Fall 2014 Shamatha, Vipashyana, Dream Yoga, 01 Oct 2014, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Before the silent meditation Alan briefly reviews what he has already explained a couple of days ago: If the visualizations keep you awake or you just can’t visualize them, then it’s better to either settle your mind in its natural state (if you tend to fall asleep easily) or practice mindfulness of breathing (if you’re one of the poor souls who can’t fall asleep). After the meditation Alan once again looks back first only to then venture into the practice associated with dreamless sleep. As said before, in the dream state your power of imagination is more brilliant than in the waking state unless you have very stable samadhi. What you see in your dreams then, are the effulgences of your substrate. This is important to note since an encounter with Padmasambhava or Einstein (or Lady Gaga for that matter…) is quite likely not really Padmasambhava/Einstein/Lady Gaga but your imagination of them. While real encounters in the dream state happen (more so with Padmasambhava than with Lady Gaga, so I’ve heard), you have to be an experienced practitioner to be blessed with such an event. However, just because it’s not “the real thing” it does’t make it worthless - quite the contrary, as such dreams are rehearsals or good preparation for when it really matters. Alan then goes into the text and explains the five poisons that are mentioned from different perspectives. The poisons (craving, hostility, delusion, envy and pride) are mental afflictions. So, if you become an arhat then just vanish and all the seeds for those afflictions are terminated. However, from a Vajrayana perspective then don’t simply vanish. Rather you maintain pure vision (as well as possible) and, thus, once mental afflictions arise you see their empty nature by the power of your imagination. Consequently, you don’t terminate them, but transmute them - you see them as facets of primordial consciousness, take away all their energy and use them for your path to enlightenment. From a Dzogchen view, however, even that is unnecessary because you can also simply release those mental afflictions. You don’t have to imagine anything, and neither do you have to terminate anything, you simply view them from the perspective of rigpa. Silent meditation cut out at 11:46
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 28 Apr 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
This podcast is centered around a Loving Kindness practice designed to help develop joy and vision for our Shamatha practice, but it will work for many things. As almost always we start with a very good introduction followed by the 24 minute practice. Afterwards there is a short footnote about the difference between achieving Shamatha (access to the first Dhyāna) and actually achieving the first Dhyāna and what each entails.
The podcast ends there because was a question asked, "Alan, how would you like to see the development of Buddhism and Contemplative Science in the West within the next 10-15 years." As you can imagine, I will leave this for the much-loved sunday bonus! If you know Alan, you know that this question deserves its own podcast episode.
This picture is of the spirit houses (or san phra phum in Thai) at the entryway to the Mind Centre! The theory behind them is very interesting once again I suggest consulting our great friend, Google!
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 10 Jun 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
I know, I am quite the dramatic with my titles :)
With a bittersweet feeling we have come to the last group practice of Shamatha for this retreat. To end majestically, we practiced the fourth method of Shamatha without a sign as taught by Padmasambhava. Preceding the practice, Alan shared some tips of what we can do to practice and ground ourselves in the midst of a flurry of activity around us. He first returned to his analogy of Schooner (Boat)/ Submarine/Jet Plane in relationship with the Shamatha practices, and then he shared one more drop of wisdom in the form of a brand new practice for us, combining Breath Awareness with Awareness of Awareness to create a deeply soothing yet vivid and engaged practice.
After the meditation, Alan suggests keeping the attention engaged with something real in between thoughts and everyday, and finished by sharing a brilliant Tibetan aphorism to keep us out of trouble:
"When you are alone, watch your mind. When you are with others, watch your mouth."
This beautiful starry picture is a still from David.
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 02 May 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
In this bonus podcast, B. Alan Wallace is asked about his ideal vision of Buddhism and Contemplative Science in "The West" (or modernity) for the next 10-15 years. Alan first describes his own term, "Contemplative Science," and then gets going on a very inspiring and precise view of how this can be absolutely groundbreaking for science and humanity in general.
Can we penetrate and break through to knowing reality? Taking it out of the realm of metaphysics, religion, or theory, but actually putting it to the test and knowing?
I wont say more in order to not ruin Alan's response, but if you are interested in Buddhism, Cognitive Sciences, Psychology, Brain Science, Philosophy, or Science in general, this is really worth a listen. It's not technical at all, and gives a very expository view of the unfortunate status quo of the previously mentioned branches of science. You know that sunday bonuses don't fail to deliver so just listen!
The photo is another great sky from Rosa here at the mind centre!
2018 8-week retreat- The Essence of Clear Meaning, 17 May 2018, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia (Pisa), Italy
Lama Alan begins the afternoon session by showing how we can maintain our practice also in-between sessions. The first practice we can do is (1) stillness in the midst of motion (both the mind's movements and all other activities we do during the day), recognising and maintaining that all the appearances we see are arising in the space of our own awareness. On this basis, we bring also whatever understanding we have of the empty nature of phenomena. So we come to objects: there are appearances and objects, we are not denying this. What do we do about all the molecules, elementary particles, etc.? Here we bring in the teachings on emptiness from Phase 3, and apply them to our meditation in order to view that all appearances and objects are illusory - they exist relative to our cognitive frame of reference. Beyond that, we bring in the third element of the Dzogchen view, resting in our best approximation of non-meditation throughout the day. However, all the great Dzogchen masters (like Dudjom Lingpa) did complement the above with (2) generation stage practices and the whole range of skilful means. So we bring in the pure vision and divine identity. Although contrived and imagined, you are using the luminosity aspect of your consciousness to create a virtual reality that is no more or less real than what we are experiencing now - a virtual reality generated by karma and kleshas. Therefore, with wisdom and skilful means we can be practicing all day. Just before the meditation, Lama Alan mentions the practices for the dying process recommended by Atisha, which can be summarised in the cultivation of relative and ultimate bodhicitta. The guided meditation begins with resting in awareness of awareness, then we move on to vipashyana (investigating the agent), and after that, from the non-duality of dharmadhatu and dharmakaya, we arise as the Yidam (Avalokiteshvara or the Lake-Born Vajra) and recite the respective mantra. After the meditation, Lama Alan resumes the commentary on the Sharp Vajra, concluding Phase 5 and commencing Phase 6. The meditation begins at 30:47 Text p. 95-97
2019 8-Week Retreat, 22 Apr 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Lama Alan began by stating that there are many spiritual traditions that have a common triad at their core - ethics, Samadhi (making the mind serviceable) and wisdom. Further, that Buddhism was unique in that Bodhicitta was foundational. He also stated that there was no such thing as secular or modern Dzogchen. Dzogchen teachings are traditional or they are not given at all. Lama Alan said that enthusiasm and joy are the correct motivations for practice, not fear. He added that the precepts were about avoiding carelessness and being safely contained and as such they showed practitioners how not to be afraid. The meditation will be directed towards distinguishing between our perception of appearances and our conceptual designations (projections, etc.) of/upon those appearances. He added that there is no such thing as a perceptual designation, that perceptions don’t conceptually designate. They freshly arise. We conceptually designate when we label and identify with perceptions - when we cookie cutter onto perceptions and turn them into conceptions. In the meditation he suggested that we recognize when a conception was occurring and that we note the difference between that conception and the perception related to it. Lama Alan said that the conflation that occurs when we conceptually designate results in delusions and mental afflictions (such as hostility, attachment and craving) so that the person who does this can no longer discern reality and what they did by way of imputation upon it. He repeated that it is necessary to refrain from conceptual imputation to realize emptiness. Meditation starts at 25:34 After the meditation Lama Alan read from paragraph 7 on page 176 of the text to paragraph 4 on page 180. He identified our family as the Lotus family and named Amitabha, Tara, Avalokiteshvara, and Padmasambhava as a part of that family. Parts of the text on which he provided commentary relate to ultimate Bodhicitta, aspects synonymous with rigpa and how the various descriptions of the characteristics and qualities of the ground were fingers pointing the moon.
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 19 May 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
This afternoon the meditation was 100% silent. Even the introduction lasts around 20 seconds!
I cut out the 24 minutes of silence in order to make this a smaller download. You can click pause and do your own Empathetic Joy meditation! For reference, go to the previous podcasts. After the meditation we had a power outage which cut out a chunk of a very interesting question. The power came on and off a few times, and I cut the long parts when the power was out (and thus we had no recording).
Among the questions covered in this podcast are: Not fusing mental events with the referent (Alan gave a VERY clear answer, very useful for those practicing Settling the Mind[ ]...), some clarification about the acquired sign in Breath Awareness (and more on this air-element symbol), and then a long question about many aspects of Shamatha, both practical, historic, and theoric, and finally from that question arose Alan's description of his proposal: A Buddhism Renaissance, coming back to the core teachings and not simply "riding the wave" of tradition and losing touch with the true wisdom.
2020 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 1, 17 Apr 2020, Online-only
Session 5: Breath (nostrils) 1. Review 2. Actual practice 3. Meditation - breath (nostrils) 4. The five obscurations 5. The acquired sign 6. Q&A Today we focus on mindfulness of the breath, focusing on the entrance of the nostrils. This enhances the clarity of your attention. It is imperative to not sacrifice relaxation for clarity. Meditation begins at 15:20 There are five obscurations towards achieving samadhi: Hedonistic craving, malice, laxity & dullness, excitation & anxiety and afflictive uncertainty. The Buddha compares these obscurations with being in debt, sick, in bonds, enslaved and lost in a desert track, respectively. By abandoning these five obscurations, one can achieve access to the first jhana, which is the attainment of shamatha. There are five jhana factors which one obtains upon the achieving shamatha, which are: single pointed attention, well-being, coarse examination, bliss and precise investigation. These correlate directly with the five obscurations. Glen then uses a water simile to describe the effects of the five obscurations. Having achieved shamatha, the five obscurations are greatly subdued, even in post-meditative experiences they are largely dormant. Glen briefly explains the 4 different jhanas and what one is liberated from after achieving each level. There are 8 faults to concentration which are purified in the different levels. Glen also speaks about the acquired sign, which naturally may arise as one progresses along the path of shamatha. It is a symbol of the air element which arises in your mind’s eye, and as the tactile sensations of the breath grow subtler, the meditator must eventually transfer their attention from the physical sensations to the acquired sign. Upon achieving shamatha, an even subtler counterpart sign will appear, and one must then focus on that to progress along the subsequent jhanas. These signs only appear if one chooses mindfulness of breathing as their chosen practice. Q & A: Glen states how the achievement of shamatha does not permanently liberate one from our obscurations, one must practice vipashana to cut the root of our obscurations.
