So to make it little clear, I got the chance to read little bit about metaphysics behind yoga and meditation and I could notice that a number of different traditions divide and categorize parts and planes of our being, and what each level involves including effects from our lived experiences, each tradition having its own system, which guides how meditational or yogic practices are pursued within those traditions, in comparison to that modern or popular meditation involves basic practice of using focus or the non-directive methods which are easier to do and develop in without much traditional teaching, while these practices are great (I have been meditating with them from quiet some time), I have been unable to go past a certain stage of positive application, possibly because I think they are bit insipid and formless and way too generalized, no doubt they are beneficial but I am looking for something else.

what I am looking for is something like this :

are there any practices that involve more subjective parts or planes of our being (not just the broader ones like focus or self-absorption), this can involve, deeper long term emotions/psyche or psychological self or something similar, where the practitioner gets to engage in something specific to them.

I had some real tough time in my life since childhood and I have always felt very broken, afflicted, wounded (little bit shaken) from deep inside, I have done great lot of digging in psychotherapeutic literature to understand what I have suffered and attempted to discover any path to heal the wounds deeps inside (I have been a person whose coping mechanisms deviate from an average person, I get deeply aware of existential character of contexts and situations where others barely see anything or try to get deep (at least in my observation and that of few friends of mine) and constantly engage in deeper reflection on beliefs/impressions/experience as opposed to preserving (or limiting) them, this personality of mine has helped me at places but my internal struggles do not decrease), and I felt that some different form of meditation or yogic practice can help me, for I have also read few case studies where yog nindra and "astral body" meditation helped people with trauma.

P.S. apologies for such a vague question, could not find any other way to phrase it for better.

If you think, “I will have no karmic ripening even if I engage in nonvirtue,” you should be able to accept the unvirtuous actions of others directed towards yourself - even if you are killed. Can you do that?

If you think, “even if I engage in virtue there would be no benefit,” you should not have any sense of joy when you are benefitted by others practicing virtue - even if your life is saved. Do you?

Sri Singha

Because Bhusuku, who was of the ksatriya caste, appeared to have an auspicious character, he was accepted as a monk in the monastery of Nalanda. At this time, Devapala was king, and he provided food and drink for the group of seven hundred monks in the Dharma-circle of Nalanda; the abbot of the ordinary section of the four sections of the Sangha had about three hundred students. By their diligence, they had all become skillful in the five sciences, except for this ksatriya monk, who was very lethargic in his studies. Moreover, each morning he ate five full bowls of rice because his appetite was like a raging fire. King Devapala said of him, "This person is a bhusuku, a lazy bum." And so the monk became known by the name of Bhusuku because he did only three things: eat, sleep, and wander around.

 

It was the general practice in Nalanda to have those in the Dharma-circle recite the Sutras in turn. The abbot, speaking for the entire place, said to Bhusuku, "Since you will not take your turn reciting the Sutras, please go else- where!" But Bhusuku replied, "I have not broken any of the rules. It is not right to throw me out. It is just that I have no luck in learning academic subjects." So he was permitted to stay.

 

But when it was again time for Bhusuku to recite the Sutras, the monks told him to prepare well, because this time he would have to take his turn. He accepted that he would have to do it, and all the monks of Nalanda planned to come to hear him and laugh at him.

 

The abbot said to Bhusuku, "When you should have been studying, you were eating or sleeping instead of preparing the Siitras for the master of Nalanda." Bhusuku replied, "I will recite the Siitras." The abbot then said to him, "If you cannot recite the Siitras, you will be expelled." Bhusuku said he understood. But he still could not do it, so the abbot taught him the mantra of the holy Manjusri'-A-RA-BA-TSA-NA-and told him to recite the mantra during the night without sleeping. He set Bhusuku to reciting the mantra with a meditation cord around his neck and knee to prevent his dozing.

 

As Bhusuku was reciting the mantra, the holy Manjusri appeared to him and said, "How are you doing, Bhusuku?" Bhusuku replied, "In the morning, it will be my tum to recite the Sutras. It is about this that I am making a request to the holy Manjusri" The holy one said, "Do you not recognize me?" "No, sir, I do not," he answered. "I am Manjusri." "Oh!" said Bhusuku. "Manjusri, please, I want the siddhi of the most excellent wisdom." "Prepare your Sutra in the morning," said Manjusri. "I will give you the knowledge." Then Manjusri disappeared. On the morning of the Sutra-recitation, the monks, the mass of people, and the king arrived at the assembly hall, all telling each other how they had come to look at Bhusuku. The implements of offering, the flowers, and so forth were then carried in, and the assembly settled down, ready to have a good laugh.

 

Bhusuku, having requested the monk's parasol, went to the throne of the vihara without apprehension; when he sat down, he became extraordinarily radiant. Even though there was a curtain in front of Bhusuku, everyone was wondering what was happening.

 

"Should I recite the Sutras in the way they have been done before, or should I explain them in a way that has not been done before?" asked Bhusuku.

 

The scholars all looked at each other while the king and the people laughed. The king said, "You have developed a method of eating that has never been seen before, and a method of sleeping and strolling about that has never been seen before. Now preach us the Dharma in a way that has not been done before."

 

Bhusuku proceeded to explain the essence of the ten divisions of the Bodhicaryavatara, and then rose up into the air. The five hundred scholars of Nalanda, King Devapala, and the crowds of people all took faith and threw flowers that nearly covered Bhusuku up to his knees. "You are not a bhusuku," they said. "You are a master." The king and all the scholars called him Santideva, 'Peaceful Deity', because he quieted the pride of the king and scholars. The assembled scholars requested him to make a commentary. When that was done, they asked him to become the abbot. But he did not agree to that.

 

He placed in the temple his most precious belongings as a monk, the monk's robes and the begging bowl, and to the surprise of the abbot and the monks, he left the vihara. Eventually he came to the city of fifty-thousand inhabitants called Dekira. Holding a gilt-handled wooden sword in his hand, he went to the king and said: "It is seemly that I be your swordsman." And so he made his living in this way, and was given ten times ten gold coins a day. For twelve years he was a swordsman, yet he never deviated from his noble aim.

 

Then one day in autumn, the swordsmen, including Santideva, made offerings to an image of the Goddess Uma. While they were all washing their swords, one of the men saw that Santideva's sword appeared to be of wood, and he reported this to the king.

 

The king said to Santideva, "Show me your sword." But Santideva replied, "If I showed it to you, it might bring you harm." "Even if it were to harm me, so be it," said the king. "Then cover your eyes," said Santideva. He then drew the sword from its scabbard; its light was so bright the people could not endure it. They begged him to put the sword away, for even their covered eyes were blinded. Santideva then anointed them with his tears, and their sight was re- stored. Amazed, they asked him to remain and be an object of veneration, but he would not stay. Santideva went up onto a rocky mountain, where he was seen killing wild animals by his magic power. He was also seen eating their flesh, and this was reported to the king. The king and his court went to the mountain and questioned Santideva: "Once you were an ascetic, chief of those at Nalanda. There you explained the Dharma; here.you demonstrated that you could cure blindness. With such abilities, how can you bear to do an injury, let alone take life?"

 

But Santideva said, "I have not killed anything." He then opened the door of his hut. They all looked out upon the mountain and saw that the wild animals had been restored to life, and had even doubled in number. Soon the animals extended over mountain and valley. When the animals finally disappeared in the distance, and the king and the fortunate others were again alone, they realized that all existing things are illusory, only a dream. Then, realizing that things are not real from the very beginning, they set out upon the spiritual path. Santideva spoke:

 

These animals which I killed

in the beginning did not come from anywhere.

In the duration, they did not stay anywhere.

