Low, James - Finding Your Way Home - An Introduction to Dzogchen

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Findingyourwayhome:

anintroductiontodzogchen

TeachingsgivenbyJamesLow

Amorebieta,Spain

1‐20June,2010

TranscribedbyDenizCsernoklavek

EditedbyJamesLowandBarbaraTerris


Excerpts

In Tibet it was said that dzogchen was in Tibet before buddhism arrived. It was therebeforethebönreligiontoo.That istosay, it isnotan inventedsystem,but issomethingthatwas,andis,alwaysthereandthatpeopleinallplaces,inalltimes,haveaccessto.

The view of dzogchen indicates that you have to be fully present so that you are asconnected as possible to everything that is there in the undivided uninterruptedphenomenological field, which includes yourself. From the state of relaxation, yourspontaneousmovementwillbeconnectedwiththesituation.Activityistheneffortlessandintrinsically ethical. Dzogchen texts describe this as ‘the path of non‐meditation’ sincewhether alone or with others, still or in movement, there is no imported object ofmeditation.

Thiswholeworldisthesameriver,buteachofusisalittlemovement.Howeverwhenwesitinsidethisbubbleofourselves,weprotectourdifferencefromotherpeoplebecausewewanttobeuniqueandspecial.Yetactuallywearemadeoutofthesamestuffaseveryoneelse.Thisdoesnotmeanthatwearethesameasotherpeople.Weareneitherthesamenordifferent;weareuniqueformswhichareinseparable.

Thebodyisnotathing,it’sagreatriverofchange,andthesameistrueforsensationsandfeelingsandthoughts.Oncewestarttoexperiencetheceaselessmovementofexperiencewerealisethatwithinthismovementthereisnothingtoholdonto.Yetwedon’tgetlost,becausethegroundofthismovementiscompletelystill.

Ifyougooutonaboatandthewindisblowingabit,youcanseethewavesmoving.Thenalong comesa seagull, and it landson the sea. Itwas flyingandnow it’s sittingon thewater.It’shavingalittlerest,butwhatit’ssittingonismoving.It’slikethat.Thethoughtismovinginyourmindlikethewavesonthesea.Anotherthoughtsarises,and‘Ah’,youthink, ‘Icanstayhere.’ Intheverymomentthatyouthink, ‘This iswhereIbelong’,youarebeingmovedalong.Allmanifestationisdynamic,whichiswhywehavetolookagain,and again, and again, so we really see the essential difference between stillness andmovement.

Movementisneverstill;youcannotmakeitstill.Theonlythingthatisstillispresence,anditnevermoves.

Whenlifeisharditisdifficulttotrustthatawakeningiseasy.

www.simplybeing.co.ukCopyrightJamesLow2542010SpainBilbaoFindingyourwayhome_DC_BT_JLWebready.doc

Index

Thebasicprinciplesofdzogchen....................................................................... 1Settlingandcalmingthemind .............................................................................................................. 2Whatmayfeelnaturalisinfactquiteartificial ............................................................................. 3Refugeislikeanumbrella–you’llgetwetifyouletitdown...................................................3

Anaturalstateofperfection.................................................................................................................. 4Becomingmoreathomewithoneself .............................................................. 5Theillusionofexistence.......................................................................................................................... 5Storytelling.................................................................................................................................................... 6

Dzogchen:everythingisalreadyperfect ........................................................... 8Tantra:transformsordinaryintoperfect ........................................................................................ 9Dzogchen:kadagandlhundrup .........................................................................................................10Emptinessislinkedwiththequestionoftime................................................. 12

Theungraspabilityofself ............................................................................... 13

Relaxingourbody,speechandmind .............................................................. 15Beingflexible..............................................................................................................................................16Notfeelingstretchedlikeanelasticband......................................................................................16

Ourbreathisourfriend.................................................................................. 17Looseningupwhenyougetlockedin.............................................................................................. 18Thoughtsaremovingthroughme.................................................................................................... 19

Theimmediacyofperceptionisself‐organising:nothingmoreneedbedone . 20

GarabDorje’sfirstpoint:awakenonyourrealnature .................................... 20Allthatweseeislikeanillusionbutillusionshavetheirownlogic ..................................23Thecentreofmyexistenceisalwaysoutsidemyself ...............................................................23

Practicesforopeningup:Phat!....................................................................... 24Phat!isthesoundofwisdomandcompassion ...........................................................................25Whatbuddhismmeansby‘emptiness’ ...........................................................................................26Practicesforopeningup:Guruyoga ............................................................... 27‘Guru’includesallthepeopleyouhavelearnedfrom..............................................................28

Thegroundofexperienceisempty................................................................. 29Experienceisallwehave:differentwaysoflookingattheworld......................................30Myexperienceofmyselfemergesatthesametimeasmyexperienceoftheworld ..31Questionstoaskaboutourmind:it’sshape,size,colour… ...................................................31Questionsaboutmindfulnessandawareness .............................................................................32

Howdowelearn? .......................................................................................... 34Metaphorofatentandtentpole .......................................................................................................34Themorewetrytobeincontrol,themoredangeroustheotherseems.........................35

GarabDorje’ssecondpoint:staytruetotheexperienceofopening ............... 37Weariseinrelationtootherpeople ................................................................................................38GarabDorje’sthirdpoint:simplytocontinueinthisway ............................... 38Practice:relaxingintotheout‐breath .............................................................................................39

Thefunctionsofrituals................................................................................... 39

www.simplybeing.co.ukCopyrightJamesLow2542010SpainBilbaoFindingyourwayhome_DC_BT_JLWebready.doc

[Day1]

Thebasicprinciplesofdzogchen

Thebasicprinciplesofdzogchenare important,becausedzogchen,asapracticeandasanunderstanding,isdifferentfromotherpathsinbuddhism.Inthedzogchenviewthebase,orthe basis of awakening, is something that we already have, and therefore the path toawakening isnotapathgoing somewhereelse,and the resultofawakening isnotbeingsomewhereelse.Rather,it’stofindawayofbeingfullypresentasoneself,whichisrevealedthroughopeningupthepossibilityofexploring‘Whatdoesitmeantobeoneself?’

Forthistooccurweneedtodevelopacapacitytoobserveourselvesacrosstherangeofourmanifestation.Thoughts, feelings, sensations,movementsof thebodyand soon form theconstituentsoutofwhichweariseasourselves.Ifwefullyidentifywiththesefactors,theyappeartobethedefinitionofwhoweare.

Oneaspectofobservationistheclaritywherebyallthesedifferentfactorsarerevealedjustas they are. In fact we exist as the co‐emergence or integration of the two factors: anopennesswhichrevealsallthatisthereandtheprecisenatureofallthatisthere.Thisisnot something mystical, it’s not something symbolic; it doesn’t belong to any particularsystem of interpretation. Dzogchen meditation resists the temptation to fall intointerpretation.

From the time we were small our parents, school teachers and employers have beenencouragingustotrytounderstandabitmoreandtothinkabitmoreandthereforetorestonthoughtsasbuildingblockstoestablishunderstanding.Clearly,knowingabouttheworldand how it functions brings a kind of clarity, but conditions change and our accumulatedknowledgeisquicklyoutofdate.

Indzogchenweareaimingtoawakentoaqualityofawareness,aparticularkindofknowingthatisnotdependentoncircumstances.Themostimportantaspectofthispracticeistrustinyourabilitytorelax.Generallyspeakingwhenwereadbuddhisttextstheyexplainthatthebasisof samsara is ignorance, leading toattachment.Theword ‘ignorance’ cancreate thesensethatthereissomekindofcognitivedisorderandthatweneedtolearnmoretogetridof ignorance. However from the point of view of dzogchen, the problem is more anontological one about the nature of being. That is to say, in becoming alienated fromourselvesandthegroundofourbeing,therearisesananxiety,andthisanxietydrivesusintoactivity.Forexample,whenthereisanaccidentorsomethingdifficultinourliveswetendtothink‘OhwhatshouldIdo?’Webecomemobilisedandreadytobecomeveryactive.

Ofcourseinthatstateofarousalandagitationourselectiveattentionidentifiesmanythingsthatneeds tobedoneand themorewedo themore there is todo.Every religion isverygenerous in presenting thousands of things for us busy people to do! You can doprostrationseverymorning,thenfillyourwaterbowls,thencleanyouraltar,andthereareall thesemanymantras tosay…So there isalwayssomething todo. InTibetanbuddhismthere are thousands of different gods. First you praise the buddhas, then all thebodhisattvas,thenallthegods,andthenallthedharmaprotectors.That’salotofpraisingtobedone.Sinceyouhavesaidhellotothemonce,thenthenexttimeyougonearthemyouhave to call them by their name otherwise it’s a bit rude… This kind of activity is goodactivity,butitisactivity.

Indzogchenweareconcernedtounderstandthenatureofactivity.That is tosay,what isthemovement of the body,what is the experience of speaking?What is sensation in thebody?Whatisemotion?Whatistheexperienceoflistening,eating,walkingandsoon?

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[Aphoneringsintheroom]Thesephonesareinventedtokeepyoubusy.Youcanimaginethebuddhassitting inBodhgaya,underthebodhitreereadytobeenlightenedandthenaphonerings.It’shismother‘Areyoualright,dear?Iheardyouweregettingverythin...’

SettlingandcalmingthemindSonowletusdosomesimplepracticetoarriveandsettlein,allowingourattentiontosettleonasimplefocus.Settleeitheronanexternalobjectsuchasamarkonthefloor,orfocusonthesensationofthebreathgoing inandoutofthenostrils.Wesitwiththespinestraight,shouldersrelaxed,chinslightlydown,thetonguerestingonthehardupperpalate.Theeyesareslightlyclosedandgazingdownthelineofthenose;themouthisslightlyopenandweare not controlling our breath. Once you have decided on your focus, develop a clearintention that ‘This iswhat I’m going to do’. If you find your attentionwanders off intosomethingelse,thenassoonasyoubecomeawareofthat,justgentlybringyourattentionbackontothelineofyourfocus.

The practice of tenderness and gentleness in meditation is very important. It’s a way ofhealing some of the wounds which develop around the heart on the basis of the harshmessages which we have received from the outside and which we continue to give toourselves,blaming,judging,andcriticisingandsoon.

