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The Firstborn - Lions Among Men lyrics



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01. Lions Among Men

Sitting atop a lotus pedestal,
The body is the colour of gold.
A splendour which is peerless,
Shining around a hundred worlds.

Wide as the seas, eyes pure and clear,
Shining in brilliance, by transformation.
In nine lotus stages towards the farthest shore,
Towards liberation.

As the lotus does not touch the water,
As sun and moon do not stop in space.
Amid all worldly paths, I will be freed.

Before the Lions Among Men,
With body, mouth, and mind entirely pure...
Givers of Sight, Givers of Life.
Liberated, Liberators.

I, here and now,
No longer seek the body of a god.
The afflictions that are the bondages
Are just like the silkworm's cocoon.
Why would anyone with Wisdom
Be content in this place?
This body is a collection of sorrows
All of which are impure.

Before the All-Seeing Ones,
The Light, the Help, the Refuge, the Resting-Place.
Givers of Shelter, Givers of Knowledge.
Enlightened, Enlighteners.

Reverence to those upon the Path of Perfection.
Reverence to those who have conquered Fear.

02. Without As Within

Through stillness joined to insight true,
All passions slowly annihilated.
With vigour grown strong,
And a mind placed in highest samadhi.

Whatever pours forth from the mind,
Possesses the nature of the owner.
Are waves different from the water?
Their nature like that of space is one and the same.

The same Without as Within...
There, how should another arise?
Neither in Nirvana, neither in Samsara.

Who speaks, who listens, and what is confided?
Like the dust in a dust-filled tunnel,
That which arises in the heart goes to rest in the heart.

Even as water entering water
Has an identical savour,
So faults and virtues are accounted the same
As there's no opposition between them.

The same Without as Within...
There, how should another arise?
As is Nirvana, so is Samsara.

When you strive to gain quiescence by stopping motion,
The quiescence thus gained is ever in motion.
As long as you tarry in the dualism,
How can you realize oneness?

03. Wantless ...

Gone greed, gone guile, gone thirst, gone grudge,
And winnowed all delusions and faults,
Leaving the vanities of veiled view,
Right method won, the way obtained.

I know! No other is my guide!

With downcast eyes, searching within,
(Wantless in all the world become.)
With guarded senses, warded thoughts,
(Wantless in all the world become.)
With a mind that festers not, nor burns...
(Wantless in all the world become.)
Like a lion fearful not of sounds,
(Wantless in all the world become.)
Like wind not caught within a net,
(Wantless in all the world become.)
Like the lotus not by water soiled...
(Wantless in all the world become.)
Wantless in all the world I become.

Void of all stains.
Void of all pain.

Earnest, resolved for craving's end,
Listener, alert, not hesitant,
Striver, assured, with Dharma summed,
Wantless in all the world become.

Astir to win the yondmost goal,
(Wantless in all the world become.)
Not lax in thought, nor sloth in ways,
(Wantless in all the world become.)
Strong in the onset, steadfast, firm. (Wantless in all the world become.)
And rid of passion, error, hate,
(Wantless in all the world become.)
The fetters having snapped in twain,
(Wantless in all the world become.)
Fearless whenas life ebbs away...
(Wantless in all the world become.)
Wantless in all the world I have become.

04. Vajra Eyes

Diamond Vajra, Lightning Vajra
Exalted fire of insight-wisdom
Born from the syllable Ah,
Bearing the Grand Illusion.

Unoriginated? beginningless.

Lions-roar of egolessness,
Without the sense of "I" and "mine".
Reverence to you, Illusion's net.
Homage to you, the Buddha's dancer.

With indestructible sword, victorious in battle
With a hundred eyes, eyes of Vajra,
Glorious, immutable in nature
Glorious, in essence Vajra.

Diamond Vajra, Lightning Vajra
Eyes of Vajra, in essence Vajra.

Deity beyond Gods,
Crossed over the wilderness of existence.
Reverence to you, the teacher of the world.
Homage to you, the guide of the world.

Having fiercest eyes, eyes blazing like Vajra.
A lord with his weapon, whose source is Vajra.

Diamond Vajra, Lightning Vajra
Shaking hundreds of world spheres.
Stand silent in the heart,
Unlimited in loving kindness.

Diamond Vajra, Lightning Vajra
Eyes of Vajra, in essence Vajra.

05. Eight Flashing Lances

Like a lance that flashes free in the open sky
Cutting through the root of mortal grief
Such is the sudden victory over duality
Flashing freely in unconditioned state.

I've lain dead, utterly alone?

On the sands of ancient deserts.
I have held in my heart so many tears of stone.
I have dreamt of drinking dewdrops
That sparkle like galaxies.
I have longed to see you,
But did not know where to look.
Suddenly I gazed upon myself
And saw you smiling?

Like a lance that flashes bright in the open sky,
A decisive understanding of true Reality.
You are Me, and I am You.
You are here to bring me Joy, I am here to bring you Peace.

The rhythm of my heart is the Birth and Death of all that is.

I have longed to see you,
But did not know where to look.
Suddenly I gazed upon myself
And saw you smiling at me?

Tonight all weapons fall and turn to dust,
Rust devours iron, as iron breeds rust.

06. Nothing Attained, Nothing Spoken

Thus I have heard,
The Way is not practised in vain.

What is spoken is Dharma,
What is practised is the Way.

Thus I have seen,
Beyond eye-consciousness:

There is not one thing,
So where can dust alight?

Thus subdue the false heart.
Thus open the Boundless Light.
Seek not in form,
Seek not in sound.
Subdue the false heart.
Embrace the no-self.

Nothing lost, nothing attained.
Nothing named, nothing spoken.

Seek not in form,
Seek not in sound.
Subdue the false heart.
Embrace the no-self.

Like dew-drops, dreams, illusions,
See all marks as no marks.
No mark of self.
No mark of others.
No mark of living beings,
No mark of a life.
Those who look cannot see it,
Those who listen cannot hear...
For there is nothing.

Nothing lost, nothing attained.
Nothing named, nothing spoken.