2022 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 3, 13 May 2022, Online from Miyo Samten Ling in Crestone, Colorado, USA
Before returning to the topic of conduct, Lama Alan offers a brief preface reminding us of the primacy of mind and that conduct is the “delivery system” of what we have in our minds. In the familiar triad (view, meditation and conduct), view and meditation correspond to wisdom whereas conduct is skilful means. For better or worse, conduct is tremendously important. That’s why the pratimoksha vows of the shravakayana focus on restraint from verbal and physical conduct alone. This ensures that the first dimension of ethics, non-violence, is upheld. Lama-la makes the point that the restraint of not expressing a mental affliction is worth it for the sake of others as well as for oneself as it prevents one from making it a habit. Resuming the aural transmission at 00:22:08 on pages p. 179-180 „In particular, as a sign of your own great defects... This is the root of the Dharma, so bear it in mind as something of the greatest importance.“, Lama Alan points out that the “you” in the phrase “your own great defects” needs to be understood as the you of our prior lives. As even the mind of a vidhyadhara is not completely purified of all mental afflictions one will still see others as flawed in between sessions as all appearances are our own appearances (generated by our own karma and klesha) within the Dzogchen context. Regarding the statement that we see “no faults in those who are close” to us, Lama Alan suggests that there are cultural differences between traditional close-knit Tibetan families and our modern Western way of thinking. He then points out that the expectation to “view everyone as being flawless, [324] and recognize all defects as your own.” is realistic only from the perspective of Buddha nature. With regard to the next paragraph “when you possess status and prestige”, Lama-la reminds us of one of the four inconvenient truths that everything we have will be lost. Therefore we are admonished to “bear malice toward no one”. Lama Alan then comments on the advice to “release your consciousness without an object” when encountering misfortune which suggests that we’re going into the ultimate retreat of pristine awareness and running away from reification and delusion rather than running away from the situation. In terms of devoting oneself to “impartiality” Lama-la explains that this is to see the reality of dependent origination and that things and people do not exist from their own side. Lama-la then comments on lying and how exhausting it is to remember all the lies one has told while it can be relaxing to tell the truth, even if one were wrong. The meditation which begins at 01:09:02 is on mindfulness of the mind, with a focus on the differentiation between desire and intention. After the meditation Lama Alan comments, with reference to Paul Ekman, that this meditation is extremely important in terms of recognising the spark of an emotion before the flame of the behaviour but that he was still waiting for conative psychology to emerge as a field and explore conation which includes both desire and intention. This would be even more important: to recognise the desire before an emotion arises.
The Seven Preliminaries according Düdjom Lingpa, 06 Apr 2020, Online - Originally part of 2020 8-week retreat
Eva (Yangchen) begins with a meditation on the root text of Dudjom Lingpa’s terma, “Heart Essence of the Dakinis,” which leads us through the four thoughts that turn the mind to dharma, or the four revolutions of mind, leading up to renunciation (spirit of emergence) and refuge. Eva then quickly reviews the various scopes of taking refuge, summarizing them as either taking refuge out of fear or out of the wish to free oneself and all beings based in an insight that such an aspiration can actually be fulfilled. Eva then turns to the various levels of taking refuge, listing the common, inner, and secret objects of refuge. Common: Buddha as Teacher; Dharma as entryway to authentic path; and Sangha as guides or aides along the way. She also mentions the medical framework within which Buddha is doctor, Dharma is the medicine, and Sangha is like the nurses. Inner objects: Guru, Yidam, and Dakas and Dakinis. Secret: Nature of one’s own existence, Samantabhadra. Finally, she explains this deepest refuge as the nature of reality expressed in the three kayas of Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, and Nirmanakaya (Essential Nature, Manifest Nature, and Compassionate Expression). The text explains taking these nondually as the path is the authentic unsurpassed way to go for refuge. Eva then comments on the ways in which other worldly objects of refuge will not protect us, citing the beautiful confessional prayer written by Khandro la regarding the negative karma based in misguided seeking of refuge that has given rise to the pandemic. Eva also turns to the issue of what constitutes “true refuge” and whether these teachings are telling us that only a “Buddhist” refuge is the true refuge. Speaking of her own experience in navigating the Catholic and Buddhist paths, she points to the idea that what is meant in the teachings is that “true refuge” points to the true heart of reality, and that in theory even non-Buddhist paths could serve as “true refuge” if they are leading to an authentic path of awakening, culminating in a realization of ultimate reality. The final portion of the session is devoted to a meditative reading of the description of the field of refuge as given in Dudjom Lingpa’s commentary to the root text.
Sadhana Class with Yangchen (Eva Natanya), 27 May 2022, Online, Recorded at Miyo Samten Ling, Crestone, CO
After the opening prayers Yangchen-la offers explanations on the guru yoga that Lama Alan transmitted yesterday, specifically about how and when to use one’s vajra and bell during the sadhana. The vajra is always taken up with the right hand, the bell with the left hand, at times crossed, and she explains and shows how to hold them in one’s hand. She then explains how to purchase a vajra and bell, how to then keep them secret, how to bless them, and why to take them on travels. The vajra in general symbolizes the male energy, and the bell the female energy. She ends this discussion with clarifications on specific lines of this sadhana. Yangchen then answers questions around the topic of visualizations. Since there are big differences in the ability to visualize from person to person, she explains that it is connected to certain propensities, and not necessarily a measure of how well one’s practice is developed. Also our expectations as to how clear the mental images should arise might not be adequate. She emphasizes the importance of learning and knowing the visualizations, so invoking their meaning, and to be patient, maybe for many years, until clear images arise. Regarding the visualization of seed syllables, Yangchen instructs us to train in drawing them stroke by stroke, and as if seen from behind. On our level of practice it is fine to work with the conceptual mind. Yangchen continues with an elaboration of the mantra with which we seal the dedication in the Lake-Born Vajra sadhana. She offers a translation, and the story behind it, a dialogue between Shariputra and the monk Ashvajit, known as the Essence of Dependent Origination dharani. Yangchen-la then points us to the blog of the Christian mystic Father Silouan, who has also studied Dzogchen and has been in dialogue with Lama Alan and Yangchen. She will also share a link to the 50 Verses of Guru Devotion, which she encourages us to explore. She then points us to visualizations in context with the verse of auspiciousness at the end of the sadhana. We find these in Phase 4 of the Vajra Essence, Tibetan page [266 - 267]. They are meant to express our joy at the end of the sadhana. Finally Yangchen explains two different ways on how to dissolve the mandala - gradual from the out in, or in a single instant, which both have different effects on the subtle body. The meditation begins at 31:15 and is on the sadhana with the recitation in Tibetan and the guided meditation in English.
2022 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 3, 27 May 2022, Online from Miyo Samten Ling in Crestone, Colorado, USA
After the opening prayers Yangchen-la offers explanations on the guru yoga that Lama Alan transmitted yesterday, specifically about how and when to use one's vajra and bell during the sadhana. The vajra is always taken up with the right hand, the bell with the left hand, at times crossed, and she explains and shows how to hold them in one's hand. She then explains how to purchase a vajra and bell, how to then keep them secret, how to bless them, and why to take them on travels. The vajra in general symbolizes the male energy, and the bell the female energy. She ends this discussion with clarifications on specific lines of this sadhana. Yangchen then answers questions around the topic of visualizations. Since there are big differences in the ability to visualize from person to person, she explains that it is connected to certain propensities, and not necessarily a measure of how well one’s practice is developed. Also our expectations as to how clear the mental images should arise might not be adequate. She emphasizes the importance of learning and knowing the visualizations, so invoking their meaning, and to be patient, maybe for many years, until clear images arise. Regarding the visualization of seed syllables, Yangchen instructs us to train in drawing them stroke by stroke, and as if seen from behind. On our level of practice it is fine to work with the conceptual mind. Yangchen continues with an elaboration of the mantra with which we seal the dedication in the Lake-Born Vajra sadhana. She offers a translation, and the story behind it, a dialogue between Shariputra and the monk Ashvajit, known as the Essence of Dependent Origination dharani. Yangchen-la then points us to the blog of the Christian mystic Father Silouan, who has also studied Dzogchen and has been in dialogue with Lama Alan and Yangchen. She will also share a link to the 50 Verses of Guru Devotion, which she encourages us to explore. She then points us to visualizations in context with the verse of auspiciousness at the end of the sadhana. We find these in Phase 4 of the Vajra Essence, Tibetan page [266 - 267]. They are meant to express our joy at the end of the sadhana. Finally Yangchen explains two different ways on how to dissolve the mandala - gradual from the out in, or in a single instant, which both have different effects on the subtle body. The meditation begins at 31:15 and is on the sadhana with the recitation in Tibetan and the guided meditation in English.
2017 8-Week Retreat, 07 Apr 2017, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
This morning Alan leads us through the short Lake-Born Vajra Sadhana and continues his commentary on the middle length Sadhana. As an introduction he presents two significant points of Vajrayana practice; the first being that absolutely all phenomena are empty of inherent nature, and the second that the Budddha mind is inseparable from the Dharamakaya. From here, Alan presents the meaning of the mantra OM SVABHAVA SHUDDHA SARVA DHARMA SVABHAVA SHUDDHO HAM and discusses dependent origination in terms of dissolution into emptiness. Finally, a short comment on the longevity aspect of the sadhana with an example of the extracting the vital essence practice. Guided short sadhana starts at 12:28
The 4 Yogas of Mahamudra 2019 Retreat, 20 Jun 2019, Shambhala Mountain Center
Before going into the next meditation Lama Alan adds an addendum to the previous instructions by Padmasambhava. Core Meditations on the Path of Mahamudra * Vipashyana * Padmasambhava (Natural Liberation) * Second and third bullet points After the meditation we go back to: The Four Yogas of Mahamudra * Yoga of One Taste * Rangjung Dorjé * Gyalwa Yang Gönpa * Small stage Twelve Stages of the Four Yogas of Mahamudra: * The yoga of one taste * Small stage **Meditation** Vipashyana: pith instructions by Padmasambhava (From A Spacious Path to Freedom) Meditation starts at 4:22
2019 8-Week Retreat, 24 May 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Review Meditation (shar gom) of The Enlightened View of Samantabhadra - Phase 1: Taking the Impure Mind as the Path - Phase 2: Revealing Your Own Face as the Sharp Vajra of Vipashyana - Phase 3: Revealing the Ground Dharmakaya - Phase 4: Determining the Characteristics and Qualities of the Ground - Phase 5: Determining Secret Dualistic Grasping and Revealing the Way to Natural Liberation - Phase 6: Teachings on the Essential Points of Practice & Their Key Distinctions - Phase 7: How to Follow the Path of the Great Clear Light, Direct Crossing Over By the merit of this practice may I swiftly realize the state of the Lake-born Vajra, and bring every sentient being without exception to this state of realization.