Sojustreturntothefocusandwestaywiththat.Wewilldothisforabouthalfanhour.

[Meditation]

Themaingoalofthepracticewehavejustdoneisnottodevelopanyparticularinsightbutsimplytocalmthemindbycultivatingakindofdisinterest.Thatistosay,theusualcontentsof the mind, which we normally find fascinating and which pull us into all kinds ofdevelopments, thoughts and associations, are nowallowed to pass bywithout our payinganyparticularinterest.

Thiskindofpracticeissomethingyoumaydofromtimetotimetodevelopyourcapacityforfocussedattention,butfromthepointofviewofdzogchenit’snotusefultohaveitasone’smainmeditation practice. Themain goal of buddhist practice is to develop wisdom andcompassion and if the mind is simply very calm and undisturbed then there is neitherwisdomnorcompassion.However,what thispracticecando is start togive somekindofspace,akindofperspective,sothatyoubegintohaveachoice, ‘WillIbeinvolvedornot?’When our mind is very distracted we get into a habit of reactivity to whatever comeswhetheritseemstobeinternalorexternal.

Soincalmingthemindwegiveourselvesthesenseorthecapacitytostopandlookbeforewegetinvolved.Thishelpsustostarttoseewhereisthemaingluethatbindsusintowhatisgoingon. Is theglue in theobjector is theglue in thesubject?Sometimeswefeel it isinevitabletobeinvolvedinsomething;theobjectseemssointerestingornecessarythatwehave no choice. It is as if the object is pulling us towards it, causing us to fall into aninvolvement.“WhatelsecouldIdo?”

Thisisthebasisofalotofeventsinourexistence.Forexample,ifyougotoanycourtroomwherethepersonhastoexplaintothejudgewhytheydidthebadthingtheydid,youwillhearexplanationswhichpointtotheinevitabilityofwhatoccurred.“BecauseIwaspoor”…“Because the person hadn’t locked their car”… Therewas some reason out therewhichmademedo this. “Soyoucan’t sendme to jail; circumstancesmade thishappen. Iamavictimofcircumstances.”Weoftenthinklikethat,asiftheoutsideissuckingandpullingus,orourthoughts,feelingsandsensationsaresuckingusintosomething.

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The advantageof calming themind is thatwe can start to create a laboratory, a placeofexaminationwherewecanseewhatisthenatureoftheforcefieldofsubjectandobject.

Fromabuddhistpointofviewwehavebeenbornmany,manytimesbefore,andinalltheseliveswehavedeveloped likesanddislikes,habits,attitudesandsoon.Whenwearebornintothislifewehaveparticularvulnerabilitiesorsusceptibilities.Somepeople,whentheygotoapartyandhearthemusic,think‘Ihavetodance’whileotherpeopleatthesameparty,as soon as they see the bottles, think ‘I have to get drunk’. So in these ways we have aselective attention, that is to say, an attention thatmoves towards theworld looking forthingsthatareourparticularindividualpatterningoraconstruction.

WhatmayfeelnaturalisinfactquiteartificialThishabitualinvolvementfeelsexactlynormalforussoit’softendifficulttoseeitbecauseIam just doing what I do. How would I do anything else? This is me. But in fact in thatmoment our potential, our capacity to express ourselves inmany differentways, is beingcaughtbyanoldpatternandshapedinaverynarrowformthatisreallylimitingus.

Sobycalmingthemindandbeing less immediately reactiveor involvedwith thethoughtsandfeelingsandsoonwhicharise,weareabletostartexaminingourselvesandtheworldaroundusandstarttoseeinghowweactuallyfunction.Anaspectofthis istostarttoseehow other people function. It’s always surprising to see what other people do. So forexample,ifyougotothesupermarketandyoucometothequeueatthecheckout,it’sveryinteresting to look inotherpeople’sbaskets.What are theybuying?Whywould theybuythese things?Whatkindofperson is that?Howstrange.Thenwerealise ‘Ohtheyarenotme.’Theyhaveanotherlife;theyhaveanothermind.Theirmindisarisingduetocausesandcircumstanceduetotheirchildhood,theireducation,theirworkortheirnot‐work,andthesameistrueforme.

ThefunctionoflookinginthiswayistoseethatwhatItakeinmyselftobenaturalisactuallysomethingquiteartificial.Becausemymotherwasasshewas,myfatherwasashewas,myschoolwasasitwas,Ihave,throughmyintegrationwiththem,developedcertainpathwaysinsidemyself,certaintiltsofmygazesothatsomethingslookshinytomeandotherdon’t.

Therealpracticebeginswhenweseethat‘Iamartificial;Iamaconstruct;Iammadeoutofhabits,attitudesandtendencies,allofwhichhaveahistoricalbasis,acontextualbasisbutno true foundation. There is nothing fundamentally reliable in them.’ If I keep followingthesehabits andattitudes, I’mconstantlywindingmyself into story time, intoanarrative,into the myth of my existence. Inside of that many things are very important and manythingsdon’tbothermeatall.SofollowingthethingsI likeandtryingtogetmoreofthem,andavoiding the things Idon’t likeand trying tohave lessof them, I spendmywhole lifegoingthiswayandthat. Iamalwaysbusytryingtomaintainthesenseofthecontinuityofthisconstructthathasbeencreated.

Theviewofdzogchenisawayoflookingthroughthestorytoseeifthereisadifferentbasisfor our existence, one which is not simply our old individual patterning of the stream ofexperience,butsomethingtrulyreliablewhichcouldbealwaysthere.

Refugeislikeanumbrella–you’llgetwetifyouletitdown

InthegeneralbuddhistpracticewebeginbytakingrefugeintheBuddha,theteachingsandtheassociationof thepeoplewhopractice.That is tosay,werecognise thatweare likealeafintheautumnwindandwewanttofindsomethingtoholdonto.

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Onceyouhavearefugeyouhavetoholdontoit.Allkindsofrefugearelikeumbrellas;theywillonlykeeptherainoffifyouholdthemup.Thatistosay,withouttheeffortofkeepinguptheumbrellayoudon’tgetanyprotection.Assoonasyourarmgetstired,yourarmgoesdown and you get wet. So that’s why it’s very important to see the nature of religiouspractice.Aslongaswearetryingtostopdoingbadthingsanddevelopgoodthings,weareengagedinactivity.Thisactivitymaybeaverygoodactivity,butwheneveryoustopdoingit,whateveryouhaveconstructedwillstarttocrumble.

We can observe this again and again when you look in a garden; if the gardener is notworking hard then many other things start growing. At one time, here in this nunnery[outsideofBilbao]therewouldhavebeenmanypeoplelivinghere,withmanyservantsandeverythingwouldhavebeenveryperfect.Nowtherearejustafewoldnunssothingsdon’tgosowell.

Thesameprincipleoperatesinourmind,wheneveryouarecreatingsomethingbyyourowneffort, ifyoureffort stops, thatcreationwillbecomevulnerable.This isnotapunishment;it’s just how things are. You’ll know this from any kind of possession, whether it’s amotorcarorahouseorananimal—youhavetotakecareofit.

AnaturalstateofperfectionThecentralpointofthepracticeofdzogchenistheclaritythatfromtheverybeginninginallbeings–notjusthumans,butanimals,insects,everythingwhichhaslife–thereisanaturalstateofperfection.Thepracticeisdesignedtorevealthisnaturalperfection.Thatistosay,wearenot trying to constructourselves in abetterway;wearenot trying to improveordevelopourselvessinceawakeningisawakeningtotheperfectionthatisalreadythere.

There are two aspects to this. There is what is sometimes called the nature of theminditself,thatistosayourownnatureaswesitheretogether.Thisisopenness,meaningthatthereisnothingclosedordefinedorconditionedaboutit.It’sanakedquality,notcoveredwithanyhabitsorkarmicaccretions,andit’sthereautomaticallybyitself.Thisisthestateofawarenessthatilluminateseverythinginthesamewaythatamirrorilluminateseverythingthat isplaced in frontof it. Justasthemirror isnottouchedbyanyof thereflectionsthatariseinit,soourawarenessisnotconditionedordistorted,orimprovedorcontaminatedbyanythingthatarisesinit.Thisstatenevermovesandneverchanges.

Withinthisstateeverythingmoves,fornothingthatappearsisstableorreliable.Thebiggestprobleminsamsara isthatpeopletrytostabilisethingswhichcannotbemadestable.Wetry tomakeourownmental state stable;we try tomakeotherpeople stableand reliableandwhatwe find is that something is always happening, since, as the Buddha taught onmanyoccasions,everythingisimpermanent.

When we are present in our experience rather than thinking about it, we can see thateverythingisdynamicandchanging,unfoldingmoment‐by‐moment.Weseethateachofusisatthecentreofthisevolvingworld.Theonewhoisatthecentreofthemovingworlddoesnot move. That is to say our awareness, which never changes, and this display which isceaseless, are inseparable in non‐duality. The infinite stillness of awareness and theceaselessmovementoftheworld,includingourselves,arenottwodifferentdomains.Whatwecall‘mybody’,‘mythoughts’,‘mysensations’or‘myfeelings’isthemovementofenergy;thereisnothingstableaboutourexistence.Breathisgoinginandoutallthetime;thebloodis going round and round; electric impulses of the brain are ceaseless; the hormones andendocrinesystemareoperatingceaselessly,bringingaboutcommunicationinsidethebody.Thebodyisnotathing,it’sagreatriverofchange,andthesameistrueforsensationsandfeelingsandthoughts.Oncewestart toexperiencetheceaselessmovementofexperience

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werealisethatwithinthismovementthere isnothingtoholdonto.Yetwedon’tget lost,becausethegroundofthismovementiscompletelystill.

Ournatureisalwaysstillandcalminthemidstofthemovementwhichisalwayshappening.This is the basic vision in dzogchen. It’s not about trying to become enlightened, where‘enlightenment’issomespecialstate,whichifwetryreallyhardwecanonedayachieve,aplacethatwillsomehowbesecure.Whenwelookdirectly intothephenomenologyofourexistencewecanseethatthoughtscomeandgo.Badthoughtscomeandgo,goodthoughtscome and go. All constructs are impermanent. And yet ungraspable, indestructibleawarenessisalwaysrighthere.

