Glen Svensson: Gelug Tradition of Mahamudra (part 8)

0:09 I thought we would start with a little emptiness meditation. Make yourselves nice and comfortable. Report an error in the passage at 0:09 Highlight the passage at 0:09

0:23 As you like. Report an error in the passage at 0:23 Highlight the passage at 0:23

0:28 Well, I usually do that because in class sometimes students find it a bit disconcerting when I'm sort of looking at them. So I just do it for their benefit. Report an error in the passage at 0:28 Highlight the passage at 0:28

0:41 So Report an error in the passage at 0:41 Highlight the passage at 0:41

1:10 we can begin by... Settling the body into its natural state of relaxation, stillness and vigilance. Report an error in the passage at 1:10 Highlight the passage at 1:10

1:26 Having a nice and relaxed body and the spine nice and straight. Report an error in the passage at 1:26 Highlight the passage at 1:26

1:56 Allowing our breathing to settle into its natural rhythm without forcing it or controlling it in any way. Report an error in the passage at 1:56 Highlight the passage at 1:56

· · · silence, 1 minute

2:46 And settling the mind into its natural state. Letting go of hopes or fears. Regarding the past or the future. In particular letting go of any expectations with regard to this meditation. Report an error in the passage at 2:46 Highlight the passage at 2:46

3:07 And bringing our mind into the stillness of the present moment by focusing on the breath. Report an error in the passage at 3:07 Highlight the passage at 3:07

· · · silence, 2 minutes

4:56 Do you have a sense that there's a me here who is trying to meditate? A me who is trying to focus on the breath. Do you have a sense of me the meditator? Report an error in the passage at 4:56 Highlight the passage at 4:56

5:13 A me that doesn't seem to depend upon anything else for its existence. Do you have this experience? Report an error in the passage at 5:13 Highlight the passage at 5:13

· · · silence, 1 minute

6:02 Where is this me, the meditator? Can we find the meditator? Is the meditator to be found anywhere within the body? Report an error in the passage at 6:02 Highlight the passage at 6:02

6:18 Search thoroughly your own body and see if you can find me, the meditator. Report an error in the passage at 6:18 Highlight the passage at 6:18

· · · silence, 1 minute

6:56 Is the meditator somewhere behind the eyes? Report an error in the passage at 6:56 Highlight the passage at 6:56

7:03 Is the meditator the brain? Report an error in the passage at 7:03 Highlight the passage at 7:03

7:18 Or is the brain something which I, the meditator, possess? Something which I have? Report an error in the passage at 7:18 Highlight the passage at 7:18

7:47 Is the body itself the meditator? Report an error in the passage at 7:47 Highlight the passage at 7:47

8:05 Or is the body something which I possess? Something which I have? Report an error in the passage at 8:05 Highlight the passage at 8:05

8:31 Perhaps the meditator is to be found somewhere in the mind. So again, search thoroughly every corner of your mind. See if you can find me, the meditator. Report an error in the passage at 8:31 Highlight the passage at 8:31

· · · silence, 1 minute

9:20 Are any of your thoughts, emotions, Memories or concepts, the meditator? Or Report an error in the passage at 9:20 Highlight the passage at 9:20

9:45 are thoughts, concepts, memories and emotions, things which I possess, things which I, the meditator, have? Report an error in the passage at 9:45 Highlight the passage at 9:45

10:15 Is the mind itself the meditator? Or Report an error in the passage at 10:15 Highlight the passage at 10:15

10:38 is the mind something which I possess, something which I have? Report an error in the passage at 10:38 Highlight the passage at 10:38

11:07 Or is the collection of the body and the mind together the meditator? Report an error in the passage at 11:07 Highlight the passage at 11:07

11:37 Or is the collection of the body and the mind together simply a collection of two things which I possess, which I, the meditator, have? But Report an error in the passage at 11:37 Highlight the passage at 11:37

12:08 apart from the body and the mind, what else is there here? Report an error in the passage at 12:08 Highlight the passage at 12:08

12:35 If there's nothing more than the body and the mind here, then where is the meditator who possesses this body and mind and is trying to train them? If Report an error in the passage at 12:35 Highlight the passage at 12:35

· · · silence, 1 minute

13:24 you can't find the meditator, simply rest. In the experience of not finding. Report an error in the passage at 13:24 Highlight the passage at 13:24

· · · silence, 2 minutes

15:08 And even if you didn't find the meditator, isn't there someone who's having the experience of not finding? Report an error in the passage at 15:08 Highlight the passage at 15:08

15:27 So there is a me, the meditator, meditating here. But that doesn't mean that the meditator exists in a solid, independent way. Report an error in the passage at 15:27 Highlight the passage at 15:27

15:45 In fact, the me, the meditator, is empty of existing independently or inherently. Report an error in the passage at 15:45 Highlight the passage at 15:45

15:55 Empty of existing in this way. Report an error in the passage at 15:55 Highlight the passage at 15:55

16:01 But that doesn't mean that there's no meditator at all. Rather the meditator exists dependently. Report an error in the passage at 16:01 Highlight the passage at 16:01

16:11 The meditator is something merely labeled depending on the body that is sitting here and the mind that is trying to focus on the breath. Report an error in the passage at 16:11 Highlight the passage at 16:11

16:24 The merely labeled me, the meditator, is sitting here meditating. Report an error in the passage at 16:24 Highlight the passage at 16:24

