Open Heart Annual report 2016

Open Heart

Annual report 2016

This year of 2016 has been a busy year for Open Heart, also a year of great shifts in several ways. Here some impressions.

Bhumis

This year has been big reg. bhumi openings. Altogether, roughly 120-130 bhumi openings of the sangha members has happened during this year. That is a big number for such a small group (about 60) of people. Also about 30 people have gotten awakened this year through Guidance to Awakening, guided by myself and other teachers.

When we began this year, there was not one 6^th bhumi (with one exception) in the sangha. Now we have a dozen of them. By December there has also been six people who have their 11^th bhumis (and more) open. Throughout the year there has been a steady stream of new bhumi openings in the sangha. This is unusual in the worldwide scale as far as I am aware. It's wonderful and we're all feeling it as love and openness. Yes!

Open Heart becoming international

A little story. Two years ago in late 2014 I felt very frustrated. I had been teaching full time for six years but felt that the work and community was not growing in number, especially abroad. It felt like something wasn't happening, something wasn't flowing. At the time there was only 1-2 practitioners from countries other than Finland. I felt this huge frustration, along with sustaining difficulties with my family's financial situation and had health problems due to having to work so much. So I made up my mind. I vowed not to continue my work unless in two years, until late 2016, there were some clearly noticeable changes happening. I was dead serious about it.

Then months passed, and gradually I started getting emails from people in other countries. During 2016 I've received quite a bit of emails from all over the world. I was also asked to go to Norway (twice) and New Zealand to teach Tibetan Heart Yoga. Unfortunately my health didn't allow the trip to NZ but hopefully it will happen at some time later.

In January 2017 we will have a weeklong retreat at Tammisaari that will be joined by people from NZ, Canada, Norway and US, along with Finns. We have also opened the first ever Open Heart Meditation Center at Tammisaari which is something that I've dreamed of for years. Our center is open for anyone to visit, to stay for practice and most importantly monthly retreats.

Along these developments the former frustration has been washed away. It flows now, like a river that has found it's way. The invitation of Open Heart is clearly out there and is heard by people around the world.

Not only that people from other countries are getting awakened through the guidance and starting to practice THY and dzogchen, in 2017, we will also have four new THY-teachers in Norway (Karl), United Kingdom (Rod), Australia (Nathaniel) and New Zealand (Sam). I feel such a relief, happy and content with these developments. Yay!

Not making compromises

Having said that, at the same time, us teachers have been discussing how the further growth of the sangha will be facilitated by the teachers. Some time ago, at Teacher's Lounge, I raised the topic of putting a limit to retreat participants, as well as limiting the maximum number of course participants. Just saying this not to give the impression that Open Heart needs to grow to become ”big”. I certainly don't want OH to become a big worldwide movement of thousands of followers because that would compromise the essentials such as one-on-one time with teacher/s which affects how the teachings are understood, practiced and whether fruits are attained. These are something that I will not, and should never be compromised. And I feel that it is this lucid and sincere attitude why our masters keep guiding the OH Sangha, like giving this group of people an extra push, a bit of special attention. You can see that directly in bhumi openings and the depth of our teachings.

I don't mean that OH would be something completely extraordinary. But I feel that 1. the method being a complete one and 2. our attitude being pragmatical without taboos or secrets, without inequality between anyone including the masters, does make Open Heart special. These two factors rarely unite in a time like this (dwapara yuga) that is marked with self-delusion in all possible ways on individual and communal levels. What in OH might seem special, I feel, should be the basic standard in any teaching.

Tapping the potential

Perhaps I'll continue with some sharing of my personal experiences.

As the first teacher and spokesperson of Open Heart, I've met not only positive response from people but also anger, doubt, jealousy and hatred. I've been publicly called crazy, schizophrenic and whatnot, sometimes by teachers of other traditions. Name calling doesn't hurt but the fact that there is a big mushroom*-factor in the dharma scene is shocking to me. In many dharma circles, if you openly share your thoughts, talk about your experiences or question the attainments of saints or lamas, people go nuts and start throwing rocks at you because there are taboos and questions that you cannot openly ask. Something that was born out of practical demands has been transformed into something largely based on religious belief. We all know the ill history of religion. Both dharma and religion begin in the mind so that's where the confusion begins. I think understanding this point well explains why old traditions of what was intended as dharma eventually brake down, becomes shattered to pieces.

