
May we cut ignorance and confusion at the very root.

It is not existent since even the victorious ones do not see it.
It is not nonexistent since it is the basis of samsara and nirvana.
This is not a contradiction, but the Middle Way of unity.
May we realize the nature of mind, free from extremes.

Nothing can illustrate it by the statement, “this is it.”
No one can deny it by saying, “This is not it.”
This nature transcending concepts is unconditioned.
May we realize this view of true meaning.

Without realizing this, we circle through the ocean of samsara.
When realizing it, buddhahood is not somewhere else.
It is completely devoid of “it is this” or “it is not this.”
May we see this vital point of the all-ground, the nature of things.

Perceiving is mind, being empty is also mind.
Realizing is mind, being mistaken is also mind.
Having arisen is mind, having ceased is also mind.
May we cut through all our doubts concerning mind.

Unspoiled by intellectual and deliberate meditation,
And unmoved by the winds of ordinary distractions,
May we be skilled in sustaining the practice of mind essence,
Being able to rest in unfabricated and innate naturalness.

The waves of gross and subtle thoughts having spontaneously subsided,
The river of unwavering mind naturally abides.
Free from the stains of dullness, sluggishness and conceptualization,
May we be stable in the unmoving ocean of shamatha.

When looking again and again into the unseen mind,
The fact that there is nothing to see is vividly seen as it is.
Cutting through doubts about its nature being or not being,
May we unmistakenly recognize our own essence.

When observing objects, they are seen to be the mind, devoid of objects.
When observing the mind, there is no mind, as it is empty of an entity.
When observing both, dualistic fixation is spontaneously freed.
May we realize the luminous nature of mind.

Being free from mental fabrication, it is Mahamudra.
Devoid of extremes, it is the Great Middle Way.
It is also called Dzogchen, the embodiment of all.
May we attain the confidence of realizing all by knowing one nature.

Great bliss, free from attachment, is unceasing.
Luminosity, devoid of fixation, is unobscured.
Nonthought, transcending the intellect, is spontaneously present.
Without effort, may our experience be unceasing.

The fixation of clinging to good experiences is spontaneously freed.
The confusion of “bad thoughts” is naturally purified.
Ordinary mind is free from acceptance and rejection.
May we realize the truth of dharmata, devoid of constructs.

The nature of all beings is always the enlightened state.
But, not realizing it, they wander endlessly in samsara.
Towards the countless sentient beings who suffer,
May overwhelming compassion arise in our minds.

The play of overwhelming compassion being unobstructed,
In the moment of love the empty essence nakedly dawns.
May we constantly practice, day and night,
This supreme path of unity, devoid of errors.

The eyes and superknowledges resulting from the power of practice,
The ripening of sentient beings, the cultivation of buddha realms,
And the perfection of aspirations to accomplish all enlightened qualities ð
May we attain the buddhahood of having accomplished ripening, cultivation, and perfection.

By the power of the compassion of the victorious ones and their sons in the ten directions
And by all the perfect virtue that exists,
May I and all beings attain accomplishment in accordance with these aspirations.


This aspiration, the Mahamudra of true meaning, was written by Lord Karmapa Rangjung Dorje.

EPK