The Royal Seat of Akanishtha

The Royal Seat of Akanishtha

Timelessly present, unchanging, indestructible-

The ever-present spacious expanse of freedom,

A great equanimity free of limits or bias,

Is the unsurpassed dimension of enlightenment, Akanishtha.

The ground of the marvelous primordial state.

In that spacious expanse there is a royal seat that awaits you,

Your legacy, your birthright, your own natural state.

As a descendant and heir of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas,

It is incumbent upon you to seize the stronghold of authentic presence.

Assume your royal seat and the power and responsibility that it confers.

 

I am the unchanging body of timeless awareness,

The eternal lord, Dharmakaya Samantabhadra,

In sensual union with all that appears and exists,

the vast expanse of space- Dharmadhatu Samantabhadri.

Basic space and awareness are inseparable, not-two,

Revealing the majesty and wonder of pure, open presence,

The authentic ground of being.

Enjoy the infinite play of dependent origination,

The unceasing display of emptiness,

In which no-thing arises and yet anything appears.

The inseparability of appearance and emptiness, clarity and emptiness,

Reveals the significance of the union of two truths without complication.

Not establishing anything at all,

One enjoys the effulgence of emptiness in all its variety,

Like a royal king and queen enjoying a feast in their palace,

The ever-present palace of spacious awareness.

 

The king and queen dance with spontaneous presence in the gardens of sensual enjoyment and ease;

They dance in the charnel grounds, in which the five wisdoms go unrecognized as the five poisons;

They dance with life- open, available and responsive;

They dance with death- tender, patient, without hesitation or fear.

In the spacious palace of timeless awareness,

Birth, aging, sickness and death, the good times and the bad,

Naturally unfold in a dramatic play,

The king and queen continually bearing witness with dignified presence and understanding.

 

This single sphere of awareness, unborn bodhicitta,

Transcends and includes all that appears and exists, whether of samsara or nirvana.

The kayas and wisdoms being inseparable,

It transcends and includes all beings in all their variety, all paths, worldly and transcendent.

With nothing to attain and nothing to accomplish,

One enjoys natural freedom, freedom upon arising,

The timeless freedom in which the significance of doing

Is no longer at odds with the way of being.

Effortlessly fulfilling the aims of oneself and others,

One directly encounters the embracing space of complete virtue,

The natural great perfection.

This was composed by Gregory Patenaude on the morning of the tenth lunar day of the month, July 29, 2020. May virtue and wholesome goodness flourish!

A metaphor for timeless freedom.

ཡེ་གྲོལ་
Tibetan: ye-drol
English: timeless freedom, liberated since the beginning, eternally free, already free

In Tibetan, there is a common metaphor for understanding the spacious awareness of rigpa, which is that of a thief entering an empty house. The meaning of the metaphor is that the thief has nothing to gain by entering an empty house, and the house has nothing to lose. When we have a decisive experience of resting in rigpa, or open presence, we experience the timeless freedom of that state and understand the significance of the metaphor.

Another way we can understand the metaphor for yedrol or timeless freedom is to imagine a room. The room accommodates everything that is taking place in the room, you might change the furniture around, make a mess, clean up, have fun with your family, or get in a vicious fight. The room accommodates it all. The spaciousness of the room is unchanging and ever-present. Recognize that for a moment, it's also your nature.

From the perspective of open presence, many things happen in our day. We are busy, dealing with problems and challenges. We are interacting with our families, friends, neighbors and community. We sit alone, we sit among others. We are silent, we are talking. We are awake, we are tired, we rest, we move. All of our day plays out in the spacious awareness of rigpa.

This awareness is timelessly free. It has never known bondage and yet within that space we have been tied up in knots and untied ourselves countless times. Distinguishing between mind and rigpa, we can see how this is possible. Mind goes through endless manifestation and fluctuation. Rigpa is beyond mind, it is the open presence in which mind plays itself out endlessly.

Getting caught up in mind, we struggle with ourselves and with the world around us. Recognizing rigpa, we recognize we are already free.

Spacious awareness.

In Dzogchen, our true nature is introduced as rigpa, or awareness. When we receive the pointing out instructions, rigpa is what is pointed out in our own experience. Awareness is not such a great translation of rigpa, because we already have a constructed meaning for awareness. That is why in Dzogchen texts you often find rigpa (Tib. rig-pa) translated as intrinsic awareness, open presence, or simply left as rigpa.

Put a cup in front of you. Notice the experience of ordinary awareness. It's something like, "I, Greg, am aware of the cup." It's very dualistic, separate, distinct. There is the subjective awareness observing a perceptually real external object. This is not what we mean by awareness or rigpa.

Rigpa is not dualistic. Take another look at the cup. This time shift your attention to the space between you and the cup, around the cup, in the cup, the three dimensional space in which the cup is suspended. Mingle your awareness with that space.

