Post #1284

Acinta - The Avaricious Hermit "Mahamudra is imageless, objectless. Within it all phenomenon become Knowledge and pure awareness. Within it the ten thousand delusive thoughts Are empty. All reality Is Mahamudra." Long ago in Dhanirupa, there lived a man so poor that he was never certain of his next meal. But his fantasy life was very rich indeed. In fact, all his thoughts were centered on one unobtainable goal, - to be rich. So tormented was he by his obsession, that he couldn't bear to have others interfere with dreaming. To this end, he moved away from civilization and went to live alone with his fantasies in a little hut he built in the forest. One day, the Yogin Kambala chanced upon his hermits retreat. As they were sharing a frugal meal, Acinta poured his heart out to his visitor. "Well, I see you've managed to escape from men and their chattering said Kabala. But tell me this, has your thinking improved since you've been here?" "Unfortunately no," the hermit confessed with a sigh. "I'm still possessed by the desire for riches. But I do know this, if I could just get rid of this one thought my mind would be perfectly empty, for it's all I think about. Do you know of any way I could free myself from this foolishness?" "As a matter of fact, I do," replied the yogin. "If you will promise to practice what I teach you, I'll give you instruction." The hermit vowed to practice faithfully, and the guru gave him the Samvara initiation. Then he sang him this song of instruction: "Desire is like the child Of a barren woman, To free your mind of it, Visualize your body as the heavens, And each of your thoughts As the stars of the sky. In time, the God of wealth will himself appear, and all your desires will be fulfilled." In the solitude of the forest, the hermit meditated according to his guru's instruction. When the glittering radiance of the stars filled this mind, there was no room left for thoughts of gold. His obsession vanished, as did the stars themselves, into the boundless expanse of the heavens, and he became thought free. He sought out his guru to tell him that his mind had become empty, and Kambala sang him another song: "What is the nature of the sky? Can you make something of it? How can you desire it? How can you think about it at all?" When the hermit realized the deep meaning within this verse, he achieved, "Mahamudra-siddhi" and became known as the guru Acintapa, "The Thought-Free Guru". For three hundred years he selflessly taught his countless disciples how to realize the ultimate nature of being. And when the time came, they all accompanied him as rose bodily into the Paradise of the Dakinis. ~ From: "Buddhist Masters of Enchantment. The Lives and Legends of the Mahasiddhas." Translated by Keith Dowman Illustrated by Robert Beer Image: Acinta - painting by Robert Beer