Shamatha Teachings Presented by Glen Svensson, 17 Apr 2020, Originally part of 2020 8-week retreat
Session 5: Breath (nostrils) 1. Review 2. Actual practice 3. Meditation - breath (nostrils) 4. The five obscurations 5. The acquired sign 6. Q&A Today we focus on mindfulness of the breath, focusing on the entrance of the nostrils. This enhances the clarity of your attention. It is imperative to not sacrifice relaxation for clarity. Meditation begins at 15:20 There are five obscurations towards achieving samadhi: Hedonistic craving, malice, laxity & dullness, excitation & anxiety and afflictive uncertainty. The Buddha compares these obscurations with being in debt, sick, in bonds, enslaved and lost in a desert track, respectively. By abandoning these five obscurations, one can achieve access to the first jhana, which is the attainment of shamatha. There are five jhana factors which one obtains upon the achieving shamatha, which are: single pointed attention, well-being, coarse examination, bliss and precise investigation. These correlate directly with the five obscurations. Glen then uses a water simile to describe the effects of the five obscurations. Having achieved shamatha, the five obscurations are greatly subdued, even in post-meditative experiences they are largely dormant. Glen briefly explains the 4 different jhanas and what one is liberated from after achieving each level. There are 8 faults to concentration which are purified in the different levels. Glen also speaks about the acquired sign, which naturally may arise as one progresses along the path of shamatha. It is a symbol of the air element which arises in your mind’s eye, and as the tactile sensations of the breath grow subtler, the meditator must eventually transfer their attention from the physical sensations to the acquired sign. Upon achieving shamatha, an even subtler counterpart sign will appear, and one must then focus on that to progress along the subsequent jhanas. These signs only appear if one chooses mindfulness of breathing as their chosen practice. Q & A: Glen states how the achievement of shamatha does not permanently liberate one from our obscurations, one must practice vipashana to cut the root of our obscurations.
2017 8-Week Retreat, 10 May 2017, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
The culmination of all of the meditative practices that we have been doing is the practice of nonmeditation, or not doing. All other meditative practices, including stage of generation practice, involve doing something, and that requires practicing from the point of view of a sentient being. In Dzogchen, we are told at the beginning that we are Buddhas, but we scurry around wanting something to do and trying to do it right. The ultimate practice of Dzogchen meditation, however, is that of not doing anything at all, nonmeditation. To do this practice we must approximate being in rigpa by deactivating our identity as a sentient being. We then rest in what remains, that is, in rigpa. You either do this practice correctly, or you are not doing the practice at all. Alan likens this practice to a final exam in which we try to rest in not doing amidst the busyness of our minds until all impure appearances dissolve into ultimate reality. Following the meditation, Alan discusses the notion of space and time from the perspective of Buddhism, Pythagorean science, and modern science. Alan mentions that before the 1900’s there was a widely held scientific belief in the ether (the medium, it was thought, through which light waves propagate). This entrenched belief had to be discarded in the early 1900’s when relativity theory and quantum mechanics were developed. Alan sees this as analogous to the questioning today by some physicists of the prevailing concepts of space and time and their correspondence to the Buddhist view of the primacy of the mind. Some mathematicians even propose that the physical world is the projection of a subtle mathematical realm, a notion similar to the Pythagorean concept of subtle realms of geometric forms and numbers as the source of the physical. If Pythagoras is, as some say, the father of Western science, science’s knowledge of the physical world began with insights directed inwards with samadhi. Perhaps that approach will again lead to new insights as revolutionary as relativity theory. Guided meditation starts at 27:38
2018 8-week retreat- The Essence of Clear Meaning, 29 Apr 2018, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia (Pisa), Italy
This morning we turned to Great Equanimity, but before venturing into the practice Lama Alan began by differentiating 3 types of meditation, starting with (1) placement meditation, in which we simply place our attention on a familiar object without distraction and without forgetfulness. Then the second kind is commonly known as analytical meditation, for which Alan proposed the term (2) discursive meditation. From his point of view this is more adequate, as although some practices are analytical (like vipashyana), other ones like loving-kindness don't require analysis as such: in that case we need to use our intelligence and imagination. Finally, he mentioned a less known type of meditation, (3) glancing meditation, which implies touching lightly on a number of topics - Lama gave the example of Tsongkhapa's Lam Rim prayer, in which one glances at all the key points of lam-rim in a few minutes. We then explored the liturgy for Great Equanimity, which reads "Why couldn't all sentient beings dwell in great impartiality, free of attachment to that which is near and aversion to that which is far? May they so dwell! I shall make it so. May my guru and personal deity bless me that I may be able to do so." (Please note the difference Alan made between "those who are near or far" and "that which is near or far.") Lama then discussed equanimity, also using the term imperturbability, and mentioning this as a good criterion to assess, over time, the progress we're having in our practice. He then briefly mentioned that, from the Shravakayana perspective, the key insight one looks for is the idea that neither this body, nor mind, is I or mine. As we progress, seeing whatever arises as just arising in space, the more our suffering will diminish, due to the decreased sense of identity with that which is not I or mine. Subsequently, as we add to our view the notion of the empty nature of all phenomena, seeing everything as an empty appearance, with phenomena having no power from their own side, then equanimity and imperturbability will settle in. Finally, from the Dzogchen perspective, we can see it as the Great Equanimity, the one taste of samsara and nirvana, as we move on from dualistic views to adopting the perspective of pristine awareness. The meditation, on Great Equanimity, starts at 36:07
2018 8-week retreat- The Essence of Clear Meaning, 10 May 2018, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia (Pisa), Italy
In this session, Lama Alan starts by stating that the whole gist of Phase 4 is to show the nature of pristine awareness, the sugatagarbha, the Great Perfection, which can also be translated as the Great Encompassment because it encompasses on the one hand all of samsara and nirvana, but also all spiritual paths. They can all be seen as an expression of the great encompassment, the Great Perfection, and they all arise spontaneously and effortlessly by resting in rigpa. The drawback of all other paths is that they entail effort. However, to realize this one has to conquer reification, since this is like dry rot that keeps on coming back again and again. How can we do that? We can begin by taking the mind as the path, which is also known as taking appearances and awareness as the path. In this approach we are not superimposing labels on appearances. Rather, it is a straight knowing or cognizance without using labels, a non-conceptual knowing. This ability to maintain a clear flow of cognisance is going to be extremely important when you start applying your shamatha to the vipashyana. We want to gain insight into emptiness and sustain that knowing without propping it up with concepts - we want to sustain that knowing non-conceptually. Then Lama Alan comes back to the topic of karma because it is so easy to reify it. However, the Buddha only mentions that there are patterns or relations between actions and their consequences. This is causality and does not mean that karma or karmic seeds exist from their own side. The concept of karma is just a useful way of talking about such patterns. This is similar to the laws of physics, mathematics or biology. At the end it all comes down to appearances and the awareness of them. Lama Alan then quotes the physicist John Wheeler and mentions the late choice experiment. This brings him to the matter of time and the issue of reifying history. The meditation is on the unfindability of "I" within the experience of being aware. After the meditation, Lama Alan comes back to the text, and continues on page 79, paragraph A''' The actual characteristics of the ground (4) (b), "As for the five buddha families..." The meditation starts at 58:50 Text p.79-80
2018 8-week retreat- The Essence of Clear Meaning, 11 Apr 2018, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia (Pisa), Italy
Before the meditation, Alan comments on the practice of shamatha without a sign as taught by Yangthang Rinpoche in his text on the view, meditation, and conduct of Dzogchen. After meditation, Alan resumes his commentary on the text for this retreat. Alan stresses the fact that the mind cannot be overlooked: we are active participants in the universe. Reality has always been entangled with those who experience reality. When Dudjom Lingpa speaks of "Phenomena", he is not referring to phenomena independent of experience, but to the contents of experience. The text goes straight into the practice of trekchö (cutting through). Alan continues with a deep explanation of the aetiology or the genesis of waking experience. Alan comments that by achieving shamatha you can definitely know whether what he said is true or false. Further in the lecture, Alan comments that most people (including ordinary people) prefer mental wellbeing to physical wellbeing. There is an innate sense of its primary value. Society sadly trivializes the urge to be free of suffering (just use drugs, entertainment, work to suppress the symptoms). But this is what drives us to enlightenment. Our core is Buddha nature. It will never let us rest until it comes to know itself. Moreover, Alan also explains that most people's hopes and fears relate to this lifetime alone, yet life could end at any moment, and if there is continuity of consciousness after death, the concern about what will happen in future lifetimes acquires an immense significance. It's one life over an infinity of lives. We need to realise that right now we are sowing the seeds that will determine whether we experience suffering or happiness in our future lifetimes. Alan concludes with two quotes from the teaching "Parting from the Four Attachments" - a short teaching spoken by Manjushri to the Sakya patriarch Sachen Kunga Nyingpo: "If you cling to this life, you are not a Dharma practitioner." "If grasping occurs, you don't have the view." Meditation is on Shamatha without a sign Meditation starts at 8:49 Text p. 48-49
2017 8-Week Retreat, 07 May 2017, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
58 Cultivating Bodhichitta Having cultivated the Four Immeasurables - a common ground for many traditions - and the Four Greats - which necessarily implies viewing the possibility of enlightenment - we move in this session to the cultivation of bodhichitta. Alan explained the causal sequence for this practice as focusing initially on the world of sentient beings permeated by suffering and the causes of suffering. When we recognize the urgent need of liberating all of them from suffering, we might then understand that only a buddha knows what needs to be done and has the capacity to be of greatest benefit to sentient beings. So many things can be done to alleviate suffering, but if they are done with the outside-in revolutionary’s approach, they may lead to even more suffering and merely replace one bondage with another. The inside-out approach of Dharma guides us to liberation from mental afflictions and the five obscurations. But, even when practicing Dharma, we may miss the whole point. Alan mentions a Khandro Rinpoche teaching in which she said that when Tibetans think of practicing Dharma, their mouths start to move - so many recitations, so many sadhanas, so many pujas, so much more outside activity. But in fact, Alan states, going inwards is the medicine we need. It may seem impossible to progress along the path in such a degenerate era - and some people actually say so - but in response, Alan cites the Dalai Lama. Yes, this is a degenerate era, but if you practice like Milarepa, you will achieve like Milarepa. Alan says good progress is being made in creating a Garden of Samadhi at Castellina Marittima. It will be be a place to practice like Milarepa. And even if the results are not always the same as Milarepa’s, what better thing is there to do. The guided meditation is on cultivating aspirational and engaged bodhichitta with the recitation of the Shower of Blessings sadhana. After the meditation, Alan says that any activity in our daily routines imbued with bodhichitta is virtuous and should be regarded as practice. He concludes saying that the most pithy of pith instructions he has ever heard is this advice from Dröntonpa (a previous incarnation of the Dalai Lama). “Give up all attachments to this life and let your mind become Dharma.” Guided meditation starts at 27:30
2018 8-week retreat- The Essence of Clear Meaning, 10 Apr 2018, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia (Pisa), Italy
Lama Alan Wallace begins with a couple of announcements: (1) the first is for people following online and that will eventually watch the Wisdom Course: the teachings on the sadhana and the practice of the sadhana of the Lake-Born Vajra are only for those who received the empowerment. You don't need to have received the empowerment from Alan Wallace, you may have received it from another Lama, but if you have not received the empowerment for this specific manifestation of Padmasambhava (the Lake-Born Vajra), please do not engage in the sadhana practices as you are not authorised to do so (there would be no benefit in doing that). (2) Alan had printed out a copy of the root text (The Sharp Vajra of Conscious Awareness Tantra) which was quite out of date. But whenever he mentioned previously some corrections, those were actual corrections. But if you were reading along carefully the version you have and what Alan was reading, and you found any other discrepancies (which there were) you have the right version. Then he gives the oral transmission and guides us through the practice of "A Synthesis of the Vital Essence: A Practice of the Profound Path of the Heart Essence of the Lake-Born Vajra", by H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche, Jigdral Yeshé Dorjé. Meditation starts at 2:07 After the sadhana practice, Alan invites to abandon the notion and even the possibility of saying "Stuff happened and I could not practice!". To avoid this casual attitude towards the Dharma we must sustain the thread of practice - if we lose it in this lifetime, imagine how hard it will be to find the Dharma again in the next life! For this, he gives three points as a heartfelt plea: 1) let your primary motivation, at all times, be "May I not be separate from Bodhicitta" (with Bodhicitta, even you are just resting, as Shantideva said, you are practicing and accumulating merit); 2) rest in awareness (how sick you need to be not to rest in awareness?); 3) maintain pure vision and divine pride, as described in the sadhana. If you keep just one of these, that's fine - all of those, of course, is much better. At the end, Alan recalls Dromtompa: "Give up attachment to this life. And let your mind become Dharma." And gives the example of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who had a cold these days and still managed to teach Tsongkhapa's "The Three Principles of the Path".