Manythingsthatpeoplehavethoughttobeverysafeandsecurearerevealedbyeventstobe not so secure. Year by year the Catholic Church is becoming less powerful in mostcountriesandchurchesthatwereoncefullofpeoplearefairlyemptynow.Ahundredandfifty years ago thiswould have been unthinkable.When the Chinese came into Tibet andattackedthemonasteriesmanyoftheTibetanpeoplecouldnotunderstandhowitwouldbepossible to take a statue of the Buddha and break it up. They thought some big dharmaprotectorwouldkillalltheChinesebecausetheyweredoingsomethingvery,verybad.Thatdidnothappen.Astatueisjustmetal;ifyouhavefaithit’smorethanmetal,it’smetalplusfaith.Metal plus faith is very powerful. Imyself have a lot of faith so I have lots of suchpieces of metal in my home. However these things are very important because of ourrelationshipwiththem;theyletusseedirectlythatwearemakingthemshine.Theenergyofourmindistheradianceoftheworld.

Becomingmoreathomewithoneself

The basic task is to become more at home with oneself by starting to observe what isreliablyoneself.Youcanstartwithageneralreflectiononyourownlife.Forexamplewhenyouwereyoungyouhaddifferentinterestsfromnow.Thedollsorthebikeyouplayedwithasachildarenolongerimportanttoyoubutoncetheywerereallyimportant.Thenwecanlookatall the things thatare inour lifenowandthatseemvery important tous,andaskwhathasrealvalue?Thisdoesn’tmeanrejectingeverythingandrenouncingtheworldandgoingtoliveinamonasterybutrather,wecanstarttoseethatvaluearisesastheinterplayassubjectandobject.

TheillusionofexistenceThe Buddha explainedmany times that things are like an illusion, like a reflection of themoononwater,likeamirage,likeanecho.Whetherwearehappyorsaditisjustanillusion.An illusiondoesnotmeanthat there isnothingthereatall; itmeansthatnothing is therethat is inherently true, true from the insideout. Forexample,wemight feel thatmeetingtogetherlikethisisausefulthingtodo;wemightevenenjoybeinghere,butthenwelookoutthewindowandweseethattherearemanyhouses inthistownandyetnoonefromthistownhascomehere.Soisitourdutytogooutthiseveningandknockonpeoples’doorsandtellthem,‘Friends,pleasecome,enjoy’?Theywillsay‘Don’tbestupid?Don’tyouknowtheWorldCupisontelevision?’It’slikethat.Ifwewanttobehere,it’sourconstruction.Thisisanillusiontoo.

Everythingisanillusion.Perhapsyouhavebeenoutonabeautifulfull‐moonnightbyalakeandnoticedthereflectionofthemoononthewater.Itreallyseemsthatthemoonisinthewater,butitisnot.Inthesummerifyouaredrivingyourcarontheroadyoumayhaveseenwhatlookslikewater,whathastheappearanceofwater,butthereisnotruewaterthere.Itwas a mirage. This is the nature of our experience here. There is nothing to grasp. That

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doesn’tmeanthatthereisnothingatall.Thereissomething,butitisnotasolidentitythatyoucanbuildonorholdonto,andthesameappliestoourselves.

Insideourbodywefeelthemusclestenseandrelax,wenoticehowourbreathingchanges,howourposturemoves.Thatistosay,ourbodyissomethingthatappearsforus,justasourbodiesalsoappearforotherpeopleandthisappearanceischangingintime.Ourskinlooksdifferentas thedaylight changes, if the sun is shining,or if it’s rainingor there isartificiallight.Thatistosay,ourselvesandeverythingthatweseeisanexperiencewhichisarising.Itis there as an experience but you can never get hold of it. This usually is hidden fromusbecausewearecaughtupinourthoughts,beingbusy‘makingsense’oftheworld.Wehaveourideasabouthowthingsareandonthebasisofthatwecreateabaseofsolidenduringentities. Onthebasisof thatwestart tobuildupacompositepictureofouterthingsandinnerthings,andthenwemovethesereliableentitiesaroundtocreatetheworldwewant.Butallthetimeitisreallyanillusion.IrememberwhenIwasinschoolwewerealwaysbeingencouragedtoworkhardtogetthroughtheexams.SoeveryyearinMayandJuneIwouldbewritingandwritingforhourstodotheseschoolexams.ThenamonthlaterthroughthepostIwouldgetalettertellingmeifIhadpassedorfailed.OnceIhadopenedtheenvelopeandknewtheresult,well,lifegoeson.InEnglishwetalkabout‘astorminateacup’.Thisiswhathappenswhenwetakethingstooseriously.

StorytellingSometimesIsitandeatwithmycolleaguesatwork.Wetalkaboutourselves,wherewehavecomefrom,whatwehavedoneattheweekend,whatweplantodointhesummer…Thatisto say, we all tell a story about ourselves. But when we are relaxed and open, there isnothingtosay.Mostofoursocialinteraction,evenwhenweareinteractingwithourselvesonourown, is just a flowof stories. Stories about thepast –whathashappened, storiesaboutthefuture–whatwehopewillorwillnothappen.Whilewearetellingthesestoriesthereistheimmediacyofourpresenceasourselves,andthiswecan’ttalkabout.Wecan’tsay what it is, yet it is the heart of our experience. Words describe things, events,manifestations—yettheminditselfisnotathing.Itisbeyondlanguage,beingtheopenfieldthroughwhichlanguagemoves.Sotheverywaysinwhichwetrytocommunicatewithotherpeople, which are the same ways in which we talk internally to ourselves, conceal theimmediacyofourselvesintheverymomentthattheyrevealthestoryaboutourselves.

Thisisanimportantprinciple.It’snotthatstorytellingiswrongorbad,butit’storecognisethestatusandthefunctionofthestory.IfItellyousomethingaboutmychildhood,thenI’mmaking little bridges frommy world into your world, like some fast‐growing creeper likeRussianVineorVirginiaCreeper.Whenpeoplearetalkingtogetherlittletendrilsaregrowingout from their mouths and wrapping around each other. This creates the possibility offeeling connectedandwarm,and it alsoallowsus tobehelpful and togeta senseof theshapeoftheotherpersonsothatwecanfindawaytobeclosetothem.Thatistosay,itisaboutcompassion;it’snotaboutwisdom.Wisdomishowthingsactuallyare,thatistosay,staying relaxed open and present with the immediacy of our direct experience. Directexperiencecannotbedescribedbecauseitisnotathing.Speakingcancreatetheillusionoftherebeingrealentities.

Theactualfunctionofspeakingisaboutconnectionandconnectionpermitsthemovementofenergy.Forexampleinthisroomrightnowwearedifferenttypesofpeopleandwearemovingtogetherthroughtime;wearedirectlythemovementoftime.Alongthisceaselessgestureof time,weareallmoving. Itmighthelp to imagine that thiswhole room is abigriverwithastrongcurrentmoving.Thisiswhatitlikebeinghere;weareinthesameriver.Thiswholeworldisthesameriver,buteachofusisalittlemovement.

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Howeverwhenwesit inside thisbubbleofourselves thenweprotectourdifference fromotherpeoplebecausewewanttobeuniqueandspecial.Yetactuallywearemadeoutofthesamestuffaseveryoneelse.Thisdoesnotmeanthatwearethesameasotherpeople.Weareneitherthesamenordifferent;weareuniqueformswhichareinseparable.

Thisillustratesthefactthatwisdomandcompassioninseparable.Inwisdomweareathomein the spaciousness that is the ground of all beings. In buddhist language it means thedharmakaya,or truenature,ofallbeings isexactly thesame,butaswemanifestweeachhaveourownparticularqualities.Thesequalities influencehowwetalkandhowwewalkand so on, and this influences the play of our compassion – howwe can relate to otherpeople.Ifwearecutofffromourownexperienceofourspaciousnesstheninsteadofhavingthisungraspableand infiniteopennessatourcentre,we findourselveswrappedup insidestories.WetalkourselvesintoexistencejustlikeScheherazadebutthesestoriespositionusinparticularwaysthatlimitourcapacitytorespondtootherpeople.

Sothefunctionofthepracticeistointegratetheopennesswiththeexpression,thestillnesswith the movement, so that our movement becomes an expression of the integratedmovementof thesituationas itpresents itselfmoment‐by‐moment, rather thanbeingtheexpressionof‘whoIam’intermsofmyhabitualstory.

PracticeWewilldoalittlepracticenow.Thisisvery,verysimple,wejustsitasweareandwithoutdoinganythingartificialwejustallowexperiencetoflow.Wearenottryingtodoanythingspecial,wearenottryingtodevelopsomethingorcreatesomethinginparticular,simplytostaypresentwitheverything that isoccurring.Youcandothiswithyoureyesclosed if it’seasier but normally we do this with our eyes open. If something moves outside, somesoundscomein,justallowittocome.Don’tblockexternalexperience,don’tblockinternalexperience.

Ifyoufindyourselfspirallingintoaparticularpatternofthoughts,assoonasyourecognisethis just letgoand letthesethoughtsvanish.As itoftensays indzogchen,themind is likethe sky. The sky is open towhatever comes into it. Sometimes it’s clouds, sometimes it’srainbows.Birdsandplanesflythroughit,bombsgooffinitbuttheskystaysopen.Sointhesameway, just likethesky,remainrelaxedandopen…Whatevercomes,youjust let itbethere.OKsowillwesitlikethisforawhile.

[Practice]The basic instruction for dzogchenmeditation is to not do anything at all. That does notmeanthatnothingwillhappenbecause,strangelyenough,youarenottheonlyonemakingthingshappen.Theegohasabigfantasyaboutbeinginchargeofmentalactivity,yetstuffishappeningallthetime—whatFreudiansmightcalltheunconsciousandJungiansmightcallthecollectiveunconscious.Whatever it is,thereisa lotofstuffgoingonthatIdon’tknowmuchabout.

Sincetheinstructionisnottodoanythinginterferingorartificial,wheneverathoughtarisesin your mind—and your next response is ‘I like it’ or ‘I don’t like it’—then following theinstruction,justallowthethoughttocomeandthenjustallowittogo.

