INTRODUCTION TO MEDITATION

PART B

A transcript of a few Q&A on:

• Non-dual Knowing: and more
• How and who to learn from; What is Discipline; Finding a true teacher
• Diet & Fasting

★★★

1) ON NON-DUAL KNOWING; And more

Our intellect understands things by comparing one thing with another, eg: "Is it big?"
If you compare it to your hand, a mountain is big; or a microbe is small; but compared to a planet, a
mountain is small, and compared to a nanobot, a bacteria is big; etc.

This is "con-sciousness", it is com-pounded, fractioned thinking, fractionary perception that considers

"aspects" of the whole.

Non-dual awareness is like "touch & go", "all in one instant" type of knowing.
For example you are a parent and preparing something in your kitchen with your young child around
you while you do it. Something is cooking on the stove and you keep an eye from time to time, having
told him to be careful and not touch the stove's fire with his hands, for fear of getting hurt. Then your
landline rings in the other room next door and you have to take the call, but you warn him that you'll
be right back, need to answer the phone, so in the meantime to "be good" and not do anything silly.
You go to the other room and pull the phone's wire after a minute to just peep and have a look, to
check everything's all right. Your head peeps through the kitchen door and in one instant, all is said
and known: "I know that you know... that I know...!" kind of situation, "I saw you!" ....no comment or
intellectual reasoning is needed, right? We know very well how to do this, innately.

So we all have this capacity to "know" instantly, instant by instant, with no judgment or justification
whatsoever needed, and no comparison or reference point, full awareness that knows many aspects
of a whole situation all in one go. Not fractioned.

But what we do need is to trust ourselves (more).

To trust that our own perception is correct, with integrity or wholesomeness, we are never separate
from the whole. So if education tells us to "Listen to your parents, do as your teachers tell you, obey
the doctor, and the administration, and the police, and the tax department, and only do what a
psychiatrist agrees with..."... well then, you understand the system!!
They disempower you by making you think that YOU (aka your direct perception) is NOT correct, or
not PRIORITARY, not enough, not valid, not to be taken into account... Why? Because if you do, you
affranchize yourself.....from THEM!

So in the end, our senses are all that we have, to relate to reality! What we see, what we hear, what
we smell, taste and touch, and what we think...and which all have our own innate awareness (or
capacity of cognizance) as common denominator.
So if our own Awareness is not the true boss here, aka "The Man," well then... I don't know who is...♦
Therefore, our senses and our perceptions ARE OUR ONLY REALITY, and therefore the only thing that
can be trusted!!

And there and then, you can break the control mechanism from the inside out. You finally give your
attention, and all credit, back to their one & only legitimate owner:
YOU.

So, since we are a torsion-field of space-sound-energy-awareness, and since every torsion-field has a
zero-point (black hole)—which has awareness, as Dr Ilija Lakicevic presents on Omnia Radiation—
then, by necessity, awareness has two modes:
1} one of fully knowing itself (singularity),
2} and ALSO—and even possibly at the same time—one of refracting itself in a dual mode (comparing
one "thing" with another, althewhile these seemingly "two things" are just itself self-reflecting its own
"content", playing kaleidoscopic light effects with itself.

★★★

2) ON HOW & WHO TO LEARN FROM; WHAT IS DISCIPLINE; FINDING A TRUE TEACHER

A) «How do I learn to taste properly, or who should I learn to taste from?»

In the absence of any available teacher, the best and most powerful way, and that is fruitful in and of
itself in all cases, is to do it on your own.

Trust yourself!

Indeed, the solution is already there, you know it—it just requires to let "the force" aka non-dual
awareness, rest in and of itself in its natural state. To let that work on you in its own natural way. And
you just stay there, looking, curious, interested, enquiring, into your own natural quality of cognizance
of the mind, with a pioneering spirit of discovering this as to yet undiscovered land, the unknown
territory of the depth of this awesomeness that is the "miracle of being alive": being aware.

Here, you have already ascertained personally a basic understanding through learning & reflection.
So now: you trust yourself above all. Trust IT. It is your nature, this indestructible potential that is the
only thing in the entire cosmos that will not let you down, that will not leave you or abandon you, that
will not cheat or lie to you—contrary to all the rest!—and that will forever, timelessly, be there,
waiting to catch you in its loving arms, just waiting for you, your own awareness, to "pay attention" to
IT...in ITS language:
Silence.

