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THE STORY OF THE ROCK DEMONESS
OF LING-BA: COMMENTARIES
AND NINE SONGS

Folios 19B, line 7, to 27A, line 5

Half-title design

Pig Charm. This charm, of unidentified use, represents a pig inscribed and encircled with symbolic characters. It may belong to the class of charms designed to protect the wearer against hostile animals and evil spirits.

NAMO GURU! The Revered Milarepa, although requested by the people to stay in Gna-nan-rtser-ba, did not listen, but carrying out the order of his Lama, went to the village of sKyid-gron to carry out meditation on the mountain dPal-bar. Thinking of the rock cavern at Ling-ba, he went there for a little while in order to practice meditation. One night, just as darkness was coming on, there came repeatedly a strange whistling sound from off to the left side of the Revered One, where there was a cleft in the rock. He arose, but there was nothing. Thinking: "I must have been deluded by my own senses," he went to sleep again. In the rock cleft there appeared a great light, at the end of which was a red man on a black musk deer which was led by a beautiful woman. The man, with his elbow, pushed the Revered One and then vanished into a whirlwind. The woman, having turned into a red bitch, seized the big toe of his left foot, and he was not able to escape. Knowing it to be a magical trick of the rock demoness, he recited this song:

I bow down at the feet of Marpa, full of grace.

You waiting for the chance to sneer at me, the man,

Showing yourself in your ugly shape,

You, rock demoness of Ling-ba,

Are you not doing evil deeds?

I am not very eloquent in words and singing.

But you, listen to the words of truth!

In the middle of the blue sky above

Appears the blessing of the sun and moon pair.

This immeasurable palace of the gods

Sheds its light from above for the welfare of beings.

When the sun and the moon circle the four continents in their duties,

May not the demon Rahu¹ arise as enemy!

In the east, atop the glacier of the snow mountain,

Arises the happiness of the white snow lion.

He is king of all the animals.

His nature is not to eat spoiled flesh.

When he comes to the edge of the mountain,

May not the snowstorm arise as an enemy!

Under the leafy canopy of the south forest,

Arises the happiness of the striped tigress.

She is the champion of all the beasts of prey.

As sign of strength, she does not hesitate to risk her own life!

When she roves on the narrow footpath,

May the trap not arise as an enemy!

In the quivering turquoise lake, Manasarova, in the west,

Arises the happiness of the white-bellied fishes.

They are the dancers in the element of water.

Wonderfully they roll their golden eyes

When they follow each other for the sake of desire and food.

May not the iron hook arise as an enemy!

On bSam-yas, the red rock in the north,

Arises the happiness of the vulture.

He is the deva of the winged birds.

Wonderfully he does not cut off the life of others.

When he seeks food on the peak of the Three Mountains,

May the snare not arise as an enemy!

On the Ling-ba, the rock vulture's nest,

Milarepa's happiness arises.

He is working towards the complete welfare of himself and other

As sign of truth, he renounces this worldly life,

And causes the arising of the bodhi heart.

In this life, by this very body, as

He strives steadily to attain Buddhahood,

May you, rock demoness, not arise as enemy!

This song has five wonderful similes and six meanings.

This well-sounding poem is like a golden chain.

Brag-srin-mo,² do you understand the sense?

You rock demoness, by your assembled acts, are laden with heavy sins.

Since you are not great in regard to exertion,

Restrain once more the malice of your thoughts!

Furthermore, if you do not understand that everything is mind,

There is no end to the demons of mam rtog.

When not understanding that the mind itself is empty,

How is it possible to turn away the perverted demon?

You, evil demoness, doing injuries,

Please do not injure or harm me.

Return again to your own place,

You malicious demoness!

Thus he spoke, holding her feet and not releasing her. Then she disappeared and, as answer, sang the following song:

O gifted son of a good lineage,

With strength of heart to wander alone,

Wandering Yogin of the mountain masses,

Wonderful in ascetic practices,

The song sung by you is as a command of the King.

The command of the King is weightier than gold.

To compare gold to brass is a great mistake,

When one does not understand how to abstain from such sins.

That which was said by me before is only a lie.

In the first part of the song, it is as if it were the right of the law of the King.

Now I wish to speak of the similes of your song.

I request you to listen for a little while, attentively.

