Trekcho #4 Commentary - Continued

[Guest guest]

" Joyce Short " <insight

 

The Second Word: Decide On One Thing (the Meditation)

 

In the last posting we completed the presentation of the first of the Three

Words, which is the recognition within oneself of the innate wisdom that is

the fundamental nature of one's mind and the ground of all experience. The

second point is concerned with the manner in which one can bring this

recognition into one's experience, through maintaining it in meditation.

 

To begin with, if there has been no recognition of the innate wisdom, then

there is nothing to meditate upon. There is no way to go further. That

recognition must occur first. But once one has recognized the innate

wisdom, the next concern is the cultivation of a meditation that is

continuous and unbroken like the flow of a river, a meditation that consists

of simply allowing the mind to rest naturally within that which has been

recognized, and maintaining such a meditation in all situations and at all

times. If one does not waver from this recognition, then it makes no

difference what else is going on in one's mind.

 

Therefore, other than resting within this recognition of the innate wisdom,

there is no fabrication, change or effort that one needs to make. There is

nothing else to do in meditation than simply to maintain that recognition.

There is no need to attempt to establish a state of stillness, or to attempt

to get rid of the movement of thought within the mind. If the mind rests

within the recognition of innate wisdom, then the mind is manifesting as the

nature of the dharmakaya (our true nature), as the nature of that innate

wisdom itself.

 

If the mind is active, if there is the occurrence of thought within the

mind, as long as this recognition is not lost, then whatever thought arises

is merely the expression of that wisdom and is experienced as such, as the

" magical display " of awareness. Hence, when there is recognition, then it

becomes irrelevant whether there is stillness or occurrence in the mind. So

therefore, the next line in the root text says, " THEN IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE

WHETHER THERE IS OCCURRENCE OF THOUGHT OR STILLNESS. "

 

With regard to the occurrence of thought within the mind, examples of such

thoughts are kleshas, such as aversion towards that which one perceives as

threatening, or attachment towards that which one perceives as pleasant or

as affording some kind of security. One would classify such thoughts as

pertaining to the Second Noble Truth, the truth of the origin of suffering,

since kleshas are the origin of suffering.

 

Or there could be an experience of some kind of affect that is not itself

particularily a klesha, such as delight or misery, happiness or depression,

in which case the thoughts pertain to the First Noble truth, the truth of

suffering. So, in the midst of recognition, whatever thought arises in

one's mind, whether it is suffering or something that would normally cause

suffering, if the recognition is not lost, then one sees the suchness, or

the nature of these thoughts. One sees that these thoughts have no nature

other than the innate wisdom itself.

 

In that sense, whatever occurs in the mind, without any exception, is merely

the uprising, or the expression of our own innate wisdom. The only issue

here is the recognition of this, or the absence of recognition. So

therefore, the next line in the root text says, " WHETHER YOU EXPERIENCE

AVERSION OR ATTACHMENT, WHETHER YOU ARE EXHILERATED OR DEPRESSED, MAKES NO

DIFFERENCE. "

 

Since nothing other than resting in the recognition of innate wisdom is an

issue in this practice, the maintainance of the recognition becomes the

deciding factor. In other words, even though you may have recognized the

view, recognized the innate wisdom, if you cannot maintain this recognition

in meditation, then while the nature of thoughts could never pass beyond

being the uprising of that innate wisdom, you will not recognize them as

such because you are no longer recognizing the innate wisdom.

 

Therefore, when you are distracted from this state of recognition, when you

become lost in ordinary delusion, bewilderment, or confusion, then thoughts

become independent. " Independent " here means unrecognized. At that point,

it appears to you as though thoughts have solidity, have independent

existence. And once you are without this recognition of thoughts as being

merely the uprising of innate wisdom, then thoughts can bind you in samsara

and actually become causes of suffering.

