THE DHAMMAPADA

In Light of the Unborn

Púsan
Copyright 2004 Púsan
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means
electronic or mechanical, including
photocopy, recording, or any information
storage and retrieval system, without
permission in writing from both the
copyright owner and the publisher.
Requests for permission to make copies of
any part of this work should be mailed to
Dragonyana Press, 110 Evelyn Ave,
Amsterdam, NY, 12010
ISBN: 0-9764675-0-X
978-0-9764675-0-2
Library of Congress Control #: 2004096114

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CONTENTS

Foreword 5
Introduction 6
Glossary 16
1. Thought 24
2. Vigilance 31
3. The Unborn Mind 35
4. The Lotus 38
5. The Worldlings 42
6. The Shining Ones 47
7. The Suchchild 51
8. The Word 54
9. The Unwholesome 57
10. Turbulence 60
11. Decay 63
12. IT 66
13. Purification 69
14. The Black Dragon 71
15. Look Beyond 75
16. The Way Home 77

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 17. Wrath 79
18. Wastefulness 82
19. Discernment 85
20. The Bifrost 87
21. The Shadow Slayer 91
22. Darkness 94
23. Fortitude 96
24. Yearnings 98
25. Carpe Diem 101
26. Consummation 104

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FOREWARD

This is the Pocket Book edition of The

Dhammapada in Light of the Unborn.
Each section is divided into a concise “verse”
format that actually conforms to the spirit
behind the original Buddhist classic, “The
Dhammapada”, where the teachings of the
Buddha were presented in aphoristic style
since smaller portions provide the reader an
opportunity to fully digest the intent behind
the teaching, which is to make the
Buddhadharma (the sublime wordless
teaching of the Buddha) part and parcel of
one’s inner spiritual development. This Pocket
Book size edition is the quintessential format
in which to fully experience and absorb this
unique stylistic rendition of the
Dhammapada…similar in scope and effect as
the classic Shambhala Pocket Book edition of
Thomas Byrom’s marvelous translation…as it
can be used as a convenient travel companion
and readily accessed and referred to whenever
the reader desires to do so. The introduction
includes a thorough breakdown of the
principles conveyed within this mystic
rendering of the Dhammapada.

5
INTRODUCTION

Western Buddhism is still in its infancy and

yet is emerging as a viable methodology
conveying deep insights and practices that are
empowering many to experience the path of
liberation as originally intended by the
historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama.
Along these lines, new Western schools of
Mystical Buddhism are generating marvelous
dharma teachers whose liberative techniques
are inspiring new generations of adepts to
return to and recollect the very vivifying
Source of their nature, i.e, the Unborn
Buddha Mind.
Back in late 1999 I was fortunate to encounter
the writings of one such dharma teacher,
Tozen, who is the founder of Unborn Mind
Zen (Which is based on the foundations of
the Lankavatara Sutra); he then initiated the
formation of his own school in the spring of
2000. Being a member of this auspicious
sangha since its inception, I had the
privilege—along with fellow dharma sisters
and brothers—to be bestowed with a dharma-
name by Tozen in the spring of 2001…hence
my dharma-name, Púsan.

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Within the school of the Unborn Mind
(UBM) we have been blessed with penetrating
insights on the nature of the Unborn Mind
and IT’s “inexhaustible primordial treasures.”
Certainly our archive contains a vast reservoir
of these treasures, little baubles of truth that
bear infinite light on the nature of the
Illuminative Principle of the Unborn Mind as
it is in ITSELF. As our study of the dharma
grew in Light of the Unborn, so did our own
contributions to the group; together we edited
Tozen’s prolific work, The Dharmakaya
Sutra—available in print…ISBN 978-0-
9764675-1-9. One of my own contributions
is “The Dhammapada in Light of the
Unborn”; this work presents in literary
fashion the principles found within the UBM
school while at the same time it offers a
contemporary rendition of the Buddhist
classic, The Dhammapada, as seen through
the Mystical Light of the Unborn Buddha
Mind.

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The Unborn Mind School of Zen, (UBM), is
founded upon the principles based on the
Lankavatara Sutra wherein the mantra “What
the mind focuses on determines its
reality” essentially sums up the nucleus of the
sutra itself: Mind Only, or Cittamatra. The
nature of Mind Only has to do with the
propensity of self-gnosis on the part of the
Unborn Mind (not born of being or non
being) and how IT comes to perceive the
nature of the outflows (phenomena) that IT
creates while lost within the maze of its own
phenomenal creations. The opening verses
within The Dhammapada also focuses on this
characteristic path of self-awakening wherein
what the Mind chooses to focus on and
hence, create, will determine whether the
spinning wheel of samsara (birth and death)
becomes initiated (with all manner of
attachment leading to suffering, dukkha) or,
instead, “turns-about” and “recollects” the
essential source of its Self-Nature. This
tension between samsara and the
quiescent Unborn Buddha Mind
provides the setting upon which The
Dhammapada in Light of the Unborn
is played out.

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The gotra: this is the primordial dormant seed
that, in initial stages, is like a tiny spiritual
embryo that eventually grows into a
Bodhisattva, or Light Bearer. When this little
seed within us all begins to awaken it is
referred to as the Bodhi-child and also as the
Dharma-child, Dragon-child, or Such-
child. This child has a highly concentrated
Spirit of Bodhi, or undivided self-awareness;
the gotra has its origins from the Tathagata-
garbha school of Buddhism, which the
Lankavatara Sutra itself is based on. This is
the “womb of suchness” and its seed—or
gotra—actually resides within all sentient
beings, although dormant. So, when the
Bodhi-child awakens it begins the process of
“recollecting” the very vivifying Source of its
original nature; hence, the “potential” for
Buddhahood is present in all sentient reality.

The Recollective Resolve: this is the state of

Eternal Vigilance wherein the awakened
Mind continually recollects the Source of its
self-nature while not moving an inch within
the realm of created time, thus holding at bay
the forces of samsara. This is referred to time
and time again in this rendition of the

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Dhammapada, and together with the
Suchchild, or gotra, constitutes an essential
ingredient in maintaining Mind’s quiescent
spirit.

The Skandhas: What we perceive to be as a

“self” or person is actually a collection of five
(form, sensation, thought, motion, mortal
consciousness) aggregates called skandhas; the
temporal existence of the person hinges on
these five aggregates, and when they are
disbanded there is no longer a person.
Without transcending the skandhas one
remains attached to their heavy karmic
influences and one becomes blindsided to the
salvific Unborn Light that can free one from
this dark and heavy bondage. Consider it this
way…what we perceive “ourselves” to be is
similar to denizens of a thick and oozing tar
pit where everyone’s movement is hindered
and weighed down with conflicting thoughts
and emotions and sensations, all of which are
bracketed by the surrounding samsaric ooze
that constitutes one’s waking environment. In
order to become liberated from this
incarceration, one needs to “Turn About”
within the deepest seat of consciousness and

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precede the skandhas by welcoming the
hidden Unborn Light of infinite Buddhas
whose boundless bodhipower (the power of
the awakened mind) breaks the spell of this
aggregated existence thus cleansing the inner
chamber of the bodhi-nursery where the
dormant gotra now awakens as the radiant
Suchchild as the former state of agitation that
once afflicted the temporal home ( rupa-
body) of Mind’s Essence is quieted through
the Recollective Resolve.

The Alaya vijnana: the general repository of

the defiled seeds (bija) of ordinary
consciousness that contains all the karmic
sensate data since beginningless time is known
as the Alaya vijana, or “storehouse
consciousness”; in itself, it remains calm, like
the surface of the ocean, but if acted upon by
the waves of the Vijnanas (elements of
consciousness), it keeps samsara in motion. In
China, the great translator, Paramartha, was
the first to declare that the Alaya vijnana was
“defiled”, hence it can be classified as defiled
garbha (womb) and is therefore the defiled
twin of the Tathagata-garbha; after the
aforementioned cleansing process occurs, the

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defiled seeds give way to the Bright Splendor
of the Amala vijnana (supreme, or
Transcendent Consciousness), that is the pure
unadulterated and awakened consciousness of
the Tatagata, as revealed through the
developing Dharma child.

