The second excellence is the essential extract of Mahayana: Based on loving-kindness and compassion,
Perfect superior resolve is engendered.
This is the excellence of the middle,
The instructions in the main practice.
The last excellence is the essential extract of Secret Mantra:
Based on development and completion,
Perfect wisdom is engendered.
This is the excellence of the end,
The instructions in the concluding part.
In order to practice these properly,
Obtain empowerments, learn the crucial instructions,
And, with totally pure samayas and vows,
Abandon all activities in a secluded place.
Straighten the body and expel your stale breath.
Scrupulously apply mindfulness
And visualize your guru as Jetsün Tara.
Supplicate one-pointedly and develop devotion.
Mingle your mind with hers and remain in composure.
Then, for the stages of the practice,
Think of the freedoms and riches,
So difficult to find and easy to lose,
And think of the sufferings of the lower realms.
With trust in the unfailing results of karma,
One-pointedly take refuge in Jetsün Tara,
Who embodies all objects of refuge, and keep the precepts.
The three higher realms have nothing,
Except the miseries of change and formation.
Seeing the three worlds as a fire pit,
Develop intense renunciation and pursue the path of liberation.
These were the preliminary stages of instruction.