In the end, they were not destroyed into anything.

From the outset, existing things are not real,

so how can the killing and the killed be real?

Behold, still having compassion for living beings,

Bhusuku has said this.

 

Reciting this, manifesting his abilities to all, he humbled the king and all the others and instructed them in the Dharma. He obtained the siddhi of Mahamudra, realizing the unity of body, speech, and mind. The qualities of the Dharma arose in him instantly; finally, after a hundred years, he went in that very body to the realm of the Dakas.

~Caturaśītisiddha

You should work on meditation most meticulously and carefully; don’t take it easy.

Those who do not have a really genuine aspiration for enlightenment do not realize the errors of their minds because their application of effort is not careful; even though from time to time they suppress minor thoughts, they are not aware of the major thoughts.

Minor thoughts are thoughts that suddenly arise about what is before you. Major thoughts are thoughts such as greed, hostility, foolishness, false views, conceit, jealousy, name and fame, profit and support. When sitting in meditation, those whose wills are weak may keep back minor thoughts, but such evil thoughts as these will remain unawares in their minds—these are called major thoughts.

Giving upthese major bad thoughts is called directly cutting off the root sources.

Your light of wisdom is clear and bright of itself, but when obscured by false ideas you lose this, and therefore create illusions.

~Daikaku

What is freedom from thought? If you see all things without the mind being affected or attached, this is freedom from thought. Its function pervades everywhere, without being attached anywhere.

Just purify the basic mind, having the six consciousnesses go out the six senses into the six fields of data without any defilement or mixup, coming and going freely, comprehensively functioning without stagnation. This is accomplishment of insight, freedom and liberation. This is called the practice of freedom from thought. If you do not think at all, you will cause thoughts to be stopped entirely; this is dogmatic bondage—this is called a biased view.

~Huineng

You all should first put an end to all involvements and lay to rest all concerns; do not remember or recollect anything at all, whether good or bad, mundane or transcendental. Do not engage in thought. Let go of body and mind; set them free.With mind like wood or stone, not explaining anything, mind not going anywhere, then the mind ground becomes like space, wherein the sun of insight naturally appears. It is as though the clouds had opened and the sun emerged.

Just put an end to all fettering connections, and feelings of greed, hostility, craving, defilement and purity all come to an end. Unmoved in the face of inner desires and external influences, not choked up by perception and cognition, not confused by anything, naturally endowed with all virtues and the inconceivable use of all spiritual powers, this is someone who is free. In the presence of all things in the environment, to have a mind neither still nor disturbed, neither concentrated nor distracted, passing through all sound and form without lingering or obstruction, is called being a wayfarer.

Not setting in motion good or evil, right or wrong, not clinging to a single thing, not rejecting a single thing, is called being a member of the great vehicle. Not bound by any good or evil, emptiness or existence, defilement or purity, doing or nondoing, mundane or transcendental, virtue or knowledge, is called enlightened wisdom.

Once affirmation and negation, like and dislike, approval and disapproval, all various opinions and feelings come to an end and cannot bind you, then you are free wherever you may be; this is called a bodhisattva at the moment of inspiration immediately ascending to the stage of buddhahood.

~Baizhang

The mind of people of the Way is straightforward, without artificiality, without inclinations or aversions, without deceptive false consciousness. At all times seeing and hearing are normal. There are no further details. And they do not shut their eyes and block their ears; as long as feelings do not stick to things, that will do. The sages since high antiquity have only explained the problems of impurity; if you don’t have so much misperception, subjective views, and conceptual habits, you are clear and calm as an autumn pond, pure and uncontrived, calm and unhindered.

You should turn attention around by yourself to look within; other people do not know your understanding. Let people now just directly comprehend what does not understand— this is your mind, this is your Buddha. If you turn outward to gain some knowledge or some interpretation, and take that for the path of Zen, there is no connection. This is called bringing crap in, not taking crap out; it pollutes your mind field, so I say it is not the Way.

Inwardly strive to develop the capacity of mindfulness, outwardly spread the virtue of not being contentious. Shed the world of sense objects to seek emancipation.

If you want to study the Way by intensive meditation and make an immediate leap beyond expedient teachings, let your mind merge with the hidden harbor, investigate its subtleties, determine its most profound depths, and realize its true source. If there are people of middling ability who are as yet unable to transcend all at once, let them concentrate on the teaching, closely investigating the scriptures and scrupulously looking into the inner meaning.

~Guishan

The path of Zen values participation. What participation means is that it cannot be ordered by teachers and elders, it cannot be done for you by colleagues, it cannot be adulterated by external energies, it cannot be confined by outward form; it is only in the power of your own mind. Go right ahead boldly and fiercely like a great warrior with a single sword mounted on a lone horse, plunging into a million-man army to kill the commander. That would be outstanding, would it not?

But if you think about whether it will be hard or easy, and worry about whether it is far or near, anxious about whether you will succeed or fail, then you can not even stand on our own, let alone participate in Zen.

~Yuan-hsien

In general, study of the Way requires application in action; don’t just remain idle. Twenty-four hours a day, be as if you owed someone an enormous amount of money and are worried you may not be able to pay it all back. If you stay earnest like this, there is no worry you won’t arrive. For this reason an ancient said “As long as the great task is not done, be as if you were mourning your parents.” There’s another simile: people practicing the Way are like chickens incubating eggs; the warmth must be continuous for them to develop. If there is any interruption in the warmth, they’ll never hatch, even in ten years of incubation. Longya also said, “Practicing the Way is like drilling for fire; when you see smoke, you still can’t stop. Only when a flame appears and starts burning do you succeed.”

If you want to attain intimacy, first of all don’t seek. What is attained by seeking has already fallen into intellectual understanding. Indeed, this great treasury has always been clearly open and luminous; for beginningless ages it has been one’s own root basis—all actions are completely beholden to its power.

It is only a matter of stopping until not a single thought arises—this is penetrating through to liberation, not falling into senses and objects, not dwelling in ideas and imaginings.

People who are determined to master the Way observe themselves and understand themselves twenty-four hours a day.

~Yuanwu

When you practice mind-control, sit in the proper position, stay perfectly tranquil, and do not permit the least movement of your minds to disturb you. This alone is what is called liberation. Ah, be diligent! Be diligent! Of a thousand or ten thousand attempting to enter by this Gate, only three or perhaps five pass through. If you are heedless of my warnings, calamity is sure to follow. Therefore it is written: Exert your strength in this life to attain! / Or else incur long aeons of further pain!

~Huang Po His Yun

It is essential for you to cease and desist from your previously held knowledge, opinions, interpretations, and understandings. It is not accomplished by stopping the mind; temporary relinquishment is not the way—it fools you into wasting body and mind, without accomplishing anything at all in the end.

I suggest to you that nothing compares to ceasing and desisting. There is nowhere for you to apply your mind. Just be like an imbecile twenty-four hours a day. You have to be spontaneous and buoyant, your mind like space, yet without any measurement of space. You have to be beyond light and dark, no Buddhism, body, or mind, year in and year out. If anything is not forgotten, you’ve spent your life in vain. (II, 28)

~Ch’eng-ku

He may be delighted by his discovery of some 'way to Enlightenment'; yet if you allow yourselves to be persuaded by him, YOU will experience no delight at all, but suffer both sorrow and disappointment. What have such thoughts as his to do with the study of Zen? Even if you do obtain from him some trifling 'method', it will only be a thought- d dharma having nothing do with Zen. Thus, Bodhidharma sat rapt in meditation before a wall; he did seek to lead people into having opinions. Therefore it written: 'To put out of mind even the principle from which action springs is the true teaching of the Buddhas, while dualism belongs to the sphere of demons.'

