About
zen, dzogchen and attainments
>It’s
encouraging that you say that one can get to the 6th bhumi with
classic vipashyana practices. Am I correct in saying that after
awakening people in the group could carry on with their shikantaza
practice?
For
example. If a teacher of zen-tradition is awakened they usually are
around 2-3-4 bhumis, opened not perfected. Zen-master Hakuin talked
of his 18 kenshos but he was one among few exceptions. I've never
seen anyone explain his kenshos. He surely did not have the same
kensho again and again! I am pretty sure he was talking about bhumi
openings, although he didn't use that word because bhumi opening
feels like being awakened inside the awakened state, it just gets
subtler and subtler, clearer and clearer. Then on the other hand I
know soto zen teachers, famous ones, who after several decades of
practice haven't even had the initial insight, opened their 1st
bhumi. This is reflected in the way how they talk and describe
things. I don't think there is a zen-teacher alive today who really
knows what Dogen was talking about. I hope there was but I haven't
met one. When they "just sit", they are more or less stuck
in alaya vijnana. Have seen this with my own eyes.
Almost
all great theravada-masters are 6th bhumis, opened not perfected.
They seem to get stuck at this stage. Maybe it has to do with their
motivation, lack of including all beings. Compassion is the key in
opening bodhisattva bhumis, at least until 8th bhumi which is the
abode of Avalokiteshvara, Bodhisattva of Compassion. Vajrayana
teachers, those who practice themselves and are sincere, are usually
on bodhisattva bhumis, opened not perfected. Then there are many
teachers of the Tibetan tradition who might have big organisations,
fancy titles and everything yet are low in their bhumis, if even
awakened. Then rarely someone on mahasiddha bhumis pops up but these
are very rare. It's even more rare to meet someone who has all 13
bhumis open and the lowest 6 perfected and hence is a fully attained
arhat. To meet a living buddha, who has all bhumis perfected is
close to non-existent in physical body but it's great that Amma is
there. This is just a brief comment. I think serious practitioners
should take this stuff seriously. Any practically applicable system
that can shed light on the level of attainments, either one's own or
others can only be useful and of help.
By
classic vipashyana I mean following some theravadan or mahayanan
exposition of vipashyana. No, this assumption is not correct, in my
view. Shikantaza is atiyoga. It is dzogchen, from the
kadag/emptiness/selflessness perspective. Shikantaza is not a
”practice” and certainly not a practice of the
generation/vipashyana stage. I am sorry to say this but I've seen
many from zen "just sit". But they don't just sit, except
for very brief periods, like glimpses of split seconds here and
there. It actually seems that many people start taking back steps
with zen. You know, common people with steady lives and basic morals
might spend more time in selfless awareness (although switching back
and forth with self-based mode) than zen buddhists during the first
couple of decades of practice because the poor instructions become a
barrier. They are given poorly analysed ways of practice. I've seen
whole sanghas sit in the mud. By mud I am referring to alaya
vijnana, substrate consciousness often talked about by dzogchen
-masters. No real clarity. I am really sad to say this but that is
how it is. There is no point to sit and sit and sit endless hours if
you don't know what you're doing. I did so for over 20 000 hours.
People rant and are in love with the idea of the natural state and
”just sitting” but they don't know what it means. They don't. No
clue. So sorry to say this but I am just trying to help.
Someone
wrote: "My first buddhist teacher was Kobun Chino Roshi. In one
class, someone asked him how to get closer to his lineage or more
involved with his lineage. His answer was to look into
dzogchen." Another zen-teacher called John Denko
Mortensen, who took up dzogchen after becoming a zen-teacher, said,
"While zen-masters say weird things, dzogchen-people actually
explain things". His excitement of a very different pedagogy in
dzogchen which apparently was new to him, was audible.
The
point is that one needs to know a whole bunch of things to really
make progress on the path. One needs to understand the mechanisms,
how the mind works, what the elements are and have a cataloque of
various practices to be able to make progress. We need to
acknowledge that when we are at the foot of the mountain or at the
side of the mountain, we are NOT at the top of the mountain.
Dzogchen-masters like Longchenpa make this perfectly clear. One
needs to practice vipashyana, in one form or the other. Without this
knowledge it is unrealistic to speak of "attaing buddhahood in
this life". Entirely unrealistic. Dzogchenpas such as Jigme
Lingpa, have been clear about the difference of the subtle mud one
can sit in for decades thinking that it is awareness or rigpa. I
know such cases who spent decades sitting, doing retreats every
month all year around, and yet their practice was subtly coloured.
Some clarity, yes, but not abiding at home, still travelling. One
needs to know the difference of samsara and nirvana, to able to go
beyond both.
>To
really do atiyoga practices, does one really need a teacher qualified
in these and a lot of preparatory insightful investigation?
-
One thing I know for certain: One needs to get awakened asap and then
open the consecutive bhumis up till 11th. Then you know what atiyoga
is. 9th bhumi seems to be some sort of a turning point to most but as
11th is the first mahasiddha bhumi, it isn't until then when you
really know it and live it, without the need to do this or that all
the time to fix attention or remove something.
That
question of a qualified teacher is a tricky one. I am saying this
with respect to all concerned. A particular rinpoche who is
considered one of the greatest dzoghen masters alive today, said last
August (or July) in webcast that "during activity his
rigpa-state lasts for 3 seconds at a time". He said this as a
response to some people who came to him and claimed to be in rigpa
24/7.
According
to my bhumi analysis of him, his bhumi is 10, so he hasn't yet opened
his first ms bhumi. From my own experience, and that of my teacher
colleagues, I can testify that during the terrain of 9th-10th bhumis
it was precisely like that: a few seconds of rigpa and then something
else and then a few secs of rigpa again. This changes when hitting
11th. But the questions was about qualified teachers. Thousands of
people worldwide from the Dalai Lama to many followers say that the
rinpoche in question is a "dzogchen master". He is a great
authority on dzogchen. A reality check is needed here. He can not be
a master of rigpa as he comes in and out so markedly, according to
his own words. It doesn't make sense, does it? There really is a need
for some profound reality checks in vajrayana buddhism and dzogchen.
Kim,
2.2.2017.
