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

17 Settling the Mind in its Natural State

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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, 10 Aug 2015

Alan wants our meditation practice this week to move on to settling the mind in its natural state. Alan cleverly quotes a famous intellectual (not revealed in these notes and hence no need for a spoiler alert! - listen to the podcast) to comment that shamatha practice is often viewed as an escape from reality or a withdrawal from dealing with suffering and its causes in the world. However one’s shamatha meditation practice doesn’t make a dent in our Kleshas. Dudjom Lingpaís text last week stresses the need to recognise impermanence in and of our lives and the existence of suffering and its causes. Without this, one doesn’t have Dharma practice, but rather just technique. This is why the preliminaries taught and discussed last week are important. The meditation practice of settling the mind in its natural state is indispensable to shamatha, Mahamudra and Dzogchen. Today’s practice requires abiding in stillness while being present and maintaining and distinguishing that stillness in the midst of mental movement. During the meditation practice, Alan instructs us to let each of the six syllables of the Om Mani Padme Hum mantra arise in mind and observe them from that meditative state of stillness.

The meditation starts at 26:34

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

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

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