Trekcho #6 Commentary - Continued

[Guest guest]

" The Three Words that Strike the Vital Point (Tsik Sum Nedek) An oral

commentary on Paltrul Rinpoche's Root Text. " (Continued)

 

Rinpoche now goes on to tell a story about a young tulku of twelve years

old. He was playing with his maternal uncle of around the same age. As they

were playing they came across a villager who was making tsa tsas. Tsa tsas

are little clay images of deities or stupas and other things that are made

from a mold. There is a tradition of Tibetans doing this in order to avert

obstacles, and often they will make tsa tsas every day, the same number as

their age.

 

The young tulku took one of the villager's molds, and they went off with it

to play. They came to a river and the young tulku said, " Well, I've got the

mold; I guess I'll make some tsa tsas. I'll make as many as my years, but

as we don't have any clay, I'll have to make them out of water. " So he

started to impress this mold onto the water in the river, and his uncle saw

that every time he did this, there would be an image of the deity in the

water that was much more beautiful than the clay ones, with five-colored

light reflected from the water. But every time his uncle tried to grasp it,

it would disappear; he would still see them but he could not get a hold of

them.

 

As he was doing this, the young tulku looked at him and said, " Everything in

samsara and nirvana is just like that; if you try and grab it, it disappears

and you spoil it. The source of all our problems is that we are always

trying to grasp at things with our mind. " I mention this story because it

seems to make much the same point as what we have been studying in the text

of the Three Words.

 

The resolution that the innate wisdom of the dharmakaya, that one has

recognized, is itself the Buddha that has never been confused, and that

there is nothing beyond this to search for, is the second essential point.

To maintain the continuity of this recognition with the understanding that

there is nothing superior to this to be discovered, is included in this

second essential point. Therefore, the text says, " THIS IS THE SECOND

POINT: DIRECT SINGLE RESOLUTION. "

 

To recapitulate, the first point was recognition within oneself. There are

two possibilities of recognition. On is that when this innate wisdom is

pointed out, there will be complete, final recognition of the innate wisdom.

In that case one only needs to resolve that there is nothing better to be

attained, nothing else to find, and that is the second essential point,

resolution. In other words, at that juncture, it is necessary for the

practitioner to resolve once and for all that what they have recognized is

indeed that which is to be recognized.

 

The other possibility is that when the introduction is given, one may be

uncertain of the degree of one's recognition. In that situation, which is

quite common, one has to use the various approaches to meditation and

postmeditation that have been explained in the commentary on this second

point. In particular, one needs to consult with an experienced teacher,

someone who has clear realization. If one attempts to resolve one's doubts

within oneself, one may deceive oneself. If in the initial stage one has a

complete recognition of utterly exposed awareness, awareness that is

unadulterated by any kind of partiality, then from that point onward there

is no need to consult with or ask anyone anything.

 

There is a saying in this lineage, " Rely long upon a teacher, and listen for

a long time. " If you are in doubt about the view, and for as long as you

are in doubt, you need to constantly clarify your recognition by relying

upon a qualified teacher, again and again receiving instruction and

discussing your experience with the teacher. Eventually that will lead to a

genuine recognition of the view. The only reason why one would need to rely

upon a teacher and listen to teachings for a long time is this need for

gradual clarification or correction of one's understanding of the view.

 

There is a possibility of getting confused if you attempt to come to

resolution without sufficient guidance. The following story illustrates

this possibility. The first Dodrubchen Rinpoche, Jigme Thrinley Odzer, who

was the student of Jigme Lingpa, had many students in Kham, in eastern

Tibet, and was widely known for his teaching this approach of the Three

Words. They became such a household word that everyone had heard about

them. You would see people coming and going from his residence in his

retreat centre saying, " What do you practice? " answering with, " Oh, I'm

meditating on the Three Words. "

 

This teaching became so well known that a fellow who was not the swiftest

person in the world heard about it and decided, " That sounds good, this

teaching in three phases that bestows liberation quickly, that's exactly

what I need. " So he went to receive this instruction. He was quite devoted

to Dodrupchen Rinpoche and he thought, " If I stick around long enough and

serve him, then at some point he will say those three words, and I will get

the transmission. "

 

So he stayed around, and probably a lot of what he needed was taught, but he

did not particularly notice it, he was waiting for Dodrupchen Rinpoche to

say some particular three phases. One day he was serving tea to Dodrupchen

Rinpoche, and as he was a little inattentive, he did it somewhat carelessly,

spilling some tea. Now, this person was distinguished by possessing a

rather large and extremely red nose that was pock marked and that looked

exactly like a kind of berry that grows in Tibet and India, called raksha

berry. Therefore, he was nicked named Raksha Nose.