· · · silence, 1 minute

17:14 And then allow the mind to come to rest in its own place. Let go of all appearances. Report an error in the passage at 17:14 Highlight the passage at 17:14

17:37 Simply rest in the present moment. Report an error in the passage at 17:37 Highlight the passage at 17:37

17:51 Simply be aware. Report an error in the passage at 17:51 Highlight the passage at 17:51

18:02 Just be aware of being aware. Report an error in the passage at 18:02 Highlight the passage at 18:02

· · · silence, 1 minute

19:09 In maintaining awareness of the present moment, we can slowly finish this meditation and continue our discussions together. Report an error in the passage at 19:09 Highlight the passage at 19:09

19:46 So we can have a little bit of a look at that meditation through the next part of the text, which more or less... So if we look down at the bottom of page 9, the last paragraph, it says, That is, investigate the way in which it appears to the mind, The way in which it is apprehended by the mind and the way in which it actually exists. So that's what we did at the beginning of meditation. Report an error in the passage at 19:46 Highlight the passage at 19:46

20:32 We had a look at the sense of me, the meditator, the way in which it appears to the mind and the way in which it is apprehended by the mind. And then we investigated to see how it actually exists. So it says, when investigated in this way, the way in which all phenomena such as the being, the I, the person actually exist, is as a mere name or merely imputed by conception. Report an error in the passage at 20:32 Highlight the passage at 20:32

20:58 And so the meditation we use, the process, is more or less the same as in the quote from Nagarjuna coming here, where he says, the person is not earth, not water, not fire, not wind, not space, not consciousness. So this is dividing up into the six elements. Report an error in the passage at 20:58 Highlight the passage at 20:58

21:21 We can simplify that and say the first five elements. Refer to the body and then a consciousness element to the mind. So what we did, you can substitute here saying the person is not the body and the person is not the mind. And then if we go over, nor is the person all of these together, meaning the person is not the body and the mind together. Yet other than them, what person is there? Report an error in the passage at 21:21 Highlight the passage at 21:21

21:51 Yet other than the body and the mind, what person is there? And basically that's the approach we used. We first looked at the sense of me, the meditator, and saw that actually we tend to have quite a strong sense of me, the meditator. And that me, the meditator, seems to really have its own self-contained, self-existent, not really depending on anything else to exist. But when we searched, we searched the body, looking for the meditator. Report an error in the passage at 21:51 Highlight the passage at 21:51

22:21 We searched the mind, looking for the meditator. And then we search to see if the collection of the body and the mind is a meditator. Report an error in the passage at 22:21 Highlight the passage at 22:21

22:32 And then if we didn't find, then it says, but yet other than them, what person is there? Beyond the body and the mind, what else is there here? Report an error in the passage at 22:32 Highlight the passage at 22:32

22:45 And then the second verse, it says, just as the person is not an ultimate, since this is a collection of the six constituents, similarly each of those constituents are not ultimate, since they too are collections. So simply saying, we can say, just as the person is not... Inherently existent, since it is labelled depending on the collection of the body and the mind. Similarly, also the body and the mind are not inherently existent because they too are something labelled depending on their parts. Report an error in the passage at 22:45 Highlight the passage at 22:45

23:20 So it says here then, when you search in this way, you will not find even a mere atom of a meditative equipos, meditator and so on. It is said that not finding is the best finding and not seeing is the true seeing. So when we do this search, if we don't find the person anywhere here, then we are to hold that experience of not finding. Report an error in the passage at 23:20 Highlight the passage at 23:20

23:46 This is an experience of emptiness. Because here it says, it is said that not finding is the best finding, not seeing is the true seeing. At that point... Maintain the space-like meditative equipoise upon the ultimate nature, the mere negation of true existence single pointedly without distraction. So if we do this search, we don't find this solid independent me, the meditator. It says we should maintain space-like meditative equipoise. Report an error in the passage at 23:46 Highlight the passage at 23:46

24:16 What that means is that at the beginning of that meditation, we had a fairly strong sense that there is really a me, the meditator, here. Yet, when we searched and we couldn't find, then what's appearing now is not this solid me, meditator, but an absence of that, hence space-like. And we are to hold that single-pointedly without distraction. We are to hold that not finding and immerse our mind in it with the understanding that that not finding is the fact that there is no independent me, the meditator. Report an error in the passage at 24:16 Highlight the passage at 24:16

24:59 Then it says though, if your manner of apprehending that clear emptiness as a non-affirming negative becomes a little feeble, then from within the state of equipoise meditate single-pointedly investigating as before. Meaning if we do this and we don't find and then we just hold that not finding, what happens usually is we either become spaced out or become distracted by something. Report an error in the passage at 24:59 Highlight the passage at 24:59

25:24 If that's the case, We can go back, as said here, we can go back and investigate again. So we go back to the beginning, have that strong sense of me, the meditator, and then look again in the body and the mind to see if we can find it. If we don't find it, hold the not finding again. And it says here, it is said that when you ascertain this for the first time, if you have not previously familiarized yourself with the view, fear may arise in your mind. Report an error in the passage at 25:24 Highlight the passage at 25:24

25:55 When it says not familiarize yourself with the view means not become familiar with the view of emptiness before. If you don't really understand what the view of emptiness is, then again, as I mentioned before, for us there's just two possibilities now. Either there is this solid independent me or there's no me. And so if we do this meditation and we're not familiar with the view of emptiness, Understanding there's a third possibility, then of course when we do this investigation we don't find this solid independent me, it feels like we're going out of existence. Report an error in the passage at 25:55 Highlight the passage at 25:55

