An Illiterate Attains Rainbow Body

An Illiterate Attains Rainbow Body

When I went to my master Changchub Dorje, I was educated up to the hilt in the intellectual sense. My mind was filled with everything I'd learned in the monastic colleges. I thought that to receive transmission of the teachings, elaborate ritual initiations were essential and I asked Changchub Dorje to give me a certain initiation. I asked him every day for days and days, but he always refused.

'What's the use?' he'd say. 'You've already received so many of those initiations from your other masters; initiations like that are not the principle of the Dzogchen teachings. Transmission isn't only received in formal initiations.' But no matter what he said, I remained fixed on the kind of perfectly performed ritual initiations other masters had always given me. I wasn't satisfied with his replies, and I wanted him to put on a special hat, prepare a mandala, and pour a little water on my head, or something like that. That was what I really, sincerely wanted; but he always continued to refuse.

Finally, I insisted so much that he at last agreed. He promised that about two months later, on the day of Padmasambhava, the tenth day of the Tibetan lunar month1, he would give me the initiation I wanted, the empowerment of Samantabhadra and the peaceful and wrathful divinities of the Bardo. This initiation is actually not very complicated, and a master skilled in such things

could have completed it very quickly. But Changchub Dorje had never received a formal education, and he was not used to giving initiations. When the long-awaited day finally came, the initiation took him from about nine in the morning till midnight. To begin with, he had to prepare himself by performing a rite of self-initiation. This took him until mid-day to complete. Then he began the initiation for me. But, not being formally educated, not only couldn't he read the text himself, but on top of that I could see that he didn't know how to do all the ritual things he was supposed to do. He wasn't that kind of a master.

So Changchub Dorje had a disciple present as an assistant who was himself an expert teacher, and it was he who prepared all the mandalas and ritual objects. Then this disciple began to read the text to tell the master what he had to do next. But when he read out that a certain mudra, or gesture, should be done by the master giving the initiation, Changchub Dorje didn't know how to do it, so they had to stop while he learned it. Then there was a whole long invocation that was supposed to be chanted, invoking all the masters of the lineage, and while chanting it, the master is supposed to sound a bell and a damaru, or small drum. Someone who is used to rituals can perform all this very quickly, but Changchub Dorje wasn't used to such things, and the whole situation became outrageous, a complete farce.

First of all he worked out with his assistant what was written in the notes to the text. 'Ah!' he said. 'It says here that you have to sound the bell!' So he took the bell, and for about five minutes all he did was sound it over and over again. Then it was read out to him that you have to sound the damaru. So he sounded the little drum over and over for about another five minutes. Then he suddenly said: 'Oh, now I see! You have to sound the bell and damaru together!' So he did that. But by then he had forgotten what it was that he was supposed to chant, so he had to go through it all again with the help of the disciple who could read.

Changchub Dorje himself hadn't had the kind of education that involves study, but was a practitioner who had manifested wisdom and clarity through the development of his practice, and it was because of this wisdom and clarity that he was considered to be a master. So he hadn't received the kind of monastic training that would have prepared him to give all the various kinds of formal empowerment, and he stumbled through the initiation he gave me taking all day and a good deal of the evening to do it. By the time he had finished, I was almost in a state of shock, as, given my own background, I knew very well how an initiation should be done, and it was nothing like this.

But by then it was nearly midnight, and we were all very hungry. We sang the Song of the Vajra together many times. This is a short, slow, anthemic chant, characteristic of the way Dzogchen works with ritual, that leads the practitioner into contemplation through integration with its actual sound, the structure of its syllables and melody ensuring deep, relaxed breathing. Then we recited a short Gana Puja offering, and we ate. After the meal the master gave me a real explanation of the true meaning of initiation and transmission, and I realized that despite all the formal initiations I had received at my college, I had never understood or entered into the true meaning of them.

Then, without interruption, for about three or four hours, Changchub Dorje gave me a real explanation of Dzogchen, not teaching me in an intellectual style, but talking to me in a very straightforward and relaxed, friendly, conversational way. Despite all my education, this was the first time a master had really made such a direct attempt to get me to understand something. What he said, and the way that he said it, was exactly like a tantra of Dzogchen, spoken spontaneously, continuously aloud, and I knew that even a very learned scholar would not be able to speak like that. Changchub Dorje was speaking from clarity and not just from an intellectual understanding.

Copied from Crystal and the Way of Light by Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche.

Nyala Changchub Dorje was Dzogchen master renowned as the teacher of Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche. He was born in the Nyarong region of Kham and studied with Adzom Drukpa, Nyala Pema Dündul, his student Nyala Rangrik Dorje and the Bön master Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen (1859-1935).
Nyala Rinpoche led a community of Dzogchen practitioners in Nyalagar in the Dedrol area of Kham. He attained the rainbow body. Copied from here.

