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When that realisation is reached, in its ideal sense, then yes, there is an unmistakable recognition that one's enlightened nature is not different, not same as the buddhas' enlightened natures. But to find one who has fully stabilised this realisation is quite rare. At that point it is said that wisdom and compassion flows as one. Prior to this, its important to know how to separate expedient methods of practice and glimpses of insight, and the actual, stable flow of unimpeded primordial wisdom.

The idea of merging with the enlightened symbols of the buddhas (as represented by one's teacher) occurs during the conceptual or generation phases of guru yoga. Integral to this stage of practice is to gain stability and faith in the recognition that the external guru is none other than the embodiment of the enlightened qualities of all the buddhas of the three times, and one then begin to adopt similar qualities using the guru as the perfect guide and example. Traditionally, thats how it was done, before gurus' reputations became a thing to be scrutinised and questioned. Following on from the above, during the completion stage, or the phase of embodiment, the qualities of one's yidam, recognised, revealed, and absorbed during the generation practices, are fully acknowledged as in fact inseparable from one's own intrinsic buddha qualities, which have been there all along but hidden due to various impediments that in the past have tainted and obscured the wisdom inherent in one's own body, speech and mind. Because of this unmistakable seeing that there was no inseparability to begin with, then it will be a mistake at this stage of practice to continue holding on to the idea that there is a kind of merging involved.

Taoist magical talismans are sometimes calligraphically written on small slips of yellow paper with red ink. What follows is the recipient then burns the talisman, mix the ashes with tea or water and drink the mixture, believing that to be the cure he or she is seeking.

“All the various types of teachings and spiritual paths are related to the different capacities of understanding that different individuals have. There does not exist, from an absolute point of view, any teaching which is more perfect or effective than another. A teaching's value lies solely in the inner awakening which an individual can arrive at through it. If a person benefits from a given teaching, for that person that teaching is the supreme path, because it is suited to his or her nature and capacities. There's no sense in trying to judge it as more or less elevated in relation to other paths to realization.” ***Dzogchen: The Self-Perfected State ~ Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche

Samboghakaya is the recognised basis for the arising of Nirmanakaya, so what you have been taught might be slightly inaccurate. In a nutshell, when a practitioner begins to reap the harvest of good practice habits and manifesting these externally it is said that the practitioner is thus manifesting the Kaya of Sambogha, or Body that is enjoying the fruits of right application of the Eightfold path, aka Buddhadharma. This is the correct way to understand the meaning of this Kaya. Hence, even a beginner on the path can begin to enjoy the fruits of right practice with immediacy. Its just that this enjoyment gets refined and becomes more stable as one continually matures on the path. The Trikaya are in truth not three independent bodies - a practitioner can reflect the qualities of all three at any stage of their practice - there are no fixed rules that determine when each Kaya can be recognised and accessed. For example, one may feel alignment with and personify the qualities of Vairocana, a Dharmakaya Buddha - the process of embodying these qualities occur in the realm of Sambhogakaya, and the subsequent display (if the practitioner so chooses) of these qualities to benefit sentient beings is said to occur in the Nirmanakaya realm. This is one simple example to view/explain the Kayas.

The Sambhogakaya is noticeable and accessible from the 1st bhumi on. How it is accessed is, as mentioned by Apech, thru the application and practice of Guru Yoga. As one moves forward from the first (which is only an expedient way of understanding the progression - in actual fact, it is not a fixed progression), the wisdom and method associated with that Kaya gets more refined as the bliss (the enjoyment basis) matures. Ultimately the qualities of the Sambhogakaya buddhas begin to take root as old habits die away, to be replaced and manifested by thought, speech and actions that unmistakably reflect those of the family of buddhas in that particular 'body'.

Online course starting Jan 15 that the OP might be interested to explore due to the relevance of the subject matter - https://learn.tricycle.org/courses/rain?utm_source=FBPI&https%3A%2F%2Fgoo.gl%2FS8mgc3

One possible explanation is that you've somehow decided to take the longer way home. The shorter and more assured way is to first investigate what is the one that remains prone to such emotional sways, and what are the accessible antidotes to remove the root of such vulnerability, provided that you acknowledge it is an obstacle - if not, then your practice does not accord with the basic approach to Buddhist liberation, and it will be unlikely that you'd become free of the idea that these emotional arisings are real and that they somehow repeatedly manifest each time you enter and exit the practices.

In the past, when there was a curiosity about Goenka's vipassana retreats, I used to think that in some ways the basis of this brand of meditative exercise is quite akin to Gestalt therapy, which might explain why participants often report of a purging effect during the retreat.

The historical emperors, dowagers and members of the royal households of China had chopsticks made from jade for the purpose of detecting poison, and would also carry jade needles which they insert into liquids prior to consumption.

Thanks. Im glad there's something we can agree on.

There is always the encouragement in Buddhist practice to put conceptual understandings to the test, which can only help when one has fully grasped the basics of the teachings. Otherwise it will be almost impossible to obtain the correct result.

Its ok to acknowledge hurt, but not so ok to sustain a mindset that says "I am hurting". I think release is very possible when certainty in knowing the subtle differences is established.

