Twelve Things That Tend To Be Misleading

By Milarepa


By and large worldly activities tend to mislead you
I choose what is genuine, that's what I'm living for

Distractions that goes with possessions will tend to mislead you
I make the non-dual my sphere of experience

Servants and retinue, these also tend to mislead you
I keep to mountain retreats where I stay all alone

Wealth and material goods also tend to mislead you
When I get things like that for the dharma I give them away

Objects appearing outside also tend to mislead you
And therefore I look at what's inside, at mind within

Conceptual thinking will also tend to mislead you
I concern myself with original wisdom instead

What is meant as provisional dharma will tend to mislead you
I gain rigorous certainty of the definitive point



And texts with their letters in black also tend to mislead you
I meditate on the whispered lineage instructions

Explications employing conventions will tend to mislead you
Free of contrivances I simply rest relaxed

Birth and death by and large are a pair that will tend to mislead
you
Therefore I look to the unborn reality

Ordinary mind will tend to mislead you
The potential awareness has in it I exercise

Techniques for holding the mind will tend to mislead you
I rest in the depths of the basic nature itself

Milarepa, “Twelve Things That Tend To Be Misleading” P 35