* mushroom dharma: people, like mushroom, are kept in the dark and fed with excrement

Unfortunately many in the world dharma scene are not tapping the potential of our innate awareness. They are not realising, embodying, manifesting, connecting and living it. So many people despite of hard work seem not to get to the fruits. I have received emails from many people who worked hard in traditional setting but in the end felt that whatever they were being told to do was not making sense or had much effect.

The core of this problem is the lack of recognition of our natural state, awareness itself. There are many factors supporting this lack of recognition but people being people, with our limited capabilities, always seem to find ways to externally seem like they are committed to dharma, that is, the truth of our being, while actually doing a lot to avoid it. That is how people roll. The result of this is more of tumbling and turning in the wheel of samsara, in the wheel of births and deaths of indefinite forms.

For these reasons, I feel, it is important to carry on what Open Heart has started to offer some solid and rational dharma-help to beings to need it.

Open Heart Meditation Center and Retreats

Our first center at Tammisaari, Finland, has just been opened. Yes! It is located at the bottom floor of the building where our family lives with 130 sq. meters of space, two separate rooms for staying with own bathrooms, sauna and showers and a spacious kitchen. Anyone is welcome to come for a short visit or for a longer residential training with us teachers. Also Karl from Norway is living in the same building and is helping with many things, also cooking for retreats.

Since next January we will have a proper retreat schedule here with 5-7 day retreats every month and other intensive training, like the upcoming 12-hour Guru Rinpoche Kirtan on New Year. This type of training is something that I felt working towards for several years. I cannot tell you how happy I am about this place. One of my dreams come true. I hope our sangha understands the value of this opportunity. Please use it now, not later.

Tammisaari is close to Helsinki so it is easy to come here either by public transport or by car. I will still keep teaching courses at Helsinki and other cities in Finland and elsewhere but some of the activities will be transferred to Tammisaari. The center has been consecrated by Padmasambhava. You can feel a spiritual charge when you come in. Training in this place will benefit you immensely. Welcome!

Lama Tsering's visit

Lama Tsering is now visiting us from the US. For several months we have been ”comparing notes” with him, so to speak, trying to make sense of all of this dharma drama. And I think we are on to something.

He will teach courses here in January and February. He is a mahasiddha and thoroughly trained in Tibetan buddhism, dzogchen and several other traditions. He has known many of the greatest Tibetan lamas personally and considers lamas such as Dudjom Rinpoche and Sakya Trizin to be his close friends. Having the connection and him here is a unique opportunity. Come see him and join his events!

Best wishes

I wish you all the best in your efforts and life in general. Whether you are part of the Open Heart Sangha or not, please keep up with your efforts. Essentially we are presence itself in all the beautiful things. Let's make it clear, a living reality.

May the New Year bring us all health, comfortable circumstances and leisure time, so that we may know ourselves as awareness... of love, connection and kindness.

Namo,

Kim, 20.12.2016

Open Heart,

www.openheart.fi

Metta Meditation with a Dzogchen Spin

Metta Meditation with a

Dzogchen Spin

Metta or loving-kindness is widely practiced form of buddhist meditation. The idea is to wish happiness and relief of all forms discomfort to oneself, to one's friends and people who are experiened to be difficult and challenging. Although some schools of buddhism say that metta only concerns wishing happiness and health to the person or people meditated upon, personally I think that the motivation of compassion is metta as well.

(Click below to listen Dzogchen Metta-Guided Practice)

Dzogchen rigpa and loving-kindness

The essence of all spirituality is nondual awareness. Dzogchen-tradition calls this awareness with the name rigpa. Rigpa is both calm and self-empty awareness but it is also imbued with life. Rigpa brims with liveliness. This liveliness is what the mind-masters of all traditions have described as love, kindness, compassion and bodhicitta.

Loving-kindness in common metta meditation practice is applied through 'silent repetitions of phrases like “may you be happy” or “may you be free from suffering” (1.)'. This is a wonderful way to break self-based bondages and to open one's heartmind.

But as noted, from the dzogchen perspective, from the perspective of rigpa as an actual experience, it already contains loving-kindness. This can be understood on a experiential level quite easily.