Theonewhosays‘Ilike’,theonewhosays‘Idon’tlike’isjustathought.Allthatwethinkweare,isjustthoughts.Aslongasweidentifywiththesethoughtsasbeingourtrueselves,ourpreoccupationwiththetransientarisingmomentsgetsinthewayofjustseeingourselvesinthemomentofouropenness.Forexample,ifyouaredrivingacareverytimeyoulookinthemirroryouseesomethingdifferent.Youarelookingupinthemirrorinsidethecarandyougo ‘Ah, that car is coming up behind me’, ‘Ah, that car is passing’… Many things are

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appearing in themirror foryou.Thenwhenyouarriveatyourdestinationyou look in themirroragainandtidyyourhairalittlebit,maybeputonalittlemorelipstick.Nowwhenyoulookinthemirroryouseeyourself.Themirrorisfullofyou.Why?Thisisourattachment.

Whenyouweredriving,thingswerehappeninginthemirror;itwasverydynamicbutnowwhenyoulookatyourownreflectioninthemirroritseemstobemorereal.Thisisbecauseyou invest it with a particular kind of significance. So when themeditation instruction is‘Don’tdoanythingatall’,itgivesusthechancetoseetheprocessofinvestmentofme.Thatistosay,oneideasaystoanotheridea‘Ireallylikeyou’andthenextideasays‘Ireallylikeyoutoo’andinthosewayideaschaseideas,chaseideas.Thisiswhatiscalledsamsara.Thefreedom from samsara beginswith seeing that an idea is only an idea. Butwhenwe liveinsideourhabitualattachmentwedon’tseeatransientidea—weseeanotherappearance.Thisistheillusioncreatedbysittinginsideanideaasifitweretellingthetruth.

OKsonowwewillbreakfortodayandmorningwewillmeettogetherhereat7.30andwecandomorepractice. Ifyouprefertostay inbedthat’salsoallowed,becausethis isnotapunishmentcamp!Youhavetobeintouchwithyourownconditionsincetheheartofthepractice is to make friends with yourself, to be so close with yourself that the internaldivisionofsubjectandobjectisreintegrated,andthat’swhenwecanstarttoexperiencethestateofnonduality.

[Day2]

Dzogchen:everythingisalreadyperfectDzogchenmeansgreatperfectionorgreatcompletion.Thatistosaywhateverneedstobedone is already being done, and therefore the idea that there is any fault or error isincorrect.Theonlyfaultorerroris,infact,tothinkthatthereisafaultorerror!Clearlythismakesitdifferentfrommostreligions.Mostreligionsstartwithsomekindoffallfromgrace,some variation on the stories of having to leave the Garden of Eden, some entry ofignorance... Thesemyths involve two aspects: one is that the good place is lost, and thesecondisthatthedoortogetbackinisclosed.

From thepoint of dzogchen, thenatural state—or theopen groundof our ownexistenceandtheexistenceofallbeings—isnotsomethingthatislost.Itcan’tbelostanditcan’tbegained.Itcan’tbesoldanditcan’tbepurchased.It’salwaysthere,butonecanattendtoitor not. By taking it for granted we create a false notion of what it is we actually aredependenton.Forexamplewhenyouwalkdownthestreet,youarewalkingonyourshoes,and our shoes are walking on the pavement, but both the shoes and the pavement areinvisibletoyouaslongasthingsaregoingwell.Butthenifsomebodyhasspilledoilonthepavementorifthereisabananaskinorsomedogshit,suddenlyyoubecomeawareofthepavementandofyourshoes.Theveryeaseofourexistencemakesusnotlookverycarefullyatwhat is there. The practice of dzogchen is to avoid the extremes of either lazily takingthingsforgrantedoranxiouslyreactingtoacrisis.Rather,weattendtowhatoccurswithoutinterpretationorbias.

InTibetitwassaidthatdzogchenwasinTibetbeforebuddhismarrived.Itwastherebeforethebönreligiontoo.Thatistosay,itisnotaninventedsystem,butissomethingthatwas,andis,alwaysthereandthatpeopleinallplaces,inalltimes,haveaccessto.Veryoften,ifyou spend some time with small children you can have that sense that they are in thisexperience. Of coursewhen children are small they do notmake a commentary onwhatthey are doing which means that their life, their experience, is open and immediate forthem. It’s wonderful to see people when they encounter a small baby and, generally

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speaking,somethingintheheartopensupandthefacebecomeslight,andtheyarefriendlyand immediatelyconnectedwith thebaby. It’s theveryopennessandundefendednessofthebabythatinvitestheadulttoenterthatworld.Ofcourseababyisratherhelpless.Thenasitgrowsupandlearnshowtotakecareofitself,itlosesthatopenness.Thisisverysadyetithashappenedtoeachofus.Therewasatimewhenwewerejustourselves,andthenwe‘developed’ ourselves, which is necessary for social adaption, but in the process we lostourselves. We became turned into, or turned towards, the rhythm of the world, thenecessarydemandsofexistence.Moreover ifour childhood isunhappy, then thatprocessbecomesevenmorecomplicated.

However from the point of view of dzogchen, openness is always there and the task inmeditationistointegrateourcapacityforcomplex‘beingintheworldwithothers’withthesimplicityof theground.Thebasisof thepractice is toawakento, tobefullyopento, thestate that is already here, a state that is hidden from us by nothing other than our ownactivity.Thislastpointisveryimportantsinceitmeansthatallyouneedisalreadyherewithyou;itisabouthowyoupayattentiontoyourexistence.

If you are familiar with buddhism, this is not the usual presentation because usually it isdescribedthatasituationarisesduetoignorance,thatistosay,thatwehavelosttouchwithtrueknowledgeandwehavetofindawaytothisknowledgeagain.So,peoplewillprayandmakeaspirationslike‘MayIbecomeenlightenedforallsentientbeings’,thatistosay,

IrecognisethatmyinterestsaresmallandIammainlyconcernedwithmyselfand I want to open this out so that my attention is with all beings equally.Throughthat Iwillescapethis limitation,creating freedomformyselfandso Iwillbecomemoreavailableforotherpeople.

Todothatitistraditionallysaidthatyouneedtohavedeveloped‘thetwoaccumulationsofmerit and wisdom’ which become the basis for achieving of enlightenment. This is oftendescribedintermsofremovingallthathastoberemovedandgainingordevelopingallthathas to be developed. The Tibetan word for ‘Buddha’, sang‐gye comprises these twoactivities.Sangmeanstoclearortopurify;Gyemeanstoincreaseordevelop.Sothestateofbuddhahoodisseenasoneinwhichallfaults,obscurationandlimitationsareclearedawayand all good qualities necessary for the benefit of oneself and others are completelyachieved, completely fulfilled. Buddhahood is seen as the result of a process. Should youenteratraditionalpathwayoftraining,asyougetinthefourschoolsofTibetanbuddhism,you are immediately concerned with these two activities of clearing away obstacles anddevelopingwhateverisuseful.Thisactivityisseenastakingmanylifetimes.Howevertheso‐called‘highertantras’teachhowitcanbeachievedinonelifetime.

Tantra:transformsordinaryintoperfectTheword‘tantra’meanscontinuityandreferstothecontinuityofthestatesoflimitation—called ‘samsara’, and the states of non‐limitation—called ‘nirvana’. The practice is totransformallthatwetaketobesamsara—theworldofseparateobjects,theworldoftrulyexisting phenomena—into themandala of the deity. Amandala simplymeans a situationthat has no limit. Essentially ‘mandala’ means that whatever aspect of existence you getfixatedonandinvestasbeingveryimportantisnotsealedinsideaninternaldefinition,butisactuallyafractalofalltheotherthingsthatarearising

Inthatwaywecometoseethateachthing,whichinourordinaryperceptionwetaketobesomethingverystrongandveryreal,isactuallyinseparablefromtheopenfieldofactuality.In particular, our sense of ‘I, me myself’ which seems to differentiate us from all otherpeople, is revealed asmerely the play of empty signifiers which establish nothing. In the

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pathoftantrawecometorealisethisthroughatransformationofourordinaryidentityintothesymbolicrealmofthedeity,

Forexample,wecouldvisualisetheyoginiMachigLabdron intheclearbluesky infrontofus,herbodytranslucentsothatyoucanseethroughit.Sheistherebutsheisanappearancewithoutsubstance.Thenbydoingthemeditationpracticewelinkourenergywithhersandoutofherbodyraysoflightcomeanddissolveintoourbodyfillingourbodywithlight.Sonowherbodyismadeoflightandourbodyismadeoflight.Herbodynowcomestothetopofourheadanddissolvesintoaballoflightandthatballoflightcomesdownintoourheart.Ourbody,whichislight,dissolvesintothatballsothereisonlyoneballoflight.That’sallwearepayingattentionto,andthisballof lightgetssmallerandsmallerandsmalleruntil it isjust one little dot, one point. The point nowdissolves into emptiness andwe rest in thatopenstate.Thengraduallythoughts,feelings,sensationsariseandallofthesearetheformsofemptiness,theformsofthedeity.

Graduallywe becomemore aware of theworld around us, tables, chairs, flowers, peopleandsoon.Everythingwesee,weseeasbeing inseparablefromthebodyofthedeity.Forexampleweseeflowers.Actuallywedon’tseetheflowersbecause‘flower’isthenamewegivetothis.Whatweactuallyseeissomethingquitestrange,quiteunbelievable—thereisalittleballofsomethingandgraduallyitopensupandwow!Aflower.Butassoonaswesay‘It’saflower’,lifebecomeseasy,wefeelsafe.Nowwe‘know’whatitis,butifwejustlookatit,it’sjustaprettyshapeandcolour.

Themorewedothepracticethemoreeverythingsurprisesus.Insteadofbeingasleepinthedreamoflanguage,thefreshvitalityofeachmomentcanberevealedtous.

Inordertoenterintothepathoftantrayouhavetogetanynecessaryinitiationsandthendothepracticeeveryday,dothevisualisations,recitethemantras.Thengraduallyyouwillgetsomeexperience.Thedangerwiththismethodisthatbecauseittakesyoualongtimetodo,andyouknowthatifyoudon’tmaketheeffortyoudon’tgettheresult,itbecomeseasytodrawtheconclusionthat‘Iammakingithappen’.