26:30 And so generally we develop a lot of fear. So if you're having fear in this meditation, very good. It means you're doing the meditation well, the only thing is that you're coming to the wrong conclusion. Your conclusion is that not finding the independent me means that there's no me. But there's a third possibility. Report an error in the passage at 26:30 Highlight the passage at 26:30

26:50 There's a dependent man. So we just need to let go of that fear, it's completely rational, and simply hold that not finding experience. Report an error in the passage at 26:50 Highlight the passage at 26:50

27:03 And it says here, if you are familiar with the view, joy may arise in your mind. And then of course it says here in the next paragraph, after arising from that mentality of equipoise, if you investigate, it is true that the person that mistakenly appears to us Due to our own mind being under the control of the demon of ignorance, does in fact not exist. Nevertheless, being the person, the mere I definitely does exist. Report an error in the passage at 27:03 Highlight the passage at 27:03

27:32 So even though we didn't find that inherently existent solid me, there is a me, the mere I. The one, the me, the meditator that's merely labelled depending on the body and the mind. Report an error in the passage at 27:32 Highlight the passage at 27:32

27:48 Any questions on that meditation? Report an error in the passage at 27:48 Highlight the passage at 27:48

28:08 So to conclude that bit, it says, Moreover, develop conviction with respect to the way in which it exists, like imputing man onto a pile of stones or imputing snake onto a rope. Person is a mere name imputed upon the mere collection of the six constituents or five aggregates. It is a mere label. It is merely imputed by conception and it is merely dawning as a dependent arising which is not an ultimate and is empty like an illusion. Report an error in the passage at 28:08 Highlight the passage at 28:08

28:43 I'm going to talk more a little bit about this idea of empty like an illusion on the next page. So I'll leave that till then. Then it says, of course, since this is a Mahamudra text here, it says, alternatively, since the extremely subtle wind mind is taught to be the subtle basis of the designation of I, and since those who give oral instructions also accept pointing out the nature of the mind when determining the reality of the mind, I shall instruct in accordance with that. Report an error in the passage at 28:43 Highlight the passage at 28:43

29:13 So here now he's began with the idea of looking at nature of reality in terms of person, which is probably a little bit easier. than looking at the mind itself. But now he's saying we can also investigate our own mind to see whether, in fact, our mind... What is really the nature of our mind? And that is mentioned in the next paragraph. It says, alternatively, within that state of meditative equipoise of shamatha, when the mind, which is not established in any way as an entity having form, meaning not physical, being a clear vacuity, and which operates continuously with diverse thoughts dawning and proliferating within an unceasing continuum of clarity and awareness, when that mind is investigated, then to of the the awareness awareness that that apprehends the mind, the conceived object appears to not depend upon anything else whatsoever and is apprehended So also when we actually look at our own mind, Our own mind also appears to be something really quite solid and independent, that our mind doesn't really seem to depend on anything else for its existence. Report an error in the passage at 29:13 Highlight the passage at 29:13

30:31 But then he's quoting Master Shantideva here, he says, Those things that are said to be a continuum or a collection are falsities, just like a rosary and arming and so on. So here, falsities means not existing in the way they appear. And it gives some examples here of a collection, like an army. An army is a collection of soldiers. Report an error in the passage at 30:31 Highlight the passage at 30:31

30:58 But if you look in that collection of soldiers, then there's no army to be found, because a soldier is not an army. So wherever you look there, it's just soldiers. So an army is a falsity. It appears to be something solid, but it's just a label applied to a collection of soldiers. Likewise here, a rosary or a mala is also a collection. It's just a collection of beads and a string. Report an error in the passage at 30:58 Highlight the passage at 30:58

31:31 But it seems to be something tangible and solid in itself. There seems to be a rosary there. But if we search there, all we find is beads and a string. So rosary again is only a label applied on the basis of that collection. It says here then, by using such scriptures and reasoning, Set your mind single-pointedly and equipoise within a state where you ascertain that the mind is not established in the way that it appears. Again, the mind seems to be solid and independent and real. Report an error in the passage at 31:31 Highlight the passage at 31:31

32:01 But then if we investigate the mind, like the rosary, we find the mind is simply a label we're applying to a continuum of moments of experience. We have a flow of experience, which was mentioned before, that... The mind is not physical and it says it operates continuously with diverse thoughts dawning and proliferating within an unceasing continuum of clarity and awareness. Report an error in the passage at 32:01 Highlight the passage at 32:01

32:29 So we have this flow of clarity and awareness and we label that collection of many moments of awareness, experience of the mind. Report an error in the passage at 32:29 Highlight the passage at 32:29

32:41 So there is a couple of quotes here. Particularly I like the last one. It says, the mind has never been seen. It is not seen now, nor will it ever be seen, even by any of the Buddhas of the three times. Which means if we look for the mind, we're not going to find any solid, independent, inherently existing mind anywhere. Report an error in the passage at 32:41 Highlight the passage at 32:41

33:05 Then if we go over onto the next page, there's a couple of important things to mention on this page. It says, in brief, as my virtuous spiritual friend, the truly omniscient Sangya Yeshe has personally said, When you are fully aware that whatever dawns is that apprehended by conceptual thought, the ultimate sphere of phenomena dawns without depending upon anything other. Report an error in the passage at 33:05 Highlight the passage at 33:05