Fall 2015 Stage of Generation, 10 Sep 2015, Araluen Retreat Center, Queensland, Australia
Alan first continues with the text (p.111-115). The practice is not easy but its not complicated. The text repeatedly emphasises that rigpa transcends the intellect. It is ‘thatness’, not labelled and is inarticulate. Any of the verses referred to in the text can be considered as pointing out instructions, but Alan particularly focuses on those of Mahasiddha Maitripa who doesn’t mince words from the start. Alan explains that these verses are perfect and suggests, that, if we so wish, we could recording these ourselves, in our own language and play it back so we receive the pointing out instructions from Maitripa’s words. In front loading the meditation, which is silent, he draws a distinction between Shamatha and Dzogchen with reference to the method in Padmasambhava’s pointing out instructions, covered yesterday. If using this method without the Dzogchen view one is practising Shamatha which will it ultimately reveal the substrate consciousness. However, one can practise the same technique imbued with Dzogchen which will reveal rigpa. One Dzogchen practice is not doing. More specifically it is the practice of the four nots: not doing, not desiring, not striving, and not modifying. When not doing these things, what is left is rigpa. You are either doing the practice, by doing nothing at all, or you are not doing the practice, by doing something. This then leads into the meditation. Meditation is on non-meditation and observing the mind. Following meditation Alan addresses the subject of information and its dependence upon an observer, that is, a consciousness. He quotes several eminent scholars including Marcia Bates, John Wheeler, Hans Christian von Baer, Roger Penrose, and Stephen Hawking. Front-loaded silent meditation 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.
The Seven Preliminaries according Düdjom Lingpa, 28 Apr 2020, Online - Originally part of 2020 8-week retreat
We start the session with a short surprise meditation. After meditation, Eva (Yangchen) starts the explanation of the mandala offering, she comments that emptyness is the most essential point for understanding this practice. As she says, we will go into the question on how Buddhist cosmology fits within our current “map” of the universe (on session 16). We will also explore the meaning of the three stages: outer, inner, and secret mandala (on this session). Yangchen goes then to the recitation in the brief preliminaries. She explains that it is longer in English, basically because more words are needed to wrap up all that is encompassed in the Tibetan. Eva is drawing from Thinley Norbu’s commentary, which says that there are two mandalas, the one we reach to and the one we offer. She describes then the visualization of these two mandalas, and the representation of them by physical substances (5 piles of what one has arranged). In this context she talks about the qualities of Padmasambhava (within the mandala to be accomplished) which encompass each of the 5 Buddha Families, and what should be set physically, or what can be visualized to represent those Buddha Families. Yangchen continues with the text, the collection of merit is great through mandala offering, but it is essential to know what the steps in the practice mean and symbolize. She explains what is the idea behind the ‘best, medium, and lowest quality’ mandalas that one can offer. One is instructed to imagine the physical mandala as the three realms of existence, Mount Meru, and the four continents, together with other ingredients of Buddhist cosmology, as much as one wants to visualize. Yangchen recites now the mandala offering from the Khandro Nyingtik, and explains what a ‘billionfold world system’ is. The aim is to go to the limits of our imagination. One transforms then the billionfold world system into a nirmāṇakāya buddhafield, one’s own body into a sambhogakāya buddhafield, and one’s mind into a dharmakāya buddhafield; this constitute the outer, inner, and secret mandala. Then, one offers all this to one’s guru. She comments that the last three lines of the recitation each refer to the outer, inner, and secret mandala. At the end Eva gives some details about the steps one follows to arrange the physical offering, the location of the piles, and what each pile in the mandala represents.
2017 8-Week Retreat, 28 May 2017, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
In this session, we go deeper into the culmination of the practice of settling the body, speech and mind in their natural states, Shamatha without a Sign, or Awareness of Awareness. This practice was rarely taught by the Buddha, not because it is not important but possibly because it is too subtle and therefore of benefit for a select group of people. But it was taught by great masters and Alan quoted two of them: Tsongkhapa and Düdjom Lingpa. Alan says that some people report that they don´t really understand this practice. That may be, he says, because, although they are doing the practice, they don´t know they are doing it. Not knowing leads them to get caught in afflictive uncertainty. For the silent meditation session Alan suggests that we rest in the sheer experience of being aware, Awareness of Awareness. But, Alan warns, because there is no object to anchor awareness in this practice, it is easy to drift into distraction or spaced-out laxity. If this occurs, bring any of the varieties of mindfulness of breathing to the rescue. After the meditation, Alan quotes a number masters explaining the importance of shamatha. He begins with a passage from the Buddha himself recounting that after having exhausted himself with six years of ascetic practices, he recalled a time in his youth when he spontaneously achieved shamatha, and he asked himself, might that be the way to enlightenment? Alan explains that the first teachers of the Buddha had briefly lead him through the first dhyana and then rushed to achieve the higher dhyanas and states of samapatti. But the dhyana factors of subtle investigation and coarse analysis, fully present already at the threshold of the first dhyana (and vital for vipashyana) go dormant from the second dhyana forward. Alan goes on to quote Atisha, who states that it is not really possible to help sentient beings without the extrasensory perception developed with shamatha. Other masters from a variety of traditions all make the point that shamatha is absolutely necessary to realize the highest goals. People who remain unsure on that point are simply wrong, Alan concludes. The silent meditation period is at 18:21 in the class and was not recorded.
Fall 2015 Stage of Generation, 05 Aug 2015, Araluen Retreat Center, Queensland, Australia
Before the meditation Alan provides guidance on the mindfulness of breathing based on its natural rhythm. The central purpose of many of the advanced tantric practices is to bring the subtle energies into the central channel, to get our prana system into shape and achieve the mind of clear light. This is difficult within modernity due to our addiction to stimulation. The effortless route to untie the knots of the chakras is through mindfulness of breathing. The key to unblocking is to focus on the end the outbreath by being very still, silent and attentive at the very end point of exhalation. Alan suggests that we let the body breathe unimpeded in its natural rhythm. Alan introduces the first uncommon preliminary by identifying two key elements of the Vajrayana. The first is some insight and understanding of emptiness of both self and phenomena. The second is an intuitive affirmation of the Dharmakaya, that the ground-state of our awareness is buddha nature. This has to be a "heart" understanding as there is no empirical evidence. Without these two elements it is not possible to practice the most secret level of guru yoga, seeing the guru as the Buddha. The true refuge is the Dharmakaya and guru yoga helps with this realisation. If this refuge doesn't exist in our minds then it is better not to practice guru yoga. Reverence for the Buddha and teachings can still be achieved in degrees from seeing a teacher or guru as a spiritual friend or as an emissary (as in the Sutrayana). However, seeing the guru as a conduit and as the Buddha is true guru yoga and this requires the two elements. Blessing from the Dharmakaya will come from this. Silent Meditation begins at 38:55 and is 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.
2017 8-Week Retreat, 19 Apr 2017, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Alan begins by mentioning that the practices we have covered lately—vipashyana on the mind as agent and yesterday’s ‘non-meditation’—are, when considering the triad relaxation,stability,and vividness, definitely in the realm of vividness. He goes on, by way of a classic parable (the king, the wise minister, the body-guard, and the wayward crown-prince) to reinforce how indispensable shamatha is to provide a stable basis for practices such as these. On this theme, we go into this evening’s guided practice as a method for cultivating a deeper foundation; Asaṅga’s approach to Mindfulness of Breathing by attending to the fluctuations of prāṇa throughout the field of the body, as outlined in the Śrāvakabhūmi. The guided meditation is Asaṅga’s approach to Mindfulness of Breathing; attending to the fluctuations of prāṇa throughout the field of the body. After the guided practice, Alan points out that he made a slip of the tongue in the latter part of yesterday’s commentary, and goes over that section again to clarify any confusion which may have arisen. He requested that an edit be made of yesterday's audio #25 to replace the term “rigpa” with “substrate” as being conditioned and in samsara at 1:27:20 in the audio. We then pick up the root text from “On one hand, all of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa consists of creative expressions of the ground…”, through to “…I shall destroy the errors of the māras below”. In the first paragraph, Dudjom Lingpa points out some common mistaken notions regarding rigpa, then continues his biographical narrative by relating his experience of ‘losing his ground’ in the practice, being thrown off by even minor issues. After praying to his guru for instruction, the wrathful Orgyen Dorjé Drolö appears in a dream vision, imparting incisive advice in verse. Before the commentary, Alan treats us to a rythmic recitation of Dorje Drolo’s ‘Hūṃ Song’ in the original metered Tibetan. Guided meditation starts at 17:03
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 01 May 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
We start with a very precise introduction of how mental afflictions are afflictions because they are rooted in delusion. Some feelings can be either very positive or afflictive depending on the above. I won't give examples in order to not distort Alan's words but it's a great explanation!
