Yangonpa’s Instruction on Training the Mind.

No composite thing has permanence,So cut your ties to them and be free from clinging.There is no joy in the cycle of existence,So engender the disenchantment of renunciation.

Mundane existence has no essence,So place not your trust in falsehood.Your own mind is the Buddha,So recognise this and behold it’s face.

So it was taught. Again:

Step outside the shadows of this lifeAnd grab the rope of the liberating path.The chains of distracting thoughts are long;Make short the chains of procrastination.

Even if you wish to, you’ve no power to remain;Think of what is most beneficial for your future.Difficult indeed it is to consistently attain a human existence;So take its essence when you have obtained it once.

Habituation to delusion comes easily,So send forth the spy of mindfulness.Skilled you may be in gliding along on sensory objects;Wake up, for they are of no use.

Nonvirtuous [mindstates] are without essence;So discard them completely, one by one.Death will crush you from the depths;So swiftly destroy this covetous desire.

Again:

Keep death in your heart; this essential pointEnsures your joyous effort remains free from overexertion and lapses.

Reflect on the defects of cyclic existence; this essential pointEnsures you experience disillusionment from the depths of your heart.

Train you thoughts to ponder others’ well-being; this essential pointEnsures that everything you do becomes Dharma practise.

Make the teacher the focus of your thoughts; this essential pointEnsures that your mind and his fuse into one.

Train [to view] the environment and the beings within as meditation deities;This essential point ensures you avert ordinary perceptions and identities.

Whatever appears to your perceptions, leave them as they are;This essential point ensures cyclic existence is liberated naturally.

This is the instruction on the six essential points. The four kings are as follows.

Being mindful of death is the king of faith;Giving up mundane life is the king of spiritual practise;Seeing your teacher as a buddha is the king of devotion and respect;Exhausting the food of dualistic perception is the king of realisations.

Again it was taught:

If you aspire to enjoy all happiness, apply the antidotes to attachment;If you aspire to be free of suffering; apply the antidotes to anger;If you aspire to attain the state of unexcelled enlightenment; apply the antidotes to delusion;If you aspire to self-mastery, apply the antidotes to pride;If you aspire to overcome all obstacles; apply the antidotes to jealousy.No essential points of the profound teachings remain un-encompassed by these practises. Therefore, make supplications [to gain their realisation] and endeavour to establish them firmly, the master said.

Again:

Send forth the spy of impermanence to [watch] your faith;Strike your virtuous actions with the iron rod of joyous effort;Attest your commitments with the witness of your own mind;Keep fixed on your enemy, the five poisons, while looking inward.

Again:

The root of Dharma is divine faith;The root of being carefree is disillusionment;The root of others’ welfare is compassion;The root of blessing is devotion and respect;The root of buddhahood is authentic realisations.

These are the five roots. The five transformations are as follows:

Transforming apprehension of permanence into [mindfulness of] death;Transforming the mind of attachment into illusory perceptions;Transforming the mind of anger into compassion;Transforming conduct into Dharma activities;Transforming false conceptions into the [profound] view.

So it was taught. Again:

Dwelling on the past brings turbulent regret and clinging in the future,so let go of it;Anticipating the future extends the boundaries of hope of fear in the mind,so let go of it;

Tending to the present incites a circus of attachment and anger, so let go of it;Leaving unaltered whatever appears to your perception is the introduction to dharmakaya, so nurture it.

So it was taught. Again:

This illness does not exist as an absolute reality, so pierce your grasping;On the conventional level, karma and its fruition remain infallible, so purify negative karma, nonvirtue, and defilement;The nature of reality is devoid of intellect, so place your mind in the state of nongrasping;Self-grasping is the progenitor [of all ills], so cut the chains of hope and fear;Your self-nature is dharmakaya, so behold pain as your own face;Whatever events occur are blessings, so view all occurrences as higher attainments;Reflect upon everything and cause no harm to anyone.

Take these seven practises to heart and train in these as inner spiritual practise.

So it was taught.

Sarvasubham

From Mind Training: The Great Collection, translated by Thupten Jinpa