2022 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 3, 05 May 2022, Online from Miyo Samten Ling in Crestone, Colorado, USA
We begin the reading transmission with a sentence missed in the previous session: [317] “Recognising that the time of death is unpredictable…” up to “…Bearing in mind all the miseries you will experience then, exhort your own mind.” Then we continue with the contemplation on death and impermanence and what it is that dies or is born, with references to Pali sources quoted in Peter Harvey’s book Selfless Mind, and Francis Tiso’s book Rainbow Body and Resurrection. At 44:40 Lama Alan continues with the transmission on pages [317] - [320] “Understanding those two points and applying them to your mindstream…” up to “…the significance of actions and their consequences is like an eye that enables you to see the path.” This is the section on karma and the ten nonvirtues, with commentary on the four infallible laws of karma, and samayas as the root of the vajrayana path. A feast for those who hunger after lists. There is no meditation with this teaching but Lama Alan gave instructions to Contemplate Karma and Cultivate Impartiality
Sadhana Class with Yangchen (Eva Natanya), 14 May 2022, Online, Recorded at Miyo Samten Ling, Crestone, CO
Returning to the preliminaries section of the Lake-Born Vajra Sadhana, we pick up where we left off in session 70, the Ten Branches of Devotion. Elaborating on different approaches to visualisation, Yangchen highlights that it is here at the beginning of the sadhana, that we dissolve the fields of merit and objects of refuge into ourselves – becoming one with all the objects of refuge. She emphasises that when we do this, we need to go into emptiness, because in the next step in the sadhana one arises as the wrathful being, Heruka - Hayagriva. To clarify this, Yangchen points out that in the revised sadhana text, before the next section on Establishing the Protection Boundary begins, the following lines will be inserted – ‘In a single instant I turn into the form of the powerful Heruka – Hayagriva, together with his divine partner’. Yangchen goes on to clarify that the meaning here is that of erasing all ordinary appearances, including the identification with the ‘you’ that you might have thought you were when you sat down to practice. Sharing a link to an online image of Heruka – Hayagriva, Yangchen outlines some details of the imagery and its energy — a blazing red wrathful being, male and female together, a union of male and female energy that is an expression of divine wrath that allows no obstructions to get in the way of the sublime sacred practice that we are about to do. Once again she highlights that it is the meaning that is most important here so she suggests that if all one can visualise here is a volcano of fire, that will suffice. Focusing on Establishing the Protection Boundary, Yangchen elaborates on the meaning of the torma offering to dispel obstructive forces. She points out that at its deepest level, one is acknowledging how any potential obstructing force is arising from karma, and past habitual propensities, especially the rudra of grasping to a self. Therefore, by expelling them, one is expelling the wrong view, enabling one to be utterly fearless in relation to whatever may arise. It is suggested that if one is in retreat then it is important to make a torma and do a formal torma ritual, but in day-to-day practice, visualisation of this is sufficient. After detailing what is required for a torma offering, Yangchen recommends that we become familiar with the actual ritual, so that we are well prepared for when a retreat opportunity may arise. She then presents the revised verse for this section of the sadhana, together with line-by-line commentary. Before beginning the meditation on everything we have done in the sadhana up until now, Yangchen invites us to approach this practice as if we are about to start a retreat that we have been longing to do for some time. It begins at 00:51:00.
Fall 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 18 Nov 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Alan makes two important points about equanimity and balance. Alan’s first point is that equanimity is the balanced foundation needed to achieve Bodhicitta. Just as Shamatha provides the cognitive balance needed for Vipassana, equanimity provides the affective balance needed for Bodhicitta. Alan’s second point is that a balance between faith and intelligence is extremely critical. This sacred tension between faith and skepticism is part of our practice of equanimity. Alan leads us in a meditation on equanimity by guiding us to expand our horizons of inclusion with the practice of Tonglen. Following the meditation, Alan answers student questions about what are the best and worst times of day to practice Dharma.
2021 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 2, 25 May 2021, Online-only
Padmasambhava on "Identifying Pristine Awareness"
Shamatha, Vipashyana, Mahamudra, and Dzogchen, 07 Apr 2016, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Italy
Alan starts explaining that balance is a crucial theme in shamatha training where we cultivate relaxation without losing clarity, stability of attention without losing relaxation and vividness without losing stability. The balance of these three qualities can be applied to every activity in daily life, however there is no guarantee that it is meaningful. During the development of shamatha the faculties of mindfulness and introspection, which we already have, are refined through training and turned into powers. Alan then turns to the more general theme of Buddha Dharma. Within the 37 aspects of enlightenment, there are five faculties, which can be turned into five powers through training and refinement. These five faculties are faith, intelligence, enthusiasm, samadhi and mindfulness. Alan groups them into pairs of balance. Faith can be balanced with intelligence, enthusiasm can be balanced with samadhi and mindfulness will balance out all the other four. Enthusiasm, in Sanskrit Vīrya, is not just effort or diligence but rather carries the meaning of taking delight in virtue. Alan illustrates the meaning of diligence with the examples of filling out a tax form or beating a donkey to go uphill. Enthusiasm in contrast, is likened to water flowing downhill. He then explains that Vīrya is balanced with samadhi, meaning a focused, composed, not fragmented quality of one’s attention. Alan defines the fifth faculty, mindfulness, as bearing something in mind without forgetfulness and without distraction. Mindfulness enables us to balance the other four. Alan then turns to the faculty of Faith, and explains how it is of three types: appreciation, aspiration and belief. Faith has to be in balance with intelligence. If there is too much faith and too little intelligence one can wind up being dogmatic, stupid, rigid and close-minded. And if there is too much intelligence and too little faith, one can be very smart and clever, but will not achieve anything. Alan continues explaining how enthusiasm is balanced with samadhi. Instead of just meditating for 11 hours a day he prefers to balance this with theory. By reflecting on the teachings, joy, inspiration and eagerness to devote oneself to practice is increased. He emphasizes that practice brings life to the theory and the theory brings meaning to the practice. However, enthusiasm and samadhi should not be mixed. While in-between sessions we should arouse enthusiasm, during the meditation we should just focus on samadhi. Alan then says that these five faculties can be turned into powers through training and refinement. This fivefold grid is also very useful if applied to other fields like business, mental health, education, athletics etc. Alan then introduces the “Shower of Blessings practice” as the meditation for today. The text will be available on the podcast website, in the section “Supplementary Resources”. The meditation is the oral transmission of the “Shower of Blessings” practice. After the meditation Alan says that he sometimes gets impatient with the request of teaching secular Dharma without any references to Buddhism. On the other hand, the Dalai Lama has now written two books on secular ethics and supports the secular approach with the motivation of helping all people, which Alan admires a lot. Meditation starts at 29:00 ___ Please contribute to make these, and future podcasts freely available.
2020 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 1, 19 May 2020, Online-only
Lama Alan said he will frontload a little bit the meditation. After the preliminaries, he will take us through the mind as the path and then use prajnya to see if we can distinguish the difference between simple observation of mental events like a bird watcher watching birds fly by. Another strain of this practice is to rest in awareness and then realize retrospectively becomes aware that you were caught in coarse observation, that is mind wandering. This is when you are caught unawares and you do not notice the thought come up. Lama Alan explains that these are two different experiences. In one you are resting in stillness and the second you don’t notice the thought but are identified with it carried away, like a non-lucid dream. He said that you do not remember the very first moment of a non-lucid dream just like in mind-wandering during meditation where you are unaware of the thought that comes up but identify with it and get carried away by rumination. These seem binary – either resting in stillness or bound to the thought, but Lama Alan says it is not quite that binary. There are many shades of lucidity in between these two mind states. This is why dream yoga is so useful to train in the recognition of dreaming. So, Lama Alan says, watch for the gradations and see how many shades there are between being completely lucid and being caught completely in coarse excitation. Especially watch for when a thought of a person comes up and watch for the mental conceptualization of the referent of that thought and watch for any mental afflictions that arise and watch to see if you reify that appearance. These are our tools as contemplative scientists. Lama Alan then returns to the text, we left off in the middle of a paragraph. He reads the first part of the paragraph to give some translation improvements. P.37 He says in principle, while the Buddhist observations of particles do not correspond to modern physics, the principle of having atoms, which can be divided and and then elementary particles that cannot be further divided. The text then gives classic examples of all phenomena as like illusory phenomena such as the reflection of the moon on the water and so on and also that names are also just conventions. Emptiness is also empty of inherent existence, likened to space. Lama Alan pauses here to clarify some points raised yesterday with regard to existence and non-existence as elucidated by HHDL14th and Tsongkhapa. HHDL14th outlined 3 points with which to determine the relative existence or non-existence. 1) its known to worldly convention by valid cognition. 2) The known phenomenon should not be invalidated by any other valid cognition, which may include one’s own subsequent cognitions. For example, you may perceive something and think it to be the case, but your subsequent perception of the phenomenon may ultimately invalidate it as a false perception. Similarly, it could be invalideated by valid cognitions of a third person. 3). The known phenomenon must not be invalidated by ultimate analysis. Meditation begins at 13:20 and is on "Graduations of Lucidity" [Keywords: lucidity, existence/non-existence, valid cognition].
2022 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 3, 21 May 2022, Online from Miyo Samten Ling in Crestone, Colorado, USA
We begin today with Yangchen leading us in taking refuge and invoking Guru Rinpoche, and incorporating the visualisation and meditation on the Lake-Born Vajra mantra, that we explored in detail yesterday. As we continue to receive further commentary on the sadhana, Yangchen emphasises our need to be patient with our mantra mediation and recitation. She suggests that by its very nature, this practice is a gradual one, therefore she urges to allow it to grow with practice over time. Yangchen then elaborates on the stage of generation practice of stabilisation of divine pride and divine samadhi. Referring to the Vajra Essence, she emphasises two crucial points that the Lake-Born Vajra makes. Firstly, when performing this practice “… if you disengage from this crucial point of transference of your own appearance to that of the deity, no matter how much you practice, the deity will not be actualised”. On the other hand, “If you achieve stability in divine pride in this way, finally, when you identify pristine awareness, you will already have achieved stability in pristine awareness within yourself, so this will propel you toward the state of liberation.” Yangchen suggests that if one has the motivation to practice Stage of Generation and stick with it, this last sentence is very important to memorise. She elaborates further that by taking empowerment, our Lama is showing us how to be a divine being, but then we need to nurture this as a continuous flow. Therefore, she asks us to reflect personally on what it would take to overcome our habituation to being a sentient being, so as to be able to maintain that purity of vision, when karma is still ripening, and the propensities to experience mental afflictions are still manifesting. In this light, she reminds us just how important our samayas are in guarding that sublime vision we had in empowerment, and points out how it is possible to keep all samayas of the five Buddha families with this sadhana practice. She then proceeds to go through the samayas of each of the families in detail, to illustrate this. Returning to mantra visualisation and recitation, Yangchen continues to identify correlations between lines in the sadhana, the Vajra Essence, and Gyatrul Rinpoche’s commentary, The Generation Stage In Buddhist Tantra. She highlights that the Lake-Born Vajra refers to the practice of approach, as in approaching the deity by focusing on the Hrīḥ in this practice, and the practice of close approach, of visualising the mantras that rise from the seat and circle while reciting. She then links this to the different types of mantra recitation Gyatrul Rinpoche refers to, beginning with focusing primarily just on the syllable Hrīḥ and the surrounding mantra garland; or “recitation like sending forth the king’s messengers”, whereby you send out offerings of light and then the jinaputras dissolve back into you. We follow-up on this in our practice today — Approach and the Recitation of Sending Forth the King’s Messengers, which starts at 1:08:44
Fall 2013 Shamatha and the Seven-Point Mind Training, 28 Sep 2013, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
We start today's morning session with the last (silent) meditation in the cycle of merging mind with space. After the meditation, Alan gives a big-picture context of the path (marga) in Mahayana Buddhism, namely in Mahamudra and Dzogchen. By elaborating on the steps and stages of each path, Alan makes it clear - once again - how Shamatha is an indispensable step if one aspires to cultivate genuine realizations on his/her path. He also points out how often unskilled teachings/teachers can confuse the qualities of Shamatha practice with much higher realizations and when this happens, the practitioner not only does not progress on his/her path but is also deluded regrading the realizations, which is the danger of inauthentic teachings. Hence, one should not abandon the ground practices of Shamatha and other preliminaries (Tong Len, Lam Rim, etc.) before venturing out into more esoteric practices.