In about the middle of the blue heaven above,

Arises the blessing of the clear light of sun and moon.

That immeasurable palace of the gods

[It is said] lightens the darkness of the four continents.

If at the time of their work of circling the four continents,

They do not display caution about the great brightness,

If Rahu were not ensnared by the sphere of light,

Would he arise as an enemy?

In the topknot of the east glacier's shining crystal,

Arises the blessing of the strong white lion.

He is king of the quadrupeds.

It is said he holds the subject beasts by laws.

At the time when he descends to the edge of the blue glacier,

His anger and pride are great in fury and arrogance.

If he does not with his turquoise-blue mane conquer the snowstorm,

Why should it arise as an enemy?

Under a bower in the interstices of the south forest,

Arises the blessing of the young striped tiger.

He is champion of all the beasts of prey.

It is said he holds the clawed animals by his splendor.

When he wanders on the narrow footpath,

Boasting of his skill with arrogance or pride,

If he had not been allured by deceitful appearance,

Would the trap arise as an enemy?

In the turquoise lake of the west, Manasarova,

Arises the blessing of the white-bellied fish;

They are the dancers in the element of the water.

It is said they are a great spectacle for gods and hermits.

When they follow each other for the reason of their desires and food,

If they do not come for food placed by men,

If they had not been deluded by the illusion of the body,

Would the hook arise as an enemy?

On the red rock of the north, on bSam-yas,

The blessing of the vulture, the king of birds, comes forth.

He is the deva of the wing-possessed birds.

It is said he overcomes the winged things by his splendor.

When he seeks food on the peak of the Three Mountains,

If he were not seeking flesh and blood as food,

In not using his vibrating wings to deceive,

Would the snare arise as an enemy?

On the Ling-ba, the vulture abode,

The blessing of you, Milarepa, comes forth.

Striving for the welfare of yourself and others,

You have already the highest bodhi mind,

While, at the same time, your body is

Ever steadily striving towards Buddhahood in this life.

You are the guide of the six classes of beings,

While you steadily meditate in dhyana³

If, by the force of strong habitual thinking instead of bodhi,

You are confused in regard to the self-mind,

Then if you do not regard the thoughts as enemy,

How can I, rock demoness, arise as an enemy?

But this demon of habitual thinking arises from your own mind.

When, not knowing the essence of mind,

You say: "Go away," I do not go.

Charm of the All-powerful Ten. This is a Sanskrit monogram made up of the root letters of the names of ten powerful deities.

Also since you have not understood the voidness of your own mind,

There are a host of other demons besides me.

Even if one knows one's own mind,

Unfavorable events appear as friends.

I, rock demoness, will be happy to become your subject.

But since in your heart, man, there are still passions disturbing you,

Continue still to contemplate on your self-mind,

And still work on the understanding of blindness or confusion.

Thus, the rock demoness saying these words, in the heart of the Revered One arose great peace. And in answer he recited the song of the eight similes of consciousness or recollections.

You are right, are right, evil demoness.

There never was more truth than these words.

In formerly roving about the kingdoms,

I have not ever heard a more well-sounding song than this.

Even if a hundred wise men will assemble,

Anything superior to this sense is not possible.

Demoness, a remarkable saying arose in your mouth.

The golden heap of your good explanations

Strikes at the essence of the mind of me, the man.

The clinging to existence, of holding to reality, was dispelled.

The black darkness of ignorance was cleansed.

The white mind-lotus again opened its mouth.

The torch of self-awareness is kindled.

The wisdom I pursue suddenly awakes clearly.

Consciousness, is it awake or is it not awake?

When I look into the sphere of the blue heaven,

I am clearly conscious of the emptiness of existence.

I do not fear the doctrine of truth.

When I look in the direction of the sun and moon,

I am clearly conscious of the clear light of the soul, and

I do not fear distraction.

When I look in the direction of the peak of the mountain,

I am clearly conscious of the unchangeable contemplation.

I do not fear in regard to continually changing.

When I look into the middle of the stream,

I am clearly conscious of the uninterrupted continuity, and

I do not fear sudden accident.

At the time when seeing the picture of the rainbow,

I am clearly conscious of the emptiness of apparitions, and

I do not fear with regard to both the lasting and the transitory.

When I see the reflected image of the moon in the water

I am clearly conscious of distinterested self-enlightenment, and

I do not fear searching those interests.

