The Golden Goose Speaks
To remain from birth to death without the Good Law,
that prolongs the bondage.
To desire emancipation, and still deserve a state of woe,
that prolongs the bondage.
To hope for miraculous blessing,
and still have wrong opinions,
that prolongs the bondage.
To neglect those things
which turn the mind towards salvation,
that prolongs the bondage.
To strive for purity of vision,
and yet be blinded by a faulty judgement,
that prolongs the bondage.
To give and yet be checked by meanness,
that prolongs the bondage.
To aim at lasting achievements,
while still exposed to this world's distractions,
that prolongs the bondage.
To try to understand one's inner mind
while still chained to hopes and fears,
that prolongs the bondage.
translated from the Tibetan by Edward Conze