Meditation (left in so you can practice along with us) starts at: 02:00
Fall 2013 Shamatha and the Seven-Point Mind Training, 27 Sep 2013, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
The session starts with the Tong Len meditation. After the guided meditation, we go back to the aphorism "Blame everything on the culprit", using a verse of Shantideva (chapter 4, verse 34 of the Bodhicaryavatara) and the story of Ben Gungyal, the leader of a gang in Kham.
Mental afflictions always point to other people than yourself. Alan tells about three remedies for when mental afflictions come up, as taught by Geshe Rabten: 1) apply antidotes, 2) settle the mind in its natural state, or 3) direct your attention to something else.
Next, Alan Talks about how Shamatha and Vipassana "deal" with the five obscurations. He also points out that when self grasping and self centeredness are diminishing, that is a sign that the practice is working.
Followed by a question on the four methods of Shamatha meditation: should we pick one out? or practice all of them?
Finally, don't miss the story of Lobsang Tenzing!
Meditation starts at: immediately
2021 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 2, 21 Apr 2021, Online-only
Lama Alan returns to the cultivation of loving-kindness and emphasises that we need to imbue both loving-kindness and compassion with as much wisdom as possible. He starts by encouraging us to deepen our understanding of loving-kindness, ‘May we all experience happiness and the causes of happiness’, and asks: what kind of happiness and which causes? He cautions that we need to bring wisdom into the notion of happiness and recognise that this aspiration goes beyond hedonia, which in Buddhism is seen as a form of dukkha. We wish for the happiness that arises from living an ethical life, cultivating samadhi, the four immeasurables and wisdom, through to the immutable bliss of nirvana: the happiness of eudaimonia. The more we imbue our cultivation of loving-kindness with wisdom the more profound, vast and sustainable it will be. Lama Alan turns to the virtue of immeasurable compassion, ‘May we all be free of suffering and the causes of suffering’. He points out that suffering goes much deeper than is generally realised and provides a thorough examination of the three types of suffering: blatant suffering, the suffering of change and the pervasive suffering of conditioned existence. He then shows how these types of suffering can be related to the three types of poison: attachment, hatred and delusion. Lama Alan explains that hedonia can never provide us with sustainable wellbeing and happiness. He reminds us of the impermanence of all conditioned phenomena: that which ascends to a high position descends to the low; that which comes together is rendered asunder; that which is acquired is lost; and that which is created is destroyed. He asks, is it possible to be happy in the face of these truths? Not without dharma! He describes depression and anxiety as reality-based and points to their growth in our increasingly materialistic world. Lama Alan explains the three marks of existence and how our ignorance of these truths turns into our suffering by grasping the impermanent as permanent, the unsatisfying as satisfying and that which is not ‘I’ or ‘mine’ as being ‘I’ or ‘mine’ e.g., closely identifying with one’s body and mind as ‘I’ and ‘mine’. He provides the Dzogchen perspective that ultimately we suffer because of ‘not knowing the nature of reality, not knowing who we are and getting it wrong’. He then moves on to look at causality, a central theme throughout Buddhism. We look at appropriative causes and contributory causes. Lama Alan asks where does mental suffering come from? He explains that the appropriative cause of suffering is a prior continuum of feelings: pleasant, unpleasant, neutral. Although, we may experience difficult people and situations in life these do not cause our suffering: they are contributory conditions. The principal causes of our mental suffering are craving-attachment, hostility-hatred and ignorance-delusion. Lama Alan reflects that when we cultivate immeasurable compassion with this degree of insight into the reality of suffering and the causes of suffering, our compassion becomes profound with deep roots in reality itself. He quotes His Holiness the Dalai Lama, “Compassion becomes much stronger when you realise emptiness, which is nirvana, and thereby recognise that the root of others’ suffering can actually be eliminated. Otherwise, if you feel that such suffering is inescapable you simply feel sad, saying, “What a pity!” Lama Alan explains that through the practice of samatha and vipasyana, it is possible to gain experiential insight and cut through the reification of one’s own mind and see the truth decisively. Once you have realised the freedom of nirvana, you see that so could everyone else be free and this deepens your compassion. Meditation is at 01:02:54 and is about the stages for cultivating compassion.
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 07 Jun 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
This afternoon Alan started by pointing out the modern tendency of being very harsh and strict with ourselves, and the need for Compassion. He then proceeds by diving down to the very root of suffering, considering the hypothesis that all mental afflictions stem from the grasping and reification of "self" as separate, autonomous, and self-existant. He aludes to the Vajra essence, showing how the symmetry of the substrate is broken and the sense of "self" coagulates and differentiates itself from the space, followed by the arising of appearances also as "other" and finally as the mind activates it conceptually imputes objects from those appearances we directly see.
Using a few other examples, we see that it is pretty evident that all suffering comes from the reification and grasping of self, me and mine. The only thing left for us to do is investigate this hypothesis, bringing wisdom and compassion together into practice.
After the meditation, we have a brief comment by Alan about the Vajra Essence (Dudjom Lingpa) and the relative "simplicity" of the path, followed by some interesting questions from Malcolm. He built on on an earlier question about being a Bodhisattva without knowing it, now extending it to "Is it possible for a Sotāpanna (stream enterer) to be one with out knowing it." Alan said yes, but then really unpacked the question, focusing on the importance of not taking things out of context. He highlights his skepticism of many modern ways in which people are practicing Dharma, and talks a little about debunking false claims of realization. He also talks about how these new Dharma experiments can cause you to fool yourself into thinking you have genuine realization, uniquely combining a story from the suttas with Mark Twain.
Along the explanation he comes upon the debate of "momentary Samadhi" being enough for Vipassana practice and the problems with this allegation, pointing to the following debate: http://www.mahasi.org.mm/discourse/E24/E24ch01.htm
There is also a part where Alan speaks about a connection between Mahayana and Christianity, and Elizabeth explains how the Christian Saint Josaphat is actually a mistranslation of Arhat, and reveals the fact the The Buddha was actually canonized! She says there is an article on her website, which is here: http://buddhist-christian.org/
Well, I think this description has gotten out of hand with the length. So I'll leave you with this still from David Cherniack, representing the distortion that occurs when taking Dharma out of context!
2022 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 3, 28 May 2022, Online from Miyo Samten Ling in Crestone, Colorado, USA
In this session Lama Alan completes the oral transmission and commentary on Phase 5 of the text with the concluding prayer, which he suggests is like a synopsis of everything that has gone before in the Vajra Essence, in this and previous retreats. Starting with the transmission on page 189 at 00:11:45, Lama-la leads us through the prayer line by line, providing some detailed commentary along the way, emphasising blessings and guru yoga. Citing Dudjom Rinpoche on this theme, Lama Alan shines a spotlight on “… guru yoga as the life force of your practice”, because in this degenerate era, combined with our own karma and obscurations, without practicing guru yoga, “it will not be possible for genuine realizations to arise in your mindstream”. Therefore, Lama comments that attending to the guru with pure vision, admiration and reverence, is like a valve for opening up to the flow of blessings from within. As Dudjom Rinpoche points out, “…after some time, the enlightened view from the guru’s mindstream will be transferred to you, and extraordinary, inexpressible realizations will certainly emerge from within your own being. Commenting that receiving blessings is neither a maturation of one’s karma, or coming from one’s aspirations and visualisations, Lama-la points out that the dimension of your reality here and now that has causal efficacy, but is not within the network of cause and effect, is in fact your buddha nature – pristine awareness. Therefore, when, with devotion and reverence, you call on Tara, Guru Rinpoche, or Manjushri for blessings, you actualise, or open up the valve of blessings from your own pristine awareness, of which Tara, Guru Rinpoche or Manjushri are an expression. Continuing through the prayer, Lama-la reminds us to reflect on the aspirations we might make for progressing along the path, in the Four Fold Vision Quest practice, considering that what we want, may not be what we need. He suggests that adversity, for example, may not be what we want, but it could be what we need to help deepen our renunciation or compassion. In this way, when adversity arises, we can view it as an opportunity. As the prayer continues, Lama highlights a buddha’s-eye view of reality as that of seeing all phenomena as “the display of the equal purity of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, upon the originally pure, primordial ground”, and notes that this prayer shows us the whole direct path to realising this view. He then makes a quick summary of the stages leading to the four Dzogchen visions in the direct crossing over: — from shamatha, vipashyana and identifying pristine awareness; to deepening and broadening one’s understanding of emptiness by way of Phase 3, possibly augmented with stage of generation and completion in Phase 4; leading to practicing the Dzogchen view, meditation and conduct, for six months, as in Phase 5. On this basis, Lama-la points out that once your body, speech and mind have dissolved into emptiness, you will arise with the vajra body, speech and mind, achieve the first “vision of the direct perception of ultimate reality”, and continue on to the second, third and fourth visions, before becoming a buddha. The prayer concludes with achieving a youthful vase body. In the final words of this phase, Samantabhadra gives the assembled bodhisattvas specific advice for how and when to make auspicious prayers and mantra recitations. In this way, Lama Alan concludes the oral transmission and commentary on the Vajra Essence, to the end of Phase 5, with the aspiration to continue with Phase 6 and parts of Phase 7 in the 2023 spring retreat. Lama shares that due to the overwhelming kindness of Gyatrul Rinpoche, he has been motivated to give these profound teachings and have them recorded, so that they will last long. He acknowledges the great contributions made by co-teachers Eva Natanya (Yangchen Osel) and Glen Svensson, as well as long-term sangha member, Doug Veenhof. In this way, Lama expresses his deep gratitude to the whole lineage going way back to Samantabhadra. There is no meditation with this teaching.
The 4 Yogas of Mahamudra 2019 Retreat, 20 Jun 2019, Shambhala Mountain Center
For this session we go right into the texts: Core Meditations on the Path of Mahamudra * Identifying Primordial Consciousness Lama Alan covers the entire section and offers his commentary to the passages therein. He comments on the 3 types of wisdom (hearing, reflection and meditation) and again stresses the importance of shamatha in order to fully gain the wisdom of meditation. He also gives a quick overview of the 3 main points of the third turning of the wheel of Dharma: * Dharmakaya permeates all phenomena and therefore the minds of all sentient beings. * Your stream of consciousness and dharmakaya are not really separate. * Every sentient being has the potential to achieve perfect awakening. After the meditation we go back to the texts: The Four Yogas of Mahamudra * Yoga of One Taste * Great stage **Meditation** Non-meditation: Padmasambhava's pith instructions from Natural Liberation Meditation starts at 28:52
2019 8-Week Retreat, 28 Apr 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
This afternoon we return to the text. We enter phase 5, which addresses the question of how we got into samsara. The answer is actually already given in the title. As Lama-la points out, the cause is grasping onto a self that exists from its own side. He further discusses the acquired and connate forms of delusion and emphasizes how important it is to understand the latter, which is the topic of phase 5, not only conceptually but in our personal experience. As an example of how we get into samsara, he brings up the example of who we are when we emerge from the substrate each morning and break through the surface into the waking state. These questions comes up because we could really be someone else when we are silent. Lama-la reverses this sequence in the following meditation. Meditation is on rolling back conceptuality from reification to silence with no I. After the meditation Lama-la starts with phase 5 on page 181 “Determining secret dualistic grasping and revealing the way of natural liberation”. Before going into the text (which he explains in great detail) he highlights the core aphorism of Dzogchen, that sentient beings not only believe in what they are not, but also don’t know who they actually are. The meditation starts at 7:01
2022 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 3, 18 May 2022, Online from Miyo Samten Ling in Crestone, Colorado, USA
Lama Alan begins the session by "cleaning up" several earlier points in the text, including a revision of, and expansion on, some of his previous remarks about actions and their consequences. He takes a "brief interlude" to share some of his recollections about Yangthang Rinpoche. He commends the recent documentary on Rinpoche's life. After reviewing the Buddha's instructions on sequencing (i.e. whether meditation precedes the view or the view comes before meditation), Lama Alan provides two analogs from the annals of particle physics and astronomy. If we were to look, he asserts, we would undoubtedly find similar examples in chemistry, biology and so forth. At 1:23:00, Lama Alan returns to the aural transmission with the fourth paragraph on page 183, beginning with „You may perceive …" He then offers a quote from Dudjom Rinpoche's Extracting the Vital Essence of Accomplishment to reinforce how best to respond to the obstacles that will almost certainly arise at this stage of the path due to our own karma. He returns to the life of Yangthang Rinpoche, as well as the response to the Tibetan people to the Chinese invasion, as inspiring exemplars of overcoming obstacles. There is no meditation with this teaching.
