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.

The limits of perception.

Vipasyana is the practice of looking. It is a practice of seeing directly, gaining firsthand experience. But isn't all perception relative? Doesn't the mere act of seeing mean that others may see things differently?

All perception is limited by our thoughts and ideas about what we are seeing. Concepts define what we experience. Our own bias and value judgements color and shape our perception of the world and what we hold to be true. So if vipasyana is the practice of looking, can we ever see truly or are we simply seeing within the cage of our own confusion?

Vipasyana is preceded by the practice of shamatha because in shamatha we learn to let go of grasping to thoughts and following after trains of thought. The practice of shamatha gives us the skills and familiarity to recognize the limits of thoughts and ideas. Thoughts and ideas are not the thing itself. Concepts are not real. When we recognize this crucial flaw of concepts, we stop investing in them. We loosen the tight knots of limiting beliefs and perceptions.

Our view influences our meditation, and our view is largely formed by concepts and cultural influences that we have rarely examined fully if at all. Coming to a right view is an important first step to approaching meditation, but even more important is learning to engage in a practice that recognizes the futility of thoughts and ideas about the way things are. When we learn to simply look, free from mental elaboration and speculation, then we can start to appreciate what is right in front of us. Then we can start to explore the limits of perception and what is really true.