Secret of the Vajra World by Reginald A. Ray

Author:Reginald A. Ray
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shambhala

PATH MAHAMUDRA I: MAHAMUDRA SHAMATHA AND VIPASHYANA

“Path mahamudra” represents the various practices and methods of meditation given in the Vajrayana tradition for the realization of mahamudra. As mentioned above, these are twofold: on the one hand, meditation on the various yidam and inner yoga practices of the anuttarayoga tantras; on the other, the direct, formless mahamudra instructions on resting in naked awareness.

On the Vajrayana path, what is the difference between the tantric form and the formless practices of mahamudra? In the form practices, as we saw in chapter 10, one follows a specific itinerary beginning with the various ngöndro, or preliminary practices. One then meets mahamudra in the “pointing-out instructions” given by one’s guru. Subsequently, one receives abhisheka, or empowerment, and encounters mahamudra again in the fourth abhisheka. Following empowerment, one undertakes the practice, or sadhana, of the yidam, the personal deity in whose cycle abhisheka was received. In this practice, one becomes further acquainted with mahamudra in the realization of the essence of the deities as appearance-emptiness and in formless meditation of the stage of completion. In the formless tradition of mahamudra, “Essence mahamudra,” one engages directly in practices of abandoning discursive thinking and resting the mind in the clear, luminous awareness that is mahamudra.

The simplicity and apparent ease of the “formless” approach to mahamudra raises the question of why a practitioner would ever want to follow the more complex and seemingly more taxing “form” path. Whether one follows primarily Tantra mahamudra or Essence mahamudra has as much to do with one’s own karma as it does with any conscious, personal preference. If a person can sit down and, with relative ease, rest his or her mind in the natural state for extended periods of time, then this is a person for whom the Essence practice may, in and of itself, be sufficient. In this case, once the guru has pointed out the nature of mind, the disciple is subsequently able to rest in that. Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche tells us that this was, in fact, the case with his guru, Samten Gyatso, who once told his disciple, “At a young age I was introduced to the mind essence. Since then until now, I have not had any great problems at all in sustaining the view; as a matter of fact, there does not seem to be any difference between day and night.”16

However, for most of us, strong mental obstacles arise if we try to carry out mahamudra (or dzokchen), without first engaging in a substantial amount of yidam practice. This is so because formless practice is considered quite difficult, and the “form” practices much easier of access. Most people who try to enter the formless practices without sufficient preparation find themselves plagued with discursive thinking, daydreaming, and “spacing out.” They may even sit on their meditation cushion, thinking that they are not thinking; they may have the continuous thought that they are practicing Essence mahamudra and be most pleased to be engaging such an advanced cycle of teachings. However, these very thoughts themselves can act as subtle obstacles that prevent very much from happening.

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