~Huang Po His Yun

Above all it is essential not to select some particular teaching suited to a certain occasion, and, being impressed by its forming part of the written canon, regard it as an immutable concept. Why so? Because in truth there is no unalterable Dharma which the Tathagata could have preached.

~Huang Po His Yun

Your true nature is something never lost to you even in moments of delusion, nor is it gained at the moment of Enlightenment... In it is neither delusion nor right understanding. It fills the Void everywhere and is intrinsically of the substance of the One Mind. How, then, can your mind-created objects exist outside the Void? ...Then how can it even be a matter for discussion that the real Buddha has no mouth and preaches no Dharma, or that real hearing requires no ears, for who could hear it?

~Huangbo

Don't seek a buddha, don't seek a teaching, don't seek a community. Don't see virtue, knowledge, intellectual understanding, and so on. When feelings of defilement and purity are ended, still don't hold to this nonseeking and consider it right. Don't dwell at the point of ending, and don't long for heavens or fear hells. When you are unhindered by bondage or freedom, then this is called liberation of mind and body in all places.

~Baizhang

One of my fellow students, one Elder Li, saw my late teacher for a year and a half; every time he went in for a personal interview, the teacher would just say to him, “ Elder, have you distinguished black and white at all?” Every time he went, this is what happened. How do you interpret talk like this? How do you work?

Nowadays there are no adepts like this helping people. There are no elders who seek like this either. Anyone else would have gotten upset.

~Foyan

“There are a bunch of blind shavepates who, having stuffed themselves with food, sit down to meditate and practice contemplation. Arresting the flow of thought they don’t let it rise; they hate noise and seek stillness. This is the method of the heretics. A patriarch said, ‘If you stop the mind to look at stillness, arouse the mind to illumine outside, control the mind to clarify inside, concentrate the mind to enter samādhi—all such [practices] as these are artificial striving.’

“This very you, the man who right now is thus listening to my discourse, how is he to be cultivated, to be enlightened, to be adorned? He is not one to be cultivated, he is not one to be adorned. But if you let him do the adorning, then everything would be adorned. Don’t be mistaken! "

~The Record of Linji

Lam Te addressed the monks, saying,

―Followers of the Way, as to Buddha-Dharma, no artificial effort is necessary. Just be natural, don‘t strive.

Shitting, pissing, putting on clothes,

Eating food, and lying down when you are tired.

Fools may laugh at me, but the wise understand.

―A man of old said, "if you seek something outside yourself you are a great fool.‘

―Just become the master wherever you are. Then, any place you stand is the true place. If you can do this under any circumstances, you will not be dislodged. Even if you have some evil karma due to your past delusions, addictions, and your having committed the five heinous crimes, these themselves become the great ocean of emancipation.

―You students of today do not know the Dharma. Just like sheep, taking into your mouths whatever your nose happen upon. Unable to distinguish between servant and master. Unable to discern host from guest. Students like you enter the Way with impure motivation. You go wherever there is a crowd. You cannot be called true renouncers of home. You are in fact true householders.

―The true renouncer of home must attain genuine insight. He must see through buddha, see through the devil, see through the true, see through the false, see through the secular, see through the sacred. Only one who can discern in this way deserves to be called a true renouncer of home. One who cannot see through a devil or see through a Buddha has just left home to enter another home. Such a person is called a sentient being who creates karma, not a true renouncer of home.

―Suppose a Buddha and a devil were inseparable, like a mixture of water and milk, of which the king of geese (Hamas Goose) drinks only the milk. The clear-eyed follower of the Way would thrash both the devil and the Buddha. If you love the sacred and hate the secular, you will float and sink in the ocean of life and death"

~Linji lu (Lam Te Ngu Luc)

“You want to seek Buddha—Buddha‘s just a name. Do you know who is seeking? The reason why buddhas and patriarchs of the three periods and the ten directions appear is simply for the Dharma. You, followers of the Way, today also are here for Dharma. Understand Dharma and you are done. If not, you will go on transmigrating through the five paths of existence.

―What is Dharma? Dharma is Mind. Mind-Dharma has no form, yet penetrates through the ten directions, revealing right in front of your eyes. Because of your insufficient faith you rely on names and phrases, you search for Buddha-Dharma in written words and speculate. You are as far away from it as heaven is from earth.

~Linji lu (Lam Te Ngu Luc)

[Mazu] daily addressed the assembly: Each of you should believe that your own mind is Buddha. This mind itself is Buddha mind. This is the reason the great master Bodhidharma came from southern India—to transmit the superior vehicle teaching of universal mind so that it can inspire awakening in you. Moreover, he frequently cited the text of the Lankavatāra sūtra in order to imprint it deep in the minds of sentient beings, fearing that you, in your confusion, would not believe for yourself that each of you possesses this teaching on universal mind. Thus, the Lankavatāra sūtra says: “The mind that the Buddha spoke of is the implicit truth [ zong ], and ‘gatelessness’ [ wumen ] is the dharma-gate.”

~Mazu (Zongjing Lu)

QUESTION: If you want to clarify the implicit truth of Buddhism [ zong ], you need only promote the message of the patriarchs. What use is there in combining it with citations from the oral teachings of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, taking these as a guide? The reason why members of Chan lineages [ zongmen ] claim “By availing oneself of the eyes of a snake, one will not distinguish things for oneself” is that one only becomes a sage of words and letters [by following the scriptures], but does not enter the ranks of the patriarchs.

ANSWER: The above claim is not intended to prohibit reading the scriptures. I worry that people will not know well the words of the Buddha. People develop understanding through texts. When people forget about the Buddha’s message, one safeguards the minds of beginners on the basis of [texts]. Whoever understands the teaching through the corpus of Buddhist writings will not create a mind and realm of objects in opposition to each other, but will realize the mind of the Buddha directly. What error is there in this?

It is just like Reverend Yaoshan reading the Mahaparinirvaṇa sutra throughout his life, not letting the volume leave his hand.

At the time, a student asked: “Reverend, you normally do not allow us students to read scriptures. Reverend, why do you yourself read them?” The Master [Yaoshan] said: “It is simply to close my eyes.” The student asked: “Should students also read [scriptures] or not?” The Master said: “If you read them, you will still need to pierce the ox’s hide, just like the first patriarch in India.”

...

Since we now know that [our own] self-nature is Buddha, no matter what the situation, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, there is not a single dharma that can be obtained. And even though true suchness is not limited by any name, there are no names that do not refer to it. This is why a scripture [ Lankavatara sutra ] says: “Wisdom is not obtained in existence or nonexistence.”

~Yaoshan (Zongjing Lu)

This is [a reference to] how the original teacher Sakyamuni Buddha initiated the transmission to Mahakasyapa and become the first patriarch. It was transmitted in succession from patriarch to patriarch, down to the sixth patriarch in this land [i.e., China]. All [the patriarchs] are descendants of the Buddha. I now cite the words of the original teacher [ Sakyamuni] to train and instruct disciples, encouraging their practice by having them follow his statements; to know the implicit truth [ zong ] through reading the Dharma, and not rush around searching for it elsewhere; to personally realize the Buddha’s intention. After they understand the message, they at once enter the ranks of the patriarchs; none of them argues over sudden and gradual methods. When they see their nature, they exhibit evidence of their perfect comprehension; how can they advocate ranking one patriarch over another? If this is the case, what contradiction is there between the scriptural teachings and the message of Chan patriarchs? In the case of the twenty-eight patriarchs of former ages in India, the six patriarchs in this land, as well as Great Master Mazu of Hongzhou, and National Preceptor [Hui]zhong of Nanyang, Chan master Dayi of Ehu, Chan master Benjing of Mount Sikong, and so on, all of them perfectly awakened to their own minds through thorough knowledge of the scriptures and treatises. Whenever they preached to their followers, they always referred to real documented evidence. They never speculated beyond what was in their own hearts, or expounded on the basis of false presuppositions. Consequently, even as the years pass uninterrupted, the winds of truth do not abate. By regarding the words of the sage [the Buddha] as the true measure, you will not be deceived by perverse and false claims. By using the teaching as your guide, you will have something to rely on.

