The Wisdom of Atisha and Knowing Our Own Minds, 15 Sep 2021, Online from Miyo Samten Ling in Crestone, CO
Content: - Presentation of the map of the stages of shamatha within the mahamudra context: the four types of mindfulness - Discussion of the four types of mindfulness and the entry stage: Single-pointed mindfulness (1), manifest mindfulness (2), mindfulness devoid of mindfulness (3), self-illuminating mindfulness (4) Meditation is again on shamatha focussed on the mind and begins at minute 18:18 Text: - Corrections of a few errors in the translation - Text: Introduction to second dialogue to be discussed: Chapter 14 of The Father Teachings—A Jewel Garland of Dialogues “Cutting the Root of Suffering and Equalizing Excitation and Laxity” - Discussion starts from: [94] "Once again, at that very same place and in the presence of the guru endowed with such sublime qualities, my own guru, Drom Gyalwé Jungné, said [to Atiśa]", to: "Drom, every time there is the recognition while dreaming that ‘all phenomena are just like this dream." (almost at the end of page 1) - Explanation of misconduct, the root of all suffering: Doing something that is out of accord with reality - "It is better to find one fault in oneself than one hundred in others." - Discussion of pride, facsimiles of pride and confidence - Living up to ones possibilities - Facsimiles leading to the path - The benefit of dream yoga.
2019 8-Week Retreat, 26 Apr 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Lama Alan begins the session by describing a talk he listened to early this morning given by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Delhi to a group of young Tibetans. He speaks to them with great warmth. His primary point was that the wisdom traditions that developed in India are now mostly lost. For knowledge about the mind, the Tibetan language is now the primary repository of this wisdom. Lama Alan speaks about generating compassion for those in the world who are the greatest mischief makers because they are only sowing the seeds of greater unhappiness. In a real sense all are expressions of me. At the end of the path we see all beings are pure. With admiration, reverence and affection visualize all your companions as being of the nature of viras and dakinis. See the fine qualities of your guru and dharma siblings rather than looking at their faults. Likewise, we can view ourselves as having the nature of viras and dakinis and not get caught up in the manifest nature. It is a skill to become more aware of mental afflictions without becoming judgmental of ourselves and others. The meditation is on the Four-Fold Vision Quest After the meditation there is a comment/question regarding the second question we ask ourselves regarding what you would love to receive from others. The meditation begins at 27:10
2019 8-Week Retreat, 19 May 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
This afternoon Lama-la is coming to the end and the culmination of the sequences of mindfulness of breathing techniques, by introducing the Dzogchen approach to mindfulness of breathing. He stresses that this practice is in accordance with what the Buddha taught and, moreover, has the two elements of earth (breath) and sky (spaciousness of the mind) already included. When doing this practice it is very important to release any distractions instantaneously. Lama-la then introduced the theme of oscillation where we rest with 80% of our awareness in self-knowing awareness and attend with only 20% to the rhythm of the breath. He explains in detail what to do during the in and out-breath. For this practice it is important to know what the referent of luminosity and emptiness is because it will finally lead us to our closest approximation of substrate conscious (in-breath) and substrate (out-breath) and on a even deeper level to Rigpa. Meditation is on the Dzogchen approach to mindfulness of breathing After the meditation Lama-la answers a question regarding the difference between blessing and adversity and gives an example from his own experience. Whether something is either of the two depends completely on us, because it is us who make things meaningful. He then continues in the text of the enlightened view of Samantabhadra, where we are resume at the first full paragraph on page 205, all the way to the middle of page 207. The meditation starts at 18:58
Fall 2013 Shamatha and the Seven-Point Mind Training, 10 Oct 2013, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Silent meditation session and then a continuation of yesterday's theme related to the 'power of prayer'. "We don't believe in anything without sufficient evidence". That's the creed of scientists and so called skeptics alike, but in practice they don't follow it. Newton believed he could find the philosopher's stone, Miller believed he could create life from inorganic compounds and neuroscientists believe that the mind is the brain. What is merely belief is presented as evidence with great authority. But what is evidence? Look closely at the groups that claim to hold evidence as their guiding principal and what is seen is a definition which completely rejects the experience of those outside the narrow trench of power, prestige and wealth they continue to occupy and deepen. It is to say, you as a non-scientist don't count and we will tell you what counts. A complete disregard for subjective experience. We see this in philosophers, religious scholars, psychologists, astronomers, neuroscientists, these people are dominating academia, the media, the government, it is catastrophic. If this view continues, as Max Planck has said, "after its victory not only all the most precious treasures of our culture would vanish, but – which is even worse – also any prospects at a better future.”
Meditation starts at: A silent meditation session, not recorded. Starts at 00:50
The Wisdom of Atisha and Knowing Our Own Minds, 20 Sep 2021, Online from Miyo Samten Ling in Crestone, CO
Content: - Lama-la starts out by weaving in the Buddhas pith instruction on the four applications of mindfulness into the theory of the 51 mental factors. - Explanation of what "dharma" means in the contact of the close application of mindfulness of dharma. - Discussion of the five obscurations (hedonism, malevolence, laxity and dullness, excitation and anxiety, afflictive uncertainty) and their similes with the obscuration of crystal clear water by them and the five dhyana factors as their antibodies (single-pointed concentration, wellbeing, coarse examination, joy, precise investigation). - Example of how on ordinary person looks to one who has achieved Shamatha: indebted, sick, in bonds, enslaved and lost on a desert track. - After the mediation Lama continues with the discussion and explanation of the twenty derivative mental afflictions: rage (1), resentment (2), concealment (3), spitefulness (4), envy (5), miserliness (6), pretension (7), deception (8), conceit (9), cruelty (10), lack of dignity (11), lack of propriety (12), dullness (13) and excitation (14) The meditation is shamatha focused on the mind with an emphasis on mindfulness of the phenomena of the five obscurations. It starts at minute 34:13
2020 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 1, 22 May 2020, Online-only
Eva (Yangchen) starts today's session by talking about the history and meaning of Chod within the different lineages in Tibetan Buddhism, and the use of this practice within the Dudjom Tersar; Chod serves as a way to get through obstacles and nyam, she highlights. She also explains why we are exploring just a foretaste of the practice. She will speak the root verses in Tibetan, but will not give us the translation, only a brief explanation of the verses. Yangchen then elaborates on the deep and profound implications of the act of offering and giving, through a practice of Chod. She compares Chod practice to a mind training practice, where we look at the depths of our bodhicitta, and the deepest resources that we can access, to serve all sentient beings. It transforms in this way our relationship with our aggregates, and invites us to go beyond aversion and attachment to a finite body. Eva lists also those who are attending our offering, our guests. She compares this practice to the Eucharist in Christianity, and gives the parallels. Yangchen reads the verses in Tibetan and explains the visualization related to them; our body, Troma Nagmo, and their characteristics. She goes also through the ritual and offering description. In the file “Prayers of Infinite Light” we can find the verses that she is describing. The practice starts at 44:20, and is an experiential taste of Chod.