Human-related traumas

Us all have lived innumerable lives both in human and other forms. If we look the humanity at large, we can instantly see that people are hurting and have ill-will towards other people. This trait is deeply imprinted in our psyche. Even though (fortunately) only few of us make careers out of it, i.e. indulge in harming others, for most of us it is only momentarily. But even short moments of self-deluded violence, either as an initiator or as a target, can and does make our lives immensely difficult emotionally. Psychological tension and trauma is created which is then stored into our energy bodies, that is, minds. This is then carried from life to life, unless the traumas aren't untangled.

This is a simple example, not to even think of previous lives as conquerors, soldiers, robbers, killers and murderers that we all have been. The human kind is deeply traumatised by these actions, both karmically and from generation to generation transmission.

This is where spiritual practice, metta and recognition of the natural state comes in.

Healing of human-traumas

When we grow in the recognition of rigpa, at some point it happens that rigpa becomes a prevailing state. By this I am referring to opening the 11^th bhumi as taught in Open Heart-teachings. At this point we naturally come to understand the classic texts of the ancient masters yet have no need for them, at least not because of the same reasons as before.

In my personal experience, the above mentioned stage gives a whole different spin on dharma, buddhas, guru, meditation, path, spirituality and especially on being a human being. This opening into our natural state, to our home, at least for myself, has brought up a need for healing.

Buddhas as humans

One thing the nondual meditative traditions in general do not use is physical touch as an aid for psycho-spiritual practice. Usually physical contact is discouraged, it is not thought of as something that could be useful. But it is. Physical touch and bodywork is utterly human and for this reason very beneficial.

Here's a simple technique for metta meditation with a dzogchen spin.

1. If you are still having momentary glimpses of rigpa and have not yet opened your 11^th bhumi, practice atiyoga for some time. Recognise the natural state and embody it by going through the embodiment sequence.
2. Continue with a pair. Sit against each other with a fellow practitioner, woman or man, make physical connection by holding hands and by looking into each others eyes. Remain in the state of dzogchen/atiyoga together.
3. For the practice not to become too emphasized in the ultimate aspect (two truths), move your body, arms, head and eyes every minute or so. The point is not to forget the relative condition of the bodymind but the opposite, to practice bodymind-based metta very humanly from the ultimate point of view.
4. Be honest and open, don't hold back. If and when traumas come up, let them come, don't try to hide or hold them back. This is common meditation instuction.
5. Sit together for at least a few minutes or longer, up to 30-60 minutes.
6. Share your experiences verbally or simply smile and move on.

I feel that even though we are humans only momentarily, we can benefit of this a lot by using our human condition. This is the beauty of being a human in the first place. There is so much potential to tap.

Even though I have great limitations myself and certainly do not have the brightest of minds, I'm always interested in studying, analysing and updating the old ways of practice by digging into the root principles of our bodies, minds, heart and awareness. I hope this text is of some use and benefit to you.

Thank you for reading,

- Kim Katami, 6.12.2016

Open Heart,

www.openheart.fi

Bhumi Study Series, Part 7: 11th bhumis

Bhumi Study Series, Part 7

11th bhumis

Bhumi Study Series presents information on many of the contemporary gurus, lamas and spiritual teachers, and their respective spiritual attainments, or bhumis. This study has been conducted by two founding teachers of the Open Heart-method, Kim Katami and Pauliina Katami on the basis of photographs available about the concerned persons. For more info on Open Heart, go to http://www.openheart.fi

Familiarizing yourself with the Open Heart bhumi-system is recommended, in order to understand what this series is about. Read "Stages of Spiritual attainment" and go through Kim Katami's video documentation on the topic to get a better picture of what bhumis are. Studying and understanding bhumis in this manner is a deep subject which requires meditation and analytical skills. One may or may not be able to discern the outcome of this study series without extensive practice experience. On the other hand, the differences are quite easily seen when studied attentively and when the information is offered in context as has been done here, where one may compare between teachers, right next to each other. The study has been divided into several categories. As the Open Heart-bhumi model is universal, it applies regardless of possible differences in methods used by distinctive traditions.

This Bhumi Study Series has been made public in order to bring awareness, lucidity and clarity to the present spiritual culture of the world by explaining and showing what many of our well known teachers have actually been able to attain. There is much confusion about this topic, so we wanted to clarify this matter from our part, for the benefit of all.  

