2019 8-Week Retreat, 16 May 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Olaso. Lama Begins. This afternoon we will return to balancing Earth and Sky in the text and the meditation. The meditation practice today will be the Burmese approach to mindfulness of breathing. Lama Alan speaks for a bit on the experiences of an Arya Bodhisattva in meditative equipoise and the illusion like appearances in post meditative equipoise. Lama then begins a teaching on shamatha starting first with the words of the Buddha from the Anapanasati Sutta and the 4 stages of observing the breath. He brings back the importance of the pyramid of shamatha, vipashyana, and dzogchen (non-meditation) and then returns to the culmination of the path of shamatha. Here Lama describes the ‘gold standard’ of achieving shamatha or access to the first jhana. He refers to sources of Buddhaghosa, Asanga, Tsongkhapa, the 9th Karmapa, and Dudjom Lingpa. Here we are reminded of the factors that determine the achievement of shamatha, some of which are: abandonment of the 5 obscurations, you can carry along in samadhi for 24 hours uninterrupted (with the full achievement of the first jhana), and the dissolution of all appearances. Lama speaks a bit about the dissertation that he wrote on this topic and poses the question of how one moves out of the desire realm to the form realm (achieving shamatha) while meditating on the breath, which is in the desire realm. He gives an interpretation of how that might happen, and now it is up for investigation. Here Lama Alan gives some helpful pointers for performing the meditation that we are about to do, recommending ways to recognize the breath as short or long. No need to think about it! He speaks a bit about the rhythm and cycles of breathing referencing personal experience and corroboration from other practitioners, and also talks about the parallels in deep dreamless sleep and the number of cycles per day mentioned in Vajrayana literature. He speaks about the idea of pacification and finishes with some talk about what happens in the 4th Jhana, when the breath fully stops. The practice we are going to do is very simple. Guided meditation is on mindfulness of breathing, following the Burmese approach. Olaso, Lama Alan continues. He starts with a reference to pacification that we just saw in the text. He then brings in a support from Je Tsultrim Zangpo from an essay in the book ‘Open Mind’. Lama continues on with the text at the bottom of page 200. He adds commentary to illustrate by referring to a lucid dream in which you are an ice cream vendor, adding humor and lightness. He makes an important point about the two truths in which the ultimate reality does not invalidate the relative reality. The superficial one only conceals the deeper one. He talks about this idea of purification of obscurations with shamatha as being like little league, and resting in Rigpa as the Big Leagues! For all you baseball fans! The final words of today are around hope and fear in this phase of practice and the freedom experienced. Meditation begins at 42:39
Fathom the Mind. Heal the World., 05 Oct 2022, Online and in person from Blazing Mountain Retreat Center, Crestone, Colorado
In this session we pick up right where we left off. Eva highlights two more sections in chapter 10 of the text, The Letter to the Hebrews. The first one states that, while the priests' offerings cannot wash away sin, Christ, like any bodhisattva, has vanquished all enemies which are nothing else than one's mental afflictions. The second one, a line very dear to Eva's heart, states that " For by a single offering he has perfected for all times those who are being sanctified", and this is referred to in a pivotal 'Kairos' time, when all causes and conditions are ripe, as opposed to 'Kronos' time. His life, death and resurrection as God are beyond historical time, and this is in fact what is re-enacted every time in the Sacraments, which significance is therefore not just that of a mere remembrance. Eva goes on to say that unfortunately the more the world dominant view over time turned to materialistic science, the less room was left for mysticism. The fact is that there cannot be a true Christian one who embraces the materialist view, as God is indeed not made of matter. And while Christian philosophers struggled with reconciling God with a materialistic view, Madhyamika makes it so much easier to understand mystical events because of the understanding of emptiness of all phenomena. The notions of 'Christian guilt' and 'forgiveness' need to be re-understood rather as purification and dissolving all into emptiness. The text continues with teachings on how to live together in a spiritual community and the notion of "the Living God'. God reveals itself, is present, not somebody 'out there'. He is fearful only to those who have not prepared. There must be an utter transparency, surrender, to the Guru who will take us to the sublime states of Love. Eva takes the texts of St Simeon and the Theologians as a prototype for the Christian view on the reality of suffering and the spiritual Path. Grace, it is stated, is not just granted, but in fact continuous practice is essential for achieving it, and therefore there is the demand for pursuing long term retreat. Salvation has to be conscious, and therefore this demand is deep and unforgiving to the distracted mind. This is what Eva believes to be the process of divinisation through the lens of 21'st century Buddhists on Christianity. Further there is a discussion on the dilemma of the apparent opposites between Christ as a human being and Christ as God, the begotten and the unbegotten, the passability and impassability aspects, with analogy to the Buddha's statement that he was neither God nor human, but Awaken, and reference is made to a beautiful poem written by St Ignatius. The Trinity is explained in detail, with parallels to the Buddhist view on pristine awareness and dharmadhatu, as well as dharmakaya, sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya, particularly regarding close similarities within a Vajrayana context. Eva warns us though not to make simple analogies, but rather to do a sharp analysis and really try to understand each frame of reference, allowing for the Christian world view not to be superimposed simplistically on the Buddhist one. As realities for each of us are unique, like our paths. The Chalcedonian definition is explained, and this may clarify a number of questions for us. The divine nature in each of us is to be actualized, and just like for our guru, the divine as well as the human aspects of us are equally real, depending on the frame of reference that we use. The uniqueness of each of our paths to resurrection or enlightenment is not a separation, but a unification.