The Seven Preliminaries according Düdjom Lingpa, 22 May 2020, Online - Originally part of 2020 8-week retreat
Eva (Yangchen) starts today’s session by talking about the history and meaning of Chod within the different lineages in Tibetan Buddhism, and the use of this practice within the Dudjom Tersar; Chod serves as a way to get through obstacles and nyam, she highlights. She also explains why we are exploring just a foretaste of the practice. She will speak the root verses in Tibetan, but will not give us the translation, only a brief explanation of the verses. Yangchen then elaborates on the deep and profound implications of the act of offering and giving, through a practice of Chod. She compares Chod practice to a mind training practice, where we look at the depths of our bodhicitta, and the deepest resources that we can access, to serve all sentient beings. It transforms in this way our relationship with our aggregates, and invites us to go beyond aversion and attachment to a finite body. Eva lists also those who are attending our offering, our guests. She compares this practice to the Eucharist in Christianity, and gives the parallels. Yangchen reads the verses in Tibetan and explains the visualization related to them; our body, Troma Nagmo, and their characteristics. She goes also through the ritual and offering description. In the file “Prayers of Infinite Light” we can find the verses that she is describing. The practice starts at 44:20, and is an experiential taste of Chod.
2017 8-Week Retreat, 03 Apr 2017, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Alan welcomes everyone, including those listening to the audio stream, to what he hopes will be the first retreat in a seven-year series covering all the works he has translated of Düdjom Lingpa. We begin the series with a text from Düdjom Lingpa’s later years, The Foolish Dharma of an Idiot Clothed in Mud and Feathers. As a basic guideline for the retreat Alan encourages us to keep our “human samaya,” that is, to treat each other and the hosting staff with courtesy and respect. Alan assumes that everyone attending the retreat and listening to the audio is serious about progressing on the path. It is for people like us that Düdjom Lingpa composed the text—people dedicated to the path and knowing they are at a crossroads, but being blind to the view, they cannot see with certainty where to go. Düdjom Lingpa promises that he is an old man who knows the way, and he will tell us how to get to our destination. The guided meditation is the essential preliminary practice of Settling Body, Speech, and Mind in Their Natural States. The more experience one has with this practice, Alan says, the more one realizes that perfecting this practice alone could lead to shamatha. Also, if imbued with vipashyana, this practice could lead to the realization of emptiness. And this practice itself could lead all the way to rigpa. The meditation starts at 55:54
2018 8-week retreat- The Essence of Clear Meaning, 16 Apr 2018, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia (Pisa), Italy
Alan explains that rejoicing must be with one's eyes fully open, taking in all that there is in this world - the good as well as the bad. Looking at the situation of our planet at the moment it would be easy to fall into despair, cynicism and hopelessness. As a backlash to scientific materialism that is prevalent today, religious fundamentalism seems to be on the rise, resulting, in some cases, to terrorism and waging war against modernity due, among other things, to a misguided literal reading of one's own scriptures. Where is the ground for hope? On the hedonic side there are individuals and groups working to preserve the planet in the field of global warming, agriculture, etc. As regards eudemonia, there is positive psychology and in the field of religion and the mind sciences a contemplative renaissance is definitely afoot. Historically, certain individuals have made a vast impact and been beacons of hope, in this time it is His Holiness The Dalai Lama and His Holiness Pope Francis who inspire so many through their example of virtue, kindness, compassion and wisdom. Life is not an observer's sport. We must transform the world from the inside out with the bright light of reality-based joy. Alan exclaims, "I'll bet on the bright light!" Meditation is on The Cultivation of Joy (Mudita) Meditation starts at 19:26
Spring 2011 Shamatha Retreat, 13 May 2011, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Alan Wallace begins this afternoon's session with the question, "When a desire arises, how does one know whether it is desire (wholesome) or craving (unwholesome)?" He explores practical answers to this question, then proceeds to a guided meditation on the immeasurable of uppekha, or equanimity, focusing on a Theravaden approach, cultivating an evenness of mental imperturbability, a mind unaffected by mental afflictions.
The guided meditation begins at 14:37 in the recording.
Afterwards, Alan gives an interesting and engaging answer to this question from the group:
1. Any time I've heard the question, "How or why did ignorance-marigpa begin?" the answer given is that, "It never began; time is beginningless, and the dharmakaya and ignorance have just always existed, neither came first." And then, from the teacher, "And why do you want a beginning or first moment anyway?!"
I can accept the notion of beginningless time - ie: present moment arising from the previous ad infinitum, and that from the perspective of Rigpa, its not really happening anyway - at least, that it IS a dream, but I still have difficulty with how marigpa ever happened at all, and if self-grasping is "prior" to the objectification of appearances, how did "karma's stirring" give rise to Substrate Consciousness?
Do you have any insight, or is there insight from psychology perhaps as to why we "want" a beginning?
PS: Do these questions really matter, or should I just sit down, shut up, and watch my breath?
Spring 2011 Shamatha Retreat, 06 May 2011, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
This simple approach to loving-kindness was taught by the Buddha himself. We will be extending the awareness out spatially in all directions -- without bounds -- but first requesting that we be free of animosity (the distant enemy of loving-kindness).
Alan tells us about how Matthieu Ricard once said, in the context of compassion practice (but the statement is analogous to loving-kindness practice) that one way you know the practice is working, that it's been more than an intellectual exercise, is that if you find, as a result of your meditation, when your meditation comes to a close and you venture out, engaging with other sentient beings, you're actually poised to serve the needs of others, to alleviate someone's distress, if that's a possibility.
The guided meditation begins at 13:34 in the recording.
Alan then answers these questions from the group:
1. What is the acquired sign?
2. Why, when you're meditating so quietly, does the breath become so subtle?
3. I'm eating less to lose weight, but I feel I can't meditate as well with less food. Why?
4. What do you think about the Amitabha Pure Land, and how does it relate to Dzog Chen?
5. You said that one can achieve shamatha by single-pointed concentration on loving-kindness. What is the extra benefit of achieving shamatha in this way?
and
How do you know when you're ready to achieve shamatha?
6. You spoke yesterday about the effervesce of the space of awareness that one notices when examining the space of the mind. Do you get this in awareness of awareness also?
The Seven Preliminaries according Düdjom Lingpa, 06 May 2020, Online - Originally part of 2020 8-week retreat
Today we go directly to meditation, it is the complete Guru Yoga practice, drawing from A Treasure House of Blessings and Spiritual Attainments. Eva (Yangchen) then goes back to the text, at the point of the visualization in which Padmasambhava’s presence becomes manifest, together with the mandala of vidyādhara gurus. She details the sacred images surrounding the central figure, and the emanating rays of light. Yangchen elaborates on the ‘places’ from which the enlightened beings attend to us, and instantaneously manifest. We are in the presence of the Treasure House now, the mandala of Guru Rinpoche. Eva turns to the recitation that follows, and explains where Cāmara is in the Mount Meru map. She clears out different approaches to visualizing the manifestations. One approach is to see them as if responding to our call, coming from somewhere else; this is to be done if there is the slightest doubt that they are already here and now. If one is certain of their presence, one takes on the second approach; here, there is no need to elaborate on the visualization of the dharmakāya beings traveling through space. She further quotes from a sutra, which talks about the presence of the Buddha, as soon as we bring the Buddha to mind. Yangchen talks about the nature of the tears of devotion, which are a manifestation of the naked supplication, deep within our heart. She ends the session by commenting on the essence of the prayer of supplication.
Fall 2013 Shamatha and the Seven-Point Mind Training, 16 Oct 2013, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Before the meditation Alan discusses from which perspective you can do the tong-len practice - from your ordinary self or from the platform of Avolokishrvara.
Alan explains how shamatha can be developed in the context of stage of generation practice.
After the meditation Alan continues with the fifth point of the text - 'The whole of Dharma is synthesised in one aim'. Self grasping is not steady, constant. If we can recognise how frequently and robustly they come up and look for triggers, we can transform to give a deeper insight. Once we release self-grasping, we have the opportunity to begin to realise our actual nature - primordial awareness.
