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Tsoknyi Rinpoche
The Ground:
All phenomena are within the natural state, so the way we see things is our perception. The
Dharmakaya pervades everything. Everything is included in one. It is very important to understand
this, the “levels” of ground, path and fruition, is only our conceptions and there is really no levels, it’s
all one!
If you have a sweet wrapped into a paper, the paper is the ground, the path is the wrapping and to
open it is the fruition.
The sweetness has always been inside this wrapping. You have to understand how the students of
the Buddha and the masters following them again reached enlightenment.
Even the ground is beyond concepts it is said, its essence is empty, its nature is clarity, and the
clarity is unceasing. (So all these are together).
We should analyze if the nature of all phenomena is empty. (Sherab) Wisdom dissolves into the
ground. Recognizing the ground is good enough, but the clarity distracts you.
The essence of the nature is beyond permanence and impermanence. Because we don’t recognize
the natural state, the Tathagarba, we get caught up in the clarity. All phenomena are already
awakened. We believe in the true of phenomena, but at the actual state nothing has true existence.
It is easy to miss it if you are only thought on the absolute; you also have to know what delusion is.
Because we cannot always be and rest in the nature, we think that our delusions and illusions are
true! There are actually beings that are able to rest in the nature at all times, but as long as we are
as we are, we can’t see this.
By doing the practice we will break this “shell” of illusions and if we let the grasping fall apart, the
natural state will reveal itself. The three “Samadies” is for example a skillful mean to realize the
ground, path and fruition when we practice a yiddam. When we see a Buddha, we don’t see that he
is enlightened, this doesn’t mean that he is not enlightened. Grasping puts the seeming reality
together. When it comes to phenomena you have to let go of the notion that it is real and look at it
just as a mirage.
To be able to let the grasping fall apart, we have to apply the view, meditation and conduct. We have
to apply the view and there is a conceptual view and a non - conceptual view.
If we believe that the conceptual things are real, then this is a conceptual view. All the Buddha’s
teachings is on how to be deluded, even all qualities of the Buddha as we talk about it is dilutions.
The view that has concepts is called “Shamata” or tranquility. If you truly practice Dzogchen, you
don’t need to practice Shamata. There are beings, that when they are born, they are partly
introduced to the Tathagata. If you only practice Shamata it is not possible to realize the ground.
Forget about the minds essence; forget about the mind all- together. As Buddhist we have to work
with the karma, the root of karma. And if we come back because of karma, we will suffer and we
cannot help sentient beings. We should have the right to come and go as we please. This is
because of delusions and obscurations.
Shamata with object is known by people in the west because everything you do is concentrating on
objects, like at your job, driving etc. Abiding and staying, mindfulness and awareness is the main
three things that have to be present in both Shamata with and without support. 25% abiding, 25%
mindfulness and 50% awareness (the main Manager). The most important is the awareness, off
course it is important to be relaxed, but we have to get rid of the dullness.
Tibetans fall asleep when they meditate, but westerners are to active, looking too much outwardly.
You must learn to relax. It’s not really important to sleep, some Tibetan masters doesn’t sleep at all.
When you sleep it’s like you get unconscious and your mind completely collapses. Remember the 4
mindful nesses - mindfulness of body, sensation, mind and samadi.
In Tibetan there is a word called “nyam” = experience, but changing. If you have experiences like
this, this is not enlightenment, so you have to let go of it. We should never “try” to get this experience
again. If you practice you will get experiences and they come and go. We have to actualize this
realization to be able to conquer the habitual patterns it is not enough to study.
Sometimes mindfulness can be a little too much, and then it must be adjusted by awareness. Most
traditions stops with abiding in mindfulness - Shamata, but Dzogchen has a way to pass this state.
The view:
The secret mind is right there, the view of no concept, you might try to understand it with concepts.
The real difficulty lies here, to understand that this is the wisdom of our awareness. It is said that the
wisdom of the view cannot be conceived or understood, because it is beyond concept. But if you
have great merit, uncompelled devotion, compassion or intelligence it is possible to recognize, or if
the master gives you a shock of the five sufferings. Also at the very end of an orgasm, you
completely let go.
So, how to be able to let go completely of how we see things? We are talking about mind and minds
essence, it’s like ice and water. In minds essence there is three qualities. We must try to gain some
accomplishment in this life, so that we can traverse to a pure realm or at least have a good rebirth in
the human realm and be born to benefit beings.
Mind is not something or nothingness, it’s not substantial and not non-substantial. Seeing the empty
essence and the empty essence of that.
To be able to rid us from all obscurations we have to apply the view.
The Shamata practice is not free for “hope and fear”, so therefore we should practice the non-
conceptual meditation of “Trekchö”. Mind is when we get attached to objects and then get more and
more attached and thereby forgetting to look for the true nature.
If we want to attain enlightenment we have to recognize the natural state, if we go after all our
projections and thoughts, there is no way that we can reach enlightenment.
It’s nature is empty, it’s essence is clarity, unceasing.
Even though you have these three qualities, you don’t know how to look for them, so how to find
them?
There is four ways: Looking, seeing, letting be and freeing.
If you accumulate a lot of merit it will push you towards enlightenment or if it’s trough developing
devotion for the teacher / teachings and practice Guru Yoga.
So the best is for us to do a lot of mantra, practice and accumulations of merit.
Your looking is part of your method, the end of the looking and the beginning of the seeing is
together.
How to rest? Seeing is the view - non-conceptual view from the first second and continued abiding in
this Rigpa is the Meditation.
If we meditate that becomes a contrast, so without meditating and without not meditating
just abide in the natural flow of the view, leave it as it is and just rest in this flow. Completely relaxed
with clarity, if you become drowsy, you lose the view and if you become agitated you relax back into
the view. This is the meditation of the three immoveable :
1. The body should be like a mountain.
2. The sense organs should be immoveable like the reflections of stars in a lake.
3. The nature of mind is immoveable like the sky.
Meditation is open and spacious just like a vast ocean; Rigpa has a reflection, liveliness. You can’t
turn Rigpa on and of, it’s always on. It’s just you that is not always able to experience it. This is the
ground. You have a shallow and narrow Rigpa and not a vast and open Rigpa; it’s just like this
before you get acquainted with the practice.
If the state of Shamata is stabilized, your mind is abiding there and there is no movement, but if
there is movement it is Rigpa. Many Dzogchen practiceners sit in Rigpa a short time and then they
grasp and try to hold on to clarity and space, but it’s only if you practice and practice that this will
change and then you can prolong your abiding in Rigpa.
Even in Rigpa there is thought, but these arise as wisdom. In Rigpa you can think, but it’s thinking
without grasping. It’s like the karmic Police; they can’t find your footprints. Outer and inner
experiences are connected vast and un-originated.
Rigpa is like a foal, it has the power of the horse, but it will grow slowly in to a full racing horse.
You should start practice with developing Refuge and Bodhicitta, then you do your Yiddam - practice
and do some mantras. Then you do Shamata with and without support and then you start your
Dzogchen - practice.
There will be clarity, bliss and non - thought. Rigpa is very normal, no “out” or “in” or holding on to
anything. Rigpa is not “frozen” there is movement. Don’t try to prove that this is Rigpa, just hang in
there…….!
Rigpa is close to “stupid” meditation, but there is clarity and awareness. You completely let go and
relax.