We also get an explanation about four displays of compassion or Bodhisattva actions that are not immediately apparent, contrasting the sugar-coated, peaceful saints of other traditions with the Buddhist deities, which can be very wrathful but stemming from Compassion. He gives four examples which really opened our eyes.
Then we go into a great meditation session and afterwards we have a few excellent questions, wrapped up with an amazing analysis of a verse (the first verse of the first chapter) from the Dhammapada in which Alan masterfully adds to both the question of how to live a rich, meaningful, Dharma-saturated life in modernity without going into solitude and becoming a yogi and about the brain-mind question. This is a clear example of Alan's exemplary knowledge compiling and interpreting at its pure best, and this podcast also has a crescendo ending in ƒƒ (for us musicians) which caused us to be late for dinner. This final point starts at 1:02:30 for you cheaters!
Another great photo from ale!
Fall 2014 Shamatha, Vipashyana, Dream Yoga, 09 Oct 2014, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
In today’s session Alan talks about the importance of purification and accruing merit in order to proceed quickly along the path. The Sanskrit term for merit is punya, and it literally means power. It is that which propels you along the path. And if you want merit to really flow, then think about what Atisha said about the ability to accumulate merit once you have achieved shamatha. Another way to supercharge your merit according to the Buddha is by concentration on suchness, which means emptiness. And finally, when you develop bodhicitta you accrue merit, and once you are on the level of engaged bodhicitta it will just be an ongoing flow of merit no matter what you do. That’s for accumulating merit. And how to purify? Well, how about shamatha, insight into emptiness and bodhicitta? If you might think that all this emptiness and Dzogchen stuff is just too way up for you, you can’t really do this, then this is one of the three types of laziness, the laziness of putting oneself down. So no excuses, especially since Alan lists the remedies for all three types of laziness! The realizations e.g. of emptiness don’t appear out of the blue, they come from hearing, reading, trying to figure it out, meditating about it, and sooner or later a true understanding will arise. This will still come and go, so you need shamatha to stabilize it, and to get so familiar with it that it becomes the natural way of viewing reality. After the meditation we return to Natural Liberation, continuing from yesterday’s topic of viewing hatred from the perspective of rigpa. Alan gives an advice that he himself has received from Gyatrul Rinpoche when anger comes up in the mind: Don’t be troubled, just look at it and try to trace it back to its roots. The same can be done for the other poisons; craving and delusion. You can trace them back to their relative origin, which is substrate consciousness, and from that perspective all three poisons are nothing other than luminosity, bliss and non-conceptuality. But here in Padmasambhava’s text they are seen not from the perspective of substrate consciousness, but from the perspective of rigpa, and that means that they are nothing other than the three aspects of primordial consciousness: mirror-like, discerning and Dharmadhatu. Padmasambhava states that from the perspective of rigpa hatred never comes into being, is empty of location, and doesn’t go anywhere. Which means, you can’t even lose it. If an Arhat thinks that he has cut hatred at its root, that isn’t really true. You just reduce it back to where it comes from, or better to say, it releases itself if you can rest in rigpa. Silent meditation cut out at 27:25 min
Fall 2015 Stage of Generation, 18 Aug 2015, Araluen Retreat Center, Queensland, Australia
Alan draws an intriguing parallel between the timing of the treasure trove of Buddhist teachings becoming available outside of Tibet in the latter part of the 20th century and the receptivity of a Eurocentric audience. Taking Finkelstein's panoramic view of the history of science from Aristotle to quantum cosmology, he finds a profound resonance. He then compares that sequence to the tradition of monastic study in Tibet. The monks start their study of logic with the Sautantrika view, corresponding to our idea of reality, like Descartes, then they move to Cittamatrin masters like Dignaga, who shatter the idea of an external physical world (as did Bishop Berekely) . It is only much later that the monks study the Madhyamika view. So there's a sequence comparable to the progression from Descartes' dualism to Hilary Putman's view of pragmatic realism. The treasure of Tibetan Buddhism has been around a long time but has only recently become available outside of Tibet. He asks us to imagine how the Tibetan lamas would have been received in the 19th century Eurocentric worlds of empire, superiority and racism. But after the savagery of two world wars, the devastation of the environment and the burgeoning inequality of wealth, people are looking for an alternative to a hedonistic consumer-driven life. He points out that this is a time of crisis but also a time of high potential and there's an urgency to practice Dharma. If not now, then when? The meditation is on the Avalokitesvara practice concluding with chanting Om Mani Padme Hung After the meditation, Alan reads from Chapter Three, The Cultivation of Shamatha, elaborating on the meaning of yeshe. Then he answers several questions . The first clarifies some points on the sadhana practice. His response to the second question is a careful explanation of several terms including Dharmadhatu and Chittatha. The third question elicits a clarification of how to observe mental afflictions while settling the mind and the last question covers an aspect of the breathing practice.
Spring 2011 Shamatha Retreat, 02 Jun 2011, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Although there are two more days of retreat, this is our last afternoon session. Alan begins by jumping right in to a guided meditation in which he "puts us through the paces" of the three types of mindfulness of breathing, settling the mind in its natural state, awareness of awareness, and, finally, vipashyana.
This is followed by a long question and answer period. [26:55] Alan answers these questions from the group, particularly focusing on the final three questions.
1. I have noticed during the retreat how the English language, with personal pronouns an integral grammatical structure, both serves to assist the development of a concretized sense of self/ego and duality, and then becomes like their protector. (I understand most languages represent individuals or groups to a lesser or greater degree (except for Thai, Burmese, and Japanese).)
I experimented during the retreat with not using "I, me or mine" and it showed just how deeply ingrained the constructed sense of the world and self is in language.
What is your advice about negotiating the dissonance between language, encoding as it does samsara and ultimate reality, especially anatta, that we are seeking to understand and experience?
2. I am aware of the Tibetan custom of not talking about meditative experiences and realizations. As we begin to talk - and soon will be home and doubtless facing the questions of loved ones and acquaintances ("So how did it go? What did you get to?!?") - do you have any advice on how we talk about our retreat? Or our plans for the future? Could you say a little about why the Tibetans take this attitude of saying little or nothing? Is it relevant for us and does it apply to a very ordinary level of experience?
3. Are vividness and clarity simply alternate translations of the same Tibetan/Sanskrit term or do they carry a difference in meaning? Also Gen Lamrimpa mentions 'lucidity' and 'strength of clarity'; what is the distinction?
4. In one of the talks you mentioned briefly that after the Buddha lived, it did not take very long till different interpretations of his teachings started to emerge. Can you tell us a little bit more how the different schools of Buddhism were formed? (How long after the Buddha we can say there was 'Buddhism'?)
5. How did Buddhism develop also to a religion and why do you think it did?
6. Do all schools of Buddhism share the [worldview + practice + way of life] being the heart of the teachings?
2020 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 1, 28 Apr 2020, Online-only
We start the session with a short surprise meditation. After meditation, Eva (Yangchen) starts the explanation of the mandala offering, she comments that emptyness is the most essential point for understanding this practice. As she says, we will go into the question on how Buddhist cosmology fits within our current “map” of the universe (on session 16). We will also explore the meaning of the three stages: outer, inner, and secret mandala (on this session). Yangchen goes then to the recitation in the brief preliminaries. She explains that it is longer in English, basically because more words are needed to wrap up all that is encompassed in the Tibetan. Eva is drawing from Thinley Norbu’s commentary, which says that there are two mandalas, the one we reach to and the one we offer. She describes then the visualization of these two mandalas, and the representation of them by physical substances (5 piles of what one has arranged). In this context she talks about the qualities of Padmasambhava (within the mandala to be accomplished) which encompass each of the 5 Buddha Families, and what should be set physically, or what can be visualized to represent those Buddha Families. Yangchen continues with the text, the collection of merit is great through mandala offering, but it is essential to know what the steps in the practice mean and symbolize. She explains what is the idea behind the ‘best, medium, and lowest quality’ mandalas that one can offer. One is instructed to imagine the physical mandala as the three realms of existence, Mount Meru, and the four continents, together with other ingredients of Buddhist cosmology, as much as one wants to visualize. Yangchen recites now the mandala offering from the Khandro Nyingtik, and explains what a ‘billionfold world system’ is. The aim is to go to the limits of our imagination. One transforms then the billionfold world system into a nirmāṇakāya buddhafield, one’s own body into a sambhogakāya buddhafield, and one’s mind into a dharmakāya buddhafield; this constitute the outer, inner, and secret mandala. Then, one offers all this to one’s guru. She comments that the last three lines of the recitation each refer to the outer, inner, and secret mandala. At the end Eva gives some details about the steps one follows to arrange the physical offering, the location of the piles, and what each pile in the mandala represents. [Keywords: Mandala meaning, different types of mandalas, mandala visualization]
Fall 2015 Stage of Generation, 09 Aug 2015, Araluen Retreat Center, Queensland, Australia
Alan begins by commenting that Sunday is a time for our personal solitary retreat within the context of this community. He encourages us to strike a balance between structure and flexibility for the retreat schedule. The meditation for this session is silent. After the silent meditation, Alan gives some final comments on Mindfulness of Breathing, and he also mentions that when a practitioner achieves the fourth jhana, the breath stops completely, and one can remain there for hours or days with no damage to the brain. Then Alan starts a very compelling discussion on how to differentiate between belief vs. inference based on authority. For example, parents are authorities when it comes to knowing where we were born. It has become part of our knowledge for very good reasons. Likewise, science progresses thanks to a few people having empirical evidence of their discoveries, while the vast majority of scientists knows on the basis of inference by authority. Alan then uses this same argument for Buddhism, and resumes his commentary on “A Spacious Path to Freedom” from page 43. Alan also offers a very interesting quote from HH the Dalai Lama about the measure of evaluating a Buddhist teacher. His Holiness said that we need to ask: how his or her students are turning out? That would be a very good indication of the teacher’s qualities. For example, 13 of Dudjom Lingpa’s students achieved rainbow body. Alan also makes many comments on the power of mantra. If the mantra is recited with deep faith, deep samadhi, powered by strong renunciation and deep purity of mind, then the power of rigpa can be brought forth. Silent Meditation begins at 7:03 and is 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.