ImightthinkthatIamimaginingthismandala,inthewayachildimaginesBatmanorsomeotherhero.Thatistosay,thisactivitycomesoutofme.Thatbeliefmaintainsthecentralityoftheego—theveryoppositeoftheintentionofthepractice.Wehavetoimaginethatweare entering the timeless world of the symbolic, of the sambhogakaya, in which all theaspects of thepractice are unfolding by themselves. Bymergingwith thedeitywemergewithourowntruenature.

Dzogchen:kadagandlhundrupFrom the point of view of dzogchen, from the very beginning everything has been veryperfectandthestateofbuddhahoodispresentinallbeings.Therearetwobasicprinciplesindzogchen.

The first is kadag, a Tibetan word, meaning ‘primordially pure’. It means that your ownmind,yourownstate,ispurefromtheverybeginning.Ithasneverbeenlimited,ordefiledorcoveredupbyanythingelse.Whateverbadthingsyoumayhavedoneinthislife,noneofthishasconditionedorlimitedyourownnature.

The purity of themind is indestructible. This is a fundamental principle.Without this youcannothaveanyconfidence. Whenyouwearnicewhiteclothesthey lookveryattractive,especially if the sun is shining but you do have to bemore careful when you drink yourcoffee becausewhite cloth showsup every possible stain. Such relative purity is always a

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cause of anxiety but the purity described in dzogchen can never be stained or destroyedsinceitsnatureisempty.Iwilltalkaboutthenatureofemptinessalittlelater.

The secondprinciple of dzogchen is called lhundrup in Tibetan: lhunmeans ‘a heap’ or ‘apile’,anddrupmeans‘tobemade’or‘beaccomplished’.Therefore lhundrubmeans‘madeall at once’, not bit my bit. This refers to the aspect of manifestation. Whatever weexperienceisimmediatelyhere,wedon’tneedtoconstructit.Themoreweunderstandtheopennessandthepurityofthemind,themoreweseethattheimmediacy,thespontaneityofmanifestation,isinseparablefromthatpurity.

Thismightsounda littlebitabstractbut it isexactlyourexperienceaswearesittinghere.Thatistosaywhateverthoughts,feelings,perceptionsarise,theyhaveanimmediacy.Theyshow themselves. Who is this shown to? Me. Who is this one I call ‘me’? It’s a noeticcapacityorapossibilityofbeingaware.Thatistosayourabilitytoregisterexperienceisnotdonebysomething;it’snottheproductofafunction,butitisarevelation.ForexampleifIputmyhandinfrontofamirror,thereflectionofmyhandisimmediatelyinthemirror.

Becausethemirrorhasnothinginsideit,becauseithasnofixedcontent,itcanimmediatelyshowwhat is there.Becauseourmind isnaturallyempty, italsohasno fixedcontentandthereforeitimmediatelyrevealswhateverisarising.

Yesterday,whenIcameherewithMarta,welookedalittleattheroomtoseehowwecouldfit the seating, Marta had already been here some days before and moved some of thechairs.Thatistosay,theroomwasalreadyoccupiedorfilledinaparticularway,andwehadtoworkwithwhatwashereintheroom.Thisisthewayourordinaryconsciousnessworks.Wealreadyhavefurnitureinourheadandwhenyoucomeintoanewsituationyoucanonlymanage these new experiences according to the amount of remaining space you have. Averynormalwaywehaveofdealingwiththisproblemistosaythisnewexperienceisverylikethisoldexperience.

Bycomparingandcontrastingevents, two functionsarise.The first is that Ihaveakindofconfidence that I know how to make sense of the world, and the second is that I amprotectedagainsttheshockingfreshnessofeachnewexperience.Becauseifyoureallylookattheflowerstheyareveryverystrange,evenifyoulookatjustaplasticcup,it’svery,verystrange.When Iwasa child things like thisdidn’t exist. Suddenly someonedeveloped thecapacitytomakethis,somethingthatissocheapyoujustthrowitaway.WhenIwasachildyou always had to clean everything and keep it very safe.Maybe we could say that thisplastic cup is part of the Buddha’s teaching because this is a something that is alreadynothing,but thiskindofnothing is simplycapitalistconsumeristnothing! It’sverystrange,verystrangeandwetendnottoseethestrangeness.

In thatwaywe tend to exchange the unsettling immediacy of freshness for the power ofknowing.Ifyou’rewithchildren—especiallyboysaboutseven,eightornine—it’ssadtoseehowtheybecomeveryobsessedwithknowingthings.Itstartswithknowingthenamesofallthe different kinds of dinosaurs, then the names of all the motorcars, and then all thefootball teamsandsoon. If youdon’tknowall these thingspeoplesayyouarestupid.Ofcoursefromadevelopmentalpointofviewthis istheaccumulationofknowledge,but it isan empty kind of knowledge, knowledge as a defence against the anxiety of not knowingwho you are. Now that we have the internet and knowledge banks like Wikipedia theproblemismuchworse.This isbecausetherearea lotofthings intheworldthatyoucanknow;youcanspendhoursandhoursonacomputergettingmoreandmore information,andall thetimeyouare lookingat the informationyouarenot lookingatyourself.Sotheexistentialquestionof‘WhoamI?’becomeshiddenwithinthesearchforinformationaboutotherthings.

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EmptinessislinkedwiththequestionoftimeOK, now I am going to say a little bit about emptiness and then start to look at differentkinds of meditation in relation to understanding our own nature and relaxing our bodyspeechandmind. Thenwewillhaveplentyoftimeforquestionsyoumayhaveespeciallyabouthowtoapplythisinyourordinarylife.

Emptiness is very strongly linked to the question of time. Generally speakingwemove inwhatiscalledthethreetimes,thepast,thepresentandthefuture.Whenwetalkaboutthepresent,weusuallymean‘HereIaminthisroomwithyou.IknowIamhereandit’salready11o’clockbecausewehavealreadyhadbreakfastandlunchisstilltocome’.That istosaywhatwecangenerallyconsidertobethepresentissomethingwhichstandsatacrossroadsbetweenthepastandthefuture.It’snottheradicalpresentofbeingfullyawaketowhatishere,withagreatfreshness,ratherit’sthepointwherethepastturnsintothefuture.

Thepastmoves into the futureon thebasisof therebeing thecontinuityof trulyexistingentities.So,here ismywatch,mywatchshowsthetimebecause itcontinues in time. If itturnedintoanappleitwouldnotbeveryuseful.WhenIputitonmyarminthemorningIputonawatch.IfaftertwohourswhenI lookedatmywrist, itwasafriedeggIwouldbeverysurprised!ThatistosayIexpectsomethingtoremainsomething.

It’sthesamewatchIhadyesterday,whichmakessense.Butfromabuddhistpointofviewthisisnotcorrect,becausewhenIlookatthisandIsay‘It’sawatch’,then‘watch’isitselfaninterpretation.It’sanabstractconceptandwhatIhaveinmyhandseemstobeanexampleof that abstract concept. For example, maybe you’re out shopping and you stop for amomentoutsideajeweller’sshop,you'llseetheyhaveahundreddifferentkindsofwatches.Allof thesearewatchesbut theydon’tall look thesame.So thewatch‐nessof thewatchexistsoutsidetheparticularityofthiswatch.Whenyouweresmallyouhadtolearntotellthetime.There’sabighandandasmallhand.Thebighandshowstheminutesandthesmallhandshowsthehours.Youhavetolookagainandagainandeventuallyyougetabletotellthetime.

Now,whenyouareachilditispresentedtoyouthateveryoneknowshowtotellthetimeandifyouwanttobeanormalpersonyoualsohavetolearntotellthetime.Youaregiventounderstandthattimeisinthewatchandifyouknowhowtoreadthewatchyouwillgetthetime!Thewatchhoweverdoesn’ttellyouanything. Infactyou tell thewatchthat it isthewatchthatistellingyouthetime.Thatiswhatishappening.Youaredeceivingyourselfinthenameofgivingknowledge.

Youdevelop amental capacitywhich youproject into thismovementof thewatchhandsandwiththatyoumovewithintheculturalconstructionoftheframeoftime.Thesenseoftimeisdifferentinthisnunnerywherewearenowforclocktimeisnotthemostimportanttime. The most important time is the time of the bell which brings you to the differentchurchservicesthroughtheday.Thisgoesrightbacktothe6thcenturywhenthereligiousdaywasdividedup into its sixperiodsofdevotion. Itwas the same inTibet; thedaywasdividedintosixperiods.Itstartswiththemiddleofthenight,andthencockcrowandsoon.

So,watchtimeisaculturalconstruct,andwhenyouliveinsidethatconstructitappearstobejusthowitis.Itsartificialnature,itsconditionednature,ishiddenbythefactthatwealltakeitforgrantedthatitistwominutespasteleven.Inbuddhismwhentheytalkoftherootofsufferingbeingattachment,thisoperatesondifferentlevels.

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OntheouterlevelIamattachedtothiswatch;thisismywatch,IhavehaditforsomeyearsandsoIhavegrownaccustomedtothisparticularwatch,butifIlosethiswatchIcanalwaysbuyanotherwatch.ForawhileI’llstillremember‘Oh,howmuchnicermyoldwatchwas!’…butthenI’llforgetaboutitandbecomeusedtothenewwatchandthenitwilljustbecomemywatch.

Muchmoredangerousisattachmenttotheideaofwatch‐nessofthewatch.SothateverytimeIseesomethinglikethisIthink‘Ohit’sawatch’.Betweenthearisingoftheobjectandthearisingof the thought inmymind there isnogap,whichmeans that insteadofbeingable to really look and see what this is, I look at it through the lens or the filter of myknowledgeorassumptionofwhatitis.InthewesterntraditionofphenomenologyMerleau‐Ponty, Husserl and others struggle with, as they say, the epoché, the bracketing off, ofassumptions that we put onto the object. They attempted to put the assumption intoparenthesisbutthoughtscomesoquicklyandaresoplausiblethatitisverydifficultnottobetaken in, in themomenttheyarise.Andanalysingandusingthethoughtpatternsaftertheyhaveoccurreddoesnottakeusveryfar.