2018 8-week retreat- The Essence of Clear Meaning, 08 May 2018, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia (Pisa), Italy
Lama Alan Wallace begins the morning session by saying that some people have requested the oral transmission of "A Shower of Blessings", composed by Mipham Rinpoche (1846-1912), a quintessential practice of Guru Yoga based on the Seven-Line Prayer that he is happy to offer. Between all preliminary practices, Lama Alan considers guru yoga to be the most challenging, because it is so easy to do it poorly, idolizing the guru or reifying the deity, for example. Then he emphasizes the importance of accumulating merit and knowledge. Merit is the energy, the fuel in the tank, the juice that propels us to liberation. Dudjom Lingpa said that we must have a massive amount of merit to have encountered these teachings and to benefit from them. These teachings are so precious because their audience is our pristine awareness, not our conditioned mind. There are many people nowadays looking for some kind of transcendent wisdom with good motivation, but not as fortunate. Lama Alan gives the example of Lobsang Rampa, a charlatan whose book was the only one on Tibetan Buddhism available in Greece when His Holiness the Dalai Lama went there back in 1979. So, sadly having a sincere motivation is not enough: "it boils down to merit". Therefore, if all these incredible rare conditions have come together in this precious human rebirth, like a red carpet rolled out in front of you, from here to enlightenment, now it's time to take full advantage of it. What are the chances of finding another opportunity like this? It's like finding a wish-fulfilling jewel in the middle of the ocean, and then throwing it back saying "Hm, let's try to find another one!" These termas of Dudjom Lingpa are the most excellent instructions to awakening: they are the highest of the 9 yanas within Buddhism (Ati Yoga, Mahasandhi or Dzogchen), the most profound between the 3 classes of teachings in Dzogchen (pith instructions) and also the deepest within the category of pith instructions ("innermost secret unsurpassed"). It does not get any deeper and direct than this. In order to receive the blessings that are always irradiating, like the sunlight, we need to accumulate merit and purify obscurations, and this will reduce obstacles. Otherwise the merits will be exhausted and we will lose energy and inspiration, or we can lose spiritual guides, companions and good conditions to practice. Until enlightenment, we need to practice the preliminaries to accumulate merit. Every action counts! Before the transmission, Lama Alan strongly recommends that we don't practice like playing a record. Always keep coming back afresh, and by practicing, the same lines will take you deeper. This sadhana, for example, will culminate in the pure vision of your guru as nirmanakaya, then as sambhogakaya and after some time as dharmakaya, the extinction of your impure appearances into ultimate reality. The oral transmission and practice of "A Shower of Blessings" starts at 20:27 After the transmission, Lama Alan Wallace really emphasizes the importance of practice. If we just put this text in our library, it will seem like dead, always the same. Then we will look out for more teachings, lamas and retreats... If you practice, you will always understand it more deeply, reach new insights, receive more blessings and gain realization from the same teaching or sadhana. Lama Alan holds the text and say: "This can take you all the way to Buddhahood!"