Testing the Mind of Meditation

Testing the Mind of Meditation

Mind of meditation is expressed and embodied by the physical body. State of mind and awareness (dual/nondual) can be demonstrated, verified and tested with simple physical contact. Please watch the video below for introduction.

Four modes of mind

1. Dualistic frame of mind, embodying negative thought or emotion
2. Nondualistic frame of mind, embodying positive thought or emotion such as loving-kindness, compassion, joy or peacefulness*, sutra-style
3. Nondualistic frame of mind, tantric guru yoga, tantra-style
4. Nondualistic frame of mind, open awareness/ati-meditation, ati yoga-style

*brahmavihara

Ways of testing

1. Gentle touch with soft pressure. Chest, shoulder, back, free variations. A way for beginners to see how their state of mind affects their bodies and how both negative and positive frames of mind can actually be concretized. Tester is there to give support for the tested.
2. Adding emotional negativity to the way of testing. Making physical contact in more aggressive manner, like poking to simulate conflict situations from everyday life. A way to test our frame of mind and attainment in an artificial conflict situation to see how our mind training might do in real life. Returing nondual frame of mind is one gets lost in dualistic mind content.
3. Very aggressive testing, poking and shoving by one or several testers. An artificially created situation where one's mind is tested in very aggressive conflict situation, as if bullied by one or several people.

Cutting through Samsara and entering Nirvana, Part 2: Cessation/Nirodha

Cutting through Samsara

and entering Nirvana, Part 2:

Cessation/Nirodha

Cutting through Samsara and entering Nirvana, Part 2 - speech and guided practice.

Check also:

• Cutting through Samsara and entering Nirvana, Part 1: Cutting through-text and video
• Cutting through Samsara and entering Nirvana, Part 2: Cessation/Nirodha-text and video
• Cutting through Samsara and entering Nirvana, Part 3: Twist and Shout!-text

Feedback from Cutting through Samsara and entering Nirvana, Part 1:

S: ”After watching your latest video about the chanting, and doing it, something shifted and there was a clear seeing completely through thought, to the empty nature that is it, which has remained open.”

J: ”After 2 hours after the shouting session, my mind and perception kept flickering off and on. It was similar to lights being turned off and on, off and on, again and again, in a quick rhythm. These cessations lasted for a few seconds at a time. It kept happening again and again. Afterwards I felt very tired”.

You describe going "unconscious without going unconscious", awareness shifting and going through something that is new to you. This is called cessation or nirodha. It is like turning off the lights and electricity of the house but not becoming unconscious. These moments are like big leaps, in spiritual sense. This is so because cessation resets the mind momentarily. It's like if you have a big, noisy and messy engine going on and on, making noise, creating fumes, like the dualistic mind does. But when you take electricity plug out for a moment... The engine stops for a moment. This is a glimpse to the natural mind, natural awake awareness. There is nothing and no one there. Literally. This is the permanent mind state of a fully enlightened one, mind of a buddha. That's the mind of no-self. No self in any shape or form. In other words, That's emptiness.

When cessations start happening they might feel dramatic at first. When the lights come back on and the usual mind state resumes, you might feel, ”What was that!? Am I going insane?” Mind reacts like this, with fear and confusion, because it tries to figure out what happened. But it can't because cessation is non-conceptual and conceptual understanding only goes so far. So for some period of time cessation feels like a dramatic drop into the unknown and coming out of it also feels as dramatic, like a jump or something like that. There is this big threshold. If cessations are long, say minutes or hours, which are very rare, one is not able to be active and do things during cessation. Usually cessations are just a few seconds long, at a beginner stage. Later they can be for minuts and hours. People who wake up, have a short cessation and it has enough power to take the charge out of the subject-self.

In hindu dharma, this dramatic leap is called kevala nirvikalpa samadhi. It's a beginning stage of cessation. But with time and practice the drop into and jump back from cessation wears off. With practice, it becomes natural, it transforms. In hindu yoga this mature stage of cessation is called sahaja nirvikalpa samadhi. Sahaja means natural. This means that one's conditioned dualistic mind becomes permeated by no-self realisation. Here the dramaticity of it, is gone and one can do things in cessation. Eventually, cessation is not interrupted, it becomes natural. It grows on you and at some point you don't even notice it happening. Mahasiddhas and buddhas are in the state of natural cessation all the time, bodhisattvas aren't yet.

At first when you sit down and start meditating without doing anything, Ati-meditation, you might be self-aware, aware of sitting somehow, aware of the breath, aware of being there. But at some point a shift happens, a cessation takes place and knowing also disappears. In cessation there is no knowing at all. Nirodha is a stateless state of no body, no mind, no God, no buddha, no wisdom, no compassion. It is non-conceptual and without self-awareness. It is a complete stop, a full stop, complete disappearance. Cessation is a peak of meditative experience. And there is a good reason why all meditative traditions and texts have mentioned cessation as something very important. Cessation is sort of like a reset button of a meter, like there used to be in old video or tape players. Everything returns back to zero in cessation and therefore it has a significant impact on the mind and our psychological being.