Now look up and observe the room around. Mingle your awareness with the space in the room, such that your awareness and the space are inseparable. Rest in that state. Familiarize yourself with that state of open presence.

This is closer to the experience of rigpa. Not quite rigpa because you still have reference points, borders and limits, but you're quite close. As you gain stability resting in open presence and learn how to cut through fixation and grasping, eventually ever-present unobstructed awareness (rigpa) becomes fully evident.

In Dzogchen texts, you often find rigpa referenced as ying-rig. Ying (Tib. dbyings) means basic space, objective sphere, dimension, or field of reality. Rig means rigpa or awareness. So ying-rig means the inseparability of basic space and awareness, or the union of the objective sphere and awareness.

As Longchenpa states in the ninth chapter of the Choying Dzod:

Within the single expanse, supremely spacious by nature, awakened mind equal to space is pivotal.
Focus on this key point and distill it to its vital essence;
it is the greatest of the great- wholly positive and spacious enlightened mind. 
In its very essence, it thoroughly shatters the outer confines of reality. 
Within this single vast expanse, there is no duality of realization versus its lack, 
or freedom versus its lack, but a supreme state of equalness. 

Initially, it is hard to maintain this state of unobstructed awareness because we are easily ensnared by mind. Playing a game with a red dot can be an effective call to presence throughout your day, use it to mingle basic space and awareness. Eventually, everything in the phenomenal world becomes an ornament of awareness- whatever you think, see, hear, smell, taste, feel - as basic space and awareness mingle and become inseparable in a single non-dual expanse. 

Mingle your meditation with your daily life. Familiarize yourself with authentic presence on the cushion, and then skillfully carry it out into the world. 

Call to presence.

What is reminds you to be open, available and receptive?

When you get caught up in thoughts, emotions and busyness, how do you break free from the cycle of reactivity?

Try an experiment with me.

Any time you see a red dot, recognize it as a call to presence. In Tibetan you might call this a red thigle, but for our purposes any old red spherical object will do.

🔴

Whenever you see a red dot, take a moment to see it suspended within the expanse of your awareness. Like a red orb suspended in space, ornamenting your awareness. Rest in that open, expansive presence free of elaboration. Rest a moment and carry that openness with you as you go about your day.

You will get caught up in mind again. Don't worry. More red dots await you. Maybe buy some small red stickers and put them in places that you frequent. It will be like planting seeds of awareness in a battlefield of confusion. 

Waking up can be fun, an infinite game in which everyone wins. Go adorn your world with authentic presence.  

Revealing lucid clarity.

རང་གསལ་
Tibetan: rang-sal
English: natural clarity, innate lucidity, self-luminous

The final state of resting in the natural state is rang-sal, or revealing the sharp lucidity of the nature of mind. Recalling our metaphor of a dirty glass of water, if we let it rest naturally and maintain that state of rest, naturally the obscurations of dirt settle out revealing the natural clarity of the water. Similarly, in our meditation, if we rest naturally, rang-bab and maintain that continuity, rang-nay, then the natural clarity of awareness becomes fully evident.

During the second state of maintaining the continuity of the natural state, rang-nay, we familiarized ourselves with recognizing the illusory play of mind and appearances. Initially, these appearances are gross phenomena, and eventually they become more subtle.

A key point for actualizing the natural clarity of awareness is to recognize when we are fixating on the natural clarity of the mind and straying into appearances. The nature of mind is luminous emptiness, so as we settle into the natural state we are going to encounter the luminosity of the mind. How we work with that luminosity becomes crucially important.

Any searching or striving binds us and causes a deviation into mind and mental states. Identifying with, reaching for, or holding onto the luminosity display of appearances in all their variety constitutes an obscuring factor and results in the diminished presence of confusion.

Conversely, in this state we also risk of settling into the foundational consciousnessness, or the alaya, in which there is a stable, peaceful meditation state but no clarity or lucidity. Recognize that subtle dullness and interrupt that meditation experience, again letting go and settling into the natural state.

The instruction for working with the natural clarity of the nature of mind in order to recognize awareness or rigpa is to recognize the illusory play of empty appearances as liberated upon arising, or shardrol. When there is no deviating or fixating on the illusory play of appearances, which represent the clarity aspect of the mind, then the sharp lucidity of awareness can be revealed, like space free from reference points. Free of all thought, completely transparent and pristine like an alpine lake, this is the unceasing luminosity of the ground of awareness.

From this state in our meditation, the teacher can point out rigpa directly. Having made fully evident the groundless, transparent awareness and eliminated the error of trying to hold onto anything, naked awareness is directly revealed as your own innate buddhanature, the state of the natural great perfection.

Having gained a direct introduction to your own true nature, next you need to be decisive about this unique state and eliminate doubt and uncertainty. That would be Garab Dorje's second key point.