The next line of the text - 'Attend to the chief of two witnesses'. Others may praise you as an exemplar Dharma practitioner, but they are not the chief witnesses, for they see only small portions of your overall behaviour, and they do not fathom the depths of your heart and mind. Distinguish between mundane concern over "what the neighbours think" and meaningful regard for others.
The next line of the text - Constantly resort to a sense of good cheer'. Good cheer from the centre of your mandala. As you become more clear, mature in Dharma practice, then you experience more sense that the blessings are continuous. Then you always have a sense of good cheer.
Meditation starts at: 16:09 (silent, front loaded at start of session)
2017 8-Week Retreat, 29 May 2017, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Since today is like the last day of school before summer break, Alan guides us through the final exam mediation traversing shamatha, vipashyana, and nonmeditation. He then address the question of how we can implement the teachings and what we have learned during this eight week retreat in our daily lives. Since Dzogchen can be seen as the highest form of Lojong, we should simply release whatever upheavals come up without hope or fear. However, if this doesn't work, we should have Atisha's Seven-Point Mind Training available to rely on. Alan quotes Dzogchen master Dilogo Khyentse Rinpoche, who stressed in the conclusion of a teaching that even for people with small mental capacities, who are without perseverance, and who lack faith and devotion, these instructions are extraordinary and enormously beneficial and useful. In any case, we don't know how far we will progress on the path in this lifetime, because we can’t control our rate of progress or know how long we will live. For this reason, Alan recalls the advice of Gyatrul Rinpoche regarding buddhafields and cites masters who state that for sentient beings not free of mental afflictions only Sukhavati is accessible. With prayers and dedication it is possible to be reborn there and from there access other buddhafields, for example Shambala. Alan suggests that we should seriously consider this option for a reunion. It is a gift that is offered. Guided meditation starts at 0:1:17
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 02 May 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Interesting title eh?
This morning we practiced Settling the Mind in its Natural State. Alan gave a brief introduction on some cases of Out of Body Experiences and showed how they are related to this practice and to Shamatha in general.
We have had internet problems so I don't know when I will be able to upload this! Hopefully it will be working this afternoon...
Another great photo from Ale!
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.
2018 8-week retreat- The Essence of Clear Meaning, 01 May 2018, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia (Pisa), Italy
As Lama Alan Wallace begins the evening session, we are now in a big transition from the emptiness of inherent nature of a person to realizing all phenomena as not really existing out there. He clarifies his translation of Dudjom Lingpa's affirmation that "Delusive appearances do not exist": from the perspective of pristine awareness, delusive appearances are not present. The image in the mirror is behind the surface, as showed by any camera when you try to focus. The reflection is not really there, and yet you can take a photo of it. It's the same with mirages, rainbows and all appearances. This jaw-dropping implication of several long analyses in Madhyamaka literature is now incorporated in a direct Dzogchen practice. Lama Alan goes back to Anil Seth's TED Talk ("Your brain hallucinates your conscious reality") because it well represents the view of materialism, in which we have been educated. Since materialists won the turf war on human identity, we now have a "stage of generation practice of materialism": I'm nothing, I don't exist, and out of nothing, I imagine being a brain inside a bone skull in a sealed vault; the all-creating sovereign is the brain, who gets tickled by stimuli and starts hallucinating a world. But how do we see appearances (qualia) from photons and neurons? How do we see the redness of red, for example? Daniel Dennett, one of the most respected voices in the philosophy of mind, concludes that qualia are illusory and do not exist in physical space, an insight that could lead to the Buddhist view. But then, being more committed to materialism than to evidence, Dennett declares that qualia do not exist at all, negating our entire lived experience, the mind, and so forth. Therefore, Lama Alan advises us: don't mistake these facsimiles for real Dharma. It's really common to make parallels with the teachings of emptiness while keeping intact our familiar view, tending to either some form of substantialism or nihilism. Recalling his dialogue with physicist Sean Carroll and also his collaboration with Stephen LaBerge, Lama Alan says that even if we understand that appearances are dream-like, we still think that, of course, there must be a physical world out there. That is the rub! So, our strategy is: first we investigate the emptiness of self, remedying the sense of "I'm over here", and then we probe into the nature of all appearances, remedying the raw notion of "space is over there". Lama Alan reads the teaching from Buddha to Bahiya, who reached nirvana just with this non-conceptual view of appearances: you cannot find yourself out there, not in here, not in between. The meditation is vipashyana on the identitylessness of phenomena and starts at 47:32 After the meditation, we go back to the text (pages 67-68), studying how all the bases of designation are themselves empty of inherent existence, all the way up to dharmakaya and all the way down to quarks. Alan further comments that this Dzogchen approach is compatible only with Prasangika Madhyamaka, not with other schools. Lama Alan asserts that photons, atoms and neurons don't generate appearances, however we see yellow in dependence upon photons, atoms and neurons. But what about the realness of atoms? Then we go to the physicist John Wheeler: what we get from any measurement is semantic information, so everything we know about the physical universe is information. "Information" is just another word for "appearances"! The world is nothing more than appearances. It's not really out there. And we need also to get over the notion that there is one universe. There is one world for each sentient being. At the end, Lama Alan recounts how the young Werner Heisenberg felt like the world was shaking from beneath because of the revolution in quantum mechanics. How to be a physicist if you discover that there is nothing physical out there? It's like being a theologian without a God. What do you do? Become a Buddhist, Lama Alan jokes. Text: p. 67-68
Fall 2015 Stage of Generation, 28 Aug 2015, Araluen Retreat Center, Queensland, Australia
Alan starts the session with humorous comments regarding the emptiness of the names for groups of kangaroos. The meditation is on cultivating empathetic joy and gratitude by remembering the kindness others have given you across your life. How can we repay this kindness? After the meditation, Alan quotes Shantideva. Whoever Shantideva encountered, strangers, enemies, non-human sentient beings; he thought, it is in dependence upon you that I am able to practice dharma. In order to become a Buddha, we must transmute every experience into dharma, including experiences in which we have been treated very badly. Alan tells the story of a Tibetan aristocrat from whom he received teachings on the Seven Point Mind Training. This individual lost everything when fleeing Tibet, and yet he felt gratitude toward the Chinese because they forced him in to exile which empowered him to put the dharma teachings into practice. The meditation starts at 12:45. ___ 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.