In case you are wondering what sometimes happens in your meditation and especially Ati-meditation with open eyes, this is it. There is surely a relation between cessation and progress in bhumis as well. 

Have a nice day,

- Kim Katami, 11.5.2016 

 

Four Gears of Open Awareness

Four Gears of Open Awareness

Four Gears of Open Awareness-guided practice

1. Open awareness, related to the primary sensory organ*

• Disengaging one's attention from internal objects such as thought and emotion, as well as from external objects perceived through the senses (eyes) and
• Resting as non-three-dimensional open space
• Awareness being aware of itself, without a self-entity

Leads to:

• Recognition of oneself as conscious awareness, both through sudden awakening (cessation, nirodha) and mind purification (vipashyana, also known as gradual enlightenment) =>
• Cuts down all sense of localisation as a self located in space and time, deconstruction of the self =>
• Calming of the mind (shamatha) =>
• Experiential understanding of both mindfulness (intention) and open awareness (attention)

This can be called the first gear, the first and foremost step, of awareness training.

*Eyes are the primary sensory organ of man. This practice is known as ati yoga, Ati-meditation, Space Gazing or open awareness meditation in Open Heart-teachings and by same or similar names in other advanced teachings.

2. Open awareness centered at the heart

Open awareness recognised through the primary sense organ (eyes) is connected with the heart/chest area of man. This connection is revealed through training in open awareness meditation. This is subtle connection of the energy body (skt. amrita nadi, tib. kati, engl. chrystal channel), not related to common human emotions, although open awareness centered at the heart gives self-cognisant awareness a flavour of warm heartfulness. In the heart open awareness becomes embodied as love and compassion.

This can be called the second gear of awareness training.

3. Open awareness embodied by the whole bodymind

When the recognition of the natural state takes place properly and one trains in it, open awareness not only comes to encompass the abstract mind and it's various aspects, but also penetrates the flesh of the body. The self-created mind of man becomes replaced with the ”spirit of God” which is free and open but also free of freedom, openness and divinity.

This can be called the third gear of awareness training.

4. Open awareness in action

Here, open awareness is fully embodied and presented through action, speech and thought, and also through non-action, non-speech and non-thought. Here further training of awareness looses it's meaning. Compassionate action, both in it's peaceful and wrathful forms, is naturally delivered. This is the stage of the mahasiddhas* or buddhas. When open awareness is embodied in full bloom like this, all beings in all forms reap subtle nondual benefits from it as the presence of a mahasiddha reverberates through all realms** simultaneously. The wow to become a buddha, a fully enlightened being for the sake of all beings has been fulfilled and hence is forgotten.

This can be called the fourth gear and final stage of awareness training.

*Open Heart Bhumi Model, bhumis 11.-13.

**All realms refer to 21 main realms related to the subtle body of man, that is, chakras. See a diagram of these centers here.

Comments

The above mapping is one way to explain the aspects and stages of the path of awareness training. This training can be pursued by anyone. It is recommended to be conducted in the guidance of a master (here referring to a mahasiddha) or at least with a person who has attained the level of a bodhisattva.

All should remember that open awareness is the enlightened mind of all beings. Potentially this can be attained by all men who receive valid instruction and who have correct compassionate motivation.

This instruction should not be kept from sincere, honest and open hearted seekers who wish to blow out the flame of their dualistic ignorance and embody their natural, truthful, original mind among men and other beings. This is their right.

It should be kept in mind that this knowledge is not the property of any person, any sect or a group. In case a known dishonest or a morally corrupt person seeks to receive instruction from a teacher, the teacher should make sure that the relationship is based on honesty and mutual trust. If this requirement is not met the teacher is allowed to refrain from giving guidance to such person.

May all beings realise their freedom.

Thank you for reading.

- Baba Kim Katami, 4/2016

Open Heart,

www.openheart.fi

Meditation and Nonmeditation by Mingyur Rinpoche

Meditation and Nonmeditation

by Mingyur Rinpoche

See also these texts in this blog:

• Secret Instructions on Space Gazing (Nonmeditation)
• Great Perfection (Dzogchen) by Mingyur Rinpoche
• Meditation and Nonmeditation by Mingyur Rinpoche

Tonight we will talk about calm abiding meditation, or shamatha [Skt].The title of the lecture series is "Meditation and Nonmeditation," and it seems that these two are contradictory to each other. But if we really understand what meditation is we will see that they are the same.

When we meditate on calm abiding, or shamatha, we make our mind more pliable, and thereby gain control of it.