33:30 Rest your awareness within that state of dawning and set your mind single-pointedly in equipoise. How wonderful. So what this is saying here is that, as I think mentioned briefly before, for us there's just two possibilities now. Either things are solid and independent and function, or nothing really exists. So for us, either there is a solid, independent functioning world, or there's no world. Report an error in the passage at 33:30 Highlight the passage at 33:30

34:07 So, when we investigate this world and ourselves, emptiness undermines the fact that there is a solid, independent world. But for us, that sort of seems to imply there's no me or no world. So emptiness seems to contradict functioning world. And of course functioning world is a dependent arising. This functioning world is a world of dependent arisings. But for us, emptiness and functioning world appears to be contradictory. Report an error in the passage at 34:07 Highlight the passage at 34:07

34:47 But here what it's saying here is that when we deepen our understanding of emptiness, then... Functioning world and emptiness won't appear contradictory. Now they sort of appear contradictory because for us there's two possibilities. Either there's something real, substantial and functions, or there's nothing at all really. Report an error in the passage at 34:47 Highlight the passage at 34:47

35:12 But if we deepen our understanding of emptiness, we'll come to appreciate that these two ideas are not contradictory but complementary. That in fact, because things are empty of independent existence, they can function. And because things function, they must be empty of independent existence. You know, this clock here, if this was existing independently, if this was an inherently existent clock, if its nature from its own side was to be a clock, then it actually couldn't become anything else. Report an error in the passage at 35:12 Highlight the passage at 35:12

35:47 Because its nature is to be a clock. So it actually couldn't change, it actually couldn't function. You could never create it, you could never destroy it. Because if it from its own side was a clock, that was its nature, it couldn't do anything, it couldn't change into anything else. So here what's being said is that when we really come to appreciate emptiness at a deeper level, then when we look at a functioning world, rather than that seem to be contradictory to emptiness, That will reinforce our understanding of emptiness. That we'll understand that because things function, they must be empty. That's what's being said in this paragraph here. Report an error in the passage at 35:47 Highlight the passage at 35:47

36:31 When you're fully aware that whatever dawns is that apprehended by conceptual thought, the ultimate sphere of phenomena dawns without depending upon anything other. That by simply looking at things that are appearing, that will induce an understanding of emptiness. Because we'll know then... That they are like two sides of one coin. That dependent arising, a functioning world, and emptiness are actually two sides of one coin. Report an error in the passage at 36:31 Highlight the passage at 36:31

37:01 That's what's being said here. And similarly, if we go down to where it says, similarly as said by Padampa Sanghi, O people of Dingri, within the state of emptiness, the lance of awareness swirls around. The view cannot be impeded by anything. Here the view is the view of emptiness. It cannot be impeded by anything, means that it's not contradictory to dependent arising to the functioning world. Report an error in the passage at 37:01 Highlight the passage at 37:01

37:29 That's what it means. All such statements have the same intended meaning. So what that's saying is that as we deepen our realisation of emptiness, we'll come to appreciate that fact. Report an error in the passage at 37:29 Highlight the passage at 37:29

37:42 And then in the conclusion, well conclusion is the conclusion of the meditation of course, it says dedicate whatever virtue has arisen. From having meditated on Mahamudra together with your ocean-like collection of virtue of three times towards unsurpassable great enlightenment. So again, in any virtuous activity, whether we're meditating, we should try and set a good motivation, the refuge bodhicitta motivation, and then at the conclusion of that, dedicate the virtue of having done that. Report an error in the passage at 37:42 Highlight the passage at 37:42

38:14 But then, as part of that conclusion, now comes this section. Where it says how to maintain your practice during subsequent attainment. Subsequent attainment here is what we do with the rest of our day outside of meditation. That's what subsequent attainment means. Because if we want to notice progress in our practice, practice has two parts. Report an error in the passage at 38:14 Highlight the passage at 38:14

38:41 Formal meditation and then what we do outside of meditation in daily life. So here... If we want to Report an error in the passage at 38:41 Highlight the passage at 38:41

38:52 support and we want to further our practice of Mahamudra, then we need to continue our practice throughout our day. What should we do during daily life is what's mentioned in the coming few paragraphs. It says, having familiarized yourself in this way, in meditative equipoise, then during subsequent attainment, Investigate in detail the way in which appearances that dawn as objects of the six consciousnesses are appearing. The way in which they exist as dreamlike dependent risings will then dawn nakedly and resplendently. Report an error in the passage at 38:52 Highlight the passage at 38:52

39:34 Through that, your ascertainment of the ultimate nature of phenomena will increase. So what that's saying is that when we come out of this sort of meditation on emptiness in our daily life, then we should investigate phenomena. When we come into contact with things is to really investigate them, not to blindly accept that they're existing independently, because that's how they appear to us. Report an error in the passage at 39:34 Highlight the passage at 39:34

39:58 We should investigate these appearances and then we'll come to see that, as it says here, that they exist as dreamlike dependent arisings. Meaning, dreamlike meaning they're not existing in the way they appear. And so, if we do this in our daily life, if we Consciously investigate things that appear to us and see, do these things really exist independently of me or not? Report an error in the passage at 39:58 Highlight the passage at 39:58