The self-realization of Noble Wisdom:

Noble Wisdom is the very heart of the
Lankavatara Sutra and is a predominant theme
occurring throughout this rendition of The
Dhammapada. Within the UBM school it is
the perfect alliance with “Bodhipower”, or
the undivided awareness power of the
awakened Buddha Mind. This is the process
wherein the Mind awakens to the truth of IT’s
inner recesses and comes to the realization
that all that is seen is seen of the Mind
Itself. In effect, it’s a self-cleansing process
that prevents Mind from slipping into those
created obstructions. This whole process is
best summed up in the words of the
Lankavatara Sutra itself: “Perceiving that the
triple existence is by reason of the habit
energy of erroneous discrimination and
false reasoning that has been going on
since beginningless time, and also

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thinking of the state of Buddhahood
which is imageless and unborn, the
Bodhisattva will become thoroughly
conversant with the noble truth of self-
realization, will become a perfect master
of one’s own mind, will conduct oneself
without effort, will be like a gem reflecting
a variety of colors, will be able to assume
the body of transformation, will be able to
enter into the subtle minds of all beings,
and because of one’s firm belief in the
truth of Mind Only, will, by gradually
ascending the stages, become established
in Buddhahood.”

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At this point you may be wondering… “What
is all this stuff?!” A natural reaction in this
fast-paced world where immediate
gratification is the norm at the expense, sadly,
of much needed and informed self-reflection.
What you are reading is the result of extensive
meditative study within a largely forgotten
Zen tradition that goes back to Bodhidharma
(the first Patriarch of Zen in China) when he
first handed his disciple, Huike, a copy of the
Lankavatara Sutra—an auspicious action that
inspired and fostered the earliest Dawn of
Zen that is comprised within the records of
the teachers and students of the Lanka.
It was tempting to refrain from using Sanskrit
terminology in favor of more conventional
language, but to do so would only promote
modernism at the expense of a timeless
tradition whose Spirit reflects the bodhisattvic
resolve to turn the wheel of dharma in league
with the Buddha’s original intent. In time, the
terminology presented here will grow on you
and become comfortably familiar, and even
remain in the mind with poetic resilience once
Right Effort (one of the Buddha’s eightfold
marks on the path of liberation found within
the Four Noble Truths) is engaged; this
rendition of The Dhammapada is meant for

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meditation and is intended to be absorbed
over time and not merely skimmed over and
tossed aside, but rather digested. Given a
chance, the Buddhadharma will help to
transform your life. May this auspicious
adventure enlighten your own spiritual path.

In Unborn Light,
Púsan

Púsan can be contacted at:

mstrinado@yahoo.com

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GLOSSARY

Alaya-Vijnana: Storehouse consciousness

wherein all the actions (karma) of created reality
are stored. In itself it remains calm, like the
surface of the ocean, but if acted upon by the
waves of the Vijnanas (elements of
consciousness), it keeps samsara in motion.

Anuttara samyak sambodhi: Unexcelled

Perfection in Inseparable Bodhi—Supreme
Enlightenment.

Arahant: One who has freed one’s mind through

perfect understanding; traditionally a Buddhist
saint.

The Ariyan Mind: The Mind that is instilled with

Noble Wisdom (Aryajnana).

Avicci Hell: the lowest region of the infernal

realms.

Avidya: ignorance

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Bhutatathata: Absolute Suchness

The Black Dragon: A Mind that is filled with

incomparable wisdom. A dragon is the symbol of
wisdom and black means that this wisdom is
obscure to the bewitched.

Buddhadharma: The sublime wordless teaching

of the Buddha.

Buddhi: wisdom

The Dharma-Child: also referred to as the

Bodhi-child, Dragon Child, and the Suchchild.
Known within Buddhism as the Tathagata-
garbha, or the Womb of Suchness. This is a
dormant seed or gotra that, in initial stages, is like
a tiny spiritual embryo that eventually grows into a
Bodhisattva. The mystical inner nursery of the
Bodhi-child is the very Realm of Noble Wisdom
within one’s inmost self.

Dhammapada: The Eminent Law of

Enlightenment.

Dharmadhatu: The true nature of reality.

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Dharmakaya: Absolute Buddha body of perfect
suchness.

Dharmata: the inner essence that is realized

inwardly by one’s inmost self.

Dharmamegha: dharma cloud

The Dragon Eye of Tathata: the mystical inner-

eye of perception that awakens the hidden
Dharma-Child within the womb of suchness.

Dragonyana: Inconceivable Nature of Buddhi.

The Element of Truth: the ultimate principle

based on the realization within one’s inmost
consciousness that there is nothing in the world
but Mind ITself: one’s true Buddha-nature.

Four-fold dhyana: Attainment of four different

degrees of mindfulness within meditation.

Huike: the disciple of Bodhidharma (the first

patriarch of Ch’an/Zen Buddhism in China).

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Icchantikas: those devoid of Buddha-nature.

IT: (and all other Capitalized words) THAT

WHICH IS UNBORN, UNCOMPOSED,
UNDYING, and UNCREATED.

Kalavinka: songbird

Kalpas: immeasurable period of time.

Manjushri: the bodhisattva of wisdom.

Mara: the bringer of death and he is the

personification of the unwholesome effects that
sensate reality can have on the mind.

Nirabhasagocara: the imageless realm of no-

shadows

Pari-nirvana: Minds “full going out” from the

created realm of samsara.

Pi Kuan: a deeply centered gaze in meditation.

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Prajna: wisdom

The Recollective Resolve: The state of Eternal

Vigilance wherein the Awakened Mind
continually recollects the very vivifying Source of
ITs self-nature while not moving an inch within
the realm of created time, thus holding at bay the
realm of samsara.

Saha Realm: The created sensate world.

Sala Tree: Spirit tree.

Samadhi: one-pointedness of mind.

Sambodhi: the power of Enlightened

Consciousness, or bodhicitta.

The Shining Ones: those perfected in the self-

realization of Noble Wisdom.

The Skandas: namely…form, sensation, thought,

motion, and mortal consciousness. This is the
nature of aggregated existence wherein Mind

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becomes enraptured with ITs own creative
prowess and hence experiences the pluralized
inclinations of the rupakaya (personal forms).

Sugata-garbha: the supreme womb of Buddhaic

Light.

Sunya: empty of self-essence.

Tathagatas: Those who have gone beyond and

now embrace deathless suchness on the further
shore of Tathagatahood.

Tathagatakaya: The perfect embodied

mindfulness of the Tathagata.

Vidyaa: awareness

The Word: A highly mystical term that can only

be discovered through careful study of the
Lankavatara Sutra. It is the way through which
Noble Wisdom is cultivated.

Yama: the bringer of death.

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22
THE DHAMMAPADA
In Light of the Unborn

A Lankavatarian Interpretation

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1.Thought
What the mind focuses on
determines its reality.
The radiant Unborn Mind Essence
antecedes as well as reflects the
nature of phenomenal form; this
super-essential Light is the radiance
of our Original Nature, like divinity
itself.
Our corruptible form-nature, which
includes all impurities of speech,
etc, is also made manifest in and
through the self-same sweetness of
this Essence.
Trouble and misery will continue to
plague and carry you away like the
incessant spinning and suffering
wheel (dependent origination) of
samsara, one that vainly follows the
tail of causal reality and rebirth.
When the mind is quiet and serene
after Recollecting ITs True Nature,
thoughts of clarity will result as
revealed through that self-same

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Essence; hence blissfulness will
follow you like a deathless shadow.
If you remain wrapped up in defeat
it will be your downfall; hate is not
pure but draining, indeed it is Mind
turned against itself.
Being free from hate and all abusive
thoughts is the beginning of
purification and the embrace of
sweet peacefulness.
The self-realization of Noble Wisdom
is never brought to Light through
words of anger or self-righteousness
Only through quiet surrender to the
Light is kindness rendered, and it is
here that the deathless path of the
Tathagata is revealed.
Through ignorant, discriminate eyes
the kingdom of death is real; but
through Right Knowledge painful
discord is allayed through the
creative power of the Unborn Mind,
and as such, is now self-awakened
and therefore purified from all

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ignorant, discriminate notions like
the power of death.
Those who focus, through Skandhic
lens, on what is unwholesome,
slothful and immoderate will surely
fall prey to Mara’s evil whims, just
like a storm renders helpless a
young sapling.
Whosoever awakens to the true
nature of all dukkha, with roots
strong in the Unborn and who
moderately tames the mundane, will
be forever firm like a great wall of
stone!
All who wear the yellow robe are not
pure in thought; deprived of self-
control and determined vigilance in
the Recollective Resolve, one is full
of deceit and thus the yellow robe is
stained with hypocrisy.
Whosoever has “Turned-About”
thereby leaving unclean desires
behind, and who resolutely follows
the stainless Dark Principle of the
Unborn will know through self-