Meditation retreat: this weekend!

Daylong Retreat:
Resting in the Nature of Mind

Event to be held at the following time, date, and location: Sunday, October 20, 2019 from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM (PDT)  Private Residence 515 N 64th St Seattle, WA 98103

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Join us for an immersive meditation experience in a supportive environment. This daylong retreat focuses on the foundations of the Dzogchen view and meditation. Dzogchen, or the Great Perfection, is the heart essence of all of the Buddha's teachings. These teachings reveal how we can live more deeply in the world in a simple but direct way.

• Be introduced to the unique Dzogchen view
• Learn how to recognize and rest in the nature of mind
• Learn how the practice of resting unfolds to reveal pure presence
• Understand how we stray in the practice and how to eliminate errors in our meditation
  

Retreat includes:

• Tea, snacks and vegetarian lunch
• Guided seated and walking meditation
• Learn structure of personal retreat

Limited spots are available. No prior meditation experience necessary, advanced students welcome.

Naturally abiding.

རང་གནས་
Tibetan: rang-nay
English: naturally abiding, indwelling, naturally present, self-sustaining

Having come to a place of rest in our meditation, the next instruction involves how to sustain or maintain that continuity.

Initially when we have come to a place of rest, or rang-bab, we encounter tension and stray into mind and mental states. The instruction here is to simply recognize that, and again let go. Rang-bab.

The second instruction in order to maintain the continuity of that state is to recognize mind as illusory.

Mind encompasses not only mental states but all sensory experience. All is mind.  The play of mind and mental states are the illusory play of phenomena, the unceasing unfolding of reality at this very moment. By applying the instruction to recognize mind as illusory, we can learn to rest with ease in the illusory play of emptiness in which luminous clarity naturally unfolds free from acceptance or rejection.

As we learn to naturally abide, rang-nay, the unceasing play of emptiness unfolds and gives rise to various experiences of bliss, clarity and non-conceptuality. Do not cling to those experiences or chase after them. Simply recognize them as the illusory play of mind, no matter how shiny or enjoyable they are. Recognize them as ornaments of your practice and simply let them be as they are. When we gain familiarity working with appearances in this way, we recognize them as free in their own place, rangdrol. With no effort or contrivance on our part, everything is naturally liberated just as it is and we continue in a state of naturally abiding equipoise.

Applying the instruction of recognizing mind as illusory in our meditation allows us to maintain the continuity of this indwelling, naturally present awareness and to draw out or reveal the natural clarity of the mind, which is the third stage of rang-sal, in which we reveal and recognize the lucid clarity of awareness itself.

.   .   .   .   .   .

A reminder to register for our upcoming daylong meditation retreat- resting in the nature of mind. We will be practicing these methods of resting in the natural state and receiving more detailed instruction on these methods. 

Let go.

རང་བབས་
Tibetan: rang-bab
English: let go, let it flop, naturally settled, natural state

When engaging in Dzogchen meditation we find this common description of meditation: rang-bab, rang-nay, rang-sal; relax naturally, abide naturally, naturally clarify.

The common metaphor that is used to illustrate this method of meditation is to a dirty glass of water. If you place a glass of water and let it rest, let it remain there unwavering, then the dirty settles out and the clarity of the water naturally reveals itself.

The first step is to let go, rang-bab. Rang-bab, or resting naturally, can be compared to cutting the string on a bale of hay. The hay just settles as it is. There is no effort, no contrivance, no posturing or manipulation. Just settle. Let go. Relax.

A key point in this meditation technique of resting naturally is to notice the tension. What are you holding onto or fighting against? Are you struggling with thoughts, feelings, sensations, agitation? Recognize the tension and struggle. Recognize it as a sign to let go, relax. Use the tension and resistance to point you towards the ground of being.

There is nothing to do. Nothing to fix. Nothing to alter. Relax in the uncontrived natural state. Let go of fixation and grasping. Recognize and abide in authentic presence, open awareness, rigpa. When you can relax and abide in the natural state, then you will start to appreciate how everything is freed in its own place with nothing more to do, which we call naturally liberated or rangdrol. This is the doorway to true Dzogchen practice and the realization of the natural great perfection.

Daylong Retreat: Resting in Nature of Mind

Daylong Retreat:
Resting in the Nature of Mind

Event to be held at the following time, date, and location: Sunday, October 20, 2019 from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM (PDT)  Private Residence Green Lake Seattle, WA 98103

Attend Event

Share this event:

Join us for an immersive meditation experience in a supportive environment. This daylong retreat focuses on the foundations of the Dzogchen view and meditation. Dzogchen, or the Great Perfection, is the heart essence of all of the Buddha's teachings. These teachings reveal how we can live more deeply in the world in a simple but direct way. Be introduced to the unique Dzogchen view Learn how to recognize and rest in the nature of mind Learn how the practice of resting unfolds to reveal pure presence Understand how we stray in the practice and how to eliminate errors in our meditation Retreat includes: Tea, snacks and vegetarian lunch Guided seated and walking meditation Learn structure of personal retreat Limited spots are available. No prior meditation experience necessary, advanced students welcome.