40:28 Then that will reinforce our emptiness meditation. That's what it says here. Through that, your ascertainment of the ultimate nature of phenomena will increase. So that will feed back into your emptiness meditation. Particularly useful here in daily life. When you come into contact with people or things that start to evoke some emotional response in you, then we can really investigate. Report an error in the passage at 40:28 Highlight the passage at 40:28

40:58 Not only is this person or thing inherently existent as they seem, but generally the stimulus is something very pleasant or unpleasant because it's evoking some emotional response. We can then ask, is this person or thing really this thing? Inherently attractive or unattractive, where is this attractiveness or unattractiveness that seems to be there? And if we do this sort of investigation, it will help to reduce any reaction to the situation and it will help us to appreciate that things are dream-like dependent arisings and that will feed back into our emptiness meditation. Report an error in the passage at 40:58 Highlight the passage at 40:58

41:43 It says here, then in brief, Do not grasp to any of those things which appear to you, even your own mind. So again, avoid this contraction, this self-grasping, grasping onto things, including ourself and our own mind. Constantly maintain your practice by alternating the space-like meditative equipoise of ascertaining the way in which they exist. Report an error in the passage at 41:43 Highlight the passage at 41:43

42:07 So again, in meditation, we investigate and come to not find what we're looking for. And we have that space-like emptiness experience. We alternate that in daily life with the subsequent attainment of the undeniable dawning of dependently related agents and actions. So we need to alternate our practice, meditating on emptiness, having that experience of emptiness, that space-like experience, and then in our daily life to investigate these appearances, to see... Report an error in the passage at 42:07 Highlight the passage at 42:07

42:41 Whether or not they exist in the way they appear. To come to appreciate that they do not exist in the way they appear and then we sustain what's called illusory-like or dream-like emptiness. Meaning understanding that things are not really existing as they appear. That will help feed back into the emptiness meditation. Report an error in the passage at 42:41 Highlight the passage at 42:41

43:05 So again, and summarizing that a little bit in the next paragraph says, Through knowing how to maintain meditative equipoise and subsequent attainment in this way, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the meditative equipoise of applying the single ultimate nature to all the phenomena of saṃsāra nirvāṇa and the subsequent attainment of applying the conventional nature of being illusory-like mere appearances to all phenomena. Report an error in the passage at 43:05 Highlight the passage at 43:05

43:32 Quoting here great Indian Master Aryadeva, who is a student of Nagarjuna, who said, Whoever is the seer of one thing, they are said to be the seer of all. Whatever is the emptiness of one, that is the emptiness of all. Meaning, if we investigate in meditation, and here we did person in our meditation, we investigate how do I exist as a person, we come to realise me, the person, the meditator, is empty of inherent existence, then by realising that, we realise the emptiness of all phenomena. Report an error in the passage at 43:32 Highlight the passage at 43:32

44:08 We don't need to do this investigation with every different phenomena. When we come to realise emptiness of one, we realise the emptiness of all. That's what's being said in Arya Deva's quote at the bottom. Report an error in the passage at 44:08 Highlight the passage at 44:08

44:30 And so in the next paragraph of page 12 it says, In that way it is true that from the perspective of a correct meditative equipoise upon the ultimate nature, there is freedom from the elaborations of the extremes of existence and non-existence and so forth, With respect to saṃsāra and nirvāṇa. However, after rising from that meditative equipoise, when you investigate it is undeniable that there are dependently related agents and actions that exist as being merely imputed by name and they naturally dawn as being like a dream, like a mirage, like a reflection of a moon in water and like an illusion. Report an error in the passage at 44:30 Highlight the passage at 44:30

45:08 So what that is saying is that when we're in meditative equipoise on emptiness and as we deepen our experience of emptiness, Particularly when we come to a direct experience of emptiness, then the phenomena will start to naturally dawn as being like an illusion. That experience of emptiness will also reinforce our understanding that things are like an illusion in the rest of our daily life. Report an error in the passage at 45:08 Highlight the passage at 45:08

45:43 Then it says... When emptiness is not obscured by appearances, and when appearances are not blocked by emptiness, at that time the excellent path of emptiness and dependent rising being equivalent becomes directly manifest. Which means now, for us as a beginner, either we sit, meditate on emptiness, and if we have an experience of emptiness in meditation, then the only thing that appears at that time is emptiness. Report an error in the passage at 45:43 Highlight the passage at 45:43

46:11 Then when we come out of that experience, The phenomenal world appears. So we're alternating between emptiness experience, seeing the phenomenal world, trying to see it as illusory-like. So we have to alternate these two experiences. Emptiness, dependent arising, alternate. But at the end of the spiritual path, when we wipe out these subtle stains in our mind and we become enlightened, then they become directly manifest together. Report an error in the passage at 46:11 Highlight the passage at 46:11

46:45 That's what's really been said here, that the excellent path of emptiness and dependent arising being equivalent. So we said that emptiness, functioning world of dependent arising, are like two sides of one coin. We can sort of appreciate that now, but we don't experience that simultaneously. We cannot experience emptiness and dependent arising simultaneously. Report an error in the passage at 46:45 Highlight the passage at 46:45

47:10 So only when we become enlightened... Do they directly become manifest simultaneously? As an enlightened person, we see the functioning world and emptiness at the same time. Report an error in the passage at 47:10 Highlight the passage at 47:10

47:24 One thing I'd like to go back on here, the top paragraph on page 12, it says, Freedom from the elaborations of extremes of existence and non-existence. So here, it talks about, within our philosophical view, We should avoid these two extremes. Report an error in the passage at 47:24 Highlight the passage at 47:24