2017 8-Week Retreat, 04 May 2017, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
In this session, Alan explores the fourth of the Four Greats, Great Equanimity, and begins by asking by what criterion can you assess whether your practice is evolving in the right direction. The standard should be something deeper than whether you are at the moment feeling good or not. Rather, you can more meaningfully gauge your practice by your degree of imperturbability, your capacity to maintain equanimity in the face of adversity and joy. With this in mind, Alan then explores the Eight Mundane Concerns (gain & loss, pleasure & pain, praise & blame, and fame & defamation) as tests of our ability to remain balanced. He then discusses how engaging in the Three Higher Trainings can also support equanimity. First of all, the training in ethics provides a clear consciousness, a sense of well-being that is a pre-requisite for all other trainings. Then samadhi, as the achievement of shamatha, brings about a well-being that surpasses anything we’ve experienced in the desire realm. This provides a big boost to our equanimity once we leave meditation and re-engage with the world. Finally, wisdom brings the still greater bliss of the fusion of shamatha and vipashya and leads to the truly Great Equanimity of rigpa that does not even prefer nirvana over samsara. The guided meditation uses the short sadhana of the Lake-Born Vajra sadhana to cultivate Great Equanimity. After the practice, Alan tells the inspiring story of the escape from Tibet in 1959 of his teacher Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey. At one point during the long, dangerous journey to India, his group found itself surrounded and under fire from the Chinese military. While laymen of the group put up a defense, Alan recounts that Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey gathered the two disciples traveling with him and told them it was time to practice compassion for those attacking them and to prepare to die. Alan ends the session saying that although we, at our level, should start practicing with small difficulties in our lives, we can emulate these great masters and aspire to unveil the full potential of dharma practice and the imperturbability it provides. Guided mediation starts at 31:35
Fall 2014 Shamatha, Vipashyana, Dream Yoga, 02 Oct 2014, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Alan started the teaching this evening by posing the question why we should venture into these practices of apprehending the clear light of deep sleep at all, when he repeats all the time that this is meant for people who have achieved shamatha and vipashyana. According to one advice he has received, one should spend around 75-80% of the day’s practice on something one is familiar with, that corresponds to the actual state of maturation one has reached, and from which results an observable effect in our daily life. But about 25% of the practice should be spent on what we are not quite ripe for at the moment, but which gives us a vision of where we are aiming to go. Then Alan emphasizes the importance of taking our body seriously, to give it a chance to calm down, to heal in our practice. This is often overlooked in all schools of Buddhism, while the Buddha himself found it important to first get his body back into balance again before he was determined to totally go for enlightenment. And to achieve this healing of our body he again recommends Mindfulness of Breathing, with having a special eye on the phase where the breaths become short, they can be either deep or shallow during that time, since this is the phase that is most soothing for the energies and for the body. During this phase we should be releasing deeply into our breath. After the silent meditation we went on with Padmasambhava’s Natural Liberation. During one meditation session of apprehending the clear light one should focus the awareness again at the heart, and without losing the sense of indivisibility of luminosity and emptiness just slip into deep dreamless sleep, and the clear light will be apprehended. For those who find this just too simple and who want to go for something more elaborate, he then recommends another meditation session where one apprehends the phases of dissolution of the elements, starting with earth dissolving into water etc. This same process happens during the dying process, so again this practice provides the ideal preparation for dying lucidly. Alan then draws a parallel of the end of this dissolution process, where air dissolves into the conditioned consciousness, and then the conditioned consciousness dissolves into the clear light, with the last phases of Settling the Mind, called absence of mindfulness and self-illuminating mindfulness. Questions: Q1: How does a dream arise out of rigpa? Silent meditation cut out at 27:52 min
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 03 May 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Alan starts with an introduction on "episodic compassion" and how easy it can be to feel contempt and superiority towards the people committing injustices according to us without looking at all of the perspectives.
This practice of compassion focuses both on the victims of other people's behavior and on the "victimizers," who themselves are victims of their own strong mental afflictions.
After the meditation we had some assorted Q&A about practice and I think I already have my Sunday bonus for this week although it's only monday! There was a great question by our deep-question expert Noah along the lines of why won't a yogi just display paranormal abilities in a massive event to "kickstart" the revolution of the mind sciences. The discussion that follows is extremely interesting and engaging, so I guarantee your Sunday this week won't be boring, although your monday may be tinged with the mental affliction of resentment towards me because of how I left this episode as a "to-be-continued" cliffhanger! A great opportunity to practice compassion =)
By the way, sorry for the technical problems you may or may not have had recently, the internet here went down and I am in the process of fixing everything! That is why you may notice little weird things here and there (such as all of your great comments disappearing forever, boo). And finally this is another great photo from Ale’s travels!
Fall 2014 Shamatha, Vipashyana, Dream Yoga, 26 Sep 2014, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Before the silent meditation Alan talks about how the different practices that we had a look at in the past weeks work together and how they can be balanced in a non-retreat setting. So, Shamatha practice offers us the possibility of leaving the fight-or-flight mode and finally relax. But it is more than just simple relaxation as you develop a sense of ease and acceptance in relation to your identity. As Alan puts it: It’s ok to be who you are now (just don’t stay that way but keep practicing). You are definitely going in the right direction. When it comes to lucid dreaming your Shamatha practice will come in handy because what often happens to novices of lucid dreaming is that they get excited at realizing lucidity and immediately wake up. Thus, what you need is the sense of relaxation and stability from your Shamatha practice. Then, however, you want to engage with the dream, sustain lucidity and explore the dream world. This exploration is actually Vipashyana as you need both vividness and insight. In a non-retreat setting it is then important to balance your practice and really think about what you need at that moment when you sit down. Alan uses the analogy of a fridge full of tasty food: You have a range of practices to choose from, but you have to check your appetite. If you had a rough day you might just want to do the infirmary and not go for more advanced practices; if you feel grounded, you may just as well take the mind as the path; and if you feel balanced already, then why not have a session of awareness of awareness. Furthermore, think about how you combine your choices/sessions. After the meditation Alan goes back to the text and explains several issues concerning night-time dream yoga. He goes into detail as what concerns appearances. In the waking state as well as the dream state all appearances are empty and have the same origin: your substrate. However, the appearances that you experience in the waking state also appear to other people in a similar fashion, which makes them intersubjective invariants. This also allows for the possibility of you dying in your sleep e.g. from a rock (of which you have no experience since you are asleep) smashing your head into pieces: All you will experience is substrate, quickly a lot of pain and then substrate again. Alan then continues and draws the distinction between the appearances and the phenomena. As it says in the text first: All phenomena are LIKE a dream. This means that from the perspective of a sentient being they are dreamlike. However, from the perspective of rigpa all phenomena are part of a dream. Silent Meditation cut out at 19:05
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 20 May 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
This afternoon Alan starts by quite briefly explaining this balance between fluidity and structure in the equanimity practice, and after the instructions we set off in a pretty much rich but silent session.
After the session Alan had two juicy pieces of paper with multi-questions written on them. They cover a lot of practical content, such as the characteristics of the Shamatha stages and how to use them correctly, the characteristics of the different types of exitation and laxity. how to maintain motivation in the practice (dealing with the issue of "progress"), how to be really 100% sure that you are doing "Settling the Mind..[]" correctly, and more.
The next question deals with conceptual designation, and starts with "how were atoms first conceptually designated" and later turns into an analysis of conceptual designation, appearances, and how we can never actually see the referent of appearances (so yes in a way we never see the "real" world, just appearances that arise from our substrate). The talk was filled with physics, history, several jokes, open questions, laughter... Alan really had us cracking up today. However, (as always) he managed to leave us dazed with brilliant insight, so that we all walk out of the meditation hall absorbed in thoughts and bumping into things (ok maybe not the latter).
Enjoy as we did!
The picture is very much related as we approach the celebrations for the Birth of the Buddha (in several East-Asian countries such as Thailand).
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 07 Jun 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
This morning, Alan said he would squeeze out every drop of knowledge he had left about this first method of Awareness of Awareness, so if you listen to the previous episodes on this stage of practice you will be extremely well rounded! Alan starts by detailing an all to common problem: thinking that we are doing the practice incorrectly when we are actually doing it correctly, and reacting by tightening up our attention and trying harder, resulting in fatigue. This is followed by explaining how to gain satisfaction from stability, relating it to visualization practice, and setting our expectations correctly.
From there, we briefly explore the possibility of achieving Shamatha within Vajrayana instad of using the practices that we have covered in this retreat, and while it is certainly possible, the difficulty is quite high and there are many pitfalls.
As a final point before the meditation, Alan shows how this practice is a very smooth transition from the Settling the Mind practice from yesterday (Monday), talking about visual space as nothing other than mental space, and showing how to glide from attending to space to attending to awareness itself. He briefly gives some different ways of doing the oscillation (which by now you should be very familiar with, refer to the first episodes otherwise), which are suited for different people, and then we jump in!
After the meditation, Alan talks about his first Shamatha retreat back in 1980 and squeezes a few more drops out of using too much strength without relaxation and stability.
Enjoy! This sky picture is a part of a great set taken by Malcolm.
