A dying man's letter

The true transmission

Homage to all the noble ones in whom great compassion lives.

Homage to the one who, like the sun, shines in the purity of all that is bright and good – from the primordial expanse of the ground he shows the countless faces of his compassion, guarding all living things with the deeds of an awakened heart.

Homage to the one who, having finished all that was to be done, passed into Kushinagar – the most wondrous of cities – to give a lesson to those who believe that all things last forever.

Long have I known what it is – samsara, this round of births and deaths. And so I, who am about to leave this body – frail and deceiving – will say to you a word spoken for your sake alone. Hear it.

All worldly things are, in the end, void of meaning. While you are alive you may hold on to things as if they were real – but in your hour you will surely see how they deceived you. Having understood to the depths that there is no leaning on what is impermanent and empty, turn to the true path of awakening – to the Dharma, the teaching of how to wake. It alone brings benefit.

The wealth and possessions you have gathered must be left behind. They are like honey: you gather it, but others will eat it. While you still can, take care of what you will need on the road ahead. There that wealth becomes your true riches – the bright merit that goes with you beyond death.

The house you built will fall. It is only a temporary shelter – you will not stay in it; you must go. Let go of attachment and the pull of crowded places, withdraw into the silence of solitude – do not delay.

Friendship and enmity are like children's play. Love and hatred for what is worth nothing are a blazing fire. Leave quarrels and grievances behind, become the master of your own mind – do not delay.

The affairs of this world are meaningless – they are like a conjurer's tricks. You get drawn into them for a while, but in the end they are empty. Stop fretting over this life, cast off worldly cares, seek the road to freedom – do not delay.

Your precious human body, with all its freedom and gifts, is like a priceless ship. While you still have the strength to steer it across the ocean of suffering, drive out sloth, dullness and idleness, and wake within you the heat of effort – do not delay.

The true teacher is like a guide on a dangerous road. With deep trust and the devotion of body, speech and mind, lean on the one who leads and shields you from the enemy – from the round of births and deaths itself. Honour him and hold to him – do not delay.

The innermost instruction is like the nectar of immortality, for it is the best medicine for the sickness of the troubled senses. Trust your own awareness, see its essence exactly, take it in and let it transform you – do not delay.

The View is like the clear sky: free of all high and low, of any division into parts, neither wide nor narrow, beyond all words. Bring to it a sharp, penetrating understanding – do not delay.

Meditation is like a mountain or an ocean: it does not leave and does not change; it is clear and unclouded. Every label born of the spreading of thought grows still in it. Meditate, letting all things be as they are – do not delay.

Action is like the deed of a sage: it does what is fitting and brings benefit. This world of illusion, with its desires and attachments, its "I take – I reject," its "yes – no" – free it from the grasp of duality – do not delay.

The Fruit is like a rich man who hoards treasures: himself in abundance, he lets what is precious pour of itself toward others. Without hopes and fears, the mind is naturally blissful. Make the effort to gain this wealth – do not delay.

Mind, the unceasing source of all we perceive, is like the sky. And the very sky of the nature of mind is the body of truth, the ground-nature of all (dharmakaya): without duality, whole and complete. Understand it through to the end – do not delay.

All the variety of things and thoughts is like reflections in a mirror: appearances are empty, yet emptiness itself has no substance. Leave this riddle unsolved and a sleepy complacency settles in. Probe everything through to the end, as it truly is – do not delay.

The one who perceives, together with what he perceives, is like a dream. There is no duality, yet ingrained habit makes it seem there is. What reason has invented has no nature of its own – but neither is there any separate, standing-apart "non-duality" – do not delay.

Samsara and what lies beyond it are like a conjurer's show. Good and evil seem to exist apart, yet the noble essence stays unchanged. All is unborn, like the sky – know this through to the end – do not delay.

Confused appearances are like the alternation of happiness and sorrow. The moment good and evil rise up one by one, they prolong themselves. But in truth they are unborn, in their very essence they do not leave and do not change – know this through to the end – do not delay.

Reasoned judgments are like the bickering of fools: there is nothing real in them. These notions have already brought a split, and the clinging, reasoning mind will see good and evil apart – there is no evenness here – do not delay.

Generosity is like a precious hoard: inexhaustible, ever-growing. It is the cause of a good lot. Onto the fields of merit – small, ordinary or highest – give what is worthy to give – do not delay.

Discipline is like a clean, well-made chariot: a ladder to climb into the higher worlds or into the fortress of happiness. Restraint, faithfulness to the path, care for all living things – let these qualities live in you – do not delay.

Patience is like an unshakeable ocean: no harm can stir it. It is the finest stern training – to accept hardship and to grow compassion. Make patience your own – do not delay.

Timeless wisdom is like clouds gathering in the sky: from the nourishing clouds of insight a rain of abundance and bliss pours down and ripens a harvest of good in all living things. Make the effort to reach this primordial clarity – do not delay.

Kindness is like parents who tend their children tirelessly. Its love for all six kinds of beings ceaselessly helps them and leads them so that the path of awakening may come to pass. Let kindness become your nature – do not delay.