This is why we practice shamatha, calm abiding: to bring forth the potency and strength that is in the mind in the first place. Further, when we practice this meditation we awaken what is called "inner peace," an inner peace that does not depend upon outer causes and conditions.

These are some general ideas about why it is important to practice meditation, shamatha.

In terms of the practice of shamatha, there are two essential points: the key points of body and the key points of mind.

In the early stages of the path of meditation, when we haven't achieved a high level of

realization, our body and mind relate to each other in the manner of support and supported. Our body functions as the support for our mind, which in turn is supported by our body.

In Buddhism we talk about three different qualities that make up the more subtle aspects of the physical body, which relate to our meditation. They are called channels, winds and essences.

When we meditate there are seven key points to our body posture that are very important. The first point is to cross the legs...

...we should pay heed to what our body is telling us; if it hurts us a lot to sit in that posture and if we try to force ourselves into it, even though we don't want to sit that way, then that really can hurt us a lot. So we should not do it. Even if we are sitting in a regular cross-

legged fashion, if our legs get sore it is no problem to extend them. Also we can sit in a chair.

The second key point of posture is to put our hands in the posture of equipoise, with our left hand underneath and our right resting on top of it, or with our right hand underneath and our left hand resting on top of it. The most important point is to rest them in a relaxed way. We can also rest our hands on top of our two knees.

The fourth key point is the most important point of all: sitting with a straight back.

The fifth key point is to bring the jaw inwards slightly taking the general weight of our head

onto our jaw, letting our jaw absorb the weight of the head.

The sixth key point of posture is that our mouth should be relaxed in a way that our upper and lower teeth are not touching each other, and our upper and lower lips are not touching each other, there is a slight space in between.

The seventh key point is to rest our eyes in the way that they naturally are. We can have our gaze going slightly downward, it can be going directly outward or it could be slightly upwards. It is actually better to shift our gaze from time to time. If we try to keep our gaze in the same place for a long time, it tires us out, so if we shift our gaze occasionally, that keeps things fresh. It is okay to blink when we meditate.

Nonmeditation

This completes the body posture. From among all these key points it is important to keep in mind that relaxation in our body is very important. We should sit with the muscles in our body relaxed. Let's try this together, just practicing the body posture. We don't need to meditate.

Sit up straight, with your body relaxed in general, and relax your mind as well. You do not need to think of anything in particular - we're just sitting with our body relaxed and our mind relaxed. We're not talking about meditation yet. We are just going to sit with our body and mind relaxed...

This relaxation is meditation. But I did not instruct you to meditate. But it is said, non-

meditation is the supreme meditation. Therefore we don't need to meditate. We relax our body and we relax our mind.

We experience these states of relaxation in our body and mind frequently in our everyday life. Why doesn't that benefit us when that happens? Because we do not recognize that it is happening. Just now we relaxed while knowing we were relaxing. This is what is known as mindfulness. Therefore, if we relax, mindfulness comes right along with it. Usually, we tire ourselves out and then relax after that, but we do not realize that we are relaxing -

our attention is always facing outward, looking at other things.

Here we are relaxing in our body and mind while being aware that that is what we are doing. By being aware that we are relaxing when we are relaxing, we come to gain

control over our mind. So that's easy, right? It is very easy. You do not need to do anything. You do not need to meditate.

When we relax in this way what is our mind like? Our mind is relaxed and comfortable but still we cannot identify it; we can't point at our mind and say "this is my relaxed mind" or "this is my comfortable mind." This meditation technique that has just been described is called shamatha or calm abiding meditation without object.

Beginners probably would not experience that type of meditation for more than two, thre

e or five seconds, but that's fine. We should practice in short segments many times.

We shouldn't think thoughts like "I need to sit for a long time," "I need to stop my thoughts," because thoughts will happen and we cannot stop them. We can't shoot our thoughts, we can't burn our thoughts, and even if we set off a bomb, that will not stop our thoughts. That is the nature of mind. We do not need to stop our thoughts. What do we need? We need mindfulness. The main point about shamatha meditation is mindfulness, or, in other words, awareness.

...when there is no mindfulness there is no meditation. We are not saying that when there

are thoughts there is no meditation, and when there are no thoughts that is meditation; it's not about that at all. The point is whether there is mindfulness or not.

So meditation in this way is extremely easy, but there is one difficulty: it is so easy that it is

hard. It's hard because we don't trust it. We are always thinking that meditation must be

referring to something very special.

Our expectations about meditation bind our minds. This way of meditating is so close to us that we do not see it.

Meditation

Now I will give you a difficult method of meditation [laughter]. This one relates to the collection of consciousnesses that we have. Buddhism teaches about six different consciousness: the eye consciousness that sees form, the ear consciousness that hears sounds, the nose consciousness that smells, the tongue that perceives tastes, our body consciousness that perceives tactilenobjects, and our mental consciousness that perceives thoughts. The reason why all of our disturbing states of mind, our suffering and monkey-like behavior, happen is because of this very collection of consciousnesses that has six different parts.