May this study help and serve many in their understanding and study of the path of mind training.

Bhumi Study Series

Bhumi Study Series, Part 1: Before and after awakening, and 2nd-5th bhumisBhumi Study Series, Part 2: 6th bhumis with notes
Bhumi Study Series, Part 3: 7th bhumis
Bhumi Study Series, Part 4: 8th bhumis
Bhumi Study Series, Part 5: 9th bhumis  
Bhumi Study Series, Part 6: 10th bhumis
Bhumi Study Series, Part 7: 11th bhumis 
Bhumi Study Series, Part 8: 12th bhumis
Bhumi Study Series, Part 9: 13th bhumis  
Bhumi Study Series, Part 10: From Zero to Mahasiddha Bhumis
Extra: How to do Bhumi Mapping

11th bhumis

You can find pictures of some of the people below in their lower bhumis from the previous episodes of the Bhumi Study Series.

Intention - Attention - Awareness

Intention - Attention - Awareness

Intention (one-dimensional) - Attention (three-dimensional) - Awareness (zero-dimensional/beyond dimensionality)

I feel these three are a continuum. They are both practices and principles. In intention and attention there is effort (practice) which are absent from awareness. I feel it is the effort which make the two former feel burdensome. That effort begins to feel something extra and needless the more awareness that is not a practice becomes flesh. But because the psychological mess is great and compulsive, is the reason why the principles of intention and attention, the practices, are needed and useful.

Awareness is home. As the Tibetans I've called it rigpa but it is foreign language which brings in the element of "Ooh, something mystical and exalted". But it is actually very natural, extremely natural. It is so natural that at first it feels amazing because we've used to having a messy and confused. 
 
Anyway, I think too much emphasis on "emptiness", "transparency" and "no qualities" can and does actually give artificial colouring to the experience itself. Yes, awareness is empty of self and transparent but it is also brimming with life. Being aware is like living in a jungle, in a rain forest. There is so much life in a rain forest! Alive! As is rigpa. Not dead, not dull, not blank. If we connect with awareness from the head space only, it is clear, transparent and pronouncedly empty of self. But the aspect of aliveness, or love, makes a connection with the rest of the body, especially the heart space, without excluding the head. Head and heart together. Clarity and aliveness joined. Manjushri and Avalokiteshvara having a party together.

Buddhist meditation and surrender

Buddhist meditation and surrender

Vipashyana, or investigative looking, is a form of buddhist meditation. Investigative meditation consists of various types of techniques. Also the target of investigation can vary from the usual elements appearing in the mind to subtle energies to awareness itself. The result of vipashyana practice is to see any appearing phenomena as impermanent and without self-entity.

Traditional vipashyana

This type of meditation is analytical, even calculative, by it's nature. This depends of the way it is applied. The idea is to look and observe one's mind, from the subject-self to many kinds of object-selves. Analytical looking, analytical investigation is reason or logic-based and has a mental flavour to it. It has everything to do with looking and seeing. Looking and seeing in turn are related to the physical area of the head, especially the eyes.

Here, I'd like to present an alternative way to apply vipashyana. This can be applied to any sort of mental, emotional or energetic phenomena. This can also be used in two-part formula that is used in Open Heart-method to produce awakening.

Instruction

When you affirm I-ness or when any type of self-based mental content arises, just surrender.

That's it. I'll explain this a bit.

Surrendering is more than relaxation although they are closely related. Relaxation can be done by the self, or me, but surrendering transcends the self. Transcending the self means entering selfless awareness. In this technique surrendering is done while experiencing self-based reaction. This is not about surrendering to buddhas or gurus but surrendering to fear, anger and pain, while not being identified with it. This is so because awareness or rigpa cannot identify with dualistic confusion. Surrendering cannot be done in an investigative manner from the head space. Surrendering is an all-encompassing experience. And this is the genious of using surrender in order to produce insight. Try and see what happens.

Surrender

A simple analogy of how surrendering feels like.

Imagine taking a shower with clothes on. Having clothes on in shower is something that is usually not done. At first it feels awkward and weird, as it feels foreign to release all self-based control, that can surely hide there with investigative looking, and surrender to pain and discomfort. However, as you are standing under the raining water, there is no point to fight it or resist it. Just release the effort together with all hopes and surrender fully to this new experience.

