Archive Result

12

Mahamudra

A teaching given by

Kyabje Gehlek Rimpoche

Jewel Heart New York

October 7, 2004

Thank you, and welcome here tonight. We missed last Thursday, because I was entertaining at the Rubin museum for Professor Thurman at the opening. Last time we have introduced the ordinary and extraordinary mahamudra. Since there are a couple of extra Thursdays left, by choice of the people we went into the mahamudra. There is a root text available. There are preliminaries, or as I was told, I should say 'prerequisites'. Then there is the actual part and the conclusion. We didn't touch on the prerequisites much here, because that is part of the whole lam rim teachings. That is good enough.

Normally, and that is how I received it, this mahamudra is part of the lama chöpa teaching. I received it that way from Kyabje Trijang Rimpoche in 1953 or 1954, in the summer. As part of the lama chöpa it becomes quite easy. I stayed here for the last week and I had a little time to read the different commentaries and I did notice certain things that I might have to mention. When you talk about prerequisites at the mahamudra level, it is the same prerequisites, the same purification, the same guru yoga and all of those - no doubt about it. However, this has its own little special thing too, even the guru yoga has its own little way of doing it.

The detailed guru yoga, which is the best available for us is the lama chöpa. That is sutra and tantra combined. For the sutra system alone we have the ganden lha gye ma. Most people in Jewel Heart are doing either one or the other. Then there is another guru yoga for Vajrayana practitioners, the Six Session Guru Yoga. This is all okay, very detailed and wonderful. But this mahamudra has its own little thing. I am not sure if I am going to give another, longer teaching on mahamudra or not. If I don't, if I don't mention it, you won't know. This one has its own, shorter version of guru yoga. I am not even sure whether it is appropriate to mention here or not. It is very simple. If I don't mention it, not only do you not know, but also the NBB state I mentioned last time would be very difficult to generate. That is also a problem. Anyway, if I am breaking any rule I am seeking forgiveness from the lama yidam.

This special guru yoga is very simple. You meditate Manjushri. He is orange colored, holding sword and book. At his crown you have Buddha Vajradhar(m)a, that is Dorje Chang, with consort. At Manjushri's heart level, there is as wisdom being Tsong Khapa. The moment you visualize that, your root guru is looking inseparable from Guru Tsong Khapa, Manjushri and Vajradhar(m)a together. Then you do the seven limb practice, including purification.

Here you do the special purification called "35 Buddha Practice". I won't have much time to explain that, but either you have the guru in the form I just mentioned, or as Lama Tubwang Dorje Chang in case of the lama chöpa, or you have Tsong Khapa and the disciples as in the ganden lha gye ma, or you have Guru Vajradhar(m)a of the Six Session Guru Yoga. Whatever it is, whichever one you are doing, it doesn't matter. From the heart of this guru tree, light comes out and brings up the 35 Buddhas. You could call it a mandala, if you use that term loosely. If you use 'mandala' in a strictly conservative way, this would not be a mandala. But in a loose way it is a mandala, because there is a center and a circle. There are 35 lotus cushions. At the center is Buddha Shakyamuni, surrounded by the 35 purification Buddhas. You may say the purification text by naming each of the 35 Buddhas. If you do so, then every time you say the name of each of the 35 Buddhas, you remember that each one has a special commitment. Just like Medicine Buddha has a special commitment, each of the 35 purification Buddhas has a special commitment. We don't know exactly what these are, but they are commitments to purify. We pray that all these commitments - as they have promised - may materialize for us today. With each name you focus on that Buddha.

Whether you are doing prostrations, circumambulations or mandala offerings or whatever you are doing or simply saying mantras, but each of these 35 Buddhas will dissolve to you and you become pure. In this case that is the slightly different purification.

Basically, wherever you look, in sutra or tantra, purification is based on the four powers. There is no other way. Of course, meditating on bodhimind and on wisdom are the greatest ones, no doubt about it. But still, all of them have to be based on the four powers. From the Buddhist point of view there is no other way. If you miss one of the four powers the purification is not guaranteed. If you have all four powers then the purification is perfect.

That, however, doesn't mean that by doing it once the purification is complete. How strong and how much the purification works differs individually. There is no blanket way. This is the method, but how much the individual gets purified depends on how strong and how much we do, how insistent we are.

Purification is extremely important, because if you die in a pure state, then no matter whoever or whatever is dragging you down - there may be a million different evils and non-virtues - but they can do nothing, because you are pure. When you are pure, you are pure. Basically, we are all pure, but the negativities are like clouds in the sky. Purification is like the depiction of Buddha's meditation. All the maras came to attack him, throwing stones and weapons, but whatever they tried to throw turned into flowers. Remember that? It was in the movie Little Buddha. It is just like that. When you are pure, no matter whoever wants to harm you, for example inner evils or inner devils, they can do nothing. You are pure. When you are not pure, then no matter if all the Buddhas are trying to pull you up, they will find it very hard to do. That's why purification is important.