When I look at my own mind's essence,

I am clearly conscious of the fire inside the bowl, and

I do not fear ignorance and stupidity.

Since I hear words spoken from your mouth, demoness,

I am clearly conscious of my mind's essence, and

I do not fear the danger obstacles.

You, having so much excellent wisdom and in

Your own soul understanding,

Since you are born in an evil body as a demoness,

You act towards evil deeds, doing injury and harm.

That is the result of despising actions and their fruits.

Now, having thought of the punishments of the Wheel of Transmigration,

Renounce the ten evil deeds completely.

I am the Yogin, like to the lion.

I am without fear and anxiety.

I, man, only made a jest.

You, evil demoness, I think you are not right.

Since you, demoness, and the five yaksas⁴ and flesh-eating sisters

This evening were sneering at me,

I have, in accordance with the strength of the loving King,

Made a firm resolution through the efficacy of prayer.

If later, your mind turns towards thoughts of bodhi,

May you not be indifferent towards my converting you.

Thus he said.

The rock demoness turned towards believing, and she freed him whose foot she had seized. Again by an immaterial and well-sounding voice, she made this request, on this side of heaven, suspended in mid-air:

O Yogin possessed of merits, Worthy One!

Practicing the holy religion by heaped-up merits,

Wonderful, dwelling on the mountain, alone.

As far as the eye of compassion reaches, you look after sentient beings.

I am the disciple of the succession of Padma-tod-prin,⁵

I hear the rosary of the words of the holy religion.

Although the words are heard, my longing is great.

I wander to the assembly houses of all the Yogins.

Those people who have the capacity for dharma,

I help to good deeds,

To the gifted ones I show the truth.

Although trying to hold to good ideas,

I had to sustain this evil body to nourish my hunger.

In my deeds I rove in the villages of Jambudvipa,

And I enjoy flesh and blood for food.

I shall enter into the soul of the first man I meet.

In all beautiful women I stimulate desires.

Tall handsome men, I stir up their desires.

With my eyes, I watch the play.

By my mind, I provoke the desires of the nations.

With my body, I stimulate all unto excitement.

I dwell on the place on the rock of Ling-ba.

These things are my doings.

This is my statement to you.

This is the song I sing for you.

This is the happy greeting of our meeting.

Now this is the thing I want to tell you.

Yogin, this is an offering to you.

This is my faithful clear word to you,

Let us rejoice by this honest song!

Thus it was said. The Revered One thought: "To the sincere questions of this non-human being, I should answer carefully." And, thinking of this, he replied by reciting this song as answer to her request:

But now, O lowly woman, listen carefully.

The teacher is good, but the pupil is bad.

Many of those who are thinking about the doctrine of the gods

Have grasped the rosary of words, but the sense they have not understood.

Although they mouth excellent words, they do not practice.

By lying words and nonsense,

It is not possible to clean this sin from their own hearts.

Because of your former habitual thinking and the present sum of evil deeds,

Your obligations, oaths, and precepts were impaired.

By the strength of these, you were born a lower being,

Wandering in the pichasa⁶ regions in a miserable body.

Untrue speech, secret falsehoods, many, you say.

By evil thoughts you do harm to the lives of sentient beings.

Scorpion Charm. The purpose of the scorpion charm is to protect its wearer against injury by demons.

This rebirth in the form of an evil body

Is the retribution for the deeds of killing.

If you are conscious of the wrongs of samsara,⁷

Expiate the evil deeds you have done

And promise to strive for virtue!

I am like the lion, fearless;

I am like the great elephant, fearless;

I am like the madman, caring for nothing.

I speak words of truth.

Speak again honest words!

Making obstacles and sneering at me—

That, demoness, was your constant business!

Grasp the power of the pure vows of dharma

And in future time, hold it in remembrance.

Examine and prove this, you phantom woman.

Thus he said.

The rock demoness, showing herself as before, by truthful speech sang this song to Mila:

Lord, chief of all the Buddhas of the Three Times,

Having the hermit body of the great Vajradhara,⁸

Who was made master of the wonderful doctrine,

And has in his heart the excellent bodhi,

I am a lowly woman, but it is my good fortune

That by comprehending your speech I attained understanding.

For the first time, I heard the strict words of the teacher.

