Didactic Poetry of Mergen Gegeen

Abstract

Mergen Gegeen’s popular poetry and songs are intended to popularize Buddhist teaching among the laity. “A Teaching on the Maṇi” is about impermanence of lives. Nothing can help when someone dies other than relying on Buddha Dharma and recite the maṇi mantra. “A Human Life Difficult to Obtain” speaks of the preciousness and rarity of a human rebirth and meeting with the Dharma. It encourages people to dedicate themselves to the practice of Buddhism and set themselves onto the Bodhisattva Path in order to attain Buddhahood. “Saṃsāra” warns the audience of the ripening of karma, sufferings of human life, and of the dangers of youthful negligence and ignorance. It encourages the audience to generate virtue, abandon sins, and progress on the stages of the path. “Supreme Śākyamuni” conveys Buddhist knowledge by recounting the Buddha’s life story