IT will show you the way.

THIS: requires no empowerment, no obligation, no engagements or vows, is simplest, fastest,

strongest, easiest, fewer pitfalls and only 2 obstacles (agitation & dullness of the mind, each of which
have detailed "remedies" explained in detail in meditation manuals on shamatha-vipashyana practice
such as "The Ocean of Certainty").
So it is all to your advantage, in a deep way, to take a time to start by yourself. Teachers are most
useful when you actually do have practical questions, but the true questions come up only after
already a while of individual attempts! Then you really have matter to discuss, and a teacher becomes
meaningful.

And on top of the great courage of starting to deal with this by yourself—which gives you great
strength, beauty of personality, self-discipline being one of the most powerful "weapons" we as
sovereign beings could ever have—it also preserves what is termed in Tibetan the freshness of
ordinary mind, or beginner's mind. You are not influenced by what someone else says, you stay fresh
and learn to trust that and deepen it and preserve it, instead of doing every effort you can to "do well"
or "properly", in a given context other than your own. It's the royal way in the end.
And no enlightened guy's life-story I have ever heard of doesn't include periods of doing this by
yourself. So it will serve to strengthen and deepen your mindstream in any case.

B) «Who to learn to taste from?»

From anyone with REAL, heavy-duty experience and/or realization (preferably) of the nature of his
own mind, or emptiness (aka dark matter as western scientists like to call it), so that: mind to mind,
directly in the silence of the blossomed state of energy they are living in through this definite and deep
underlying realization, its meaning and inspiration can infuse you (like a herbal tea) and lead you
upwards, naturally, because it is a very living state, a living experience.
Nothing can be forced, its always bothways a free will situation.

But that aside, whatever you do on your own will never be lost. It stays with you. And then, the
difficulty is finding oneself in the right place at the right time, with the right people: gathering
individual favorable circumstances remains paramount—and tricky.

C) Q: «Now I do not wish to become a monk, or not yet at least. But to begin on the right path or true
path to freedom would be a good start?»

Why does one take monks' vows, generally speaking? Because one wants to train in this awesomely
difficult art that is self-discipline, and one realizes the crazy-like difficulty in doing so. Lacking self-
confidence, and lacking energy first and foremost (as "strength of personality"), one feels that it would
be much easier and more comfortable to do so by following and copying others who already know,
and just follow the flow.
Just like someone who has a broken leg will advantageously use a crutch for a short while for the
duration of his "weakness", and knowing he will quit the cane once stronger, one uses whatever
works, to be able to learn and gain efficiency in this incredible capacity for oneself.

So: a monk, learning slowly to dress a certain way, follow certain protocols and learn a few basic things,
will (slowly, slowly) develop the COURAGE to do this singular thing that truly is the most difficult, ever,
to do in the whole universe: yourself investigating yourself, by yourself, enquiring about your self
nature.

Doing that is PRECISELY what is meant by "vipashyana practice": YOU, enquiring directly.
By looking. Observing. Understanding.
Again, again, and again...and then some. It deepens and deepens every time...till the full, definite zero-
point target is fully acquired!
So a monastic school is simply a "School of Discipline" for those who lack this personal, individual
strength. For, the ONLY discipline in the world that actually IS one, is the ability to meditate!!! By
yourself!!

Another (frequent and honorable) case of people taking monastic vows, is because of a strong soul-
yearning towards this way of life as a whole: simplicity, few material needs or possessions, silence,
resuming the meaningfulness of life in its basic apparatus...is beautiful, strong, has nobility, dignity,
charisma too... A personal choice.

Also: there are 4 sets of different kinds of vows, ranging from simple layman (yes: "layman's vows!) to
full monastic ordination; men & women. They are all equal in simply being TOOLS that one reverts to
if and only if you don't already have that personal strength, that enables you to cut loose once and for
all the kinetic inertia of cyclical existence (samsara).
Or else: because you simply want to, already having this strength. Works too.

So the Tibetan tradition offers tailor-made accomodation as far as that, too.

