Showing posts with label Tsewang Dongyal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tsewang Dongyal. Show all posts

 

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it was amazing
bookshelves: currently-reading
Reading for the 2nd time. Most recently started December 13, 2022.

Started reading it recently, but I'm impressed with the clarity, sweetness, directness and profundity of the writing. In some sections it reminds me of Tarthang Tulku's writings, which is a big compliment coming from me.

I've flirted with this book in the past, but never actually got around to read it. I'm happy I've finally done it. This book is not a Dharma Jewel - this is a whole Island of Dharma Jewels. The topic is the six bardos, which basically covers all existential states we can find ourselves in, according to Buddhism; and the book lays it out for us what we can do to make good use of those states - if liberation is what we're seeking.

I'll put some excerpts here and in the comments:

(1) creation stage visualization practice and (2) completion stage dissolution practice. Visualization practice brings about a vivid understanding of our wisdom body and wisdom speech, while completion stage practice connects us directly to our wisdom mind.
Creation stage practice can be generally divided into: (1) visualization and (2) mantra recitation. After we establish the visualization of the deities we recite their mantra.

~

In Vajrayana, when we visualize our environment and ourselves as enlightened, we’re bringing out our inner, self-born awareness wisdom without being disturbed by duality and habitual patterns. We’re discovering the splendid qualities of our inner primordial wisdom, which
then shines out through our body and speech. Our body becomes primordial wisdom form and our speech becomes primordial wisdom sound. When the sunlight of our inborn nature of primordial wisdom shines through our speech and body, we’re inseparable from Guru Padmasambhava. In fact, we are Guru Padmasambhava. Our nature of self-born wisdom awareness is absolute Guru Padmasambhava.
When our true nature arises, it transforms all external formations into that wisdom state so there is no interference by dualistic habitual patterns or doubt and hesitation. We stand tall and firm in our original nature as absolute Guru Padmasambhava, without becoming timid and making all kinds of different excuses. We’re confident and fearless in bringing out our beauty and nature. Our nature is love. Our nature is compassion. Our nature is intelligence. Our nature is wisdom. Our nature is beautiful, and we’re going to bring that up. This is known as “practice.” Practice means bringing out our inner heart qualities, and this is the essence of visualization.

~

Where does this visualization come from? It comes from our self-born primordial wisdom awareness, which is beyond any conceptions or habitual patterns, any rules, regulations, or guidelines. This beautiful, authentic nature and its splendor reside in our heart center. In visualization practice it comes out instantly. Without any hesitation, doubt, or fear, we jump into the ocean of our nature, and swim and play all these beautiful games of practice displays.

~

Mantra recitation is the heat of love, compassion, and wisdom that melts the ice of duality. It’s the light that clears away the darkness of ignorance. This indestructible sound is great emptiness. We can see this immediately. The moment right after sound arises, it dissolves and then reappears. It’s an ongoing, spiralling wheel carrying a tremendous magnitude of power, blessings, and abilities through every galaxy. But it doesn’t just start in some local area in our body. Of course it might appear very localized, but actually it’s a vibrating, ripple effect moving through all physical systems— our .channels, winds, and the entire space of our inner body, as well as through the entire universe. All of this begins from the primordial wisdom nature of our mind, the self-born Guru Padmasambhava. The whole universe of sound is transformed into a beautiful vajra sound system. Mantra is not an isolated thing happening once in a while. It’s the ongoing sound system of the mandala. We’re discovering the infinite, continuous, unceasing sound system of the vajra.

~

As we continue to practice visualization, we deepen our understanding that the nature of all forms and sounds is emptiness. Body and speech are both the transcendental wisdom rainbow body. Everything is in this wisdom state. When we discover the indestructible nature of our body and speech, and maintain our realization of the empty, transcendental nature of all forms and sounds, this is visualization practice.

~

This world is translucent.. . everything is translucent. That's why the second practice is called Illusory Body practice. My body is an illusion body and this world is an illusion world. This doesn’t mean that my body and the world are not useful. It means that everything is naturally translucent like a rainbow. This is how the nature is.
Why don’t we see this? Why do we only see concrete things? Duality makes everything appear substantial and concrete. In reality, everything is translucent, shimmering light.

