2018 8-week retreat- The Essence of Clear Meaning, 08 Apr 2018, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia (Pisa), Italy
This session began with Alan announcing that as Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drolma (Khadro-la) will visit Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa during our retreat (from May 22nd to 24th), he inquired whether the retreatants could join in on her teachings. We then moved on to a meditation on loving-kindness, as taught by the Buddha, in the Pali canon. After the practice, Alan made some brief comments ahead of this afternoon’s empowerment, mentioning that it would be best if, as a preparation, we could continuously practice Bodhicitta throughout the day, and also use our Shamatha practice to bear in mind whatever understanding we currently have of the view of emptiness. Meditation starts at: 7:17
2019 8-Week Retreat, 19 Apr 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Topics include: - review of Phase 1: Taking the impure mind as the path - review of Phase 2: Revealing your own face as the sharp vajra of vipashyana - Phase 3: Revealing the ground dharmakaya - 2 types of identity (person, phenomena) - dependent-arising (causes & conditions, parts, conceptual designation) - seeking out the basis of designation of names - destroying grasping at the permanence of things Flipchart URL: https://imgur.com/aTRPYlk 
The 4 Yogas of Mahamudra 2019 Retreat, 18 Jun 2019, Shambhala Mountain Center
This will be our last practice on shamatha as we'll be moving on to vipashyana tomorrow. We go straight into meditation. After the meditation we go to the text that describes this practice. "Core Meditations on the Path of Mahamudra" on top of page 4 (numbering is different because the document was later updated). Lama Alan also talks about proofs in science are equivalent to the discoveries made by contemplatives, and how the center in Tuscany will bring those to the general public by way of the collaboration between scientists and contemplatives. We also cover one more instruction on shamatha by Maitrīpa. **Meditation** Shamatha: Directing awareness in all directions, finishing with releasing the mind into space. Meditation starts at 1:02
Fall 2012 Shamatha and the Four Applications of Mindfulness, 25 Aug 2012, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Alan welcomes the participants and explains some of the groundrules for the 8-week retreat.
Teaching: Alan begins by presenting the framework for his cycle of teachings on shamatha, vipasyana, mind-training, dream yoga, and dzogchen.
During this retreat, the instructions in the morning will focus shamatha and those in the afternoon on the 4 applications of mindfulness. Even if one has not yet realized shamatha, vipasyana practice will support shamatha and vice versa.
Practice by being sweet and gentle to yourself. Most problems in meditation come from pushing too hard or too much ego.
Note: Several sections concerning logistical issues have been removed from the recording.
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
Fall 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 18 Nov 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Loving-kindness should be saturated with wisdom, that is, knowing what’s conducive to well being. So we need to envision a conducive place to live, including partners for who you feel genuine affection, respect and trust. Instead of asking what I love to receive from the world, we need to ask what I truly need. So be content with merely the adequate. Loving-Kindness involves an internal transformation, to end with craving and hostility. After the meditation, Dr. Wallace answered questions that dealt with levels of happiness: Hedonic pleasure, eudemonic well being that comes from a virtuous life, and the deeper level coming from wisdom. He finished with an explanation of prāṇa, energy and its effects in body and mind.
2018 8-week retreat- The Essence of Clear Meaning, 05 Apr 2018, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia (Pisa), Italy
Alan welcomes all of us, those here in Pomaia, those attending through the online stream and those who will later participate in the wisdom publication online-course. He mentions that according to the view of Dzogchen, space and time do not exist 'out there'. Even in modern quantum physics space-time doesn't have real existence. So, it doesn't make a difference whether some people are physically present here in the retreat and others are watching the audio stream and whether they are doing this at the same time. Alan suggests a new connotation of the word retreat. Retreat should be less of a withdrawal, because from what can one withdraw when awareness itself is coextensive with space? This retreat should be without the notion that we practice Dharma only sporadically or that we "dharmed out". If we have tough days in samsara, the best is to relax and practice Dharma. Alan recommends to use this time to retreat from samsara into a practice permeated by Dharma. Even if we go for a walk. And do all this with the motivation of Bodhicitta and with the Dzogchen view. We are not only 60 people on individual retreats and responsible for our own practice, but we are also in a collective retreat and responsible for the way we engage with others. If mental afflictions arise, try to recognize them as soon as possible, and restrain body, speech and mind until your mind settles in equilibrium. Alan also reminded us to keep our samayas of courtesy and respect for the eight weeks and let our baseline, our default mode be silence. Meditation is on The Four-Fold Vision Quest After the meditation, Alan briefly mentioned Düdjom Lingpa's text for this retreat (The Sharp Vajra of Consciousness Awareness Tantra) and that all 5 treatises are for achieving rainbow body. For us ordinary individuals, he also stressed the importance of cultivating the aspiration, a pure ethical behaviour, the motivation of Bodhicitta and applying Dharma in order to reach the pure land of Sukhavati. Moreover, there is no downside in making lofty aspirations (i.e. to achieve enlightenment in one lifetime for the sake of all beings), for even if we don't reach our goals in this life, there will be very positive repercussions for all future lives. The meditation starts at 42:13
Spring 2012 Shamatha Retreat, 19 Apr 2012, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Shamatha and the Four Immeasurables
Alan talks about the fundamental impulse of caring. The barriers of the I-it relationship. The achievement of shamatha and how this is the base for achieving bodhicitta and extending that caring. Described the final practice of shamatha as described by Padmasambhava in his text Natural Liberation. In this practice we begin by stretching the space of the mind in all directions and then getting into the flow by just sustaining a clear cognoscente of being aware. He also explained how the Four Immeasurables are the foundation for the practice of bodhicitta.
Meditation starts 28.37
Meditation ends 53.22
Question and answer starts 58.30
Spring 2011 Shamatha Retreat, 25 Apr 2011, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
In this 24-minute guided meditation on loving-kindness, Alan Wallace focuses on sending this aspiration spatially, or through space in all directions, beginning with ourselves, and then out to those physically closest to us, and then further and further away.
After the 24-minute meditation, a silent 10-minute meditation is shared by the group.