~Zongjing Lu

The founders of Zen said that one's own essence is inherently complete. Just don't linger over good or bad things - that is called practice of the Way. To grasp the good and reject the bad, to contemplate emptiness and enter concentration, is all in the province of contrivance - and if you go on seeking externals, you get further and further estranged. Just end the mental objectivization of the world. A single thought of the wandering mind is the root of birth and death in the world. Just don't have a single thought and you'll get rid of the root of birth and death.

~Mazu

“My Dharma gate was originally transmitted by the Buddha. It is not a matter of ‘meditative concentration’ (samadhi) and ‘pure diligence’ (refer to emancipation), but just a matter of realizing and penetrating the Buddha’s wisdom ― mind itself is Buddha. In fact, ‘mind, Buddha and sentient beings’ or ‘bodhi (wisdom) and vexation’ have different names respectively, but actually they are with the same essence. All of you should realize your own mind that its essence is apart from nihilism and permanence, and its nature is beyond impurity and purity. This mind is thoroughly pure and wholly perfect, and all the same for both ordinary people and saints. When it is used to the full capacity, its function is infinite and departing from mind, thought and consciousness. The three realms and six ways manifest from this mind. It is like a moon on the water and an image in the mirror, where can there be arising and perishing? If you are able to realize it, then there are all intrinsically sufficient.”

~Xiqian

“The four great elements do not know how to expound dharma or listen to dharma. Empty space does not know how to expound dharma or listen to dharma. It is only that formless thing right before your eyes, clearly and brightly shining in isolation, that knows how to expound dharma or listen to dharma.”

~Linji

A monk asked, "what is the one word?"

The master coughed.

The monk said, "That's it, isn't it?"

The master said, "I can't even cough."

~Zhaozhou

“Master Mingzhao composed two verses:

 

Smashing open golden chains, the eyes are like bells;

Brushing the eyebrows up, they grow over the head.

Only then is one called an heir to the Dharma King,

Naturally allowed to travel freely throughout the land.

 

A lion teaches its cub the secret of the wanderer;

As it goes to leap forward, it’s already turned around.

Where sword points cross interlocked,

Hawk’s eyes, when the time comes, have lost the trail.”

~Dahui Zonggao's Zhengfa Yanzang

“Master Shiyan Guizong said to an assembly,

The ancient worthies since time immemorial were not without intellectual understanding, but those high minded people were not the same as mediocrities. Nowadays people are unable to fulfill themselves and stand on their own; they pass the time in vain.

Don’t misuse your mind. No one can substitute for you, and there is nowhere to apply your mind; don’t seek from others. Up till now you have just been understanding based on others; you get stuck on every saying.

The reason your light does not penetrate through to freedom is that there are things in front of your eyes.

A monk asked, “What is the mystic message?”

The master said, “No one can understand.”

The monk asked, “What about those who turn to it?”

The master said, “If you turn to it, that is turning away from it.”

The monk asked, “What about one who does not turn to it?”

The master said, “Who seeks the mystic message?” He added, “Go away—there’s nowhere for you to apply your mind.”

The monk asked, “Are there no expedient methods to enable a student to gain access?”

The master said, “The power of Guanyin’s wondrous wisdom can save the world from suffering.”

The monk asked, “What is the power of Guanyin’s wondrous wisdom?”

The master tapped the lid of a cauldron three times and said, “Do you hear?”

The monk said, “I hear.”

The master said, “Why don’t I hear?”

The monk had no reply. Guizong drove him out with a cane.”

~Dahui Zonggao's Zhengfa Yanzang

The Way does not require cultivation - just don't pollute it. What is pollution? As long as you have a fluctuating mind fabricating artificialities and contrivances, all of this is pollution. If you want to understand the Way directly, the normal mind is the Way. What I mean by the normal mind is the mind without artificiality, without subjective judgments, without grasping or rejection.

~Mazu

Delusion means you are not aware of your own fundamental mind; enlightenment means you realize your own fundamental essence. Once enlightened, you do not become deluded anymore. If you understand mind and objects, then false conceptions do not arise; when false conceptions do not arise, this is the acceptance of the beginninglessness of things. You have always had it, and you have it now - there is no need to cultivate the Way and sit in meditation.

Just put thoughts to rest and don't seek outwardly anymore. When things come up, then give them your attention; just trust what is functional in you at present, and you have nothing to be concerend about.

~Linji

Study the living word of Zen, not the dead word. When you attain understanding of the living word, you never forget it. When you attain understanding of the dead word, you can't even save yourself.

~Yuanwu

Someone asked Yangqi, "When the founder of Zen came from India to China, he sat facing a wall for nine years - what does this mean?" Yangqi said, "As an Indian, he couldn't speak Chinese."

~Yangqi

Ta-an asked Pai-chang, "I want to know the Buddha. Who is he?"

Pai-chang said, "It is very much like seeking an ox while you are riding on one."

Ta-an asked, "What shall I do after I know [that]?"

Pai-chang said, "It is like man going home riding on an ox."

Ta-an asked, "How should I take care of it all the time?"

Pai-chang said, "It is like man tending an ox: he looks after it with a stick in his hand and does not let it intrude upon the unripe crops."

Later on, when Ta-an become a teacher in his own right, he told the assembly, "Ta-an has for thirty years been taking the food at Kuei-shan, and then has been returning it at the Kueishan's latrine. I did not study Kuei-shan's Ch'an-all I did was looking after a water buffalo. If it went astray from the path and entered the grass, then I would pull it away. If it intruded on other people's crops, I would flog it with a whip in order to tame it. For a long time it was looking miserable, having to listen to a human voice. But now it has become a white ox in an open field, always on my side. Spending the day in the vast open fields, even if someone tries to take advantage of it, it does not go away.

~Transmission of the Lamp

A monk asked, "What is a person who understands matters perfectly?"

The master said, "Obviously it is great practice."

The monk said, "It's not yet clear to me; do you practice or not?"

The master said, "l wear clothes and eat food."

The monk said, "Wearing clothes and eating food are ordinary things. It's still not clear to me; do you practice or not?"

The master said, "You tell me, what am I doing every day?"

~The Recorded Sayings of Zen Master Joshu

"Have we not understood?

Can we not perceive intuitively what this must be?

An eye cannot see itself.

That which is sought is the seeker, the looked-for is the looker, who is not an object.

'One' is a concept, objective therefore, and 'it' is 'devoid of any trace of objectivity'. "

~Huang-po

A monk asked, "Whom does the great mind of Buddha help?"

The master said, "It helps only the present."

The monk said, "How come thy are not able to deal with it?"

The master said, "Whose fault is that?"

The monk said, "How is it to be grasped?"

The master said, "Right now there is no one who grasps it."

The monk said, "In that case, there is nothing that can be relied upon."

The master said. "However, you cannot do without me."

~The Recorded Sayings of Zen Master Joshu

“With respect to my own activity today—true creation and destruction—I play with miraculous transformations, enter into all kinds of circumstances, yet nowhere have I anything to do. Circumstances cannot change me."

~Línjì yǔlù

The Buddha taught:

"Do not pursue the past.

Do not lose yourself in the future.

The past no longer is.

The future has not yet come.