26
realization the deathlessness of
Noble Wisdom. Indeed, that one is
worthy to wear the yellow robe of the
Arahant!
Those who mistake the Essence of
the True Self for transitory nature
are to be pitied, for their darkness
obscures the face of the Unborn
splendor; shrouding oneself in
unwholesome desires forestalls the
perfection of Noble Wisdom.
Whosoever shines in the glory of the
Unborn Essence perfects IT and
reveals the nature of transitory
phenomena for what it is, sunya;
then one will know the self-
realization of Noble Wisdom and
bathe in ITs deathless suchness and
thus dwell in the abode of
Tathagatahood forever.
Like an uncared for and decaying
roof that the elements slowly
dissolve away and damages what
lies within, so is the unkempt mind
whose unwholesome thoughts cloud
the clarity of the Light of the

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Unborn; as a result, passions and
enmity and folly penetrate the inner
chamber of the bodhi-nursery and
stifle the progress of the developing
Dharma-Child.
Whereas a well cared for domain
(mind) prevents the rain of
discrimination from soiling the
serene sweetness of this Child of
Light That Only Yearns for the Truth
of ITs Unborn Essence.
Whosoever follow discursive
thought-patterns is like one who
daily mourns for phenomenal
manifestations of the past and of the
future; blind to the freedom of Mind
centered in the Unborn, that Mind
that transcends the bondage of
time-bound reality, the mourner
continues to grieve terrified of one’s
own karma thus favoring the defiled
twin of the bodhi-child—the alaya-
vijnana, a “choice” that entraps the
True Self-Essence into another
round of spatial-spinning on the
diurnal wheel of samsara.

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But whoever follows faithfully the
path of Unborn Freedom is joyful
Now, thus transcending all dualistic
notions of here or there; the
rejoicing is bliss-filled since the
defiled karma is cleansed revealing
the shining splendor of the
deathless face of the Unborn
Essence.
The harvest is great in all manner of
reality as the defiled garbha is
quieted through the effects of the
cleansing (the self-realization of
Noble Wisdom) and the bodhi-child
begins to fully recollect ITs
awakening in the realm of
Dharmadhatu.
Words in themselves can become
addictive, and one can then become
attached to the “letter” of the
Dharma and thus neglect to ACT on
the dark principle of the Unborn
that words attempt to convey
through discriminatory association.
Sole reliance upon words is like
counting another man’s sheep thus

29
never sharing in the way of the
Source ITSELF. Even if one speaks
little of the words within scripture,
as long as one makes a firm
foundation founded on the
Deathless Dharma and is resilient
through the Recollective Resolve in
being mentally prior to all sensate
attachments and desires…then one
is the Supreme Master over all
sensate based fallacies and shines
brilliantly through the Light of Noble
Wisdom into the peace filled
realization of pari-nirvana.

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2. Vigilance
Vigilance in the Recollective Resolve
is the way of deathlessness.
Those who are careless walk in the
nightmare realm of eternal dukkha
and thus serve only death; but the
vigilant despair not and thus shall
never taste death.
Watching through Unborn Eyes one
is resilient in the face of passing
phenomena as Eternal Vigilance
marks the supreme abode of the
Ariyan mind through the skill of
self-realization of Noble Wisdom.
Rejoicing is assured as the watchful
and all-knowing Eye of the Dragon
awakens the dormant Dharma Child
through the steadfast power of
Bodhi.
Fully attuned to persistent vigilance
in the Recollective Resolve, the
Dharma Child burns brightly with
the power of Bodhi…unshakable
and fearless, ITs Source is

31
penetrated through the supreme
skill of Noble Wisdom.
Dwelling in the Essence of the
Unborn Mind through that constant
Recollective Vigilance, ITs Presence
shines with pilot light-like attention-
steady and continuously piercing
the darkness of phenomena with ITs
ever-watchful and Reflective Eye of
Self-Same Essence.
Having tamed samsara through
THAT ever-vigilant Eye the ineffable
Light of the Unborn Illumines the
Deathless Center (the dharmadatu)
that withstands the pounding floods
of defiled aggregated existence (the
karmadhatu) that overwhelms
others.
The worldlings fall victim to
carelessness; but the ever-vigilant
Bodhi-child guards the beloved
truth of its self-nature…like a Black
Dragon guarding its most precious
jewel.

32
Never falling prey to unwholesome
desires, the Child of Unborn Light
continues to shine in Recollective
Splendor of its True and Original
Nature; it is in this Recollective
Vigor that True happiness is won.
Hence, all desirous notions are
forever dispelled once penetration is
made into the very Heart of
Suchness.
Resilient in its Tower of Bodhi, the
Child of Bright Illumination
dispassionately rises above all who
are entrapped in the dark valley of
dukkha.
The mindless suffer with the
heaviness of sleep, while those who
are vigilantly mindful soar like
Pegasus with Unborn wings over the
abyss of time and space and
dreams.
Indra obtained the highest praise of
Devas through divine watchfulness.
To fine-tune the skill of Vigilance
through the Marvelous Recollective

33
Resolve is one’s greatest task; failing
to do so condemns one to the sleep
of death.
Without faithful Vigilance one is
exposed to great reckless danger,
whereas remaining true to vigilant
discipline one will burn with the
steady flame of Noble Wisdom.
Perfected through the Illumination
of the Unborn Mind, one no longer
fears death nor will be subject to
endless rebirth as the sweet peace of
freedom’s suchness is won through
the path of deathlessness.

34
3. The Unborn Mind
The arrow finds its mark because its
point is sharp, just so does the
Dharma Child find its mark straight
within the point of Unborn Essence
as the all-knowing Dragon-Eye
reduces the glare of discursive
thought.
Left unwatched, thoughts churn
within the mind like a land-bound
fish whose dried-up gills suffocate
for lack of water; clamoring for life,
they drain the Life-Essence of ITs
energy…but once brought under
control through the Recollective
Resolve they cease to do harm and
are blown away like rotting dust in
the wind.
Once cleansed of all skandhic
shackles, the Element of Truth
shines eminently within the Heart of
Noble Wisdom.
Within the Dharma-Womb of the
Tathagata-garbha, the Bodhi-Child
grows in Light-filled Wonder beyond

35
the dark realm of thought; such is
the Joy of the liberated Heart of
Suchness.
A mind darkened with the incessant
chatter of troubled thoughts will
never know the sweet ecstasy that is
won through the self-realization of
Noble Wisdom, the Way that
celebrates the Illumined Power of
the Unborn Mind.
The Unborn Essence is not
disturbed with defiled sensate
phenomena; IT is beyond the stress
and agitation of all dualistic notions
like being right or wrong, for the
trial of decision is overruled by the
ever-vigilant and omniscient Eye of
the Nirvanic Element of Truth.
The Essence of the Unborn Mind
stands resilient across the abyss of
all temporal manifestations like the
decaying body; ITs Presence repels
the effects of Mara’s unwholesome
hold on all sensate-based
phenomena.

36
The bodhi-children of Unborn Light
proceed effortlessly through every
trial as the all-encompassing “Word”
powerfully unveils the Right
Direction towards the Other Shore.
The former state of agitation that
once afflicted the temporal home
(body) of Mind’s Essence is quieted
through the Recollective Resolve as
the animated image is discarded like
a rotting piece of wood.
Far worse than the deeds of your
greatest enemy is bodhi-power
directed against ITSELF; woe unto
those who utilize the Power of Bodhi
for selfish and unwholesome ends.
Once mastered through the self-
realization of Noble Wisdom, no
familiar and comforting earthly
presence can joyfully set one free
like the Illumined Power of
Essence’s Unborn Splendor.

37
4. The Lotus
The conqueror worm rules the
formal world with all its transient
trappings and its gods and rituals of
death.
The Shining Ones, those who have
crossed-over to the farther shore of
the Law of Illumination, have
transcended both form and no-form
and thus dwell in Nirabhasagocara.
The rare flowering of the
Tathagatakaya blooms in the soil of
imagelessness.
Like a bubble produced by the
churning waves of the vijnanas, so
is the body with its conflicting
desires—a phantom shadow, one
that vanishes when exposed to the
Illumined Law of Unborn Light;
hence, one is freed from the
bondage of death and walks away
unseen as the volatile mind is
silenced in the ecstasy of the
antecedent vigilance.

38
Dukkha overwhelms the one, who
with distracted mind plucks the
flowers of desire with wanton
recklessness; searching aimlessly
through endless kalpas for elusive
shadows, Mara carries that one
away as swiftly as the waters of a
raging flood.
Like a gorged-filled maggot that eats
itself to death in frenzied fashion, so
is the one whose insatiable appetite
for sensate phenomena is
unquenchable, even in Avicci Hell!
As gently as a bee alights on petals
for its sweet nourishment, just as
gentle are the Children of Bodhi who
taste the Essential Light of the
Dharma without disturbing ITs
Unborn Essence.
Refrain from exposing the
inadequacies of others and look
instead to your own corruptible
form-nature that is mired in defiled-
garbha since beginningless time.