Alan then answers the following question:
If the substrate mind dissolves into rigpa -- which is non-conceptual -- how is the continuity of consciousness maintained through the bardo, etc., if the continuity is conceptual?
Editor's Note: A brief (2-second) pause occurs in the beginning of the recording, due to a recording disk error.
2019 8-Week Retreat, 17 May 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Topics include: - review of Phase 1 to 5 - Phase 6: Teachings on the Essential Points of Practice & Their Key Distinctions - review meditation (shar sgom) of the 7 key distinctions - 1. Substrate (alaya) & Dharmakaya - 2. Mentation (manas) & Wisdom (prajna) - 3. Conditioned consciousness (vijnana) & Primordial consciousness (jnana) - 4. Mind (citta) & Pristine awareness (vidya) - 5. Understanding & Realization - 6. Delusion & Liberation - 7. Sentient beings & Buddhas Flipchart URL: https://imgur.com/08O2WKz 
Fall 2011 Shamatha Retreat, 16 Sep 2011, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Alan continues his talk by emphasizing that hedonic pleasure cannot be the sole measure of something good/beneficial. Only through difficulties we encounter with others can we develop the paramitas. Whatever happens is also presenting an opportunity and helps us develop strength of mind in order to digest whatever the world dishes up.
Guided meditation (33:08) focusing on the causes of happiness, starting with rejoicing in those who are doing something beneficial, those who are cultivating samadhi, those who are cultivating wisdom, and in one’s own positive factors both inner and outer.
Questions (58:13):
Q1) The events during the bardo of dying even when experienced cannot be reported upon because the has died. What are possible avenues of collaboration between buddhism and modern science to shed light on such questions?
Fall 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 18 Nov 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Pressure in the head and headaches are not habits we should build while meditating. Therefore, this morning, Alan gave a detailed reminder of how this should be approached: back to Infirmary. This is by giving special attention to release all thoughts and tension during the out-breath and by focusing on the earth element (sensations of firmness and solidity).
The tension might come from the feeling of anxiety that there are only 2 ½ weeks left for the retreat to be over. So, Alan used an analogy on the deva land of Tushita in the desire realm and the Pure Land of Tushita as to be Phuket and the Mind Center respectively, in order for us to understand the different ways of looking at our reintroduction into the world once the retreat finishes.
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 07 Jun 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
This practice got separated from the previous episode for continuity purposes. As you might expect, we return for the final time to the practice of Settling the Mind in its Natural State. Spefically, we start by attending to the spaces in between mental events, and after a while we go deeper and without breaking the continuity we observe the space from which mental events arise, in which they are present, and into which they dissolve. Alan briefly reflects on achieving Shamatha by observing the substrate, by observing space, and explains his reasons behind breaking this Shamatha practice into parts (attending to the foreground, and today to the background). As you probably expect, his reasons make a lot of sense. So enjoy this Settling the Mind practice, for the last time in this podcast series!
By the way, if you want some practices with more explanation behind them, you might want to check the meditations from the first week. This is the fourth time we come to this phase in the Shamatha cycle so Alan is using very few words compared to seven weeks ago.
This spectacular photo was taken by Malcolm, and this is straight from his camera! I promise I did not even modify the colors, the skies here are just stunning. Prepare for more breathtaking sky photos in these last episodes (although they get scaled down to 300 sq pixels for the podcast...)
2019 8-Week Retreat, 11 Apr 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Lama Alan begins as usual: Olaso. Today Lama is focusing on maintaining balance in practice and in between sessions. First the four types of nourishment: food, drink, breathing, and sleep. Attending to these four aspects of life and maintaining them with an idea of "not to much, and not too little". Sleep can be upset in the beginning of retreat and a balance is important in regards to it, and Lama Alan recommends against sleep deprivation. The Dharma talks themselves can stir things up and that may be a cause for having a hard time sleeping at night. Lama Alan offers practice techniques to help one keep from being overstimulated, maintaining relaxation, and being able to rest well at night. Lama Alan continues in a familiar theme of combining methods of practice in one session in order to maintain balance in meditation. Lama introduces the technique of earth and sky meditation. A particular note on how to have a gentle discipline on the mind like a loving parent disciplines a young child. Meditation practice: Balancing Earth and Sky Lama Alan finishes a thought. When you are in your own room try doing two sessions back to back, one session of the infirmary (supine and Asanga's method to mindfulness of breathing), and then sit up and do a session of either taking the mind as the path, or then awareness of awareness, and then back into the infirmary to mellow it all out. Lama Alan recommends to always start with relaxation. Questions and comments: Felipe: Is it okay to mix up the meditations of mindfulness of breath and awareness of awareness? • Lama Alan would avoid the word mixing, he would use combination. This combination has been used for thousands of years and people have been getting benefit. The mindfulness of breathing would take one to full achievement of shamatha. Keep the practices distinct and separate, first one then the other. The recommendation is not to mix them. Kim: What is the advice to switching around with shamatha techniques versus choosing one method and sticking with it? • On the one hand Tsongkhapa approaches this one way, while other masters take a different approach. Lama responds with some helpful information for why we are using these particular shamatha techniques in this retreat and recommendations for how to engage with the meditations on this retreat. Meditation starts at 18:12
The Wisdom of Atisha and Knowing Our Own Minds, 20 Sep 2021, Online from Miyo Samten Ling in Crestone, CO
- The meditation starts with conation, the desire, yearning and aspiration for ones own sake but in broadening the scope of our awareness we turn our renunciation into bodhicitta and let that be our motivation. - Then we settle body, speech and mind and choose a shamatha method that we prefer—any authenic method of shamatha will do—and as we sustain the flow of mindfulness on that object we monitor the flow mindfulness with introspection. - As we do, we are on high alert for the occurrence of any of the five obscurations, recognizing when they come (1), recognizing them when they are gone (2), remembering how to antidote them (3), remembering how to prevent them (4) so that we remove all the obscurations that veil that natural luminosity, purity and bliss of our own midstream.
