Stilling the Mind: Shamatha Teachings from Dudjom Lingpa's Vajra Essence by Wallace B. Alan

Author:Wallace, B. Alan [Wallace, B. Alan]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780861716494
Publisher: Perseus Books Group
Published: 2011-08-23T03:00:00+00:00

Again, here the bodhisattva is speaking not of the mind’s ultimate nature but its relative characteristics by means of which you can identify mind versus that which is not mind. The objects of the mind “are displayed in the domain of space, grasped by the conceptual mind.” Recall that all grasping is not necessarily reification. All the gradations of grasping boil down to two main categories: grasping where standard conceptual designations are used to communicate but where no reification is implied and grasping where reification does take place. The grasping to which the bodhisattva refers is of the first category. So objects of the mind are displayed—they reveal themselves—and are grasped; that is, they are identified as such. “This is form, this is smell, taste, earth, water.” The act of designating is performed by the conceptual mind.

Likewise in dreams “the entire world,” the entire dream world, “its inhabitants, and sense objects are all displayed as they were before.” That is, they seem to arise very similarly to the way they arise in the waking state. In this environment they are clearly arising in the space of the mind. “After this life, too”—here he’s referring specifically to the after-death bardo—“the essential nature of the mind appears as space, and in that domain the entire world, its inhabitants, and sense objects appear in the same way.” Keep in mind that the world of the after-death bardo overlaps with our world. For instance, there are ghosts floating around, looking at their dead bodies or seeing their grieving relatives. This is why, from the Tibetan tradition, for up to seven weeks after a person has died, if you think of that person, it is believed that he or she may perceive those thoughts. Ghosts are clairvoyant. So when you think of them, do so with benevolent thoughts and help them on their way.

Whenever grasping occurs, chances are, out of sheer habit, that one is continually deluded. Why? By first reifying and then following our “natural” habitual patterns, manifestations of craving and aversion and all the mental afflictions ensue, resulting in deluded behavior.

“Therefore space, self, others, and all sense objects are of one taste—they are certainly not separate. Moreover, it is the luminosity of space itself, and nothing else, that makes appearances manifest. The essential nature of the mind and its ground is space itself. Various appearances occur in the realm of mental cognition—limpid, clear, forever-present consciousness. The display of these appearances is like the reflections in a mirror or the images of planets and stars in a pool of limpid, clear water.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.