Dzogchen view and practice.

It is crucial to have a grounded understanding of the four noble truths in order to appreciate the Dzogchen view and practice. The four noble truths teach us to:

Understand the human predicament.
Let go of the arising of attachment, aversion and ignorance.
Actualize the state of cessation.
Practice the path.

In the first turning of the wheel of dharma, the Buddha did not go into great detail on the third noble truth of actualizing or beholding the state of cessation. In the first turning, the Buddha described the state of cessation as what it was free from, namely attachment, aversion and ignorance. He did not go into depth about the actual experience of that state.

In the second turning of the wheel of dharma he made it more clear by introducing the five features of emptiness, but even this is a more conceptual and elaborate way of understanding and recognizing the truth of cessation. By understanding the relative and ultimate truth, we can better understand the nature of the mind and gain clarity about the resultant state of the nature of our own mind.

In the third turning, the Buddha explicitly described the truth of cessation, introducing the tathagatagarbha or buddha heart. By understanding our primordial state as originally pure and ever-present, the resultant state is not something newly acquired but instead something that we come to recognize or reawaken. It is as though we have lost something for a long time, only to find it and at that same moment experience complete resolution and certainty.

The third turning of the wheel of dharma and the teachings on the tathagata-garbha opened the door to the Vajrayana, including practices like Buddhist tantra, Mahamudra and Dzogchen. Tantra introduced the buddha heart as something to purify and transform. It is only in Mahamudra and Dzogchen that we find the completely unelaborate introduction to the nature of the mind itself as the basis of the path. While Mahamudra and Dzogchen are similar in many aspects, they do have critical differences in terms of method of introduction and differences in working with the resultant state of awareness.

Dzogchen, or the Great Perfection, is a direct introduction to our primordial state of authentic presence, our intrinsic awareness or rigpa in Tibetan. However, being introduced to rigpa is not enough, we must engage in the practice of Dzogchen in order to actualize the resultant state of awareness. Garab Dorje introduces the Dzogchen path in this Three Statements that Strike the Vital Point:

One is introduced directly to one's true nature,
Be decisive about this unique state,
Continue directly with confidence in liberation.

The teacher directly introduces the student to their intrinsic awareness, or rigpa, which is the primordial state of authentic presence. There are many methods and teachings which can introduce rigpa, my own teacher Younge Khachab Rinpoche wrote a short mind treasure entitled Drop of Secret Nectar which introduces the primordial state of rigpa. When one has recognized rigpa in their own experience, they can study Longchenpa's Way of Abiding to gain a deeper understanding of that state as the four samayas of Dzogchen.

After one has been introduced to rigpa and recognized that primordial state of being, you need to be decisive about this unique state. This can only be resolved through the practice of meditation, in which you work with and resolve all that appears and exists. As you learn to work with the unceasing display of the primordial state, you move through the practices of trekchod to come to a decisive experience of one's own nature as the unborn awakened mind, or ultimate bodhicitta. Longchenpa's masterpiece on coming to the decisive experience of awakened mind can be found in the first nine chapters of the Choying Dzod, the Treasury of the Basic Space of Phenomena. 

Having come to a decisive experience of rigpa, our own primordial state of authentic presence, one perfects the practice of trekchod and the practice of thogal naturally unfolds as one continues with confidence in liberation. Much can be said about the practice of thogal, and of course their are books to read, but by the time you get to this state in your practice you recognize that you already have all the teachings you need. You have been decisive after all, haven't you?


The easiest part of Dzogchen is the introduction. You can get introduced to your own awareness as the primordial state of being. You can be introduced to the result, the truth of cessation, directly, in your own experience. Many do, and then they leave it at that. Off to the next thing. Just like meeting a person and then later forgetting their name, the introduction itself it not enough.

The hardest part of Dzogchen is to be decisive about this unique state. That second point of Garab Dorje's.  Padmasambhava, the "Guru Rinpoche" who brought the Vajrayana to Tibet, spent twelve years contemplating Dzogchen in the charnel grounds of India after he was introduced to his primordial state by Shri Singha. Twelve years for one of the greatest Dzogchen masters. If you want to practice Dzogchen, much less realize the natural Great Perfection, you need to meditate. Demand clarity in your practice. Demand confidence in your realization. Be decisive. Then you continue with confidence in liberation, which connects back to the fourth noble truth. Practice the path.