When some people who are immersed in meditation consider the thoughts that arise from

seeing forms, hearing sounds, smelling smells, and so forth, they think that these thoughts

harm their meditation, are enemies to their meditation. But for those who really understand

the essential point of meditation, all of those thoughts can become supports and aids to our meditation. Let's look at the way in which we can make these thoughts supports for our

meditation.

Meditation with Form

First, with regard to form, our eyes see two kinds of things: shapes and colors. So it would be best for us to start off with a small object. We can look at a very small object and at the same time that our eyes are looking at that object, our mind should also look. If our mind can look at that object, this is what is called shamatha with object. We do not need anything but for our eyes to be looking at the object one-hundred-percent. It is not necessary to try for two-hundred-percent. [Rinpoche holds up his hand.] You see my hand. Even if we were to look at it for one whole hour, would our mind be looking at the hand for the whole hour? If our mind can see the hand, then this seeing is shamatha. That's easy, right? We do not need to meditate on our hand. We don't need to visualize our hand in our mind, or worry what a hand is like. We need merely to see it.

Meditation for beginners is just like a frog-it jumps to one state then goes to the side again,

then back and off to the other side, then back and off in another direction. We focus our mind on a particular object and it actually focuses on that object but then scatters off to something else, comes back to the focus, scatters off to something else. We do not need to hold our mind tightly or put a whole lot of energy into our mind to try and bring it into focus. We merely need to see.

If we practice in this way, our mindfulness will become stronger and stronger. Seeing the form, our mind will extend for longer periods of time. We can practice this type of meditation now, together. You can choose any object to look at.

First, relax your mind. [Pause] Now look at a form. [Pause] Now, without particularly looking at a form, continue sitting with your mind relaxed. [All practice.]

Meditation with Sound

Now we can work with the technique related to sound. Do you hear any sound? What sounds? Is there a sound coming from the roof? We'll meditate together and pay attention to what we hear - it could be any sound, doesn't matter what. We do not need to focus on one sound. We simply look with the thought "what is my ear hearing?" We open up our

ears. If we do not hear anything in particular, then that will become shamatha without object, and then when we place our attention with mindfulness on what we do hear, that is shamatha with object. When practicing this type of meditation with sound we can

have both happening, in alternation with each other - shamatha with object and shamatha without object.

First sit with your mind relaxed. [Pause]

Now listen to sound. [Pause]

Now relax your mind. [Pause]

When we do these practices looking at forms and our mind looks at them too, listening to

sounds and our mind listens to them too - when our mind is also looking at the form or listening to the sound - we are practicing mindfulness and developing our mindfulness. The more our mind is able to stay with thoseperceptual objects, the stronger and more developed our mindfulness is becoming. Through continuing to practice in this way, our mind becomes more tamed, more peaceful, and more happy and joyous. We come to gain control over our mind and we gain pliancy in our minds - our minds become more supple.

Q: Do you offer meditation on the sense of taste?

R: Yes. Tomorrow I will teach tasting, touching with thought.

Beginners need to be relaxed. But when you become more familiar, you can do things fast and still have the presence of mindfulness. You can have mindfulness in doing things like that. When we apply meditation to our ordinary life we do not have to be robots.

Shamatha without Object

In terms of resting the mind naturally, I spoke last night about "shamatha without object" or

"shamatha without attributes." During this type of shamatha, we relax our body and we relax our mind in its natural state

Shamatha without object is so easy that we don't trust it, and so for beginners we need

something that is a little bit difficult- the practice of shamatha with object. Whether we're

practicing shamatha with object or shamatha without object, we should simply have the

attitude that we are going to try our best. We don't have to hold our mind tightly thinking, "It

is absolutely not okay if I do not have a good meditation session."

Relaxation

We should think: "If my meditation is good, let it be good. If my meditation is bad, let it be bad. If it is mistaken, let it be mistaken. If it is correct, let it be correct. If I am to be reborn in hell, let me go to hell. If I'm to be reborn in a Pure Land, let me be go to a Pure Land." The time of meditation is precisely this state of being free from cares. We shouldn't be

that carefree in our post-meditation stage, but when we meditate, we should definitely be as carefree as that.

Meditation is pretty much just sitting. It is just resting with your mind in whatever its nature is.

Meditation with Taste and Smell

In terms of shamatha with object, we discussed last night about meditating using forms and sounds as objects of meditation. We will continue with that explanation, start

ing off with smells, using whatever smells that are occurring as a support for our meditation – pleasant smells and unpleasant smells. Perfume, incense - whatever it is. It is the same as forms and sounds. We can look at whatever forms are in front of us,

and when we are using sounds, we listen to whatever sound is resounding at the time.