~
Our body is lucid, the tangible world is lucid, sound is lucid, and mind is lucid. In other words, mind is transparent, sound is transparent, and form is transparent. Bring up this realization.
The nature is not only translucent—it’s translucent with blissfulness and clarity. Everything is beautiful and magical. Objects aren’t just structurally concrete. According to the Vajrayana and Mahayana teachings, every moment is translucent, transforming, manifesting, and emanating, which is why all these changes happen. We tend to only see the big changes due to our dualistic habitual patterns. On the subtle level, the nature is continuously multiplying as different emanations. This is the known as the “retinue of the absolute Guru Padmasambhava.” Absolute Guru Padmasambhava remains the same—great bliss-emptiness and clarity—but he’s always surrounded by these magical, displays of beauty. These retinues and their source are not really different, even though they appear as different forms.

~

Everything is translucent clear light. That’s what we’re talking about when we discuss the mind. But it’s not only mind— everything is a beautiful display of absolute Guru Padmasambhava, the blissful, transcendental wisdom rainbow state of the nature. Again, the nature of absolute Guru Padmasambhava and his retinue of dynamic appearances are the same.

~

Everything is like a dream. There’s no difference between our waking experiences during the daytime and our sleeping dreams at nighttime. When we’re not hindered by duality, we see that everything is a dream. We could also say that everything is real. It’s not that dreams are unreal and this is real. Whichever word we want to use, whether it’s ‘dream’ or ‘reality,’ if everything is real, everything is real. If everything is a dream, everything is a dream. Their nature is the same. There’s no difference. That’s what the Buddha and Guru Padmasambhava taught, and to some degree we can experience this.

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When we look at all those changes in the past, they’re really just dreams. What’s the difference between my dream last night and everything that happened in the past? Really, what's the difference? This gathering is also a dream. We’re in another stage of the dream, exploring and analyzing the beautiful qualities of dreams. But it’s a dream. Bring up this realization vividly as it is, and touch the nature itself without being dislocated by the power of duality, the power of our misunderstanding. Now we’re relocating and reorganizing our understanding based on our clear knowledge of absolute Guru Padmasambhava. This is Dream Yoga practice. We bring up our realization of the nature exactly as it is. All these dynamic displays and surroundings are the dream retinues of the absolute Guru Padmasambhava.

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In general, on the absolute level, following exactly in the footsteps of the absolute Guru Padmasambhava means to liberate all dualities as dynamic wisdom displays. When you have this determination, courage, and confidence, and you embrace everything beautifully without grasping and clinging on to it, then what comes? Blessing.
“Blessing” is when you discover the nature of bliss-emptiness and its splendid, magnificent qualities exactly and completely as they are without being disturbed or obscured by any mundane habitual patterns. This is the ultimate blessing.

