B. Alan Wallace, 04 Aug 2015
The five obscurations (like fixation on hedonic pleasure etc.) obscure what? Substrate Consciousness.
A single pointed mind is a natural remedy for all of the obscurations. Just breathing in an out doesn’t trigger craving or aversion. If you can get over the hump of boredom, there’s a sequence leading to well being, then clarity and stability until the experience becomes blissful. That’s what gets you down the home stretch. That is the beauty of this method.
The third and final point of the common preliminaries describes how we are like “reckless lunatics” riding “the wild steed of spiritual sloth” without reins to guide it. This is what happens if you miss the boat of Dharma. If you think you have experienced depression, when you understand this, it is like being cosmically depressed. This is the view of samsara from the point of view of a Vidyadhara where samsara and nirvana are equally pure It’s unimaginable! Dudjom Lingpa’s rigpa is speaking to your rigpa. So if it resonates, don’t second guess yourself, go for it.
When we fathom the reality of our own suffering, it gives rise to authentic renunciation. When you extend that out to other beings, it turns into compassion, then unbearable compassion for all beings, even the perpetrators of atrocities. Everything hinges on insight into these common preliminaries.
Silent Meditation begins at 21:10 and is not recorded
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