Resting the mind in its natural state

[RongzomFan]

This is how it works:

 

1. You get transmission

 

2. You do rushan

 

3. You recognize ma bcos shes pa skad cig ma versus the conceptualizing mind

 

4. Then you can relax in that knowledge.

Edited September 24, 2013 by alwayson

[Tibetan_Ice]

This is how it works:

 

1. You get transmission

 

2. You do rushan

 

3. You recognize ma bcos shes pa skad cig ma versus the conceptualizing mind

 

4. Then you can relax in that knowledge.

 

The practice of rushan, is it this? :

 

Lopon Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche’s translation of and commentary on Heart Drops of Dharmakaya (Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2002) contains instructions on the rushen practices, which are important foundational practices in Dzogchen. Rushen means to separate or discriminate, and the rushen practices are meant to clarify experiences of the pure and impure. They lead the practitioner to recognize the nature of mind rather than to be continually distracted by what arises as experience in the nature of mind. There are different categories of rushen: outer, inner, and secret.

 

The outer practices work with the body. For example, one practice involves standing in a difficult yogic posture, the vajra pose, that generates a movement of energy in the body and results in three benefits: the heat generated burns karma that affects the body so there is less disease and so on; the energy aroused burns the karma that negatively affects the energy body; and if the practitioner remains in rigpa while holding the posture, the karma that generates mental disturbance and defects in the view is burned. When the posture cannot be further maintained, the practitioner collapses. In the moment of exhaustion there is again an opportunity for impure or pure experience. If the first, the practitioner is distracted by the release and is lost in the experience—

experience— this is like the forgetfulness in any ordinary exhaustion; if the latter, the practitioner abides in pure presence.

 

The inner rushen practices work on the energetic level. The syllable HUNG is visualized and moved in accord with the mind and breath, sometimes gently and sometimes wrathfully. The peaceful practices gently integrate all appearances with light; the wrathful practices forcefully destroy appearances and dissolve them in space. The practices are done many, many times. Each time that blocks, obstacles, and identifications are represented by images and destroyed, the habitual grasping in relation to them weakens. This is not a logical or rational process— things and identities, represented as images, are simply integrated with light or destroyed or dissolved. With nothing left to hold, the practitioner recognizes intrinsic awareness, rigpa, however briefly.

...

 

The secret rushen works directly with the mind. An inquiry is made into experience: Where do thoughts arise? abide? dissolve? When we look for the mind, nothing is found and the not finding is very clear. That is, what is found is the clarity of pure space, the nature of mind. If we recognize that space, we have found the nature of mind. If we do not recognize our own nature, the moving mind continues to search.

 

Rinpoche, Tenzin Wangyal (2002-05-25). Healing with Form, Energy, and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen (Kindle Locations 2926-2949). Shambhala Publications. Kindle Edition.

 

 

 

 

Also, Malcolm said this:

http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=100&t=6459&hilit=semde+in+drag

 

The point of tregchö and mahāmudra is basically the same i.e. the instant of unfabricated awareness [ma bcos shes pa skad cig ma]. But in Dzogchen, this only the starting point -- it is not the path, which is why in general, no-one is considered to achieve rainbow body (yes, I know there are some theorectical formulations which might contradict this assertion) only through tregchö.

 

So how can your third step be 'only the starting point' in Dzogchen according to Malcolm?

 

 

?

Edited September 27, 2013 by Tibetan_Ice

[RongzomFan]

So how can your third step be 'only the starting point' in Dzogchen according to Malcolm?

 

He is talking to people who already have transmission.

 

Does he really need to say transmission is step 1 in every post?

[asunthatneversets]

This topic came up recently on another forum, here's some stuff I wrote and some citations:

 

Śamatha is a practice which is usually relegated to the mind, meaning it's an activity that requires effort (or implies effort i.e. a subtle dualistic grasping) no matter how effortless it may appear. Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche has said that when śamatha becomes what he calls 'released śamatha', then that is equivalent to the vipaśyanā of the natural state, which is the non-meditation of Dzogchen associated with rigpa [vidyā].

 

There's (i) non-fixation which is resting in the clarity of mind (as a reference point), and then there's (ii) non-fixation resting in the nature of mind (free of a reference point). (i) would be śamatha.

Dudjom Rinpoche points out the difference between the two:

"When the mind starts to rest, a slight diminishment of movement and thoughts constitutes a false semblance of stillness. When deep certainty arises that stillness is unborn and movement unceasing, and that stillness and movement are an equal taste, you have begun to meditate correctly."

 

Here's Mipham Rinpoche discussing the difference between śamatha and rigpa... essentially warning not to mistake calm abiding śamatha for the natural state:

"When you rest your attention in naturalness without thinking anything whatsoever and maintain constant mindfulness in that state, you may experience a vacant and blank state of mind which is neutral and indifferent. If no vipaśyanā of decisive knowing is present, this is exactly what the masters call 'ignorance'. It is also called 'undecided' from the point of being unable to express any means of identification, such as 'It is like this!' or 'This is it!' Being unable to say what you are remaining in or thinking of, this state is labelled 'ordinary indifference'. But actually, it is just an ordinary and nonspecific abiding in the state of the all-basis [skt. ālaya, tib. kun gzhi].

Although nonconceptual wakefulness has to be developed through this method of resting meditation, to lack the wisdom that sees your own nature is not the main part of meditation practice. This is what the 'Aspiration of Samantabhadra' says:

'The vacant state of not thinking anything
Is itself the cause of ignorance and confusion.' ...."