39
Loving the letter of the Dharma and
basking in its divine fragrance is not
the same as ACTING on the Dark
Principle of the Unborn that
sustains it.
Like the sweet scent of a Lotus in
full bloom, such is the essential
quietude of Dark Wonder bestowed
upon those who ACT on THAT
Deathless Principle.
Awakened from the realm of
dukkha, the rotting corpse of
skandhic decomposition is
discarded like a decaying heap of
lifeless flowers, as the Ariyan Mind
is free to celebrate the Supreme
Noble Wisdom of ITs kind.
The perfumed scent of the most
beautiful flowers soon dissipates
and is lost in the wind; but the
sweetened resolve of the Arahant,
permeates phenomena with the
Sugata-garbha in all ten directions.
Those Noble Ariyans, ever vigilant in
the Recollective Resolve, never fall

40
prey to the diseased desires of Mara
the evil one as they are emancipated
in the Illumined Essence of
Freedom’s Suchness.
Just as the Lotus rises from the
depths of the dung heap, so do the
enlightened ascend from the
darkened bowels of ordinary
consciousness. Fully awake and
radiant in sambodhi, the Deathless
Mind shines in Triumphant Unborn
Light!

41
5. The Worldings
One who continues to “seek”
aimlessly for the Element of Truth is
like a fool who unknowingly sits
upon an old trunk that is full of the
rarest jewels; long indeed are the
countless worrisome nights and
hence endless dukkha and rebirth
for anyone who does not make FULL
STOP to the workings of the
meandering mind and instead,
Turns-About and Recollects the very
vivifying Source of one’s Original
Nature.
Wandering about through endless
kalpas with worlding-companions
who are blind to the Salvific Light of
the Unborn is like sailing across the
dark waters of hopelessness with
the boatman, Charon, who ferries
the self-condemned to the Isle of the
Dead.
Better to awaken alone to the self-
realization of Noble Wisdom and
thus get off the spinning wheel of
samsara and set foot upon the firm

42
foundation of the Other Shore of
Tathagatahood.
Anyone who holds unto familial ties
as if they were an endless source of
wealth and protection is a fool
indeed! Such a person is not even
master of oneself let alone being
able to influence the lives of their
own precious kin.
One’s True Self-Essence does not
claim ownership over any
phenomenal manifestations that are
a mere shadow of ITs reflective
glory.
The mundane eye that sees its
foolishness can be cleansed of its
karmic defilement, while not seeing
its foolhardiness will only further
imprison one into deeper karmic
debt.
Can the transient mind recollect
Mind?
The foolish one lives out existence
without being aware of the
transformative inner-power of the

43
Bodhi-child and thus the way to
Recollection of the Unborn remains
dormant.
Mind Recollects Mind.
Awakening the hidden child of
Unborn Light releases the Power of
Bodhi thereby Illuminating the
return to Bhutatathata.
Perpetual Dukkha is the prize for
those who bet their life away rolling
the discriminatory dice of
accumulated habit-energy since
time immemorial.
Eternal Recurrence is the penance
paid for one whose life is spent
pining away through a self-made
veil of tears.
The need for repentance is forever
silenced as the joy of deathlessness
takes precedence over the agitated
mundane mind.
The effects of one’s karmic
propensities may appear beneficial
in the short term, but over the long

44
haul one’s Life-Essence becomes
buried beneath dukkha’s dark dirt.
Wearing down the temple (the body)
of the Unborn through excessive
ascetic practices is a futile
enterprise and counteracts the
bodhisattvic resolve to transcend
any skandhic-based rigmarole
through antecedent vigilance.
As milk begins to curd over time,
just so do unwholesome misdeeds
begin to clump together within the
unwary mind of the Icchantikas.
The smoldering ashes of avidya
cloud the clarity of the developing
gotra and hence any chance of
transcending the sensory addicted
mind is destroyed.
Bodhipower utilized through an
unskilled mind (i.e., one that lacks
the self-realization of Noble Wisdom)
can only lead to one’s destruction.
Swollen with grandiose notions of
having obtained the supreme
dharma, such an ignoble persona

45
leads others down the garden path
of adharma.
Pumped-up with pride and
dreaming itself to be a self-made
Avatar, it yearns for recognition
amongst other minds of the same
spoiled persuasion.
Merit alone does not constitute
recognition of the Deathless
Dharma; beyond merit is the joy of
awakening ITs perfected Unborn
Essence in the sweet solitude of
Dharmadhatu.

46
6. The Shining Ones
The Shining Ones reveal the pitfalls
of this Dharma-Ending Age and in
following them one will find THAT
Marvelous Mani Pearl of Noble
Wisdom—the beloved Primordial
Jewel of the Unborn Mind.
The worldlings pay no heed to their
Luminous Mission, but for those
who have been meritoriously drawn
to IT there is no greater joy or
fulfillment than the embrace of
Freedom’s Suchness in the
Dhammapada.
Better to shun those who prefer to
wallow in the self-pity of endless
dukkha and turn instead to that
Noble Company who deeply joins
together in Mystic Union of Unborn
Light.
Awakened to the truth of Cittamatra
(Mind Only), lingering habitual
notions are dispelled as one’s
Original Nature recollects ITSELF;
hence, great prajna is aroused

47
highlighting the inadequacy of all
attached formal illusions.
As skilled tradesmen sharpen their
techniques in order to produce a
desired effect, likewise does one
skilled in Noble Wisdom help to
perfect the Essence of Mind’s Self-
Awakening in the all pervasive
freedom of the Dharmakaya.
Unshakable in the Great
Dharmamegha, what use does the
Bodhisattva-Mahasattva have with
sensualist attributes of praise or
blame?
Like a stone slowly descending in
the Dark Waters of Bodhi, the power
of bodhicitta is brought to bear
upon those Noble Shining Ones who
have embraced the serenity of the
Sugata.
Recovering from the disease of
desire releases one from the
accumulated pain of samsara; no
longer playing the role of the victim,
one awakens to the realization that

48
No-thing in this saha-realm is worth
clinging to and therefore continued
excuse-making that prevents the
Deathless Dharma from taking hold
is relinquished.
Not being attached to fleeting
moments of joy or sadness, the
Invincible Ariyan Mind casts no
shadow bearing bliss or
lamentation.
Remaining bound to cultural
stigmatas like familial origins or the
incessant commercialized creation of
wealth, one counteracts the
Supreme and Illuminating
Dharmatic Law.
For the worldlings even a glimpse of
the Other Shore is never realized;
spinning endlessly like mice
entrapped within an encaged wheel,
their futile efforts only create further
karmatic rebirth and painful
dukkha.

49
The Shining Ones, perfected in the
self-realization of Noble Wisdom,
have crossed over to the Shore of
Suchness; they have transcended
the darkness of death and are
resplendent with Unborn Light.
Having emerged from the cocoon of
phenomena, their wings are free to
soar in the Shining Essential
Stature of Primordial Perfection.
The former skandhic shell is
discarded as they now dwell in the
True Abode of Deathlessness.
Forever free from former
attachments and resting in serene
solitude as the Ever-Vigilant Eye of
the Dragon discourages further
contact with the unwholesome, they
rejoice in passion’s extinction and
enjoy even now the ecstasy of pari-
nirvana.

50
7.THE SUCHCHILD
Translucent Bodhipower awakens
the dormant Dharma Child thus
making FULL STOP to the journey
through endless kalpas of searching
for the way to fully Recollect the
Element of Truth.
Not confined to spatial parameters,
the omnipresent Unborn Child of
Marvelous Illumination Liberates
Mind (when in pluralized
obstruction mode) from the
“discursive thought process” by
revealing its emptiness and lack of
self-nature (sunyata).
Like the Kalavinka singing its joyful
tune, the Bodhi-Child gently
whispers the mystically tuneful
“Word” THAT reveals the nature of
Unborn Freedom.
Having thoroughly bridled the
unruly passions of sensate
phenomena, the Child of Bright
Wonder reigns as their Supreme
Master; the gods are awe-struck as

51
they witness the unsurpassed
transformative Power of Bodhi.
Cool and refreshingly calm is the
steadfast resolve of the one who has
nurtured through samadhi the
SUCHCHILD.
One’s troublesome thoughts are now
stilled.
Excessive wordfulness is rendered
mute.
One’s sole occupation is stillness
ITSELF.
The seeds of samsara no longer take
root, for all former belief–systems
are mere child’s play when seen
through Unborn Eyes THAT reflect
neither past nor future but the
Eternal Now of Suchness.
All former afflictions and
associations and attachments are
forever silenced as the sweet Bodhi–
Breath of the SUCHCHILD fills one’s
days and nights with peaceful
quietude.