That's why, particularly for Vajrayana practitioners, at the time of dying you should be pure. If you take an initiation or self-initiation you can die in a pure state and then you don't have to pray and hope and seek anybody's help. You can go on your own completely, happy and wonderfully. No matter who wants to pull you down then, there is nothing they can do.

So purification is important, particularly over here. The 35 Buddha purification is really, really good. There are texts available in English. I did not emphasize it that much in Jewel Heart so far, because you cannot emphasize everything. There is so much, really zillions of them. It also doesn't mean that you have to do everything you learnt either. But it is available for you, whenever you need it. The guru yoga I just shared with you is also very simple, just Manjushri, Vajradhar(m)a and Tsong Khapa, inseparable from your guru, very, very simple. There are a lot of simplified ways of doing this.

As for the actual part, we did mention the common and the uncommon meditations. This has six different ways of doing it.

You have already heard the lam rim and particularly the explanations on zhi ne. So I don't have to repeat what is the focal point of meditation. In the case of mahamudra - and we have even mentioned it during the meditation teachings - the focal point is the mind, rather than the Buddha image or anything else. When you are looking at the mind, how does that work? I mentioned it briefly during the meditation teaching. In mahamudra particularly, they tell you that there are six different points.

1. Leave your mind as it is and look at it.

2. The nature of the mind is to be clear and lucid. Look at

that and meditate

3. Any thoughts that come up, cut them and meditate

4. Growing and remaining - merge them together and look

5. Any thoughts that come up, don't cut them, just follow

them and meditate. Look into the mind.

[6. ?]

You may not really understand what you are hearing right now, but when we get to each point, there will be a root verse and we will explain it to you. These are the six different ways. Do you have to do each of them? No, you don't. You have a choice here, of six different ways of looking.

Leave the mind as it is and look at it.

The traditional teachings will divide that into two

actually leave the mind as it is

bring mindfulness and meta-attention to it.

leave the mind as it is

nang wa ben bun ngang day la

day dok la sik nam tog gee

cheu cheu gang yang ma jay par

yo may chung zay nyam par shog

……….dissolve the master into yourself

Appearing little by little in his character

not making any fictions whatever

with constructs like expectation and fear,

stay equipoised without the least wavering

That means, within the NBB state one should remain without hope or doubt. The idea is that you have to generate a happy moment. Last time I told you that there is some kind of happy, joyful moment. I think I used some sexual example last time. A sexual experience brings happiness and joy within us. So we can think about it. However, that happiness and joy is not necessarily in a virtuous nature. So that might not be right, but at least it gives us a good example. If I remember correctly I said it was like a person falling newly in love, being separated forcefully and then being joined together again. It is that level of joy and happiness. Actually, where I come from, dissolving the guru within you is compared to a long lost child and the mother getting together. Such a happy mind is open, spacious, joyful, without sadness, sorrow, sourness, worry, very natural. When you can really join guru yoga and purification together, you experience this special state which I labeled NBB state.

That mind of NBB should not have any hope of getting something, not even the hope of becoming enlightened or getting better, hoping to get happy, rich, wealthy, healthy. Just cut that out - don't have it.

Also don't have any doubt that you may get sufferings, illnesses, loss of friends, losing yourself, getting downfalls and all of those. Have neither hope nor doubt.

The English translation calls that 'no fictions, with constructs like expectation and fear'. The teachings will tell you, "Do not follow the previous thoughts with hope. Do not invite future thoughts with doubt." In other words, there should not be a single thought. With that sort of relaxed, open, joyful natured mind, remain and meditate. I did not say bliss, okay?

Wherever the mind is settling, let it be. Don't push it. Don't suggest anything. Don't let it follow previous thoughts. Don't let it invite future thoughts. There should be no doubt and no hope, nothing. Don't create anything. Just let it be alone. Meditating on this will be the actual first point: Leave the mind as it is.

Leave it alone. Don't bully it or push it around. Simple, isn't it?

The First Panchen Lama adds up one more thing: The relationship with your guru and you is so strong. You are so happy that you are actually shedding tears from your eyes. All your hair pores are raised. You feel tremendous devotion from the bottom of your heart, taking a long time for praying and requesting. Finally, your mind is inseparable from the guru's mind. The guru dissolves to you and blesses you. That level of mind will bring that joyful state, the real true NBB state. At that moment leave that mind completely alone. Don't even hope of getting enlightened. Don't worry about any other problems that may come. The First Panchen Lama's major point is: Whatever is past, don't follow. Whatever is coming in future, don't try to receive it. Whatever is there now, don't change it. Let it be. Meditate a little bit on that. Focus.