· · · silence, 1 minute

48:38 In our philosophical view, there are two extremes. Like I said, for us, there's just two possibilities now. Either things are solid and independent and real, or nothing exists. But what this view is saying is that these are both extremes. So the extreme of existence is a belief in independent reality. Report an error in the passage at 48:38 Highlight the passage at 48:38

49:02 Independent me, independent world. The other extreme of non-existence is sometimes translated, or sometimes you see the word nihilism, believing that nothing exists. So here, and this philosophical school we're following is called the Majamika, the middle way school. Middle way, we're trying to be the middle way beyond, between these two extremes, not falling to either of these extremes. Report an error in the passage at 49:02 Highlight the passage at 49:02

49:29 Now most of us are firmly camped here. We believe things are solid, real, independent. When we first investigate emptiness and we undermine this, often we flip to the opposite, thinking that nothing really exists, I'm going out of existence. Report an error in the passage at 49:29 Highlight the passage at 49:29

49:47 How do we overcome these two extremes? What helps us to overcome the extreme of existence, that everything exists independently? Report an error in the passage at 49:47 Highlight the passage at 49:47

49:59 What is it that helps us to overcome that? Report an error in the passage at 49:59 Highlight the passage at 49:59

50:14 of emptiness that helps us to avoid the extreme So, what helps us to overcome the extreme of nihilism? Non-existence. Exactly. Dependent and rising. Understanding that even though things are not independent and existent, they're dependent and existent. They're dependent and rising. Things exist, depending on cause and conditions, parts and labelling. So, dependent and rising. Report an error in the passage at 50:14 Highlight the passage at 50:14

50:45 Helps us to overcome that extreme. So Report an error in the passage at 50:45 Highlight the passage at 50:45

50:59 in the Buddhist spiritual path, we can talk about two extremes in other areas as well that we need to avoid. And particularly we talked about shamatha, we talked about extremes there as well. Because another area is we can talk about meditation. Report an error in the passage at 50:59 Highlight the passage at 50:59

51:26 And there are two extremes we need to avoid in meditation. What were they? We talked about them in the shamatha. Report an error in the passage at 51:26 Highlight the passage at 51:26

51:36 Excity and excitement. Report an error in the passage at 51:36 Highlight the passage at 51:36

51:45 And what were sort of the methods to overcome laxity and excitement? Remember we talked about the guitar string. What do we need to do? What do we need to do? Report an error in the passage at 51:45 Highlight the passage at 51:45

52:02 What do we need to do if the guitar string is too loose? Tighten. Report an error in the passage at 52:02 Highlight the passage at 52:02

52:17 Tighten here means tighten our focus. Focus more sharply. We're too laxed. And if we have excitement, if we're too tight, there Report an error in the passage at 52:17 Highlight the passage at 52:17

52:41 are two extremes in meditation. So remember in meditation we need meditative equipoise, that word, literally in Tibetan, nyam shak. It means to place the mind in a balanced way. Balanced way means free of the two extremes of laxity and excitement, dullness and agitation. But also we can talk about two extremes in terms of our conduct, our behaviour. Report an error in the passage at 52:41 Highlight the passage at 52:41

53:11 And this was very much exemplified in the life story of the Buddha, or life story of Shakyamun, of Prince Siddhartha and Shakyamun Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 53:11 Highlight the passage at 53:11

53:22 So Prince Siddhartha, when he was growing up, in terms of his conduct, what was that extreme called? His palace life. Indulgence, exactly. Indulgence. And then when he left the palace, he sort of jumped to the other extreme, which was asceticism. Report an error in the passage at 53:22 Highlight the passage at 53:22

53:56 C-I-S-M. Report an error in the passage at 53:56 Highlight the passage at 53:56

54:01 C-I-S-I-M. Okay, Report an error in the passage at 54:01 Highlight the passage at 54:01

54:09 so they're the two extremes in conduct that we want to overcome in the spiritual path. How do we overcome indulgence? We Report an error in the passage at 54:09 Highlight the passage at 54:09

54:32 need to reflect on something to overcome the extreme of indulgence. Why do we get caught up in indulgence? Because we think happiness is out there. So how do we sort of overcome that idea? What do we need to reflect on? It was one of the foundation practices for Mahamudra about Report an error in the passage at 54:32 Highlight the passage at 54:32

55:12 the unsatisfactory nature of saṃsāra, dukkha. That might do it. Because indulgence is all about thinking happiness is there and we indulge in all this stuff. But if we reflect, in fact, so what we're reflecting on here, the first noble truth, truth of suffering, truth of dukkha. When we reflect on that, We'll come to appreciate that happiness is not out there. So we'll drop this craving to the eight worldly concerns. So we have to reflect on suffering or Dukkha, the first noble truth. Report an error in the passage at 55:12 Highlight the passage at 55:12

55:48 How Report an error in the passage at 55:48 Highlight the passage at 55:48

55:51 do we overcome the other extreme of asceticism? What did Prince Siddhartha do to overcome asceticism? Report an error in the passage at 55:51 Highlight the passage at 55:51

56:04 Understanding what? Well, why was he engaging in ascetic practices to begin with? was hanging out people. Yeah, but why was he... I mean, I think he thought that... These are practices where the way to overcome, to be liberated, yeah? So what do we need to reflect on to avoid engaging in the mistaken practices? Report an error in the passage at 56:04 Highlight the passage at 56:04