2019 8-Week Retreat, 19 May 2019, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Tuscany, Italy
Eva starts the session by answering a couple of questions that have come up and clarifying some points from previous sessions. She explains that we didn't get a formal samaya to do the six session Guru Yoga practice, which is a very deep tradition. We will be covering this topic in order to have a very concise Guru Yoga practice that can help us. She also comes back to the topic of journaling and how that helps us to check our mind 6 times a day, therefore allowing us to fulfill our samaya related to Vairocana from the buddha family. She emphasizes that we should start gradually and be pragmatic. Also, there are many ways of keeping the samayas, and eventually everything starts becoming integrated. She reminds us that these topics are not meant to instill fear in us, and that making mistakes in our practice as we learn is also part of the path. She does mention two extremes that we should avoid: - Thinking that just because we didn't get a commitment to do a daily practice, that there isn't much to do or that there aren't any other samayas. - That since it's hard for us at this point to really engage in not looking for the Buddha outside ourselves, that we might as well not even try. We should also avoid falling into the extreme of just checking boxes from a list either. This path is a constant challenge. She then talks about the relationship between the Guru and the Yidam. If sometimes visualizing the Guru is not helping or even making things worse, visualizing the Yidam might help us at that time. We do a very brief Guru Yoga meditation. Then Eva clarifies some of the previous root downfalls. She goes back to #5 and explains that we're not taking a celibacy vow. The part of not releasing the bodhicitta is primarily aimed at practitioners of the stage of completion, and she reminds us to relate to our sexuality in purer and purer ways. She also explains how the Vajrayana word for bodhicitta is bliss, so it would be good to start associating pleasure (which one could say is a kind of tiny bliss) with bodhicitta. This can even be associated with the 4 kinds of giving. Eva talks about the role of the vajra and bell, and that it would be to start using them as part of our practice. They will start getting charged/blessed by our own practice, and then eventually they can charge us too. She comments on the importance of keeping them secret, hence the reason to have covers for them. Moving on, Eva clarifies that it's harder to break a root downfall than we sometimes think. She goes into explaining the 4 chains that need to be present for this to happen: - Not seeing it as wrong - Not wanting to stop doing it - Enjoyment and satisfaction from it - Lack of shame or consideration She then goes briefly into purification, advising us never to think that it's too late to purify. That would be forgetting the emptiness of our karma. She also says how nyam can be purification of karma. Finally, she encourages us to remember that the buddhas are always there to support us, and that they want nothing else but for us to get enlightened. She comments on root downfall #8, explaining that technically it doesn't just refer to the form aggregate, and that all 5 aggregates match to the 5 buddha families. She reminds us a passage from our text where the Lake Born Vajra mentions this. Ultimately the point is to understand that it's a bad deed to see ourselves as impure. We then cover 3 more root downfalls: - 9 Doubting the Dharma - 10 Failing to liberate and instead showing love to those who are truly evil in the 10 ways - 11 Thinking one can comprehend the Dharma with reasoning alone
Spring 2010 Shamatha Retreat, 07 Jun 2010, Thanyapura Mind Centre, Phuket, Thailand
This afternoon Alan started by pointing out the modern tendency of being very harsh and strict with ourselves, and the need for Compassion. He then proceeds by diving down to the very root of suffering, considering the hypothesis that all mental afflictions stem from the grasping and reification of "self" as separate, autonomous, and self-existant. He aludes to the Vajra essence, showing how the symmetry of the substrate is broken and the sense of "self" coagulates and differentiates itself from the space, followed by the arising of appearances also as "other" and finally as the mind activates it conceptually imputes objects from those appearances we directly see.
Using a few other examples, we see that it is pretty evident that all suffering comes from the reification and grasping of self, me and mine. The only thing left for us to do is investigate this hypothesis, bringing wisdom and compassion together into practice.
After the meditation, we have a brief comment by Alan about the Vajra Essence (Dudjom Lingpa) and the relative "simplicity" of the path, followed by some interesting questions from Malcolm. He built on on an earlier question about being a Bodhisattva without knowing it, now extending it to "Is it possible for a Sotāpanna (stream enterer) to be one with out knowing it." Alan said yes, but then really unpacked the question, focusing on the importance of not taking things out of context. He highlights his skepticism of many modern ways in which people are practicing Dharma, and talks a little about debunking false claims of realization. He also talks about how these new Dharma experiments can cause you to fool yourself into thinking you have genuine realization, uniquely combining a story from the suttas with Mark Twain.
Along the explanation he comes upon the debate of "momentary Samadhi" being enough for Vipassana practice and the problems with this allegation, pointing to the following debate: http://www.mahasi.org.mm/discourse/E24/E24ch01.htm
There is also a part where Alan speaks about a connection between Mahayana and Christianity, and Elizabeth explains how the Christian Saint Josaphat is actually a mistranslation of Arhat, and reveals the fact the The Buddha was actually canonized! She says there is an article on her website, which is here: http://buddhist-christian.org/
Well, I think this description has gotten out of hand with the length. So I'll leave you with this still from David Cherniack, representing the distortion that occurs when taking Dharma out of context!