For example when I was growing up and was around eighteen or nineteen it was stillpossibleasamantosaythatwomenarelikethisorlikethat;butinmythirtiesIcamebackfromIndiaandthenewfeminismhadoccurredduringmyabsenceandsonow it feltverydangerousforanymantovoiceanyassumptionabouthowwomenwere.WomensaidifyouwanttoknowwhoIam,youcanIaskme.Iwillshowyou,butyoucan’tknowmebeforeyouseeme.

This is very important,because it isabeginningofakindof freedom.So longasmencandefine women according to an old patriarchal structure, that knowledge of the womanprecedesherownindividualexistence.So,youcouldsaythatbuddhismisapplyingasimilarlevelofconsciousness‐raising,butisapplyingittoeverythingintheuniverse.

Thatistosay,ifyouwanttoknowwhatthingsare,youhavetolook.Youcan’tjustassume,especially since your assumptions are full of old limited patterns. Although it seems verycleartoyouhowtoseethings,thisisthepseudo‐clarity,thefalseclarity,oftheintensityofyourownopinions!Therefore,insteadoftellingtheworldwhatitis,weneedtoreceivetheworldandlettheworldtelluswhatitis.

Thisiswhy,asIwassayingyesterdayevening,thereisaparadoxinthemainfunctionofthepractice, which is not to do anything at all. The less you do, the more you will receive,becausethereissomuch—intermsofthecoloursofthetilesoftheroof,theshadeofthetrees,thewaydifferentpeoplewalkandtalk—thereissomuchrichnessintheworldanditwillshowitselfifwejustletitbeabsorbedintous.

TheungraspabilityofselfThe buddhist notion of emptiness can be made very, very complicated, but it’s notcomplicated.Itmeansessentiallytheabsenceofinherentself‐nature.Whichmeansthereisnoessenceinsidetheobjectforyoutograsp,anditsungraspabilitymeansthatthemoveoftheegotogainpowerovertheworldbyknowledgeisexposedassomethingridiculous.

Inthesameway,inthefirstwaveoffeminisminBritain,fromthe1890’stoabout1910,thesuffragetteshadtheexplicitaimofgettingthevoteforwomen.Theninthesecondwaveinthe 1960’s and 1970’swomenwere saying thatwomen can define themselves, that theywerenotapuppetofthemalegazeorthemaledefinition.Nowadayswehavewhatsomepeoplerefertoasthe‘thirdwavefeminism’,wherewomendomany,manydifferentthings.Last yearwas ananniversary formanyof the foundingwritersof ‘secondwave feminism’

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anditwasveryinterestingbecausemanyofthesewomenhadbeenverypassionateaboutestablishing rights for women and there had been a sense of solidarity, of women beingsisters, and of going in the same direction. But when I went to conferences about this, Iheardthesewomensaying‘Nowitismuchmoredifficult.Theseyoungwomennowadaysdothings thatwewouldnever, never do. They think it’s a signof freedom towear a skirt soshort that it shows their knickers’. Theolder feminists think ‘Howcan this be?Howcan ithavecometothis?’andtheyoungeronesrespond,‘IfIwanttolooklikeatart,Iwilllooklikeatart.Thatispartofmyfreedom.’

That’s very, very interesting, because themore that you have freedom, the less you cangrasp anything,what can you say? As long as you have an enemy and you’re fighting forsomething,youcandefineyourself.‘Iamagainstthis;thismustchange.’Butonceyouhavesomedegreeoffreedom,lifecangoinallsortsofdirections.Ifyoutakethatchangeinthefeministmovementsasametaphor, youcan see that something similarhappenswithourrelationwithourownmind.Whenyoustopstrugglingtogainenlightenmentbyovercomingyourobstacles, you find yourself participating in a realmof infinitepossibilities.Of coursethisbringsa lotof freedombutalso itsownparticulardifficulty,becausewestillhave thequestion ‘How shall I live?’ If you follow the theravada path, and think, ‘Insideme I havemany impulses and if I indulge these impulses I will get into trouble. Therefore maybe IshouldbecomeamonkoranunandthenIwillhavemanyrulestofollowandtheseruleswillshowmewhattoavoidandwhattodo.’thenyoucanalwayschecktherulebookonhowtoproceed.

Inmahayanabuddhismwhatisdevelopedinsteadistheintention,‘Iwanttohelpallsentientbeings’. So this gives a sense if direction. That is to say that in any situation I try to thinkwhatwouldbebeneficialfortheother.Soyouhavesomethingtoreferto,whichisthevow,thebodhisattvavoworintention.

Ifyoupracticeaccordingtotantrayouhavethecommitmenttoseethewholeworldasthemandalaof thedeityand toseeeveryoneyoumeetasagodoragoddess.So,again,youalwaysknowwhattodo.

Butindzogchenthereisnorule.‘WhatshouldIdo?’Nobodycantellyou;youhavetobeanadultandthat’snotsoeasy.Lifeiseasierifyouareachild.Somehowyoucanfindamammaorapapaandtheywill tellyouwhattodo.Sometimesmammaandpapaaremad. Inthelast centurywehadmanymadmammas andpapas, Stalin,Hitler and Franco and so on…somebodywhoalwaysknowswhatisright.Thisisabigproblem.

The view of dzogchen indicates that you have to be fully present so that you are asconnected as possible to everything that is there in the undivided uninterruptedphenomenological field, which includes yourself. From the state of relaxation yourspontaneousmovementwillbeconnectedwiththesituation.Thenactivityiseffortlessandintrinsically ethical. Dzogchen texts describe this as ‘the path of non‐meditation’, forwhetherwearesittingorwhetherwearemovingaroundandbeingwithotherpeople,wedon’thaveanyimportedobjectofmeditation.

The object ofmeditation is always simply thatwhich is arising. Sometimes it feels inside,sometimes it feelsoutside.Withoutediting,without trying to improveor change,withoutfallingintoafusionwiththeobjectorseeminglyprotectingyourselfbytryingtomaintainadistance,staycompletelyclosetowhateverisarising,lettingitcomeandlettingitgo.Thisisillustratedbythetraditional imageofthemirror.Thereflectionseemstobe inthemirror,andyetwhenthemirrormoves,thatreflectionvanishes;itdoesn’tleaveatrace.Themoreyouopenandyouexperiencetheindestructibleemptinessofyourmind,themoreyoulosethefearthatexperienceisgoingtomarkorconditionyouropenness.Yourmindcanremain

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freshandclear.Thisisnotapositionofmachoindifference,liketheattitudeofamatador,becauseifsomebodysayssomethingthatupsetsyou,youcancry.Theonewhoiscryingisthepatterningofenergy.Thecontentof themindandthenatureof themindarenotthesame. Nor are they twodifferent things. If you cry you have not shown yourself to be aweakpatheticperson.Everythingispossible.Whenyouarehappyyoucanbehappy,whenyouaresadyoucanbesad.Thedifferenceis,whoistheonewhoishappy,andwhoistheonewhoissad?

Thesadness isme,asanexperiencewhich ismanifesting.Theonewho isexperiencingorrevealing thismanifestation is the unchanging awareness. These two aspects are presentsimultaneously.Ifwewereonlythisabsoluteclarity,nothingwouldtouchus;wewouldnotbehuman.Butifyouareonlypassionatelyinvolvedinyourlife,youdon’thaveanyclarity.Awakeningtotheintegrationofthesetwoisthebasisofdzogchen.

[Break]

Relaxingourbody,speechandmindOurbodyspeechandmindareaspectsofourexistencewhicharenotseparatefromeachother but rather are mutually influencing. They indicate our having a kind of dignity, ofwelcomingyourself intoexistence.Thinkofacat.Whencats lookatyouit isas iftheyaretellingyou ‘I’mheretoo’;that’saqualityoftheirvitality.Body,speechandmindreferstonot leaking out into theworld… to neither pouring out all your energy, nor hiding insideyourself,butreallybeingaliveinyourownskin,withthesenseorgansfullyalive.Thisqualityof just being in one’s skin, not too far out andnot too far in, is the basis for abandoningneitherotherpeoplenoroneself.Usuallywetendtotiltinonewayortheother.

Intermsofrelaxingthebody,makefriendswithyourskeleton,particularlythespine.Whentheweightoftheheadisproperlybalancedthroughthevertebrae,themusclesintheneckcanbecomeverysoft,allowingallthemusclesinthebodytorelax.Wetenseupwhenthereis somethingtobedonebutnow,whenthere isnothingtobedone, ifyouarestill tense,thenthereisadoublemessage.Themindmaybetellingyoutorelax,butthetensioninthebodyissaying‘Ohwhatnext?Westernmedicinedescribestheautonomicnervoussystemashavingtworegulatorysystems:thesympatheticandtheparasympatheticnervoussystems.Formostofusourparasympatheticnervoussystemisnotveryhealthy,thatistosayweareover‐arouseda lotofthetimeandweareusedtofeelingreliefbyevenmorearousal!Forexampleyoumightwatchtelevisioninordertorelax,buttelevisionisastimulant;youmightsmokeacigaretteinordertorelaxbuttobaccocontainsmanystimulants.Inthesewayswebecomehabituatedtoastateofalertness that isnotnecessary to theactualenvironmentwelivein.

Maybewehadbadorfrighteningsituationsinourchildhood,whichhaveleftanimpactonourcapacitytoself‐soothe,soit’sveryimportanttoallowthebodytocometorest.Therearemanywesterntechniquesfordoingthis.Acommonsystemisautogenictrainingwhichinvolves consciously working through the whole body, tensing and then releasing themuscles.Suchsystemsareofteneasiertolearnthanyoga.

Yogaisveryusefulbutitcanbedifficulttointegrateintoordinarylife.Patanjali,whotaughttheyogasutrasinIndiaabouttwothousandyearsago,laidthebasisforthedevelopmentofeightpathsofliberation,witheachoftheeightpathshavingitsownparticularkindoflogic.Sometimespeoplemaydoa littlebitofyoga just tokeeptheirbodyflexibleandthat’sokthoughperhapsnotsomethingyoucando in theoffice.Sayyou’reatworkandyourbossgives you a hard time you might be feeling angry and humiliated which is immediately

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presented in tensingof themuscles,changingofposture,ofbreathing,ofcapacity foreyecontactandsoon.Atsuchtimesit’svery importanttobreathefreelyandopenlyfromthediaphragmandtoreleasethetensioninthemuscles.Althoughyouhavebeenattacked,andhave felt attacked, you are no longer being attacked so you can release the arousal andtensioninyourbody.Ashumanbeingsweoftenhavetocoverthingsover,toholdourselvestogetherinpublic.Thisismuchlesshelpfulthanimmediatelyreleasingassoonasthecausalsituationhaspassed.