Looking deeply at life as it is in the very here and now,

the practitioner dwells in stability and freedom.

We must be diligent today.

To wait till tomorrow is too late.

Death comes unexpectedly.

How can we bargain with it?

The sage calls a person who dwells in mindfulness night and day,

‘the one who knows the better way to live alone.’"

Look at what your body is – it is not you

But an image in the mirror of awareness,

Just like the reflection of the moon on the water.

Look at what your mind is – it is not

The thoughts and feelings that appear within it

But the bright knowing space that holds them.

-Chan master Han-shan Te-ching (1546–1623)

WITH SUDDEN ENLIGHTENED UNDERSTANDING OF THE DHYANA

OF THE THUS COME ONES,

THE SIX CROSSINGS-OVER AND TEN THOUSAND PRACTICES ARE

COMPLETE IN SUBSTANCE.

IN A DREAM, VERY CLEARLY, THERE ARE SIX DESTINIES;

AFTER ENLIGHTENMENT, COMPLETELY EMPTY, THERE IS NO UNIVERSE.

~Yongjia Xuanjue

Master Hsuan Hua's COMMENTARY:

WITH SUDDEN ENLIGHTENED UNDERSTANDING OF THE DHYANA OF THE THUS COME ONES. Suddenly there is a great opening up of complete understanding: then there are no gradual steps to Enlightenment to this Dharma-door of the Mind-ground.

THE SIX CROSSINGS-OVER AND TEN THOUSAND PRACTICES ARE COMPLETE IN SUBSTANCE. We should know from the beginning that the merit and virtue of the six crossings-over--giving, holding Precepts, patience, vigor, Dhyana samadhi, and wisdom--and the ten thousand practices, are all in our inherent nature, fundamentally complete and perfect. They are not lacking, nor are they in excess.

IN A DREAM, VERY CLEARLY, THERE ARE SIX DESTINIES. While people are in a confused dream, the six paths of gods, humans, asuras, hells, hungry ghosts, and animals, are distinctly evident. Yet AFTER ENLIGHTENMENT, COMPLETELY EMPTY, THERE IS NO UNIVERSE. After one becomes Enlightened and is roused from the confused dream, emptiness is pulverized, home is broken, and people vanish. Then how could the Three Thousand Great Thousand World system exist?

In the land of Kankarama, there was a king who ruled some 8,400,000 cities. He had two sons. When this king died, the eldest son, due to his pleasing nature, was consecrated as king by the subjects. Because of the king's virtues, the inhabitants all prospered; they lived in luxury, eating from plates of gold.

After becoming king, the prince, who had not seen his mother for many months, asked, "Where has my mother gone? Why does she not come to see me anymore?" "She is grieving for your father," was the answer.

After a year had passed, his mother came to him crying. "Why is my mother crying?" he asked. "I am crying because I am not happy that you are sitting on the jeweled throne, ruling the kingdom." So the prince said to his mother, "What if I were to set my younger brother to ruling the kingdom and entered the monastic order? Would my mother then be happy?" "That would be the right thing to do," she said. So he gave the kingdom to his younger brother, entered the order, and remained in a vihara together with a circle of three hundred monks. But again his mother came to him weeping.

He greeted her and said, "Mother, why are you crying?" "I am still not happy," she said. "Though you are in the monastic order, you are just like a king in the midst of a bustling crowd." "What then should I do?" asked the prince. "Abandon this bustle for an isolated place," she replied. So he gave up the vihara, and he sat at the foot of a tree in an isolated place, getting his provisions by begging alms.

Again his mother came to him and wept. The son greeted her, and said, "What should I do now?" And his mother said, "Why are you holding on to those senseless monastic implements of livelihood?" So he discarded his monk's robe and bowl and such and took up the habit of a yogin. He went into another country and, on the way, his mother, who was a dakini, initiated him into Cakrasamvara and explained the Dharma.

The son slept in the ashes of the cemetery and practiced for twelve years. He obtained the siddhi of Mahamudra, and went to the heavens. His mother, together with many dakinis, followed him to the heavens and said to her son, "Of what use is this great wonder, this walking in the skies, if you do not work for the benefit of sentient beings? If you are able to do so, work for the benefit of living beings."

So the master set out for the west to Malapura in Uddiyana, a city of 250,000 inhabitants. In a place called Karbira, in an isolated place in Banava, he sat in a cave called 'The Opening at the Top of the Talas'.

The witches of the area noticed his presence. One witch informed another, and the queen of the witches, Padmadevi, together with her entourage, went to obstruct him.

The master went to the cave of the Top of the Talas, and there he practiced. He offered torma to the dakinis, and when the witches dried up the water in the cave, the master told the earth-goddess to give forth water, and the water arose again.

The master then summoned all the witches from all four continents to Mount Meru, at which time he turned them all, including the queen, into sheep. The queen, taken by surprise, pleaded with the master to change them back to their original form, but to no avail. He sheared the fleece off the head of all the sheep, and when he turned them back into women, they all had shaven heads. Also while staying in that place, the gods of the Desire Realm split a rock so that it would fall on him-but the master pointed his forefinger up, and the rock went back into the sky and remained there.

The king then advised the witches, "What is the matter with you? So many witches cannot control him! You should submit to him." But the witches would not listen.

The master, wearing a black wool cloak, went to beg alms in the town. On the road, he met with a witchgirl, who came up to him saying, "We have prepared food for you; please come into our house." "I do not eat inside houses," the master replied. "I go about begging." He departed, but he entrusted his wool garment to Padmadevi and the others. The witches then ran away with it, saying: "If we are to diminish his power, we must eat this woolen garment." So they ate it, and burnt what was left over.

When the master returned, he said to the witches, "Give me the woolen cloak I entrusted to you." But the witches gave him another woolen cloak instead of his own. "I want my own garment," the master said. They offered him gold in exchange, but he would not take it.

The master then went before the king, saying, "If you are the king, why do you not protect me against robbers?" "What robbers?" asked the king. "Your witches who took my woolen garment," the master replied.

The king then summoned the witches and ordered them to return the woolen robe to the yogin. But they claimed they did not have it, and they did not give it up.

The guru then bound all the witches, after saying to them, "Shall I give you over to Yama, the King of the Dharma? Or will you remain in my teachings, and be true to your oath?" Fearful of the master's power, the witches took the refuges, and remained true to their oath. The witches then disgorged every bit of the wool robe which they had eaten. The master collected all the pieces, and putting them in order, found the robe was only a little shorter than before. Then, taking the robe with him, he departed.

He became famous under the name Kambala or Lvapa. For countless years he worked for the benefit of living beings, and in that very body, he went to the realm of the Dakas.

~Caturaśītisiddha

Dudjom Rinpoche

The Heart Jewel of the Fortunate

Personal Advice on Dzogchen Praxis

Homage to my teacher!

The Great Master of Oddiyana once said:

Don’t investigate the root of things, Investigate the root of Mind! Once the mind’s root has been found, You’ll know one thing, yet all is thereby freed. But if the root of Mind you fail to find, You will know everything but nothing understand.

When you start to meditate on your mind, sit up with your body straight, allowing your breath to come and go naturally. Gaze into the space in front of you with eyes neither closed nor wide open. Think to yourself that for the sake of all beings who have been your mothers, you will watch awareness, the face of Samantabhadra. Pray strongly to your root teacher, who is inseparable from Padmasambhava, the Guru from Oddiyana, and then mingle your mind with his. Settle in a balanced, meditative state.

