Steven Lane

dtsSneoporg6t30lagult219t3t907a05imt156f

h

8tu426m35m

9

t7718t1f

  · 

In the ATR Practice Guide, as part of stage 1, it says, " If you are unable to quiet your mind to a state of no-thought, it will be difficult to realise. You should think carefully what is the best method for you to still your mind? Is it meditation? Or is it chanting the Buddha's name and reciting mantras?"

This is clearly a Zen instruction which I would have received myself many times. Yet, is this really essential?

Contemporary non dual teachers such as Rupert Spira would point to Presence as something we already intuitively know - we know we are present (existent) and we know we are aware. If we ask the question, "am I aware" it becomes obvious. Subsequent pointing out makes stage 1 obvious (Rupert Spira has a 3 fold insight process - discovering Presence as a witness, discovering Presence as a container in which everything is arising and disappearing, and finally discovering Presence as Isness in which Presence and what is appearing are of the same nature)

In Dzogchen different approaches are taken according to the practitioners' capacity. For example in Semde, emphasis is first put on quieting the mind. But in the Uppadesha teachings other approaches are used (which go way beyond stage 1 because the emptiness of Presence is realised simultaneously). For example, the PHAT practice - this sounds is uttered loud and shocks the mind - the first results is a confusion - a nothingness - followed by a clear though brief seeing of Presence. Or the practice of Trekchod in which essentially we just sit and allow everything to be, sooner or later reveals the same.

Thoughts? (how important is it to have the empty mind first)

View insights

234 post reach

All reactions:4Adam Rodriguez and 3 others

5 comments

Like

Comment

Send

Top comments

Jake Yeager

In my opinion, if it's difficult to quiet your mind, it will probably take longer to realize I AM.

It took about 10 years of meditation and 5 years of self-inquiry here before I AM awakening. I was working through a lot of trauma, which made it difficult to quiet the mind and likely slowed the pace.

If you find it difficult to quiet the mind, there may be trauma in the body. Trauma is housed in the nervous system and is not necessarily released through meditation or inquiry. Some kind of body-based practice, like qigong, yoga, TRE, EMDR, 5Rhythms, or Somatic Experiencing, is likely needed to access and release the trauma. This will likely make meditative and inquiry practices flow more smoothly, because you are releasing chronic tension and emotional blockages in the body, which normally impede energy flow, create reactivity, and drive habitual thinking.

2

5h

Like

Reply

Edited

Active

Soh Wei Yu

Admin

Important for the realization beyond mere glimpses IMO. It is also not really that difficult to get that pause in conceptualization. We all encounter it from time to time. But it is important to train in some kind of shamatha or meditation as a foundation for effective self enquiry.

Do read these two articles as it elaborates:

https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2018/12/how-silent-meditation-helped-me-with.html

https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2009/05/isness-of-thought-between-two-moments.html

https://www.awakeningtoreality.com/2018/12/i-am-experienceglimpserecognition-vs-i.html

But there is no need to wait until the mind is super still before you start inquiring. For example there is no need to wait until you meditate 30 minutes, or 1 hour, or enter a jhana, etc before you start inquiring. Back then I would probably sit for only a short while relaxing my mind, before I begin inquiring, or start inquiring when I was able to set aside my mundane concerns enough to focus on the main inquiry "Before birth, Who am I?"

My I AM realization happened during a one hour sitting meditation session with a backdrop of relatively stable and quiet mind and inquiring on 'before birth, who am I?'

4m

Like

Reply

Edited

Will Gau

One way to think about the 'I Am' is as a pure consciousness experience in thought space, or an experience of the space of thought prior to the arising of any thought. So it may also be argued that it is synonymous with a quieting of the mind, even if only for a moment.

54m

Like

Reply

Will Gau

It's also worth 'investing' in samatha practice as it will help you throughout every stage of the process, and every time you access concentration states like jhanas for the first time, they become easier to access in the future.

1h

Like

Reply

Will Gau

Combining self-inquiry with concentration will be more likely to trigger insight than either one alone. Concentration, like samatha meditation, will also allow for more consistent access to and smoother integration of insights. Even in direct approach schools, samatha is taught to stabilize the mind. My I Am realization occurred during a home retreat following a recording of a dzogchen samatha retreat given by Allan B. Wallace. I found the instructions to be very clear and direct, and lead me straight to the insight after a period of stabilizing concentration.

1h

Like

Reply