Compassion is like the heart of the bodhisattvas – those who go toward awakening for the sake of all. Clad in the armour of zeal, they long to free the living from suffering as if that pain were their own. Let compassion grow in you – do not delay.

Evenness of heart is like level ground: without attachment or aversion to near and far, free of strain. From its unending evenness great bliss is born. Establish yourself in evenness – do not delay.

Devotion is like the great ocean and the open sea, full of all that is good. Through all its waves it keeps a single taste, and the waves of faith rise without ceasing. Let devotion rise in your heart – do not delay.

Rejoicing is like the vault of heaven: its merits are boundless. It is weightless and without pride, hemmed in by nothing and unshaken. Let rejoicing grow on and on – do not delay.

Mindfulness is like an iron hook: it reins in the unruly, drunken elephant of the mind, turning it away from evil and binding it to the good. Let mindfulness live in you – do not delay.

Vigilance is like an alert sentry: it gives the thief-vice not a single opening; it is here to guard the wealth of the good. Keep such vigilance at your side – do not delay.

Trust is like fertile soil: it lets all your aspirations grow into a harvest of awakening – into a field of bliss both here and hereafter. Trust always begets a good lot – let it grow – do not delay.

A kind word is like a peal of thunder: it captivates and gladdens the hearts of the living, it answers in those who need teaching and fills them with joy. Gladden others by speaking to them what is sincere and kind – do not delay.

A calm temper is like that of a true sage: vice grows still, and people's trust grows. Drop all pretence, make this natural restraint your highest conduct – do not delay.

The sacred path of awakening is like the power of a buddha: in accord with all and yet above all, like everything and yet like nothing. Let it live in you – do not delay.

This precious human body, with all its freedom and gifts, is like a phantom house: it stands for a while, but the hour it will fall is unknown. It will not linger; you must part with it. Remember this again and again – do not delay.

All beings are like guests who came before and will come after: the old have gone, the young will go too. This generation will not last a hundred years. Understand this through to the end – do not delay.

This present life is like a single day. The life in the interval between death and a new birth is like tonight's sleep. The new birth will come as soon as tomorrow. Take up the true meaning of life – do not delay.

Now that all that matters has been shown through faithful examples – to you, whose faith is firm – here is my parting word. What has come together will come apart; and so I will not linger, but move toward the bright island of freedom. Since there is no leaning on the appearances of samsara, let me sit firm upon the unborn throne of the ground-nature.

The visible appearances of this world are like a deceiver: they turn the mind from the good and multiply the throng of troubled senses. Send them far away and do what is good.

Without contentment, even wealth is poverty: a greedy mind knows no fullness. Contentment itself is the greatest wealth; even a little is enough to fill the mind with happiness.

Wine and lovers are the source of inner turmoil. Cast off the thoughts that breed craving, clinging and attachment. Take the example of the sages and, in mountain solitude, contemplate the worth of stillness –

that stillness in which the mind reaches toward the good by day and by night. Turn from the bad and take the good, as the buddha advised. Do the good unswervingly – and then there is no need to fear death, for all will go as it should.

These words are spoken from the heart, for your deepest benefit. Leave the amusements and pastimes of this life – those given you by land, possessions, friends and kin – and grow your contemplation in quiet places.

When nothing holds you any longer and the hour to go has come, you need a path of awakening so as not to dread death. Make the innermost core of the teacher's instruction your own, make the effort to embody it – do not delay.

Seek the path that worthy people transmit. Possessing the essence that grants immortality – the deep truth of the ground-nature – taste its single taste by the force of your effort and swiftly reach the stronghold of the victorious ones – do not delay.

The highest bliss, the dream, comes true – and even after that, the good only multiplies. Strive from now on toward the heart of the path of awakening, toward its boundless virtues – both seen and unseen.

The stars, the retinue of the full moon, have gathered in a cloudless sky, and the lord of the lights himself is about to rise. The lotus face of the lord of compassion has grown still more beautiful for the throng of dakinis and guardians with their canopies, parasols, royal banners and courtly music. He breathes softly upon me, giving the sign that he receives me.

The hour has come – it is time to go; like a traveller, I must set out on the road. The joy with which I die is an honest, earned joy: it is greater than all the riches a merchant could win at sea, greater than the godlike might of one who has shattered armies, greater than the bliss found in contemplation.

And so I wait no longer, but go to sit firm in my place – in the highest bliss that knows no death. This life is lived to the end, the work is done, and all that was worth praying for has come to pass. With the worldly there is an end, the show of this life is played out.

Having known in a single instant the very nature of all that arises of itself – through the boundless reaches of the primordial expanse – I am near to taking my place at the beginning of all and everything.

Now that the bond with this life has lost its karmic force, do not mourn this beggar who died happy and unattached – rather, pray always that we may be together in spirit.

These words, spoken for your sake, are like a host of lotuses that gladden the faithful students, as if they were bees. By the force of the good in these words, may the beings of the three worlds go to the beginning of all and everything.

That which is beyond. The end.