Fall 2013 Shamatha and the Seven-Point Mind Training

Meditation – continue as described yesterday with one meditation on ultimate Bodhicitta and one on relative Bodhicitta.

Continuation of the discussion on transmuting the death process. If have habitual practice of converting adversity into the path then when the final adversity of death arises you will be able to convert that.

During the dying process go back and forth between the meditations on ultimate and relative Bodhicitta.

Discussion of dream yoga as best preparation for the bardo of becoming. Importance of not identifying with body or mind but staying with awareness.

How do you know when your dharma practice is working? When self-grasping gets softer – less frequent and less intense.

Questions:

Meditation starts at: 3:10 (silent, front loaded at start of session)

We lock onto an object, reify it and then attachment or aversion arises. The discovery model allows the mind to heal itself by doing nothing but maintaining cognizance.

Discussion of blessings arising from Buddha nature.

Meditation – Rest for a while without grasping. As the clarity and warmth of awareness becomes really obvious then explicitly attend to it.

Discussion of the five inner qualities necessary for long term shamatha retreat.

Meditation starts at: 18:15 (silent, front loaded at start of session)

From the substrate, which is in the nature of delusion, a stirring of karmic energies eventually leads to the full elaboration of conceptual designation, everything crystallising in its place with its defined borders. In this practice we are trying to roll this back by oscillating between inquiry (who is the agent) and relaxation. All actions performed out of a reified sense of I only perpetuate samsara even though they might be virtuous. For this not to be the case, actions must be grounded in reality. So as to not perpetuate samsara, this practice is battling the sense of I in the desire realm and dissolving to the substrate consciousness, where the I is dormant. Once the sense of I is dormant this naturally brings forth bliss and if we can release even that, then we break through to rigpa where all actions are spontaneous, unimpeded and effortless. Post meditation Alan talks relates the significance of Shamatha on the Śrāvakayāna paths.

Before the meditation Alan discusses from which perspective you can do the tong-len practice - from your ordinary self or from the platform of Avolokishrvara.

Alan explains how shamatha can be developed in the context of stage of generation practice.

After the meditation Alan continues with the fifth point of the text - 'The whole of Dharma is synthesised in one aim'. Self grasping is not steady, constant. If we can recognise how frequently and robustly they come up and look for triggers, we can transform to give a deeper insight. Once we release self-grasping, we have the opportunity to begin to realise our actual nature - primordial awareness.

The next line of the text - 'Attend to the chief of two witnesses'. Others may praise you as an exemplar Dharma practitioner, but they are not the chief witnesses, for they see only small portions of your overall behaviour, and they do not fathom the depths of your heart and mind. Distinguish between mundane concern over "what the neighbours think" and meaningful regard for others.

The next line of the text - Constantly resort to a sense of good cheer'. Good cheer from the centre of your mandala. As you become more clear, mature in Dharma practice, then you experience more sense that the blessings are continuous. Then you always have a sense of good cheer.

Meditation starts at: 16:09 (silent, front loaded at start of session)

For the practices of awareness of awareness, Alan begins by saying to release your awareness into space with no object, then let awareness of beginning ware be most explicit. Then begin the oscillation.

Meditation starts at: 8:30 (silent, front loaded at start of session)

Alan discusses the inner and outer mandala - the inner and outer conditions for retreat.

Alan quotes and gives commentary from Atisha's lam rim - 'A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment'.

The quotes are: 'Just as a bird without developed wings cannot fly in the sky, those without the power of extrasensory perception cannot work for the good of living beings.'

'Without the achievement of shamatha, extrasensory perception will not arise. Therefore, make repeated effort. If at first you don't succeed, don't give up.'

'When a contemplative has achieved shamatha extra sensory perception will also be realised but if one does not cultivate the perfection of wisdom, ones obscurations will not come to an end.'

Meditation – continue as described yesterday with one meditation on ultimate Bodhicitta and one on relative Bodhicitta.

Continuation of the discussion on transmuting the death process. If have habitual practice of converting adversity into the path then when the final adversity of death arises you will be able to convert that.

During the dying process go back and forth between the meditations on ultimate and relative Bodhicitta.

Discussion of dream yoga as best preparation for the bardo of becoming. Importance of not identifying with body or mind but staying with awareness.

How do you know when your dharma practice is working? When self-grasping gets softer – less frequent and less intense.

Questions:

Meditation starts at: 3:10 (silent, front loaded at start of session)

We lock onto an object, reify it and then attachment or aversion arises. The discovery model allows the mind to heal itself by doing nothing but maintaining cognizance.

Discussion of blessings arising from Buddha nature.

Meditation – Rest for a while without grasping. As the clarity and warmth of awareness becomes really obvious then explicitly attend to it.

Discussion of the five inner qualities necessary for long term shamatha retreat.

Meditation starts at: 18:15 (silent, front loaded at start of session)

Alan front loads this session by looking at the difference between this practice and Dzogchen - grasping - and looks at how practice is ideally couched in a supportive way of life. After the meditation session Alan shares with us Atisha's list of complete conditions for achieving Shamatha, starting with the outer conditions. This takes us naturally to discussion of the contemplative observatory.

Meditation starts at: 15:30 (silent meditation)

Alan again front loads the meditation by comparing Atisha's Lam Rim texts and Seven Point Mind Training text and the role of discursive meditation in both. We can be encouraged that although Ultimate and Relative Bodichitta might seem high and complex ideals we have already begun training our minds in each of these with our range of meditations.

After the meditation, Alan begins to unpack the next aphorism taking the advice from living well to dying well. He shares advice on preparing for death, propulsive karma, the bardo and rebirth.

Meditation starts at: 28:40 (silent meditation)

Today's evening session begins with the continuation of the discussion on the power of prayer and blessings. Alan gives a few examples of how blessings work and their possible bandwidth and draws analogies with the so-called placebo effect. After that, we move onto a beautiful practice of the stage of generation of Avalokiteshvara - the embodiment of compassion. The practice is based on a text titled "A spacious path to freedom" by Karma Chagme (which Alan translated) and the sadhana from the text together with its commentary will be made available to listeners of the podcast via the SBI website. Alan explains that this practice is part of public Dharma, which means that it can be done without an empowerment and/or oral transition, unlike other deity practices that do require an empowerment. In fact, it is highly recommended by Karma Chagme to begin one's daily practice with it as a means of obtaining blessings for the rest of the practice of meditation. First Alan explains the sadhana in detail and then we have a guided meditation. After this beautiful meditation, we continue discussing the four practices of the Seven Point Mind Training and the aphorism: "do not rely on the individual, rely on the Dharma; do not rely on the words, rely on the meaning; do not rely on the provisional meaning, rely on the definitive meaning." Alan also stresses the importance and meaning of a genuine teacher and the possibility of receiving blessings form one.

Meditation starts at: 37:58