An important aside: it is probably going to help if you have a good teacher and some supporting companions on this journey. You know where to find us.

Unborn and unceasing.

Inconceivable, inexpressible perfection of wisdom, 

Unborn and unceasing, with a real nature like the sky,

Experienced as the wisdom of our own awareness,

I pay homage to the mother of the Buddhas of the three times. 

Prajnaparamita Prayer

As a Dzogchen practitioner, it is important to understand the meaning and significance of this verse. As indicated in this verse of praise to Prajnaparamita, or the perfection of wisdom, when we understand the real nature of our own awareness, we come to realize the very womb that gives birth to awakening. The Tibetan for unborn is ma-skye, which means not-born, not-produced, unborn. The Tibetan for unceasing is ma-'gags, which means not-stopped, not-interrupted, not-blocked, unceasing. 

The Buddha first introduced the concept of anatta, not-self or selflessness, in the common Hinayana tradition of the first turning of the wheel of dharma. Here the self or phenomena were shown to be selfless because they were compounded or composite. Just as a wagon depends on many parts and pieces for its being, so too we are compounded individuals with no true identity or personhood separate from our aggregates. The ego or self as we know it is a fabrication of past experiences, self-narratives, and projections about who we think we are or who we would like to be. Egotism keeps us trapped in a repetitive loop, operating under a cycle of ingrained habits and beliefs about who we are and the world around us. 

We already know this self or ego is subject to change and impermanent, but we are so conditioned that often times we simply do not see opportunity available to us or our underlying potential. The Buddha saw how much this cycle makes us suffer and sought to teach a method to break out of that cycle of confusion by teaching dependent origination and no-self, or empty of self. 

The teachings of self being a compounded entity were further refined in the second turning of the wheel of dharma, where dependent origination and the two truths give rise to a more profound understanding of emptiness. This understanding takes the form of a simply logical analysis:

If things arise dependently, then they lack an independent existence. 

Conditioning, cause and effect, dependent origination all point to the true reality that nothing in this world inherently exists of its own accord. Everything is interconnected, dependent on other phenomena as support for its being. We can say that relatively, phenomena do arise and exist conventionally based on cause and effect, but ultimately phenomena do not inherently exist. The relative truth of their appearing does not mean that they truly exist in their own right.  

This may seem like semantics, but the implications of this understanding are dramatic and profound. 

When we feel stuck or trapped in a situation, we don't see the power of our own thoughts and actions. We hand over power to our negative thoughts and perceptions, and to the actions of others or the world around us. Our perception at that time is that things aren't going to change, things won't get better, and that there is nothing that we can do. This is the trap of confusion, confusion about who we are and the nature of the world around us. Seeing that this current reality is dependently arisen, means also seeing that it is malleable and subject to change. In fact, right now at this very moment it is unfolding and changing. 

This is an outer level of understanding dependent origination and emptiness. We should examine the world and our experience in this way. This is what the Buddha means when he encourages us to understand the human condition and the predicament that we find ourselves in. We should don the hat of a scientist and really examine who we are and the nature of the world around us. From a Buddhist perspective we should study the prajnaparamita sutras and Madhyamaka philosophy, particularly as set forth by Nagarjuna. We can also use modern scientific principles  to augment this understanding, using the theory of relativity and quantum physics to understand the physical world, as well as the science of the mind to understand our conception of the self. 

The inner level of understanding dependent origination and emptiness becomes more subtle and profound. Here we understand the union of the relative and ultimate truth, or the union of dependent origination and emptiness. Experiencing this union of dependent origination and emptiness we can start to understand what is meant by unborn and unceasing. 

Whereas before we separated the relative and ultimate into two buckets and used logical reasoning to establish emptiness, here we see that the relative and ultimate are indivisible. It is useful here to think of dependent origination as an infinite play of phenomena or appearances. 

Look at the world around you. Right now. Don't look at it as a static world, the world you are used to. See it as the infinite play of dependent origination. Because it is dependently arisen, it is empty. We've already established that dependent origination means that phenomena are empty of inherent existence. You know that what is dependently arisen is empty, form is emptiness, emptiness is form. So when you look out and see the infinite play of dependent origination, you are witnessing the illusory play of emptiness in which no thing ever comes into true existence. Phenomena, appearances, are never truly born, never truly exist, but they are also unceasing, uninterrupted. Reifying a subjective consciousness or objective phenomena is to establish a self where there is no-self. Unborn and unceasing does not mean that nothing exists, rather that the entire world of appearances and possibilities exists as the play of dependent origination. The great Dzogchen master Longchenpa says, "Not existing as anything at all, they can appear as anything whatsoever." We can learn to recognize this state and rest in it, which leads us to the secret level of understanding. 