2018 8-week retreat- The Essence of Clear Meaning, 14 May 2018, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia (Pisa), Italy
This afternoon we will commence Phase 5 of the text, which will describe for us how samsara unfolds. Phase 2 was about entering the path; phase 3 was fathoming what it is like to dwell in dharmakaya, resting in the 9 modes of inactivity and phase 4 was learning about all the qualities of the ground and the paths. The full manifestation of the dharmakaya is revealed in the teaching and practice of tögal. In this afternoon's meditation we come back to where we are - our own perspective as opposed to the perspective from rigpa from which we have never been sentient beings - a phenomenological as opposed to an ontological approach. What triggers the causes that result in samsara? Touching earth and sky, Lama Alan touches the Pali Canon with the Buddha showing how samsara arises by way of the 12 links of dependent origination and the Dzogchen sky approach as described in the text. Lama Alan skilfully weaves the meditation practice with our study of the text. The meditation is settling the mind in its natural state and then rolling it back through subtler and subtler stages to the substrate consciousness. After the meditation, Lama Alan begins teaching Phase 5: Determining Secret Dualistic Grasping and Revealing the Way of Natural Liberation. The meditation starts at 13:35 Text p. 89-91
2019 8-Week Retreat, 21 May 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Lama begins by reading and commenting the last passage of the close applications of mindfulness to feelings that he has been reading since two days ago. He describes how this phenomenological approach summarizes affective psychology. Lama reads the words of the Buddha in which he explains how a Bhikkhu should live reviewing (Anu-passi) the feelings as feelings, internally, externally and internally-and-externally. During the explanation of this passage Lama comments about these three types of experiences, as we are attending to others, to ourselves attending to others and to the system awareness that is developed in the interrelation. Also he comments about how the feeling of indifference is an emotion, just like zero is a number and both were discovered by the Indians. Also, Lama comments about emotions and how we can see them in others through their behavior and facial expressions. Finally, Lama delves into the ontological study of feelings and how we can examine them and see whether they bear analysis or not. Meditation is on taking the mind as the path while looking at the feelings with which we experience the different mental phenomena and what happens to the feelings as they are observed. After the meditation Lama indicates that this type of practice is something we can take on for after the retreat, and as Shantideva explained it is better to start now with the very small and easy feelings, like a mosquito, created in this environment which would be a sweet practice. This will help us practice, as with small weights in the gym, instead of trying to take on the Garudas that may come outside of our retreat. He ends stating that we should recognize that the feelings are not in the objects. The meditation starts at 38:50
2017 8-Week Retreat, 22 May 2017, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
In this session we go directly into a meditation based on the instructions of Lerab Lingpa to rest in an unbroken flow of awareness without being distracted by external appearances or identifying with subjective appearances. After the guided meditation, Alan highlights the importance of creating some breathing space by letting mental events be without being carried away by them. This is especially important and challenging when feelings and strong emotions arise. Alan then introduces shamatha stages five and six, Tamed Attention and Pacified Attention, emphasizing the role of introspection in overcoming coarse laxity at stage five and medium excitation at stage six. We do so by alternately arousing and relaxing mindfulness as if tuning a string to achieve the perfect pitch. Finally, Alan emphasizes the importance of knowing the details of the stages to avoid the failure of overestimating our progress. He also mentions that even though mindfulness of breathing is sufficient to achieve shamatha, by using the method of settling the mind in its natural state the faculty of introspection is sharpened to an ever finer degree and presents an ideal platform for launching into the territory of Dzogchen. Guided meditation starts with the beginning of class.
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 08 Jun 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
The story Alan narrates at the very start of this episode comes because there was a dog outside the teaching hall, and as we were coming in for the lecture he would try to get in between our legs, or at least just stick his head in. He clearly looked very determined and excited to learn about Mudita, and it was hard to get Alan inside the teaching hall sans-dog. Moving to the actual lecture, Alan explains today's practice, in which we cultivate empathetic joy towards others both in terms of hedonic pleasure and then of genuine happiness. Alan gives several examples of each, and notes, also with great examples, that we can learn to use the mind just like we learn to drive a vehicle. It can go from our worst enemy to our best friend.
After the fairly silent practice [again, if you want more verbose practices refer to the beginning of the podcast series], we went into very interesting questions. The first ones were by Enrique, based on The Vajra Essence and returning to yesterday's point on achieving Shamatha through the union of Shamatha and Vipassana. Alan talks about close Vipassana-style insights that can arise through the Shamatha practice of Settling the Mind, and quotes another mysterious (you'll see why) passage from (possibly) the Vajra Essence.
In the last half of the session, we have a very meaningful question about how to distinguish between true love (or loving kindness) and attachment, and the relationship that grief from loss has to attachment. Alan starts by talking about the delicate and difficult act of throwing out attachment while retaining love, and we learn the origins of the phrase "throwing out the baby with the bathwater." Who said we only learn Dharma? Alan also covers the examination of a relationship both from the coarse and subtle levels, and the delicate interplay and entanglement of feelings, highlighting the toxicity of attachment even in happy relationships, and proposing a "reality check."
He also integrates a question from Tsapel, and shows how to cultivate Loving Kindness both from the monastic perspective and within ordinary society. We reflect that if you were "incomplete" and your relationship with "your other half" makes you "complete" then you are bound to suffer, and end on the importance of recognizing the difference between genuine Loving Kindness (or Love) and attachment and not mistake one for the other.
Enjoy these very profound reflections. This quite artistic photo from Malcolm shows our friends and silent (or sometimes not so silent) fellow sentient beings :) I had to include them in the podcast before sending out more sky photos!
2018 8-week retreat- The Essence of Clear Meaning, 03 May 2018, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia (Pisa), Italy
As announced during the last session, we are now in the pilot seat of guiding our own morning meditations. However, Lama Alan is here to assist and support us. Before we venture into the meditation, Alan reminds us that the four-fold vision quest is about loving kindness for oneself and our motivation, and that within the context of this retreat it can take a Dzogchen flavour. Bringing all these questions to mind, we set our motivation for the rest of the retreat, but also for the achievement of our highest aspirations. Alan then mentions two options of how to reach our highest aspiration of Buddhahood: a) through cutting through to original purity (trekchö) and direct crossing over (tögal), and b) the method of trekchö alone. Alan also highlights the crucial role of our unfulfilled aspirations (our wish or bucket list) and relates that to the topic of residual karma. The meditation is on the four-fold vision quest within the context of Dzogchen. After the meditation, Alan reminds us to keep the pace and season the day and our whole life with our motivation. Since our highest aspiration is bodhicitta, we need renunciation (and also shamatha) to make it sustainable. However, in the light of the many awful things that happen in the world, the strength of one's heart can easily subside. Then we need the insight into emptiness to protect and seal our bodhicitta, so that it becomes gold-like bodhicitta. The meditation starts at 20:34
2019 8-Week Retreat, 23 May 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Olaso. Lama Alan refers back to how we have been exploring feelings in the previous sessions of meditation. Next he introduces the topic of exploring the emptiness of inherent existence of feelings, which leads to a discussion around when we are in pain, the feelings really seem real! How can I say that these feelings aren’t mine? Lama discusses two techniques from the Madhyamika view and the ‘back door’ approach of recognizing the lack of inherent identity of the ‘I’ that experiences the feelings. He then refers to the Dharmasaṅgīti Sūtra and to Shantideva. If no one here is experiencing the feeling, then how can the feeling exist? Lama returns to speaking about how the feelings that we are experiencing are already gone. Guided meditation is on investigating the I that experiences feelings. Lama Alan continues by moving into referencing Yangthang Rinpoche and speaking about the spontaneous and effortless relative Bodhicitta that arises when one is able to rest in the emptiness of the essential nature of mind. As soon as you come out of meditation, the compassion just flows forth. To know that each suffering being can be free from suffering, then compassion is the only realistic response. Lama Alan finishes the talk by answering a few questions that were written to him. The first question is around the 20 day retreat as a placement exam, and the second question was a correction of vocabulary offered from a participant. Meditation begins at: 12:09
2020 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 1, 06 May 2020, Online-only
Today we go directly to meditation, it is the complete Guru Yoga practice, drawing from A Treasure House of Blessings and Spiritual Attainments. Eva (Yangchen) then goes back to the text, at the point of the visualization in which Padmasambhava’s presence becomes manifest, together with the mandala of vidyādhara gurus. She details the sacred images surrounding the central figure, and the emanating rays of light. Yangchen elaborates on the ‘places’ from which the enlightened beings attend to us, and instantaneously manifest. We are in the presence of the Treasure House now, the mandala of Guru Rinpoche. Eva turns to the recitation that follows, and explains where Cāmara is in the Mount Meru map. She clears out different approaches to visualizing the manifestations. One approach is to see them as if responding to our call, coming from somewhere else; this is to be done if there is the slightest doubt that they are already here and now. If one is certain of their presence, one takes on the second approach; here, there is no need to elaborate on the visualization of the dharmakāya beings traveling through space. She further quotes from a sutra, which talks about the presence of the Buddha, as soon as we bring the Buddha to mind. Yangchen talks about the nature of the tears of devotion, which are a manifestation of the naked supplication, deep within our heart. She ends the session by commenting on the essence of the prayer of supplication. [Keywords: Guru Yoga, presence of the Guru, supplication]
Spring 2011 Shamatha Retreat, 28 Apr 2011, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Today's teaching is presented by Michelle Seaver, guest teacher and student of Alan Wallace, while Alan is out of town for 24 hours. Alan will return to his regular teaching schedule Saturday morning. Michelle Seaver attended one of the first 100-day shamatha retreats with Alan, continued on in a private 18-month retreat, and is now responsible for bringing mindfulness-based education to the Phuket International Academy School (currently K-8, with plans to be PreK-12).