52
Wherever THAT Child dwells, there
will be found the fullness of life
forever.

53
8. The WORD
Far Nobler than memorizing the
myriad words within scripture is the
all-powerful “Word” THAT initiates
quietude of mind.
Far Nobler than the most exquisite
command of the language is one’s
astuteness in penetrating the All-
Knowing Nature of the “Word”, thus
permitting entrance to the gateless
gate of the Ariyan Mind.
Far Nobler than weaving together
inspired lines of poetic verse is one’s
Faith in the Marvelously
Transforming Faculty of the Unborn
Word hence assuring lasting
tranquility.
Far Nobler it is to master one’s Self-
Essence than to celebrate victory
over all falsehood, for the authentic
Bodhisattvic Resolve will have
indeed won the ultimate victory!
The prize of the self-realization of
Noble Wisdom cannot be usurped by
the conniving whims of any devious

54
deva or by the villainous and
tempestuous tactics of Mara, the
evil one.
One can forever make offerings of
incense and hope to gain merit
through observing moral precepts,
but far Nobler is the path won by
attending the numinous flame of
Tathagatahood that perpetually
burns within the Sacred Heart of
Suchness. To honor such an ancient
and Venerable Flame is the Source
behind Liberation ITSELF.
Far Nobler than becoming immersed
in unwholesome deeds through
incalculable kalpas, is one moment
spent in deep samadhi.
Far Nobler than swallowing the
accumulated habit-energy of
ceaseless avidya since time
immemorial, is one moment spent in
Recollective Vigilance.
Far Nobler is one moment spent in
Determined Recollective Resolve

55
than to waste one’s time away
achieving nothingness.
Far Nobler than rotting away in
endless dukkha is that one moment
of awakening to the Deathless
Dharma.
Far Nobler is one who sees with
Unborn Eyes the Way of
Deathlessness.
Far Nobler to dwell one moment in
the Now of the WORD beyond all
words.

56
9. The Unwholesome
Unwholesome thoughts are a
hazardous venture; left unguarded
due to sloth, their ignitable nature
will surely lead to acts of
degradation.
Be expeditious in stimulating the
“Turn-About” which activates the
Antecedent Trigger THAT initiates
Right Mindfulness under all
circumstances; thus any further
aggregation of dukkha is
discontinued.
Perseverance in the Recollective
Resolve is paramount to inducing
Right Action whereby Mind recalls
that as animator of all animated
phenomena, IT has the authority to
“unplug” all those unruly
animations; hence Right Effort is
joyfully engaged thereby avoiding
any further regeneration of the
unwholesome.
Even the worldlings understand
when their habit-energy begins to

57
turn sour; and yet, those Noble
Ones committed to the Ten-Fold
Path of liberation will still
experience the pangs of karma until
anuttara samyak sambodhi.
Choosing to remain indifferent to
the effects of dependent origination
only reinforces the wild spin of
samsara; minimizing the
beneficence of Noble Wisdom
circumvents the gradual maturation
of the developing gotra.
The Black Dragon Master shelters
the progeny of Unborn Light with
Wings of Incomparable Wisdom,
thereby draining their toxic rupas
(personal forms) from creating
further agitation; hence, the true
innocent and unwounded Dharma
Child is invulnerable to the attacks
of defiled aggregated existence.
Slander against the Deathless
Dharma of the Tathagatas will open
up the gates of Avicci Hell.

58
Others will replicate their shallow
existence in the womb of this saha-
realm.
The Eternalists with their notions of
goodness and otherness will be
reborn in a heaven of their own
apocryphal design.
The Shining Ones are absolved from
further rebirth as they savor the
pure deathlessness of pari-nirvana.
Left to your own destiny devoid of
the self-realization of Noble Wisdom,
the weight of unwholesomeness will
weigh you down as surely as the
setting sun. Abandon all hope, as
there is no sanctuary from Dukkha.

59
10. Turbulence
Mind transcends the duality of being
and non-being as well as all
turbulent personifications of the
triple world like the fear of death
and the love of life.
The barren woman dreams of
birthing her child; the dreaming
mind lost in transmigration
imagines birthing thoughts of ill-will
towards other imagining minds lost
in the same transmigratory fantasia.
Who is there to harm Whomever?
The same holds true for seeking
such transient notions like
happiness or inflicting harsh
penalties through word or deed
upon phantasmagoric personas,
which are in actuality flashing
impressions upon the mirrored-
mind that dreams ITSELF into
pluralized stenosis.
The Silent Suchness of Stillness
resounds in Unborn Freedom as the
mind’s turbulence is quieted.

60
Old Man Death scythes the field of
mentation looking for animated
corpses, but his blade will pass right
through the Animating Power of
Bodhi.
Anyone who continues to cling to
unwholesome desires will be lighting
their own funeral pyre.
The pure in Noble Stature are
immune from the ravaged turbulent
mind whose self-abasement is
littered with every conceivable form
of anguish culminating in a self-
made hell.
Excessive ascetic practices like
sitting naked in perpetual
meditation will not purify the
bewitched mind from
insurmountable doubt; unhindered
faith in the Unborn Resolve assures
quietude of mind thus ending futile
exploration for the Element of Truth.
Burning with Recollective Vigilance
the Noble Shining Ones ignite the

61
Dharmatic Flame THAT purifies the
sordid remains of all dukkha.
As accomplished artisans perfect
their work, so do those perfected in
Noble Wisdom transcend the
tumultuous tide of samsara.

62
11. Decay
How can you rejoice knowing that
minds are darkened with skandhic
contamination?
Rather, remain steadfast in
Bodhisattvic Resolve to help
transfigure the created sphere with
compassionate Unborn Light!
An ulcerated doll, such is the
temporal home of the Animating
Essence, one whose stringy sinews
soon slip-away in a lonely closet of
oblivion. Stuffed with fading
memories, its frail and putrefied
carcass collapses like a house of
cards.
The Harpies (Winged Creatures of
Death) keep watch outside the
Charnel House waiting to feast on
any residual morsels of Rupakaya
(the physical body) as their demonic
laughter shrieks across the somber
summer sky.
Nothing more than a sarcophagic
manifestation awaiting burial, such

63
is the domain of the animated
corpse.
Not so the abode of the Unborn
Mind, for ITS changeless Essence
defies the grave of defiled aggregated
existence.
Those stricken with the growing
tumor of avidya are as good as dead.
The eternal recurrence of painful
rebirth is in store for those who
have placed all their hopes
searching endlessly for the Creator
God of their own vainglorious
imagination.
Divorced from the desire to find
satisfaction in temporal
manifestations of defiled garbha,
those Noble Warriors of Unborn
Light have toppled the temples of
false gods through one swift swing
of Manjushri’s Imageless Sword! The
dark pool of the alaya-vijnana is
thus emptied as the ravenous
Harpies are denied their catch.

64
Sorrowfully yearning for the dead
things of the past, one remains
bound to youthful frivolity thereby
missing the ageless TRUE NATURE
of undefiled Buddhi.

65
12. IT
To thine own TRUE SELF be true—
in Vigilant Repose remain steadfast
in Recollecting ITS Essential
Stature.
Endowed with Deathlessness one is
then prepared to help alleviate the
distress of dukkha from others.
The narrow entrance of the gateless
gate of the Ariyan Mind is first
gleamed only through a firm
foundation in the Unborn THAT is
the herald of imagelessness.
The Imageless Eye of Tathata
reveals one’s TRUE MASTER.
All contaminated concepts are
crushed beneath the great Diamond
Mind of Buddhakaya—THAT
Original Orb of Super Essential
Light whose Luminous Orifice
consumes any lingering trace of
unwholesome phenomena. Hence,
any creeping menace (discursive
thought) beneath the sala tree is
exterminated.