2018 8-week retreat- The Essence of Clear Meaning, 15 May 2018, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia (Pisa), Italy
Lama Alan Wallace begins the morning session describing what he calls "sacred tension": we always try to balance the aspiration to go out and benefit the world and the aspiration to withdraw into a silent retreat to realize the deepest meaning. Only a perfect Buddha is beyond such tension because he or she rests in absolute inactivity and at the same time spontaneously and effortlessly manifests compassionate activity to fulfil the needs of all countless beings. The tension is present even for a bodhisattva in the tenth bhumi (for a vidyadhara, for example, there is a subtle difference between resting and moving). Then Lama Alan describes what is the experience of equanimity in all levels of the path: the "One Taste" in Dzogchen, the realization of emptiness in Madhyamaka, the freedom from the desire realm in shamatha and, finally, a possibility available for any of us: the equanimity stemming from the cultivation of a meaningful life (again referring to Viktor Frankl). No matter how much pleasure we have - even with all the money, the power and the fame - we will not find equanimity. So we should be content with enough hedonic needs and at the same time be insatiable with Dharma, always wanting more, with infinite enthusiasm, as Lama Tsongkhapa recommends at the conclusion of his text, Three Principal Aspects of the Path: "… swiftly accomplish your eternal longing, my child". To cultivate a meaningful life we need three basic food groups (valid by any criteria, secular or religious): 1) practices to develop a greater sense of well-being in body and mind (shamatha); 2) practices to open the heart horizontally towards our fellow sentient beings (four immeasurables) and vertically approaching the sacred (faith and devotion culminating in non-dual realization); and 3) practices to cultivate wisdom, to know the nature of reality and to respond to our primal need, our eternal longing: we don't want to suffer and we want to be happy - so why do we suffer and what is the path to the deepest well-being? Anyone can do something in these three ways, so this intrinsically meaningful life brings equanimity and dissolves any sense of low self-worth. "Now let's practice!" The guided meditation is shamatha without a sign (awareness of awareness) culminating in non-meditation and starts at 40:08
Sadhana Class with Yangchen (Eva Natanya), 27 May 2022, Online, Recorded at Miyo Samten Ling, Crestone, CO
After the opening prayers Yangchen-la offers explanations on the guru yoga that Lama Alan transmitted yesterday, specifically about how and when to use one’s vajra and bell during the sadhana. The vajra is always taken up with the right hand, the bell with the left hand, at times crossed, and she explains and shows how to hold them in one’s hand. She then explains how to purchase a vajra and bell, how to then keep them secret, how to bless them, and why to take them on travels. The vajra in general symbolizes the male energy, and the bell the female energy. She ends this discussion with clarifications on specific lines of this sadhana. Yangchen then answers questions around the topic of visualizations. Since there are big differences in the ability to visualize from person to person, she explains that it is connected to certain propensities, and not necessarily a measure of how well one’s practice is developed. Also our expectations as to how clear the mental images should arise might not be adequate. She emphasizes the importance of learning and knowing the visualizations, so invoking their meaning, and to be patient, maybe for many years, until clear images arise. Regarding the visualization of seed syllables, Yangchen instructs us to train in drawing them stroke by stroke, and as if seen from behind. On our level of practice it is fine to work with the conceptual mind. Yangchen continues with an elaboration of the mantra with which we seal the dedication in the Lake-Born Vajra sadhana. She offers a translation, and the story behind it, a dialogue between Shariputra and the monk Ashvajit, known as the Essence of Dependent Origination dharani. Yangchen-la then points us to the blog of the Christian mystic Father Silouan, who has also studied Dzogchen and has been in dialogue with Lama Alan and Yangchen. She will also share a link to the 50 Verses of Guru Devotion, which she encourages us to explore. She then points us to visualizations in context with the verse of auspiciousness at the end of the sadhana. We find these in Phase 4 of the Vajra Essence, Tibetan page [266 - 267]. They are meant to express our joy at the end of the sadhana. Finally Yangchen explains two different ways on how to dissolve the mandala - gradual from the out in, or in a single instant, which both have different effects on the subtle body. The meditation begins at 31:15 and is on the sadhana with the recitation in Tibetan and the guided meditation in English.
Fall 2015 Stage of Generation, 29 Aug 2015, Araluen Retreat Center, Queensland, Australia
Alan begins by giving an explanation of the Refuge and Bodhicitta practices that we do in the morning sessions. The classic visualisation for taking refuge involves imagining Buddha Shakyamuni in front of you, with all the female sentient beings on your left and all the male sentient beings on your right. Alan also mentioned a story in which Kublai Khan asked one of his spiritual advisor, a Sakya lama, whether it would be good to make all his subjects in his empire Buddhists. The Sakya Lama replied that it wasn’t a good idea, since in Buddhism everyone has the freedom to follow their path. Alan also recalled the words of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in this regard, since His Holiness always encourages people to keep their faith. Going back to the practice of Refuge, we bring to mind what for us symbolises most the embodiment of eudaemonia. In the Buddhist view, Samantabhadra, Padmasambhava, etc. are creative displays of your own pristine awareness (in saying this Alan makes a critique of Ludwig Feuerbach’s view). For the practice of Bodhicitta, Alan explains that here we call as witnesses all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, together with all sentient beings, and we make a pledge: “I vow to liberate the world.” Meditation is on Great Empathetic Joy (or Maha Mudita in sanskrit) After meditation, Alan highlights that currently there is a strong psychological tendency to be critical. Criticism is everywhere, and it’s the tendency to find fault in others and oneself. This is clearly not balanced. Mudita (Empathetic Joy) is there to restore balance. It’s the antidote to Compassion when it goes astray (and thus falling into despair). This is a practice of mindfulness. Attend to others’ happiness today and enjoy others’ happiness, take delight in it. Wherever there is virtue, attend to it and enjoy it. It will spice up your life. The meditation starts at 17:32. ___ 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 Aug 2015, Araluen Retreat Center, Queensland, Australia
Alan starts by commenting on Asanga’s teachings on Mindfulness of Breathing, comparing them with the Theravada approach. He adds that a major theme throughout all the Buddhist teachings is relaxation. In fact he points out that the Buddha has perfected relaxation: at that level, all activity is effortless. A tiny facsimile of this can be seen on the path to shamatha. In the first phase of shamatha, we need to relax without losing clarity. This first point is especially important for people living in the modern world. Before jumping into the meditation, Alan comments that he is here to save us some time in order to achieve enlightenment, as HH the Dalai Lama said in the past. He adds also that in contemplative inquiry it is very important to maintain a flow of non conceptual cognisance, because this is the starting point that will eventually lead to the realisation of rigpa. So it is very important to sustain it from the very beginning of shamatha practice. The meditation is on Mindfulness of Breathing. Teaching: Alan starts the explanation of the preliminary practices by drawing from Dudjom Lingpa’s text “The Foolish Dharma of an Idiot Clothed in Mud and Feathers,” where the author presents the essence of the preliminary practices. Alan comments that currently we have a Precious Human Rebirth, with leisure and opportunity. This can be the life in which we can find a path. There is continuity of consciousness and right now we are sowing the seeds of our future. Alan asks: What is life? Is it a short story or a never-ending story? Alan concludes by quoting Drom Tompa: “Give up attachment to this life and let your mind become Dharma.” Questions: 1) When practicing awareness resting in its own place with 20% peripheral awareness of breathing, if we go from there to awareness of awareness, if our eyes are closed, is that a problem? Meditation starts at 23:30 ___ 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.
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 17 May 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Today as the title suggests we combined Compassion and Loving kindness into a practice of Tonglen. Furthermore, we incorporated the four modes of enlightened acvitity, using each one where needed, and in the visualization we let the light or energy sent out with the breath take the form of whatever is actually needed in the situation (not just necessary a generic light of compassion/loving kindness) and tinted it with the respective enlightened acvitity color. Whew!
After the mostly silent practice, we went into a diverse Q&A session which got very interesting and set the stage for tomorrow's talk on death, the bardo, and dream yoga.
Among the topics for the Q&A are the length of sessions and how to manage it for the greatest benefit, the great question of "Time," specifically the relative qualities of time and how they can and do manifest daily in our Shamatha practice. Of course this also gave Alan the chance to go into the explanation of time in the substrate conciousness, and in the innate mind of clear light. And to top things off, Alan went cosmic for a few minutes into the mainstream science theory of frozen time which arises from quantum cosmology (applying the Schrödinger equation to the entire universe). Then Alan answered a question/analysis about the Dalai Lama's next reincarnation possibilities, and the last 20 minutes of the podcast were the start of an answer about the bardo, which will continue tomorrow.
Enjoy (along with this beautiful photo from Sara!)
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 21 May 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
As you can probably tell by the title, today's practice was not you regular 4I practice. Sure, it did start out with a regular equanimity/Tonglen practice but this time we had the option of going deeper, down to pristine awareness. Rather than "Boundless" Compassion or Loving Kindness, today we had the option to cultivate "Great" (Maha) Compassion/Loving Kindness. Although "boundless" sounds quite more grandiloquent, cultivating Mahakarunā or Mahamettā is something that has to be yearned at our deepest level of existance for it not to be just utterly hilarous or megalomaniacal. Alan gives a great introduction on how to see this from a non-megalomaniacal point of view, and explains taking on the task of "making it so" for all sentient beings and arousing our deepest motivation for it. I won't pollute it further with my words, listen to Alan!
After the session, Alan spontaneously said one of the classic (beautiful) dedications of merit, and gave an English translation. We then went into some questions about Conciousness, the brain, scientific materialism, the problems with the current status quo, etc. At the very end Alan answered a question about doubt, grasping, noting the grasping, labeling, and commenting in regards to tje practice of Settling the Mind in its Natural State.
I just took this photo of a rainbow which was waiting for us across the sky as we left the teaching hall. It doesn't do it much justice since the rainbow covered most of the sky, so someone will probably give me a better picture soon! This is what happens when you practice Mahakaruna ;)
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 07 Jun 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
In this morning session, Alan really woke us up (interpret that as you will) by making an addendum to this Sunday's bonus episode where we had a "speed drive" through different ways of viewing reality from the Buddhist point of view. Alan only had two minutes left for Dzogchen, so this morning he went deeper into an explanation of this culminating Great Perfection. This episode is crucial to understanding the Dzogchen view.
Alan first briefly recapitulates on the path to Arhathood from the point of view of the coarse and subtle mind, and then using a strong metaphor from dreaming he explains what Dzogchen has to add to that view. I would feel dirty trying to summarize the beauty of this explanation because I really don't want to mess with Dzogchen teachings.
You will notice that I edited the meditation on Compassion out of the podcast and skipped straight to Alan's words after the meditation. This is because he picks off right where he left off, talking about the dangers of taking Dzogchen practice (and any other practice such as Vipassana) and how this is sadly becoming more and more common. Alan uses an analogy from his days in Dharamsala to ilustrate the futility of Dzogchen without context, so please share this episode with anybody you might know is attempting this. We don't want them to waste their time.
If you are keen-eyed you will recognize the palms in the photo from many other photos in this podcast. This was a nighttime still provided by David Cherniack, slightly modified by me to make it more relevant :)
To see David's original footage wait for more details on his movie!