How do you focus on that? With mindfulness and meta-alertness

yo me chung zay nyma par shog

gyal dang nyee lok ta bu yee

stay equipoised without the least wavering

such as falling into sleep or trance

Such a state, without hope and doubt, could be without any thought, just like fainting. When you faint, you don't have any thoughts. Actually, that's not quite true. I fainted once and I remember, I did have thoughts at that time.

Ribur Rimpoche was visiting Michigan. He always had great difficulty to get up. I offered to pull him up and I did pull hard. Right at that moment he told me a very interesting story about some great teacher, Kyabje Kangsar Rimpoche, who was giving the Kalachakra initiation in Tibet. Kyabje Ling Rimpoche received it from him and later the Dalai Lama received it from Ling Rimpoche. All these big Kalachakra initiations the Dalai Lama is giving come from there. Ribur Rimpoche said that Kangsar Rimpoche was such a humble monk. He dressed properly, but very simply. There was another rimpoche in a very fancy dress. All decorations were there for Kangsar Rimpoche as the lama who gave the Kalachakra. But Kangsar Rimpoche was so humble. He let the other one go first, so that everybody thought he was the attendant to the fancy rimpoche.

That was the story Ribur Rimpoche was telling me when I pulled him up. I really pulled very strongly but he didn't move. I pulled more and he was raised half way out of the chair. I did another one more pull and then suddenly whatever he was telling me became sort of a vision for me. I saw the lamas going round, with umbrellas and the real guy looked like the attendant. Then next thing I noticed that my cheek was touching the floor and I wondered what had happened. Then I realized that I had fainted. When I fell I had punched the wall with my elbow and there was a hole in the dry wall. Ribur Rimpoche thought that I was joking and playing, rolling around and lying on the floor. But I had fainted for a short period and saw what he was telling me like a movie.

Anyway, according to this text, when you faint you have no thoughts. That might not be true. Anyway, in some fainted state you may not have any thoughts. Also, when you go through anesthesia you will not have any thoughts. It just goes dark and black and zoom you are in it. Sometimes, when you fall asleep it may go like that. Actually, the mind has been stopped and held back by some kind of mental and physical intervention that can hold back the thoughts themselves. Your meditation should be not like that. It should not be a state such as fainting or falling asleep.

When you leave the mind as it is, without fantasy or making anything up, without hope and doubt, when you are leaving it alone, it doesn't mean that it is thoughtless. This is so important. Why? Because a lot of people will think that the thoughtless level is a great state. But it is not. If the thoughtless level is great, then being under anesthesia should be a great state. It is not. You are lucky if the anesthetists can bring you back to life. No, this meditation is not thought-less. You are not cutting any thoughts. It is with thoughts.

ma yeng dren pay gyang so tsuk

gyu wa rig pay shay shin dok

Mindfulness will not swerve to far forms,

awareness is ready as agile intelligence

Mindfulness is watching from the distance. There we could have a problem. We could think: First the Panchen Lama says, "Leave the mind alone". Then he says, "Look into the mind." Then he says, "Have mindfulness and alertness". So what are we supposed to do?

That problem will come when you meditate. The meta attention or meta alertness is the result of mindfulness. Mindfulness itself is the result of focusing. One brings the other. When you have it, you have it. When you don't have it, like we right now, you have to pretend that you have it. Then with only one mind, we have to sit over here, then over there, sometimes start looking, sometimes get into the mirror and pretend to be the reflection. We have to do all that because we don't have all these mental faculties at our disposal yet. But it will come.

What is not to be done? It should not be like falling asleep. If you fall asleep you have lost your attention. If you faint you have lost your attention. In my case, the story I was listening to became actualized. It was like watching a movie or participating in that event. That is how the mind works. These are uncontrolled things. There is no attention. There is nothing. It shouldn't be like that in meditation.

So first, the Panchen Lama says that it is not like fainting or sleeping and then he says that it is not thoughtless. Then he says to watch with mindfulness from a distance. In the next line, gyu wa rig pay shay shin dok, he says that anything that doesn't belong there, whatever thoughts come, become immediately aware of it. Be alert. The meta-alertness should stop that. That is how you maintain that state with mindfulness and meta-alertness.

Actually, this is the short way of explaining meditation. The longer way of explaining is what we already did during the meditation course earlier this year. For a long time we have explained how to maintain mindfulness. You have to overcome five faults and use the six powers and so on. The whole thing is contained in the shorter version here.