The guided meditation is on compassion at the deepest level - the aspiration to be free of suffering caused by grasping.
The meditation begins at 1:00 in the recording.
Following the guided meditation, Michelle and Nick Seaver, her husband and CEO of the Phuket International Academy who also attended one of Alan's first 100-day shamatha retreats and followed it with an 18-month retreat, field these questions from the group:
1. Can you tell us about your experience on a long-term shamatha retreat?
2. About the meditation on awareness of awareness: when trying to focus on awareness, I realize that there is another awareness that is focusing on awareness, so this is no longer awareness. Can you help?
3. What is the mission of the mind centre?
4. Is debate, logic, and thinking included in your mindfulness based program in the school?
2019 8-Week Retreat, 12 May 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Today we come to the final (and first) of the six preliminaries, which is the preciousness of our human rebirth. Before venturing into the topic Lama-la addresses the issue of basis of designation, since it depends on our choice whether we designate ourselves and others on our/their bodies and minds or on our/their virtues of body speech or mind. If words are true and helpful for us it is the speech of the Buddha, for where the truth is, there is the Buddha. Lama-la then relates to a talk from the His Holiness Dalai Lama in 2015 where he reminded us that we all have Buddha-nature, but it is a bit dormant so we have to wake it up. Instead of being satisfied with retreats and rituals we should reach the five paths beginning with the path of accumulation and this can only be achieved through Shamatha. After this short introduction he reviews the passage of the text in Dudjom Lingpa’s Foolish Dharma of an Idiot Clothed in Mud and Feathers on the first preliminary in detail “In my opinion, if you don’t submit your own snout to the hook and rope of self-centeredness... This is the first point” This is followed by an overview of the meditation we are about to do and how this relates to mundane vs spiritual life. Meditation is on the preciousness of our human life combined with tonglen. After the meditation Lama-la answers a question that many of us had regarding the empowerment and the rituals connected with it. He reminds us that there are many rituals in our daily life and that their importance and meaning depends on how much context, understanding and meaning we put into them and on our motivation. The meditation starts at 28:11
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 13 May 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
This morning's introduction was about our sense of control and possession of our bodies, our minds, and "our" thoughts. We often believe that our thoughts are actually ours, when we can't even control them.
In the following meditation, we go into the headquarters (or heartquarters!) of our own mind and release control of everything except our awareness of it.
Another great local photo from Daniela!
Spring 2011 Shamatha Retreat, 18 May 2011, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Another unguided meditation this afternoon, first introduced with a description of the obstacle of feeling separate from others, and how this impedes the flow of loving-kindness.
The unguided meditation begins at 9:20 in the recording.
Alan then answers a number of questions from the group, beginning at 37:35 in the recording.
1. Where does volition reside? It's not there when I look for it. It appears and disappears.
2. In awareness of awareness practice, I bring my attention to the heart chakra. In loving-kindness practice, you talk about the heart. To me that's slightly different. Is there a distinction?
3. When I allow my body to breathe without controlling my breath, it is often shallow and light. The practice of tonglen makes my breathing deeper, and this also happens with other visualization practices. Is this okay?
4. Could you use as an object for shamatha the felt sense loving-kindness in the body?
5. When doing mindfulness of breathing, I still have some chit-chat, some thoughts, and some images come to mind, but I am able to stay with the breath at least peripherally. When doing awareness of awareness, the chit-chat is still there but thoughts and images are not, it's like there isn't room for them. Why is this?
6. When I do mindfulness of breathing at the nostrils, I get a nyam in which I feel like my left side is leaning over or dissolving. Is this pranic? Should I work through it , or stop the practice?
7. In that same situation, if you get to stage four in shamatha but still can not do the practice of mindfulness of breathing attending to the nostrils, where would you go to progress?
2019 8-Week Retreat, 01 May 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Lama Alan discusses the problem of low self-esteem and how it seems to be particularly prevalent in the modern world. As a symptom of mental afflictions, the cause is conflating one’s identity with one’s body, conduct, and mind; lack of impartiality with respect to the self. He then draws parallels between the ideals of objectivity in science (dispassionate distance, lack of prejudice) and how they correlate to meditation practice (stillness in the midst of motion, investigation without subjective bias). This is a direct remedy to low self-esteem, in which there is fusion with the object of observation as well as amplification of its magnitude. Returning to Dudjom Lingpa’s instructions on viewing one’s vajra siblings with admiration, reverence, and affection, Lama Alan talks about how we can do so in a manner that is grounded in reality, but at the same time selectively advantageous for the purpose of progressing towards awakening. Meditation is on cultivation of mudita in viewing others with admiration, reverence, and affection After the meditation, Lama Alan answers a question about the subtle differences between the preliminary practice of viewing our general vajra siblings with admiration, reverence, and affection, as opposed to the preliminary practice of cultivating compassion towards all beings, and ends with a note on the analysis of mudita along with its near and far enemies. Meditation begins at 29:40
The Seven Preliminaries according Düdjom Lingpa, 12 May 2020, Online - Originally part of 2020 8-week retreat
Eva (Yangchen) begins today’s session by clearing out some lingering questions. These questions are about the scope of action of the Guru Yoga practice, when purifying broken samayas or restoring a connection to empowerments of other tantric systems. She also comments on the meaning of the term ‘samayam’ in the Vajrasattva mantra, and on how is it that, even though we are already visualizing ourselves as Vajrayogini in Guru Yoga, we can go into a practice meant to purify obscurations. The last question concerns when, during the 7 preliminaries, to do physical prostrations. Yangchen then draws from Thinley Norbu’s commentary to explain the resultant state of each of the four empowerments – siddhis. She speaks of the signs that manifest (gradually) from receiving the vase empowerment (attachment, body, earth and water elements, bliss, eye of wisdom, nirmāṇakāya), the secret empowerment (hostility, speech, wind and fire elements, luminosity, eye of primordial consciousness, sambhogakāya), and the wisdom empowerment (delusion, mind, space element, non-conceptuality, eye of ultimate reality, dharmakāya). The fourth empowerment encompasses the previous three, and the experience is that of the svabhāvikakāya, the emptiness of the other three kāyas. Meditation is at [43:50], and is a complete practice of Guru Yoga as given on “A Chariot on the Path to the Union of the Two”. Yangchen reads directly from the text.
