The Spiritual Song of Lodro Thaye by Thrangu Rinpoche

Jamgon Kongtrul, the Great, (Lodro Thaye) based on his vast meditative experience wrote a spiritual song (doha) of 273 lines which summarizes the entire Ground, Path, and Fruition of Mahamudra Meditation. Because of his great ability of a siddha, this text is often quoted by modern teachers and also appears in the collection of Kagyu Dohas in the Rain of Wisdom. The root verses of Jamgong Kongtrul's great text are presented with Thrangu Rinpoche's commentary clearly elucidating the meaning of these verses. It begins with a description of the Kagyu lineage and its relation to Mahamudra meditation and then covers the view of Mahamudra which mainly involves mindfulness and awareness. Ground Mahamudra or the foundation of this profound meditation is then discussed. Here the division of our confused view of the world in which we believe how things appear is true and real and how phenomena actually abides is described in detail. Ground Mahamudra also involves realizing that enlightenment is not acquired like one would learn a foreign language. Rather we already possess the ability to see how phenomena really is and we must peel away our confusion and obscurations to attain this realization of Mahamudra. Path Mahamudra has three parts: how we look at our mind, the obstacles we may encounter in doing this, and the progression of the stages of Mahamudra. Fruition Mahamudra is the goal that we set for ourselves to actually attain awakening or enlightenment.