Fall 2013 Shamatha and the Seven-Point Mind Training, 26 Sep 2013, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Two points about this practice. Like riding a bicycle, once we are in the flow we don't need to remember to push with our left left leg, then our right leg and so on. Similarly once we are in a steady state with this practice, release all recollection, in other words, release mindfulness (as it is understood in Buddhism). The second point is to see if we can be free of mental engagement as in 'now I am observing awareness, I got it, I got it" - just keep it simple.
Ordinarily mindfulness and mental engagement is how we know anything but for Shamatha practices, particularly Shamatha without a sign and merging mind with space, we are seeking to slip into a mode of knowing that is still alert but free of mindfulness and mental engagement.
After the meditation Alan quotes from several sources including the third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje and Dudjom Lingpa which relate Shamatha with the Four Yogas of Mahamudra and the five Mahayana paths. From these authentic sources Shamatha is also clearly defined so that we can "build and drive a VW bug and not call it anything that it is not, it's a very good vehicle".
Meditation starts at: 6:52
2021 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 2, 16 May 2021, Online-only
Lama Alan reminds us that these teachings are to help us know more deeply the nature of samsara -– this deceptive reality which we take so seriously. Without knowing this thoroughly, we may never make our way to the reality that transcends deceptive reality. Some examples are we must train ourselves to know when our mind is concentrated and when it is not, when obscurations are suppressed and when they are not, when you’ve achieved access to the first dhyana and when you have not, and when you have achieved access to the form realm and when you have not. It is easy to deceive ourselves and in these degenerate times, many believe they have reached stages along the path such as the first dhyana and have not. Still, there are authentic teachers in all the traditions. Lama Alan points out we are drawing on the richness of the teachings from the early sangha and from the living sangha which has been built upon from texts of pundits, and experiences of siddhas and yogis for the past 2500 years. He explains two terms: javana and vasana. Javana refers to karmically active mental processes or movements of the mind we can perceive. Javana is like kinetic energy. Most people don’t observe these processes, but as contemplatives we are training ourselves to do this and they are observable. However, when we enter deep dreamless sleep, or, when waking, a certain type of energy such as anger, does not appear in our mind, it is not gone. It is now called a Vasana or a mental imprint or propensity which is stored in the bhavanga or substrate consciousness. When awake and cooperative conditions appear, this vasana, or seed of energy will ripen and change the potential energy to kinetic energy – javana and we will, again, be able to observe the mental event of, for example, anger. So, you can see, the lack of an observable mental energy (an obscuration, for example), does not necessarily mean that you’ve realized, as some think, the first dhyana. It is easy to make a mistake. The mark of the first dhyana is the ability to sit in perfect samadhi for 24 hours straight continuously free of the five obscurations. The need for a spiritual friend is greater when one is involved in intense practice so as not to make errors in assessing where you are on the path. Meditation begins at 00:34:19 and is about going deeper by exploring the mind and noticing the kinetic energy, or javana. Then, though you cannot see the potential energy, notice the relative stillness ¬– a facsimile of the bhavanga or substrate consciousness.
Fall 2014 Shamatha, Vipashyana, Dream Yoga, 14 Oct 2014, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
On the penultimate stage to the cultivation of bodhicitta we return to the great resolve: I shall free all sentient beings. Alan points how that the deeper this promise sinks into you, the clearer it becomes that it only makes sense from the perspective of rigpa. Also, after having cultivated great compassion you are bound to go on to the other 3 greats - you no longer have a choice. Then the four are like four rivers coming together to a massive stream that will take you directly to bodhicitta. And once again it is important to realize that our perspective is that of rigpa, which is said to be one (in the sense that it’s the one truth) but at the same time infinite (because it manifests in every sentient being) - it’s neither singular nor plural. Alan then quotes Shantideva to inspire us for the meditation. After the meditation Alan mentions how there are two doors leading to the same path: either you cultivate relative bodhicitta and it will lead you to ultimate bodhicitta, or you can go the other way. Towards the end Alan wishes us a good day but then quickly comes back to correct himself. In the sound file the very beginning of his addition is missing, that is why it starts abruptly. Meditation starts at 17:47
2022 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 3, 30 Apr 2022, Online from Miyo Samten Ling in Crestone, Colorado, USA
After a brief commentary on the question of emanation, Yangchen picks up where we left off in Session 51, with Jé Tsultrim Zangpo’s explanation of the nature of all pervasive compassion in Open Mind, pp. 175–78. We are reminded that the previous section concluded with making the distinction between mind that fuses with its objects and the aspects of cognizance, which is a ray of pristine awareness. Yangchen points out that we are now asking, how does one get from the very subtle energies of primordial consciousness, to the countless nirmankaya, which are the expression of the Buddha’s compassion? The text provides us with an ultimate explanation of nirmankaya, detailing the distinctions between ground pristine awareness, cognizance, and mind. Acknowledging their single essential nature, their ‘different perspectives’ include the mind being luminosity and cognizance that are contaminated by contact with the winds of karmic energies, and the aspect of cognizance being the luminosity and cognizance that are not contaminated. Then we see the distinction that the “indwelling consciousness, self-emergent pristine awareness, which does not come in contact with fluctuating energies, is called pristine awareness, and that which does come into such contact is called cognizance, although it “… does not fuse by grasping to various impure appearances”. Yangchen draws our attention to a section of the text that refers to “all manner of fluctuating thoughts”, virtuous and non-virtuous, as being “pervaded by the radiance … of pristine awareness”. Given that many of us may find this statement challenging, she provides further commentary and urges us to investigate it deeply for ourselves. With reference to the concluding lines of the text where “pristine awareness of all-pervasive compassion” is referred to as the “all-pervasive nirmāṇakāya of compassion”, Yangchen highlights how the rays of pristine awareness that are the aspect of cognizance, are all pervasive compassion. She then challenges us to bring this level of understanding to our practice of settling the mind in its natural state, with that awareness that is witnessing and knowing, already being a ray of pristine awareness, the nirmanakaya of the Buddha, right there. Yangchen concludes with asking us to reflect deeply on our Guru Yoga, and underscores that we need to get to the place that when we hear the guru’s speech that we actually have the sense that this is Buddha Shakyamuni, or Guru Rinpoche, or Lama Tsongkhapa talking to us, and so long as the mind that is fusing with conceptualisation doesn’t get in the way, pure interaction can take place. The meditation, Preparing for the Fire of Wisdom to Blaze, starts at 1:04:46. After the meditation, Yangchen briefly points out that these practices are now taking us through the patterns in our subtle bodies, so that the visualisations start to manifest by themselves. She reminds us that we can stay with these practices for weeks or months, constantly cultivating pure vision and allowing it to be a generation and completion stage practice at the same time. The session concludes with Yangchen inviting us to dedicate toward the clarity of our own path unfolding, that we may see that and follow it.
2017 8-Week Retreat, 07 Apr 2017, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Alan begins this afternoon with an explanation of what is meant by the stillness and movement mentioned in commentaries on the practice. He links this to the habituation and addiction to stimulation and activity so prevalent in modernity. To overcome this, we’re advised to develop a preference for cultivating samadhi by “going in” rather than looking outside for stimulation and pleasure. This in turn develops peace, wellbeing and joy. After a critique of physicalism disguising itself as naturalism, we pick up the text with a summary of the first three points on the last paragraph of page 142. Alan gives a further commentary on renunciation – definite emergence. The text now moves on to the unique practices, beginning with guru yoga. Alan’s commentary includes some of the unique cultural anomalies of western students taking on Tibetan root gurus. He also gives clear advice on how to approach teachers of Sravaka, Bodhisattva, and Vajrayana systems. The 24 minute silent meditation period starts 16:41. That silent period has been cut from the audio.