Spring 2011 Shamatha Retreat, 05 May 2011, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
In this guided meditation, we follow in the footsteps of Buddhaghosa, expressing loving-kindness sequentially, from ourselves, to a very dear loved one, a more casual loved one, and then out and out until all barriers are broken down and our wish for others' well being is equally distributed. Alan also reminds us that the use of visualization during this meditation is not fundamentally required.
The guided meditation begins at 12:05 in the recording.
Alan then speaks freely for a short time about the skill of lucid dreaming, following up on his brief introduction on lucid dreaming that was given at the very end of yesterday evening's teaching (#42).
Alan then answers these questions from the group:
1. You spoke of the "eyes of wisdom" during this guided meditation. I find that I'm not sure I'm using the eyes of wisdom when examining others - especially neutral people - because I find it is easier to see some endearing qualities than others, and I imagine the eyes of wisdom are equanimous. Can you elaborate on the expression of the eyes of wisdom?
2. In the awareness of awareness practice, we are focusing on the awareness that moves with the breath. If we are aware of this awareness that is moving with the breath, sometimes I have an experience of something sucking the awareness…
3. In the phases of mindfulness of breathing, you encourage a balance of relaxation, stability and vividness. I find I'm able to maintain this balance fairly well. If I want to apply this balance to the practice of settling the mind, how would I do that?
4. When meditating in the supine position, I feel like the ground is shaking under me - like there is an earthquake - quite often. What is this?
The Wisdom of Atisha and Knowing Our Own Minds, 19 Sep 2021, Online from Miyo Samten Ling in Crestone, CO
Content: - Exploration of the underlying causes of all the mental distress that we ever experienced (directly) and indirectly also all the physical distress. Physical suffering get’s to us and torments us, because we have appropriated that which isn’t ours. - Looking into the six root and 20 derivative mental afflictions in order to trace suffering back to these mental afflictions. - By removing all karma and klesha we find the unborn, immutable bliss of Nirvana. Nothing else needs to be done. - For the meditation, we settle the mind in its natural state and then try to witness the mental affliction as they come up. If we are able to rest in awareness (1) and simply view mental events arising without appropriating them, particularly mental afflictions, we don't have to do anything at all. However, if we have appropriated (2) mental afflictions by moving towards their referents, we have to apply an antidotes or stop appropriating them. If we go even further than appropriating it and a negative intention (3) comes up we are accruing karma and immediately have to apply the four remedial powers. - Short explanation of the fourth application of mindfulness to phenomena and the insertion of the paragraph on mindfulness of the phenomena of the seven factors of awakening. Here, the phenomena discussed are only those related to setting out on the path to enlightenment. - Presentation and detailed discussion of the six root mental afflictions, attachment, hatred, pride, ignorance, afflictive uncertainty and false view The meditation is on monitoring mental afflictions and applying appropriate measures when needed. It begins at minute 19:09.
Fall 2015 Stage of Generation, 06 Aug 2015, Araluen Retreat Center, Queensland, Australia
Prior to meditation Alan continued on the topic of Guru Yoga and addressed the question ‘Why regard the person who is the Guru as a Buddha?’ The purpose of this is to help us realise that we are also Buddhas. Our view of ourselves is based on our personal history which we reify. This is a deluded view of who/what we are, hiding our true nature. This reification of our ordinary selves makes it also difficult to view ourselves as a Buddha; the same perspective applied to a Guru will also make it difficult to see them as Buddha. However, the common denominator between ourselves and a Buddha is rigpa. We have a choice, to view our own minds as ordinary or to view it as rigpa which is indivisible from the Gurus mind. So, importantly, 2 perspectives: 1. Are you a sentient being (yes) 2. Are you a Buddha? (yes, but from a different perspective - not an ordinary or reifying perspective.)In Guru Yoga we therefore dissolve this ordinary perspective of the Guru and also ourselves into emptiness and relate to Rigpa which is indivisible between the two. Meditation focused on releasing all that you think you are into space. The meditation starts at 27:45 ___ 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.
Fathom the Mind. Heal the World., 05 Oct 2022, Online and in person from Blazing Mountain Retreat Center, Crestone, Colorado
Eva opens this session with a meditation, which is based on potentially a mystical experience. She feels that this is not blasphemous, as we have already had good preparation as Buddhist yogis. She proceeds with an exposition on the life and work of St Symeon the New Theologian, whose mystical experiences parallel strongly to yoga practices in the Kashmiri Shaivism. She discusses a couple of quotations from Visions of the Light, which she chooses for their significance in the description of the Christian contemplative Path. Born in 949 E.D., in Byzantium (Constantinople), St Symeon had an interesting life, with numerous obstacles along the way. Initially his mystical experiences were spontaneous, but later became transformative and lead to maturation. He was quite strict with the monks he was leading, insisting that they should practice diligently through arduous prayer. 'Just because you are baptised, does not mean that you are a Christian', he used to say, and 'seeing' God is not accessible to the coarse mind, as He is 'unapproachable', but entirely possible when one desires so through devoted prayer. God manifests, but not to lazy people, and he considered laxity in practice as being the worst blasphemy of all. There are interesting parallels to Guru Yoga as well. St Symeon had a spiritual mentor, also called Symeon, who was guiding him throughout his life, and he gives precious advice on how to seek such a Spiritual Father, with striking similarities to the Buddhist approach, stating that one must see this Father as Christ himself, and single-pointedly serve and follow him, without wavering or valuing anyone more than him in this life.
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 25 Apr 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Today we practiced the last method in the "cycle" of Shamatha methods for this course. It is the final variation of Awareness of Awareness. In this podcast we go straight into the meditation followed by a brief recap of the four Awareness of Awareness practices and a short reminder on the importance of Shamatha.
This is today’s sky here at the Mind Centre, perfect for Awareness of Awareness practice!
Fall 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 18 Nov 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Alan starts the session with an explanation of mindfulness of breathing, saying that, with time and practice, there may be a moment where you do not detect the breath anymore, and you can no longer find any sensation. He recommended doing 2 things: relax more deeply as you are breathing out, and as you are doing so, attend sharply to pick up the sensation.
Then, in the explanation of settling the mind, he said that the substrate is not a mere absence of thoughts. It is something that can be perceived. He used some examples of people in deep sleep, under general anesthesia and in a vegetative state, and he said that the substrate consciousness is present and manifesting in those instances. In fact, the Substrate is always manifesting – or “shining” – but is obscured most of the time. Like the stars in the sky, it shines more when the sun sets.
Alan also explained that the mental domain is the king of all senses. The other domains (taste, sight, sound, tactile and olfactory sense) cannot perceive mental awareness, but the mental domain can perceive the others.
He finished with a talk about how, unlike scientists and philosophers in the West, Buddhists have a methodology for the study of consciousness. Scientific materialists only attend to the brain when trying to understand the phenomena of consciousness, but they lack an empirical methodology. Alan joked that Buddhism is in a fun-loving wrestling match with these other schools of thought – but certainly not a violent boxing match – to get to the bottom of the consciousness question, and that we can all work together.
2023 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 4, 25 May 2023, Crestone, Colorado and Online
Pointing out instructions continue from Padmasambhava on “Identifying Pristine Awareness” (Natural Liberation): The All-Accomplishing Sovereign: ‘If you wish to fathom that reality with certainty, examine it according to the analogy of space. That reality is the unborn, actual nature of reality. Upon examination, the actual nature of the mind is without cessation; and the actual nature of reality, which is like space, is illustrated with the analogy of space. The actual nature of reality, which is without an object, is illustrated and revealed by nonobjectivity. It is inexpressible in words, but to utter inexpressible words, it is revealed in the essential nature of nonobjective reality. If the definitive referent of this is not realized, whatever terms for reality are taught, you will not encounter me. Veering away from me, I am obscured, and the essential nature of Dharma is not attained.’ And: ‘The nature of bodhicitta is the essence of all phenomena without exception. Unborn and pristine, it is without obscurations; free of a path on which to proceed, it is without pitfalls; primordially, spontaneously actualized, there is no need for seeking.’ This discussion continues on at great length.” Lama-la then guides: with the seeds sown, with our closest approximation of resting in awareness imbued with stability and clarity, insight into emptiness and the meaning of the pointing out instructions, rest simply in awareness simply being aware, resting in open presence in pristine awareness.
