The Power of Faith as the Foundation of Spiritual Transformation

Commentary on the text “The Great Yogi of Tibet, Milarepa”

“Thus he sang, then, placing his hands on my head, he said: ‘Son, your departure breaks my heart, but impermanence is the nature of all compounded things, and there is nothing we can do about it. Still, stay with me for a few days, reflect on the instructions you have received, and if anything is unclear, ask me to clarify it.’ So I remained with the Guru for several more days, listened to his guidance, and dispelled my misunderstandings and doubts regarding the instructions I had received.

Then the lama said: ‘Wife, prepare a food offering from the finest provisions. Mila is going to leave us, and I must prepare for the farewell ceremony.’ Mother made offerings to the lama and the Yidam, as well as donations to the dakinis and guardian deities, and prepared the main food for all the newcomers. While among us, the lama manifested himself in the form of the Yidam, in the symbols of the vajra and bell, the precious wheel, the lotus, the sword, in the three syllables OM, AH, HUM in red, white, and blue respectively, and also in the form of spheres of light, visible and invisible.

Then he said: ‘These are miraculous transformations. There is little benefit in showing them without a definite purpose; I have shown them as a farewell gift to Milarepa.’ Seeing the lama as a living God, I was filled with great joy and thought that I too would strive to attain such miraculous powers through meditation. The lama asked me: ‘Son, have you seen, do you believe in these transformations?’ ‘I am so astonished that I cannot help but believe. I think I must strive to achieve the same through meditation.’ ‘Well, if that is truly what you think, you may set out. I have shown you the illusory nature of all that exists, so practice diligently. Find a secluded refuge in deserted mountains, forests, and snows. Among mountain abodes, Glorious Victory (Gyalgyi-Shri-La) in Lato is renowned; it is blessed by the great saints of India—go there and immerse yourself in meditation. Mount Tise, mentioned by the Buddha himself as the Snow Mountain, is the palace of the Yidam—go there and meditate. Lapchi-Kang is one of the twenty-four sacred places—go there and immerse yourself in meditation. Riwo-Palbar and Yolmo-Kang-ra in Nepal are sacred places foretold in the sutras—go there and immerse yourself in meditation. Drin-Chubar is the dwelling place of the dakini who protects that region—go there and immerse yourself in meditation. Meditate in any suitable secluded place; raise the banner of meditation in each of them. Nearby to the east, Devi-kot and Tsari are great sacred places, but the time has not yet come to open them. In the future your spiritual sons will open them, but you should go to meditate in the destined holy places. If you meditate, you will thereby serve your lama, express gratitude to your father and mother, and accomplish the aim of all living beings. But if you do not meditate, then for the rest of your life you will only increase evil deeds. For this reason, devote yourself to meditation, cut all bonds of passion, and avoid the company of those who seek pleasure.’

As he said this, tears welled up in his eyes: ‘We, father and son, will not see each other again in this life. I will not forget you, and you will not forget me. After this life, we will surely meet again in the world of the dakini, so rejoice. At some point during a certain practice, you will encounter a great obstacle. When that happens, look at this thing I am giving you, but do not open it before the time comes.’ And the lama gave me a sealed scroll. I imprinted these final words of support in my heart. Later, the memory of them strengthened my devotion to the Teacher.”

When Milarepa practiced, he possessed boundless faith and determination. In the same way, if you have boundless faith and determination, you can successfully transform yourself. Since the world is a product of our “I,” of our great Mind, a great deal depends on how we perceive it—one might say everything depends on it. When we believe that the world is such, that is what it is; when we believe that, in pure vision, the world is a mandala of deities, that is what it becomes.

One and a half thousand years ago, in Egypt, in the era of the early Christians, there was a fugitive robber. He escaped from prison, was looking for somewhere to eat, and accidentally wandered into a women’s monastery. He thought, “I’ll pretend to be a pilgrim. Perhaps they will feed me here and shelter me at least for the night.” After prison he looked very thin and exhausted, and his clothes were torn. The nuns thought he was some kind of hermit, an ascetic of the desert, so they let him in and fed him. Someone thought he was a well-known saint, and the nuns began whispering among themselves that a famous desert ascetic had come to them to ask for food, so they began vying with one another to serve him. In the monastery there was an old nun who was seriously ill and near death. They thought, “Perhaps he will heal her.” When the robber saw that they had begun addressing him as a saint, he thought, “As long as they give me food, I’ll play the part.” They seated him in a place of honor, brought him delicacies, and then asked him to heal the nun. Then he rolled his eyes upward, raised his hands to the sky, and then placed them on her. The nun had strong faith, and so she was suddenly healed. Everyone began praising the saint for the miracle he had performed. This had such a shocking effect on the robber himself that he repented, was baptized, converted to the faith, and went into the desert to perform severe tapas for some time. Later he became one of the great saints. That is, this is a real story from the life of a saint.

In the same way, if we possess the necessary faith, then the Three Jewels save us. If we have faith that the Guru is like the saints or is an embodiment of Dattatreya, then so it is. Everything becomes what we believe in, because the world around us is a product of our faith. If we have faith that “I am Brahman,” then we become Brahman. If we have faith that we awaken in this life, then we awaken in this life.