Once you are settled, however, you will not stay long in this empty, clear state of awareness. Your mind will start to move and become agitated. It will fidget and run here, there, and everywhere, like a monkey. What you are experiencing at this point is not the nature of the mind but only thoughts. If you stick with them and follow them, you will find yourself recalling all sorts of things, thinking about all sorts of needs, planning all sorts of activities. It is precisely this kind of mental activity that has hurled you into the dark ocean of samsara in the past, and there’s no doubt it will do so in the future. It would be so much better if you could cut through the ever spreading, black delusion of your thoughts.

What if you are able to break out of your chain of thoughts? What is awareness like? It is empty, limpid stunning, light, free, joyful! It is not something bounded or demarcated by its own set of attributes. There is nothing in the whole of samsara and nirvana that it does not embrace. From time without beginning, it is within us, inborn. We have never been without it, yet it is wholly outside the range of action, effort, and imagination.

But what, you will ask, is it like to recognize awareness, the face of rigpa? Although you experience it, you simply cannot describe it – it would be like a dumb man trying to describe his dreams! It is impossible to distinguish between yourself resting in awareness and the awareness you are experiencing. When you rest quite naturally, nakedly, in the boundless state of awareness, all those speedy, pestering thoughts that would not stay quiet even for an instant – all those memories, all those plans that cause you so much trouble – lose their power. They disappear in the spacious, cloudless sky of awareness. They shatter, collapse, vanish. All their strength is lost in awareness.

You actually have this awareness within you. It is the clear, naked wisdom of dharmakaya. But who can introduce you to it? On what should you take your stand? What should you be certain of? To begin with, it is your teacher who shows you the state of your awareness. And when you recognize it for yourself, it is then that you are introduced to your own nature. All the appearances of both samsara and nirvana are but the display of your own awareness; take your stand upon awareness alone. Just like the waves that rise up out of the sea and sink back into it, all thoughts that appear sink back into awareness. Be certain of their dissolution, and as a result you will find yourself in a state utterly devoid of both meditator and something meditated upon - completely beyond the meditating mind.

"Oh, in that case," you might think, "there’s no need for meditation." Well, I can assure you that there is a need! The mere recognition of awareness will not liberate you. Throughout your lives from beginningless time, you have been enveloped in false beliefs and deluded habits. From then till now you have spent every moment as a miserable, pathetic slave of your thoughts! And when you die, it’s not at all certain where you will go. You will follow your karma, and you will have to suffer. This is the reason why you must meditate, continuously preserving the sate of awareness you have been introduced to. The omniscient Longchenpa has said, "You may recognize your own nature, but if you do not meditate and get used to it, you will be like a baby left on a battlefield: you’ll be carried off by the enemy, the hostile army of your own thoughts!" In general terms, meditation means becoming famiIiar with the state of resting in the primordial uncontrived nature, through being spontaneously, naturally, constantly mindful. It means getting used to leaving the state of awareness alone, divested of all distraction and clinging.

How do we get used to remaining in the nature of the mind? When thoughts come while you are meditating, let them come; there’s no need to regard them as your enemies. When they arise, relax in their arising. On the other hand, if they don’s arise, don’t be nervously wondering whether or not they will. Just rest in their absence. If big, well-defined thoughts suddenly appear during your meditation, it is easy to recognize them. But when slight, subtle movements occur, it is hard to realize that they are there until much later. This is what we call namtok wogyu, the undercurrent of mental wandering. This is the thief of your meditation, so it is important for you to keep a close watch. If you can be constantly mindful, both in meditation and afterward, when you are eating, sleeping, walking, or sitting, that’s it – you’ve got it right!

The great master Guru Rinpoche has said:

A hundred things may be explained, a thousand told, But one thing only should you grasp. Know one thing and everything is freed- Remain within your inner nature, your awareness!

It is also said that if you do not meditate, you will not gain certainty: if you do, you will. But what sort of certainty? If you meditate with a strong, joyful endeavor, signs will appear showing that you have become used to staying in your nature. The fierce, tight clinging that you have to dualistically experienced phenomena will gradually loosen up, and your obsession with happiness and suffering, hopes and fears, and so on, will slowly weaken. Your devotion to the teacher and your sincere trust in his instructions will grow. After a time, your tense, dualistic attitudes will evaporate and you will get to the point where gold and pebbles, food and filth, gods and demons, virtue and nonvirtue, are all the same for you-you’ll be at a loss to choose between paradise and hell! But until you reach that point (while you are still caught in the experiences of dualistic perception), virtue and nonvirtue, buddhafields and hells, happiness and pain, actions and their results – all this is reality for you. As the Great Guru has said, "My view is higher than the sky, but my attention to actions and their results is finer than flour."

So don’t go around claiming to be some great Dzogchen meditator when in fact you are nothing but a farting lout, stinking of alcohol and rank with lust!

It is essential for you to have a stable foundation of pure devotion and samaya, together with a strong, joyful endeavor that is well balanced, neither too tense nor too loose. If you are able to meditate, completely turning aside from the activities and concerns of this life, it is certain that you will gain the extraordinary qualities of the profound path of Dzogchen. Why wait for future lives? You can capture the primordial citadel right now, in the present.

This advice is the very blood of my heart. Hold it close and never let it go!

Counsels from my Heart

Dudjom Rinpoche

EHMAHO! Once again, beloved sons and daughters, listen with devotion! "Mind in its insubstantiality is like the sky." Is this true or false, my children? Confirm it by relaxing completely and looking directly at the mind, gazing with your entire mind, free of all tension.

"The emptiness of the mind is not just a blank nothingness, for without doubt it is the primal awareness of intrinsic knowledge, radiant from the first. Self-existent, natural radiance is like sun-light." Is this indeed true? To confirm it, relax completely, looking directly at the nature of your mind.

"There is no doubt that it is impossible to objectify or grasp thought or the movement of memory. This capricious, changeable movement is like the cosmic wind!" Is this indeed so? To confirm it, relax completely, looking directly at the nature of your mind.

"Without doubt all appearances whatsoever are our own manifestation. All phenomena, whatsoever manifests, is like reflection in a mirror." Is this indeed so? To confirm it, relax completely, looking directly at the nature of mind.

No experience is possible anywhere but in the mind, so there is nothing to see other than that seen at the moment of vision. No experience is possible anywhere but in the mind, so there is nothing to meditate upon other than mind. No experience is possible anywhere but in the mind, so there is nothing to do other than what is done in the mind. No experience is possible anywhere but in the mind, so there is no samaya to be sustained outside the mind. No experience is possible anywhere but in the mind, so there is no goal to be reached that is not in the mind.

Look, look, and look again. Look at your own mind!

Project your attention into external fields of space, and, attentively watching the nature of your mind, see if it moves. When you are convinced by observation that the mind does not move, retract your attention and concentrate upon the mind within, and look carefully for the projector of diffused thought. When you have decided that there is no entity responsible for thought patterns, look carefully for the color and shape of the mind. When you arrive at the emptiness that has no color or shape, look for a center or circumference. Certain that middle and margin are the same, search for an inside and an outside. Finding no distinction between inside and outside, you arrive at Knowledge, which is vast as the sky.

"By virtue of its all-penetrating freedom this Knowledge that has no center or circumference, no inside or outside, is innocent of all partiality and knows no blocks or barriers. This all-penetrating intrinsic knowledge is a vast expanse of space. All experience of samsara and nirvana arises in it like rainbows in the sky. In all its diverse manifestation it is but a play of mind."

You need only look out from the motionless space of intrinsic knowledge at all experience, illusory like the reflection of the moon in water, to know the impossibility of dividing appearances from emptiness.

"In a state of Knowledge there is no separation of samsara and nirvana." Look out from the motionless space of intrinsic knowledge at all experience, illusory like the reflection in a mirror, and no matter what manifests it can never be tasted, its existence can never be proved. In this dimension samsara and nirvana do not exist and everything is the dharmakaya.