Spring 2012 Shamatha Retreat, 24 May 2012, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
The stillness experienced in awareness of awareness is due to the absence of grasping. In sustaining this awareness we are observing nothing other than the substrate consciousness itself, though veiled by the course mind. Compare this to the possibility of observing rigpa while practicing dzogchen's open presence meditation. We may then know reality is not like a dream, but is a dream; nothing existing from its own side, objectively or subjectively.
Q&A
* Advice on effectively helping self absorbed complainers.
* Comparing Hinayana with Theravada and Mahayana.
* The feasibility of doing a one-year shamatha retreat.
* Practicing gratefulness.
* Which variety of awareness of awareness to practice in a personal retreat.
* Does one realize any emptiness by achieving the first jhana?
Fall 2014 Shamatha, Vipashyana, Dream Yoga, 10 Oct 2014, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Before the meditation, Alan elaborates on the importance of preliminary practices and the accumulation of merit in order to prepare the mind. However, that is not enough since merit can be lost, especially when generating anger towards a bodhisattva. Therefore, what are the signs that purification is happening? When one ventures into deeper practices, one can get some sense that obscurations are attenuating. Then, the practitioner gains serenity, inner calmness, contentment, composure, etc. This happens not only when everything goes well but even during bad times. Mental afflictions also arise but they have lost power. In brief, a clear sign of having accrued virtue is having an enduring and robust inspiration. When one takes seriously the preliminary practices and they bring about a transformation, then the practitioner is ripened and liberated. The ripening part comes from the preliminary practices, and the fruition of that is liberation. After comes a guided mediation on taking the mind as the path, which is directly correlated to the next passage of the text. After meditation Alan continues with the oral transmission and explanation of the text Natural Liberation on page 180. The main topic is the four great ways of liberation. Thoughts are primordially liberated, self-liberated, instantly liberated, and completely liberated. In this passage we come to see that all mental afflictions are unborn and self-liberating. Moreover, knowing that an instance of thought is unborn and self-liberating, we know that every thought is unborn and self-liberating. Then, by implication one understands the nature of consciousness as being unborn, empty of inherent nature, and self-liberating. Self-liberating means liberating oneself right down to rigpa. And one can do that on the basis of a single instant. This is an irreversible revolution! When you see it and fathom the four great ways of liberation, nothing remains as before. The text says: “Whatever appears, let it go as self-liberating. Do not meditate; let awareness roam freely.” Viewing reality from the perspective of rigpa, all sentient beings are actually free but they don’t know it. They are striving so hard when being already primordially free, self-liberated, instantly liberated and completely liberated. Alan finishes the session talking about the hell realms and concludes that one can’t by any means stay in hell when having great compassion. Meditation starts at 25:16
2023 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 4, 04 May 2023, Crestone, Colorado and Online
Set your mind at ease, speech in silence, body relaxed and vigilant, and linger there. Focus on sustaining the awareness of awareness, at its core an effortless practice. Then Lama la continues with the sequence of pith instructions given by Padmasambhava: “If awareness becomes muddled and unmindful, that is the problem of laxity, or dullness; so clear it up, inspire it, and shift your gaze. If it becomes distracted and excited, it is important that you lower your gaze and release your awareness. If samādhi arises in which there is nothing of which you can say, “This is meditation,” and “This is conceptualization,” this is the problem of oblivion. So meditate with alternating concentration and release, and recognize who is meditating. Recognize the flaws of śamatha, and eliminate them right away.”
2019 8-Week Retreat, 23 Apr 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Topics include: - review of Phase 1: Taking the impure mind as the path - review of Phase 2: Revealing your own face as the sharp vajra of vipashyana - review of Phase 3: Revealing the ground dharmakaya - Phase 4: Determining the characteristics and qualities of the ground - free from 8 extremes - 3 doors of liberation (emptiness, signlessness, desirelessness) - 5 kayas (dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, nirmanakaya, svabhavikakaya, vajrakaya) - 8 names for sugatagarbha Flipchart URL: https://imgur.com/2JkAmQG 
Spring 2012 Shamatha Retreat, 08 Apr 2012, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Alan welcomes all participants and gives an overview of what the retreat will entail as well as some information on Thanyapura.
After meditation Alan talks about motivations for the retreat and values of cultivating different kinds of intelligence.
> Conative Intelligence is the ability to recognize which of our desires are meaningful.
> Attentional Intelligence is choosing where to put our attention.
> Cognitive Intelligence is the clarity of mind engaging with reality as it is.
> Emotional Intelligence shows whether our emotional responses are balanced as compared to over-reactive.
The practice of Shamatha enhances these four forms of intelligence and leads to a shift in our priorities.
Note: Several sections concerning logistical issues have been removed from the recording.
The meditation begins at 02:50
The 4 Yogas of Mahamudra 2019 Retreat, 16 Jun 2019, Shambhala Mountain Center
Lama Alan starts by answering the question "Why do we suffer?", from the perspective of Mahamudra and Dzogchen. He then raises the question: "What's preventing us from realizing Rigpa, which is the equivalent of knowing who we are?" and comments on our own everyday experience as sentient beings. Lama then presents the practice for this session, and comments on the 6 "theaters" of our own mind. After the meditation Lama Alan explores the concept of qualia and the different ways in which people try to explain them. We then continue with "The Four Yogas of Mahamudra": * Small stage of Yoga of Single-pointedness **Meditation** Shamatha: The Buddha's pith instructions to Bahiya Meditation starts at 17:01
Spring 2012 Shamatha Retreat, 08 May 2012, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Settling the body, speech, and mind in their natural state is fundamental to shamatha practice and though it so familiarly begins each session we mustn't relax our regard for it. So this evening we refine our skill for the technique, culminating with an awareness that is relaxed, still, and clear.
Then we discuss our habit for seeking serenity and stimulation outside of ourselves, when in fact these qualities exist nowhere other than their source in our own awareness.
Meditation Begins 13.46 - 38.10
Q&A 47.05
* How thoughts and images relate.
* Considering we may constitute an intergalactic super-organism.
* Practicing vipasyana before attaining samadhi.