2018 8-week retreat- The Essence of Clear Meaning, 02 May 2018, Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia (Pisa), Italy
As an introduction to the exploration of the nature of reality we did later, this afternoon session began with Lama Alan commenting on the specificities of Buddhism as a spiritual tradition. He mentioned that although it's true that Buddhism includes rituals, prayers and the importance of blessings, simultaneously it also reserves a key role for practices exploring the nature of reality, where using reasoning and intelligence is of paramount importance, as HH the Dalai Lama so often emphasizes. As a preamble to the meditation, we explored briefly two types of visions about the world, naïve and metaphysical realism. Briefly, in (1) naïve realism we work with the view that appearances to our senses are already out there, existing independently of our perception and frames of reference, already waiting to be recognized. This view is clearly refuted, not only in Buddhism, but also by most branches of science. As for (2) metaphysical realism, there we work with the assumption of a truly existing and independent world out there, with our role being to create a precise representation of it. Lama Alan tried to convey the apparent allure of this vision, giving examples that seem to validate it, like the fact that the grass grows, even when we're not looking, or that food goes rotten in a refrigerator, even when we're not at home. This seems to validate the idea that there is an independent world, out there, independent of our conception of it. But to help us get unstuck from this idea, Lama brought in insights from quantum mechanics, that highlight the crucial role of our frame of reference as well as the methods we use for observation, when arriving at conclusions about the nature of reality. From that perspective, nothing exists prior to, and independent from, a system of measurement, and therefore what actually 'exists out there' are just fields of possibilities, that once measured and /or analysed, crystalize into specific phenomena. As for the fact that there's mostly intersubjective consensus regarding the 'outside world' (we all seem to agree upon the main features of what's out there), Lama brought in the concept of karma (namely, collective karma), to make sense of the fact that our experience of the world tends to be relatively consensual. The meditation was a vipashyana practice on the empty nature of phenomena, and starts at 17:49. After the meditation, Lama made a quick comment to highlight the depth of our current topic, mentioning that in traditional monastic colleges like Sera Je Monastery, this topic is usually studied for 3 or 4 full years. In the Mahamudra and Dzogchen approaches though, because a practitioner uses the full achievement of shamatha as her basis, and has her vipashyana practice directed straight to the emptiness of the inherent nature of mind, this path is indeed different (even if not necessarily easier). Going back to the text, we continued with the transmission, from "To expand on this phase, if all phenomena were in fact established as truly existent…". Lama made additional comments about: (i) emptiness (Skt. shunyata), (ii) the fundamental vulnerability of our senses to misperceiving reality, and therefore the need for Dharma, and (iii) also Tsongkhapa's presentation for how one explores what exists conventionally, in the context of the absence of an inherent existent reality (basically by making observations from one's own first-person experience, and then building intersubjective consensus with those that have walked the same path, and further developed specific expertise in the area). Text: p.68-69
2023 8-Week Retreat: The Vajra Essence – Part 4, 20 May 2023, Crestone, Colorado and Online
Don't look beyond your own awareness for the Buddha. Padmasambhava’s pith instructions with Gyatrul Rinpoche’s commentary:
Prophecy received by Dudjom Lingpa, 10 Apr 2020, United States
Lama Alan begins by explaining that rather than meditation, this session will be devoted to a discussion on the way these Dzogchen practices fit into our particular cultural and historical moment. He mentions that while this pandemic is very severe and has created great adversity for many people, most broadly in terms of financial pressure, just like everything else, it will eventually pass. What will not pass, however, is the trajectory we have set as a species in terms of our destruction and pollution of the environment, the effects of which are projected to be catastrophic. Therefore, beyond the current pandemic, we must consider what would be of most benefit for humanity and the planet as a whole moving forward. Lama Alan explains that scientists have already given us the necessary knowledge about the nature of climate change, and that we have already developed the necessary technology to move towards lasting sustainability, but we simply are not taking the action. So, he asks, what is needed to turn things around? The solution he presents is one of a radical inner transformation that causes us to change the way we view reality, and from that, the way we live our lives and the way we look for happiness. It is a shift from materialism, hedonism, and consumerism, to a view that takes into consideration the whole of reality and the true nature of consciousness, and on that basis develops a way of life that aligns with the true nature of authentic wellbeing.
