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THE HUNDRED THOUSAND SONGS
Books by Antoinette K. Gordon
Tibetan Religious Art
Tibetan Tales: Stories from the Dsangs Blun
The Iconography of Tibetan Lamaism
THE
HUNDRED
THOUSAND
SONGS
SELECTIONS FROM
MILAREPA, POET-
SAINT OF TIBET
translated from
the Tibetan by
ANTOINETTE K. GORDON
with an
introduction by
PETER FINGESTEN
CHARLES E. TUTTLE COMPANY
Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo, Japan
European Representatives
Continent: OSWALD & JOHN H. BOXER, Zurich
British Isles: MARK PATERSON & CO. LTD., London
Published by the Charles E. Tuttle
Company of Rutland, Vermont and
Tokyo, Japan, with editorial offices
at Osaki Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0032
Copyright in Japan, 1961
by the Charles E. Tuttle Company
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Catalog
Card No. 60-15251
ISBN: 978-1-4629-1318-3 (ebook)
First printing, 1961
Printed in Japan
In Memoriam
MILTON GORDON
CONTENTS
Chapter IV. "Dwelling on Byan-cub-rdzon" and Five Other Songs
Dwelling on Byan-cub-rdzon (Folio 31 A, line 1 to line 6)
The Twelve Meanings (Folios 33A, line 3, to 33B, line 1)
The Stallion (from the Nam rTar): Folios 97A and B)
The Four Parables—Milarepa and His Woman Disciple (Folios 58A, line 6, to 64A, line 3)
Song of the Three Teachings (Folio 32A, line 4 to line 6)
The Six Regions of Transformation (Folios 29B, line 4, to 30B, line 3)
An Example of the Translation Process
Two Songs in Musical Transcription
PREFACE
Tibet, always known as the inaccessible, is even more isolated now because of recent political events. As a result of this situation, there is a greater interest in the country, its religion, and its customs. We are fortunate in America that we have much material in our museums and in private collections which gives us information on the religion and culture of Tibet. Images, ritual objects, and manuscripts, both in the original Tibetan and in translations, are available for study.
It is unnecessary at this point to go into detail in regard to the Tibetan religion. Briefly, it is a form of Buddhism which was brought into Tibet in the seventh century by the two wives of King Srong-san-Gampo. About a century later, Padmasambhava, a teacher from India, brought the Mahayana form of Buddhism into Tibet. It is known as Lamaism by Occidentals. Padmasambhava is worshipped as the founder of this orthodox sect, called rNin-ma-pa (the Old Ones) and more familiarly known as the Red Cap sect. Subsequently, other teachers added new doctrines, and other sects were formed in which the ritual and discipline differed in greater or lesser degree. An important phase of Tibetan Buddhism was the practice of yoga, which is a form of physical and mental discipline characterized by meditation and various kinds of austerities. Many pupils, after studying with a teacher (guru), retired to caves in the high mountains and, after months or years in solitude, came back to the villages to make known the results of their meditations and to guide the faithful believer on the "Path."Such a one was Milarepa (sometimes spelled Milaraspa), the best known and most remarkable figure in Tibetan history and legend.
Milarepa, or Mila the Cotton-clad, is known as the poet-saint of Tibet. There are some biographies of Mila; the best known are those written by two of his disciples, Gtsan smyon-Heruka, "the Mad Yogi of Tibet," and Chung. The Hundred Thousand Songs is a collection of Milarepa's poems, quoted and loved by all Tibetans.
Mala