Smells are something that are perceived by our nose, and when we do shamatha with smells, we simply guide our mind to perceive the smells as well - we look at the smells w

ith our mind, but that is all.

It is the same with taste. We can take any taste as our object of our meditation - sweet, sour, bitter, spicy -whatever it is. When we eat food, our tongue faculty perceives the taste. In order to practice meditation, we merely bring our attention to it and have our mind merely notice the taste. That is all.

Meditation with Sensations

The fifth meditation is tangible objects or tactile sensations. From among all the five senses, the tactile sensations are the best to use with meditation.

Meditation with Thoughts

If you understand this meditation – without- object technique, you will attain Buddhahood very quickly... It is a very profound meditation but there is nothing special about it.

Our biggest obstacle in meditation is the movement of thoughts - thoughts of desire,

aggression, ignorance, jealousy and so on. There are all kinds of movement in our minds

- we usually think of these thoughts as getting in the way of our meditation and harming or

destroying our meditation.

But if we understand the key points of meditation, then those very thoughts actually will be

support for our meditation and will not harm our meditation at all. It is the same as how forms become support for our meditation.Thoughts are any type of thought: negative thoughts of mental afflictions... positive thoughts...

Any of these thoughts can become a support for our meditation simply by looking at our

thoughts. It is just like looking at forms and listening to sounds.When we meditated on tactile sensations and brought sound into our meditation, they became supports for o

ur nondistraction. They helped us to maintain undistracted mindfulness. In the very same way when we look at our thoughts, they help us to be undistracted in our meditation.

There are two different basic states that our minds could be in: stillness and movement. There is no third category for beginners on the path of meditation; there is no state of mind they could experience that is not stillness or movement. The technique of using thoughts as the support for our meditation relates with the state of mind when it is moving. So it is important to know that we do not have to look at one thought alone, we simply look at

whatever thoughts are arising. For example, thoughts are like this rosary or mala - one thought comes after the other after the other after the other after the other. Our mind usually operates like that, but when we do not look at thoughts, we are not aware of the process. We should look at them now.

...we look with our mindfulness at all of our thoughts.

As we look at our thoughts in this way, even a hundred thousand thoughts, that means you

have a hundred thousand supports for meditation. That is very good. The thoughts themselves become a support for holding our mind.

(Added link: Listen to a Guided Object Vipashyana Meditation with Awareness here in Finnish.)

Question: Rinpoche, is it necessary to label your thoughts, or is awareness simply

looking at a movement or hearing a sound?

Rinpoche: The most important point about it is recognizing that we are having a thought. But it is fine to use a label as a technique for doing that, because our mind does not work without labels. The entire work of this mind, the sixth consciousness, the mental consciousness that we are working with, is to join words and meanings, join words and the things to which they refer and cling to them as being the same thing. So to use the label would be fine, because that is how this mind operates.

When we work with shamatha with object, there is a subject and an object, a viewer and

viewed, a sense of duality, so the labeling process is fine. The looker/viewer is mindfulness, and the object being looked at is our thoughts. There is a quote from a Buddhist text that says, "Through relying on focus, the state of nonfocus excellently arises," and that is what is being pointed to here.

Meditation without Thoughts

When you are looking at thoughts, like this, and in particular for beginners, there are two types of things that can happen. Most people try to look at thoughts and don't see anything happening. There is a gap that happens, but it only lasts for about three or four seconds. Then another thought arises and we look at it. As soon as we start looking at it, we don't see it anymore. It goes back and forth in this way. A thought arises, we look at it, and we don't see it anymore; a thought arises, we look at it, and then we can't identify it. This is very good. It is just like sitting here. If you are someone who has already received pointing

-out instructions on the essence of mind, this type of practice is particularly beneficial.

(Added link: See here for information about thoughtless awareness or gzhi rigpa as presented by dzogchen master Vimalamitra: Basics of Natural Awareness (Dzogchen) Part 1: http://openheartopenheart.blogspot.fi/2016/03/basics-of-great-perfection.html)

The meditation during which we cannot see any thoughts becomes shamatha without object. The meditation during which we can look at thoughts becomes shamatha with object. Both of these are very good.

In meditation, one main point is to simply pay attention with mindfulness. We do not need to identify what we are paying attention to. It is the paying attention itself that is most important. When we continue practicing in this way, we begin with a sense of duality, with a viewer and viewed, or a looker and object looked at. As we become more and more familiar with the practice, the viewer and the viewed will become the same thing. When that happens, we are very close to seeing the essence of our mind. During the shamatha audience this morning, one student asked if it were possible for shamatha to turn into vipashyana, or insight, without applying any particular effort. In most cases, the answer is no. You would have to apply some other view, such as the view of emptiness. But there is one situation where shamatha could change into vipashana without bringing in any other technique. This is that very instance.