Sadhana Class with Yangchen (Eva Natanya), 21 May 2022, Online, Recorded at Miyo Samten Ling, Crestone, CO
We begin today with Yangchen leading us in taking refuge and invoking Guru Rinpoche, and incorporating the visualisation and meditation on the Lake-Born Vajra mantra, that we explored in detail yesterday. As we continue to receive further commentary on the sadhana, Yangchen emphasises our need to be patient with our mantra mediation and recitation. She suggests that by its very nature, this practice is a gradual one, therefore she urges to allow it to grow with practice over time. Yangchen then elaborates on the stage of generation practice of stabilisation of divine pride and divine samadhi. Referring to the Vajra Essence, she emphasises two crucial points that the Lake-Born Vajra makes. Firstly, when performing this practice “… if you disengage from this crucial point of transference of your own appearance to that of the deity, no matter how much you practice, the deity will not be actualised”. On the other hand, “If you achieve stability in divine pride in this way, finally, when you identify pristine awareness, you will already have achieved stability in pristine awareness within yourself, so this will propel you toward the state of liberation.” Yangchen suggests that if one has the motivation to practice Stage of Generation and stick with it, this last sentence is very important to memorise. She elaborates further that by taking empowerment, our Lama is showing us how to be a divine being, but then we need to nurture this as a continuous flow. Therefore, she asks us to reflect personally on what it would take to overcome our habituation to being a sentient being, so as to be able to maintain that purity of vision, when karma is still ripening, and the propensities to experience mental afflictions are still manifesting. In this light, she reminds us just how important our samayas are in guarding that sublime vision we had in empowerment, and points out how it is possible to keep all samayas of the five Buddha families with this sadhana practice. She then proceeds to go through the samayas of each of the families in detail, to illustrate this. Returning to mantra visualisation and recitation, Yangchen continues to identify correlations between lines in the sadhana, the Vajra Essence, and Gyatrul Rinpoche’s commentary, The Generation Stage In Buddhist Tantra. She highlights that the Lake-Born Vajra refers to the practice of approach, as in approaching the deity by focusing on the Hrīḥ in this practice, and the practice of close approach, of visualising the mantras that rise from the seat and circle while reciting. She then links this to the different types of mantra recitation Gyatrul Rinpoche refers to, beginning with focusing primarily just on the syllable Hrīḥ and the surrounding mantra garland; or “recitation like sending forth the king’s messengers”, whereby you send out offerings of light and then the jinaputras dissolve back into you. We follow-up on this in our practice today — Approach and the Recitation of Sending Forth the King’s Messengers, which starts at 1:08:44
2023 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 4, 25 Apr 2023, Crestone, Colorado and Online
Today’s session begins with a continuation of the topic of the distinction between mastering the ground and reducing it to an ethically neutral state (the transmission of the text on page 205, begins at 00:00:05). Lama la points out striking parallels between the Dzogchen teachings on ultimate reality with those of modern cosmology. He comments that the physicists “have everything in place...but no theory of consciousness.” One of the missions of Miyo Samten Ling is to bring together the two great traditions of Buddhism and physics, and thus provide a forum for a synthesis that would be “utterly globally significant.” Lama la then takes a step back, and provides an outline of Phase 6 of the text, which lists all of the distinctions that are discussed. Such an outline provides a framework that helps to contextualize each topic. Knowing these distinctions helps to prevent us from conflating the “higher” with the “lower,” for example, mastering the ground (the “higher”) with an “ethically neutral state” (the “lower”) or liberation (the “higher”) with delusion (the “lower). By pointing out the nature of what we are already experiencing (eg. delusion, the mind, conditioned consciousness), the Lake Born Vajra helps us to clearly recognize these, thus enabling us to in distinguish them from that which is truly liberating. Following this, Lama la returns to the text to the distinction between delusion and liberation (the transmission of the text on pages 205-206, begins at 00:30:10). The text states that “if you do not know how to distinguish between delusion and liberation, you will go astray by presumptuously supposing delusion to be liberation, and you will not attain the great state of liberation...There are three types of delusion: delusion in one’s mindstream, delusion with respect to the path, and the delusion of going astray.” Understanding and recognizing these common delusions can prevent you from being seduced by errant paths that perpetuate samsara and prevent you from reaching liberation. Delusions that are discussed include: 1) not seeking the authentic path, 2) getting stuck in bliss, luminosity, and nonconceptuality, thinking that these are supreme, 3) taking meditations involving objectification (e.g. stage of generation practices) as the “pinnacle of meditation” and getting stuck there (e.g. by engaging in dualistic grasping). Lama la points out that regarding one’s own practice and view as supreme is a root delusion. The discussion of the delusions will continue in tomorrow’s teachings. The meditation which consists of pointing out instructions from Yanthang Rinpoche on Dzogchen meditation from his “View, Meditation and Conduct” teachings starts at 01:07:01. After the meditation Lama la emphasizes that the theme of not letting your attention stray back to the past, to the future, or present, and just resting in space, (the subject of today’s meditation), is a recurrent theme in Mahamudra, Dzogchen, and other traditions. This theme can also be found in the foundational teachings of the Buddha, such as the Majjhima Nikaya and the Dhammapada.
Fathom the Mind. Heal the World., 06 Oct 2022, Online and in person from Blazing Mountain Retreat Center, Crestone, Colorado
We begin the session with meditation. (Starts at minute 0:23 and ends at minute 32.50) The discussion is essentially centered on the meaning of suffering and its transcendence. Eva-la goes on to explain that at the core, the meditation that we just did reflects the view in Christianity that suffering and death become meaningful and sanctified insofar as they become a Path to resurrection and divinisation. Strong parallels are highlighted with 'transforming adversity into the Path' and vajrayana practices. The meaning of baptism is not just purification of sin, but the death of the self itself into union with the Divine. The body of sin has to be anihilated so that one may be granted resurrection and therefore obtain the Body of Creation. She quotes two passages in support of this discussion, the first one from Roman 6:3 and the second form St Symeon's letters. St Symeon points out that without a daily spiritual practice of purification of sin, great awareness and obedience to one's Spiritual Father and to God, one cannot hope for the final resurrection at death to just happen. Pure mind, angelic-like, has to be cultivated, so that communion with God may be granted through kenosis.
Fathom the Mind. Heal the World., 05 Oct 2022, Online and in person from Blazing Mountain Retreat Center, Crestone, Colorado
This session marks the beginning of Dr Eva Natanya’s two days of teaching and guided meditations on the “Christian mandala” with Christ at its centre. Eva suggests that for Christ to be truly seen, we need to strip off all our preconceptions. Therefore, she encourages us to come to these teachings in a spirit of openness and freshness, so that we may hear things in ways that we may not have heard them before. Pointing out how modes of inter-religious dialogue have long been founded in metaphysical realism that assumes that there is ‘one right way’, Eva points out that she has been exploring how the idea of mandala might be a way of understanding religious diversity in general. She notes that although a metaphysical world-view is not inherent to the revelation of divine love through the person of Jesus the Messiah, such a view has accompanied Christianity for the last 2000 years. Therefore, since being inspired by a teaching by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 2005, Eva has longed to introduce the depths of the teachings on dependent origination and emptiness in the Nalanda tradition, into the interpretation of Christian theology, as a way of overcoming the obstacles that arise from its traditionally metaphysical world-view. In terms of Buddhist – Christian inter-contemplative dialogue, Eva challenges our habitual propensities in order to ‘plant seeds of possibility’ by asking us to consider some hypothetical scenarios:- What if we brought a fully-fledged Madhyamika – Prasangika view, much less a Vajrayana - Dzogchen view of reality to the events of Christian revelation that happened historically in Jerusalem? Is it possible to be in a Vajrayana mandala of Guhyasamaja, dissolve all objective and subjective appearances so completely into emptiness and arise again a mandala where Christian revelation is true? Before leading us through and commenting on extracts from the New Testament text, The Letter to the Hebrews, Eva suggests that for us to regard any theological text and scriptures without denying anything that one has learned and been convinced of in the Buddhist context, it takes both a deep and light touch. Deep in the sense of being ready and willing to investigate, contemplate and practice deeply; and light in the sense of allowing terms to arise to an interpreting consciousness in a totally fresh way, free of metaphysical realism that they may be steeped in from the past. Eva then leads us through extracts from The Letter to the Hebrews, Chapters 1, 2 and 4, beginning at 00:52:02, with some commentary. She highlights the human consciousness and divine consciousness of Christ, and that God became man (Jesus Christ) so that human nature could be divinised. Chapter 4 concludes that in Jesus, the Son of God, 15 “… we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Concluding this session, Eva points out that this and so many lines in this text could be a daily practice.
2018 8-week retreat- The Essence of Clear Meaning, 22 Apr 2018, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia (Pisa), Italy
The afternoon session began with Lama Alan recovering this morning's theme on the exploration of our true identity, mentioning an unplanned but fruitful synchronicity that has been taking place between morning and afternoon teachings. He briefly mentioned the three perspectives from which we can view ourselves (that of a human being, that of a sentient being and that of rigpa), as a prelude to the Phase 2 of our text, where Dudjom Lingpa is going straight into cutting through to the experience of rigpa. However, to be fully prepared to explore adequately Phase 2, one needs to master Phase 1 first, which has the potential to take us right into the cusp of pristine awareness. We reviewed that this implies not only shamatha practice, but also vipashyana, with the recognition we had already explored of the emptiness of mind, in terms of existence and non-existence, and also in terms of origin, location and destination. Dudjom Lingpa also emphasized the importance of avoiding reification a number of times in Phase 1, both on and off the cushion, an advice we can identify as the vipashyana practice we need to engage in. In the following section of the afternoon teaching, we explored the fundamental role of preliminary practices, required for the full effectiveness of these teachings, using two presentations. The first was Sera Khandro's 'The Fine Path to Liberation', which highlights 5 points: guru yoga, love & affection for vajra siblings, compassion for all sentient beings, renunciation and the contemplation of impermanence & death. We also reviewed Dudjom Lingpa's own presentation from 'The Foolish Dharma of an Idiot Clothed in Mud and Feathers' (a text explored in last year's retreat), and his 6 points, that include 3 common preliminaries (the contemplation of our precious human life, impermanence & death, and karma & duhkha) and 3 uncommon ones (guru yoga, pure vision - seeing the fine qualities of the guru and vajra siblings - and feeling compassion impartially for all sentient beings). Lama Alan then set the stage for the meditation, with a discussion on the characteristics of the space of the mind, mentioning both its intermittent appearance in our experience, but also its lack of independent, real existence. Meditation: vipashyana practice focused on the mind, namely on the domain where mental events take place. After the meditation, we explored the initial section of Phase 2 (concluding at A'' The Teaching), which begins with the distinction between path, and ground, pristine awareness. To conclude, Lama Alan made a final inspiring comment to mention that, if we immerse ourselves in all required elements of practice for this text (like the preliminaries and bodhicitta), if we truly listen to the transmission, and then over the coming years we integrate it in our practice, reflect upon it and apply it, then this teaching is enough to take us from where we are today, to rainbow body. The meditation starts at 52:21 Text p. 59
2019 8-Week Retreat, 08 May 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Lama Alan explains that although Dzogchen is considered to be the pinnacle of the yanas, the grand finale of all paths, nevertheless individuals may be drawn to it from the outset of their respective journeys. Although the full extent of the path may seem long winded and daunting, it’s good to have a general overview of what it might entail along with all the major inflection points of progress (path of preparation, accumulation, seeing, etc.) To immerse ourselves in these teachings serves a goal of utmost importance, and that is to sow the seeds of a continuum of progress across however many lifetimes it takes to achieve enlightenment. In this way, even if we die without having achieved it, we are reborn with the fortunate unfinished business of continuing along the path. This is how the work of a single lifetime can change the trajectory of countless lifetimes wasted in samsara. Meditation is on vipashyana on the nature of the mind, following Padmasambhava's instructions. After the meditation, Lama Alan returns to the text, continuing to explain the differences between the mind and pristine awareness as well as the starting with the differences between conceptual understanding and experiential realization. The meditation starts at 24:17
2020 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 1, 25 May 2020, Online-only
Lama Alan comments we have received a lot of material during these two months, this is a great deal of material to assimilate, but we have the next 10 months to assimilate and practice all this. He comments on the importance of having spiritual friends and maintaining the Sangha that has been created. Returning to the text on the question: “O Teacher, Bhagavān, if someone ascertains emptiness in terms of such nonexistence, doesn’t that person have to ascertain that experiences of joy and sorrow and of moving from one place to another within the realms of the phenomenal world do not exist either? Lama Alan expounds on the different points of the answer given by the Bhagavan. Phenomena in the dream are no more inherently existent from their own side than appearances, objects and people on the waking state. Clinging to reality, we deceive ourselves. He makes a parallel with Einstein’s relativity theory; space and time do not exist by their own side. Reifying all phenomena is the root of all mental afflictions, the root of all accumulation of karma, and the root of all suffering and it is because you are getting the nature of reality wrong. This will not be easy, but this is what needs to be fathomed to comprehend the middle way, this is what needs to be done. Lama Alan comments on the next section of the text: The Point of Realizing the Emptiness of Phenomena Meditation starts at 1:05:45. Dedication Vision Quest
Spring 2011 Shamatha Retreat, 03 Jun 2011, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Editor's Note: Due to multiple recording errors, this afternoon's podcast is an optimized recording from an iPhone. Because of this, it is difficult to hear clearly. My very sincere apologies. If anyone can improve the quality further, I would love to publish a better version. Please email Lizzy at podcasts@sbinstitute.com if you are interested.
Also, Alan requests that transcriptions of the afternoon sessions from the past two weeks be created. If you are interested in transcribing one or more afternoon sessions, please email ksnow@sbinstitute.com with the name of the podcast you want to transcribe. This will be of great benefit to many people.