 

When he spilled the tea, Dodrupchen Rinpoche looked at him and said, " Look

what you do when you pour tea, Raksha Nose! " He was overjoyed, left

Dodrupchen Rinpoche and went into strict solitary retreat, spending all his

time saying, " Look what you do when you pour tea, Raksha Nose. Look what

you do when you pour tea, Raksha Nose, " because he figured it was a mantra,

and he knew that everybody said mantras.

 

He had absolutely no doubt that these were the Three Words, and that this

was how they were to be used, and he had genuine devotion for Dodrupchen

Rinpoche. Because of his devotion and because of the intensity of his

practice, he started being able to heal the sick. When animals or humans in

his region became ill, all he had to do was to say his mantra, " Look what

you do when you pour tea, Raksha Nose " and blow on them or hit them with his

mala, and they would get better. Eventually he acquired quite a reputation

in his locality as a healer. So by this point he had resolved what he

thought was the meaning of the teaching.

 

Dodrupchen Rinpoche became ill with an separated ulcer in his throat, an

inflamed, pus-containing swelling that would not drain. His students were

concerned about this, and eventually the news made its way to this fellow,

nicknamed Raksha Nose. When he heard the news he thought, " I am able to

heal animals and humans, I should obviously go and heal my teacher. " So he

went there and went right into Dodrupchen's room, saw him sitting there and

just said to him, " Look what you do when you pour tea, Raksha Nose, " and hit

him as hard as he could with his mala.

 

Dodrupchen was so astonished by this that he collapsed with laughter and as

he laughed, the ulcer broke open, the pus drained, and he felt much better.

Then he turned to the man and said, " Who are you? " Raksha Nose said, " I'm

your student, and I've been practicing your famous instruction of the Three

Words. " Dodrupchen asked, " Just what Three Words have you been practicing? "

The man said, " What I have just used to heal you: Look what you do when you

pour tea, Raksha Nose. " Dodrupchen said, " Well, actually those aren't the

Three Words. " Eventually, he taught him this instruction of the Three Vital

Points, and Raksha Nose went into retreat again and became an excellent

practitioner.

 

THE THIRD WORD: GAIN CONFIDENCE IN LIBERATION (the Conduct)

 

In any situation in which strong attachment arises for an object of the

senses that is perceived as desirable, such as a form you see with your

eyes, or a sound you hear with your ears, or a smell that you smell, or

something you taste, or a tactile sensation, or similarly when there is a

strong arising of aversion toward an experience or object of the senses that

is perceived as unpleasant or threatening, or when you become slightly

intoxicated with delight over some kind of prosperity or enjoyment, or over

getting what you want, or when you feel miserable because of unpleasant

conditions or being ill, and so forth, in all of these situations, what is

fundamentally occurring, from the point of view of this practice, is that

the display of awareness is arising. In other words, whatever arises is

nothing other than the display of this fundamental nature.

 

Because that is the case, it is extremely important to recognize the innate

wisdom in what arises, the wisdom that is the basis of liberation. It is

important that you let the arising not sway you from this recognition, but

rather intensify it in such a situation. Therefore, in the root text it

says, " IN THAT SITUATION (MEANING AT THE TIME OF PRACTICE) WHEN ATTACHMENT

OR AVERSION, DELIGHT OR MISERY ARISE.... "

 

This need for recognition is not limited only to the arising of strong

afflictions such as strong attachment or aversion. As long as you do not

possess this essential point of simultaneous arising and liberation in your

meditation, as long as you do not recognize that whatever arises in the mind

is the expression of awareness, all the under-currents of thought that arises

in your mind, all of the thoughts that are flowing unnoticed beneath your

meditative stability, will accumulate samsaric karmas.

 

If you are resting in a state of meditation, and you do not experience

thoughts, but there is still an undercurrent of thought that is flowing

through but does not particularly bother you, you are still accumulating

karma, that thought, those thoughts, are not being revealed and recognized.

All thoughts, whether coarse or very subtle, a mere undercurrent, have to be

recognized and liberated as they arise, through this essential point of

experiencing them as the expression of awareness, even if they do not

plainly distract you from that recognition of awareness. Therefore, the

root text says at this point, " ALL SUDDEN THOUGHTS, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, MUST

BE RECOGNIZED.... "

 

The key point of recognition is that there is a liberation simultaneous with

the arising of the thought, which means it leaves no trace. This is

explained in the commentary as follows, " Whatever thought arises, and

especially the undercurrent of thought that is constantly going on, that

does not manifest into full consciousness, that does not become loud enough

to really disturb us, has to be recognized and liberated. "

 

This undercurrent of thought is like water that is flowing through high

grass growing in a field. The water may be flowing around the bottom of the

grass but you will not see it: if you go by the field, it will look like a

dry field of grass but actually it is full of water. Something similar is

happening in your mind all the time, and as long as that is not exposed and

liberated, the undercurrent still constitutes a vague kind of confusion that

adulterates the meditation.

