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Buddhist : Tibetan
11th Century

About Milarepa

Timeline (1052 - 1135)

Milarepa, Milarepa poetry, Buddhist, Buddhist poetry, Tibetan poetry, [TRADITION SUB2] poetry,  poetry

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English version by
Garma C. C. Chang

Original Language
Tibetan

The Song on Reaching the Mountain Peak

Commentary by
Ivan M. Granger

Themes
  Birth, Rebirth
  Light
  Mountain
  Wine
  Womb

 

Recommended Books

Drinking the Mountain Stream: Songs of Tibet's Beloved Saint, Milarepa, Translated by Lama Kunga / Translated by Brian Cutillo
The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa: The Life-Story and Teachings of the Greatest Poet-Saint Ever to Appear in the History of Buddhism, Translated by Garma C. C. Chang
The Life of Milarepa: A New Translation from the Tibetan, Translated by Lobsang P. Lhalungpa
Magnificent Trickster: The Story of Milarepa, by Molly MacGregor
Songs of Milarepa: (Dover Thrift Edition), by Milarepa

More >>

Hearken, my sons! If you want
To climb the mountain peak
You should hold the Self-mind's light,
Tie it with a great "Knot,"
And catch it with a firm "Hook."
If you practice thus
You can climb the mountain peak
To enjoy the view.

Come, you gifted men and women,
Drink the brew of Experience!
Come "inside" to enjoy the scene --
See it and enjoy it to the full!
The Incapable remain outside;
Those who cannot drink pure
Beer may quaff small beer.
He who cannot strive for Bodhi,
Should strive for superior birth.

 

 

-- from The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa: The Life-Story and Teachings of the Greatest Poet-Saint Ever to Appear in the History of Buddhism, Translated by Garma C. C. Chang

Amazon.com

 

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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

The comparison between “pure” beer and “lesser” beer can be read as a comparison between the Mahayana (“greater vehicle”) philosophy which gives personal Buddhahood as a goal, and the Hinayana (“lesser vehicle”) path which suggests self-refinement and personal enlightenment are possible, leading to “superior birth,” but not necessarily full Buddhahood.

But the beer works on a more immediate and esoteric level, too. Milarepa's “small beer” can refer to lesser, worldly experiences, such as mundane alcohol, which give only mundane intoxication, while “pure beer” is associated with the bliss of Bodhi, or awakened awareness.


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Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2008 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.