If a belief is established in a self that is a permanent entity then it will follow that the hits will be real. That is the logical progression isnt it? So if a practitioner happens to be free of clinging to notions of permanence, then the idea of being hit does not even arise, so what is there left to go away when nothing is stuck? Being stuck and contracted are states of mind that can only arise where the belief in a truly existent self is strong. Chadrakirti said idiots believe doing bad things lead one to hell, and doing good things lead one to heaven. Beyond good and bad, he said the wise are liberated. There is some truth to this. The true practitioner is one who does not cling to any beliefs - Kyabgon Phakchok Rinpoche said, "When you start believing, then something is wrong. You shouldn't believe it. This is the typical buddhist teaching. You believe it, you are finished. Like for example, you call yourself a buddhist? First, you need to ask a question. Who are you? Do you exist yourself, to be called a buddhist? I'm not kidding really! First, you don't have an ego, an "I" to be called a Buddhist... then how are you going to say I'm a buddhist!? It's contradictory to your practice! Contradictory to your whole thing! But people tell me they are Buddhist. I say "ok." I carry a mala, they say I'm fanatic believer. I say, "ok, you want to say like that no problem." But if, sincerely, you ask me that question, then I don't have no belief... The real non believer I think is Buddhist. The nihilistic people they have belief very strong. I'm not kidding."

With some types of meditation maybe, but not all will yield this kind 'hits' - unresolved issues and fears are self-created. If the meditator is firmly established in understanding the basis of buddhadharma then the possibility of taking these things as real does not arise, since the self does not exist independently. But that particular knowledge must first be realised and integrated. Without this integration it is most likely that identifications with these 'becomings' will continue unabated until the meditator gains the wisdom of knowing how to discern fundamental buddhist paradigms.

Feelings come and go. In basic Buddhism the practitioner hopefully will have learnt to understand that feelings are not-self, impermanent and therefore bound to cause agitation. Knowing this one begins to become less attached and unperturbed.

Thank you for taking the time to expand some interesting points, Virtue. Its much appreciated. Happy to note that you are able to sustain the View with ease. However, its my understanding that there are refining levels of samatha and vipassana being engaged as one progresses in stabilising Ati, and even in non-meditation for that matter, so it might perhaps be a bit generalised to say that these 2 modes of practice are exclusively the domain of the sutric path. Some masters equate non-meditation with the state of being free of distractive and discursive mental activity, where one rests simply in the wide open expanse of self-arisen awareness. Imo, the cognisant aspect (bliss arising from seeing all phenomena as empty) and the resting aspect (innate wisdom) in union in that expanse, where there is no mistaking the View, is the same as the end-result of fusing the practice samatha and vipassana in the most effective way possible. This is merely my limited understanding based on the little practice i have done thus far, so please do not take the above as some sort of authoritative opinion.

Basically Vipassana helps to bring the View into alignment/focus, and Samatha helps to prevent the potential of getting stuck or contracted (leading to conceptual delusions) when that spacious awareness is reached. So both are equally emphasised, even in Dzogchen! lol

According to some Dzogchen masters, like Tulku Urgyen for example, it is said that Ati culminates when an optimum balance between Vipassana and Samatha is struck. And striking this balance is vital as it promotes stabilisation of Ati (the View). The preliminary Ngondro sadhanas are recommended for achieving this expressed purpose of balance, supported of course by a strong arousal of bodhicitta (which is the key point that sets Vajrayana apart from the 'lesser' yanas).

Thank you, Yugenphoenix. This is currently the most comprehensive set of translated Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and practice texts available for open sale: https://www.shambhala.com/treasuryofknowledge.html Its helpful that they are divided into so many individual volumes.

with each breath there is potential for celebrating life breath is the spark that ignites creation, sustains existence, imbibes awareness it is the gold that restores wholeness, faithfully and effortlessly it completes what is deemed fragmented in each moment the teacher of non-doing self-perfected immaculate Best wishes for 2018 to all

I might not discover something new everyday, but sure as honey is sweet, i will try to be more appreciative of the old. To live a good life, take nothing for granted... conditions of balance are always more fragile than we care to remember. Existence can tip over into nonexistence, on all levels, in the blink of an eye. A normal day has little insurance, even less so for the take-for-granters. Death creeps unbeknownst - Stealth shall be its name - the mysterious shadow that stalks the living. So, wait not... Live. Indulge the intimacy of each breath. To be alive... ...is a good life.

It is important to emphasize the role of the teacher. Do-it-yourself Dzogchen is impossible. You need the lineage, and since everything is interdependent, you also need many other causes and conditions. We must rely on this power of interdependence, not simply our own power. However, when you practice Dzogchen, you do not get the rigpa from someone else, or from somewhere else. It exists within all sentient beings; it’s already present within us. We are buddha, but we are obscured by bad karma, by the negative causes and conditions that give us the illusion of subject and object, that cause us to experience impure body, speech, mind, and an impure world. The power of interdependence is what makes it possible to remove the illusion. If we want to plant a flower in our garden, we need soil, water, air, sun, and seed. If we’re missing one of them, the flower will not grow. The seed alone cannot grow the flower. The sun alone cannot grow the flower. The power of interdependence is the general rule of phenomena. It is also the general rule of Dzogchen. The teacher and the lineage are the soil and the water. When that lineage blessing combines with a very strong effort from ourselves, we can become enlightened. We can recognize natural mind. The teacher’s role is to point out. There are many stages of development and many experiences that can be quite similar to or confused with rigpa. For example, the practice of formless or objectless shamatha – resting the mind without an object of meditation – can be similar to Dzogchen practice, to rigpa, but it is not the same. Similarly, one may experience a kind of dullness of mind that has very little conceptualization, which we call alaya, the base consciousness. Many people think that alaya is the essence of the mind, but that’s not really Dzogchen. So the teacher keeps pointing out the natural mind, so you can see very clearly the difference between conceptual mind and natural mind, between alaya and rigpa, between objectless shamatha and rigpa. ~ Mingyur Rinpoche ~