 

So that has to be recognized, and recognition means that there has to be a

liberation of the thought as it arises. As long as you are not distracted

from this recognition, whatever arises in the mind is directly seen, even at

the moment of its arising, as nothing other than the display of innate

awareness. Therefore, even as it arises, thought is liberated. Liberation

upon arising means that thought leaves no trace. It does not produce karma,

it does not lead to any further thought, it does not leave a trace in the

mind.

 

For this liberation to occur, there has to be present what is called a

" natural mindfulness. " If you have recognized the innate wisdom and are

resting in that recognition, then there is a natural mindfulness present in

the mind that will reveal and recognize the nature of whatever arises in the

mind, including the undercurrent. This is not a heavy handed, intentional

mindfulness, as though you were holding some kind of hook that you use to

try to pull thoughts up from the undercurrent into the field of easy

recognition. It is a mindfulness that is naturally present, based on your

being settled in the recognition of the nature of innate awareness.

 

It is necessary to recognize whatever thought arises and not just to

recognize its arising but also to recognize its nature. What will happen

then is that thoughts will be liberated upon arising; they will not leave

any trace. The analogy for this in the text is " LIKE A DESIGN DRAWN ON

WATER. " Even as the design is being drawn, it already vanishes; it does not

persist, it does not in any way change the water, or leave a trace in it.

That is what needs to happen with all thoughts, including the undercurrent.

Therefore, the root text says at this point, " WITHIN RECOGNITION NO TRACE IS

LEFT. "

 

With regard to that recognition of thought, to repeat, it means more than

simply recognizing the arising of a thought (or smell, or tastes, or sound,

or sight, or feeling, or sensation) it means the self-liberation of the

thought. Merely to recognize the presence or arising of a thought (or

sound, or sight or....etc) does not sever the production of karma by that

thought; however, the self-liberation of that thought does. Self-liberation

means that at the very moment at which the thought is recognized, one sees

the face of one's own awareness. Just as the arising of the thought did not

distract you from the recognition of the innate nature, the recognition of

the thought must also not distract you from the recognition of the nature.

 

Because there is a direct, totally unfiltered recognition of awareness in

the midst of the recognition of the thought, you continue to recognize the

innate wisdom that you have been recognizing all along. You remain in that

state, resting in the state of recognition, and therefore, thought vanishes

without a trace. In this case, recognition means that neither the thought

nor the awareness of the thought distracts you from the recognition of

awareness itself. And that, the text says, is a very important point about

the liberation of thought.

 

To drive home this essential point, neither the thought nor the recognition

of the thought, and the recognition of its nature, distracts you from

recognition of the innate awareness, and as a consequence, thought vanishes

without a trace. The mere recognition of it will not do that. Because of

that, the text says at this point, " RECOGNIZE THE DHARMAKAYA, WHICH IS THE

SOURCE OF LIBERATION. "

 

Again, recognition of thought here means recognizing the nature, not just

recognizing the presence of thought. This causes the thought to vanish like

a design drawn on water; as the thought is arising, it already vanishes. It

is experienced as having no duration and no aftereffect. Just as for a

design drawn on water there is the simultaneous appearance and dissolution

of the design, so with thought there is a simultaneous occurrence of arising

and liberation.

 

Self-liberation means that just as thought arises of itself, it liberates by

itself. You do not intentionally generate a thought, and you do not

intentionally get rid of it, it is self-arisen and self-liberated. Because

you are not distracted from the recognition of the innate awareness, the

thought is self-liberated as it arises. As long as you rest in the innate

awareness, this self-arising and self-liberating quality of thought is

unbroken and continuous. Because of the fact that the arising and

self-liberation are simultaneous, the text says at this point, " FOR EXAMPLE,

IT IS LIKE A DESIGN DRAWN ON WATER. "

 

>From this it also follows that you in no way attempt to prevent thoughts

from arising. Whatever for the thought takes, whether it is normally what

you would consider a good thought or an unpleasant thought, makes no

difference. Because you never waver from the recognition of the innate

nature, which includes the nature of thought, whatever thought arises is

liberated by being recognized as an expression of this nature. This must be

held as a very important part of meditation practice. So therefore, the

text at this point says, " 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 afflictions 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 conceptuality 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 awareness, 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 in not in the arising or

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

liberated.

 

.....to be continued