Teachings: Meditation

Rigpa is not something that you can extend. It is something that you have to develop a habit of, you have to train in it. In fact, what you are training in is the removal of the obscurations in order to be able to see the rigpa which is always there. There are two methods … READ MORE

Honestly, meditation is simply to sustain the view. It is nothing other than that. Artificially trying to extend the recognition spoils it. You need to know how to allow it to continue. This is why the Dzogchen instructions are incredibly special. The whole point of Dzogchen is to sustain the continuity. Fearless Simplicity, p. 134 … READ MORE

Among these points—view, meditation, and conduct—conduct means the way of freeing, how to be free. The best situation is for a thought to be either freed upon arising, naturally freed, or freed beyond benefit and harm, so that the continuity of the view is not interrupted by the occurrence of thought. This is essential! But … READ MORE

Generally speaking, perseverance is the remedy against laziness. When do we feel lazy? One situation is when we are supposed to be composed in meditation. There is an invitation to be lazy that we give in to, and then the state of composure, the meditation state, is lost or dissipated. As a matter of fact, … READ MORE

If you notice that your meditative state shuts out other things to some extent, that you don’t really want to receive any message about anything else, that you’re closing off; if when something happens it feels like a disturbance, an irritation, that is a sign of conceptual meditation, of being occupied. Also, if you notice … READ MORE

Do you understand what is meant by resting or dwelling? Like the flower lying atop this rupee note which is resting on the table. That is dualistic fixation. It’s like grasping hold of the money, dwelling on the money, and ignoring the direct experience of the table. The present awareness which experiences right now is … READ MORE

Experiences of bliss, clarity and non-thought do come. There is nothing wrong with that; just don’t hold onto them as being something special. Actually, it’s good to have experiences like that, probably some of you already had them, some not. Some of you probably are still staying in what is called ‘dry meditation,’ meaning there’s … READ MORE

We do not have control over the arising of discursive thoughts. Discursive thoughts do not arise according to a schedule; they can and do arise at any time whatsoever. Exactly in accordance with that, meditation needs to be something which can and does arise at any time whatsoever. In other words, given that the arising … READ MORE

The correct practice of shamatha further and further strengthens [the] alert quality. It transforms into an increasing sense of being awake. Meanwhile, the mindful quality becomes more and more mindful, so that it requires less and less effort. You are just naturally mindful, naturally present. And the sense of being settled, of dwelling in the … READ MORE

The purpose of shamatha is to improve our presence of mind. We all have an innate ability to pay attention, to know. To improve upon this presence, to make it steady instead of being scattered and distracted, we try to remain attentive in a stable way. Fearless Simplicity, p. 66   Shamatha has three components: … READ MORE