The innermost or secret understanding is secret because it is right in front of us and yet we do not see it. The secret understanding of unborn and unceasing is that it is the nature of our own mind. This is our primordial state. This is what we mean when we say the natural great perfection, Dzogchen. This is the very ground of enlightenment, our primordial buddhahood, in which there is no enlightenment because we have never wavered from this authentic state of being. All thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and appearances are but the illusory play of emptiness in which nothing has ever come into being, and yet appears as the diverse world. 

When we recognize and learn to rest in this unborn and unceasing pure presence (Tib. rigpa), then we actualize our true nature which is like the sky. Without center or limit, completely open and unobstructed, inconceivable and beyond expression, it is the wisdom that gives "birth" to all Buddhas. Whatever appears to that awareness is like the clouds in the sky, unborn and unceasing, coming and going without a trace, ornamenting the sky but never separate or distinct. Such is our primordial state, ultimate bodhicitta, awakened mind.

Conception of identity.

When my nature is not understood and the phenomena

that manifest from me become the object of judgement, 

desire and attachment give rise to the creation of concrete vision

that is impermanent and destined to vanish like a magical apparition.

Then one becomes like a blind man who does not know what is happening.

From the Supreme Source, Kunjed Gyalpo 

The primordial state, our own pure awareness, has three characteristics. Being unborn, it is originally pure emptiness. Being unceasing, it is clearly apparent as the variety of phenomena. Being responsive, it is great compassion beyond effort or action. 

Not understanding the true nature of the mind and all phenomena as being empty of inherent existence we conceive of the differences between mind and what is appearing to mind. The unceasing clarity of the mind not being recognized as our own display, we give birth to identity. Reifying subjective awareness gives birth to dualistic consciousness and forms the very basis for ego and self-grasping. Reifying appearances gives birth to a concrete reality that continually evolves as the play of dependent origination. 

Stuck in dualistic perception, we have no choice but to cycle through repetitive loop of conditioned existence. The only way to break the cycle is to fully understand the very nature of our own mind, which is inseparable from the nature of reality itself. 

Fully understand dukkha, the human predicament by contemplating the nature of the five skandhas and the three marks of existence. Let go of whatever is arising and learn to rest in the natural state. Resting in the authentic condition of the nature of mind, actualize pure awareness, the primordial state of being free from birth and death.

Two ways of seeing.

In the Dzogchen tradition, we usually meditate with our eyes open. The eyes are an ancient symbol of presence. The opening of the eyes is a proclamation of presence. When a child first enters this world, it is the opening of their eyes that signifies their entry into this world. When we are tending to someone who is sick, for days or weeks their eyes can remain closed and we may wonder about their condition, but when they open their eyes we know they are present and with us once again.

As we learn to rest in open presence, we must learn a new way of seeing the world. This new way of seeing creates the world anew, for the world has only ever existed for us in the way that we see it.

Our old way of seeing was one of distance and separation. We look out, and see at a distance some object or person. I am here and the tree is across the way.

The new way of seeing is of oneness and intimacy. Everything in our field of vision is one with our awareness. Our presence is connected with the world around us, the greater the presence the greater the connection. When seeing with oneness, we notice a sense of intimacy and closeness even with distant mountains. In this way sights come to ornament our awareness, further enhancing and clarifying our presence.

Seeing with oneness, we learn how to be fully in the world. Seeing at a distance, we are easily overwhelmed by the intensity of our experience. The other becomes too formidable, too strong, too direct, and we end up turning away, shirking our presence for a feeling of safety or control. Seeing with oneness, awareness and the other are inseparable, so what could be overwhelmed by who? Seeing with oneness we learn to resolve our experience, we learn to be patient and responsive to what is coming up. When we are unable to work with our experience, we experience the great splitting of oneness into separateness and duality.

Duality is in illusion based on identity and separateness. Everything is interconnected and without fixed identity. Change your perception, and you change your world.

March Meditation Workshop

Meditation Workshop:
Resting in Pure Presence

Event to be held at the following time, date, and location:  Sunday, March 10, 2019 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (PDT)  Wise Orchid Taijiquan & Qigong 2002 East Union Street Seattle, WA 98122 View Map

Attend Event

Share this event:

Join us for a weekend workshop on the foundations of the Dzogchen view and meditation. Dzogchen, or the Great Perfection, is the heart essence of all of the Buddha's teachings. These teachings reveal how we can live more deeply in the world in a simple but direct way. Be introduced to the unique Dzogchen view Learn how to recognize and rest in the nature of mind Learn how the practice of resting unfolds to reveal pure presence Understand how we stray in the practice and how to eliminate errors in our meditation No prior meditation experience necessary, advanced students welcome. We hope you can make it!

A first glimpse at the ground of being.

