Timeless Rapture: Inspired Verse from the Shangpa Masters

I see how fleeting things are in this wheel of life
But don’t believe it a bit and lack contentment.
I have no confidence to depart from this life,
Yet I don’t really consider death; I’m as careless as a madman.
The time has come to prepare for the next life.
Turn your mind to the Teachings, o heartless one!
I need nothing I don’t already have, yet I harbor anger and desire.
Toward my qualities, my pride stands as tall as Supreme Mountain.
I still conform to social norms, though no one is pleased.
I have done so little, yet I expect so much.
The time has come to renounce the eight worldly concerns.
See whatever arises to be of equal flavor, o heartless one!
For the good of my spiritual life, I can’t give up even a little sleep.
Thinking, “Later this year, or the next,” I procrastinate.
I want signs of experience to appear immediately, without cause.
I haven’t controlled my wish for food, fame, and fortune.
The time has come to focus my will on a single point.
Deeply reject your hopes and fears, o heartless one!
After adolescence, youth fades and decays.
Circles of relationships return help with harm.
Still, my mind remains open and untroubled.
I make plans for this life’s affairs in ignorance.
The time has come to wholeheartedly abandon activity.
Train your mind to be impartial, o heartless one!
Those who have the title of spiritual master don’t practice the
Teachings.
There isn’t one disciple who keeps the tantric commitments.
Most people have neither modesty nor shame.
In this evil time of the decay of the Buddha’s doctrine,
Whatever you do to help others
Is usually no help at all and harms you instead.
Others will benefit continually
When I gain stability in the Teachings.
A Sea of Blessings 145