BeingflexibleAlthoughitmaybegoodtolearnIndianorTibetansystemsofyoga,theessentialthingistostarttoknowyourownbody.Forexample,whenyouaresittingatyourcomputeryoucancheckforyourselfifsomeofthemusclesinyourbody,maybeinyourneck,aretense.Weadjustourposture toourmental imageofwhat is right forus, soveryoftenpeople thinkthattheyaresittingstraightupwhentheyarenot,becausetheyhavedevelopedahabitualsenseoftheirposturethatfeelsright,butisactuallyoff‐centre.Balletstudioshaveawallofmirrorsbecausethelineofbalanceyoufeelinsideyourselfisnotalwaysthetrueline.Therearemodernmethods like theAlexander techniqueand the Feldenkraismethodwhichwillhelp you identifywhen andwhere you are going off‐centre. You can pursue the enquiry:whatarethefactorsthattensemeup,whatarethefactorsthathelpmerelease?Ourbody,asthevehicleofourmovementintotheworld,needstobeflexiblebecausewedonotknowwhatisgoingtohappen.

You have themost freedom tomovewhen your body is in a non‐committed position. By‘committed’Imeanthatwhenyouhaveanintentiontomoveyourbodyinaparticularway,youhavelessfreedom.Youcanseehowimportantthisisforgoalkeepers,forexample.Thegoal area is quite big and the goalkeeper can’t show the strikerwhichwayhe is going todive,sohehastobelikeamasterofmartialarts,abletomovefromzerotoahundredveryquickly. As soon as he leans in any one direction, that makes the other possibilities lesslikely.So,itcomesbacktofindingthecentralposition,torestinginthemiddleway.

Doweoperatefromourownintentionordoweoperatefromacentralpointthatisoutsideourselvesintheco‐emergenceofselfandother?Forexample,somepeoplecandancebuttheycan’t reallydancewithotherpeople. That is tosay, theydancedoingwhatever theydo,andintheirownworldtheyareexpressingthemselves,buttheyaresealedwithintheirownrelationtothemusic—thereisnoroomforanyoneelse.Todancewithanotherperson,theirmovementandyourmovementhavetoworktogether.Inmanydances,likewaltzesortango,thisproblemissolvedbyonepersonleadingandtheotherpersonfollowing.

Howeverthegoalindzogchenisnottohaveadominanceandsubmissionmovementbuttohaveaco‐emergence, that is tosay, that thesubtle interchangeofmessagesbetweenthetwopeopleallowssomethingtoarisebetweenthemwherebyforeach,theirresponsetotheother provides them with a holiday from themselves. I am sure we have all had thisexperience, parents especially.When theparent relates to the child, the child leads themintodoingthingsthattheparentwouldn’tdoforthemselves.Theparentmighthavetogointoschoolandconfronttheteacheraboutthewaytheirchildisbeingspokento.Theparentmightbeabletodothatbutthenfindthattheycannotbringtheirfaultygoodsbacktotheshopandask for theirmoneyback.Themotheror fathermight lack theconfidence tobestrongforthemselves,butfortheirchildtheycantranscendtheirownlimit.

NotfeelingstretchedlikeanelasticbandWhendzogchentalksofnon‐dualityitreferstothelackofarealseparationbetweensubjectandobject. So, ifwe stay connectedwith theworldandwithotherpeoplewearealwaysbeingcalledintoconversationandintowaysofbeingwhicharenotourfamiliarterritory.As

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longasyouhaveahometerritory,afamiliarposition,andaslongasyoufeelthatinordertomakecontactwithotherpeopleyouhave togooutof that territory, then thiscanbe likestretching an elastic band. At a certain point you feel you have gone far enough and youneedtocomebacktobeingyourself.Attheendofthedayyoumightthink‘Oh,thankGodthat’sover.I’vehadenoughforoneday.Idon’twanttotalktoanyone;Idon’twanttoseeanyone…Whereismywine?’Maybealldayyouwerequitehappytobewiththesepeople,butthenifafriendcallsyouintheeveningyougo‘Thesebloodypeople,theyareonmycasealldaylong…’

This is important,because this iswhere compassionandwisdomhavebecome separated.Thatistosaymygenerositytowardstheotherperson,whichIgavefreely,whichIenjoyedgiving, is still linked to a tight definition ofmyself. Sowhen I’m giving it, itmay be feelygiven,but insidethere isameter, likeataximeter,andatacertainpoint I think ‘Oh,thatwas too much.’ Many people who work with other people get what is called burnoutbecauseofthat.

Thisiswhydeeplyrelaxingisimportantandopeningupeveryfixedpositionwehave,sothatwe arenot resting anywhere and so that ourmovement is always from this place to thatplace,withnohomeplacetocomebackto.Thatistosay,whereweliveiswhereweare.

Howdoweapplythisinourmeditation?Youcanbesittingdoingyourmeditationandyougo off on some sequence of thoughts, then suddenly you realise—‘Oh oh, I amway overthere…’,andthenyoucomebacktodoingthemeditation.Thisiswhatwedowhenwearemeditatingfocusingonthebreath;wecomebacktothebreath.

However in thepracticeofdzogchen since theobjectofmeditation iswhatever is arising,youcannotgetlost.Ifyouarepresent,thenwhereveryougo,thereyouare.Youaresimplypresence. There is no rulebook that says this is where you should go, or this is how youshouldbe,orthisishowyourmindshouldbe.Sometimeswhenwedomeditationwemayfindourselvescrying—suddenlywearefullofalotofgriefandsadnessandmaybewedon’tevenknowwhy.Youdon’thavetopushthatawayorchangeit;juststaypresentwithitandthen, after some time, itwill change into something else. The danger in thinking ‘I don’twanttobelikethis.Ishouldn’tbelikethat’, isthatyouthentrytofinda‘right’waytobe.Don’tdothat.Whateverstateyoufindyourselfin—angry,proud,bored,whatever—justbewithit.

OurbreathisourfriendTogobacktothebody,sit inacomfortableway,withthespineholdingyourweight. Youcanbeawareofparticular tensions that turnup,and if you feel youwant to stretchyourlimbs,then justdothat. Insomesystemsofmeditationeveryonehastosit inaparticularpostureandtrynottomove.Hereit’sfinetomove,buttomovewithawarenesssothatthemovement of the body is moving through the awareness and you remain aware. Themovementofthebodyshouldn’tdisruptthemeditationbecausewhilethebodyismoving,thatistheobjectofmeditation.

Relaxationofthebodyfollowsfromhavingfreeeasymovementofthediaphragm.Yogahasmanymethodsforholdingthebreath,forextendingtheperiodthatyoucanremainwithoutthe flow of breath and the associated flow of thought. However, in daily life deep slowbreath,usingthediaphragmisthemostimportant.

Many of us breathe in a very unhelpful way. When we get a bit anxious, or excited orfrightened,weshift intoupperchestbreathingwherebywehaverapidshortbreaths,withslightly longer in‐breathsthanout‐breaths.This increasestheamountofoxygengoing into

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the bloodstream, which prepares mobilisation for fight or flight. When we have habitualshallowbreathswhatwearedoingissayingtothebodythereisdanger.Oftenpeopleslouchon the sofa athomewatching television,maybe leaning forwardandwith their shoulderscollapsedsothattheycanhardlybreathe.Theymaybetryingtorelaxbutactuallythereisabiochemicalwind‐uportension.

Whenyoubreathe in, imagine it’s likepouringabottleofwater intoa jug; the jug fillsupfromthebottom.Soasyoubreathein,yourbellycomesoutabitasthediaphragmcomesdownand there is space for the lungs.When youbreatheout, breatheout first from thebottom,slowandsteady.So,wewilljustsitandconsciouslydothisforalittlewhile.

Todeveloptheusefulhabitofbreathingdeeplyandslowlyyouneedtoconsciouslypracticeit several times a day. For example, once you become used to sitting with your spinestraight, itbecomeseasier to recognisewhenyouare slumpingand soyoucan straightenyourspineasrequired.Themoreyoumaintainthisslowdeepsteadyrhythm,themoreyoucan monitor when you move away from it. Then you can start to notice what are theexternalsituationsandtheinternalthoughtsandfeelingsthatarebringingaboutanychangeinyourbreathingpattern.

Forexample,atighteningofthebreathmaybegroundedinthesenseofnotwantingtobesomewhere.Whenwenoticethisitishelpfulfortheshiftinourbreathinghasalertedustohowwehavegone intoanarrowvisionofourpotential. Some situationor some thoughtpatternisarisingwhichseemstobecontrollingmeordefiningme,orputtingmeinaplacewhereIdon’twanttobe.Theexpression‘it’sgettingtome’isquitehelpful inthiscontextbecauseitindicatesthatIhavebecomeathingwhichsomethingelsecanget.Graduallywestart to recognise this pattern of thinking and feeling and see that it’s just a temporaryconstruct,andonadeeperlevel,thatthereisnonetobecaught,

In that way the body and the breath—which is linked to the voice—and the mind allcollaboratetogether.Ifyougetstuckinoneaspect,youdon’thavetoworkonthatareainorder to free yourself. For example, if you get caught up in habitual negative thoughts,rather thantryingtothinkabout thethoughtsandthinkyourwayoutof thinking…, ifyoushiftintofocusingonyourbreathandrelaxthebreathandhaveitfreeanddeep,thenthelock intothethoughtwillgo.Youcouldachievethesamebystandingupandshakingyourbodybecausewhenwelockintoathoughtveryoftenwelockintoaposture;ifyouchangeyourpostureyoubreakthelock.