Meditation with Negative Thoughts

As we said earlier, there are three main types of thoughts we could have: negative, positive or neutral. For beginners on the path there is a special method for working with negative thoughts. When we have negative emotions, such as strong anger or aggression in our mind, the first thing is to recognize that "anger has arisen in my mind." At this stage we don't try to stop the anger, we simply recognize it. So don't hit the other person right away. Look at the anger not at your enemy.

For beginners, we chiefly look at the perceiving subject, instead of the perceived object. That is the key point, that is the key difference.

We can apply this technique for other negative mental states too, such as depression, fear or any other type of suffering.

Meditation with Neutral and Positive Thoughts

If we are working with neutral thoughts or positive thoughts, we can look at both subject and object.

If you looked at all those images as they are arising in your mind, it is the same thing as

visualizing a deity in the creation stage. It is the same thing as visualizing yourself as a deity inside a palace and another deity in the sky in front of you. It is also the same thing as taking refuge, and visualizing all the objects of refuge in the sky in front... from the

perspective of nondistraction and practicing mindfulness, accomplishing shamatha or calm abiding, there is no difference between the two.

If we keep meditating in that way, finally we will arrive at a state where the object we are

looking at and the looker become one, and all of our mental afflictions-desire, aggression,

jealousy, and so on -will be self liberated. The power of our disturbing emotions or mental

afflictions (kleshas) will be gradually diminished.

This has been an explanation of the sixth method of shamatha. The main point of shamatha is to gain freedom over our mind, to tap into the natural energy of our mind and tame the mind's wild monkey. When we do that, we will become like a well-tamed elephant. They don't go about following their every whim or harming people randomly. They walk with a purpose.What do we do with this shamatha mind that is like a well-tamed elephant? We put it to work on the path of liberation. In order to join fully with the path of liberation, we need to join with the practice of vipashyana or special-seeing, insight.

Vipashyana is of two types: the vipashyana of emptiness and the vipashyana of the essence of mind (link to a guided practice in Finnish). If emptiness and the essence of mind are joined with shamatha we attain the state of Buddhahood. That's all.

Q: If Buddhahood can never arise, how does one become enlightened, or how does one

transcend from the relative?

Rinpoche: We go back to the distinction between the way things appear and the way things are. Buddhahood, or the state of enlightenment, is actually the way things are, the way we are ultimately. But from the perspective of the way things appear, we appear as confused sentient beings. The way we appear is not really the way we are. So when we attain Buddhahood, when we recognize the way we really are, the way things appear and the way things are become the same thing.

*

This text is a condensed version from this original text given by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche in 2004.

Links embedded in the text

Nonmeditation Workshop Part 1 (Dzogchen/Mahamudra) 3/2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S1POGNwB50

Basics of Natural Awareness (Dzogchen) Part 1: http://openheartopenheart.blogspot.fi/2016/03/basics-of-great-perfection.html

Here is how to become awakened: http://www.en.openheart.fi/113

Basics of Natural Awareness (Dzogchen) Part 1

Basics of Natural Awareness 
Part 1 (Dzogchen)

Here, I'd like to present some information of the basics of great perfection (tib. dzogchen) as passed to yours truly by the great mahasiddha Vimalamitra. I've mentioned these two aspects of natural awareness or knowing awareness (tib. rigpa) briefly here. Later I will add another text on this topic covering two more aspects of rigpa.

The reader may keep in mind, that the author's knowledge of dzogchen has not been derived from the exponents of the traditional orthodox Tibetan dzogchen but directly from the mentioned master or masters. In this text, I compare the teachings received by yours truly with a traditional presentation of dzogchen by H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama.

Rigpa

Rigpa which could be translated as "knowing awareness" is a term often heard in Tibetan buddhism and dzogchen. This term, rigpa, points out to a distinct state of our awareness which is natural, unobstructed and always present. Rigpa is described as the "ground" of our being. For a meditator, these description give clear hints of what this rigpa actually is. When elements of thought and emotion subside, the ground of awareness becomes revealed. This is the primary purpose of meditation and spiritual practices, to know ourselves as open spaciousness, as awareness, devoid of any entity.

Dalai Lama* on rigpa: "Generally speaking, when we use the word sem, we are referring to mind when it is temporarily obscured and distorted by thoughts based upon dualistic perceptions of subject and object. When we are discussing pure awareness, genuine consciousness or awareness free of such distorting thought patterns, then the term rigpa is employed".

Aspects of rigpa

In traditional Tibetan dzogchen, rigpa is presented in four different ways. Pure awareness is said to have four aspects to it. Terms of the first two aspects used in traditional Tibetan dzogchen are:

1. Gzhi rigpa - Basis of knowing (gzhi - basis, rigpa - knowing)
2. Ngobo rigpa - Essence of knowing (ngobo/ngowoi - essence, rigpa - knowing)

From Dalai Lama's book* we can find the next translations of these terms:

Gzhi-ground
Rigpa - awareness, pure awareness
Gzhi rigpa - ground awareness/rigpa
Ngobo rigpa - essential awareness/rigpa

As the meanings of these terms are difficult to grasp, I'd like to translate them in the light of my own experience, as transmitted and received from my master.