 

Thus, in the absence of recognition, your mind and dharma have temporarily

separated and are no longer keeping company. At that point, you are really

no different from anyone else, you have no advantage. If you fall from the

recognition back into ordinary confusion, then you accumulate karma just

like everyone else. At all times and in all circumstances, a practitioner

of Dzogchen must never depart from this natural settling into recognition

that we refer to as non-meditation. So therefore, the next line in the root

text says, " AT ALL TIMES AND IN ALL SITUATIONS..... "

 

With regard to the mental afflications, such as attachment, aversion,

bewilderment, arrogance, jealousy and so on, and the various different kinds

of conceptuality that can arise in the midst of this experience of

alternating stillness and occurrence within the mind, in the common paths

within Buddhadharma one relies upon individual remedies to tame these

afflications. For example, one would tame attachment by means of meditation

upon that which is disgusting (i.e. - such as taming " our ridiculous

attachment to the body " by contemplating corpses) One would tame aversion

by means of conscious cultivation of loving-kindness, and so on.

 

In Dzogchen, we do not resort to separate remedies for separate mental

afflictions, because the only issue here is the presence of and absence of

recognition. And if there is recognition, then the mental afflictions are

seen as being the expression of the nature, and therefore do not themselves

pose a problem. Hence, this is called, the " application of one remedy which

liberates everything. "

 

This liberation is complete; there is nothing that could possibly arise

within your mind that from this point of view would require any special

treatment. In the maintenance of the view that has been identified, in

the continuing recognition of the innate wisdom, everything is taken care

of. So therefore, the next line in the root text says, " CONTINUALLY

RECOGNIZE THE INNATE WISDOM, THE DHARMAKAYA. "

 

You will notice that there are two things that we are talking about here:

the innate wisdom itself which is always present and has always been

present, and the recognition of the innate wisdom which is not always

present. This ever-present innate wisdom is the true nature of the mind,

and therefore the nature of whatever arises within the mind: whatever

thoughts and mental affflictions arise in the mind are not OTHER in nature

than the innate wisdom. They cannot pass beyond that. If something is the

nature of everything in a certain sphere, then anything that occurs within

that sphere must partake of that nature. This innate wisdom, or naked

awareness, that is the nature of all thoughts, is called the " ground clear

light, " or " ground dharmakaya. " It is also called the " mother clear light

present as ground. " Another rendition of the Tibetan term translated here

as " clear light, " is " luminosity " or " luminous clarity. "

 

This mother clear light is the clear light that has always been inherent as

the innate wisdom in all sentient beings; it has always been present as the

ground. The recognition of it, the actual experience of clear light in your

present meditation practice - while on the path, and as first pointed out to

you by your teacher - is called the " path clear light of practice " , or the

" child clear light. " It is likened to a child because at the moment of

recognition, mother and child unite. The traditional analogy is that of a

child jumping into it's mother's lap.

 

To rest in the state in which the two clear lights of ground and path are

indivisible, is called the " meeting of mother and child clear light. " This

state, in which path and ground have become united, is the state of

non-meditation, of no more separation between meditation and

postmeditation. So therefore, the next line of the text says, " AND LET THE

MOTHER AND CHILD CLEAR LIGHTS WHO WERE PFREVIOUSLY ACQUAINTED MEET AGAIN. "

 

This is they key to liberation in the interval between lifetimes, or the

bardo. At the moment of death, one's mind and body are separated, and when

this occurs, the ground clear light manifests extremely intensely. While

one is alive there is a certain obscuration or limitation on one's

experience because of one's physical embodiment. This obscuration is

temporarily removed in the moment after death because of the separation of

mind and body and because of the temporary suspension of the chain of habit

patterns caused by the shock of dying. So there is a window, an

opportunity, at the early phase of the bardo experience where the mother

clear light, the ground of all experience, arises without any impediment in

the experience of every being after their death.