Lama Alan then refers to another prophesy that Dudjom Lingpa received from a dakini saying that if they cultivate the essential practice of Great Transference, one hundred of his disciples will achieve Great Transference Rainbow Body. Lama Alan explains that this is different from the Rainbow Body achieved after death when the body dissolves, which is quite common in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. In the manifestation of Great Transference Rainbow Body, it takes place during one’s life, one’s ordinary form dissolves into the absolute ground of reality, one becomes a completely awakened Buddha, and one is then able to manifest innumerable sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya forms, including one that appears exactly as you appeared to those around you just before you dissolved.
Lama Alan sees only something as powerful as this being capable of truly creating the revolution of perspective and priorities that we need as a species. He then muses on whether or not people of other religious, philosophical, and scientific traditions could potentially achieve this state without “converting” to Buddhism. He cites the examples of this in the Bon tradition of Tibet, and then references other compelling examples of Dzogchen-esque practices and possible manifestations of Rainbow Body in other religious traditions, citing particularly Francis Tiso’s book, Rainbow Body and Resurrection. He explains that the essential Dzogchen practices of shamatha, vipashyana, tekchod, and togyal, are radically empirical and do not explicitly have any cultural or religious trappings, such than someone from any background could in theory take the mind as the path, attain shamatha, and realize the nature of consciousness and the truth of reincarnation. And so on for the rest of the path. Finally, he says that while Dzogchen is certainly imbedded within the context of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, there is no reason why people from other traditions could not have their own preliminary purification practices, their own devotional practices, and then engage in the main Dzogchen practices and achieve all the same realizations as a Buddhist Dzogchen practitioner. And he mentions how wonderful it would be if among these one hundred Great Transference Rainbow Bodies, there were practitioners from many different traditions. This, he suggests, could be something that could actually turn us around. Therefore, he urges those who can commit fully to such a path to do so, and those who at the moment cannot, to support those pursuing this sublime state of realization.
Sadhana Class with Yangchen (Eva Natanya), 20 May 2022, Online, Recorded at Miyo Samten Ling, Crestone, CO
After invoking Guru Rinpoche and taking refuge in the way of the Lake-Born Vajra Sadhana we rest for a few minutes in silence. As there will be no formal meditation today, we continue to explore the sadhana with meditative awareness. Yangchen-la focuses today on the visualizations that come with the recitation of the verses and the mantra, thereby relying also on the text of the Vajra Essence, of Lama Tharchin Rinpoche’s commentary and Gyatrul Rinpoche’s commentary of The Generation Stage In Buddhist Tantra. Yangchen reminds us that Stage of Generation practice takes a lot of conceptual work in the beginning, which will later serve as a basis for deep practice. Yesterday we visualized ourselves as the Lake-Born Vajra in union with Mandarava, and then merged the jnanasattva with the samayasattva. Now we continue on page 8 of the sadhana text with homage. We as the Lake-Born Vajra make offerings in form of sentient beings to the deities of the mandala, and they respond in blessing and purifying the offerings — in this way a dance of primordial union unfolds. For a more elaborate form of the offering one can go to the Vajra Essence, Phase 4, page 131 [236]. Detailed explanations like this one can serve as a basis for visualizations during long mantra recitations. We also find an explanation on how to transform the joy of sensory experiences into offerings by way of visualizing deities dissolving delicious substances into our sense consciousnesses, so overcoming ordinary view. This is the inner offering. As for the secret offering, Yangchen reminds us that the depiction of the union of male and female deities has nothing to do with sensual pleasures, but is a skillful means pointing to the immutable great bliss of the union of emptiness and primordial consciousness, which is evoked by subtle energy practices. In the next verse, “The ecstatic union of great bliss… is the great freedom”, the offering of liberation takes place. Then we move on to the praises, where the holy being we have transformed into is praised by the deities of the mandala, and praises them back in a divine way. The first verse refers to the three kayas. Yangchen elaborates on the awe in which the lines of this praise have been spoken first by the king of Zahor, when he realized the divinity of Guru Rinpoche, who manifested the lake of Tso Pema instead of being burned by a bonfire. The second verse is praising the holy body, speech, and mind. The third verse is a praise on the three roots. Yangchen then reads and explains the first verse of the Quintessential Yoga of Recitation. We visualize our body as of light in a subtle red glow. The jnanasattva in the heart is depicted as a golden vajra, we as the samadhisattva in the form of the letter Hrih in its center. The root mantra circles around it, and depending on our level of practice and visual abilities, we can imagine the circling mantra syllable by syllable, or as a ring of fire. Yangchen-la elaborates on the advantages of Tibetan or Sanskrit spelling of the mantra for the visualization. Yangchen explains that the recitation of mantras tones our pranic systems as a preparation for the Stage of Completion practices. Finally Yangchen reminds us that "to fully integrate the Dzogchen view within this sadhana we know that even the mantra recitation is revealing that which is already the case, it’s not approaching in order to accomplish. There is no meditation with this teaching.
