Trekcho Installment 8

[Guest guest]

(By Joyce Short)

 

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continuing from ... " THERE IS AN UNCEASING CONTINUITY OF SELF-ARISING AND

SELF-LIBERATION OF THOUGHT. "

 

When one uses thoughts in this way to train in the recognition of the

dharmakaya, of innate awareness, whatever thought arises becomes an

opportunity to train in the recognition of this awareness. When thoughts

are self-liberated like this, not only do they not pose a problem, they

actually become an opportunity for enhancement. When the arising of a

thought is seen as an arising of awareness, when thought is recognized as

being of the fundamental nature of that innate awareness, then the coarser

and more outrageous a thought is, the more clarity and sharpness of

awareness it actually brings up.

 

Since there has been no separation of awareness and occurrence in the mind,

no matter how intense a thought is, the recognizing and liberating awareness

that occurs simultaneous with it will be equally intense. Because of that,

the root text says next, " WHATEVER THOUGHT ARISES IN THE MIND IS FOOD FOR

NAKED AWARENESS AND EMPTINESS. "

 

This brings up a crucial point that distinguishes Dzogchen meditation from

other approaches. In most approaches to meditation, one is told either that

one has to get thoughts to stop altogether, or at least one has to

ameliorate their content. Some thoughts are alright and other thoughts are

not; one has to try to clean them up a bit. But in Dzogchen, we view

thoughts as a source of great help in our meditation practice. Because as

long as there is sufficient stability of recognition, all that thoughts do

is to bring out further clarity of awareness. Even the most outrageous

thought, such as fierce anger or intense desire or pride, whatever arises in

the mind, is only fuel that will cause one's awareness to be even clearer.

 

An analogy that is given for this is a big fire. Once a fire is strong

enough, whatever you throw into it just makes it burns more. Whether the

grass and wood and trees that go into a bonfire are wet or dry, the fire

will burn them up and they will not put the fire out. In the same way,

intense thoughts and mental afflications that arise in the mind do not have

to be chased out or censored in any way, all they will do, as long as there

is recognition, is to produce more and more intensity of awareness.

 

Since whatever thought arises in the mind is recognized as the play of one's

own awareness, this thought does not obstruct the recognition of awareness.

Consequently, there is no need to reject or discriminate among thoughts.

There is no thought that is too coarse to be recognized in this way and no

thought that is so good that it has any special value.

 

Because one maintains this impartiality in the recognition of the nature of

thought, all thoughts are liberated as they arise. Because of that, nothing

that arises in the mind is experienced as other than the expression of

dharmakaya, of innate awareness. So therefore, the root text says,

" WHATEVER OCCURS IN THE MIND IS THE DISPLAY OF THE ROYAL DHARMAKAYA. "

 

When thoughts are experienced in this way, then the conseptuality of mind,

which is nothing other than ignorance, and all of the various forms which

that ignorance can take, is purified into the expanse of wisdom awareness of

the dharmakaya. In being recognized as never having a nature other than

that, thoughts do not leave traces, and thus do not manifest true impurity;

therefore, they are purified.

 

As long as this recognition is maintained, this purification is unceasing.

It is not better at some times and worse at other times, or present at some

times and absent at other times. As long as the fundamental recognition of

innate awareness is maintained, whatever thought arises in the mind is in

its essence empty and is experienced as the expression of that emptiness.

So therefore, the root text says, " THOUGHTS ARE PURIFIED BY THEMSELVES AND

LEAVE NO TRACE. HOW WONDERFUL! "

 

The word for " becoming accustomed to something " in Tibetan is etymologically

closely related to the word for meditation, and there is a saying in the

Dzogchen tradition, " There is nothing to meditate upon, but there is a

process of getting used to it. " So when you become accustomed to this

approach to thought, then thought itself arises as meditation, and you

finally heal the split between stillness and occurrence in the mind.

 

In this practice, there is no preference with regard to whether the mind has

thoughts or does not have thoughts. Even when thoughts arise, they in no

way impede your stillness, the stillness of course being the stillness of

recognition. The arising of thoughts in no way harms your meditation

anymore. So therefore, the text says, " THE WAY THOUGHTS ARISE IS JUST AS

BEFORE. "

 

When you are accustomed to this practice, that does not mean that thoughts

will not arise. In fact, apart from their being recognized as the display

of innate awarness, the variety of thoughts that arise, for example, as

delight or displeasure, hope or fear, is exactly like the way thoughts arise

for anyone else, for an untrained person. The difference is explained in

the next line of the text: an ordinary person gets caught by thought, clings

to thought, reacts to thought with a heavy-handedness, a solidification,

that consists of trying to hold onto thoughts and states of mind that are

perceived as pleasant and as creating security, and attempting to get rid

of, or being frightened by, thoughts and state of mind that are perceived as

unpleasant or as threatening.

 

Because of this reaction to thought, the ordinary person accumulates karma

and comes under the power of his or her attachment and aversion. Of course,

the whole process of samsara rests on that. In this practice, thoughts

naturally arise, and the variety of thoughts that arise is the same, but

since for the practitioner these thoughts are liberated simultaneously with

their arising, they do not accumulate karma. Thus, the difference between

the practitioner and the untrained person is not in the arising or

non-arising of thoughts, but in whether thoughts are fixated on or

liberated.

 

.....to be continued