This afternoon, Alan first guides a beautiful meditation that integrates shamatha, equanimity, compassion, and loving-kindness. He then summarizes the pith points of the last two days of discussion on the development of science and its relationship to the science of the mind of Buddhism.
After that, [55:00] Alan gives us tips for integrating back into the "outside world," and we finish the afternoon with a comment from a participant.
2021 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 2, 09 May 2021, Online-only
We begin today reflecting on the choice we need to make to either follow the Dzogchen teachings and practices alone, or to follow Dzogchen, complemented with Stage of Generation teachings and practices. In considering this choice, the text elaborates on a number of points to consider. First of all, Lama Alan reminds us of the dangers of becoming complacent about our practice, falling back into mundane habits of delusion, craving, pride etc. Then, he points out that we need to consider if we have the karmic momentum required to carry through with the authentic motivation, practice, and conduct required “ to become liberated through the ultimate, [184] effortless path” of Dzogchen. We can know this by checking-in on our practice from time to time, to see if it is actually working. Are our most toxic mental afflictions subsiding; is the mind gaining greater equilibrium; are virtues arising more effortlessly and spontaneously; is our mediation on emptiness actually alleviating self-grasping; is it diminishing reification of phenomena? Lama clarifies that if we consider that our practice is not really working, then we have two options. Firstly, check-up to see if it is authentic and complete, including the Preliminaries, Shamatha, Vipashyana, and Cutting Through, augmented with the absolutely essential practices of Guru Yoga. Then, if we still consider that Dzogchen alone is not working for us, then we are advised to simply recognise that, and augment our practice with the Stage of Generation teachings and practices. The text then turns to elaborating on the Stage of Generation path of skilful means, in which “…the kāyas and facets of primordial consciousness of the ground sugatagarbha are presented with signs (imagery, mantras, symbolism, words, concepts etc), “as a means for leading beings to ultimate, effortless absolute space”- resting in the signless dharmakaya, which is directly revealed in Dzogchen. Even though these signs can be useful, we are reminded to be mindful that we do not reify our objects of refuge. Then we begin a new section in the text, addressing The Nature of the Kayas and Facets of Primordial Consciousness, exploring how the five kayas, the five Buddha families, and the five facets of primordial consciousness, relate to the definitive, ultimate meaning of dharmakaya. In doing this, the Lake-born Vajra presents a number of etymologies and how they pertain to sugatagarbha. These include: (i) that of dharmakāya, showing that it is another expression for sugatagarbha; (ii) that of sambhogakāya, showing that all phenomena from the perspective of pristine awareness, or sugatagarbha, arise spontaneously, effortlessly as creative displays, self-appearances of sugatagarbha; and (iii) that of nirmāṇakāya, showing that all appearances are nirmāṇakāya, they are all displays of the divine, they are all perfect. Given that we know all too well that appearances are not so perfect from the perspective of a sentient being, Lama Alan challenges us to consider deeply the implications of this statement that all appearances are nirmāṇakāya, displays of the divine. As sentient beings most of us live in a deceptive reality that is saturated by suffering and dissatisfaction. Yet, the Lake-born Vajra is revealing to us that right here and now, at the depth of our being, we already know that all phenomena are natural, spontaneous, emanations of sugatagarbha, of our own Buddha nature. Therefore, Lama suggests why not (i) shift perspectives as swiftly as possible, and take the most direct and effective route we can, to be fully aware of this reality that is already here; and (ii) view all living beings that we encounter, just as they truly are, each one manifesting as a skilful means of the Buddha. Lama concludes that it’s a matter of our own choosing. Instead of perceiving other beings as autonomous, existing from their own side, objectively pleasant or unpleasant, virtuous or non-virtuous, by shifting perspective and seeing them all as nirmānakāya, we can realise them as the Buddhas gathering in around us, manifesting in ways that we can see, in order to lead us along the path. The meditation begins at 01:08:26 and focuses on the appearances of beings manifesting in the space of your mind, attending to them as individuals, and viewing them as living-being nirmānakāyas manifesting from your own sugatagarbha to lead you to Awakening.
The Wisdom of Atisha and Knowing Our Own Minds, 13 Sep 2021, Online from Miyo Samten Ling in Crestone, CO
After explaining the reasons for skipping the meditation during the first session, Lama-la explains the symbol of snapping with his fingers each time after his prostrations to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha at the beginning of each session. He then points out the importance of being a suitable vessel with its three characteristcs before he moves to the meditation session which is about settling body, speech and mind in the natural state. The meditation starts at minute 07:04 and is followed by a brief anecdote from Tibet to indicate the importance of overcoming the dualism of teaching and practice. Then Lama-la continues with the dialogue and explains the 12 links of dependent origination form the Dzogchen perspective. He compares this with the advances and understanding in life-sciences, which still has no understanding of how life emerged. They are also unable to explain how to overcome or roll Samsara backwards. Finally Lama-la reminds us to maintain the continuity of mindfulness of awareness during the breaks and after we come out of the meditations and to continue coming back to settling body speech and mind or to rest in the stillness of awareness and watch the illusory appearance of movement arise.
2023 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 4, 15 Apr 2023, Crestone, Colorado and Online
Rounding off the review of the 3 salient points or highlights of Phase 1 as it manifests upon achieving shamatha. These are the classic bliss, luminosity and non-conceptuality and they manifest together when shamatha is achieved. This is a state that is inconceivable unless one has achieved it. Otherwise, we experience them individually. If we reflect back on our lives, we can see we have been primarily driven and motivated by the hedonic pleasures, which are temporary, seeking pleasure or security or wellbeing. Once achieved however the three modes of bliss, etc. are not fleeting or temporary but rather constant. However Lake Born Vajra warns us that these too can become objects of attachment where one may not be able to bear being parted from them because they are never stale or boring. When the three afflictive states of craving, hostility and delusion appear (the three poisons), there is an effective remedy. These three states are then examined past the object of what has captured you and if one can see through these, so to speak, one will find a deeper view. Craving reveals itself to be bliss. Anger pulled back is intensity or vividness. Ignorance, delusion or stupor, looking deeper is luminosity. If one can, when experiencing these afflictive emotions, look deeper, they can reveal these qualities which are not afflictive. This is a pointing out that Lama la was given by Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche. These three sublime states, once shamatha is achieved, if clung to, the karma of that can also lead to rebirth in the deva, form or formless realms respectively, and can keep one still in samsara at death rather than using the platform of shamatha to fully understand emptiness and be able to break free of the gravitational pull of samsara to be able to fully get onto the path. Once you are able to break through bliss, you will see nirmanakaya, luminosity becomes sambhogakaya, and non-conceptuality dharmakaya. Getting stuck in this bliss, luminosity, non-conceptuality, you can end up in the desire, form or formless realms on death, but if you have cultivated bodhicitta, that will kick you out of the attachments to this shamatha and continue on the path for the sake of all beings. There is a relative truth and an ultimate truth. The relative veils the ultimate as illustrated with the technique of looking through the delusion of anger, craving, etc. So the dharmakaya is already there, imbued in the relative. Who is your guru? A discussion on root guru then takes place. The sentient being that presents as ones guru is totally obscuring the Buddha that is there. It is a reality, but the guru is Samantabhadra. Authentic guru yoga is seeing through to Samantabhadra. There is a discussion on artificial intelligence with the thought that it should be named simulated intelligence. There is an in-depth discussion of achieving shamatha, the experience of first losing, as an illustration, ones onboard operating system and the interlude before the new one comes on board. At minutes 20:34 Lama la discusses the text on page 27. “Finally, a state of unstructured consciousness becomes manifest, devoid of anything on which to meditate. Then, when they come upon pristine awareness, the state of great nonmeditation, and their guru points this out, they will not go astray. For this to occur, first you undergo great struggles in seeking the path; you take the movements of thoughts as the path; and finally, when consciousness settles upon itself, this is identified as the path. Until path pristine awareness, or unstructured consciousness, manifests and rests in itself, due to the arousal of afflictive mentation, you must gradually go through rough experiences like the ones discussed earlier…” There is a deep discussion of how and why upheavals occur and how do deal with them. Do not reify them or they will usurp your practice. Lama la then quotes Düdjom Rinpoche (Extracting the Vital Essence of Accomplishment): “Because of the profundity and intense power of the Great Perfection, there will also be obstacles, just as great profit often comes with great risk. This is because all the negative karma you have accumulated in the past is catalyzed due to the power of these practical instructions… Various outer and inner undesirable circumstances may well arise. Oh, these are indications of upheavals, so recognize them! Here is the demarcation between profit and loss: If you embrace those obstacles by means of the crucial points of practice, they will turn into siddhis. If you fall under their influence, they will become hindrances. With pure samayas, admiration, reverence, and unfaltering courage, entrust your heart and mind to your guru, and earnestly pray to him with confidence in whatever he may do. By regarding unfavorable circumstances as something desirable, and by striving diligently in your practice, eventually the substantiality of those circumstances will naturally dissolve, and they will instead empower your practice.” Then we are pointed to the following on view, meditation and conduct in the retreat notes: Excerpt from B. Alan Wallace, “A Lamp for Dispelling the Five Obscurations: Pith Instructions for Achieving Śamatha in the Dzogchen Tradition with Alacrity” Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) (“On Diversions”): “When I have set myself now and then to consider the various distractions of men, the toils and dangers to which they expose themselves in the court or the camp, whence arise so many quarrels and passions, such daring and often such evil exploits, etc., I have discovered that all the misfortunes of men arise from one thing only, that they are unable to stay quietly in their own chamber.” Śāntideva (Bodhicaryāvatāra VIII: 1): “…one should stabilize the mind in meditative concentration, since a person whose mind is distracted lives between the fangs of mental afflictions.” The meditation that begins at 1:07:00 is on bridging shamatha and vipasyana, taking the mind as the path. After the meditation Lama la emphasizes that for one is of sharp faculties and you have really absorbed everything that was taught in Phase 1, shamatha is there, vipasyana is there and the pointing out instructions to pristine awareness are there, as well so that may be enough to leap over Phase 2-5.
Fall 2013 Shamatha and the Seven-Point Mind Training, 09 Oct 2013, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
We revisit an important facet of settling the mind in its natural state: to observe not so much the objective appearances to the mind, but the subjective impulses to the mind. This is not as easy as we only become aware after it occurred. But we can observe them and not identifying with them. There are three points: 1) The importance of this practice cannot be over emphasised, we can’t just wish for no mental afflictions and apart from arharts, everyone has them. Now we have the great fortune to see mental afflictions as mental afflictions which is so beneficial. As we do not identify with them, the little violence in our minds does not spew out onto those around you. 2) This is a path of self knowledge, it’s the wrong path if you want to have one pleasant hedonic day after another, release the hedonic evaluation of a good session or a bad session, the proof of the practitioner is how one responds to the various disturbances that occur. Go through the experience, not take a detour around it. Don’t identify with it and keep going anyway. We are not going into some fantasy realm, we are seeing what is happening here and now and getting real, removing the conceptual overlay. 3) Enter the practice by relaxing, being kind gentle and patient, seeking to cultivate genuine happiness. Then as you come off the cushion this sense of loving kindness is brought to the world.
After the meditation Alan talks about achieving Shamatha and what one experiences at the time.