This is a simple technique but actually contains a lot. I think this is much better than the calculative ways of vipashyana. Just surrender to pain, wherever and however the dualistic delusion arises.

Thank you,

Kim Katami,

19.11.2016

Four doorways to home (rigpa)

Four doorways to home (rigpa)

Five years ago I wrote a book called Four Houses of Enlightenment which is an explanation of the so called four dantiens (ch. dantien, jap. tanden) known from Taoism (and it's various practices), and their relation to natural awareness (rigpa). Since then, my understanding of these four doorways has changed and developed. This text is a concise version of this topic.

Inside the space of the physical body there are three (non-physical) areas that act as doorways to natural awareness. I like to call this natural awareness, or rigpa, simply as ”home” because that is what it is, our home as clear, calm, loving and knowing awareness, devoid of me, yet having a will.

Each of these doorways are areas about the size of one's own fist. First is at the lower belly, slightly under the level of the navel, deep in the gut. Second is deep inside the chest and is sometimes referred to as the ”spiritual heart”. Third is inside the head at the level of the eyes. Fourth is not inside the body (and is not the size of one's fist) but relates to the three highest of the seven chakra-centers above the head. These three chakras also relate to what in Open Heart Bhumi Model are known as mahasiddha bhumis. Through all four of these one can access home, if the instructions are correct. I say that the instructions need to be correct because there are many teachings that basicly teaches about this and yet doesn't.

The way how one can use any of the doorways is to bring one's attention to the mentioned location and just be openly aware of what happens in one's body and mind. The doorways are sort of like balls or bubbles that one's awareness has to penetrate and unite with. This is something that cannot be done with force, but rather with gentle attention. The way how you know ”you're in” is that seeking, questioning and selfing stops. Your mind becomes clear, lucid and subtle brimming with life. At first it will be short moments until it grows on you but even short moments make a difference.

In the beginning it doesn't matter which door you choose as your main doorway. Essentially all the doors ”get you to the same location” even though they have subtle distinguishing characters as well. In the long run, I feel, it is importat not to get stuck in using only one doorway because this has the potential pitfall of onesided interpretation.

The four doorways are not four separate things, but one underlying whole. As is taught in orthodox dzogchen, there is one special energy channel (tib. kati, skt. amrita nadi*) that goes from the eye balls to the crown and to heart, similarly there are these four doorways. These doorways are not ”made of” ordinary energy channels but of extraordinary ones that are beyond cause and effect. These areas do not store karmas but are ever pure and clear. They are doorways to home for anyone. And everyone is invited.

*according to Machig Labdron

When we are talking about these four doorways, we are really talking about the most profound essence of all yogas. This is the teaching of great perfection or dzogchen. There is nothing more profound than this.

About two years ago I was taught a series of meditation practices by mahasiddha Vimalamitra. This series is known by the name of Wisdom Meditations or Vimalamitra sem dzin in Open Heart-teachings. We have an ongoing 3-year meditation course that focuses on these practices.

However, I have to admit that regarding the mentioned first doorway, I didn't understand it until very recently. You see, the way I understood this doorway was how it is cultivated and applied in Japanese rinzai zen buddhism. I trained in that tradition for a couple of years back in the day and always remained a big ”tanden” or ”hara” fan. However, at some point I started to feel that essentially it is mistaken to teach about the energetic tautness of the lower belly or hara because then one is really stil working with the ordinary channels and energetic sensations arising from them. I feel that the way it, gut practice, has originally been in zen buddhism must have been the way I am presenting it here but whether this is historically true or not doesn't make a difference. When going in through the doorway of the gut, there is no tautness and there is no need to cultivate or build a ”strong hara” with special kind of body posturing and breathing techniques as the Japanese traditions say. One is not working with ordinary pranic energies here. Therefore, I feel, that at some point in history some mistakes lurked in into zen buddhism and probably taoism also. But gee... The zen-priests of the ancient times must have been amazing if they applied the gut-door the right way. You know, zen-people sit hours and hours on end on daily basis. This cannot but have a great and tasty fruit.

Regarding the second and third doorways it is necessary to emphasize that they are not the heart and forehead chakras that are commonly known. These two centers, again, are made of ordinary channels and therefore they don't do so well as doorways. If you are working with the ordinary channels, you mind keeps busy with thoughts, forms and lights and there is no profound clarity of home. In both cases one has to go deep inside the body to access them. Deep inside the chest, deep inside the head.