56:41 Reflected on the second level of truth, the truth of cause of suffering. And we understood that actually the source of our suffering is the ignorance and disturbing emotions in our mind. That might stop us from thinking that ascetic practices is the solution. No. Then we'll understand the solution is to purify our mind of negativities. So we can overcome that extreme of asceticism by reflecting on the second noble truth, the origin or cause of suffering or bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 56:41 Highlight the passage at 56:41

57:18 But there's one more area where we can talk about two extremes that we're trying to avoid. And that is in terms of abiding. Report an error in the passage at 57:18 Highlight the passage at 57:18

57:33 Abiding means where we sort of hang out. We're hanging out now. Report an error in the passage at 57:33 Highlight the passage at 57:33

57:45 Sansara. Samasara, no? Report an error in the passage at 57:45 Highlight the passage at 57:45

57:53 We don't want to abide in samasara. But what's the other extreme there where we don't want to hang out? This is particularly only really relevant with Mahāyāna. Where's the other place we don't really want to hang out from a Mahāyāna perspective? Nirvāṇa. Exactly. Report an error in the passage at 57:53 Highlight the passage at 57:53

58:14 Because there we're not much used to anyone. Yeah, but I mean from a Mahāyāna perspective we're trying to liberate everyone from suffering. We can't really do that hanging out in Nirvāṇa because there is solitary peace. Completely isolated. Report an error in the passage at 58:14 Highlight the passage at 58:14

58:31 Do we overcome these two extremes? Let's start with Nirvāṇa. What stops us from going to Nirvāṇa? Bodhicitta or simply we can say compassion? Report an error in the passage at 58:31 Highlight the passage at 58:31

58:49 Yeah, stop us from going there. Or stop us from staying. Well, stop us from going there. Compassion in terms of bodhicitta. And so what gets us out of saṃsāra? What Report an error in the passage at 58:49 Highlight the passage at 58:49

59:05 gets us out of wisdom? So the two wins? That we need to focus on. Keeps us out of the two extremes. Report an error in the passage at 59:05 Highlight the passage at 59:05

59:21 So that's what we need to avoid in our view, philosophical view, in our meditation, in our conduct and our abiding. We need to use the two wings of wisdom and compassion. We need to, again, as a foundation practice, we need to reflect on this so that we don't just go chasing after all these sense pleasures. Report an error in the passage at 59:21 Highlight the passage at 59:21

59:50 And then of course we need to reflect on this to really develop renunciation, which is the base of bodhicitta, so we can then really have, going for refuge is not merely words from our mouth, because we can really appreciate where the source of our suffering is, therefore we can really heartfelt go for refuge. Report an error in the passage at 59:50 Highlight the passage at 59:50

1:00:13 Then of course we need to meditate on these things, and we can avoid these two extremes in meditation. To develop a calm, clear, focused mind, shamatha, then we can use that to penetrate the view of reality, to avoid these two extremes of ignoring existence by really coming to develop our wisdom of emptiness and then working on the wisdom of dependent arising in our daily life. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:13 Highlight the passage at 1:00:13

1:00:44 And there we go. It's all there. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:44 Highlight the passage at 1:00:44

1:00:48 Then, we've run over time. Let's wrap it up. So we go right down to the end of the dedication which says, By the virtue of I, Lo Sang Chögyi Geltzen, a renunciate who has heard many teachings, having composed So what he's saying is that he's dedicating the virtue towards that so that everyone can Report an error in the passage at 1:00:48 Highlight the passage at 1:00:48

1:01:24 Gain victory over the two observations, can become enlightened and there's no way to do it other than to realise the nature of the mind, realise the nature of reality supported by bodhicitta. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:24 Highlight the passage at 1:01:24

1:01:41 Any questions about anything at all? Because we've run over time a little bit and I don't want to keep you. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:41 Highlight the passage at 1:01:41

1:01:57 What's that? The what? Oh yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:57 Highlight the passage at 1:01:57

1:02:12 Yeah, I think... I think we... We need to have... I saw that and when I saw that I thought, wow, I think that's a little bit exaggerated. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:12 Highlight the passage at 1:02:12

1:02:31 Yeah, sure, sure. I think at least the way I saw that that film was suggesting was that the Indians actually didn't even receive any shapes and colours to their eye. I think that's what it seemed to be suggesting, that it seemed like it was just an ocean and no other appearance there. I think that's not really what happened. What may have happened, for sure, is that the ships were there, but because it wasn't something familiar to them, it wasn't something that they could interpret and then they just sort of ignored. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:31 Highlight the passage at 1:02:31

1:03:06 And so for them, effectively, there was nothing there. And we tend to do that a little bit also when we see things that we don't really recognise. That don't really capture our attention so much. We just sort of don't even realise that they're there. Even though they actually are appearing to our eye, but we don't recognise that. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:06 Highlight the passage at 1:03:06

1:03:27 I don't think that the Indians never saw any colours and shapes appearing to them. It just didn't register. Because they had no conceptual framework for that. Exactly. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:27 Highlight the passage at 1:03:27

1:03:53 Yes, exactly. Because here... We're not talking about what is appearing, we're talking about how it exists. So, you know, if we realize emptiness and then we look at this cup, that realized emptiness will affect our mind. So remember now, we have these subtle stains in our mind, which means that even after we realize emptiness, those subtle stains are there. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:53 Highlight the passage at 1:03:53