When we are introduced to rigpa, or pure awareness, we discover authentic presence, which is actually a rediscovery of our natural state of being. In that moment of union, everything is interconnected and we develop an inner coherence in which all that appears and exists is resolved just as it is. The elusive secret of how to live our life is plainly revealed before our own eyes with nothing more to be done. The world around us becomes a dance in the pavilion of space as we step out from a way of becoming and enter into a way of being in the world.

What we awaken to is the very presence that hides in the heart of the human condition. That pure awareness becomes the source from which we continually shape our life and the world. Living fully in the world, but no longer overwhelmed by the world, genuine purpose and understanding arise anew.

This opening of the 'Dharma eye' requires reorienting ourselves and is often disorienting. No longer propelled by confusion and reactive emotions, we need to rely on careful attention and mindfulness to explore our new place in this emerging world. Time and again we must leave behind the tendency to slip back into the self-involved narrow lens of dualistic mind, self and other, me and mine. Recognizing the tendency to shut down, hold back and get hooked as a call to presence, we slowly learn to orient ourselves towards whatever is arising and thus weaving authentic presence into the very fabric of life.

No longer needing to deny the wounds and suffering inherent to the human condition, we continually rediscover ourselves as authentic human beings capable of loving ourselves and others, and ready to share the gifts we have brought to life within our own natural condition.

The opposite of awareness.

མ་རིག་པ་
Tibetan: ma-rigpa
English: ignorance, confusion, unaware, diminished presence, absent-presence (like you are here, but not really)

Dzogchen takes awareness (Tib: rigpa) as the path and that awareness takes the form of pure presence. It is a way of being in which we are open, receptive and dynamic. An excellent metaphor for this presence of awareness is dancing, in which we are responsive and in union with the arising of experience around us.

It can often be difficult to recognize that awareness since it is utterly beyond description and is groundless in nature. There is nothing to hold onto, and so we can never be quite too sure that we got it, or get it. Doubt can creep into our minds about if we are "doing it right."

We can be sure that if we are trying to do it right, or struggling to embody what we think of as 'presence', then we are still a bit mistaken and haven't quite grasped the key point. We cannot contrive or fabricate a state of presence.

It is often much easier to recognize when we aren't embodying open presence. The state of unawareness (Tib. ma-rigpa) is where we usually live out the course of our lives. The state of confusion about who we are and the nature of the world around us. This usual sense of diminished awareness, or stupor, or malaise that we carry through our days. I often find myself reaching for another cup of coffee to "turn up the lights" of my dullness and malaise.

We can easily recognize this state of diminished awareness. It is the struggle to break out, to break free, to move beyond ourselves and the imposed limits of our narrow mind. Do you ever get that feeling that you need to get out of your own way, but this heaviness inside keeps holding you back? Like you just can't muster up enough gumption to actually be present and responsive. I do.

Recognize these moments of malaise, hesitation and doubt. Recognize the holding back and the holding on to whatever is coming up in your experience. Recognize them for what they are- the state of confusion in which our presence in the world is diminished. We cannot be fully present when we continually give in to this inner struggle that is playing out in our hearts and minds.

When we recognize these moments, we need to follow the meditation instructions:

"Let go. Let it be as it is."

There is a gap that opens up. A gap between the moment of confusion and the awareness that recognized that confusion. In that gap is the state of pure open presence. Recognize the nature of your own awareness in that gap. Recognize the state of uncontrived, pure presence free from the confines of mind or mental states. It is in that moment that we can recognize the buddha within, our own buddhanature or buddha heart. 

It is in that moment that we abide in the world in a deeper way, and can discover the resources and utility to participate and contribute meaningfully to the world around us. It is in that moment that we discover that we have enough and that we are sufficient just as we are. In that moment, there is nothing to be added or taken away, nothing to accomplish and nothing to overcome, and so it is called the natural great perfection, Dzogchen.

Of course,

the story does not stop there.
The world keeps turning, and we must keep dancing.

Upcoming Meditation Workshop

You are invited to the following event:  

Meditation Workshop:
Distinguishing Mind and Awareness

Event to be held at the following time, date, and location: Sunday, December 9, 2018 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (PST) Wise Orchid Taijiquan & Qigong 2002 East Union Street Seattle, WA 98122 View Map

Attend Event

Join us for a weekend workshop on the foundations of the Dzogchen view and meditation. Dzogchen, or the Great Perfection, is the heart essence of all of the Buddha's teachings. These teachings reveal our own innate buddhanature in a simple but direct way. Be introduced to the unique Dzogchen view Learn how to recognize and rest in the nature of mind Learn how the practice of resting unfolds to reveal awareness Understand how we stray in the practice and how to eliminate errors in our meditation See you on the cushion! Greg

Pointing out.