The 4 Yogas of Mahamudra 2019 Retreat, 18 Jun 2019, Shambhala Mountain Center
Note: Our sincere apologies, this session was particularly challenging because the equipment was especially sensitive that day, and we may have gotten some interference from cell phones. The good news is that we later got some help to further tweak the recording equipment, so the rest of the sessions should sound much better. **Brad** I'm not criticizing any teaching of the sutra or tantra teachings. It just occurs to me that we finished the first yoga and it's all shamatha. Ok then we haven't gotten to what we call the view in Dzogchen. I know we've alluded to primordial awareness and so forth. Because what appears from the text as written is we get all the way through the first two halves of the bodhisattvayana just with shamatha. You've been clear about that both in this retreat and many retreats before, but that's not what the text says. But he has this nigh on the path of seeing just at the end of the first yoga here. I understand we're seeing things from a vajrayana perspective and not a sutrayana perspective but you just mentioned in the last talk we had a few minutes ago, you mentioned the spirit of definite emergence. He hasn't even paid any kind of lip service to that, he hasn't mentioned uncontrived bodhicitta, there's not even any kind of hint of that. **Victoria** I got super excited when you mentioned, I think it was yesterday, mathematics and the form realm. That was absolutely fascinating, it took some calming down. What is the source of these realms? Is it the substrate? Since we each have our own individual substrate if I understand it correctly, so every appearance appears to me as you said, so the desire realm in which I'm right now is my individual desire realm and has as its source the substrate, my own individual substrate. I'm a mathematician so bear with me. So I was pondering in my walk this morning, how is it that we are sharing the same seeming reality, and I was thinking that the only logical explanation, because there is some logic to all of this, is that we are connected karmically. I think all of us who are here, we have these invisible karmic connections, which connect our substrates in some way, and then we share this reality. Would that make sense? So every person that I see in this room, I have a karmic connection with, totally unaware of them since I hadn't met anyone. But that should be the reason why we're sharing the common experiences or the common appearances that we see. Would that make sense? **Henri** I'd like to just clarify the points regarding the actual achievement of shamatha. You explained that you have the acquired sign, and then you what happens is that dissolves and then the counterpart sign comes. But when this happens you actually achieve shamatha? Ok because, for example, it's like a major transition and lots of stuff happening like you hear in Asanga's explanation, like the extraordinary mental joy and all the heaviness and all this that's related. So just to clarify this, when you go, you see the counterpart sign, these thoughts happening now and then you fall back and they're still happening or you stay there and it's happening and then you fall back, like a little bit of the details of this? Because it seems a little bit like contradictory that you achieve it but then you fall back. **Laura** First of all I would like to thank you for your generosity. It's a great gift, and it is very much like drinking from a fire hose, a fire hydrant. In light of what you just shared, which is akin to what I had thought to share, let me try. I'm a creative so I hope you're patient. The way these teachings are delivered, how they are conveyed is enormous to me, and specifically what we might call the use of analogy, it doesn't operate in the way of offering an explanation. It doesn't operate like a metaphor. It itself is the revelation, and particularly the analogies then involve natural references. The bird, for example, is a revelation. It is an occurrence and it arises from shall we say the substrate. So then between sessions doing my practice I had a moment, an occurrence and it stopped my mind, it was simply the puddles, it was a drop in concentric circles, and before I had language, before anything arrived, it arrived in completion. So I thought to share that last night and I didn't, and then this morning when you were speaking about physicists who attempt to write or speak to this and are condemned and exiled. I was reminded of a very dear friend of mine who again, I believe you know, his name is Shimon Malin. He worked as a physicist at Colgate and he wrote a book called "Nature loves to hide" and that was precisely my experience. It reveals itself when [speechless]. And I see how you are in your precision, in openness these practices are real. I just defaulted to the habit there. **Ken** The approach to shamatha seems very similar to the approach to inner fire yoga. Both seem to be active gateways to non-dualism. Can you comment on the differences? Is there a difference?