* Degrees of grasping in awareness of awareness.
* Techniques of counting the breath.
* Bringing interest to boring subjects.
* Eyes as a portal to the substrate.
Fall 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 18 Nov 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Hello All you Lovelies out in Computerland or iPodland, This morning’s meditation technique is Awareness of Awareness. Padmasambhava, in his book Natural Liberation, calls this meditation technique the cultivation of ‘Shamatha without a sign’. Then, Alan went into some of the history of how different scientific disciplines have thought about the mind according to how their discipline measures things. Each one has a specialized language. He gave instructions on how to do the meditation of Awareness of Awareness and I will refer you to his books ‘The Attention Revolution’ and ‘Genuine Happiness’ for details. Alan believes in radical empiricism. Let experience lead you to the theory. This is what Padmasambhava is saying when he gave us the meditational technique of Awareness of Awareness. Darlene
Spring 2012 Shamatha Retreat, 15 May 2012, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Mindfulness of breathing, a active developmental practice, produces skills such as attentional stability which can be said to have a high market value. Likewise, settling the mind in its natural state helps develop such evolutionarily advantageous qualities as the skill to recognize emotional refractory periods. Awareness of awareness, conversely, in its passive method of discovery, has zero hedonic value. What is does provide, with its insight into the substrate consciousness, is a preparation that is useful in confronting death. The core of awareness of awareness is releasing all that is identified with "I" and "mine," as one probes inward beyond the layers that are eliminated at the end of life.
Q&A
* The role of introspection in awareness of awareness.
* The value of seeking the agent.
* What is the locality of awareness?
* When body energy arises.
Meditation starts at 38:53
2020 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 1, 06 Apr 2020, Online-only
Eva 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 Khandrola 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.
Fall 2015 Stage of Generation, 03 Aug 2015, Araluen Retreat Center, Queensland, Australia
Alan began by reminding us that during the practice of Mindfulness of Breathing to just note sensations arising by surrendering all identification with them rather than identifying or claiming them. Shantideva was emphatic about developing an "I-it" relationship with all 84,000 catalogued mental afflictions. Alan quoted from one of his favourite Shantideva verses (Ch 3, v 11) "As a result of surrendering everything there is nirvana, and my mind seeks nirvana surrendering everything all at once. This is the greatest gift to all sentient beings". Alan called this an amazing idea, and noted in surrendering everything one is just resting - discovery shamatha rather than developing it. The meditation is on Mindfulness of Breathing. Following meditation practice, Alan commented on the worthwhile value of discursive or analytical meditation (as emphasised in the Lam Rim). However his observation of students' practice over the years is that cultivating our shamatha practice of Mindfulness of Breathing results in a shift of priorities in our lives towards greater appreciation of Dharma that taps into a deeper reality engendering a sense of well-being. This then provides the incentive for discursive meditation to develop understanding of Bodhicitta and the Four Immeasurables. Alan then discussed point 2 of the text "The Foolish Dharma" (see Mahamudra Retreat Notes), noting the bounty of opportunities in the 6 independent variables of our body, environment etc, presents a highly unlikely set of circumstances. Hence if we find ourselves in this situation (as retreatants do), we should seriously apply the Dharma to one's life so that it permeates our view of being in the world. Questions: 1) During meditation practice involving counting the breath, when the mind activity settles there is sometimes a lack of ability or arousal to keep counting - what should I do about this? 2) During meditation practice what is your advice on posture and eye gaze in sitting and supine positions? 3) What are the advantages of meditating in the supine position? Meditation starts at 14:08 ___ Course notes, other episodes and resources for this retreat are available here The text for this retreat can be purchased via the SBI Store. Finally, Please contribute to help us afford the audio equipment we rent to make these, and future podcasts freely available.
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.
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
Fall 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 18 Nov 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Strong mental afflictions catch our attention. We do not notice good deeds as much as bad. This is especially true of the media. We need to make a conscious effort to have an antenna up for joy. In a single meditation session we can take delight in doing the practice well. Even if our mind wanders, we can bring it back joyfully.
The meditation includes the Mahayana prayer:
May we all never be parted from genuine happiness and the causes of happiness. Why couldn’t we? May we never be parted from genuine happiness and well-being. May I make it so! May my own spiritual mentors bless me so I may be enabled to help others to achieve genuine happiness!
The questions and answers dealt with the “cascading waterfall” of thoughts listed in the Stages of Shamatha and practical suggestions for using insight to improve the practice.
The Wisdom of Atisha and Knowing Our Own Minds, 13 Sep 2021, Online from Miyo Samten Ling in Crestone, CO
After arousing bodhicitta, we settle body, speech and mind in the natural state, culminating in the effortless flow of awareness of awareness. To the best of our ability, we let all objective and subjective appearances be, without identifying with them or appropriating them, but instead rest in awareness. Then we let the light of our awareness illuminate the entire filed of tactile sensation in the body and focus selectively to those sensations that are correlated with the breath. With the faculty of introspection we monitor the flow of mindfulness of the breath and, in case of the occurrence of excitation and distraction we apply the antidote of relaxing, releasing and returning, whereas in case of the occurrence of laxity and dullness we refresh, restore and retain our mindfulness.
2017 8-Week Retreat, 07 May 2017, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Questions include: 1. With that sense of “stillness and movement” I approach settling the mind .. however I am not able to stay still and “just letting the thoughts be” (appear, play out and disappear by themselves)… when a thought appears I feel that I am “cutting it off” in order not to move the awareness and when I let them be, I follow after them almost always. 2. What is the difference between the direct experiences of emptiness of an Arhat, First Bhumi Bodhisattva, and Vidyadhara? When an Arhat realizes direct emptiness and achieves nirvana, they are out of samsara and therefore have transcended the Substrate Consciousness, but they have not yet experienced Rigpa so what is the state between the Substrate and Rigpa that an Arhat is experiencing? Has a First Bhumi Bodhisattva transcended samsara and achieved nirvana?
Fall 2013 Shamatha and the Seven-Point Mind Training, 18 Oct 2013, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
The session starts with a silent meditation on the two Bodhichittas. After the meditation, Alan talks about ultimate and relative bodhichitta and their connection.