2018 8-week retreat- The Essence of Clear Meaning, 11 Apr 2018, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia (Pisa), Italy
Alan begins by mentioning that we have been focusing so far on the cultivation of loving kindness. All sentient beings wish for happiness, but almost everybody, however smart they are, don't know the actual causes of happiness. Sadly, we follow false trails due to ignorance and delusion. Now we turn to the cultivation of compassion. Compassion needs to be combined with wisdom to yield results. The aspiration of compassion is that every sentient being be free of suffering and its causes. As we know, physical suffering occurs due to illness and injury, whereas mental suffering can be dependent upon physical suffering or it can arise without that dependence. How is it possible to mentally suffer? We can't find our mind and others can't see it. Others can't really mentally harm us. The only source of mental suffering lies in our own minds. When compassion is directed outwards, we wish others to be free of suffering and the causes of suffering. Alan has never seen references in Buddhism to self-directed compassion, but considering the epidemic of low self-esteem, self-hatred in the modern world, this seems a very appropriate place to start the cultivation of compassion. Moreover, we need to recognise that we are not genetically predetermined to suffer. From the Buddhist perspective, the sun is always shining. In awareness there is nothing that suggests low self-esteem etc. There are no afflictions in awareness. In the meditation on self-directed compassion, we intelligently and wisely emerge from suffering. Outsiders spend their whole lives blaming others. Be true insiders. The true causes of happiness and suffering are within. Let your awareness be the sharp vajra - the true protector. Meditation is on Self-Directed Compassion. Meditation starts at 19:49
2019 8-Week Retreat, 22 May 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Continuing with the topic of feelings, Lama Alan highlights their uniqueness in that we identify with them so closely, to the point where they appear to us with a sense of ownership. However, there’s a marked difference between mundane pleasures and genuine well being rooted in reality. Likewise there is a difference between virtue pursued for its own reward and virtue aligned with dharma. Even meditation can be practiced with a hedonic motivation. Lama Alan stresses the importance of giving up hedonic attachment for the goal of cultivating genuine eudaimonia. In giving up attachments for the sake of dharma practice, people typically wonder what they might be getting in exchange. The answer comes from the fruits of consistent practice, which may take time and sustained effort. Since feelings can be described as responses to phenomena appearing to the mind, all sentient beings have feelings by default. A sense of caring is hard wired into all conscious beings, including buddhas and bodhisattvas who care about the suffering of sentient beings. Lama Alan reads from the Arya Ratnacuda Sutra describing how a bodhisattva skillfully neutralizes feelings by close examination. Guided meditation is on cultivating a sense of dispassion for the allures of the desire realm, and cultivating compassion for those that experience suffering out of responding to their feelings. The meditation starts at 40:53
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 09 May 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
In this juicy sunday Bonus, Alan answers a question from our friend Noah about why wait to kickstart the revolution in the mind sciences? Why not get an accomplished Yogi to demonstrate his paranormal abilities under scientific scrutiny? Maybe just a little bit of levitation, walking through walls, multiplying themselves, disappearing... The usual.
You can be sure that what follows is a a very thorough analysis of this subject, from several perspectives and with some possible outcomes. Very interesting for those of us who have sometimes asked that question ourselves!
Anyone want to guess who is depicted in this Thangka? Hint: I'm his fan.
View this episode on the site for a larger version of the pic!
2020 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 1, 12 May 2020, Online-only
Eva (Yangchen) begins today’s session by clearing out some lingering questions. These questions are about the scope of action of the Guru Yoga practice, when purifying broken samayas or restoring a connection to empowerments of other tantric systems. She also comments on the meaning of the term ‘samayam’ in the Vajrasattva mantra, and on how is it that, even though we are already visualizing ourselves as Vajrayogini in Guru Yoga, we can go into a practice meant to purify obscurations. The last question concerns when, during the 7 preliminaries, to do physical prostrations. Yangchen then draws from Thinley Norbu’s commentary to explain the resultant state of each of the four empowerments – siddhis. She speaks of the signs that manifest (gradually) from receiving the vase empowerment (attachment, body, earth and water elements, bliss, eye of wisdom, nirmāṇakāya), the secret empowerment (hostility, speech, wind and fire elements, luminosity, eye of primordial consciousness, sambhogakāya), and the wisdom empowerment (delusion, mind, space element, non-conceptuality, eye of ultimate reality, dharmakāya). The fourth empowerment encompasses the previous three, and the experience is that of the svabhāvikakāya, the emptiness of the other three kāyas. Meditation is at [43:50], and is a complete practice of Guru Yoga as given on “A Chariot on the Path to the Union of the Two”. Yangchen reads directly from the text. [Keywords: Four empowerments, Guru Yoga, experiences on the path]
Fall 2015 Stage of Generation, 09 Sep 2015, Araluen Retreat Center, Queensland, Australia
Alan introduces the meditation on compassion by describing how the close application of mindfulness of our body and mind gives rise to a natural sense of caring and empathy. Through our imagination we can extend this to an understanding about the experiences of others. Alan talks about the power of our imagination and quotes from The Flight of the Garuda by Shabkar Tsokdruk Rangdrol who describes how samsara and nirvana are created in the second moment of consciousness through imaginative ignorance. When we are without empathy we are locked in and frozen by small mindedness. It can seem simpler not to care for others or only for those closest to us. However, suffering has no owner and the plight of refugees is a reminder of this. Shamatha provides a way to melt our crystallised samsaric minds. When we achieve the first dhyana, a deeper form of empathy and compassion arises through bodhicitta and the ability to directly perceive the feelings and thoughts of others. Then when we are able to tap into rigpa, we achieve supra mundane siddhis and our compassion becomes non-dual and very powerful. The silent meditation on compassion was not recorded. ___ 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.
Fall 2015 Stage of Generation, 01 Sep 2015, Araluen Retreat Center, Queensland, Australia
Alan returned to the cultivation and discovery of equanimity, as a practice that can be launched from settling the mind in its natural state. Appearances of people arise in our minds. Everything we know of someone else is in the space of our own awareness. So what’s the difference between those appearances and looking directly at someone in the room? And if that someone is ‘looking back’, who is that? The exchanges with two students that followed had everyone laughing. Alan then circled back to equanimity, by reminding us that if someone exists over there, I exist over here. Where’s the border? To develop deep equanimity, we need to realise the equal emptiness of all beings. Yet each is in the centre of their own mandala. The meditation is on equanimity. After the meditation Alan returned to the debate. To the student who replied he was ‘conceptually designated by mental awareness’, Alan then asked which came first - the designator or the designation? And quoting Santideva, he asked how awareness can be aware of itself if a knife can’t cut itself or a candle illuminate itself. After some more puzzling and very amusing exchanges, Alan left us with the unanswered question to ponder: who designates you when you’re sitting alone in your room? Meditation starts at 20:51. ___ 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.