The beauty in Buddha's teaching is this. You can make it very detailed and systematic and there can be so much. On the other hand you can make it so short, by saying, "Without losing focus, watch from the distance". We have provided you with a chart about how to maintain mindfulness, based on a tangka from late Geshe Rimpoche.

Meta alertness will make sure that anything that doesn't belong in there, doesn't come in.

Out of all those, what is the most important? Mindfulness. Again, remember: this is not the mindfulness that you are used to hearing about in America. Here mindfulness means: Don't lose your focus. It is not about what mind is doing. The mindfulness that you hear about in the insight meditation and so on teaches you about what the mind is doing. Here, truly mindfulness means to remember whatever your focusing point is. If it is a pillar, remember the pillar all the time. Remember, we said that sometimes you can even recall each and every particle in the pillar and count them. It is that clear. That means meditating on a pillar. Then don't lose this focus. At this moment we are not using mindfulness in the sense of remembering everything that goes on in the mind. Just don't ever get taken away from your focusing point. In this case it is the mind itself. Let the mind focus on mind.

When you are focusing, anything that doesn't belong in there is stopped, not allowed. That state is not like falling asleep or fainting. So naturally, you are focusing. When you look at focusing, what do you see? You are not going to see anything. But when you eliminate everything that it is not supposed to be, then you are left with what it really is. This is the Buddhist logical way. Clear out or discard what it is not. Then you are left with what it is.

There are two types of discarding.

1. Something is not there. So you discard it.

2. Something is there. So you discard it.

But that is too philosophical. Lets not worry about it.

In any case mindfulness is the most important. It actually means remembering. We talked about the image of tying an elephant to a pillar with the rope of mindfulness, while using the hook of alertness. All of that has to be applied here.

Now we shift to the 2nd out of the six "power point" outlines.

2. Focus on the clear and lucid nature of the mind and meditate.

The root text here says hril gyee drim la cher gyee to…

…the essence of philosophical clarity

The translation should say, "Lucid, clear nature, look straight, put the focus with all force".

You are going to find some basis in the mind. There is nothing to be seen, nothing to be touched. But you are going to find some lucid, alert nature in there. There is no visual image. You get some understanding. That probably has to be focused on.

When you are focusing, it can't be too tight and not too relaxed. Otherwise you will lose it. There are the two problems of wandering and sinking. We talked about that since the beginning of the year. Try to avoid these and bring your attention to the level where you are not too loose and not too tight and you are able to focus for long enough.

[3. Any thoughts that come up, cut them and meditate]

When you do that, what is going to happen? A lot of thoughts are going to pop up. These don't belong in there. The line we read before: gyu wa rig pay shay shin dok - things that don't belong there, don't let them in. So how can you stop them?

One way is, any thoughts you don't want, somehow push them out. It is just like an elephant walking on the head of somebody and pushing them below. But don't think of human beings! That will be too much. But it is like a heavy elephant pushing them down.

Another way is just don't entertain them. When a thought pops up you say, "Hey, here you are. What do want to do?" And keep on watching what it does. After a while it will disappear by itself.

That happens to us even now, at this level. If some thought comes, don't let it go anywhere and start looking it in the face. If you do that, somehow it begins to feel shy and disappears. When it disappears there is some kind of void that comes in. Focus on that void. That void will become a little clearer. It looks like you have found something called 'void'. You are beginning to find the object of meditation. But then there are earlier voids and later voids. When you mix the void you are looking at in the beginning and the later void, if you make them oneness, so that the void becomes one big void, then this is called

4. Growing and remaining become one

As for the earlier and later voids becoming one for the perceiving mind, some earlier Tibetan teachers thought it was fantastic. But Tsong Khapa and his order don't think it is. They say it is something usual that naturally happens when you focus.

Maybe we need to clarify this a little more. Within this stage, if you go in detail, one covers the 9 stages of meditation. Remember those? We should be able to apply them here. As I told you, it can be presented in detail or in short. As the root text says

rig chign sel way ngo wo la

hril gyee drim la cher gyee to

Look in that clear, lucid nature mind and look nicely and strongly. Whatever thoughts may come up, recognize them.

Within these two lines you are talking about the 9 stages of meditation.

I guess that's enough for today.

On the week end of Oct 23-24 we will have an Avalokitesvara initiation in Ann Arbor. Those who would like to touch with the Vajrayana and don't want to take on a lot of commitments, this is a really, really good one. I am doing that especially for some people who would newly like to get in touch with the Vajrayana. I recommend strongly for people to participate. Don't think that when I am looking at you that means you have to come. If you can come - good, but if you don't make it, you don't make it.

Looking at this mahamudra I do not know if I will get to the wisdom aspects of the mind. I don't know how much I will be able to cover, but definitely we will cover the relative aspect of the mind quite well.

Thank you

10/18/2004