Next, we go to the subject of lucid dreaming: 1) waking induced lucid dream, 2) dreaming induced lucid dream, and 3) state check and prospective memory/mindfulness.
Then the Lojong is further discussed: the pledges of the mind training. Alan comments on the aphorisms "Do not speak of others' limitations" and "Do not stand in judgement of others". In the context of the latter aphorism, the guru-disciple relation is also paid attention to.
Finally, some nice stories you don't want to miss!
Meditation starts at: silent meditation, not recorded
Spring 2012 Shamatha Retreat, 30 Apr 2012, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Tonight's practice of awareness of awareness gives our sense of spaciousness a workout. Just as it's possible for one to be small-minded, where limited perception causes an imbalance in what we take to be important, an expansiveness of awareness and attention can be cultivated giving us greater depth of understanding and openness to the world. The guided meditation instructs us to extend our perception in various directions, taking no object and without visualization.
We're instructed to keep a correct posture during meditation the same way we avoid falling out of bed while deep asleep, by assigning the task to our body intelligence.
Then a polemic on the topic of non-overlapping magisteria and how it relates to having an expansive mind and genuine well-being in times of adversity.
Q&A
* The difference between thought and realization.
* Evaluating one's practice in the moment.
Meditation starts at 13:35
Shamatha Teachings with Drupön Lama Karma, 19 Mar 2024, Online
On March 19, 2024 as Lama Alan describes, an anomalous event took place where he gave a sub-commentary on Lama Karma's Barlung teachings and commentary. Lama Alan would like to correct clarifications regarding his commentary on the pranayama practice. The first regards the full achievement of shamatha: According to Asanga (Śrāvakabhūmi), the sequence is that first one experiences mental pliancy, which then triggers the experience of the whole body being saturated by physical pliancy, which, in turn, triggers mental bliss. Then this extraordinary mental joy subsides, and the mind having a serene aspect becomes stabilized in shamatha. The second correction is that Lama Karma’s retreat land is not two hectares, but rather 15 decimals, for 0.15 acres.
Spring 2011 Shamatha Retreat, 26 Apr 2011, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Alan Wallace guides a 24-minute meditation on compassion, asking the question, "How can we be free from suffering?" He teaches the use of a visualization of a radiant orb of light at one's heart, metaphorically representing one's own Buddhanature, into which one draws in one's own or others' suffering, and then observes its incineration in the blazing brilliance of the orb of light.
The guided meditation begins at 19:40.
After the meditation, Alan speaks freely for a while, then answers the following two questions:
1. After hearing your story about the yogi who was totally supported in his pursuit of dharma, despite having no financial resources of his own, I am curious about the circumstances in which students of yours have been able to go into solitary retreat. How does one live a life of solitude in retreat?
2. What is really happening in the practice we did today? Does it have any measurable effect outside of my mind? How do thoughts, feelings, and aspiration differ in their effects?
Fall 2013 Shamatha and the Seven-Point Mind Training, 07 Sep 2013, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
This afternoon we complete the cycle of mindfulness of breathing. Before we go into the final practice, Alan addresses one of the participant's question about experiencing tingling/vibrating sensations in the forehead when practicing mindfulness of breathing at the aperture of the nostrils. Alan explains that this might happen for some meditators even when they are practicing correctly since prana, which follows attention, might build up in the area we are focusing on. He suggests, in such cases, to change the practice to an alternate one, which is mindfulness of breathing with the focus on the whole body. To do so, a practitioner needs to focus on all the tactile sensations arising in the field of the body that are directly correlated with each in and out breath.
After the practice, Alan moves on to discussing the fourth thought that turns the mind, which is the law of karma or, in other words, actions and their consequences or cause and effect. The Buddha's notion of karma deals with deliberate action (volition) and can be fully understood only in the context of the continuity of consciousness. If we accept this fact as a working hypothesis for our life, then the question whether our behavior in this lifetime has any ramifications for our future lifetimes emerges and the need to discern wholesome actions from unwholesome ones becomes imperative.
But how can we know which actions are virtuous and which are not and how they will ripen in our future lives? Since at this stage we are unable to see the entire web of all karmic connections as the Buddha did on the second day of his enlightenment, the best way to approach this dilemma is by bringing it to the realm of this lifetime. To do so, we ask ourselves a question whether our actions (of body, speech, and mind) bring about the well-being and genuine happiness of oneself and others. If the consequence of our action contributed to our own well-being and that of others, we can say that the action was virtuous, and vice versa. We need to see ourselves as part of a whole web of connections (an eco-system) and judge the nature of the action by how it affects the entire system as karma is both individual and collective.
Alan also emphasizes that karma works equally for both virtuous and non-virtuous actions and is not static; it grows over time. Last but not least, Alan stresses that all non-virtue comes from delusion, which is the result of misapprehending reality. As karma is simply as things are (a universal law rather than a moralistic requisite), meditation on this subject is meant to shift one's perspective on viewing reality and encourage the investigation of this truth for oneself in order to gain confidence in it.
Meditation starts at: 19:21
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 06 Jun 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Yes, this is an ambitious title but as always the podcast episode does not fail to deliver the goods. However, I really won't even try to summarize all of Buddhist Philosophy in two paragraphs. I know I always say that but really, this time there is just no point and not enough space for me to do that. However, I will give you a few things :)
The lecture started with what to do when we encounter strong negative emotions, attitudes, and mental states after the retreat, and this was weaved with a question about the relationship of Chitamattra and Dzogchen. Instead of giving a brief conceptual comparison, Alan rolls back and looks at a sequence of ways of viewing reality, fully engaged with a way of practice. He works with Sanskrit-language based schools: Vaibhashika, Sautrantika, Chittamatra, and Madhyamaka, and ends with a brief overview of The Great Perfection (Dzogchen).
