| Philosophy and Religion / The twenty-eight categories of yogic precepts. |
Gampopa (Dvagpo-Lharje)
XXV. The Ten Equal Things
(1) For him who is sincerely devoted to the religious life, it is the same whether he refrain from worldly activities or not.1
(2) For him who hath realized the transcendental nature of mind, is the same whether he meditate or not.2
(3) For him who is freed from attachment to worldly luxuries, it is the same whether he practise ascetism or not.
(4) For him who hath realized Reality, it is the same whether he dwell on an isolated hill-top in solitude or wander hither in thither [as a bhikṣu].
(5) For him who hath attained the mastery of his mind, it is the same whether he partake of the pleasures of the world or not.
(6) For him who is endowed with the fullness of compassion, it is the same whether he practise meditation in solitude or work for the good of others in the midst of society.
(7) For him whose humility and faith [with respect to his guru] are unshakeable, it is the same whether he dwell with his guru or not.
(8) For him who understandeth thoroughly the teachings which he hath received, it is the same whether he meet with good fortune or with bad fortune.
(9) For him who hath given up the worldly life and taken to the practice of the Spiritual Truths, it is the same whether he observe conventional codes of conduct or not. 3
(10) For him who hath attained the Sublime Wisdom, it is the same whether he be able to exercise powers or not.
These are The Ten Equal Things.
Footnotes
1. That is to say, as the Bhagavad Gītā teaches, for one who is sincerely devoted to the religious life and wholly free from attachment to the fruits of his actions in the world, it is the same whether he refrain from the worldly activities or not, inasmuch as such disinterestedness produces no karmic results.
2. The goal of yogic meditation is to realize that only mind is real, and that the true (or primordial) state of mind is that state of mental quiescence, devoid of all thought-processes, which is experienced in the highest samādhi; and, once this goal is attained, meditation has fulfilled its purpose and it is no longer necessary.
3. In all his relationships with human society, the yogin is free to follow conventional usage or not. What the multitude consider moral he may consider immoral, and vice versa. (See Milarepa’s song concerning what is shameful and what is not, of Tibet’s Great Yogī Milarepa.
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