66
Far easier it is for a trillion
constellations to pass through the
Ariyan gateless gate to liberation
than spending one moment
entertaining one foolish thought.
In giving birth to conceptual
mentations one reaps the fruit of
one’s own perdition.
Better to Vigilantly watch the
turning Dharma Wheel of the
Tathagatas, thereby awakening the
TRUE SELF to the spinning Sphere
of Perfect Unborn Light.
Mystical relinquishment of the
discomfort of all dukkha is assured
through the Splendid Purity of one’s
TRUE SELF ESSENCE; thus, the
Gate of the Realm of Peace will be
opened as the Pure Subtle Light of
the SOURCE absolves ITS own
accidental corruption.
Don’t displace the trials of another
my making them your own
responsibility; your vocation is to
awaken to the Truth of the

67
Deathless Dharma and then to
wholeheartedly submit to ITS
Unborn Will.

68
13. Purification
Forsake the Charnel House with its
decay and death and images of false
hope that dissolve away in the
charred-smoke of imagination,
defiling the Dhammapada.
Lay your burden down at the feet of
the Tathagatas.
Noble Wisdom’s Luminous Strength
will incur Right Reliance in the Way
of Deathlessness, forever halting
your habit-forming fix in this saha
realm or any other.
Behold the waves of the vijnanas,
forever crashing on the forlorn shore
of hopelessness; abandon Charon’s
Sinking Ship and swim to the Other
Shore of Deathless Suchness.
Spring the self-made trap that is
always hinging on the brink of
destruction; remain vigilant in
Unborn Light and set yourself free.

69
Soft Moonglow shines serenely on
the troubled night; the gentle
Dharma Child likewise Illuminates
the turbulent mind.
The darkened mundane mind
cannot see the Subtle Tranquil Light
of the Sugata, but the Pleasing
Beautiful Eyes of the Unborn
perceive inconceivable buddha-
lands unhindered.
Like the Phoenix that rises again
from its ashes, so do those pure
Shining Noble Ones take flight from
avidic ashes.
Unwholesome violation against the
Deathless Dharma will only
guarantee ignoble rebirth.
Be generous in sharing the fruits of
your Unborn labor; such resolve will
be recompensed with the Supreme
Nirvanic Vision of Tathagatahood.
Far nobler than inheriting the
tortured dreams of samsara is
awakening with Joyful Eyes to the
Purifying Stream of pari-nirvana.

70
14. The Black Dragon
Who can follow the imageless tracks
of the Black Dragon?
Sheering the heights of Noble
Wisdom, the conquest against the
dark samsaric realm is celebrated
on unseen Wings Bearing a Banner
of Unborn Light Outshining the
Sun!
What net of poisonous desire dare
entrap such a rare Flowering of
Perfect Mindfulness, whose Dragon
Eye steadily pierces phenomena and
renders it void with Achillean Talons
of unimaginable and unrivaled
tenacity.
Awakened from Dukkha’s Nightmare
and enjoying the sweet ecstasy of
deep samadhi, even the gods are
overwhelmed with such focused
Recollective Penetration into the
Primordial Bosom of the Source
ITSELF.

71
Once the truth is grasped that
nothing is ever born (kshanti-
anutpatti), the way of deathlessness
is accessible in the perfect freedom
that is won through patient
endurance.
Detachment consists in moderately
taming the erratic mind with its
unruly and undisciplined
eccentricities.
The Immaculate Consciousness
(amala-vijnana) grows out of the
Sacred Heart of Suchness wherein
one fully awakens to the supernal
tutelage of the Tathagatas.
Having the Midas Touch with
everything turning to gold would
still not quell unquenchable sensate
desires that even the gods cannot
appease.
The transfixing Dragon Eye subdues
the mundane mind monsters that
lurk beneath the churning vijnanaic
sea thus providing peaceful
composure in the Unborn.

72
Seeking asylum from the ongoing
samsaric struggle in places bearing
sacred symbols of repose, whether
in nature reserves or in manmade
temples, will prove to be a sterile
undertaking as the lingering effects
of dukkha remain a dominant force.
Whosoever finds sanctuary under
the Majestic Wings of Dragonyana
will awaken to the Four Noble
Truths:
Dukkha, the causation of Dukkha,
the dissolution of Dukkha, and the
Noble Tenfold Way that the Ariyan
Mind Recollects Liberation from
Dukkha.
Hence, a stronghold against all
dukkha is assured as a Great
Dragon Fire Ring (the
inextinguishable flame of Noble
Wisdom) encircles the beloved
children of bodhi.

73
Rare is the Radiant Jewel of Black
Dragonhood and joyful are those
who serendipitously awaken within
the Dragonlair and partake in ITS
Deathless Suchness.
Blessed be their Noble Unbirth.
Blessed be their exposition of the
Way of Deathlessness.
Blessed be those who are receptive
to the Deathless Dharma and
faithfully adhere to the
Dhammapada, thus sustaining the
way.
Blessed be the one whose faith in
the Unborn Resolve is firm with the
conviction that there is no
substitute for the Element of Truth.
Blessed be the Dragon Children, for
they are harmonious with the Dark
Principle of Unborn Bodhipower in
the unobstructed field of
Dharmakaya on the further shore of
Tathagatahood.

74
15. Look Beyond
Look beyond the melodramatic
babble of love and hate which
generates Mind Parasites that
continually feed on the unwary.
Look beyond conventional conceit
that claims expertise in the way to
proper health while remaining
bound to sensory addicted
solutions.
Look beyond the façade of peace
that crumbles beneath the turbulent
waves of the vijnanas.
Look beyond all skandhic-spawned
attachments and live in Unborn
Freedom like the Noble Shining
Ones.
Transcend the triumph of victory
and the agony of defeat and know
the splendor of Buddhadharma.
The fiery breath of passion spawns
the hatred of contempt as one
experiences the hunger pangs of
separation from the Unborn Resolve
thus obstructing the wholesome

75
bodhiflow that alone reroutes Mind
from ITs wandering samsaric
escapades through the self-
realization of antecedent awareness.
Within the Heart of Suchness, at
that Marvelous Illuminative Core, all
figments of momentary illusiveness
are forever stilled as the Great Way
of Deathlessness dissolves the veil of
all transitory phenomena.
Better to shun those ignoble cohorts
who wallow in the sands of time and
turn instead to those Noble Ariyans
whose timeless and deathless
fortitude mark the abode of the
Tathata Family; in following them
one will be like the Moon that is not
disturbed by the bewitched and
unwholesome wailing denizens of
darkened night.

76
16. The Way Home
Demon Lovers lay waste to the
stately Pleasure Palace of Kubla
Khan in Xanadu; likewise do all
sensual inclinations create
pandemonium within the clouded
Mind.
The venomous Gorgon, coiled with
myriad serphanic strands that
strike fear and trembling at those
who stare transfixed with frigid and
discriminatory eyes, itself turns to
stone through the steady gaze of Pi
Kuan.
All dukkha is abjured once the
seeds of all inherited desires and
attachments are dissolved by being
faithfully and effortlessly attuned
with Marvelously Luminous Vidyaa.
Do not seek esteem in the eyes of
others; rather remain decisive in
Recollective Fervor thus harvesting
those Wondrous Deathless Eyes
whose sole vision reflects the
Unborn Path of Perfection THAT

77
transcends the swift moving current
of passion-bound phenomena with
the steady flame of Noble Wisdom.
The children of bodhi will rejoice
when the errant samsaric wayfarer
returns to one’s True Primordial
Home.

78
17. Wrath
Belief in personal suffering gives
birth to the insolence of anger.
Right Mindfulness dispels the
activity of karmadhatu through the
Antecedent Ascendancy of Mind’s
Luminous Self-Liberation.
Entertaining anger is like
accompanying Icarus on his fateful
flight round the Sun.
Those who exchange the feeble
waxen wings of rupakaya for the
Soaring Splendor of Dragonyana will
safely take wing above anger’s
wrathful blaze thus sustaining the
true odyssey to the Noble Shore of
Freedom from all dukkha.
As water purges fire, just so does
the gentle breath of the Suchchild
subdue the fiery passion of anger.
O’ Noble Warrior of Unborn Light,
refrain not from upholding the
Element of Truth thereby fulfilling
your Bodhisattvic Resolve to lead
others over the troubled waters of

79
samsara; in this way the dominion
of Mara’s Anger will be defeated as
your awakened countenance shines
within the Sugata-garbha.
A Dragon Child has no desire to
inflict injury on another as ITs own
formless suchness unfolds through
immeasurable buddha-fields
unhindered.
Self-Perfection is won through
faithful Vigilance until anuttara
samyak sambodhi.
Observe well, Huike…whether you
speak often or refrain from
speaking, in whatever you do, the
Icchantikas will find a way to tear
you down and will always compare
you to what they claim to be
praiseworthy.
But know full well that all
Predestined Light Bearers, who
resiliently brave the wonder of silent
and steady samadhi (Pi Kuan), will
see beyond the soiled veil of defiled
aggregated existence and shall come

80
to know through buddha-gnosis the
Dharmadhatu; hence, all former
attached pettiness in the ways of
this saha realm will pale in
comparison to the Noble Shining
Ones whose way even the gods
cannot fathom.
Fear not the anguish of the body
with its tired mind and troubled
thoughts and useless words;
instead, rejoice in the silent
splendor of self-mastery.