All beings wandering in the three realms of samsara remain trapped in dualism until they realize that within their own perception resides the primal awareness that is the ultimate identity of all experience of samsara and nirvana. Due to the power of the delusive subject/object dichotomy, they hold samsara and nirvana to be different states of mind. They remain bound because, where in truth there is nonduality, they see a duality.

In reality no distinction between samsara and nirvana can exist in anybody's mind. However, when the worldly fool rejects some things and indulges in others, avoiding the "bad" and cultivating the "good", despising one while loving another, then due to partiality, prejudice and bias, aimlessly he [one] wanders through successive lives.

Rather than attain the spontaneously accomplished three modes of intrinsic knowledge [essence, nature, responsiveness] without striving, thick headed aspirants explore the techniques and stages of many time-consuming methods of "self-improvement", leaving them no time to reach the seat of the Buddha.

"Emphatically, all phenomenal appearances whatsoever are one's own vision." Look out from the state of motionless intrinsic knowledge and all light-form and animate existence is like reflection. Appearances are empty, sound is empty and indeed one's own nature is originally empty.

Similarly, turn your attention inwards to the mind that is the viewer, and your thought processes, naturally subsiding, are empty like the sky, unstructured, free of conceptual elaboration, utterly indeterminable, beyond description, concept and expression of any kind.

All events whatsoever are an illusory magical display of mind and all the magical display of mind is baseless and empty. When you have realized that all events are your own mind, all visual appearances become the empty dharmakaya.

Appearances are not binding. It is through attachment to them that beings are fettered. Sever all delusive attachments, children of my heart!

~Shabkar Lama

EHMAHO! Once more listen attentively, my noble sons and daughters. The three modes of Buddha's being--essence, nature and responsiveness--and the five modes of being, as well as the five aspects of primal awareness are all completed and perfected in the naturally luminous intrinsic knowledge of the here and now.

The essence of Knowledge, indefinable by any term such as color, shape or other attribute, is the dharmakaya; the inherent radiance of emptiness is the light of sambhogakaya; and the unimpeded medium in which all things manifest is the nirmanakaya.

The three modes are explained like this: the dharmakaya is a crystal mirror; the sambhogakaya is its nature--brilliant clarity; and the nirmanakaya is the unobstructed medium in which the reflection appears.

From the first, people's minds have existed as these three modes of being. If they are able to recognize this spontaneously, it is unnecessary for them to practice even so much as a moment of formal meditation--the awakening to Buddhahood is instantaneous.

In this introduction to the three modes they are defined separately. In truth, my heart-children, do not fall into the error of believing them to be separate, belonging to different continuums.

From the beginning, the three modes of being are empty and utterly pure. Understanding them as a single essence that is the union of radiance and emptiness, conduct yourself in a state of detachment.

Further, since the primal awareness of self-existing Knowledge manifests everything whatsoever, this awareness is the pure-being of the Creator, Vairocana; since it is unchanging and unchangeable, it is the pure-being of Immutable Diamond, Aksobhya-vajra; since it is without centre or circumference, it is the pure-being of Boundless Light-form, Amitabha; since it is also the gem that is the source of supreme realization and relative powers, it is the pure-being of the Fountain of Jewels, Ratnasambhava; since it accomplishes all aspiration, it is the pure-being of the Fulfiller of All Ambition, Amoghasiddhi. These deities are nothing but the creative power of Knowledge.

The primal awareness of Knowledge is mirror-like awareness because of the manifest clarity of its unobstructed essence. It is awareness of sameness because it is all-pervasive. It is discriminating awareness because the entire gamut of diverse appearances is manifest from its creativity. It is the awareness that accomplishes all actions because it fulfills all our ambition. It is awareness of the reality-continuum, the dharmadhatu, because the single essence of all these aspects of awareness is primal purity. Not so much as an atom exists apart from these, which are the creativity of intrinsic knowledge.

When a pointed finger introduces you directly and immediately to the three modes--essence, nature and responsiveness--and the Five Buddhas and the five aspects of awareness, all together, then what is experienced is brilliant, awakened Knowledge unaffected by circumstance and uninfluenced by clinging thought; it is cognition of the here and now, unstructured and unaffected.

All the Buddhas of the three aspects of time arise from this Knowledge. Constantly identify yourselves with it, beloved sons and daughters, because this is the spirituality of all the Buddhas of the three aspects of time.

Knowledge is the unstructured, natural radiance of your own mind, so how can you say that you cannot see the Buddha? There is nothing at all to meditate upon in it, so how can you complain that meditation does not arise? It is manifest Knowledge, your own mind, so how can you say that you cannot find it? It is a stream of unceasing radiant wakefulness, the face of your mind, so how can you say that you cannot see it? There is not so much as a moment of work to be done to attain it, so how can you say that your effort is unavailing? Centered and dispersed states are two sides of the same coin, so how can you say that your mind is never centered? Inbtrinsic knowledge is the spontaneously originated three modes of being, which is achieved without striving, so how can you say that your practice fails to accomplish it? It is enough to leave the mind i n a state of non-action, so how can you say that you're incapable of attaining it? Your thoughts are released at the moment of their inception, so how can you say that the antidotes were ineffective? It is cognition of the here and now, so how can you say you do not perceive it?

~Shabkar Lama

WHEN ONE IS CERTIFIED TO THE CHARACTERISTIC OF REALITY,

THERE ARE NO PEOPLE OR DHARMAS, THE KARMA OF THE

AVICHI IS CANCELLED IN A KSHANA.

IF I WERE DECEIVING LIVING BEINGS WITH UNTRUE WORDS,

I'D INVITE UPON MYSELF THE RIPPING OUT OF TONGUES FOR AEONS AS MANY AS DUST AND SAND.

~Yongjia Xuanjue

Master Hsuan Hua's COMMENTARY :

WHEN ONE IS CERTIFIED TO THE CHARACTERISTIC OF REALITY. That is, when one has been certified as having attained the fruition of Enlightenment, which has no characteristics, THERE ARE NO PEOPLE OR DHARMAS. Both people and dharmas vanish, and one miraculously tallies with TrueEmptiness.

THE KARMA OF THE AVICHI IS CANCELLED IN KSHANA. In an instant, the offense karma deserving the uninterrupted Hell, is wiped out. How can this be? The Superior One cuts out the consciousness-seeds of beginningless karma with the Royal Vajra Jewelled Sword.

If I WERE DECEIVING LIVING BEINGS WITH UNTRUE WORDS.

What I, Master Yung Chia, now say is the true and genuine testimony of Englightenment. If I were cheating living beings with lies, I'd certainly cause myself to fall into a hell where my tongue would be ripped out for as many ages as there are particles of dust and sand, and I would undergo unlimited suffering in retribution.

These lines express the Master's kindheartedness and concern. He was afraid that people would be skeptical and disbelieve what he said, so he make this vow to strengthen the faith of living beings and enable them to be certified to Unconditional Enlightenment. The Great Master's compassion for living beings was extremely deep.

Have you not seen people who study has ended,

Who do nothing, who abide in the way at ease?

They do not banish false thoughts, they do not seek

The truth, the true nature of ignorance is the

Buddha-nature; this empty body, an illusory

Transformation, is the dharma-body.

In the dharma-body's enlightenment, there is not a

Single thing; at its source the inherent nature is

The buddha of divine innocence, the five skandhas,

Like floating clouds, emptily come and go;

The three poisons, like bubbles of water, rise and sink, unreal.

~Yongjia Xuanjue

Master Hsuan Hua's commentary:

HAVE YOU NOT SEEN.... The meaning is twofold: first, have you not seen these people of the Way? And second, they are very difficult to see.