But you need to "receive the vows" (ordination) from a living person who MUST be himself respecting
this level of vows (at least) in a very pure way. [Difficult to find, sometimes...!] Even for the layman's
vows, although many texts in the tradition will explain that, in case of impossibility of finding such a
rare gem, you can and absolutely may "ordinate" yourself, by yourself. The principle is to envision in
your mind's eye, summon or invoke the mindstream or wisdom-continuum of fully realized buddhas,
enlightened beings, wherever they may be presently residing in the cosmos, in the past, present or
future alike. You imagine yourself in their presence, and you take that commitment with yourself, out
loud, telling them that from now on, they bear witness to you, to this solemn promise you have just
made yourself! And you request that they assist you in case you were to fail.

This works because of understanding the mind's psychology for, in the power of your mere
imagination, you are actually summoning what people call their "higher self": something deep in your
unconscious "bears witness" to you from then on. It is not truly summoning anyone outside of
yourself, but our unconscious will remain deeply marked, and moved, in its depths, by this sort of
gesture of higher command of some sort, that you delimitate for yourself.
It is all about delimitating your intent, expressing your free will to better yourself even more, and be
able to progress ever more. With justice, and on a long term perspective. "Delimitation" is the word
used in Tibetan for "retreat".

The only paramount thing to keep in mind that matters above all when you take vows, is to keep them.
Not doing so is stabbing yourself in both feet: it will weaken you in your psychology in similar
proportions that it will help and strengthen you otherwise.
So: delimitate the duration, the field of application, etc, according to what you feel comfortable with.
The point is not to imitate someone else, but to inspire oneself with awesomely powerful examples of
guys who became lions amongst men. And...to make your own version of it!

The ONLY real discipline is: being able to stick to and persevere in shamatha-vipashyana practice, and
do so till the genuine end result is reached—and forever so.
There are so many Discourses (Sūtras) of Shakyamuni that emphasize this, to the point of being almost
nauseating!!

To determine, taste and experience the nature of your own mind to the fullest extent is the sole
concern and purpose of the entirety of this Himalayan legacy.

TO BE FREE.
Reading Discourses such as the Diamond Cutter Discussion can help dive into the deep end of the pool,
too!

Let your intelligent infinity ride the flow. Works wonders ♣

So, "to begin" as you say: know that shamatha-vipashyana practice IS the practice in the beginning, IS
the practice in the middle, and IS—naturally—the practice in the end!
There is no practice whatsoever OTHER than shamatha-vipashyana practice! Not in the Buddhist
tradition, anyways, like ever, ever, ever!!!

ALL the practices of vajrayana WITHOUT EXCEPTION have as sole purpose and are the protocol to help
STRENGTHEN your experience/practice/understanding of...
...guess what:...
....shamatha-vipashyana practice.

So «to begin on the right path or true path to freedom», I feel that might be a really great start ♣

D) «Where are there wise teachers in the world? How do I find someone who is wise?»

Great question...

I know a few old-school Tibetan teachers still alive, some are getting very old but they're the "real
deal" for sure. Some live in India though, or Nepal sometimes. Others: travel worldwide to give
teachings (=conferences) in various cultural Centres, all year long. You can contact any local Tibetan
centre to get info, programs of venues, etc.

But in a nutshell: you sense it from inside. Their perception is totally different from us, ordinary
(dualistic) beings: non-duality of zero-point awareness—if truly realized—CANNOT be faked, forever.
It has a very singular energy!
This is the most important path of all in our many series of lifetimes combined: so quality should
remain prioritary—that's how I go about this personally.

And Tibetans would always advise, in case of nothing else available, to "make prayers": a prayer is
litterally self-programming yourself, so that this may happen in reality. It's co-creative consciousness
in action. You EXPRESS your free will by saying and preparing the venue of that circumstance in the
future, and anything else you can wish for. That's the very meaning of the word in Tibetan: mön-
lam=(taking your own) aspiration/desire/intention/wishes (as a) path; (word for word). And as a
famous Tantra states: a wish/prayer remains forever engraved in the depth of your mindstrean until
it comes to pass.
This is part of the explanation on karma (mind-action). It is infallible as a quantum mechanism that is
simultaneously true and not-true at the same time (ie. for a quantum computer 1 and 0 are true at
the same time): and here you use karma for your own agenda this time, instead of being happy-go-
lucky with whatever comes. Both understanding its deep core (=0) and its own radiance or
manifestation (=1) AT THE SAME TIME.