The two aspects of rigpa can be described as:

1. Thoughtless awareness (gzhi rigpa) and
2. Thoughtless awareness imbued with life and love (ngobo rigpa)

As an experience

First, we have a state of awareness which is devoid of any sort of thought or emotion (gzhi rigpa). Here, thoughtlessness should be taken literally as "no mental content" at all. This thoughtless awareness is the ground or basis of our being, again devoid of entity. Getting to know awareness without any mental stuff is sort of the first "relief" that a beginner of meditation meets with. But again, for it to qualify as gzhi rigpa, according to Vimalamitra, it has to be entirely without thought. This can be accessed briefly, for a second or two, by most beginners and the longer one continues to practice, the more sustained it becomes. The key is to return to it again and again.

The second aspect of ngobo or ngowoi rigpa, is based on the first one, throughtlessness, but has an additional flavour to it, that of extremely sweet lovingness. When speaking of lovingness or lifeness of rigpa, it should be remembered that the love which is referred to here is not gross emotion common to biased mind but rather very subtle one combined with extreme clarity of awareness. Thoughtlessness, emotionlessness, sweetness and clarity are simultaneous. So, the first rigpa is thoughtless and the second is both thoughtless as well as imbued with pure aliveness, pure sweetness. 

It's pretty simple and anyone can glimpse it briefly for their benefit. However, despite of the simplicity of it, it should be said that when speaking of a really comprehensive recognition of rigpa, one has completely and permanently extinguished the confused mind (purity of mind). This is the minimum requirement for it. In the Open Heart Bhumi Model, this would refer to the 6th bhumi or higher.

Conclusion

From this explanation we can come to understand that these aspects of rigpa are not something lofty or distant. Rather, these aspects of pure awareness are the ground of each of us. When in one way or the other the obscured dualistic mind (tib. sem) is momentarily bypassed, the knowing awareness reveals itself and recognises itself. With further practice, this natural recognition becomes extended while the obscured mind gradually looses it's grip. For a fully blown master (mahasiddha/buddha) this state is uninterrupted.

I hope this explanation sheds some light on these commonly used terms.

Thank you for reading. 

- Baba Kim Katami




Open Heart
www.openheart.fi

*Dalai Lama's book: Dzogchen, Heart Essence of the Great Perfection, Snow Lion.

Related links

• http://openheartopenheart.blogspot.fi/2016/01/full-list-of-my-teachers-and-masters.html
• http://openheartopenheart.blogspot.fi/2016/02/loving-kindness-and-awareness.html
• http://openheartopenheart.blogspot.fi/2016/01/my-connection-with-living-buddhas.html  
• http://openheartopenheart.blogspot.fi/2016/02/stages-of-spiritual-attainment.html

 

Practice tantra instead of theravada

Practice tantra instead of theravada

Question: I do meditate in the morning and evening anapanasati or the body scan method of Goenka. Should i keep doing that? Is the technique as i use helpful or should i try a different technique witch you can point me to?

Baba: Body scanning and breath following are basic practices of most meditation traditions. I also teach the classic methods of shamatha and vipashyana in Wisdom Meditations of Vimalamitra. They are part of the Open Heart syllabus but only partially in a central role. We don't do these practices in the same way they do in Theravada but more from a dzogchen point of view (Vimalamitra was and still is one the greatest dzogchen masters ever). This means that we have some special tricks inside these commonly practiced techniques of anapanasati. But anyway, in our system we do these practices only as a "further study". At the moment we have a 3-year study group called "Bodhi" going on which focuses on studying Wisdom Meditations. These practices, as we do them, have a lot to do with ati yoga or Ati-meditation/Space Gazing about which I have written in the FB-groups.

- When it comes to purifying and clearing of the mind (object vipashyana, karmic purification) we use tantric practice called Tibetan Heart Yoga. We prefer tantric practices for vipashyana (tantric vipashyana) because they are easier and faster than the classic ways of vipassana practice. A proof of this is that there has been been no lay masters in the Theravadan tradition in ages. That's because their method requires full attention and a lot of time, that of a monastic monk, if one is to achieve complete purification of mind/karmic purity. The result of these both approaches are the same but the techniques vary in their effectiveness. I know because I've done both. So in regards to this matter of which practice you could or should do as an ordinary Western layman who has began his practices as a grown adult, I say, go for tantra so you get to the point and results much faster.

Baba Kim Katami,

Helsinki, Finland

Open Heart,

www.openheart.fi