PEOPLE WHOSE STUDY HAS ENDED, WHO DO NOTHING, WHO ABIDE IN THE WAY AT EASE? People of the way at ease are those who have attained Enlightenment and in pure leisure, area undefiled by desire. They have already completed their studies and there is no more to learn. There is nothing that they do not do, but there is nothing to do. In other words. they have done whaat there was to be done.

THEY DO NOT BANISH FALSE THOUGHTS, THEY DO NOT SEEK THE TRUTH. Their false thoughts are already edned, and so they have no further need to eliminate them. Because they have already been certified as having attained the truth, they have no further need to seek it.

THE TRUE NATURE OF IGNORANCE IS THE BUDDHA-NATURE. Right within the real nature of the ignorance (of living beings), is the complete Buddha-nature. It is not that the buddha-nature exists apart form ignorance.

THIS EMPTY BODY, AN ILLUSORY TRANSFORMATION, IS THE DHARMA-BODY. Right within this illusory, empty body, completely within it, is the Dharma-body. The Dharma-body cannot be sought outside the empty-body. What is the Dharma-body? It has no shape or form, and so it is said:

IN THE DHARMA-BODY'S ENLIGHTENMENT,

THERE IS NOT A SINGLE THING;

AT ITS SOURCE THE INHERENT NATURE

IS THE BUDDHA OF DIVINE INNOCENCE.

THE FIVE SKANDHAS, LIKE FLOATING CLOUDS, EMPTYLY COME AND GO. None of the five heaps, or skandhas--form, feeling, thought, activity, and consciousness--have any inherent nature. Fundamentally, their substance is emptiness, like that of floating clouds drifting naturelly in the sky. They were never created, and so no one controls them and no one has authority over them.

THE THREE POISONS, LIKE BUBBLES OF WATER, RISE AND SINK, UNREAL. The three poisons of greed, hatred, and stupidity are as strong as putrid meat, as poisoned wine, as opium, and everyother poison; yet they too, have no inherent nature. In general, they come from defiled habits; they are like bubbles, produced of themselves and extinguished of themselves. Suddenly they are there; suddenly they are gone. Empty and false, they rise and sink--they are unreal.

In a place called Visnunagara, there was a king who, having fully developed his kingdom, did not lack for any desirable qualities. One day, a well-developed yogin came to that place asking for alms. The yogin said to the king, "Your Majesty, the kingdom is without substance. Samsara is like a watermill of birth, old age, and death; every worldly realm is painful. There is no end to the various kinds of pain, for even in paradise, there is the pain of transformation. Even the grand monarch of a world-system can fall into a bad destiny. Desirable things are deceiving, and they evaporate like dew. Your Majesty should be without attachment, and practice the Dharma."

"If there is a method of practicing the Dharma which does not force me to give up the things I like, then give it to me. If there is none, well, I cannot live by eating alms and wearing patched clothes," said the king.

"Patched clothes and alms for food are the very best way," said the yogin. "It is important for Your Majesty to take up such a life."

"Patched clothes disgust me, and the idea of eating left-overs in a skull cup disgusts me even more. I cannot do it.

At that, the yogin said, "Ruling the kingdom with such pride as yours, you will surely experience the misery of a bad destiny in a later life. There is, however, a method which brings joy as its result which does not mean patched clothes, leftovers, or a skull cup." And he told the king that there was indeed a method of practicing the Dharma which does not mean giving up desirable things.

The king responded, "Well then, I will practice that Dharma. Please show it to me."

The yogin then instructed the king: "Your Majesty, give up your pride and attachment to that shining bracelet on your arm. Combine the unattached mind and the light of the jewels into one, and meditate." The yogin then gave the king the following instructions:

The light of the bracelet radiates everywhere. Look at it. It is the joy of your own mind. The many sorts of outer ornaments produce many kinds of color, but their own nature does not change. In the same way, the various appearances give rise to many memories and ponderings, but the mind itself is radiant like a jewel.

The king then directed his mind to the bracelet on his left arm and meditated. Having experienced the mind itself through these objects of desire, he obtained siddhi in six months. When his retinue looked through the door they were amazed at the sight of a circle of countless divine maidens. They requested instructions from the king and he said:

The experience of the mind itself is king; Great Bliss is the kingdom. The integration of the two is the highest enjoyment. If you need a king, do likewise.

He preached to his court and to all the various peoples of Visnunagara, and he became known as Kankanapa, 'the Man with the Bracelet'. After five hundred years, he went to the realm of the Dakas in this very body.

~Caturaśītisiddha

EHMAHO! Again, beloved children of my heart, listen! "Mind", this universal concept, this most significant of words, being no single entity, manifests as the gamut of pleasure and pain in samsara and nirvana. There are as many beliefs about it as there are approaches to Buddhahood. It has innumerable synonyns.

In the vernacular it is "I"; some Hindus call it the "Self"; the Disciples say "self-less individual"; the followers of"Mind-only call it simply "mind"; some call it "perfect insight"; some call it "Buddha-nature"; some call it the "Magnificent Stance" (Mahamudra); some call it the "Middle Way"; some call it the "Cosmic Seed"; some call it the "reality continuum"; some call it the "universal ground"; some call it "ordinary consciousness". Since the synonyms of "mind", the labels we apply to it, are countless, know it for what it really is. Know it experientially as the here and now. Compose yourself in the natural state of your mind's nature.

When at rest the mind is ordinary perception, naked and unadorned; when you gaze directly at it there is nothing to see but light; as Knowledge, it is brilliance and the relaxed vigilance of the awakened state; as nothing specific whatsoever, it is a secret fullness; it is the ultimacy of non-dual radiance and emptiness.

It is not eternal, for nothing whatsoever about it has been proved to exist. It is not a void, for there is brilliance and wakefulness. It is not unity, for multiplicity is self-evident in perception. [here I think of "in perception... only? ...and I'm inclined to think in answer to this...yes. Then beyond this, follows a thought of total interdependence, regardless of perception or not,of course, and yet beyond this "I" come to a thought of, in reality a non-interdependence due to this very non-separatedness encountered or perceived in total interdependence, spontaneously and so - 'ad infinitum.' So anyhow, to continue...] It is not multiplicity, for we know the one taste of unity. It is not an external function, for Knowledge is intrinsic to immediate reality.

In the immediate here and now we see the face of the Original Lord abiding in the heart centre. Identify yourself with him, my spiritual sons [children]. Whoever denies him, wanting more from somewhere else, is like the man [person] who has found his [their] elephant but continues to follow its tracks. He [They] may comb the three dimensions of the microcosmic world systems for an eternity, but he [they] will not find so much as the name of Buddha other than the one in his [their] heart.

Such is my introduction initiating recognition of our true existential condition, which is the principle realization in Cutting Through to the Great Perfection.

~Shabkar Lama

Mahamudra, the royal way, is free from every word and sacred symbol. For you alone, beloved Naropa, this wonderful song springs forth from Tilopa as spontaneous friendship that never ends.

The completely open nature of all dimensions and events is a rainbow always occurring yet never grasped. The way of Mahamudra creates no closure. No strenuous mental effort can encounter this wide open way. The effortless freedom of awareness moves naturally along it.

As space is always freshly appearing and never filled, so the mind is without limits and ever aware. Gazing with sheer awareness into sheer awareness, habitual, abstract structures melt into the fruitful springtime of Buddhahood.

White clouds that drift through blue sky, changing shape constantly, have no root, no foundation, no dwelling; nor do changing patterns of thought that float through the sky of mind. When the formless expanse of awareness comes clearly into view, obsession with thought forms ceases easily and naturally.

~From the book Mother of the Buddhas, by Lex Hixon