Sitting here,
resting in the myriad display of appearances,
the unceasing luminosity of the ground
appears as the infinite play of dependent origination.
This energetic expression
points to the ground,
yet there is no ground.
Simply resting in complete openness,
utterly beyond all thought or description,
the unceasing dance of spontaneous presence
naturally unfolds,
revealing the single sphere of awareness
in which everything is inseparable-
kayas and wisdoms,
samsara and nirvana.
With nothing more to do,
and nothing to attain,
there is only the timeless freedom
of unborn bodhicitta.

Where does one go?

The tathagata-garbha. The Buddha heart.

The Buddha taught that all beings are Buddhas, but that this is obscured by temporary defilements and obscurations. Just as a treasure buried under the earth, or a precious statue wrapped in a dirty cloth, once the obscuring factors are removed the treasure can be enjoyed in all its splendor.

But what is this Buddha heart and how can we come to experience it?

The Buddha taught many different vehicles by which we can actualize and realize this Buddha heart. The Mahayana sutras describe the tathagata-garbha as a seed or potential, which we can cultivate and nourish until it becomes manifest and bears fruit. The Vajrayana, or resultant vehicle, describes the tathagata-garbha as being fully manifest since beginningless time, but obscured and unrecognized. The Vajrayana employs various skillful means to try to purify and remove these obscurations. Within the Vajrayana vehicle, the highest understanding of the tathagata-garbha is understood within the Dzogchen tradition.

Dzogchen, or the Great Perfection, describes the tathagata-garbha as being timelessly liberated. There is nothing to change, manipulate or improve. The true nature of reality is perfect just as it is, there is nothing to purify, nothing to cultivate, nothing to attain. Failing to recognize this true nature, we wander in and out of various mental states. Recognizing this, one is primordially free.

Where does one go when they have actualized the tathagata-garbha?

Tathagata is a name for the Buddha, which means 'One who has thus gone', 'Beyond coming and going' or "One who has gone to the true nature'. Garbha means heart, essence or womb. So one who has actualized the tathagata-garbha is the 'heart of one who has gone beyond', or the 'heart of one who has gone to the true nature'.

The tathagata-garbha is beyond mind. It is not the coming and goings of our mind. It is not an idea or a projection of what should be. It is not a belief or a philosophy. It is not 'in your head'. Awakening isn't in your head- its embodied, manifest.

The practitioner of Dzogchen is introduced directly to awareness beyond mind. The are introduced to the timelessly liberated natural state of being. Once introduced to this unique state, the practitioner clarifies doubt and uncertainty about this unique state, until they have truly gone beyond to the true nature. Then, they can continue with confidence in liberation. As Garab Dorje wrote in his Three Words that Strike the Essential Point: 

One is introduced directly to one's true nature,
Be decisive about this unique state,
Continue directly with confidence in liberation.

Or as Garab Dorje also states:

Mind's nature is and always has been Buddha,
it is neither born nor ceases, like space.
When you realize the authentic meaning of the equality of all things,
To remain in that state without effort is meditation.


 

Goals for the state of unification.

The state of unification has two main goals:
1. Recognize the error of subtle dullness.
2. Persevere in the practice until effortless mindfulness unfolds.

As we gain stability in the immovable state, our practice transitions to the state of unification. Now we have considerable stability in our meditation. We are no longer bound by fixation on appearances such as thoughts, sounds and sensations. We strive to remain in this uncontrived, open presence for as long as we can, but the practice still requires a degree of effort at this state to eliminate potential errors.

The biggest error at this state is to confuse resting in rigpa with resting in the alaya-vijnana, or the foundational consciousness. The alaya consciousness is the unconscious aspect of our mind, in which reside our habit patterns, memories, karmic imprints, and various unconscious sense perceptions and emotional and cognitive obscurations.

We can rest in the alaya consciousness, which has a knowing aspect, but lacks clarity and vividness. Resting in the alaya consciousness is often stable and free from thought, and may even have a pleasant, peaceful feeling. This can also be described as being similar to daydreaming, where you are awake, but not really, as the mind drifts in and out of various mental states. 

We should recognize these signs of subtle dullness in our meditation and make an effort to correct for them when we see them. As a precursor to these signs of subtle dullness, often we can notice vigilance starting to wane and lose its alertness. Oftentimes though, by the time we notice vigilant awareness waning we are already on the slippery slope of being caught up in subtle dullness. It may even be necessary to move around a little, refresh yourself and settle back into meditation.

Knowing the errors of subtle dullness in our meditation, we simply must persevere in our practice. During the state of unification, we will experience many states of bliss, clarity and non-conceptuality, as well as many sessions where nothing seems to be happening at all. Stick with the practice. Continue to apply effort and be diligent. Don't let doubt, uncertainty and boredom create rifts in your practice.

As you are able to sustain and deepen your practice of resting in the uncontrived, natural state, eventually the effort of mindfulness falls away and you enter the effortless state of equanimity- a vast, limpid ocean of awareness.