~

Buddhism is a teaching of non-violence, kindness, and compassion, as well as respect and appreciation for all living beings. Being harmonious and peaceful with everything that exists is the foundation of the entire teaching of Buddha Shakyamuni.
The great teacher Buddha Shakyamuni said that this is our nature—these qualities are not new ideas or dogma that you bring into your life only when you practice Buddhism. Love, kindness, and compassion are the basic nature of every living being. When we connect with this nature, it is so soothing; we feel more calm and peaceful, as well as more joy and satisfaction. Therefore, as we practice and reflect on life, death, and dying, the Buddha always emphasized that we should ignite our basic goodness qualities of love, kindness, and compassion, which in Buddhism are known as “bodhichitta,” or the “mind of enlightenment.” This will help us better understand the meaning of the natural rhythm and process of life and death.
The entire universe, including ourselves, is based on this nature. We never go out of the nature. Actually, we can't go outside of the nature, and we’ve never been apart from it. Everyone has this same basic nature—every tiny movement and everything in general moves according to the nature's rhythm and is a part of the natural process. In this way, life is natural, death is natural, and even the period after death is natural. These are all ongoing processes of the same nature. We should try to continually embrace all of the ways that nature manifests itself without fear. When we accept the nature with confidence and joy, everything is seen as a beautiful process.
This entire natural system moves in cycles. We can see this when we look at the movements of day and night. If there is day, then definitely there will be twilight and nightfall. If there is night, there will be dawn, morning, and daylight. This process continues, day after day and night after night, like a spiral. Similarly, winter, spring, summer, and autumn continually rotate into one another. When you look at all the cycles, from galaxies to our own bodies, every natural system is continually spiralling, breathing in and out and then pausing, before breathing in and out again. That is how the process of everything works.
Buddha Shakyamuni said this throughout his teaching, and it was also taught by Guru Padmasambhava and all the other great practitioners and masters. Every system is a part of the nature. There is nothing outside of the nature. Everything exists within this frame, and we ourselves are also a part of that. It is not that the nature is on one side, and we are on another side. We are part of the nature itself.
When we look at the external world, we see that everything goes through a similar process of birth, growth, and eventually comes to an end. But that is not the final end of the process. If the perfect causes and conditions meet, new, rejuvenated qualities emerge from what has fallen apart, and the process continues. This happens with the seasons and plants and everything. Nothing ever actually ends. When something passes, it continues into the beginning of a new cycle.
Our life is the same. We take birth, grow up, and then die. According to Buddhism, death is not the end of life. In a way, death is the beginning of another era or chapter of life—we continue the process of life and death. Nothing ever really stops. As long as the right causes and conditions exist, everything continues—the light continues to spark without end In Buddhism, this is known as “karma.” Karma never ends. In a way, karma is a continual chain reaction. The first moment is the cause and condition, and the next moment becomes the result. That very result becomes the cause and condition for the following moment. Each moment ignites and rejuvenates itself in a continual process that never ends. This is how we continually go through life after life. In brief, this is the general view of the process of life and death in Buddhism

~

Loving-kindness and compassion are really so important. They are not important because religion says so. According to the Buddha, these have nothing to do with religion—they are simply the nature of the mind. Everybody appreciates love and compassion because they are natural qualities. Religion may talk about or emphasize these qualities a little more, but aside from that, love and compassion are really just the nature of the mind. Therefore we should always connect our mind with its nature of love and compassion. When we connect to these qualities, we feel a sense of genuineness in our hearts and minds. We feel more relaxed, more calm, and peaceful. We also feel more satisfaction and joy. A very deep joy fills our hearts and minds when we have thoughts of love, compassion, and kindness. We can see this for ourselves.

~

As we move closer to our nature of acceptance, openness, freedom, love, and compassion—if we allow ourselves to be filled up with our nature’s beauty as it is, then everything in this life and after this life becomes a beautiful show of the natures rhythm. There is really nothing to be scared of, nothing that is alien or strange. It’s all a part of the display of the nature itself.
This beautiful nature is the nature of everything, including our mind. Our mind is naturally filled with love, compassion, and wisdom. These qualities are completely united. They are inseparable from one another. Love is emptiness, and emptiness is love. Compassion is emptiness, and emptiness is compassion. There is really no separation at all. Buddhism talks a lot about “emptiness.” Emptiness is not a vague, blank negation state of mind. Emptiness is total freedom, infinity, and fullness. It is beyond all territories, limitations, and boundaries. It’s not some icy, cold, hollow state. Emptiness is bursting with total freedom. Therefore, the Buddha taught that emptiness is loving-kindness, and loving-kindness is emptiness. Compassion is emptiness, and emptiness is compassion.
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message 1: by André (new) rated it 5 stars

André PaisThe bardo is the interval from the beginning of delusion until we return to our primordial nature. All our wandering in between is the bardo. Until we reach enlightenment, everything we feel, know, and experience, is bardo phenomena. Even now, we are wandering in an intermediate state. This will continue as long as we persist in clinging to the dualistic belief in the inherent existence of self and world.
The bardos don’t exist outside of us. They are the context of our experience. This is very important to understand. Don’t think that you are only in the bardo at certain times. The entire universe of samsara and nirvana happens within the bardos. From the onset of our dreams until we completely wake up is all bardo territory. As long as we are trapped by ego-clinging and attachment, we're in the bardo.
Even highly realized beings and great practitioners arise within this process, but they are already awake so they don’t make false distinctions between the bardo and pristine awareness. They understand that everything that appears is a display of primordial wisdom.

