Could there be more to the spiritual path,
then merely, striving for and savoring
the thoughtless bliss of Samadhi?
Could it be folly to grasp at Samadhi?
Contemplative systems are numerous.
Many of them insist that the absence of thoughts is good,
while the presence of thoughts is bad.
Many teachers have espoused this belief…
Buddha was NOT one of them!
Some could ask,
“but isn’t thoughtlessness ideal?”
And the answer is:
“yeah… for a block of wood!”
But couldn’t mistaking the path of Love, Peace, Insight and Happiness
for the fearful, selfish and escapist pursuit of mere mind-blanking
be as silly confusing the Fully Enlightened One
for a block of wood?
Buddha teaches that the mind has MORE than just two modes
of Bad and Good,
er, I mean
Thinking and NON-thinking.
Yes, the teachings explain that the Coarse mind can be playful
like the dynamic surface of the ocean during a storm
or like the Tasmanian devil in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
And yes, the teachings explain that the Very-subtle mind can be peaceful
like the calm, still waters deep beneath that same storm.
However, the teachings also explain that the Subtle mind can be a bit of both,
like the waters between the storm’s surface and it’s depths
or like a carp that swims so smoothly and slowly
that it does NOT disturb the waters of it’s pond.
It is this Subtle mind that is aware
of whether it is growing Peaceful or Playful.
What are the three states of water?
Aren’t they gaseous, liquid and solid?
Which one is good?
They all are!
Couldn’t warm water vapor sooth a child’s persistent cough?
Couldn’t liquid water quench a favorite pet’s thirst?
Couldn’t frozen water soothe a sports injury?
Water is water,
and the potential of it’s benefit
lies in each of it’s three forms.
Rather than rate the modes of mind,
and dualistically strive to assign value, superiority and inferiority;
Buddha, in his wisdom and kindness teaches us the importance
of simply being aware of which mode of mind is currently manifesting in the moment,
and simply using it to it’s greatest advantage!
Rather than get rid of certain Mental, Emotional or Physical energies
Buddha would rather have us simply use each energy
to it’s greatest good.
Yes, the Peace of our Very-subtle mind is good,
and contains within it the potential of accomplishing the insightful Dharmakaya:
the one, all-pervading body that is shared by every Buddha,
and pervades each of us as our Buddha-nature,
much like the way a strong thread passes through the center
of all the beads that form a mala, or Buddhist rosary.
The Awareness of our Subtle mind is also good,
and contains within it the potential of accomplishing the powerful Sambhogakaya:
body of blissful light that every Buddha possess.
The Playfulness of our Coarse mind is good as well,
and contains within it the potential of accomplish
the innumerable, compassionate Nirmanakaya:
emanation bodies that our Sambhogakaya will emit to meet the needs of all others.
O.K. kids, which one is better:
the all-pervasive Dharmakaya,
the blissful Sambhogakaya
or the helpful Nirmanakayas?
Ha! That was a trick question…
they are all good,
they are all required,
and they are all mutually interdependent.
But wait…
there’s more!
Mind’s constant journey
through it’s peaceful, aware and playful phases
is illustrated every night
during it’s sleeping, dreaming and waking cycles.
Picture an umbrella quickly closing.
In a similar manner, every night
our Coarse mind collapses into our Subtle mind,
which collapses into our Very-subtle mind
in a rapid, disorienting swoon
that is as thought-less as it is Peaceful
and contains {yes you guessed it}
the seeds for the all-pervasive Dharmakaya.
Just as the seasons pass in the course of the year,
the moon waxes and wanes in the course of the month,
the sun rises and sets in the course of the day,
and everything is ever-changing all the time;
likewise, we do not remain forever
in our deep, thoughtless sleep
{that would be a coma}.
Instead, just a flower bud opens to greet the morning,
out of our Very-subtle mind emerges our Subtle mind
and we inevitably find ourselves exploring the realm of dreams
that contains the seeds for accomplishing the blissful Sambhogakaya.
The momentum in-turn gives way to the waking-up process
wherein the Coarse mind emerges from the Subtle mind
in a process that contains the seeds for accomplishing the helpful Nirmanakayas.
Every night this cycle repeats itself, several times.
Fighting this cycle at best is folly
and at worst leads to injury.
Just as our experience of wakefulness
can be described in terms of Falling into peace,
Exploring awareness
as well as Ascending to playfulness
and our experience of sleep
can also be described in terms of Falling into peaceful sleep,
Exploring dreams
and Ascending to wakefulness;
likewise or experience of death
too can be described in terms of Falling into death’s swoon,
Exploring the bardo {or intermediate state between death and rebirth}
and Ascending into our next rebirth.
The question is NOT which of these is avoidable;
none of them are.
The question is NOT which of these is best;
they all contain the potential to enlighten.
The question is NOT which…
nope, the question is “how.”
How can I best exploit Every phase
of wakefulness, slumber and death
to quickly accomplish full enlightenment
in the MOST wonderful way?
The answer is always the same:
learn, practice and then master
the yogas of Devotion, Awareness, Love and Insight.
Although the yogas of Dream-state and Death
are covered extensively
during the 7 lessons of the Advanced series,
their ground work is laid in the Beginning series.
Whether you study with me, or any other accomplished Lama,
do yourself a favor and find someone to teach you,
really teach you so that you deeply get:
-verbal, semi-verbal and silent meditation;
-bringing peace into the paths of love, concentration and insight;
-bringing affliction into the paths of concentration, insight and love;
-bringing happiness, {yes elusive happiness} into the three paths;
-and bringing every condition {both internal and external}
into the path of spontaneous NON-duality.
Gradually receive these instructions over a seven week period,
practice them twice daily,
and in THIS life time, you could master
the yogas of Devotion, Awareness, Love and Insight
so that you could bring every experience
into Buddha’s path of Enlightenment.