1:04:20 So when we come out of that realization and we look at that cup, that cup will still appear to be... Independent. But through the force of that realisation, we will know 100 % that that is not existing in that way. Like the example I sometimes give is with these stains. It's a little bit like we're wearing green sunglasses. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:20 Highlight the passage at 1:04:20

1:04:47 If we wear green sunglasses, everything appears green. And so these stains are like we've been wearing green sunglasses our entire life. Which means everything has always appeared green to us. We never question that. And if someone comes to us and says, not everything's green, you go, you're crazy, look, look. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:47 Highlight the passage at 1:04:47

1:05:07 Because we've never investigated. But if we realise emptiness, emptiness is like taking off the sunglasses temporarily and seeing directly that not things are green. When we come out of meditation, the sunglasses are back. So when we look, everything appears green, but we know directly that's not the case. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:07 Highlight the passage at 1:05:07

1:05:24 Because we've seen directly that it's not. So it's like that. So after then, it would be very difficult, almost impossible, to buy into these appearances. I mean, then we would experientially know directly that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So we would never grasp to anything, even though things still appear to be. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:24 Highlight the passage at 1:05:24

1:05:51 That appearance, as mentioned in the text, only happens... Right at the end of the path, those subtle stains are eliminated right at the end of the path and when we do that we achieve enlightenment. Only at that time when we look does the cup not appear to exist independently of us. What that really means is hard to imagine because we've never had that experience, ever. So a Buddha wouldn't see an independent, that cup would not appear independent to them. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:51 Highlight the passage at 1:05:51

1:06:20 But what that really means to us, we've never had that experience. But at least when we come to realise emptiness and we come out of that, that experience, we directly know that this way that it's appearing is false and we never buy into it anymore. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:20 Highlight the passage at 1:06:20

1:06:46 Sounds good, huh? Anything else? Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. No more questions, I've got a couple more things to say and then we'll wrap it up. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:46 Highlight the passage at 1:06:46

1:06:57 If you... First off, I'm recording everything here and I'm going to... I've already started uploading it to my website, so if you want to get the audio of this couple of days, you can download it all off my website, which is... I Report an error in the passage at 1:06:57 Highlight the passage at 1:06:57

1:07:17 couldn't say yes, she's going to put it on their website as well or something. Is that right? Just Report an error in the passage at 1:07:17 Highlight the passage at 1:07:17

1:07:31 glensvenson.org. Also, I usually run this text over seven or eight days, and also I've got an audio of that extended teaching if you want to listen to the more extended version. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:31 Highlight the passage at 1:07:31

1:07:48 For this one we've done over these two days, if you look, if you go to my homepage, there's some drop-down tabs. One is, I think, audio. And on the drop-down tab there's, I think it's something Report an error in the passage at 1:07:48 Highlight the passage at 1:07:48

1:08:09 like short teachings or something. What's it called? Short teachings, did I call it? Something short teachings. And then under there, there'll be the... Because there's another one in that list that says Galuk Mahamudra, but that's the extensive one. But under the short teachings, you'll find it there this weekend. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:09 Highlight the passage at 1:08:09

1:08:34 Also, this text, if you want an electronic copy, there's also on the materials. I've got materials and then there's the PDF of this as well. So if you want an electronic copy for your laptop or something, you can download it up there. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:34 Highlight the passage at 1:08:34

1:08:50 And also I've got lots of other things there, so just have a look if anything of interest. There was something else I wanted to mention before I wrapped it up. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:50 Highlight the passage at 1:08:50

1:09:06 If you want to read more about Mahamudra, then if you want to investigate this particular text in more detail, then the book would be this one here, The Galukkagi Tradition of Mahamudra. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:06 Highlight the passage at 1:09:06

1:09:22 Which I think also maybe some PDFs of that is on Alex Berzin's website, maybe. I'm not sure. It used to be. I'm not sure if it still is. So anyway, you can look on his, I think it's called Berzin Archives. He's also got other things. But I think the PDF of this was on there. I'm not sure if it still is actually. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:22 Highlight the passage at 1:09:22

1:09:40 Do you know if the books are still in print? I think so. I think so. I think this is still in print. If you want to... Of course, the shamatha section of this, the book I really would recommend would be this one here, The Attention Revolution from Alan Wallace. I think it's a very excellent book on this practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:40 Highlight the passage at 1:09:40

1:10:01 And of course also he does a lot of retreats, some of you know about already. He's also got a lot of audio about shamatha practice. So if you're really particularly interested in the shamatha part of this practice, particularly the looking at the mind, the settling the mind, then I think you'll get a lot out of... Report an error in the passage at 1:10:01 Highlight the passage at 1:10:01

1:10:19 of his retreats, the audio, and I think also he's due to come in April or something now to do the next Jonathan Retreat in Sydney. I don't know what it costs, but probably not so cheap. But it certainly would be worthwhile, I think. It would be something very worthwhile. And if you want to do more, then there's of course the two-month retreat, which I have done as well. And that is something also very worthwhile. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:19 Highlight the passage at 1:10:19

1:11:01 But I think if you want to look to do that, you'll need to do something shorter like this one-week thing first, I think. And that's about it. That's all I wanted to say. So thank you for coming along. And I hope you've got something out of these two days and I hope you can receive some benefit. Thank you very much. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:01 Highlight the passage at 1:11:01