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18. Wastefulness
Verily, be mindful, your last breath
may soon be at hand.
Yama stealthily waits in the
darkened shadows to snatch you
away with his angels of death…do
you know where your Bodhi Child
is?
O’ Child of Wonder, Child of Light,
Whose faithful abidance in the Word
of its Unborn Father knows no
bounds, now hasten home to your
True Essential Stature…
O’ Child sans birth, O’ Child sans
death, enlighten those who have
recourse to you thus stopping the
spinning dependent wheel of
mindless transmigration since time
immemorial.
Drop by drop does the spicket drain,
likewise does the accumulated habit
energy of the composed trickle down
like slow tears on the face of the
Unborn Essence.

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As moths are drawn to their all-
consuming flame, just so will that
endless array of unwholesome and
volatile thoughts ignite the weeds of
your wanton desires.
Dull is the mind that depends solely
on the written word; without faithful
Vigilance the quest for the Unborn
will be in vain.
Lewd conduct erases stored merit
and the utmost lewdness is avidya
itself; anyone who vainly pursues
this impudent path leisurely
succumbs to disappointment at the
end of their samsaric journey and
doom themselves to further
repetitive patterns of fate.
Entering the Gateless Gate of the
Ariyan Mind is not easy for those
who incessantly “seek” for it
following the trail marked with
Vijnanaic and Kaleidoscope-like
Images that send them spiraling
downward into the endless vortex of
rebecoming.

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The Dharma Children of Unborn
Light effortlessly behold the
Imageless Herald of Deathlessness.
Remaining rooted in the Recollective
Resolve is the antidote to all
licentiousness and is the true mark
of self-mastery.
Refrain from studying the
meritorious deeds of another and
your peaceful and hard-won repose
in quietude will not be disturbed.
The Silent Music of Suchness lulls
to sleep the roaring lion of desire.
Remove the beam from your own eye
before plucking out the grain of
sand from your brother’s, thus
temperance will replace maleficent
intentions that keep you on the
perpetual journey away from the
Unborn.
The way is neither within nor
without but a Self-Awakening of the
Tathagatakaya ITself.

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19. Discernment
Compulsive yearning for the
Buddhadharma through the mind
tricks of the vainglorious
imagination will only entrap you in
the unruly maze of spectral
impressions; thus the Dhammapada
is mired in the quicksand of
phenomena.
The quiescent Mind transcends the
confused state of rightness or
wrongness as the Unborn unfolds of
ITs own accord with no-thing arising
nor cessating.
The white bearded hermit descends
from his mountain solitude in hopes
of expounding the Sagacity of the
Ages; yet true prajna is not
transmitted under any exotic form of
cloaked expediency masquerading
as a divine channel of truth.
The Dharma is never conveyed
through the urgent ranting of some
self-proclaimed Messiah as its
efficacious nature blossoms neither

85
here nor there, but everywhere for
those who behold IT with imageless
eyes.
A bald-headed ascetic does not a
master make as one sits feeble-
mindedly on the rump of deep-
seated attachment.
When all “seeking” is silenced the
unending diurnal reign of defiled
aggregated existence is hence stilled.
Silence alone will not awaken the
dormant gotra, nor will incessant
erudite determination or penetrating
the depths of samadhi through the
four-fold dhyana spark the flame of
eternal vidyaa.
Determined Vigilance in the Way of
Deathlessness will assure the Noble
Self–Realization that nothing is seen
but of the Mind ITself.

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20. The Bifrost
The way that the Ariyan Mind
Recollects Liberation is tenfold;
there are four Noble Truths.
Detachment from clinging and
aversion awakens the Dragon Eye of
Tathata; there is no sanctuary other
than THAT Supreme Deathless Eye
whose steadfast focus penetrates
the all-knowing nature of the
Unborn Word wherein the devious
designs of Mara are rendered
inconsequential.
Faith and ardent fidelity in Divine
Logos accompanied with diligent
sutra study and disciplined dhyana
are prerequisites for clear sailing
through the churning samsaric sea,
a foundation from which
Bodhipower is released thus
nourishing the Dharma Child’s
appetite for the full flavor of
Tathagatahood.

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The shimmering rainbow bridge
named Bifrost extends between the
“created” heaven and earth, and
gods and giants and hungry ghosts
and sundry sentient beings cross to
and fro as they participate in the
great “drama” called Dukkha.
At the end of “this” kalpa, the
Bifrost will collapse again…as it has
always done…again and
again…down into the Icy Vortex
Stew, until it’s stirred and conjured
up by a Mind that once again
becomes enraptured with ITs own
colorful creative prowess.
Hence, the Origin of Outflow:
Perpetual Regenesis.
Crush the ice--break the link, that
synthetic nexus of weary re-
becoming and turn instead to the
one useful Word that brings peace
as taught by the Tathagatas.
Awake, O’ Sleeper…arise from the
dead…and the Light of the Unborn
will shine upon you.

88
Uncreate your mesmerized fancies
and Recollect THAT Deathless Star
that draws you beyond the limits
which this saha world imposes, to
the very heart of Spirit’s Suchness
in the realm of Dharmadhatu.
Whether you are in movement or are
placidly still, IT is always HERE.
Slay the Demon Mind (harbinger of
skandhic contamination) itself, not
just individual thoughts; in failing to
decapitate this demon’s head, you
will continue to remain bound to
desire as a man is bound to a
woman’s supple breasts.
The only resolution you need to
make is to remain true to your Self,
in this way all manner of
attachment is relinquished.
The awakened Buddha Mind
radiates sweet peacefulness in the
awareness that all former
“searching” for the Element of Truth
has been in vain.

89
All complacent clinging to one’s
precious family ties will be
rewarded, at the end of this vain
and illusive security, with a visit
from Yama and his winged
messengers of death and one will be
carried kicking and screaming away
as the wild and forlorn weeping of
one’s heirs fill the lonely and
despondent night air.
Stop…
Reflect…
Turn-About…
Recollect…
Nothing binds you…you are a child
of the Unborn and the freedom of
the Other Shore is at hand.

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21. The Shadow Slayer
The Chameleon Mind relishes in its
ability to create the magically
changing shapes of the Maya City of
the Gandharvas whose colorful
characters partake in orgiastic
frenzy the pleasures of phenomena.
Why expand upon delinquent
patterns of defiled garbha that
deprives your True Self ITs Rightful
Inheritance?
Awake from this hallucinatory bad
trip and be Vigilantly Mindful like
the Black Dragon Masters Whose
Boundless Buddhi breaks the spell
of aggregated existence.
Slaying the five immediacies
(mother, father, arhats; disturbing
the peace of the brotherhood;
making the Buddha bleed with an
evil motive) and the breaking-up of
the Brotherhood (the slaying of the
five Skandhas) itself will awaken the
dormant Dharma Mind THAT is the
True Shadow Slayer of all

91
inadequate and anthropocentric
effigies that hinder the Dharma
Child from full self-realization of
Tathagatahood.
Joined in Esoteric Sodality of
Unborn Light and demystifying the
somnambulistic nature of all
rupakaya, those Noble Shining Ones
practice unassailable mystagogy in
unexcelled dhyana.
No longer being in or out of this
saha realm, those Valiant Light
Warriors (bodhisattvas) pierce the
darkness of the weary wanderers,
who are doomed to suffer the
ignoble fate of endless
transmigration, and lead them away
from the pitfalls of this Dharma
Ending Age and thus deliver them
from Mara the evil one.
Bearing the shield of Faith and
Logos and armed with firm
technique in the Antecedent
Recollective Resolve those Resilient
Residents of Illumined Vidyaa are
forever perched atop the Olympian

92
Mount of Primordial Perfection
where the surveillant Dragon Eye
Alone surmounts the creeping forest
of desire.

93
22. Darkness
Wearing the yellow robe of the
Arahant does not absolve one from
irresponsible behavior and the
inevitable pit of darkness awaits
those whose offence against the
Dharmatic Light ignites the volatile
action of endless transmigratory
dukkha.
Mind’s adulterous affair with its own
pluralized outflows is analogous to
making love to another man’s wife
as the Source is shunned for
temporal and inadequate
gratification; the consequences of
this fleeting “fling” with sensual
unwholesomeness are a sure
descent into dark and heavy
skandhic incarceration.
Once caught in the nightmare web
of densely composed and
circumstantial consciousness, the
realization is lost that these
constructs are merely adventitious
and are not innate in structure;
hence the slightest movement

94
created by the dreaming dungeon
mind creates seclusion from Salvific
Unborn Light.
Asceticism alone will not break the
chains of this self-induced agony
and only stirs up the dubious dust
of mindless and morbid
introspection.
Even entertaining one momentary
thought alerts Cerberus (the three-
headed dog who guards the gates of
hell) whose ravenous teeth tear
asunder any feeble attempts to
escape from the conditioned cavity
of darkest dukkha.
Mind fears no evil but its own
carelessly created obstructions that
prevent the Return to Bhutatathata.
Look beyond what is and what is not
and through Right Effort shatter the
illusional and habitual hocus pocus
that clings to the darkness of
unwholesome regeneration.