 

If one has not identified the clear light during one's lifetime, then this

brief appearance of the mother clear light in the bardo doesn't do one any

good. Because of not identifying it, one just reacts to it and is not

liberated. But, if someone has cultivated the child clear light, has

cultivated the recognition of the mother clear light in their lifetime, then

that is the basis for their liberation in one instant in the bardo. All the

various teachings of liberation in the bardo, such as the " Great Liberation

Through Hearing in the Bardo " (Bardo Thodol), which have come down to us in

the tradition of the Great Perfection, depend upon this single point of the

meeting of the mother and child clear lights having been cultivated during

one's lifetime.

 

" This gives further meaning to what was said at the beginning about the

profundity and efficacy of the Luminous Great Perfection. For example, it

was said that through the identification of the innate wisdom, or the

ground, one can attain buddhahood in this lifetime, and even if one does

not, then as the next line of the text said, " ....AND EVEN IF YOU DON'T, YOU

WILL BE SO HAPPY. " This alludes to the fact that if the recognition of the

innate wisdom has not been brought to full maturation in this life, it can

be easily recognized in the bardo, because there is a direct, unobscured

manifestation of the innate wisdom at the moment of death. And even if

liberation does not occur at that moment, one will have the momentuum to

continue in future lives as well. The teaching of the Great Perfection is

considered to be more profound than most Dharma for a number of reasons

which principally hinge upon this direct and effective means for liberation

either in this life or in the bardo.

 

As long as one does not lose the recollection of the clear light, this

recognition of one's innate wisdom, other than resting in this recognition,

there is no issue with regard to meditation. No matter what arises in your

mind, it is an expression of that innate wisdom. No matter what mental

affliction or thought arises, there is no need whatsoever to attempt to

alter or control any of it. There is no need to attempt to get rid of

anything that arises or to add anything. As long as there is recognition,

nothing that arises is a problem in any way. Also, there is no problem with

anything not arising; there is nothing missing, and therefore, there is

nothing that needs to be added.

 

This is an extremely significant point, and it bears repeating; other than

maintaning recognition, there is no need to attempt to reject anything that

arises in the mind, and there is nothing that could possibly arise that has

any special status whatsoever, that deserves any special attention or is

considered in any way superior, or to be adopted as somehow special. So

therefore, the next line of the text says, " SIMPLY REST IN INEXPRESSIBLE

AWARENESS. "

 

W hen one attempts to rest for a long time in that recognition of the innate

wisdom, then for a beginner, there will arise various experiences which are

principally classified into three types: physical or mental pleasure,

cognitive or other forms of lucidity or clarity, and nonconceptuality.

These experiences of bliss, clarity and nonconceptuality are good, they are

not bad. From one point of view we could say that they are signs that one

is going throught a process of meditation, and we could even call them short

term benefits of the practice.

 

However, they pose a problem from another point of view: while they are the

natural outflow of innate wisdom, they are not in themselves the innate

wisdom, and in a sense they are an occurrence like everything else. Because

they are attractive qualities, they tend to obscure one's direct recognition

of that which is natural, which means the ground, the fundamental,

unchanging, innate wisdom that is one's very nature.

 

Because they obscure one's recognition, it is necessary that one be able to

peel off the skin of these experiences, that one be able to separate direct

recognition of the nature from the husk of the various experiences which

arise for a beginner. If you peel off this obscuring layer of experience,

then the innate wisdom will naturally shine, will be experienced from

itself, naturally and without any kind of onscuration, brilliantly and

lucidly.

 

There is a traditional analogy for this. It is said that if the meditation

of a practitioner is continually blown apart, that is good, just as when

water flows quickly over a precipice and is constantly churned, it is clean.

Water itself in neither clean nor dirty, but a river can collect all kinds

of silt and other forms of matter, and if it is stagnant, the water is never

separated from the silt. When it flows violently over a precipice, so that

the water is churned and pounded, then it becomes clarified; the water

starts to be clean and drinkable. In the same way, if you continually blow

apart these particular experiences that arise in your mind, then they cannot

adulterate or obscure your recognition of the nature. Hence, the next line

says, " DESTROY AGAIN AND AGAIN TRANQUILITY, BLISS AND CLARITY. "

 

and how to do this will follow..........