I thought and heard of the holy doctrine.

In the middle I have entered into evil deeds.

I can hardly endure the wild poison of sin.

For this I was born a woman having this evil body.

On all sentient beings likewise

I have inflicted profit as well as injury,

In times past, in a former period.

You, great master of meditation on the Ling-ba,

Proceeding here and meditating alone,

At times I was glad, at other times I was not glad.

Because of joy, I met you this evening;

Because of dislike, I grasped your foot.

Since I did you injury, later I confessed.

From now on, I will avoid the wild poison of woman.

I will practice the doctrine from my heart and be a helping friend.

In the future, we will rest

In the cool shadow of the tree of happiness.

I, evil demoness, tormented day and night by the five poisons,

I pray you for protection.

From now on till the attainment of Buddhahood,

I will subdue all thoughts of sin

And act as guardian to serve the Yogins.

I will act as helping friend of the meditators;

I will act as subject of all great Yogins;

I will assist all the doctrine followers;

I will act the helping friend to all observers of the oath,

And will do service as guardian to the teaching.

Thus she made the good wish. Acting as protector to all meditators and promising not to do injury, she turned to great faith. The Revered One then recited this song, to save the rock demoness:

I am the Revered One who has renounced the Wheel of Transmigration.

I am the son of the Holy Lama.

I am the treasury of the holy doctrine.

I am he who practices the holy doctrine from my heart.

I am the Yogin who realizes the nature of the dharma.

I am the father of all beings;

I am the man possessed of courage;

I am the successor of Sakyamuni;

I am the essence of the bodhi mind;

I am he who has always meditated on compassion.

My love conquers all evils.

I dwell on the rock Ling-ba.

I am the meditator without distraction.

You lowly woman, are you looking for happiness?

If there is no happiness within you,

You are evil if you do not feel happiness.

There must be evil in you.

Greater than you, demons, is your sense of clinging to the ego.

More than you, demons, are the disturbing thoughts.

Worse than you, demons, are bad thoughts.

Wilder than you, demons, are the wild thoughts.

More obstinate than you, demons, is habitual thinking!

Taking demons for demons is harmful.

But knowledge that demons are void is correct.

Comprehending the nature of demons is deliverance.

Accepting the demons as parents is being possessed.

If one can identify the demon with his own mind,

He attains the highest adornment.

By knowing these truths, all are liberated.

By you, lowly demon, a request was made.

I have converted you by a vow.

Now, you carry out your promise!

As a disciple of Vajradhara

Do not break your word oath.

Do not make trouble for those compassionate Yogins.

Do not make obstacles for the body, speech, and mind.

In case you turn to break your oath,

You will surely go to Vajra hell.

Since this meaning is great, I repeat it three times.

In order to comprehend this, act and practice!

We met together by means of good wishes.

In future you will attain happiness.

Your far-spread virtues will be infinite.

You will be possessed of the bodhi mind,

And will be reborn as the first disciple in my retinue,

And become the daughter of Vajrasattva.

Thus he spoke.

He bound her by such oaths. The rock demoness did reverence and walked around him many times. Having promised to perform his orders, she at last vanished like a rainbow. When the sun rose at daybreak, the rock demoness appeared with her brothers and sisters, men and women wearing good ornaments and of beautiful appearance. They came and brought many offerings. Having given these to the Revered One, the rock demoness said: "I received an evil body because of evil deeds. I was governed by habitual thinking. I beg your forbearance for my evil thoughts and for having sneered at you. From now on, I listen to your words of command, I am your subject. Now, Revered One, we request you to explain the transcendental truths you have realized." Thereupon she sang a song, requesting this:

O son of noble lineage,

Worthy One, who has accumulated meritorious deeds,

Who has been blessed by a succession of excellent teachers,

Who possesses courage to do devotion,

Who possesses courage to dwell alone,

Striving for the completion of profound truths,

The demon obstacles were not able to hinder you.

By mastering the prana and the nadis,⁹ you know illusory manifestations.

We are always in your mind.

Though having met in former times many siddhas,

We have met because of the good wishes and deeds of the past.

We have obtained through you the blessing of grace.

Now I, lowly woman, bring this request to you.

By not fully appreciating the expedient truths of Hinayana,¹⁰

It is difficult to subdue the evil deeds.