Alan makes this very relevant regardless of personal interest in Buddhism, and clearly explains the ways of viewing the physical, appearances, systems of measurement, qualia, references, perception, the mind, awareness, "what do you really know," and just all of reality from evolving points of view. Somewhere in the middle, there is a brief detour into the "lack of competition" that resulted in materialism taking over the mind sciences. I will honestly say that I do not consider myself well-versed in Buddhist philosophy, and this episode was extremely enlightening and helped me clearly understand the different views of the Indian Buddhist schools, culminating in the beauty of the Dzogchen view.
So that's all you'll get from me! I very highly recommend this episode.
Fall 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 18 Nov 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
This afternoon Alan started giving a brilliant lecture about the third of the Four Immeasurables, empathetic joy, which means taking delight from other’s joys, fortunes and virtues. He addressed that nowadays more than ever we should practice on this immeasurable, knowing that around 90% of the news we read on the web are bad news and recalling one of his favorite phrases from William James: “At the moment what we are attending to is reality”, then we should focus and take delight from all the bandwidth of people having joys, fortune and those, independent of beliefs or religions, who are devoting their lives bringing happiness to others. We continued with a marvelous meditation, practicing the above, and finally ended with Q&A, one of them regarding to the practice of Shamatha settling the mind in its natural state, two questions about the practice of awareness of awareness and one last question about Buddha Nature. Enjoy it!!
Fall 2013 Shamatha and the Seven-Point Mind Training, 23 Oct 2013, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
From the seventh point of Atisha's mind training: 'Adopt the three principle causes'
These causes are:
1. Following a qualified mentor
- Alan told the story of the first person to encounter the Buddha.
- Alan taught that we should see through the person and not reify them (or ourselves). Seeing all teachers equally whether it be as a emissary of the Budhha, like a Buddha or as a Buddha.
- If there is one with an inner heart connection, a root guru, see that guru in the centre and other teachers as emanations of that one.
2. Devoting ourselves to all stages of the practice
- Have a panoramic vision of all the teachings but focus primarily where you have traction.
3. Cultivate the outer and inner conditions for fruitful practice.
- One of our greatest freedoms is to choose our environment
- Inner conditions are the 5 faculties that when cultivated and developed become the 5 powers.
Meditation started immediately with no 'front loading'
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.
Fall 2011 Shamatha Retreat, 01 Oct 2011, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Once again we start the cycle, beginning with mindfulness of breathing. Alan first gives an overview of the whole path, from settling the body, speech and mind in their natural state, all the way up to dzogchen, by using the analogy of a computer. We start with a very old, big and clunky computer that barely works, and we upgrade it over and over with the "software" of shamatha, vipashyana, bodhichitta, etc. that reboots and enhances it until we end up with a perfect machine, which stays turned on "for as long as space remains, for as long as sentient beings remain..." Quite nice!
Meditation starts at 38:00
Questions (63:08):
1) Why is it said that when we see a negative quality in someone else like anger, we're reflecting our own, like a mirror; when the Buddha got rid of his defilements couldn't he see any more anger, envy, etc in other people?
2) Differences between science and buddhism in terms of goals (hedonic vs eudaimonic) and how each treats meditation accordingly
Shamatha, Vipashyana, Mahamudra, and Dzogchen, 14 May 2016, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Italy
Dear Friends, This is a trimmed version of podcast 79, which includes only Alan's response to the article "Buddhist meditation and cognitive sciences", by Daniel Simpson. Link to the article. · From the article “Buddhist meditation and cognitive sciences”: o Regarding the kinds of dialogues that are promoted by the Mind & Life Institute, anthropologist Geoffrey Samuel comments, “much of what happens in this process is less a dialogue between equal systems of thought than an assimilation of the more ‘acceptable’ elements within Tibetan and Buddhist thought into an essentially Western context.” o One Mind & Life scientist, Richard Davidson, has bent over backwards to avoid causing offence while defending materialism. He comments: “Certain scientific assumptions are themselves based on well-established principles,” adding (via the circumlocution “some would say”) that: “the dependence of mind on brain is one such assumption that has been subjected to countless empirical tests, and each and every one of them has provided support for this general claim.” o Philosopher Jay Garfield: “Our introspective awareness of our cognitive processes, no matter how sophisticated, is as constructed, and hence as fallible as any other perception,” so reported experiences of pure consciousness may be illusory. “Perception, we learn from empirical research, is never immediate, and never devoid of inferential processes. It is guided by attention and pretension, mediated by memory and low-level inference.” o Neuroscientist Jonathan Cohen: “Neuroscientists want to preserve both the substance and the image of rigor in their approach, so one doesn't want to be seen as whisking out into the la-la land of studying consciousness.” o Definition of “la-la land:” You know when you see someone and think, “wow, they’re in their own world.” Well, that world is la la land. · Psychologist Anne Treisman commented in the 2009 Mind and Life conference in Dharamsala that perception is a kind of externally guided hallucination. We create experience rather that “photographing it,” so psychologists regard subjective reports as data, rather than as factual accounts. · Cesare Cremonini, was a friend of Galileo and among his contemporaries who refused to look through a telescope to confirm or refute Galileo’s discoveries. He explained his refusal with the words, “I do not wish to approve of claims about which I do not have any knowledge, and about things which I have not seen... and then to observe through those glasses gives me a headache. Enough! I do not want to hear anything more about this.” [Opere, II, 564, which is a letter from Paolo Gualdo to Galileo]. Cremonini was paid to teach Aristotle (in fact, he said when under investigation by the Inquisition that he would have to return his pay if he declined to teach Aristotelianism). More generally, the heavens in Aristotle were supposed to be incorruptible and hence there are no sunspots, so why look through a telescope? Cremonini’s reasons were thus philosophical and ruled out Galileo's observations a priori, so there was no need for telescopes. · Giulio Libri was an opponent of Galileo who also refused to look through a telescope, but his reasons appear to have been more practical: in his book Natural Magic of 1589, Giovanni Battista Della Porta had shown that all manner of optical illusions were possible and at the time of Galileo no complete theory of optics was available to distinguish between genuine effects and tricks or self-deception. Link to the related source. · Nobel laureate physicist Richard Feynman: “It is only through refined measurements and careful experimentation that we can have a wider vision. And then we see unexpected things: we see things that are far from what we would guess—far from what we could have imagined. . . . If science is to progress, what we need is the ability to experiment, honesty in reporting results—the results must be reported without somebody saying what they would like the results to have been . . . One of the ways of stopping science would be only to do experiments in the region where you know the law. But experimenters search most diligently, and with the greatest effort, in exactly those places where it seems most likely that we can prove our theories wrong. In other words we are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.” (Richard P. Feynman, The Character of Physical Law (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1967), 127, 148, 158.) · For a brilliant overview of rigorous scientific research that dares to challenge the prevailing materialistic dogma that reduces the mind to brain function, see Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century by Edward Kelly and Emily Williams Kelly. For critical assessments of this work by respected scientists and scholars, see the amazon link. · William James: “Introspection is difficult and fallible; and ... the difficulty is simply that of all observation of whatever kind... The only safeguard is in the final consensus of our farther knowledge about the thing in question, later views correcting earlier ones, until at last the harmony of a consistent system is reached.” (William James, The Principles of Psychology (New York: Dover Publications, 1890/1950) I:191-2 & 197-8.) · William James: “Psychology, indeed, is today hardly more than what physics was before Galileo, what chemistry was before Lavoisier. It is a mass of phenomenological description, gossip, and myth, including, however, real material enough to justify one in the hope that with judgment and good-will on the part of those interested, its study may be so organized even now as to become worthy of the name of natural science at not very distant day.” (William James, “A plea for psychology as a science.” Philosophical Review, 1, 1892, 146-153. (146).)