2018 8-week retreat- The Essence of Clear Meaning, 10 Apr 2018, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia (Pisa), Italy
Topics include: - overview of the 5 texts from Dudjom Lingpa - 4 main practices (shamatha, vipashyana, tekcho, togal) - 8 phases of the Sharp Vajra (correlated to the Essence of Clear Meaning outlines) - Tantra (ground, path & fruition) URL for Flipchart folder: https://imgur.com/a/FRfJj  # Dudjom Lingpa’s Texts: ## 2017 - Foolish Dharma of an Idiot Clothed in Mud and Feathers. - Buddhahood without Meditation (vol 2) ## 2018 - Sharp Vajra of Conscious Awareness Tantra (vol 1) ## 2019 - Enlightened View of Samantabhadra (vol 1) ## 2020 -202? - Vajra Essence (Vol 3) ## Volumes - Vol 1 Heart of the Great Perfection - Vol 2 Buddhahood without Meditation - Vol 3 Vajra Essence ## 4 Main Topics 1. shamatha 2. vipashyana 3. cutting through (tekcho) 4. direct crossing over (togal) ## Sharp Vajra Steps 1. Taking impure mind as the path 2. Revealing your own face as the sharp vajra of vipashayana 3. Revealing the ground dharmakaya 4. Determining the characteristics to qualities of the ground 5. Determining secret dualistic grasping revealing the way of natural liberation 6. Teachings on the essential points of practice and their key distintions 7. How to follow the path of the great clear light, direct crossing over. 8. How to dwell in the ground of being ## Essence of Clear Meaning 1. Meaning of the Title 2. Meaning of the Text 1. Homage 2. Actual explanation 1. Cause of the Tantra 2. Contributing conditions 3. Resultant meaning 1. Path cutting through to original purity 2. Path of direct crossing over to spontaneous actualization 3. Manner in which fruition is actualized 3. Colophon ## Cutting through original purity - ka dag khregs chod - original purity completely cut ## Direct crossing over to spontaneous actualization - lhun grub thod rgal - spontaneous actualize upper cross over ## Tantra (continuum) 1. Ground 1. sugatagharba 2. delusive imputed 2. Path 1. Actual - self-aware primordial consciousness 2. Imputed -3 lineages of transmission 3. Fruition 1. Dharmakaya (own welfare) 2. Rupakaya (others welfare)
2019 8-Week Retreat, 16 May 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Olaso. Lama Alan begins. This morning we will weave together from different but complimentary things: stillness in the midst of motion and returning to the text of Jigme Tenpe Nyima as seeing the upside of adversity. Lama lightens the mood with some humor around politics and cultivating mental afflictions. This morning Lama suggests that he will be seeding our mind streams with wildflowers; no need to water, just let them germinate. Be like the navigator watching the raven in the sky. Lama suggests three themes this morning: • Helpfulness of adversity in dispelling the mental afflictions of arrogance ◦ He uses a common Tibetan story as arrogance like the peak of a mountain. Nothing can grow there! Better to be down at the base where things are fertile and you can learn. • When we encounter adversity, this is purification of negative Karma ◦ Lama describes the suffering of the Tibetan people as a example ◦ In this section he also guides us closer to the meditation this morning by describing conative intelligence to notice the seeds of Karma through the arising of intentions • Rejoice in our own and others virtues ◦ Lama speaks of a particular situation in Tibet of Khenpo Jigme Phüntsok disappearing into the hills for a 20 year retreat to then return in 1980 to help cultivate a Dharma community (Larung Gar) of 40,000. The meditation this morning: rest in stillness, and be aware of when a desire arises. They arise all by themselves. To so refine the meta-cognitive awareness of recognizing the desire before the intention. Lama Continues by responding to a question: What is the benefit of reciting a large number of mantras? The mantras in a sadhana practice, singing the mantras, etc... I don’t get through as many repetitions because of the singing. Is there a trade off? Lama responds with his feeling on a quantitative approach to the spiritual practice. There are many who do use a quantitative and goal oriented approach. Lama hasn’t found it helpful, except creating some structure. Lama speaks on his own personal practice and how keeping a journal has been his practice for years. Are we just interested in getting through the numbers quickly? Lama Alan speaks about his main devotional Sadhana practice and shamatha and vipashyana. He finishes with some interesting points of the science of sound around particular mantras and how they impact our prana system for creating subtle transformation and blessings. Meditation begins at: 19:34
2019 8-Week Retreat, 13 May 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Today we start with a comment on how different lamas have different requirements before giving Dzogchen teachings. He cited one that required the preliminaries and read a passage from Dudjom Lingpa set out in “The Vajra Essence” that referred to different Dzogchen empowerments that are received throughout the path. Lama Alan also reminded us that we will be done with our preliminaries just before our enlightenment. He also referred to 3 ways of thinking: - Unconscious thoughts that result in identification, reification, rumination, afflictions that perpetuate Samsara - Discursive meditation (e.g. Lam Rim Meditation) - Resting in awareness (our best approximation of pristine awareness) and not thinking about anything, but seeing what comes up Lama Alan said that it was appropriate with the third type of thinking to be discerningly and intelligently aware of them and to view them as pure unadulterated thoughts of primordial consciousness. Guided meditation is on resting in awareness while listening to passages from Transforming Felicity and Adversity into the Spiritual Path. During the meditation Lama Alan read from the work of the oldest son of Dudjom Lingpa: Jigme Tenpe Nyima, the 3rd Dodrubchen (a renowned authority with respect to many schools of Buddhism). After the meditation he shared a thought he just had on how when resting in stillness, the awareness manifests as Dharmakaya, discursive thoughts as Sambhogakaya, mental images as Nirmanakaya and their indivisibility as Svabhavakaya. He then answered a question that addressed purifying heavy negative karma. He used the metaphor of a toxic seed that if burned sufficiently would not germinate. He said that apart from apart from feeling remorse and resolving not to commit it again, Shantideva advises that this could be achieved through cultivating relative and ultimate bodhicitta. He said that although it may have consequences it may not throw you into an unfavorable rebirth. Karma itself does not inherently exist and that it is a mistake to reify or identify with it. He also said not to overdo, wallow or flounder in it – that this would be detrimental to practice (which required enthusiasm) and to remember practicing out of joy instead of fear. With ultimate bodhicitta it is possible, like a swan, to dive into a lotus lake, (referring to the hell realms) and to remain untouched by that, to then be of service. Finally Lama Alan answered another question relating to what practices should one do when having a terminal illness and as one approaches the moment of death. He refers to Atisha's Seven Point Mind Training, more specifically slogan 17 on the 5 powers. Meditation starts at 15:49
Fall 2015 Stage of Generation, 22 Aug 2015, Araluen Retreat Center, Queensland, Australia
Alan starts by emphasising that in the stage of generation, knowing the emptiness of self and of phenomena is indispensable, and yet there have been many stories where simple tibetans, with hardly any understanding of madhyamaka but having deep faith, have visions of Tara, Chenrezig, etc., and get blessings from them. Alan continues by discussing an essay he is translating on madhyamaka, dzogchen and mahamudra. He then emphasises that how we are conceptually designating right now is up to us. We can stop objectifying and rest in the mere appearances arising in the six sense doors. We don’t need to play the game of samsara. With the mantra “Om svabhava shuddha sarva dharma svabhava shuddo aham”, we can dissolve samsara into emptiness & dharmakaya. It’s a decision we can make, we dissolve all impure appearances into emptiness. And then out of the indivisibility of the dharmakaya and dharmadhatu, we choose to operate from a platform of pure appearances. We now move from a realm of actuality to a realm of possibility. Possibilities exist as much as anything else. If we do the sadhana with deep faith and insight into emptiness, then we get all the benefits. Meditation is on the Stage of Generation of Avalokiteshvara (with chanting) After meditation, Alan makes some comments on the way certain terms are translated from Tibetan into Indoeuropean languages, making a critique of how the mind is treated within a materialistic framework. He also touches on what is natural vs. supernatural in Buddhism and in 20th century materialism. He then starts addressing the topic of rigpa. What is rigpa? It’s in the fourth time, it’s beyond the matrix of causality and transcends all the eight conceptual elaborations (existence vs. non existence, one vs. many, etc.). Alan also suggests a couple of wonderful books: 1. “Fearless in Tibet,” the biography of Lerab Lingpa and 2. “Blazing Splendor” by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. The stories narrated in these two books can shatter many materialistic assumptions. Alan then continues his commentary on the shamatha section of the text, from page 78. The meditation starts at 20:50. ___ 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.
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 28 May 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
This afternoon we started with a special guided meditation to commemorate the Buddha's Enlightenment, not specifically centered on Shamatha or the Four Immeasurables.
After the meditation, Alan gave us a short recap on the night/morning of the Buddha Gautama's enlightemnent, up to the moment when he went back to his five companions and they also achieved Enlightenment. He ends the story on a heartwarming reflection about the day we are commemorating, which set this whole sequence of events flowing (up to our retreat here and this podcast), which have given rise to so much goodness in the world. Alan then spontaneously adds a very beautiful and inspirating note on what it means to be a Buddhist, saying it's simply a matter of trust.
After we silently recovered from the powerful emotions that were generated in many of us, we went to a much lighter tone and Alan read a poem submitted by an anonymous member of our Sangha here. I must say it was very good and quite impressive, expanding Alan's "3Rs" into "33Rs"!
After the nice poem, we went into an interesting question about the prana system, why it has not been studied scientifically despite the staggering evidence about its existance, and its relationship to the mind.
Enjoy, and continue meditating in commemoration of this day! I took this photo of our Teaching Hall Buddha just minutes ago after we finished some chanting in Pali masterfully led by Malcolm.
May all sentient beings have genuine happiness and its causes,
May all sentient beings be free of suffering and its causes,
May all sentient beings never be separated from bliss without suffering,
May all sentient beings be in equanimity, free of bias, attachment and anger.
May the benefit spread in all directions so that all sentient beings realize full awakening.
2019 8-Week Retreat, 15 Apr 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Are humans agents at all? Lama Alan refers to the example given by Shantideva of a person who becomes enraged and starts beating another with a stick. He says that people don’t generally get angry with the stick. They realise the agent is not the stick– it has no intention and makes no choices. People generally get angry with the person wielding the stick as they are considered to have agency, to have decided to wield the stick. Shantideva concludes however that a person who is in the grip of rage has the same level of agency as the stick and that anger over the beating stick is more appropriately directed toward the rage because that is what is causing the beating. This is reflected in the law. The lack of criminal responsibility for the mentally unsound. Lama Alan says that in the same way the brain is not the agent either – it is no more the agent of anything than the liver. He notes various detractors in the sciences passed on unquestionably by the media. He says that the view of the detractors is catastrophic as it leads to the conclusion that people are not responsible for their choices. That they are not morally responsible for anything they do. Do we make choices not predetermined by prior causes and conditions? Lama Alan notes that if we restrain ourselves from acting on a mental affliction (say, jealousy) we have made a choice. He refers to the following expression of Christianity: “Not I but the Christ who lives in me”. He says that is like saying we have voluntarily become the stick - by emptying out our will. In Buddhism, Gen Lobsang Gyatso has said that any virtuous deed is an expression of the Buddha – a divine activity. That is, awareness is the agent. When a person speaks virtuously, someone else is not doing that (as if that person is possessed). It is Buddha speech. Which Buddha? Not someone outside of us. So, what lies between the Buddhas and everyone here? What lies between our sense of identity and the agent which is divine? We think we are someone we are not. When we see that we are empty, we cut through to a deeper sense of identity. Meditation starts at 20:53 Awareness can be viewed as a ray of primordial awareness. It is not the same but an expression of primordial awareness. All virtuous activities can be seen as such rays. In response to a question regarding the lack of separation between self and others, Lama Alan referred to 2 types of primordial consciousness. First, that which knows reality as it is, emptiness. Dharmadhatu. When immersed in meditative equipoise unaware of the 3 worlds. Second, awareness of the full range of phenomena. Complete boundlessness. That of the Buddha. When we say there is no real separation between us. On one level that is not true. When I die, you don’t. What is being said is that there is no inherently existing separation or boundary between who I am and who you are. There is no part of the body that belongs to anyone. Just because I have an experience doesn’t make it mine. The path is to release the body, feelings and mind. Then on a deeper level to release reification with them. Is there separation between you and Buddha? You are not the same, but there is no separation.
