འཕགས་པ་འཇམ་དཔལ་གྱ་རྩ་བའ་རྒྱད 215

215

In this world, however many disciplines of
Knowledge, crafts, and occupations there are—¹³⁷¹

“Whatever is found in the scientific treatises,
Works on polity, the Purāṇas, the Vedas, works on grammar,
Sacred hymns, or works on astrology or arithmetic—
All are regarded as conceptual construct,¹³⁷²

“False knowledge, and ignorance,¹³⁷³
As well as mistaken conduct.
I formerly recited in this world
All the treatises for a long time,

“Yet I found no knowledge whereby
I could become a sage who remains at peace—
A knowledge that brings awakening
And also constitutes the cause of liberation.

“My actions confined me in the prison of saṃsāra,
Rather than deliver me into
Stainless¹³⁷⁴ buddhahood and peaceful nirvāṇa
From where there is no falling back.

“But now I have attained the perfect awakening
That I had desired for so long.
I attained it solely by myself,
By applying the rituals as prescribed.¹³⁷⁵

“I attained the self-arising¹³⁷⁶ knowledge
That was formerly taught by the victorious ones.
I do not see the state attained
By external methods as the same.¹³⁷⁷

“When lost in the wastelands of saṃsāra
Where causes of awakening are difficult to find,
I could not obtain knowledge
Of the kind that arises by itself.

“But now, as I have attained nirvāṇa by employing
The ritual activity and delighting in what is good,¹³⁷⁸
I will teach specifically
This collection of topics.

“Without ritual activity,¹³⁷⁹
Causes of accomplishment cannot be won.
This yarn of saṃsāric existence is very long;
It is woven and held together by karma.

“This yarn has many destinies [strung along it].
The nakṣatras, grahas, and other astrological entities
Merely indicate the good and bad [results]
That are in the process of ripening.

“For people not attuned to the Dharma
No other signs can be observed [except for the planets and so forth.]
Consequently, the planets and other [astrological entities]
Are said to fall into the categories of either good or bad.

“The four guardians of the world—
Water, earth, wind, and light¹³⁸⁰—
Are known to constitute the celestial luminaries.
These same [four] great elements
Account for [all] the assemblages of elements.¹³⁸¹