Nanaimo May 11 1993
We should always try to remember that we become in life how we think and feel. So if we become more conscious of ourselves as individuals and try to cultivate an attitude of openness or warmth of caring and concern, if we become more conscious of that attitude there is no doubt that a few years from now we will be different. And certainly five or ten years from now, if we are more conscious of ourselves, consciously engaged in a compassionate attitude, we will become a better person.
As activity has always has a beginning, the actual action and then the conclusion, at the beginning we should try to have a positive motivation. Just as I wish to happy, so too do others. So in any growth that I personally go in a positive direction, may I share that with others to develop myself in whatever way is suitable. In that way we cultivate a positive attitude, one which will be of benefit as the years go by.
I think we are going to have to have two more sessions to finish this. This one page has too much in it to go too fast.
The subject is the mahamudra, realization of reality considered to be the integration of our correct view of reality, or the real appreciation of the the world around us as it really is versus the world around us as we project or falsely assume it to be.
In this type of meditation, whatever extraneous thoughts arise, if you observe the nature long enough, you will find that they all pass and disappear. You are left with an awareness of the clear state of mind in it's stark and bare nature. Moreover, whenever you are in this meditative state free of mental wandering, you examine your mind intensely, asking yourself what is this mind?,it's very clarity appears vividly, unrestricted by thought patterns. Seeing no basic difference between these two methods of settling the mind is known to the meditators as mixing the two approaches.
Another method of settling the mind is not to block whatever extraneous thoughts arise, but to concentrate on the nature of the train of thought that has arisen and try to comprehend it. What happens is like the example of a caged pigeon released from a ship in id ocean. As the scriptural reference states, "A bird h\that has flown from a ship in mid-ocean, after flying here and there must inevitably land back on the ship from which it left."
from practicing such methods as these, you attain in your meditation a clear state of mind obstructed by anything.
Although this state of mind lacks any form or structure, and in this way is as bare as space, yet it is precisely on this mind, as on a mirror, that whatever arises to consciousness appears obviously, nevertheless you can never hold onto or point to any particular thing as "My mind.
After you have developed through these methods mental quiescence on the conventional mind, most meditators of the Land of the Snows agree that then to fix gently in meditating on whatever appears on the clear mirror-like nature of your mind., without grasping at any extraneous thoughts or preconceptions, is an oral tradition method for the easy forging of Buddhahood. This may well be so, but what has been explained here is the best method for merely settling the mind on the initial level. I Chokyi Gyaltsan, say that this is the way merely to introduce yourself to the conventional mind."
Chokyi Gyaltsan was a wonderful meditator of the 16 or 17 century Tibet. He was sincere and well educated, then went off to the mountains of Tibet and lived on almost nothing for ten or fifteen years. Lived in caves, travelled around and spent the winters in solitude. He was very strict with himself. He wrote the guru offerings prayer and a few others. He had wonderful experiences of enlightenment and wrote beautiful poetry.
He is trying to say this! Normally we look with our eyes and seeing the dualistic perception of you out there and I in here. That very mind dong the talking and thinking is the mind we are talking of. We never have let ourselves relax enough to allow that very nature of mind to be the observed thing. Rather we have always gone with what is happening on the surface. But really, it is called stalking the mind, and one has to become aware of that mind which is there. And it is not the thoughts of the mind. It is just the awareness that is there within you.
It is an interesting thing because you don't normally observe that. We normally don't think about it. But there is something there, it is the nature of your mind. As it says, it a type of clarity like space, and yet objects, feelings and senses will appear vividly upon it like on a mirror. If I put a mirror to you, you would see it so clear! So just like that, your mind, when a thought arises, it will arise very vividly. Especially if you are in clear conscious mind, you are healthy, the mind is clear, there is no intoxication or anything like that, that very mind is the one which is being identified. And so enlightenment is not something divorced or separate from yourself. It isn't that the basis of your mind, your Buddha nature is far away from yourself. An it is so hard to see that because when we sit there, we identify with the thoughts on our mind. Because of that we immediately limit or bring reality down to a certain level. But rather, we need to relax and allow one to be conscious of the mind's energy itself.
One thing you can do at home, when you allow yourself to relax, try to not let the mind fall asleep, but allow your mind to just be aware. And to know that his can be a beautiful experience. just me, and my body. And in that relaxation to let yourself focus on mind energy or mind itself, it says. It is stalked. And to say, this is it. Thoughts will come but you relax and let go. And in doing that there is basic conscious awareness. And that conscious awareness is the one one we are talking about, the fundamental mind which is vivid and clear like space. And when a thought arises of course, that image which is so strong, if you allow yourself to relax and it will disappear and the vivid clear nature of mind will shine or be there!
For this evening meditation, try to let yourself settle. But, do not set up an agenda. Just to sit, relax, and be more conscious of the mind itself. Not that the thoughts, but the energy of the mind. An example you may use is a mirror, but maybe more appropriate is a pool of water. And you allow yourself to be that consciousness which is like a pool of water. When a thought comes through it, because it is more three dimensional, you can have a fish flow through it. And as you sit there, you identify more with the water than the individual objects that go through. And in that way, try to see that it is the clear quality of consciousness that I am actually trying to strive to get in touch with. And in the clear consciousness, that is the one we want! It is getting in touch with the very basis of your existence, and getting in touch with that is the source rather than being concerned with philosophy or things like that.
The nature of the meditation we are involved with is the meditation of realizing the nature of your mind, or going to the source. Although there are many teachings such as love and compassion, which are expressions, what we really need to do is try to find the source of realization. With that, then we can cultivate a more compassionate attitude becomes easier because we understand more about ourselves.
Meditation:

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