2020 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 1, 03 Apr 2020, Online-only
Eva begins with a guided meditation on settling the body, speech, and mind, and setting our deepest intention. She then begins an overview of the preliminary practices (ngondro) of the Dudjom Tersar tradition, emphasizing that the preliminaries are never finished until we reach enlightenment. She adds that these practices actually nourish us along the way, and never get old or dry as long as we continue to deepen our understanding.
Eva then explains the origins of the Dudjom Tersar tradition and the way in which the ngondro practices have been passed down from the time of Dudjom Lingpa to the current generation. She then walks us through her process of researching the various explications of the Dudjom Tersar ngondro and explains that she has discovered a commentary on the preliminary practices from an early terma that Dudjom Lingpa himself revealed.
Eva then walks us through the various “uncommon” preliminaries of Refuge, Bodhicitta, Vajrasattva, Mandala Offering, Chod, Guru Yoga, and Phowa. She explains that Refuge is the foundation to all Buddhist practice, Bodhicitta the gateway to the Mahayana, and that Vajrasattva purifies our two obscurations (afflictive and cognitive), while Mandala Offering helps us achieve the two accumulations of wisdom and merit. She describes merit as the “fuel” of “goodness” that propels us along the path. After a few comments on Chod, saying that while it is a profound practice of offering the body, and is said to remove all obstacles and difficult circumstances, we will not go too deeply into it in this retreat because the full practice of Chod technically should come after the complete vipashyana practice, according to the framework in Dudjom Lingpa’s revelations. She then turns to Guru Yoga, described as that which makes our being filled with blessings. Finally, she turns to Phowa, which “trains one in the path to liberation.” It is also sometimes referred to as “Buddhahood without meditation.”
She then begins her teaching on Refuge, starting with an explanation of the three types of faith (admiring faith, aspiring faith, and undivided/unbreakable faith) and the three types of Refuge (Fear of lower realms, or Lower Capacity, fear of suffering of all of samsara, or Middling Capacity, and Mahayana Refuge, which is of the Highest Capacity and entails taking refuge for the sake of freeing all beings from samsara and bringing them to enlightenment). Finally, she speaks of the importance of having a true refuge that we can rely on, especially in times of adversity. She comments that something about this profound practice gives inherent meaning to our life, regardless of what might happen externally.
The Seven Preliminaries according Düdjom Lingpa, 03 Apr 2020, Online - Originally part of 2020 8-week retreat
Eva (Yangchen) begins with a guided meditation on settling the body, speech, and mind, and setting our deepest intention. She then begins an overview of the preliminary practices (ngondro) of the Dudjom Tersar tradition, emphasizing that the preliminaries are never finished until we reach enlightenment. She adds that these practices actually nourish us along the way, and never get old or dry as long as we continue to deepen our understanding. Eva then explains the origins of the Dudjom Tersar tradition and the way in which the ngondro practices have been passed down from the time of Dudjom Lingpa to the current generation. She then walks us through her process of researching the various explications of the Dudjom Tersar ngondro and explains that she has discovered a commentary on the preliminary practices from an early terma that Dudjom Lingpa himself revealed. Eva then walks us through the various “uncommon” preliminaries of Refuge, Bodhicitta, Vajrasattva, Mandala Offering, Chod, Guru Yoga, and Phowa. She explains that Refuge is the foundation to all Buddhist practice, Bodhicitta the gateway to the Mahayana, and that Vajrasattva purifies our two obscurations (afflictive and cognitive), while Mandala Offering helps us achieve the two accumulations of wisdom and merit. She describes merit as the “fuel” of “goodness” that propels us along the path. After a few comments on Chod, saying that while it is a profound practice of offering the body, and is said to remove all obstacles and difficult circumstances, we will not go too deeply into it in this retreat because the full practice of Chod technically should come after the complete vipashyana practice, according to the framework in Dudjom Lingpa’s revelations. She then turns to Guru Yoga, described as that which makes our being filled with blessings. Finally, she turns to Phowa, which “trains one in the path to liberation.” It is also sometimes referred to as “Buddhahood without meditation.” She then begins her teaching on Refuge, starting with an explanation of the three types of faith (admiring faith, aspiring faith, and undivided/unbreakable faith) and the three types of Refuge (Fear of lower realms, or Lower Capacity, fear of suffering of all of samsara, or Middling Capacity, and Mahayana Refuge, which is of the Highest Capacity and entails taking refuge for the sake of freeing all beings from samsara and bringing them to enlightenment). Finally, she speaks of the importance of having a true refuge that we can rely on, especially in times of adversity. She comments that something about this profound practice gives inherent meaning to our life, regardless of what might happen externally.
Fall 2014 Shamatha, Vipashyana, Dream Yoga, 20 Sep 2014, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
Alan talks about the cultivation of empathetic joy, which among the four immeasurables is the one that is often easily overlooked. However, it is extremely important because it’s not simply about being happy, but about cultivating a feeling of a shared joy. Furthermore, it is the antidote for the near enemy of compassion: depression or despair. So when we are cultivating empathetic joy, it is important to note that we are, of course, not deluding ourselves into thinking that all is good. However, as humans have the tendency to focus on the negative, we are merely balancing that out a bit by focusing our attention on the positive in a positive manner. Thus, we change the “What” and the “How”. After the meditation Alan elaborates on our habit of reifying the past. The meditation we just did serves as a good example: How often has it happened that when you do that meditation, you think of the same three or four events? That shows how extremely selective our memory is and how small a portion of our past we actually remember. On top of that, these three events are of course by far not a real representation of what actually happened - they are a story we tell ourselves of what happened, a story that is true only in relation to our cognitive framework in the present. Thus, we have the capacity of reshaping the way our past influences us in the present. These thoughts then lead Alan to talk about the naturalistic approach of Buddhism. This approach is based on observations, observations that any individual can make. Such observation then shows that mental states have as much causal efficacy as physical objects such as rocks, dogs, etc. So the mind is as real as anything else. What might cause confusion, however, is that often scientific materialists nowadays speak of themselves as naturalists, meaning: “Nature is that which is not supernatural; supernatural is that which is not physical.” However, up to this day no scientist has ever been able to show with empirical evidence what the nature of the correlation between subjective experience and neural processes is! Thus, from that point of view all mental states are supernatural. The problem, however, is not that this has not been proven, but that many scientists, journalists etc. act as if it had been proven, which is not empirical. If you look at quantum mechanics which has not been able to make significant progress in interpreting its own findings, you have to acknowledge that at least they are honest about it and admit not knowing what quantum mechanics implies. Whereas in neuroscience many people cover up the hard-problem simply. This is best illustrated by the placebo effect: the name suggests that the placebo is what does the magic, but this is fundamentally wrong, otherwise one could just tweak the brain - but one can’t because it’s faith that does the trick. Alan then calls for action and requests that today’s science, which is largely dominated by wealth, power and prestige, moves beyond that, moves beyond determinism or the theory of pure chance which gives the individual no motivation to act and no moral responsibility for the actions. Meditation starts at 18:54
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 30 May 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
A number of the past bonus podcasts had been geared towards the physicists, but this weekend we have some juice for psychologists! In this bonus podcast, we have some extremely interesting points about attention training and the cognitive sciences from a more professional psychology standpoint. However, this is also very relevant for all meditators wishing to gain a better understanding of attention.
Adeline asked several questions, mostly pertaining to the "pulse-like" quality of our attention, and to the 600 or so pulses of attention that we have per second (according to both Buddhist psychology and modern psychology).
I wont go much into the details of the answers, but in a brief overview the podcast first goes into the need for actual contemplative scientists (a hybrid profession of both professional science and professional meditation) in modern psychology, followed by a discussion on the "clustering" of these pulse-like moments of cognition. Alan also relates this clustering is also related with Samadhi and with two different types of vividness, and presents a valid scientific, testable hypothesis on this topic.
Towards the end of the podcast, Alan also analyses how most of the research is now focused on the negative. How many people are depressed, how many people are unhappy, how many people have no empathy... The list goes on. He talks a bit about the Milgram torture experiment (wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment) and how nobody cared to study the 20% (aprox.)of people who did not agree to torture others. Instead of studying what it was about these 20% that caused them to be more compassionate, and how to integrate this into education systems, the result was "80% tortured, 20% did not." Alan further talks about these "ideological blinkers" in modern psychology, and highlights the urgent need for cognitive science, to scientifically show that the human mind can evolve in extraordinary ways, unveiling levels of compassion, altruism, and ethics that are sometimes thought impossible in modernity.
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 02 Jun 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
This afternoon we started with a reflection on how many times we see people as just "flat images" or appearances arising to our minds. In the supermarket, subway, etc, we see them as obstacles or merely objects in our way. Today’s intro deals with seeing through those images and realizing that a real person is there, looking back, with their own hopes and fears, joys and sorrows. Alan also emphasizes the importance of starting with ourselves, and describes these Four Immeasurable practices as digging in search of water. At first, the practices can be very conceptual and we actually feel like we have to pour water on the ground to soften it and allow us to dig. But eventually, just following the practice, we break into the "ground water," which just flows out unimpededly and plentifully. With this metaphor in mind, we go into the practice thinking of tapping into our hearts, and opening the floodgates of our virtue and well-being.
After the practice, we had several very interesting questions. The first one deals with the concept of "symmetry breaking," and Alan goes into a marvelous cosmological explanation o f what this means, and describes all configurations of mass-energy as space/vacuum just frozen by grasping (coming from both the Kalachakra and from quantum field theory). He then beautifully relates this to Buddhism, culminating in the Dzogchen view. After that, we had a very interesting question from Ana Lorena on the topic of hypnagogic imagery, and Alan gave his interpretation of this phenomenon. There was then a very interesting "unanswerable" question by Elizabeth which I cut out to use for this Sunday's bonus, and we finished this afternoon with some questions from Adeline mostly focusing on the "Four Modes of Enlightened Activity" (for more on this topic view some of the April/Early may podcasts).
As you can probably tell my creativity dwindled today and all I could think of was a picture of an actual floodgate. This can give you a rough idea of what it is like when you permanently and fully break into your inner virtues and happiness, but I think a better picture would be the entire walls just shattering into smithereens and a gargantuan flow of water bursting out. Unfortunately I couldn't find a suitable picture for that :(