This is what "Prayer" is about.

So it's always there as a tool in case of not being able to do anything better, at any point in space-
time.
I know, that's not totally comforting...! But it does prepare a possible future for something to happen
faster.

And lastly: in your search for wise people, comparing many different candidates is always very wise.
You sense things clearly, what fits, what doesn't. And examine, probe and test them BEFORE even
considering the possibility of trusting someone as a wise person/teacher. What lies hidden in our
depths, whomever we are, needs to be rendered visibly clear. Otherwise, spiritual heart-burns lie on
the horizon, and honestly: I've seen too many.
It's worse than normal heart-breaks and is never beneficial. There are so many charlatans that are so,
technically, althewhile being well-wishing and having various qualities, that it makes this particularly
difficult to find.

Conclusion: it's a tough question! The Quest...

But ultimately, the only real teacher is never anything else than our own infinitely perfect, forever
free, primordially pure, non-dual self-arisen timeless awareness—
—Space♦light♦energy (love)♦awareness.

"Vidyā" for short in Sanskrit; "Rigpa" in Tibetan.

♪♪♪
The whole thing is but one giant Cosmic Dance
Of rhythmically pulsating Energy:
A timeless photonic symphony of space-awareness—
Forever embraced with the choice of its double possibility—
TO BE FREE, OR NOT TO BE.
♪♪♪

★★★

3) ON DIET & FASTING

Q: Is there a specific diet you follow to achieve a better practice?

A: A specific diet for a better practice:

Generally speaking the Tibetans will advise (but of course this is according to individual requirements
and specificities): as little meat as possible, for the sake of other living creatures on one side but also
the energy of fear and ill treatments they went through, is transmitted through the meat. So it's a bit
of a violent energy you put in your body where here, you a busy trying to relax deeper and deeper,
developing a sense of absence of threat, thus absence of fear, of serenity with regards to life itself,
respect and so forth. So, murdering another life isn't the best way. Common sense. But many Tibetans
eat meat like once (or twice) a week, for example. Some are even prescribed to eat meat by their
doctor—it depends.
Then: not to eat too much...this saturates your bodily system, and generates one of the 2 main
obstacles to the practice of meditation which is: dullness, being slow and not "bright". Every person
would know their measure and individual needs.

Generally speaking but in the context of vajrayana practice alone: garlic and onions are proscribed
(not good) for they supposedly have a blocking effect on the subtle channels of the body. But that is
only useful for "advanced" practitioners, if you like these things then they have many vitamins, too.
Just a detail.

"Karmically" speaking: food that has been procured by healthy ways, and healthily grown (as much as
possible). The memory of what something has been through is engrained and lingers on in its cells.

In case of encountering the 2nd main obstacle to the practice of meditation, which is agitation (aka
"monkey-mind" by some), then we are advised to eat "heavy digestion" food such as cheese, etc., that
calms down the energy of the body.
And when the mind is too sleepy, too dull, too "tired" to meditate, the idea is to then do the opposite:
lighter meals, tea, coffee...

Generally speaking of course: vegetarianism and better still veganism, are praised. But as always, some
people truly do need to eat meat to avoid prejudice to their health. We are all different and need to
"know ourselves".

The overall rule is: no excess, use the right measure. Food is medicine, and resources are rare and
precious.
So fasting every now and then is very much practiced historically and traditionally in Tibet, there is a
whole practice solely dedicated to this: it's called the practice of the "All-Seeing Eye With 1000 Arms",
a very beautiful tradition that strongly develops compassion, much loved by the Tibetans and
Bhutanese.
One day: food and drink but light dinner, and second day: drink at will but no food, light vegetable
soup for dinner. Then repeat, as many days as wished. And full day practice of developing the energy
called compassion. It links your intentions to your actions in one go, and is thus a very effective
practice.

★★★

{Reference material compiled by Oriana, June 2020}