Other translations:

Twenty Seven Cases of Dissolution

Master and hidden buddha in human form
You with the name not spoken lightly, lotsawa
Father who've been so kind, at your feet I bow


I am no singer of Vedic song
You spirit said, "Sing a song, sing me a song"
In answer, here's a melody that sings of basic being


Thunder and lightning and floating clouds
Whenever these appear, from the sky they appear
And when they dissolve, into the sky they dissolve


Rainbows and fog banks and sleet, these three
Whenever these appear, from the blue they appear
And when they dissolve, into the blue they dissolve


Pollen and harvest and fruit, these three
Whenever these appear, from the earth they appear
And when they dissolve, into the earth they dissolve


Forests and flowers and foliage, these three
Whenever these appear, from the mountain they appear
And when they dissolve, into the mountain they dissolve


Rivers, foaming waters and waves, these three
Whenever these appear, from the ocean they appear
And when they dissolve, into the ocean they dissolve

Attachment as patterns, perceptions, holding on
Whenever these appear, from the all-base they appear
And when they dissolve, into the all-base they dissolve


Self-aware, self-luminous, self-liberated too
Whenever these appear, from the mind itself appear
And when they dissolve, into the mind itself dissolve


The unborn and unceasing and inexpressible
Whenever these appear, from pure being they appear
And when they dissolve, into pure being they dissolve


What appears as, is perceived as, and is thought of as a ghost
Whenever these appear, from the yogi they appear
And when they dissolve, into the yogi they dissolve


The blocking spirits, magical creations of the mind
Your own projections empty, with this not realized
The yogi takes these ghosts as real, into delusion falls


The root of delusion grows out of the mind
By gaining realization of the essence of the mind
Clear light is seen to be quite free of coming, going too


Objects seeming outside, a delusion of your mind
And through examination of appearances' traits
Appearance and its emptiness you realize are not two


When you think, "It's meditation," meditation is a thought
"I'll do non-meditation" is another thought again
Meditation and non-meditation, not two different things


A view involving dualism forms delusion's base
There is no view or theory in reality itself
And all of these examples show the character of mind


Consider well examples illustrating space's traits
Their point will be quite clear to you, pure being's reality
Then view for you is look into what's real, past thinking mind


In the depths of meditation, without wandering, just rest
Keep a flow of natural conduct flowing, don't let it get lost
For fruition toss all terms away, along with hope and fear


Spirit, claim this Dharma inheritance that's yours
I have no time to while away in endless empty songs
Don't think or question more just now, but teach your tongue to rest


A spirit said to sing a song and so I've done just that
And now the words that came of this, the words of a crazy man
Are for you to put to practice, spirit, if you can


For food you then will feed on the food of great bliss
For drink you'll quench your thirst on a nectar undefiled
For work you'll spend your energy tending yogis' needs


A Song of Dharma's Definitive Meaning Sung to a Female Spirit
Under the guidance of Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, translated and arranged by Jim Scott at Karme Choling, summer 1994, revised at Cha’n Centre, summer 1995, Tibetan page 240. Translation copyright 2012, Jim Scott