Here's Adeu Rinpoche discussing śamatha and vipaśyanā in the context of Dzogchen and Mahāmudrā:

"When embarking on meditation practice in the Mahamudra tradition, the meditator is taught three aspects: stillness, occurrence and noticing.

The cultivation of stillness means to train in cutting off involvement in memories; you disengage from entertaining any thought about what has happened in the past. The same with regard to the future: you are not supposed to construct any plans about the next moment. And in the present, right now, simply and completely let go. Drop everything and settle into nowness. In the Mahamudra tradition, stillness refers to not following thoughts about the past, present or future--not churning out any new thoughts.

A beginner will notice that totally letting be without any thought involvement does not last that long. Due to the karmic force of the energy currents, new thoughts are continuously formed--thoughts grasping at subject and object, at the pleasant and unpleasant. The activation of such patterns is known as occurrence.

When the attention is quiet and still, there is a knowing that this is so. When one is involved in thinking about this and that, there is a knowing that this is so. In this context of stillness and thought occurrence, this knowing is called noticing. [...] As you grow more capable, there comes a point when the thought occurrences no longer have such a strong hold on the attention. It becomes easier to arrive back in quietness. Eventually, every time a thought begins to stir, rather than getting caught up in it, you will simply be able to remain, until the force of the thought occurrence weakens and the aware quality grows and strengthens. The dividing line between stillness and occurrence fades away. That is the point at which we can recognize the actual identity of noticing what mind nature really is. In other words, vipashyana can begin. [...]

In the beginning, a thought vanishes; that is called stillness. Next, a new thought arises; that is called thought occurrence. One notices that these are happening. These three--stillness, thought occurrence and noticing--have to do with becoming increasingly aware of the gap between thoughts. This aware quality grows stronger and stronger, which only happens with training. You cannot artificially increase it. The difference between shamatha and vipashyana, in this context, is when you recognize that which notices and what the awake quality is.

According to the Dzogchen system, if your shamatha practice is simply training in being absentminded remaining in a neutral, indifferent state without any thought activity whatsoever, this is known as the all-ground. It is simply a way of being free of thought involvement. Moreover, when attention becomes active within the expanse of the all-ground that activity is known as dualistic mind. But when the dividing line between stillness and thought occurrence fades away, and instead the strength of the aware quality is intensified, the awake quality is known as rigpa. Depending on whether one is using the Mahamudra system or the Dzogchen approach, there are different terminologies, but the actual training is essentially the same in both cases."

 

and

 

"According to Dzogchen one must identify the ground of liberation, the natural state of rigpa, which is not the same as the ordinary state of mind known as the all-ground. No matter how many thousands of years one trains in the state of the all-ground, there will be absolutely no progress--one will simply arise again in the state of samsara--whereas training in the natural state of mind of rigpa is nothing other than the ground of liberation. There it is important to distinguish the normal, ordinary mind of the all-ground from the natural, ordinary mind that is the ground of liberation, and train accordingly. To put it simply, according to Dzogchen the self-knowing original wakefulness is pointed out in our ordinary state of mind.

According to Mahamudra, the essence of the meditation practice is found within the ordinary, natural state of mind; it is pointed out as the original, true wakefulness. Having recognized this, one can then proceed to train in it, and as the training deepens, there are certain stages of progress described as the four yogas, each of which is further divided into the three categories of lesser, medium and higher capacity. These are collectively known as the twelve aspects of the four yogas of the path of Mahamudra. Another approach is to apply the structure of the four yogas to each of the yogas, resulting in sixteen aspects. These are equally valid and merely describe the ever-deepening levels of experience and stability in the natural, ordinary mind."

Edited September 27, 2013 by asunthatneversets

[Simple_Jack]

This topic came up recently on another forum, here's some stuff I wrote and some citations:

 

I remember posting some posts of yours over from DW (from when Jax was posting on there), on this forum a couple times, making the distinction between namtok and nangwa and quoting ChNN on "released zhine". It's funny how a year or so later this argument is coming full circle considering that it was already covered on here.

[monktastic]

Alwayson,

 

With respect to the question of shamatha in Dzogchen, here's a very explicit explanation from Malcolm (from a private communication of several months ago, which I have no reason to believe is secret):

 

Whether you are following Dzogchen or Mahamudra, and regardless of your intellectual understanding, your meditation should have, at base, the following characteristics:

Prthvi -- physical ease
Sukha -- mental joy
Ekagraha -- one-pointedness
Vitarka -- initial engagement
Vicara -- sustained engagement

If any of these is missing, you have not even achieved perfect śamatha regardless of whether or not you are using an external object, the breath or even the nature of the mind.

...

Even in Dzogchen, the five mental factors I mentioned are key without which you are really not going to make any progress.

[Tibetan_Ice]

Alwayson,

 

With respect to the question of shamatha in Dzogchen, here's a very explicit explanation from Malcolm (from a private communication of several months ago, which I have no reason to believe is secret):

Quote

Whether you are following Dzogchen or Mahamudra, and regardless of your intellectual understanding, your meditation should have, at base, the following characteristics:

 

Prthvi -- physical ease

Sukha -- mental joy

Ekagraha -- one-pointedness

Vitarka -- initial engagement

Vicara -- sustained engagement

 

If any of these is missing,

you have not even achieved perfect śamatha

regardless of whether or not you are using an external object, the breath

or even the nature of the mind.

...

Even in Dzogchen

, the five mental factors I mentioned are key without which you are really

not going to make any progress.