Cutting
through Samsara
and
entering Nirvana, Part 3:
Twist
and Shout!
Check
also:
Jigme
Lingpa, talks about distinguishing between samsara and nirvana in his
famous book, Yeshe Lama. Rushen or korde rushen has the meaning of
separating or distinguishing samsara and nirvana. This is the basic
training of natural perfection, also known as dzogchen. Jigme Lingpa
quoted in italics.
Rushen
of body
How
to do the rushen of body is explained in the root tantra:
With
the body, in motion or reclining,
Or
twisting and turning, perform yoga postures,
Stretch
and bend the limbs
And
put the body through its paces.
Just
as you conceive it, physically enact
The
behaviour of the six kinds of mythic beings.
Accordingly,
in order to revert the physical, vocal and mental activity initiated
by karma and natural propensity, and in the future to halt it
entirely, go to a place where it is certain that no one will intrude
and where you cannot be seen or heard... Then say to yourself, ”I
am here for the sake of all sentient beings to separate, distinguish
and define samsara and nirvana physically, energetically and
mentally, so that in the future I need not return to samsara.”
After
generating bodhi-mind in that way, strip naked and... Then, run and
jump, twist and turn, stretch and bend and, in brief, move your body
in whatever way comes to mind – but without purpose or design.
Rushen
of Speech
Then,
similarly, in order to pull apart and define samsara and nirvana in
speech... Chatter, nonsensically to yourself and speak various
languages randomly.
Twist
and Shout!
First
a reminder: Please remember that yours truly is not an adept of the
orthodox dzogchen-tradition.
What
we have in the previous quotes is something very interesting when
done in action. My interpretation of distinguishing samsara and
nirvana by bodily and verbal means is as follows.
Basically,
what the great master Jigme Lingpa is saying here is for one to allow
the samsaric tensions be released, shaked, vibrated, shouted or
voiced by physical means. When this is done, samsara is automatically
released and nirvana, open natural awareness reveals itself.
What
the master suggests here, in effect is no different than what ancient
tribes have done when singing and dancing around the fire. The effect
is the same when people of today sing and dance to different
rhythmical music at concerts. Recently I witnessed a growd dancing to
a wonderful Korean electronic dance group. The thoughtless and clear
minds of both these, dancers and musicians were noticeable. The
drummer spent long times in the thoughtless state, fervently beating
his drums! All these people surely experienced the effect of this,
whether they knew to call it with the proper technical term known in
dzogchen or other schools.
Kriya
Several
years ago I came to spontaneously think that shaking the body briskly
is a wonderful way to release tensions, both physical and mental.
When one begins to shake the body, soon the shaking takes on it's own
and there is no need to continue it anymore as it does itself. This
is a natural mechanism of the human nervous system, animals have it
and use it too.
In
yoga, spontaneous physical shaking, trembling, jumping, moving,
shouting and voicing in a non-rhythmical non-composed manner, is
called by the term ”spontaneous kundalini kriya” or just
”physical kriya”. To some people this begins by itself, often to
their surprise, while to others this doesn't start spontaneously at
all. However, the nervous systems of all men have this ability to
shake off what doesn't belong there. It's just spontaneous shaking
and voicing which naturally covers areas of physical and psychic
blocks in the bodymind that seek for a release.
This
mechanism may be consciously stopped at anytime. This has nothing to
do with going into a hypnosis or a trance. One is perfectly aware and
conscious of this happening.
TRE
Dr.
David Berceli, founder of the TRE-system has done wonderful
scientific research and fieldwork with this principle. TRE refers to
”trauma releasing exercises”. In TRE some simple exercises and
stretches are used to get the natural trauma releasing mechanism
working which then takes on on it's own. His organisation has
educated hundreds of TRE-instructors worldwide. What they do is no
different to what Jigme Lingpa is suggesting or what is done by those
with physical kriyas. However, the theoretical explanation and the
meaning of it varies.
Rushen-practice
in the Open Heart-style
In
the beginning of a Rushen-session, sit quietly for a moment, let your
breath calm down and relax. After a moment, chant Machig
Labdron's guru mantra 4 or 8 times aloud. After this initial
contact with the master, stand up, lie on your back or take a
position that you feel like taking. Allow physical shaking and/or
spontaneous voicing to begin. Let it happen naturally on it's own.
Don't manipulate the natural chaotic pattern of the shaking or
shouting. Don't try
to release tensions, the inbuilt mechanism takes care of this on its
own. Allow it to happen. When the body wishes to take a new position,
allow it to happen. You will see that the natural stress releasing
mechanism goes through all the tensions in logical manner. Just
observe this, as you would observe thoughts or emotions come up and
go by in open awareness meditation (ati yoga).
Continue
for 20-30-40 minutes in one session. After a shaking session, lie
down and rest for 5-10 minutes. You might feel very tired after the
first couple of sessions but this tiredness goes away eventually.
Then sit up and practice Ati-meditation. This Rushen-practice may
also be done as a preparation for Tibetan Heart Yoga-session.
The
way how the body shakes goes in periods. It may be very slow and calm
while on the other hand it might be very fast, aggressive and
uptempo. Allow it to be as it comes, don't change it. Yet know that
it can be stopped at any time.
What
is very important is to be able to observe objectively. This is a
basic skill of meditators. However, if you are a beginner, know that
sometimes strong emotions can come up. If this happens your body
might shake aggressively, you might shout in fear, you might start
crying and so on. Something like this that you didn't expect to
happen, might happen. It's totally OK. It's subconscious tensions,
stresses and traumas, samsaric bodymind content releasing itself.
However, if you feel it's too much, you can stop the session at any
time. If you feel uncomfortable to return to Rushen-practice, do it
in a group or with a friend. You can also do this eyes open which
will help you to stay ”here”, instead of getting lost in emotions
or memories. In general, one can have eyes open or closed whichever
is preferred.
The
main reason why this is done is to shake off samsaric mindstuff from
our bodymind in order to recognise our natural knowing awareness.
It's that simple. Doing this has other benefits as well. Your
physical fitness can become better, your sleep becomes deeper and
more restful, your overall vitality becomes enhanced and of course
you'll just feel fresh and clear after doing these sessions, both
physically and mentally. This is because the knots of your dualistic
mind are loosened or untied. Rushen (outer) combined with tantric
practice, such as Tibetan Heart Yoga, which is called ”inner
rushen” by Jigme Lingpa, does the same thing, emphasizing more the
inner aspects of our dualistic conditioning. The general purpose of
all of this is to cut through samsara and enter nirvana. Use it and
enjoy it!
Sources
Spontaneous
movements may develop to ”deity embodiment” as demonstrated in
several videos by Pauliina:
Thank
you for reading,
-
Kim Katami, 29.5.2016
Open
Heart
