The following is an excerpt from The Lives and Liberation of Princess Mandarava:
“Alas! O mother of great kindness! This mind has taken rebirth in this form of aggregates and elements! Today I ventured up to the palace roof and saw for the first time the suffering of the negative karma that is endured in this world. The suffering of birth, old age, sickness, and death is unavoidable! Alas! I can no longer bear the thought of it! Women in samsara are tied down, imprisoned, with no means to end their karma. It is like the relentless pounding of waves. All who are born in existence must experience such suffering as though they were a group of heartless fools! Now that I know such suffering exists, I cannot remain idle. However examined, samsara is something to seek liberation from. One cannot avoid the process of growing old. There is no way to prolong youth or prevent decrepitude. We are like grounded birds, unable to fly. We must struggle along like cripples, our limbs helplessly retracted. This suffering, however examined, is inescapable! “Now I must find the path to freedom. By the power of previous karma, the pain of illness, like being pierced a hundred times by a sword, must be endured. Without believing in the reality of karmic cause and effect, one will continue to think that obstacles and suffering are imposed by some external force. I must free all beings from this deluded misconception! We who are born in this world must, with each passing day, month, and year, experience the exhaustion of our lives. No one is capable of postponing the miseries of death when its time arrives. Even though one is surrounded by relatives and dear friends, one must enter the narrow passageway of death alone when life is snatched away, like a candle flame that flickers and dies, like a strand of hair pulled out of butter. Even parents, relatives and friends cannot grant refuge or protection from our solitary journey down the narrow paths of the bardo. Until karma is exhausted, all the suffering that must be endured is beyond comprehension. When death arrives, it is far too late to feel remorse. Our remorse and regret must then be laid bare before the Lord of Death50 himself. I wonder when this unavoidable event will happen to me? I cannot help but weep uncontrollably at the futility of our condition. As we fail to appreciate this opportunity, life passes by like a burst of wind. I shall ponder this until I cannot even stay at rest in my own bed due to the intensity of my fear and anticipation. Now my only thought is to go as quickly as possible to where I can practice the sacred Dharma. O parents of great kindness, please grant me your permission!”
The Lives and Liberation of Princess Mandarava: The Indian Consort of Padmasambhava (p. 91). Wisdom Publications.
