A vision of youthful figure is like a flower in the summer time
And the attraction of beauty is like a rainbow in the winter .
There is not much time in this human life-
Now is the time to practice the divine dharma, essence of life.
No matter how much you nourish this physical body,
It is still a basis of sickness and chronic disease.
No matter how much you adorn this body with ornament,
It still has the nature of filth and dirt.
There is no essence in this impermanent body.
Now is the time to practice the divine dharma, essence of life.
When one fears starvation, all effort is employed in gathering food and drink
When one has a storehouse of sustenance, one fears it will be depleted
Hence all effort is put into the business of gathering profits.
When all energy is exerted in weaving an insignificant web of imagined security,
One's short life is quickly wasted.
At the time of suffering one yearns for the way to happiness
At the time of happiness one fears suffering will come
There is no moment of freedom from the constraint of these expectations
Now is the time to practice the divine dharma, essence of life.
The rich are bubbling out unpleasant feelings from their side
The poor also mournfully cry from theirs
All people have their own baggage of suffering.
There is no true happiness in Samsara.
Whenever this body like corpse dies,
I will have no regret
If this golden like wisdom dies with a body
I would be devastated.
-Amdo Gendun Choephel (1903-1951)