2018 8-week retreat- The Essence of Clear Meaning, 26 Apr 2018, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia (Pisa), Italy
This morning we turn to the third of the four greats which is Maha Mudita or Great Joy. Lama Alan is first addressing the questions of the liturgy, in particular the first one "Why couldn't all beings never be parted from sublime happiness, free of suffering?" Bringing to mind the intelligence, the knowledge and language skills of the human species, it is surprising that we still have not reached this form of happiness, and it also becomes obvious that we haven't identified the actual causes of suffering. Alan then reviews the first and second turning of the wheel of Dharma, showing that the strategy presented there to overcome the causes of suffering consists of realising the identitylessness of persons and of all phenomena, respectively. However, since all these teachings are available, beyond the mere information we need a guide who can bring and lead us on the path. It is said that the spiritual guide is even more precious than the Buddha, because the lineage holders are what connect us with the Buddha in a very viable way. Maha Mudita is to aspire to be such a spiritual guide and the theme for the third of the four greats is the path and the guide that leads us on the path. Meditation is on Maha Mudita, Great Joy. After the meditation, Alan draws a parallel between the importance of having a guide on the spiritual path and the passing on of implicit knowledge that was required in order to replicate the creation of a laser in the 1950s. Alan concludes the lecture with a moving account of some events in the life of his primary Dzogchen Lama, Gyatrul Rinpoche, while he was in India and the US. The meditation starts at 37:35
2017 8-Week Retreat, 25 Apr 2017, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
This evening Alan talked about the inner and outer pre-requisites for achieving shamatha then, following the guided practice of shamatha-vipashyana, took up the root text from “When you are on the path, do not engage in even the slightest…” right through to the end. Alan begins by comparing shamatha to the ‘on-ramp’ for a freeway. Once you’re on the freeway, you leave the on-ramp behind. But it is an indispensable phase of the practice and in order to do it most efficiently it requires certain conditions, outer and inner. Alan details these point-by-point and then talks about how, in terms of outer conditions, the piece of land at nearby Castellina Marittima may become just such an environment in the near future. As for inner conditions, he stresses that simply really wanting to do the practice is not enough. The conditions are simple and can be cultivated, but without them the practice will not proceed. The guided practice begins with shamatha and leads into vipashyana on designating labels to appearances. After the practice Alan remarks that, as Dudjom Lingpa says in the text, insight may arise either by investigating the nature of mind [emptiness] or by investigating appearances [dependent origination]. Following yesterday’s paragraph of the root text on “ground,” in the remaining prose section Dudjom Lingpa goes into ‘path’ and ‘fruition’, followed by a recap and summary of all the preceding material in verse form. It ends with a colophon of Dudjom Rinpoche, the editor for this edition of the Tibetan text. Guided meditation starts at 32:11
Fall 2013 Shamatha and the Seven-Point Mind Training, 12 Oct 2013, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Today's evening session begins with the continuation of the discussion on the power of prayer and blessings. Alan gives a few examples of how blessings work and their possible bandwidth and draws analogies with the so-called placebo effect. After that, we move onto a beautiful practice of the stage of generation of Avalokiteshvara - the embodiment of compassion. The practice is based on a text titled "A spacious path to freedom" by Karma Chagme (which Alan translated) and the sadhana from the text together with its commentary will be made available to listeners of the podcast via the SBI website. Alan explains that this practice is part of public Dharma, which means that it can be done without an empowerment and/or oral transition, unlike other deity practices that do require an empowerment. In fact, it is highly recommended by Karma Chagme to begin one's daily practice with it as a means of obtaining blessings for the rest of the practice of meditation. First Alan explains the sadhana in detail and then we have a guided meditation. After this beautiful meditation, we continue discussing the four practices of the Seven Point Mind Training and the aphorism: "do not rely on the individual, rely on the Dharma; do not rely on the words, rely on the meaning; do not rely on the provisional meaning, rely on the definitive meaning." Alan also stresses the importance and meaning of a genuine teacher and the possibility of receiving blessings form one.
Meditation starts at: 37:58
Fall 2015 Stage of Generation, 17 Aug 2015, Araluen Retreat Center, Queensland, Australia
Alan begins with a brief summary to round off the last two weeks, highlighting the two pithy instructions in Dudjom Lingpa's "The Sharp Vajra of Conscious Awareness Tantra" (excerpt in the Retreat Notes). These instructions are to examine the primary nature of mind being the "all-creating sovereign" and to examine its apparent properties being "objectless openness". Alan then discusses the three ways for individuals of differing capacities to enter the path as given by Dudjom Lingpa's clear exposition in the three sentences of the following paragraph in the excerpt. Alan says our practice should be like "being still like a boulder in a stream" which goes counter to conventional living in the stream of modernity with its mania for activity. The more we prioritise cultivating the shift in viewing reality by following Dudjom Lingpa's instructions, the more (ultimate) Reality rises up to meet us. This is the Dharma. Hence, practice Dharma! The meditation is on objectless openness of self-illuminating Awareness. The meditation starts at 19:21. ___ 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.
2017 8-Week Retreat, 21 May 2017, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
In this session we move on, conceptually at least, to the fourth stage of shamatha, Close Attention. The fourth stage corresponds to the second type of mindfulness described by Düdjom Lingpa, Manifest Mindfulness. Here, you no longer completely forget the object and maintain a continuity of attention for as long as one hour with less effort. A danger at this stage is that, if you are not aware of the remaining stages ahead, you may be complacent with the progress you have already made and be content to stop here. In this stage you must deal with the mediation obstacles of coarse laxity and medium excitation. Alan explains the technical meaning of laxity is “to sink” or, as Buddhaghosa taught, "to float.” Floating connotes that you are not closely engaged with the breath even though you still follow it. Alan highlights the importance of sharpening introspection in this stage by checking in as frequently as necessary on your posture, the relaxed flow of respiration, and the degree of clarity. For the silent meditation session, Alan recommends, a progression beginning with the Asanga method of immersing awareness in the space of the body and peacefully attending to the nonconceptual fluctuations of the breath. When the chattering discursive mind is stilled, move on for the remainder of the session to the Dzogchen approach of being primarily aware of the stillness of awareness and only peripherally aware of the fluctuations of the breath. The silent meditation session at the end of the class was not recorded.
Fall 2014 Shamatha, Vipashyana, Dream Yoga, 05 Sep 2014, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Alan starts the morning session commenting briefly the earlier fairly elaborated discussion on this whole reductionism of our existence to just brains, to being animals or robots. Alan invites us to start a revolution and not fall into the domination of people. Trust your own experience. In a world dominated by materialism, Tina Turner sings: “we don’t need another hero”. This really resonates with dzogchen. We don’t need to look outside again for a buddha. Rather than waiting for another hero to whom pay homage, Alan encourages us to discover the inner buddha inside ourselves. Padmasambhava is not manifesting physically but he does so by way of speech. Dharma speech is the greatest gift. Alan continues talking about the only suitable motivation for dzogchen, which is bodhicitta. Further, he elaborates on what underlies great compassion and the sublime importance to realize pristine awareness. Alan mentions how amazing it is that three great yogis have just passed away in the last week abiding in the clear light of death: two superb monks and one lay woman who had children. There is no time for discouragement, we have options to become realized yogis. Therefore, it is up to us to practice and attain realizations. Hence, it becomes crucial to engage in dzogchen practices in these degenerated times. This is the time in which dzogchen is most needed. We finish the morning session with meditation, in which Padmasambhava’s words are coming directly from his mind. In this way, we receive pointing out instruction directly from Guru Rinpoche. Meditation starts at 35:50