Meditation starts at: A silent meditation session, not recorded. Starts at 25:20
2020 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 1, 14 May 2020, Online-only
Meditation is “Cultivating Great Loving Kindness” and begins at 40:30 This morning we turned to “Great Loving Kindness”. Lama Alan began by saying there are different ways to order the 4 Greats. And explained why he chooses to begin with “Great Compassion” – that which motivated Shakyamuni Buddha to turn the wheel of Dharma. In fact, could say all the teaching the Buddha has offered are motivated by the commitment, “I shall liberate all living beings from suffering and the causes of suffering.” With 4 Immeasurables, Lama Alan begins with Loving Kindness, yet with the Greats he begins with Great Compassion, and he addresses this.Lama Alan points out how some people give up on finding happiness, yet no one ever give up on finding some relief from suffering. And once we have some relief from suffering, then we may envision, entertain, “is it possible to find happiness”? What makes the Greats “Great” is our making a promise to be the one who has cultivated these for the sake of all sentient beings, to give rise to Bodhicitta. When any of us makes this resolve, we make a promise, and we wouldn’t make it unless we believe what we are promising is possible and that we can fulfill it. Even if we don’t fulfill our promise in this lifetime, we can dedicate our virtue to carry our promise through to our future lives -for example, through the practice of dedication and prayers to be reborn in Sukhavati. Lama Alan then returns to focusing on the treasure of Dharma we have now in our hands. For Lama Alan personally, Dzogchen is the Dharma which speaks to him. “Natural Liberation”, “Vajra Essence”, lay out the path he follows. And this is the path we’re focusing on -not because it is better than others. Rather because it is the most personally meaningful complete path which Lama feels he can follow in a dedicated manner, through the kindness of his Lamas. We’re focusing on this particular path, which lays out the whole complete path all the way up to Rainbow Body. Where does this path start? Of course, mind is primary and we have to get over idea of matter being primary. Then the crucially important preliminaries, which may expand beyond the preliminaries taught in this retreat. All the Dharma you’ve practiced in this life and others, all of it, counts as preparation, brings us to meet the precious Dharma & creates spiritual momentum. Sometime the formal preliminaries themselves can be daunting. If boil them down to essence for this path, what is absolutely crucial are 2 things which Lama Alan then delves into: Bodhicitta, & 4 Immeasurables. These 4 are the “roots” of Bodhicitta. Then when we take the jewel of Bodhicitta up into our own hands, we are moving from aspiration to promise. Lama Alan points out that the nature of promises is we believe we can keep them. If we keep promises, we need to know it’s doable and that we will do it. So being prepared for Taking the Mind as the Path, preparing the ground with Bodhicitta and Guru Yoga are the essentials. Having spoken already of Bodhicitta, Lama Alan speaks to Dzogchen Guru Yoga & Emptiness. So with Bodhicitta and an understanding of Wisdom, of Prajna, Pristine Awareness, we will see our Guru appear as the Lake Born Vajra himself. If we’re seeing our Guru as a sentient being, how are you seeing yourself? Lama Alan then turns to the Liturgy of Great Loving Kindness, beginning with questions of “Why couldn’t all sentient beings have happiness and the causes of happiness?”. While the words are simple, the meaning is a depth to be plumbed through our meditation and reflection. Lama Alan takes us deeper into the meaning, addressing how we include ourselves in the practice and the blessings of the Buddha.
Fall 2014 Shamatha, Vipashyana, Dream Yoga, 13 Oct 2014, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Alan starts by talking about his last dharma talk and once more making clear that his anger was not directed towards any person, but simply towards a certain view. This is important to stress because in the West often a view is conflated with a person. Alan emphasizes how important views are and they are clearly the most horrible non-virtue of all because they justify any kind of behavior. That is why also Dharma talks can be very intense and unpleasant. If a certain view is being burned and you identify with that view (e. g. that the mind is the brain and your awareness is a cartoon, thus, you are not a sentient being but a mindless robot), the dharma talk will not be comfortable for you and the lama might manifest as wrathful. As what concerns great equanimity we are asked to release all attachment to the near, which means our views. But not only that; we should also release the extreme of peace and the aversion to the world of becoming, that is, as much as we like to be in a peaceful retreat we have to let go of that preference over the uncertain world “out there”. That then finally to the ultimate equanimity which means letting go of the attachment to nirvana. On that note, Alan tells two stories that illustrate these points, one being about a Geshe, who saved a calf from drowning in filth, and the other about Franklin Merrell-Wolf, who experienced such a “complete transcendence of all opposites”. Meditation starts at 47:02
2020 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 1, 30 Apr 2020, Online-only
This morning begins with Lama Alan speaking to those who expressed concerns about his health. He shared his personal practice in the midst of allergy season, becoming an “absent landlord from the tenement of the body” through variations on resting in awareness and taking the mind as the path. He transitions then into this morning’s practice of compassion, which is not an emotion but rather it is an aspiration: the aspiration that all sentient beings be completely free of all suffering and its causes. Lama Alan points out that if we don’t believe there is hope, that liberation is possible, then this practice becomes untenable. He shares some inspiring examples of how we may not be able to fix the injuries to body or mind, yet we can still be free from suffering. And this is bases on the realization always available to us that we don’t have to view “suffering” as “me” and “mine”. Why doesn’t compassion come first in the 4 Immeasurables? Good question. Lama Alan shares his insights into this question and why we would practice Loving-kindness prior to practicing Compassion. Because Loving-kindness creates the vision beyond hedonia, from which we then practice Compassion Lama Alan then gives a brief introduction to the actual practice before transitioning into the guided meditation on Tong-Len. Meditation is Tong Len and begins at 32:49
Fall 2013 Shamatha and the Seven-Point Mind Training, 11 Oct 2013, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Before the guided meditation, Dr. Wallace comments on Malala, a 16 year old girl from Pakistan, who currently fights for the right of education for women amidst Taliban death threats against her.
After the meditation, we pick up where we left yesterday. In the last 150 years, the growth of knowledge coming from science is unprecedented. However, at the same time, the last 150 years have also lead to severe damage of the environment, destruction of an increasing number of species, and man's inhumanity to mankind. So, there is a huge asymmetry in the growth of scientific knowledge.
Next, Alan goes into the view of William James, who points out the different roles of faith in respectively the realm of actuality and the realm of possibilities. Examples are given of this condition, like the "placebo effect" and achieving Shamatha.
Subsequently, Alan sketches the vision of William James, on how one could establish a science of mental phenomena. This asks for an open attitude and full empiricism (contrary to Occam's razor).
A very important tool for establishing a meaningful science of mental phenomena is introspection.
In the same way, an open attitude using empiricism could also launch a science of religious experiences. This would ask for a first person experience approach.
Meditation starts at: 5:54 min.
2017 8-Week Retreat, 11 May 2017, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Alan begins the session with a quick comment on the gentle vase breathing technique he explored in the previous session, reinforcing his earlier statement that the practice is optional and should only be pursued if we find it to be beneficial. He then returns to the theme of how we can assess our own practice, noting that whatever our environment, body, and mind dish up at any given moment in time is outside our control. Therefore, we should focus our efforts on analyzing how we respond to what occurs. In the Dzogchen view, our goal is not to have a better dream while in samsara, but to awaken as quickly as possible from our current deluded state. The meditation is a silent session. After the meditation we return to the text, exploring the Teachings of Saraha on Counteracting the Faults of Benefit and Harm. Alan amplifies several key points of Saraha, emphasizing especially the view that as long as you continues to reify appearances, even the loftiest stage-of-generation practices will only be a virtue leading to samsaric pleasure. He also discusses the key role of insight into emptiness as the most effective way to cut through mental afflictions and says that even though we might claim we don’t believe in gods and demons we still honor and fear external powers we believe benefit and harm our minds. The silent meditation period starts at 16:26 and is cut from the audio.
2017 8-Week Retreat, 27 Apr 2017, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Alan begins the session with a brief point on lojong, and the importance of being able to integrate whatever comes up in our lives into our dharma practice. Otherwise, when life goes well we’ll have little incentive to practice, and when difficulties arise, we won’t have time for practice. He emphasize that while practicing lojong, we should be specific about the practices we’re doing and know that we are doing them. With this in mind, Alan advises all participants in the retreat to know, at every moment of the day, which practice they are doing, and to know also that they are doing it. The guided meditation begins as a shamatha practice of Settling the Mind in Its Natural State and that shifts to a vipashyana practice exploring the relationship between awareness and appearances and examining the findability of the basis of designation for “I.” After the meditation, Alan explores some foundational points on emptiness, namely that all phenomena (internal or external) exist only in dependence upon a conceptual frame of reference. We then return to Buddhahood Without Meditation, picking up at the section beginning with Teachings of Avalokiteśvara. Here Dudjom Lingpa discusses how personal identity arises and Alan concisely reviews how the symmetry of substrate is perturbed when we wake from deep dreamless sleep. This sets in motion a chain of increasingly coarse perceptions that leads to dualistic grasping of “I” and “Not-I,” the primal sense of self that is shared by all sentient beings. Guided meditation starts at 21:54
2021 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 2, 02 May 2021, Online-only
Lama began with referring back to the last paragraph in Friday afternoon’s session, to include a sentence that was missing from the oral transmission – “In that case, some other wealthy benefactor who is rich in enlightened activities, a donor who fills up that empty vessel, would have to exist somewhere else.” (page 95, second new paragraph, 3rd sentence). Returning to the text, The Lake-Born Vajra continues to elaborate on emptiness, and comments, “When you know the way these things actually are and acquire confidence, appearances manifest as displays of the kāyas and facets of primordial consciousness.” Lama emphasizes the importance of this ‘acquiring confidence’, noting that it is far beyond understanding, experience and realisation. It is when the realisation has gone so deeply into your being that you won’t lose it, and a fundamental and irreversible shift has taken place in your perspective on reality. Therefore, as the Lake-Born Vajra pointed out, once you have acquired confidence regarding the way things actually are, you cut through the conditioned mind and you are viewing the way things actually are from the perspective of pristine awareness. Resting effortlessly in that flow, you see all “…appearances manifest as displays of the kāyas and facets of primordial consciousness”. Continuing on in the text, Lama highlights how ‘space’ takes a very prominent role once again, as it did in Phase 1 and Phase 3. The Lake-Born Vajra emphasises that “Appearing objects that seem to be other than space, are not other than space”. Exploring this further, Lama refers to the views that have been posited by cutting-edge theoretical physicists that space and time are not objectively out there. In reflecting that while we can conclude from this view that space doesn’t exist from its own side, and therefore is empty of inherent nature, he underscores that this conclusion was already drawn more than 2,000 years ago by Nagarjuna. Lama points out the congruence in views stops here, because in considering how phenomena come into existence, Madhyamaka has long emphasised the central role of the conceptually designating mind, but modern physicists still do not acknowledge any role at all for consciousness in the natural world. Despite this ongoing discrepancy, Lama shares that he is optimistic that a ‘cure is at hand’. He predicts that there will be a forthcoming third revolution in physics, and a first revolution in the mind sciences, and the two will be simultaneous. For this to occur, he suggests, there needs to be a renaissance in contemplative inquiry. The Lake-Born Vajra continues to elaborate on space, and Lama clarifies that while the space that we experience within the context of deceptive reality obscures the absolute space of phenomena, at the same time, it is not identical to that absolute space, and it is not other than it either. Lama suggests that here the Lake-Born Vajra is inviting us to shift our view of space to that of relative space and ultimate space, with the latter being completely fused with the deepest understanding of consciousness - primordial consciousness. He points out that individuals with the deepest understanding of space, see it not only as empty of inherent nature from its own side, like cutting-edge theoretical physicists, but they see it as indivisible from dharmadhatu, the ultimate ground of being, which is indivisible from pristine awareness. Lama concludes with outlining how when you begin practicing Dzogchen with the guidance of a teacher, the mind with which you first glimpse pristine awareness is still the mind of a sentient being, therefore it will probably not entail a realisation of the emptiness of the inherent nature of Rigpa. Whether you are a person with sharp faculties, or one with dull faculties following a gradual path, it is a path of understanding, which transforms into experience, which transforms into realisation, and then when you realise Rigpa, you shift from realisation to acquired confidence, the fundamental, and irreversible shift in your perspective on reality. The meditation starts at 01:06:33, and focuses on resting in awareness while releasing all aspirations, desires, and goals, and thus approaching liberation through the door of the absence of aspiration.