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23. Fortitude
The untamed elephant called
Dhanapalaka careens wildly when
remembering the sacred grove from
which it originated; in like manner
does the heavy-ladened Mind
swelter in the heat of obstructing
outflows originating from untamed
memories that run amok in the fever
of vijnananic frenzy.
Emerging from the murky bog of the
alaya- vijnana the Dragon Mind
Recollects ITs Primordial Prospectus
and soars beyond the tangled jungle
of the composed for the
undiscovered country of the
Unborn.
No longer wandering aimlessly
about and experiencing endless
rebirth through untold kalpas the
former Slothful Wayfarer awakens to
the Great Tathatic Resolution THAT
precludes any karmic
predisposition, as IT remains
steadfast in the Uncreated Sphere of
Suchness.

96
Any further attempt to sail samsaric
seas on the ship of fools is an insult
to the Dharma, thus Solitary
Fortitude is the best companion if
like-minded Resilient Ones are
absent.
The succulent taste of freedom’s
sweetness surpasses all binding
earthly ties as the Power of Bodhi
masterfully curtails any hindrance
that seeks to replace rightful affinity
with the Tathata Family.

97
24. Yearnings
Fast asleep and dreaming
haphazardly in the twilight world
your yearnings will asphyxiate you
like the entangling vine of the
Creeper.
The blithe monkey becomes
entrapped by the sticky pitch of the
hunters as its paws and feet and
mouth become stuck in five-fold
fashion as it writhingly succumbs to
its fate.
It is the same doom for the
Meandering Monkey Mind as it
becomes attached and enslaved to
the five skandhas.
Once rooted in defiled aggregated
existence the thirty-six rushing
modalities of mortality submerge the
Essential Self.
Artemis’Arrows will find their mark
as the pleasure-bound psyche
becomes ensnared in the trap of its
own insatiable appetite.

98
Awake, O’ Hollow Mind, for what
apparently binds you is in itself
sunya!
Detach from your own hollow
addiction; kick the habitual
undercurrent of sensual allures that
hound you kalpa after kalpa, lest
the incessant and baneful laughter
of fellow inmates imprisoned with
Skandhic Shackles forestalls your
emancipation from dukkha.
Arise, O’ Desirous Helot, and take
flight before the Spider’s Sting
renders you bodhi-less on the web
of corrupted decomposition.
Hearken!
There is no yesterday or tomorrow
or the present moment…only the
Unborn Mind THAT is adorned with
Deathlessness.
Stop and deliberate!
Be determined in the Recollective
Resolve that is antecedent to all
disquietude of Mind.

99
Your cyclic journey has ended and
this is your last incarnation as you
have found solace in the One
Exclusive Word THAT assures
release from the dreamy-
masturbatory mind.
Being bestowed with the Element of
Truth is the ultimate ecstasy as well
as dukkha’s demise.
Forsake foolhardy ways and vomit-
forth the defiled weeds of passion-
bound associations and join the
Noble-Arhat Shining Ones who
beckon you to the Ever-Present
Shore of Suchness.

100
25. Carpe Diem
Refrain from indulging the animated
sense factory thus stopping the
spinning composed and
manufactured imagery that flashes
Mind Projections across the soiled
screen of vexatious intoxications.
Sober-up!
Deconstruct the toxic playground
whose perilous poison prevents the
developing gotra from maturating
into full Blooming Bodhi.
The days of seeking are over.
Carpe diem! (Seize the Day).
The Day of the Unborn is upon you
and the tiresome night of pain is
long spent.
Wear the Mantle of Deathlessness
with praise and thanksgiving and
break the spell of your moribund
ways forevermore.
IT has no being or non-being and
does not tremble at the thought of
losing form or no form and hence

101
empty of all discursive and
nominally diseased attributes swiftly
sails in Nirabhasagocara.
Five need to be struck down
(selfishness, doubt, unhealthy
spiritualities, concupiscence, and
rage) and five obliviated (desire for
sensate form and for formlessness,
pride, mental anxiety, and avidya).
Five are to be fostered (faith and
logos, Recollective Vigilance,
Antecedent Technique [the “turn
about”], and prajna).
When the Five Skandhas (form,
sensation, thought, motion, mortal
consciousness) are relinquished the
splendor of the Other Shore is
revealed.
Remaining faithful to the Unborn
Resolve quietens the anxious mind
and assures a temperate spirit as
the mundane world with all of its
pettiness and false hopes and empty
promises disappears into the
sorrowful void like a burst bubble.

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Neither within nor without, yet
encompassing the ten directions
with Resilient Resourcefulness in
Recollective Fervor, the Noble
Warriors of Unborn Light Shine in
United Spirit like a Lone Brilliant
Star in the depths of spacelessness
and help to turn the Tathatic Wheel
THAT marks the end of Dukkha’s
Domain.
Within the undivided Sacred Heart
of Suchness the Skandhic will is
now abdicated in favor of The
Compassionate Child Bearing Bodhi
Seeds of Incomparable Luminosity
like the Moon’s lucent sublimity
piercing the lonely clouds of Darkest
Dawn.

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26. Consummation
Breaking the twelve-fold link of
dependent origination occludes the
discriminatory outflows that cloud
the clarity of the Bodhi-Mind and
sparks dukkha’s dissolution as
shady samsaric fabrications fade-
away in Dharmameghic Ecstasy.
Bright Bodhicitta brings Bodhi-
Blessings bearing Bodhi-seeds in
rich Primordial Soil thus awakening
Dharmakayic Dominance on the
transcendent terrain of
imagelessness.
The quiescent Sambodhic Spirit
shines serenely in Luminous
Recollective Fervor as the Dharmatic
Mind radiates ITs Deathless
Suchness.
Noble Wisdom’s Child is oblivious to
mindless and malicious worldling
attitudes that manifest malignant
intentions and instead celebrates
great joy in the peaceful resolve of
the liberated Ariyan Mind.

104
Such a Mind is not dependent upon
lackluster lineages for transmitting
Buddha-Gnosis as ITs provenance is
Self-contained.
Never born, IT will never die and
hence is not plagued with fear and
trembling and is not reliant upon
ascetic settings for rekindling the
Buddhic Flame THAT is never
extinguished.
Perpetually Vigilant the
Supereminent Ariyan Mindfulness
evades Morpheus’ bed and is
resplendent with Eternal Vidyaa.
The Black Dragon Master never
reacts to the samsaric booby traps
that attempt to deter determined
Recollective Resourcefulness and
remains steadfastly firm in shedding
the skin of this last sorrowful
incarnation.
Looking beyond phenomena with
the all-pervasive and detached
Dragon Eye of Tathata alerts the
latent gotra thus making FULL

105
STOP to the colorful karmic dance of
the vijnanas.
Now motionless in the imageless
womb of the Tathagata-garbha all
former time-bound and cyclic
movement is annulled as the Sweet
Bodhi-Breath of the Suchchild
whispers the canticle of Mind’s
Noble Self-Realization:
Soft Moonbeams
Stroke the Night of Pain and Sorrow
Till Deep and Lasting Tranquility
Brings detachment for the morrow.

Journeys ended and journeys begun

To arrive where you have never left
Draw back the curtains
On Mara’s clever theft.

The throbbing heart of desire

Kindles memories of discontent
Shake them off
Lest you miss the way to fulfillment.

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Look!
No-thing binds you
Not gods nor man nor created stock
Uncork your fears and see what’s true!

Wholesomeness abounds
In the Everlasting Word
Dukkha’s darkness now departs
You are free as a bird.

Seeds of deathlessness
Align the weary samsaric course
Awake O’ Wanderer
You are United in the Source!

Neither here nor there

But everywhere
The dispassionate Dragon Eye
Penetrates phenomena with ITs
transfixing stare.

107
Like a dream long forgotten
Delighting in what is Rightfully Minded
Arise from your slumber
The animated lease on life is ended.

The Power of Bodhi

Dissolves past karma
Cross over the river of despair
To the Other Shore of the Dharmata.

Fear not to Turn-About

Pluck out that bewitching thorn
This body is your last
And now you are UNBORN…

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