‘Question and answer’ oral instructions of the Wisdom Ḍākinī to Tilopa Shrī vajraḍākinī namo! Tilopa asked the wisdom Ḍākinī: what is awakening [Buddha]? The wisdom Ḍākinī responded: Tilopa! When the mind looks at mind, the ‘looker’ is mind, the ‘looked at’ is also mind. Like space gazing at space, both the ‘gazer’ and the ‘gazed […]
Severing the Bardo ‘Once and for All’ Read Post »
This Rigpa which is pointed to is nothing like the words used to point to it. Yet beings cannot help trying to point to it with words! No matter that any concept that forms in your mind is not ‘it’ in ‘itself’. Any object, any subject, any this or that is not it. Beyond all
Pointing Out the Nature of Mind – Dudjom Rinpoche Read Post »
Today I came across Longchenpa’s final testament – The Immaculate Radiance. I found it profoundly moving, reading the words of this incomparable Dzogchen master who was giving his final teaching, just before he died. What a life he led. How could you begin to estimate his contribution, perhaps unlike that of any other? At the
Immaculate Radiance: A Testament – Longchenpa Read Post »
I thought I’d write a guide to the The Three Statements of Garab Dorje. This teaching has been so fundamental for me in relation to Dzogchen. It’s extraordinarily concise, but in a way all of Dzogchen is contained there in essence. The whole Dzogchen path opens out from these statements. The Three Statements of Garab
Guide to the Three Statements of Garab Dorje Read Post »
These verses from Self-Liberation: Through Seeing with Naked Awareness are as if directly spoken face to face with me by Karma Lingpa. How potent! Mind’s nature is empty It is certain that the nature of the mind is empty and without any foundation whatsoever. Your own mind is insubstantial like the empty sky. You should
The fourfold resting is: Rest your body like a corpse in a charnel ground, without preference or fixed arrangement. Rest your voice like a broken waterwheel, in a state of stillness. Rest your eyes like a statue in a shrine room, without blinking, in a continuous, focused gaze. Rest your mind like a sea free
The Fourfold Resting – Chokgyur Lingpa Read Post »
I was reading and meditating on this Dharma song from Kalu Rinpoche last night, and thought I’d share the beginning of it. Rinpoche’s description of Mahamudra meditation comes from the Shangpa Kagyu tradition, but is no different to the Kagyu teachings I’ve received. Rest in awareness, without trying to do anything – and mind will
Dharma Song (excerpt) from Kalu Rinpoche Read Post »
I was just reflecting on just how much time I spend rehearsing my life, rather than, in a sense, just living it directly. By this I mean …. how much time do I spend thinking about what I should do in the future? How much time is caught up in going through various scenarios of
Rehearsing my life Read Post »
From a reply on a Dharma list, where someone asked: I have an object such as watching the breath but I am constantly distracted. Please elaborate on “In order to keep from being distracted, that object is a support”. Hi there, one way you could approach this is by reviewing your intention – what is
Using an Object as a Support for Concentration and Awakening Read Post »
Reflecting and meditating of Naropa’s teaching – the Summary of Mahamudra these questions urgently arise: What is our life? What does it consist of? Homage to the state of great bliss!Concerning what is called MahamudraAll things are your own mind.Seeing objects as external is a mistaken concept;Like a dream, they are empty of concreteness. This
Reflections on Naropa’s The Summary of Mahamudra Read Post »