~

In order to awaken sentient beings of various capacities, Buddha Shakyamuni offered many levels of instruction that have been categorized into nine yanas, or levels of study and practice. The Zhitro, which is translated as the “peaceful and wrathful deities,” is considered part of the Inner Tantras. It is actually a condensed teaching based on the essential meaning of the Guhyagarbha Tantra, combined with the views expressed in the Anuyoga and Atiyoga teachings. Many great masters have said that the Zhitro teachings are the “Inner Tantra of the Inner Tantras.” In this case, we’re not making distinctions among the various Inner Tantras, nor between the creation and completion stages, but joining them all together. This is the union of rigpa and emptiness, the oneness of birth, death, and life experiences. There is no basis for discriminating because all are aspects of one true nature. Nothing is rejected or exclusively accepted. This teaching is known as the one that unifies everything into a single state.

~

When the birthplace bardo is dawning upon me, There is no spare time in this life; abandoning laziness...5
We can never be sure how long we will be in the bardo of the living. No one can say. When and where we will die is always uncertain. It is completely unpredictable. No matter how rich or clever you are, you can never know how much longer you have to live. Since we’re not sure how long this life will last, Guru Padmasambhava advises us to abandon laziness.
Now is the time to increase appreciation and gratitude for our life situation, to arouse ourselves, and make a joyful effort to realize great results. We should develop confidence and be happy in our endeavors. Don’t just assume that you’re worthless and incapable. Don’t let this opportunity slip by and be a cause for regret Learn to work effectively, happily, and with firm commitment. The biggest obstacle to spiritual progress is laziness. There are many forms of laziness, but they all share the feeling that there is plenty of time. “I won’t bother with this today. I’ll do it later.” When we think like this again and again, we miss many important opportunities and lose sight of our goal. That is the worst thing about laziness.
One type of laziness is based on doubt: “How could I ever do this?” You put yourself down, and even feel special in considering yourself so low and incapable. To overcome this requires courage. Discover your natural dignity. Feel the preciousness of this moment: how amazing it is to be alive! If you understand the truth of this, there’s nothing that you can’t accomplish. That’s exactly what the Buddha and many other great masters did. They worked on the basis of this inspiration. Since we all have buddha-nature and inherent wisdom, why can’t we do as they did? We need to apply ourselves diligently and engage in our practice fearlessly.
Another type of laziness has to do with attaching to lesser interests and missing the greater opportunity. You know that the practice is special, you have some awareness that this is a very unique moment, and you are inspired by this beautiful opening, but you still waste time and cling to meaningless, worldly involvements. You’re like a cat who is always trying to catch another mouse. Guru Padmasambhava taught that this kind of activity is as endless as waves on the ocean. Just when you think you’re going to finish, the next wave arrives, and then another. There is always something else to do or acquire. This form of laziness involves staying distracted with coundess things to achieve and do. There will never come a time when we’ve completed everything. These preoccupations never cease. Unaware of the cause of this unsettledness, we habitually cling to external things and are subject to an endless procession of wandering thoughts and impulsive actions. This happens all the time when we’re attached to external things.
If we start looking inwardly, we will discover the source of all these restless feelings. We will also find joy, tranquility, and thoughts that bring peace and harmony.
Don’t believe this just because Guru Padmasambhava said it. Look into the history of renowned people, warriors, kings, or those with great artistic talent. All of them died with dreams and projects unfulfilled. Everyone leaves this world with unfinished business. Investigate this for yourself. You’ll find that this is really true.
When we see laziness in ourselves, what should we do? Respond immediately and with vigor. Don’t fall for, “I will do it later.” You don’t have to be patient with laziness. Guru Padmasambhava said that when you observe laziness in yourself, act like a timid person who has just discovered that a snake has crawled up into his lap. You would not just sit there to see what the snake does next. You’d get right up, throw it off, and run away! Guru Padmasambhava also said that to overcome laziness you must act immediately, like a beautiful lady whose hair has just caught on fire. These are very clear examples about how to respond to laziness.