2022 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 3, 18 May 2022, Online from Miyo Samten Ling in Crestone, Colorado, USA
Yangchen begins the session with the sadhana meditation. The meditation begins at 0:00:34 and is based on the long version of the Lake-Born Sadhana, through which Yangchen guides us with visualizations, that she detailed in the previous sessions. Yangchen’s teachings start at 34:27. She points out how many details are implied in the sadhana once one integrates it with Lama Tharchin’s explanations and with the instructions in the Vajra Essence. Referring to the previous session she points out the essentially geometric forms she describes. Yangchen then anticipates a passage further ahead in the text: “Camara is one of the subcontinents …of our world system [Jambudvipa] …[and] is in the South-West”. When you’re doing the offerings its position is in the pure land further away from you on the left side [because you enter from the East]. That’s relevant to understand the mandala you’re building, with Mount Meru at its center. There are two kinds of nirmanakaya pure lands, celestial and terrestrial: Shambhala is accessible on this planet, where Sukhavati is a celestial realm…” “Camara [tib. Ngayab] is a terrestrial nirmanakaya pure land… accessible to the human realm…” as far as one’s view is pure enough to see it. “It’s the land of the rakshas, and Guru Rinpoche is living there as the king of the rakshas”. “the Copper-Coloured-Mountain [is made of a] three tiers palace of lotus light…” The upper tier is Sukhavati (Amitabha), the mid tier is Potalaka (Avalokiteshvara), the lower tier is Camara (Guru Rinpoche). Visualising the palace destroys our habit of grasping to objective appearances. Düdjom Rinpoche could experience all these details although they’re not expressed in the sadhana. As said in the previous session, it’s good to practice first on the extensive version of the sadhana and to rely on Lama Tharchin’s explanations which Yangchen follows in these teachings, to avoid the risk of missing a big part of the visualisation work when going straight to the shorter versions. It’s important not to rush. Here we’ll see how the Lotus-Born combine a peaceful deity (like Vajrasattva as presented in 2020 retreat) with a wrathful one (Heruka). Sometimes the Lake-Born is 8 years of age at others he is 16. We don’t have an explanation except that 8 years of age is the age the Guru had when he was “born” on a lotus, with the sense of pure immortality, while 16 years of age may be more suitable for his presence as the Guru of Gurus. About the frowning expression on the face, the Guru is never displeased with us, he’s displeased with Mara, the wrath is pointed at Mara. Without contracting your face muscles, if you can feel your “prana face” expressing that intense ferocious frown as if you were Heruka, this may help you remember you’re the Guru already and could help you cut off manifesting kleśas as soon as you become aware of them. The expression of affection manifests sensual desire, passion, tenderness, bliss. The Guru embraces his consort. No matter what the meditator gender is, it’s only one interlocking experience in which one perceives oneself as the both the male and female beings at once. Yangchen describes the props held by the Lotus-Born Vajra and Mandarava and she clarifies that their positions correspond to the chakras of the practitioner which gradually become activated. She continues the description of the sambkogakaya being according to Lama Tharchin’s instructions specifying that one should spend time to get the feeling of wearing those jewels, silks and other ornaments on the different parts of one’s body. The true vajra posture is the one held by the Guru, while the true lotus posture is he one held by Mandarava. In this lifetime anyone can access in oneself the other gender qualities to fully actualise the form one is contemplating. As humans we are karmically off-balance: during these practices where we have resistance, we find the point where we should work on our pocket of tension in terms of gender bias to reestablish the lost balance. These boundaries can be one’s most sensitive. In the privacy of our practice we can explore the very edges of who we think we are. Working on a finer balance helps us avoid the potential turmoils of practices like tummo. According to scriptures in the 8th century Guru Rinpoche was practicing with princess Mandarava in the Maratika cave in Eastern Nepal where they both attained the siddhi of deathless life (chime rigdzin). That’s what the image and practice “historically” evokes. The dakini enable the yogi to achieve siddhis and vice versa. Yangchen la reminds us that this entire mandala is already completely present and we didn’t have to create it from the seeds syllables. As soon as we arise as the Lake-Born Vajra the complete body mandala is already there. Regarding the mantra, the first three syllables should be visualised at the three places and Yangchen suggests to check the Vajra Essence p.130 and to read the detailed description by Lama Tharchin.
Shamatha, Vipashyana, Mahamudra, and Dzogchen, 10 Apr 2016, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Italy
Alan now goes beyond the sequence of The Four Greats (Great Compassion, Great Loving-kindness, Great Joy and Great Equanimity), to the Extraordinary Thought (tib. Lhag Sam), which expands on the momentum coming from these. It means "a resolve to free all sentient beings from suffering and bring them to to their fulfilment". He points out that this is actually not yet bodhicitta, because the aspiration to achieve enlightenment is missing. Recalling Padmasambhava, he reminds us the importance of combining the View and Way of Life. Nevertheless, we should not let one overwhelm the other. View here means viewing reality from the perspective of rigpa, and conduct relates to what needs to be done. Our conduct should be in accord with our highest view. He highlights that this brings a tension, but a sacred one, to this reality. Alan then addresses the point that the process of engaging with people will always be by way of our own appearances. In this way we are like artists or novelists, painting reality with the colours of our own mind. Here, as long as there is aversion or attachment, our heart will not be at ease. He recalls the words of the Buddha that, “So long as these five obscurations are not abandoned, one considers himself as indebted, sick, in bonds, enslaved and lost in a desert track” (Sāmaññaphala Sutta). This relates to the point that, in the Dzogchen view, we are the all-creating monarchs in our own mandala. If we can then attend to everyone with this extraordinary thought to free all sentient beings, we bring that unconditional benevolence. This process is very healing, and at the same time, until all sentient beings are free, you are not at rest. Meditation is on Developing the Resolve to Free all Sentient Beings. After meditation, Alan returns to the text "Lamp so Bright” (page 6), and gives oral transmission and brief commentary to the section 2.2 - the main practice (of Mahamudra). Meditation starts at 20:00 ___ Please contribute to make these, and future podcasts freely available.
2018 8-week retreat- The Essence of Clear Meaning, 19 Apr 2018, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia (Pisa), Italy
Parallel to the topic in the morning, where we dealt with impartiality with regards to caring for ourselves and others (skilful means), the afternoon session is about the impartiality with regards to resting in the cognizant flow of awareness (the wisdom aspect). The cultivation of the latter is important to overcome outer and inner nyams that will occur in our meditative experience. Alan relates this to Tibetan medicine and then comes to Lojong from the perspective of Dzogchen. He offers four important points of advice. Two points are about what we are attending to and the other two are about what we are attending with. (1) It is essential to maintain an ongoing flow of impartiality, so that there is a stream of cognizance that recognizes what is coming up and to maintain an equilibrium without a preference to modify mental events or to block them - it is stillness in the midst of motion. In a way we are seeking to emulate today the non-abiding Nirvana of a Buddha, the one taste of equal purity. We are doing our best to release all our identification with and reification of our sentient being's mind. We need also to apply the same impartiality with respect to all the subjective impulses that come up (low self-esteem, afflictive uncertainty, lust, greed, fear, anger, misery, etc.). Resting in awareness is not identifying with or being carried away by any of the subjective impulses and (the more objective) appearances of discursive thoughts, images, etc. in the domain of the mind. (2) We need to be able to draw a sharp distinction between a thought coming up and simply thinking or kind of thinking it. An image comes up and you are kind of attending to its referent. If it is "kind of", you are attending to the referent. We need to sit on the throne and attend to the movements. Thoughts come and your awareness doesn't flicker. The thoughts come with no owner. Your awareness is unflickering. This is stillness in the midst of motion. (3) Resting in the stillness of awareness. When we are resting in it, there is the twofold challenge of recognizing clearly when that which was still is moving, and when the level of clarity with which you began the session has dimmed. It's important to recognise the relative stillness of awareness and then recognise when it has moved towards some object. In this relativistic field, we need to recognise as soon as possible when our awareness has moved relative to the prior experience of stillness. (4) In terms of applying introspection, if you are resting in awareness of awareness (shamatha without a sign) and peripherally noting the movements of the mind, then you are not attending to something other than awareness as your primary focus (it's just a peripheral noting of the mind's movements). As you are maintaining a clear and cognizant flow of awareness of awareness, then by that sheer fact you should know whether the stream of consciousness is dimming or moving, because you are looking right at it. Excitation, moving or about to move, laxity and dullness: you should know all these aberrations pretty quickly, and then you just need to tweak the stream of consciousness to restore a clear and cognizant flow of awareness. Also, if you are resting in awareness of awareness, everything else that comes up is on the outside. There are no obstacles in awareness. All that is on the outside is called movement. Insofar as you are sustaining the stillness in the midst of motion, nothing can become an obstacle for your practice of awareness of awareness. As a final point before the meditation, Alan emphasizes that with respect to whatever is occurring in the mind, we need to have utter impartiality. But with respect to awareness we prefer to be aware rather than unaware, we prefer to be clear rather than dull. After the meditation, Alan turns to the text on page 54, section "2" Presenting the Direct Remedy as the Foremost Path" and comments it. He relates it to the second application of mindfulness and highlights how utterly relevant this section is for our time on and off the cushion, for it is the alchemy that turns felicity and adversity into the path. Meditation is on Taking Aspects of the Mind as the Path (silent and not recorded). Text p.54-55
Fall 2013 Shamatha and the Seven-Point Mind Training, 20 Oct 2013, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
This morning we have our last silent meditation in the second cycle of Shamatha without a sign. Alan gives a short preamble, stressing the importance of having contentment in once's practice: knowing right in the moment of the practice that one does it correctly and taking satisfaction in it. Also, having deep faith that one can, in fact, achieve Shamatha is indispensable for progressing along the path as hoping, doubting, fearing, aspiring, and giving up can diminish one's progress. It is crucial, also, that one has a deep conviction that the time spent on the cushion is, for the time being, the most meaningful thing once can do. After the meditation, we go back to finishing the topic of stages of the path to Shamatha. Alan begin by Garchen Rinpoche's quote who said that the reason why many well-aspiring practitioners don't see the results they would like to see is that they lack faith in themselves. Hence, one has to have not only faith in the practices themselves and their source but also in oneself and the power within that is capable of bringing about profound transformation. Afire that we go onto the Vajra Essence text where Padmasambhava by way of Dujong Lingpa summarizes the path of Shamatha and its effects possible through the power of familiarization. The text also points out how important the many turbulent struggles along the path (nyam) are and how they are signs of progress, and finally, how they can be transformed into wisdom of realizing emptiness and stability, and eventually: primordial consciousness.
Meditation starts at: 7:29 (silent, not recorded)
