B. Alan Wallace, 26 Aug 2015
In introducing vipashyana, Alan speaks about the importance of overcoming reification to gain insight into reality. The key point is that reification of self, others and objects is not homogenous but rather comes in waves. The meditation aimed at recognising the types of insight that we experience including when reification arises and when we get glimpses of reality such as emptiness. Alan informs us that settling the mind is a good launching pad for tipping over into Vipashyana practice as it sits right on the threshold.
Meditation is on Vipashyana via Settling the Mind.
After the meditation, Alan comments on two types of ignorance - connate and acquired. Connate ignorance is the one that deserves our attention and is the basis of the Buddhadharma. However, we are easily swamped by acquired ignorance, especially through materialism which then gets in the way of addressing connate ignorance.
Alan provides commentary on the first two pages of Chapter 4. Vispashyana is the method for escaping from samsara and reaching the path. The main obstacle is grasping at a non existent self, which is connate ignorance. The right domain for understanding this is the apprehension of self in the space of the mind. The way to stop self grasping is to know that we are doing it and that this is occurring in waves. The text alludes to the vast repercussions of self-grasping.
Following commentary on the text, Alan discusses the significance of dream yoga to insight practice. We can watch closely the arising of self from the dream state or from deep sleep. A very deep level of understanding is that all appearances of others are appearances of your own mind whether in waking state or dream state. Alan then provides guidance on dream yoga practice in the waking state which will help to train the mind in lucid dreaming. The technique is to do a “state check” whenever anomalies or unusual, weird events are identified. For example, like a stranger who sees Alan walking around in a red skirt! Alan concludes with three different types of meditation practices when we are falling asleep to ensure that we get adequate rest.
The meditation starts at 14:03.
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