Those wandering in the void of empty words,

They are sure to flee when the causes of misery have arisen.

Those teachers burdened by the knowledge of dharma

Cannot help themselves and cause confusion.

Lord, Nirmanakaya,¹¹ three times Buddha,

Understanding the real nature of the doctrine,

Deep truth originating in your mind,

A song of advice condensed in many points, sing!

Be our guide for reaching the final point of truth.

To me, assembled together with my sisters and brothers,

I request you to bestow

The essence of the secret truth of the vajra,¹²

The clear light of great wisdom And the highest enlightenment.

By having heard the signs of mystic knowledge,

It is not possible to fall to damnation.

By practicing, it is not possible to wander in the samsara.

I request you to give unsparingly.

Kurukulle Charm. The symbolic characters and inscriptions of this charm comprise an invocation to Kurukulle, the goddess of love.

Thus she requested.

The Revered One said: "You are not yet able to meditate on the truth of the mystic doctrine. If you are able, then you must give me your life and heart and a strong promise."

They offered to give life and heart unswervingly by promising the Revered One to accomplish all his commands in the future and by giving a promise of friendship to all doers of the religion. The Revered One gave as answer to the request of the woman the truth of the highest doctrine in the following song of the twenty and seven disappearing things:

I bow down at the feet of my Guru, the Translator,

The one who is possessed of a father's grace,

He whose body is like the Nirmanakaya of Buddha,

Whose sphere is limitless, incomprehensible.

You demons urged me to sing and sing.

For this reason, I sing a song of the essence of things.

Thunder and lightning and clouds, these three,

When emerging, emerge from the sky itself.

When dissolving they dissolve into the sky itself.

Rainbow, fog, and mist, these three,

When arising, they arise from space itself.

When they disappear, they disappear into space itself.

Water, harvest, and fruit, these three,

When emerging, they arise from the earth itself.

When disappearing, they disappear into the earth itself.

Forest, flowers, and verdure, these three,

When they arise, they arise from the hill itself.

When disappearing, they disappear into the hill itself.

River, ripples, and waves, these three

When emerging, arise from the ocean itself.

When disappearing, they disappear into the ocean itself.

Habitual thinking, love, and possessiveness, these three,

When arising, arise from the alaya consciousness¹³ itself.

When disappearing, they disappear into the alaya consciousness itself.

Self-awareness, self-illumination, self-liberation, these three,

When arising, arise from the mind itself.

When disappearing, they disappear into the mind itself.

The unborn, unceasing, and unexpressed, these three.

When emerging, arise from the nature of being itself.

When disappearing, they disappear into the nature of being itself.

The visions of demons, clinging to demons, and thoughts of demons,

When arising, arise from the Yogin himself.

When disappearing, they disappear into the Yogin himself.

Since demons are the phantoms of the mind,

If it is not understood by the Yogin that they are empty appearances,

And even if he thinks they are real, meditation is confused.

But the root of the delusion is in his own mind.

By realizing the true nature of the mind,

The Yogin sees the clear light, neither comes nor goes.

The appearance of the external world is an illusion.

By observation of the nature of manifestations,

He realizes the identity of manifestation and void,

And by understanding, he knows the two are not different.

Meditation and not meditation are not two but one.

The cause of all errors is to look upon the two things as different.

From the ultimate point of view, there is no view.

If you make comparison between the nature of the mind

Monogram Charm. This charm, in the form of a monogram, consists of a magic syllable in Tibetan.

And the nature of the heavens,

Then the true nature of being itself is penetrated.

See, now, that you look into the true meaning which is beyond thought.

Arrange to enter into undisturbed meditation. And be mindful of the Unceasing Intuitive Sensation!

You demons should practice this doctrine.

I have no time to sing for amusement.

You, sitting silently, do not ask too many questions.

Because you demons said: "Sing a song," I sang one.

Now these are the foolish words I spoke.

You demons, when you are able to practice,

Will eat the food of great bliss.

Drink when thirsty the heavenly nectar and

Act by your deeds, as friends to the Yogin.

As he thus spoke, the rock demoness and her retinue turned towards believing, did him obeisance, and thanked him. Then, like a vanishing rainbow, they left. After that, the Revered One, as long as he stayed in this place in meditation, had no more injury done to him by the demoness, and she became a good friend of the religion.