In Praise of Yolmo Gangra, a Song on Wakening the Heart

I bow at the feet    
of the genuine guru
Because of merit gathered    
I've met this lord
The guru with his prophecy    
is what has brought me here
My comfortable castle    
this wooded mountain range
This is a meadowland    
so beautiful in bloom
The trees are dancing    
in the midst of all the trees

This is a place of play    
where the monkeys and the langurs play
A place where birds speak    
in bird-like tongues
A land of flying bees    
on gentle wings
Where day runs into night    
and rainbow paintings shine
Summer runs into winter    
a light drizzle falls
Autumn runs into springtime    
the mist comes rolling in

In a solitary place like this    
I, the yogi Milarepa
Am feeling very clear light well    
meditating on emptiness mind
When I get a lot of stuff coming up    
I feel extremely well
When the highs roll into lows    
feels even better still
Feels so good to be a human being    
without the karmic deeds
When confusion gets complicated    
I feel extremely well

Fearsome visions getting worse and worse
feels even better still
Kleshas, birth and death, and freedom from those
is a good way to feel
With the bullies getting worse and worse    
I feel extremely well
When there's not a painful illness in sight    
feels even better still
The suffering being bliss    
feels so good that feeling bad feels good
Since the trulkhor comes from what I am
it feels extremely good

To leap and run about is dance    
feels even better still
To be a king of speech    
with a treasury of song feels good
That the words are like the buzzing of bees     
feels extremely good
That the sound it makes is merit collecting     
feels even better still
The bliss is good in the expanse    
of the confidence of strength of mind
What develops on its own by its own force
feels extremely good

What comes out looking like a hodgepodge
feels even better still
This happy experience song    
by a yogi carefree
Is for you who believe in    
what you're doing here
To take along with you    
when you go

Under the guidance of Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, translated and arranged by Jim Scott, Karme Choling, Barnet, Vermont, 1994, Tibetan page 255. Translation copyright 2012, Jim Scott