~

Meditation is the fruit of study and contemplation. In this context, meditation doesn’t mean merely sitting calmly and focusing the mind on an external object; here we are resting our mind in the true nature. Since the true nature pervades everything both internally and externally, meditating on it clarifies our view and helps us to fully understand both subjective and objective phenomena. The focus in meditation should be on the nature of the mind itself. This will reveal everything.
Meditation on the true nature yields a lucid clarity and profound openness that is very mysterious. Abiding continuously in that state will cause beautiful qualities like compassion and wisdom to arise and shine naturally. At first, thoughts will become less interesting or insistent. As you learn to abide in deep meditation for longer periods, dualistic conceptions will be completely pacified. When you become freely established in the radiance of the primordial nature, thoughts will become like servants. At that point, you will have a greater capacity to take responsibility for your mental events.


André PaisLearn to listen undistractedly. Do not let attention wander during contemplation practice. Avoid clinging to ideas and images while in meditation. To avoid following thoughts, be mindful and observe with relaxed alertness.

~

Dharmakaya, sambhogakaya, and nirmanakaya represent three inseparable aspects of the Buddha. According to the Inner Tantras, the three kayas have no objective existence. They are not localized, but are all-pervasive, encompassing both mind and appearances. This means that everything is always in a condition of perfect enlightenment.
All phenomena are the display of the kayas. The three kayas are never separate from each other, but exist primordially within the true nature. The trikaya is what we and all external phenomena essentially are. When you fully realize what you are, you will know that you never had to do anything or go anywhere in order to be enlightened or see a pure land. The pure lands are the trikaya, and all six bardos arise within these kayas. The display, activity, and true nature of the kayas are all within us. It’s not a matter of escaping from “this horrible place” to somewhere else that is fancy and beautiful where the three kayas dwell. We must realize the three kayas as the true nature and reality of all phenomena.
Infinite and uncreated, the true nature of mind is great emptiness—the inconceivable openness known as dharmakaya. Great emptiness is not blank, empty space, a void, or nothingness. It is very luminous, clear, and full. Brightness and clarity shine forth spontaneously. This unceasing luminosity of the true nature is known as sambhogakaya.
The mind is always active, radiating a world of transformations. Due to its natural responsiveness, it never stays the same for two instants. Each sparking, radiant moment of manifest existence is never separate from the original state of the true nature. Each spark is the union of emptiness and clarity. That radiance manifesting as momentary events in space and time is known as nirmanakaya.

~

What does mind really refer to? Mind is open, empty, and pure from the beginning. Mind is also the embodiment of the three kayas. Our practice is to discover and express the true nature of the mind. We must study, contemplate, meditate on, and ultimately actualize the trikaya realization. If we are devoted and one-pointed in our efforts, all phenomena reveal the trikaya. When the moment of death comes, we will recognize this event as a lucid display of the three kayas—another expression of the true nature. There is no conflict when we understand that this is part of a natural process.
The bardo of birth and life is a very special circumstance for practice. Since everything is pervaded by the three kayas, we must come to recognize that our present vision and perception are ultimately not any different from the original nature of the mind. The understanding of the innate purity of all perception is the highest teaching of the Inner Tantras. All of our dualistic conceptions, such as self and other, good and bad, assisting friends and avoiding enemies, arise as thoughts in our minds. Mind creates all of these fabrications. There’s nothing among all of those names that has any solid existence, yet the mind creates notions and projects visions that we are inclined to believe and act on. Distracted and unmindful, we habitually grasp and cling.