2019 8-Week Retreat, 02 May 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Olaso. Lama Alan briefly recaps the 5th preliminary covered this morning giving instruction to let us know when that preliminary is accomplished. We are moving into the 6th phase of these teachings which is on Trekchö. Lama talks about the common practice of preliminaries in the Dzogchen lineages, and his personal experience and stories of other Lamas teaching Dzogchen without the 5 sets of 100,000. Lama offers stories from Dudjom Rinpoche, Gyatrul Rinpoche, Garchen Rinpoche, among others. Lama Alan returns to the Pali Canon to discuss shamatha referring to Buddhaghosa once again, and speaking about the counterpart sign and discussing how the appearances relate as holographic displays of archetypes. Lama has a short talk here on the Bhavanga from the Pali Canon and the need for shamatha before being fully ready for the 4 applications of mindfulness. He finishes with introducing the topic of meditation as revealing the nature of awareness as presented by Padmasambhava from Natural Liberation. Guided meditation is on Padmasambhava’s instructions on the nature of awareness Lama Alan continues with speaking about how we need to identify and get to know the nature of awareness, because it is what we will be using at this point as our tool. He illustrates this from the ‘lens’ of the telescope and Galileo. He makes an important point that all the branches of science are using consciousness as their primary instrument of investigation, but don’t know anything about it. Lama Alan continues, now back into the text. We are going to be coming back to the relative nature of the mind again and again over the next few days. You want to understand A and B, then you need to investigate A by itself, and then understand the nature of B, and then relate the two. This is comparative and interrelationship. The text here takes time to describe a list of things to watch out for when engaging in this part of the path. A list of ways that one might go astray. Then the Lama brings up a list of qualities of suitable disciples including topics like unshakable faith in their Vajra Guru, sharp faculties, recognizing the lack of satisfaction in samsara, and so on. Lama makes an interesting note about recognizing that the underlying stability, created by view and ethics, is the mind that you bring to the cushion for stability. Lama finishes with some stories about emanations of Gurus and speaking to how on the path we shouldn’t look to expect society to make sense of what we are doing. Meditation begins at: 35:02
2019 8-Week Retreat, 18 Apr 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Olaso. Oh ya. Lama Alan returns to a review of yesterday and the implications of reification. He discusses the idea of a generic idea that we have of people and things that is an unchanging image/label. Lama amuses us with examples of George Bush. The generic static idea that we have, we pull out of the drawer and fuse with appearances, though in reality every moment is fresh and unprecedented. Lama discusses how important it is to recognize this reification, because it is the delusion which opens the door for mental afflictions of attachment, aversion, and hostility. Every line in this text is to extricate ourselves from the dense forest of reification. Meditation here: Vipashyana recognizing the conceptual mind, its labels and reification Lama Alan recommends to take this meditation off the cushion out into our daily world of appearances. Notice when reification comes in. Can there be labeling without reification? Yes! The mental afflictions of craving and hostility are rooted in reification. At what point do we reify and leave the door open for craving and hostility. Return to the text. (Top of page 172 - end of Phase 3 on page 173) In addition to the transmission of the text, Lama comments in various ways, and some humorous ways about the reification of the 6 realms of existence. He covers combating the fault of benefit and harm by commenting on the substrate or storehouse consciousness (illustrating this through sending information from one cell phone to another). Then Lama Alan takes us on an adventure of the moderns scientific materialism, referencing his dissertation from Stanford: The Taboo of Subjectivity, illustrating how the scientific materialism put and end to the 300 year psychosis of the witch hunts. Lama continues to comment on the text of collapsing the false cave of hopes and fears finishing on a note of how the substrate is where all of your appearances arise from. The substrate is a big deal. Lama Alan moves away from the text to the modern movements of quantum physics to illustrate this breaking down of reification of materialism, in particular the world of physics, through the comments of eminent top physicists. These new discoveries point to a world that is dependent upon the observer. Lama finishes with a few pointed statements: Things exist only in relationship to the observer. There is no observer without awareness. The awareness is the all-creating sovereign and the mind, when you look for it, you can't find it. Meditation starts at 10:58
Spring 2011 Shamatha Retreat, 02 May 2011, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
In the initial guided meditation on equanimity, Alan Wallace encourages us to use wisdom to discern the difference between behavior and the person expressing that behavior.
The guided meditation begins at 12:50 in the recording.
During the following Q&A, Alan answers these questions from the group:
1. I've been wondering about Buddha Maitreya. You said he would be the 5th Buddha in this cycle of Buddhas, and you also mentioned 13 other Buddhas the other day. Why don't they count?
