B. Alan Wallace, 22 Sep 2014
In the teachings before the meditation Alan emphasizes that we have a choice in our daily lives whether we let ourselves be caught up in ignorance and delusion or not. This relates to dream yoga, to know the dream as the dream, which means to know that whatever we experience does not really represent something, it is just an empty appearance. But likewise during our waking state, when traumatic experiences or mental afflictions arise, we have the choice whether we want to be a victim and get abducted by them or whether we learn to see them too as empty appearances. We don’t have the choice whether they arise in our minds or not, but we can choose to remain like a piece of wood, as Shantideva puts it, and let them dissolve back into the space of the mind again. If we want to be able to make that choice it is important that we learn to recognize our mental afflictions, thoughts etc. as soon as possible as they arise. The method that can help us do this is Settling the Mind, which we did in the silent session today. Following the meditation we go on with Daytime Dream Yoga from Padmasambhava’s Natural Liberation, and that’s where our magic mirror comes in. In the first session, adorn yourself in a beautiful way (no joke), and praise yourself beyond limits. Let the natural creativity of your own mind come to its full play. When pleasure arises due to your exuberant praises, remind yourself that this body is just an empty appearance, and that there is nothing about it that is actually you. As if that weren’t enough, you will now turn around the wheel and start abusing yourself, and try to be really good at that, too, Padmasambhava is listening… When displeasure arises, again remind yourself that it is just an empty appearance that is abused. Then alternate between praise and abuse until your reaction to it is even. In the second session, you should ideally go to a place where you have good echo, but make sure you are alone. Okay, most of us don’t have such a desolate place, so don’t overdo it this time… When you speak different words to yourself, again remind yourself that your voice is just an empty appearance, too. Then for the mind, all thoughts should be regarded as being of the nature of a mirage. They can’t hurt you, only if you get deluded. Even if you don’t like Settling the Mind, do it at least for one session each day, because this will definitely help you to see your thoughts as empty, and to actually have a choice whether you react to them or not. Alan underlines the importance of this practice, that it could actually be a step towards worldpeace if it were taught in a broader context, i.e. in schools.
Silent meditation cut out at 35:00 min
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