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Mind is the principal source of everything. But where is the mind? As we begin to search for an answer, we should know that we’re not going to find any solid, substantially existent mind. Everything disappears as fast as it is arises. The deeper we look, the more it disappears, until we come to the point where we can’t find anything at all. At that point, the search is complete. We will really have no idea what to do next!
In one sense, we are completely lost. In another way, we’re quickly approaching the primordial state that the Buddha called “great emptiness.” Here there are no fixed divisions, distinctions, or boundaries. We’ve reached the ultimate point: the original, infinite, true nature of the mind. By diligently chasing rainbows, we finally reach a horizon where there is no longer anything to pursue. Everything merges in that unfathomable state. As the mind dissolves in the boundless dimension of the true nature, relax and remain in meditation. This is the central place. When there is no disturbance or dualism of body and mind—that is real meditation. It doesn’t require any magic. Simply observe your own mind. If you keep looking into it, you’ll eventually realize the bliss of perfect equanimity.
The practice of meditation teaches us to transcend the conceptual distinctions between appearances and thoughts. Subject and object fuse into a single awareness. We no longer see a world of inherently existent entities. In reality, even atoms are not actually solid. Although they exhibit many properties, they’re not concrete, independent objects. Every apparent thing is an impermanent mental construct based on the interdependence of everything. Nothing exists outside of this interdependence. There are many subatomic particles in even the smallest atom.
Every entity is composed of parts, and each part is made up of even smaller parts, and this continues on down to infinity. Atoms and everything they constitute are nothing but the mysterious lighting up of the true nature as appearances. This is why great masters can walk in the sky or transform the elements. You could say they aren’t really changing anything when they do these things; they’re actually demonstrating the interdependent reality and true nature of arising phenomena.
The primordial nature is wonderfully inconceivable. Void of inherent existence, great emptiness is perfectly open and flexible. Each and every luminous manifestation is precious and unique.

~

Like athletes who train for the Olympics to win a gold medal, the bardo of birth and life is the training ground to exercise and actualize our skills so that the other bardos—particularly the fourth, fifth and sixth bardos of dying, after death, and becoming—provide the conditions to acquire a gold, silver, or bronze medal. The first bardo is the best place to develop these valuable skills.

~

It is very special and precious to be human, to be surrounded by all this wealth and beauty, and to have the opportunity to realize buddhahood. This is a very crucial time. Don’t take this for granted and waste it. Actualize your true nature. The human realm is a unique place where we can work to accomplish something meaningful and develop our understanding. Buddha Shakyamuni reiterated this many times throughout his life. As we can see by observing what goes on in the world, this is not a pure land, but it’s the best place for us to learn and develop ourselves.
There are many other worlds—some are exceptionally beautiful, luxurious, and comfortable. In comparison, ours might not look that wonderful, but its actually a very special place. Here we can mature ourselves and transcend our limitations. There is a lot here that challenges us to grow, helping us to discover and express our buddha-nature. Qualities such as courage, confidence, and love are called forth in response to many situations. If we accomplish something meaningful here, we will also be able to go other places and enjoy higher realizations. But for now, this is the place where we must do something significant with our lives.

~

Yogis and yoginis with high realization are able to perceive the entire universe as the mandala of the deities, so that every form is seen as a buddha’s body and environment, all sounds are perceived as the pure speech or mantra of enlightened beings, and every thought and emotion is experienced as the wisdom mind of the buddhas. Recognizing the true nature of this continually unfolding vision is part of the spontaneous activity of pristine cognition. Ultimately, everything appears as a display of primordial wisdom, and within that realization, we can begin to help all sentient beings.

~

Start by aligning your motivation with bodhichitta and the awareness of natural purity. These two are the foundation and structure of the whole path. Without these, your practice will fall apart, even if you’ve already grown a little. Bodhichitta aspiration and awareness of purity are indispensable.
Feel a deep love and compassion for all sentient beings, including yourself. Really open your heart to everyone. If you have any trouble with this, remember that you’re doing this practice for all beings, and that everybody needs love in order to awaken their buddha-nature. Think deeply about the many good reasons to generate compassion for everyone. Then work on applying it in the present moment by changing your attitude. Awareness of purity also means having a deep sense of appreciation and reverence towards all the buddhas, bodhisattvas, and lineage masters, as well as a good feeling about yourself, and sincere gratitude for your life situation. All of this is really important. With this view and motivation, begin the Dream Yoga practice.
Relax your mind, letting go of all conceptions except those associated with bodhichitta. After a while, even let go of these once you reach the sphere of the true nature, the infinite state. Relax as long as you can in the openness of the true nature, free of any mental fabrication or disturbance by mundane thoughts. Eliminate any trace of hope or fear, abandon analysis and discrimination, and let go of any emotions such as anger, jealousy, or attachment Release everything—let it go in all directions and dissolve. Simply remain in the pristine awareness of the present moment.