2. Can you clarify the experience of resting in the space of the mind versus resting in awareness? In my own experience, they are very similar.
3. Buddha Shakyamuni was a very educated person, yet he did not write any books or other writings. Why?
4. In "The Attention Revolution", you lay out a suggestion for using the three methods in terms of progressing through the different stages. Would it be fair to call that a theory, and how have people in retreat used that method?
5. What does "o lasso" mean?
Spring 2011 Shamatha Retreat, 16 Apr 2011, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
After a brief introduction, Alan Wallace guides us in a 24-minute meditation on compassion, focusing on the suffering of conditioned existence and our fundamental vulnerability to suffering.
During the following question and answer period, Alan answers the questions:
1. While watching the breath, where should the attention be -- with the feeling and sensation of the breath, or with the observer who is watching the breath?
2. What is the power of thought in terms of the aspiration for all beings to be free from suffering during the meditation on compassion?
3. What is one-taste?
4. How do I know I am progressing with the practice of shamatha? Are there signs?
5. Why must the eyes be open during the practice of settling the mind in its natural state?
6. How do the five jhana factors arise -- linearly, or more organically? When do they reach culmination?
7. How are 'coarse examination' and 'precise investigation' related to shamatha?
2017 8-Week Retreat, 23 Apr 2017, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
1. I've been diligently averaging about 8-10 gathikas a day. Recently, it feels as if I'm going to bed with a 1000 bulb and am having a hard time falling asleep. Although I wake up in the morning feeling awake, I'm not sure the lack of sleep is a sustainable practice. Is there any recommendations in this situation? Is a changing sleep pattern part of progressing with shamatha? 2. Again on open eyes. The practice is now more intense, but also fatiguing – I would say exhausting if I sit for more than one hour. Alan invites us to leave the eyes open at the beginning of ’settling the mind in its natural state’ practice. What about the visualizations? 3. I understand that the deity has to be visualized in front of me. But what about the identification with the deity? Should I identify with the visualization I create in front of me - that is, should I project the identification of myself on the image in front of me, or absorb the image in myself in the place where I sit?
Fall 2011 Shamatha Retreat, 19 Sep 2011, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Instruction and meditation: Awareness of awareness (“The Shamata Express”)
The most common question/concern asked by current retreatants about this practice is “Am I doing it correctly?” It is simpler than you think. In fact, don’t think. If you have uncertainty, it is a sign that you are doing more than necessary. There’s already the seed of the practice in both the mindfulness of breathing and settling the mind in its natural state. Now we are just peeling away the layers, seeing what is left: awareness. Don’t elaborate or adorn. You are simply not attending to anything else except awareness. You are withdrawing into awareness. It’s not that you are coming into your head, into a cramped space. It’s not that. Awareness has no locus/no location. However much you extend your awareness is where it is. It’s not attending to appearances or locality. It is no place in physical space. You might feel hyper, tense or tight – especially in your chest. Then balance the practice with mindfulness of breathing. Go out on a limb and then go back to the trunk.
Meditation starts at 6:13
2019 8-Week Retreat, 25 Apr 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Olaso. Lama Alan begins. Fairly full afternoon today and the meditation will be from the teachings by Yangthang Rinpoche. Lama talks about the culmination of this meditation and how to utilize them at the time of death describing three different pathways (Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, and Nirmanakaya) to achieve liberation in the dying process. The meditation today is focused firstly on shamatha imbued with bodhicitta, refuge, and view and with the common ground of resting in awareness, the ray of rigpa. Then in the last several minutes of the meditation, practice vipashyana on the agent. Lama Alan brings up his joyful description of the ‘soft spot on the Deathstar’ here. May the force be with you! Olaso. Lama Alan continues. In the interest of weaving the ground to the sky Lama Alan returns to the Pali Canon and Dzogchen. He returns to the correspondence with Bhikkhu Bodhi, a respected colleague to comment on the topic of what did the Buddha teach, and is an Arhat annihilated after death? What of this bliss that is spoken of? Lama speaks on the Buddha’s discoveries on the night of his enlightenment. Lama takes some time to discuss the commonly held beliefs in the 21st century that the mind is the brain, and describes the prasangika madhyamika approach to discussing these points with people who hold these views. He gives us good logic and reasoning around disproving the modern, commonly held beliefs that the brain is the ‘Agent’. What is the evidence for these statements? We do know that there are correlations between the mind and the brain, but what are the nature of those correlations? If two things are correlated, then are they the same thing? Lama continues with 3 other beliefs and refutations to those beliefs. He talks about how we can have friendly conversation with people and follow the prasangika madhyamika approach. Lama finishes here by recommending speaking about what the hypotheses are and testing that can be done when engaging on the path of finding out for yourself. Lama Alan finishes by returning to the Pali Canon and comments from Bhikkhu Bodhi. If we are going to practice like our hair is on fire, it is sensible to have a clear idea of what we are going towards. Annihilation or not annihilation. Lama describes some commonly held views that the Buddha taught ‘No Self’ and then refutes that with words from Bikkhu Bodhi. These are the words of the Buddha. You must be a refuge unto yourself. Buddha was not a fool. Meditation begins at: 22:45
2017 8-Week Retreat, 05 May 2017, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
56 Extraordinary Resolve, the Bridge to Bodhichitta This session we come to the culmination of the Four Greats, extraordinary intention (Tib: lhag bsam). Alan explains how this resolve to bring all sentient beings to full enlightenment makes sense from the perspective of both rigpa and the relative, obscured reality of an ordinary being. We’re told how to strategize to achieve this resolve and that the fulfillment may depend on the residual karma of “unfinished business” from one life to the next. Again, Alan offers his opinion that only deep Dharma will turn things around in the world. If we truly develop these four greats, we will have ”the two most powerful forces in nature for removing obscurations” at our fingertips; relative and ultimate bodhichitta. With this in mind, we’re told of a job opening for which there are not yet any applicants, “Bodhisattva needed.” Guided meditation starts at 31:17
