Courses / Fall 2015 Stage of Generation, Shamatha, Vipashyana and Mahamudra /

14 Which vehicle, causal or fruition?

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Fall 2015 Stage of Generation

B. Alan Wallace
30 Jul 2015 – 24 Sep 2015
Araluen Retreat Center, Queensland, Australia

This eight-week retreat will focus on stage of generation, shamatha, vipashyana and mahamudra.

Participants in this retreat should have a sound understanding of the Sutrayana teachings of Mahayana Buddhism, and have experience in the practices of shamatha, the four applications of mindfulness, and the four immeasurables.

Please read the text, A Spacious Path to Freedom: Practical Instructions on the Union of Mahamudra and Atiyoga, by the great 17th-century master Karma Chagmé (from the chapter “The Stage of Generation” up through “Mahamudra”). The book can be purchased from SBI here.

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B. Alan Wallace, 07 Aug 2015

The session starts with guided meditation on breathing. Begin with full body awareness, then awareness of the rise and fall of the breath at the abdomen and then move to the sensations at the nostrils. After the meditation, Alan discusses the advantages of each and when to choose which method.

Alan reads from the Spacious Path of Freedom starting at chapter 2 - The Stage of Generation. From the causal vehicle, you are practicing as a human being and you are seeking the causes to take you to enlightenment. With the resultant vehicle, you drop your anchor in Buddhahood itself. Must have a realization of emptiness and an intuitive sense of Buddha nature. Discussion of rigpa as abiding in the 4th time, transcending and pervading all three times. This path is taking the future into the now. The immediate present is the door to rigpa. Rigpa is hidden in plain sight, right where ordinary consciousness is. Instead of asking what can I do to achieve enlightenment, ask what can I stop doing that is preventing me from actualizing rigpa.

Alan discusses the importance of belief and faith and science as a faith based/ confidence based system. He ends with two quotes from William James - it shall be true for me.

The meditation starts at 0:20

Course notes, other episodes and resources for this retreat are available here

The text for this retreat can be purchased via the SBI Store.

Finally, Please contribute to help us afford the audio equipment we rent to make these, and future podcasts freely available.

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