Fourth of these doorways is a bit more tricky to locate because the mentioned centers are high above one's crown, floating high up there. It is not impossible but one needs to have very good concentration and attention skills to be able to differentitate between the higher centers. But a simple and functional way to do go in through this door is to relax, open up and surrender to it. Tibetan Heart Yoga has techniques for this, as well, but essentially all one needs to do is to surrender to the rain that falls on you.

Here, as with all doorways, it is important to recognise the three characteristics: 1. calmness and clarity, 2. aliveness, lovingness, compassion and 3. knowingness, cognizance that is selfless.

So there. I hope you found this useful.

Thank you.

Kim

Pureland and buddhahood by Gyatrul Rinpoche

Pureland and buddhahood

by Gyatrul Rinpoche

Always try to see where you are as a pureland. We think that someday we will arrive in the pureland, that it is someplace we have to go. Actually, the pureland is something you train in, something you recognize... Appearances change continuously. So if you die, it’s nothing much. It is just appearances, changing a bit. In terms of your body, maybe death seems like a big change, but in terms of appearances, it’s not a big deal, because appearances are changing all the time anyway. Watch how they constantly arise, constantly change – whether waking or in dreams, morning and night...If you die but to you everything is a pureland, then you are still in the pureland. Sentient beings’ experiences are changing, but it is all your pureland. You don’t need to buy a ticket to the pureland. You just need to recognize what you have right now. In your pureland, all happiness and suffering are liberated. They call that quality “all-encompassing purity.” “All-encompassing” means it is even, evenly pervading everything. “Purity” means all obscurations are purified, like the syllable “sang” (“purified”) in the Tibetan word for buddha, “sangye.”

At the same time, that purity is inseparable from compassion for sentient beings. All appearances are all-encompassing purity, but beings don’t recognize this. Instead, they suffer in the realms of samsara. Thus, they are naturally objects of compassion. That purity is also manifesting unceasingly. You think that Vimalamitra and all the great masters of the past came and then they went away? No! They are present, here, now. These manifestations are but the expression of the qualities of all-encompassing purity, your buddha nature. They emanate and appear in all different forms in response to the needs of beings. They are made by the mind, and the mind can do anything. It can appear in any way... In the future, if you have learned many things and then you pop up, thinking you are something special – that means you blew it! It means you couldn’t give up the afflictive emotions, the five poisons. You didn’t get real method or real wisdom. You don’t need to go anywhere; you already have it. What you need is to study and train in pure appearances. Then, your grasping to ordinary reality, grasping to

this and that as good or bad, grasping to subject and object as impure:

all these will decrease slowly...

We think we need to go to the pureland today, but we don’t know how to get there. Actually you don’t need to go there, you don’t need to “go” anywhere, in any ordinary way. Recognize that right now you are already there, in the middle of it.

We think, “A pureland, wow, sparkling! Someplace special, I want to go

there!” No, it's not like that. If we need to go to a pureland, we need to slowly, slowly understand the purity of appearances. Then all the buddhas are with us. Understanding the purity of appearances is understanding the nature of the buddhas. If you understand the nature of refuge in the buddha, then you know that the nature of the dharma is the same, and the sangha are just the emanations of that same buddha.

Guru Rinpoche is, too. He is the emanation of the forms of all the

buddhas. He is also the emanation of their speech, mind, qualities, and activities. They say there are eight manifestations of Guru Rinpoche, but actually there are countless emanations. When we awaken, the benefit of others will manifest like this, and we don’t need to be kissing and

hugging everybody to try to benefit them.

Kuntuzangpo is the primordial buddha, and he is called that because he has never strayed into confusion about appearances. He has always understood their nature, and thus he has never had any learning or training to do. That accurate and unchanging understanding is the ultimate teacher. It is our own nature. In fact, all the buddhas have that nature, and so do all sentient beings. So you can see, the buddhas are not something far away, out there; all their qualities are present, evident, and manifest. If you know them, that’s enlightenment. If not, that’s samsara.

- Gyatrul Rinpoche

http://vimalatreasures.org/Downloads/VGRspring2014onpurevision1.pdf