Tilopa’s Six Words of Advice

Personal Note

These six words are a good remedy for the intellectualization defense mechanism.

Tilopa (988–1069) was a great Indian mahasiddha and the founder of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. His “Six Words of Advice” (or “Six Nails”) are a core pith instruction for Mahamudra meditation, emphasizing a state of non-conceptual, effortless presence.

The Six Words

#	Literal Translation	Explanatory Translation	Tibetan (Wylie)
1	Don’t recall	Let go of what has passed	mi mno
2	Don’t imagine	Let go of what may come	mi bsam
3	Don’t think	Let go of what is happening now	mi shes
4	Don’t examine	Don’t try to figure anything out	mi dpyod
5	Don’t control	Don’t try to make anything happen	mi sgom
6	Rest	Relax, right now, and rest	rang sar bzhag

Watts-Wayman Translation (1957)

An earlier translation circa 1957 by Alan Watts and Dr. Alex Wayman rendered Tilopa’s “six nails” as:

Quote

No thought, no reflection, no analysis, No cultivation, no intention; Let it settle itself.

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1. Don't recall ( mi mno)

Let go of what has passed. Do not dwell on the past; let go of memories and previous experiences.

2. Don't imagine ( mi bsam)

Let go of what may come. Do not fixate on the future; let go of expectations, plans, and anxieties.

3. Don't think ( mi shes)

Let go of what is happening now. Do not conceptualize or label your current experience; let it be as it is.

4. Don't examine ( mi dpyod)

Don’t try to figure anything out. Do not analyze or investigate the nature of your mind or the world with the intellect.

5. Don't control ( mi sgom)

Don’t try to make anything happen. Do not attempt to meditate, concentrate, or manipulate your mental state.

6. Rest ( rang sar bzhag)

Relax, right now, and rest. Simply remain in the natural, unaltered state of awareness.

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Parallels in Advaita Vedanta

These instructions bear a striking resemblance to several verses in the Ashtavakra Gita, particularly in the chapter on the nature of truth (Tattvam).

Verse 19

Sanskrit

मा सङ्कल्पविकल्पाभ्यां चित्तं क्षोभय चिन्मय। उपशाम्य सुखं तिष्ठ स्वात्मन्यानन्दविग्रहे॥ 19 ॥

mā saṅkalpavikalpābhyāṁ cittaṁ kṣobhaya cinmaya | upaśāmya sukhaṁ tiṣṭha svātmanyānandavigrahe || 19 ||

Translation

O Embodiment of Consciousness, do not agitate the mind with desires and doubts. Be at peace and abide happily in your own Self, which is the embodiment of bliss.

Verse 20

Sanskrit

त्यजैव ध्यानं सर्वत्र मा किंचिद् हृदि धारय। आत्मा त्वं मुक्त एवासि किं विमृश्य करिष्यसि॥ 20 ॥

tyajeva dhyānaṁ sarvatra mā kiñcid hṛdi dhāraya | ātmā tvaṁ mukta evāsi kiṁ vimṛśya kariṣyasi || 20 ||

Translation

Give up meditation everywhere and hold nothing in your heart. You are the Self, already free. What will you gain by thinking?

Correspondence Table

The alignment between Tilopa’s Mahamudra instructions and the Ashtavakra Gita is striking. In these two verses, the Ashtavakra Gita provides almost a word-for-word Sanskrit equivalent for Tilopa’s Tibetan pith instructions.

Tilopa’s Instruction (Tibetan)	Ashtavakra Gita (Sanskrit)	Conceptual Overlap
mi mno (Don’t recall)	मा किंचिद् हृदि धारय (mā kiñcid hṛdi dhāraya)	To “hold nothing in the heart” includes releasing the past.
mi bsam (Don’t imagine)	सङ्कल्प (saṅkalpa)	Releasing future-oriented intentions and projections.
mi shes (Don’t think)	विकल्प (vikalpa)	Releasing the conceptual “labeling” of current experience.
mi dpyod (Don’t examine)	किं विमृश्य (kiṁ vimṛśya)	Vimarśa is the act of reflection, deliberation, or intellectual scrutiny.
mi sgom (Don’t cultivate)	त्यजैव ध्यानं (tyajeva dhyānaṁ)	“Give up meditation.” Sgom (cultivation) and Dhyāna are synonyms here.
rang sar bzhag (Rest/Settle)	सुखं तिष्ठ (sukhaṁ tiṣṭha)	Abiding happily and effortlessly in one’s own natural state.