LooseningupwhenyougetlockedinI used to regularly have dinner with a couple of psychotherapist friends. Sometimes wewould be joined by a colleague of theirswhom I did not knowwell.Wewould be sittinghaving dinner, having somewine and talking and predictably, inevitably, I would get intosome sort of an argument with their colleague. We would get completely locked intosomething. Thenoneof theotherswould claphis hands and say “Everyone standup andmove around the table!” Then we would get up, move around and sit down in differentplacesandtheconversationwouldbecomeverysweetagain.

It’sveryinterestinghowyoujustlockintoaparticularplaceandthenmoreandmore,likeanacceleratororanamplifier, youget locked in. This canbeuseful in the sortofmeditationthatsayssitstillandfocusyourmindinordertodecreasethelikelihoodofdistraction.Butifyougetlockedintosomethingunhelpful,thenclearlyitmakessensetodotheopposite,thatistosay,tomoveabout,todistractyourselffromwhateveryouaretrappedin.Mostofuswillhaveseenthisworkingwithsmallbabies.Theystarttocrybut ifyoubouncethemup

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anddown,dosomethingwithyourfingersormaybesingasongthenonceyoucatchtheirattention,theystopcrying.It’sthesameprinciplewithourselves.

Being aware of tightening and loosening, its pulsation and triggers, is very helpful forregainingasenseofbalance.Yetitispredicatedonushavingasenseofwhoweare,ontheprimaryidentificationthatwemakewithcertainconstructionsasiftheywereourtrueself.In dzogchen our practice is to rest in the state of openness free of constructs, our self‐balancingnaturalfreedom.

ThoughtsaremovingthroughmeWehavealreadylookedalittlebitatimpermanence.Whenwebecomeawareofthefloworstreamofourexperience,weseethatthesamesortoffeelingsandpatternsariseagainandagain.Ifwefocusonthesemanticcontentofthemthenthereseemstobeareaffirmationofthesenseofthecontinuityofourexistenceestablishedbythem.ButifyoupayattentiontotheenergeticmovementofthethoughtthenyoustarttoseethatalthoughIamfrequentlylikethisor Iamfrequently fullof thiskindofthought, thesethoughtsaremovingthroughme. As such I cannot hold a thought nor repeat it. The second occurrence of the ‘same’thoughtseemsidenticalwiththefirstoccurrenceonlybecauseIamfocusedonthesemanticcontent.Actuallythecontextwithinwhichthethoughtarises,ischanging.Theouterfieldofwhat other people do is changing. The inner field ofmy own emotions and sensations ischangingandthethoughtitselfisdifferent.Itisdifferentbecausealongthelineoftimeitisactuallyanewthought.

Thuswemightask, ‘Doyouwantanothercupof coffee?’Thiscouldmean,“Youhavehadonecupofcoffee.Doyouwantanotherwhichisthesame?” Itwouldbethesamebecauseit’sjustanothercupofcoffee,butit’sanothercupofcoffee.It’snotthesamecupofcoffeebecausethefirstoneisalreadygone.It’sanewcupofcoffee;it’sreallynew,andit’sreallyadifferentcupofcoffee.But it’salso ‘anothercupofcoffee’.Does thatmakesense?Thesetwothingsarehappeningatthesametime;it’sbothfreshandfamiliar.

Ifyoufocusonthefamiliaritseemstobealmostsolid;youknowwhereyouare.Ifyoufocusonthefreshnessit’ssomethingnew,andthisbringsusbacktoourselves.

—Ohwhatisthisthatishappeningforme?—Whatisthisthinginacup?—Oh,whatanamazingsmell!—Youcallthiscoffee?

Each moment is new. The fact that we bring some knowledge to it, which helps us tomanageit,doesn’tneedtomakeitoldandstalesothatwefallasleepinsideit.OK,nowwewilldoalittlesittingmeditationandbringtogethertheseelements.Thebreathflowingeasily,deeply through thediaphragm: theskeletonholdingourweight so that themuscles can relax: the awareness open so thatwhatever is coming is not interferedwith.Nowour consciousness—that is to sayour conscious senseof self,our conscious senseofwhatishappeningtous—isalwaysbusywithwhatisgoingon,butwecanalsobeawareofthismovementofourconsciousness.Aswelookedearlier,wearethesetwoaspects.Wearethisopenawareness,andasaqualityofitsdisplayorradiance,wearealsothemovementsoftheengagedconsciousness.

Inthemeditationwewanttogentlytiltthefocusofourattentiontowardstheexperienceofspacious awareness and not be so interested in themovement, in themovement of theparticularthoughtsandfeelingsthatarearising.Thepracticeisveryeasytodobutit’salsoeasytoslipoutof,soforthatreasonwestartbydoingitforshortperiodsoftime.Ifyougetabittiredorabitspaceythenyoufocusmoreonthebreath,slowanddeepbreathsthatwill

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bringyoubackintoamoregroundedstate.Whenyouhavedonethatforsometime,releasethefocusofyourattention.Beawareofwhateverisoccurring.Oftenourattentionislikeatorchonadarknight,creatingacircleoflightoutsideofwhicheverythingelseisabitdarkand recedes into the background. However in this meditation we want to have a morepanoramicvision.Wearesittingwithoureyesopen,notstaringatanythinginparticularbutincorporatingourperipheralvision.Haveasensetooofthespacebehindyousothatallthepotentialofawarenessthroughthesensesisopentowhateverisoccurring.Thistakesalittlewhiletogetusedto.You’renottryingtodoanything inparticular,butsimplytooffer thewidestpossiblewelcometowhatisoccurring.

[Break]

Theimmediacyofperceptionisselforganising:nothingmoreneedbedoneThekeyfocusisnotgoingafterpastthoughts,notexpectantlywaitingforfuturethoughts,butstayingpresentexactlywiththemomentoftimeasitunfolds,becausetimeisaqualityofourownexistence.Veryoftenwecanfeeltrappedbytime;therearesomanythingstodointhecourseofadayandwehavetofitintotime.

Fromthepointofviewofdzogchenthisisaveryalienatedvision,becausetheimmediacyofbeingpresentherenowisitselfinseparablefromtimeandwhenweintegrateopennessandmovement we escape from the prison of sequentious time. We also escape from thebuilding up of patterns, so that we can truly experience what is occurring without beingcaughtbyit.Wedon’tfallintothoughtslike‘whatif…’,‘ifonly…’and‘maybe...’thatstartsstreamsofspeculation.

Now at first when we are just with the immediacy of the moment, it can seem thateverythingbecomes fragmented,becauseourhabitualpatternoforganisingwhatappearstous in termsofnarrativesor stories fallsaway.But ifwe just stayopenwe find thatwedon’tneedtomakesenseofit;thevalueisimmediatelytransmittedanddoesn’tleaveanytrace.

If you are drawing with a child who is about four years old, very often they draw circleshapeswithlittlethingscomingoffthem.Whiletheyaredoingittheyareconcentratingveryhard andwhen you ask themwhat it is, theywill tell you ‘This is a house…’, ‘This ismymamma…’,‘Thisisacar...’Itdoesn’tlookanythinglikethatbutinthemomentthechildisdoingit,itfeelslikethattothem.Thatistosay,intheexperienceofmakingthemarkthereis the affirmation ‘Yes, that’s it.’ It doesn’t have to leave a logical trace that has to befollowedorjustifiedandexplained.Itjustisandthechildhasafullbeliefwhenhetellsyou‘Thisisamotorcar’whichgivessomeindicationoftheirsensethatitjustis.Theimmediacyisself‐organising;itdoesnothavetobetidedupintosomefamiliarcategory.Thistakesusmoreandmoreclosetotheimmediacyofperception.

GarabDorje’sfirstpoint:awakenonyourrealnature

Awareness of the natural state of being was transmitted directly to Garab Dorje by theprimordialbuddha,KuntuZangpo.GarabDorjethenbroughttheseteachingsintotheworldinhisfamousThreeStatements.Accordingtothetradition,heroseupintotheskyandfromamassofrainbowcloudshepronouncedthesethreesimplestatements.Thefirstofthesestatementsistoawakenon,orin,yourrealnature.Thesecondistokeepfindingyourselfinthatnature.Andthethirdistoneverleavethatnature.

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Thisraisesaninterestingquestion.If it’sourrealnature,howisitthatwearenotintouchwithitandweneedsomeoneelsetoteachusaboutit?Toanswerthisweneedtolookatthenatureofminditself.Themindhasthreeaspects.Thefirstisnaturalopenness,whichistosaythatourcapacitytoknowisnotaconstruct;itisnotathingrestingonotherthings.Thisisnotamaterialisticview.Itmaywellbethatourconsciousness—ourinteractivesenseofwhoweare—islinkedthroughthebrainandthebodyandthefivesensesintotheworldaround us. However awareness itself is not created out of anything. It is the statewhichrevealsallthatiscreated.

Thishasmany implications forwhoweare.All thatwe takeourselves tobe isan illusion,momentary identifications thatcannot,anddonot, remain.Wearenotwhatwethinkweare. And the very thing that we don’t recognise about ourselves, well, that is our actualnature.ThisiswhatGarabDorjeispointingout.

Thetransmissionoftheseteachingsrequiresnoformalinitiation,butinordertoawakentoourselves, it helps if our nature is pointed out both through words and through the co‐emergenceofjointpractice.Ournatureispurefromtheverybeginning.Fromthismorningfromwhenyoufirstgotup,youhavehadmany,manyexperiences,suchaswalking inthegardenandseeingthetreesblowinginthewind,havingachatwithpeoplewhilstyouweredrinkingcoffee,sitting inhereandthinkingabout thesevarious issues.Therearedifferentkinds of experiences; when they are there, they are there, and then they are gone andanotherexperiencearises.Thereisasimplicitytothis.Yetwhenweareinattentiveorsplitourattentionwecancreate jumbled,hazyconfusingexperience.Forexample lastnightatthemealIhadsomewatertodrinkandthenIthoughtIwouldhavesomewine.Notpayingattention, I put thewine in the glasswhichwashalf‐full ofwater. Thewinedid not tastestrongandmixedwithwater, itdidnot tasteofanything,neitherwaternorwine. It’s likethat.Ifeverythinggetsmixedupyouneverknowwhat’swhat.

Ourmindoffersusthesamechoice,clarityornon‐clarity.Wehavetwoaspects.Oneisouropenawarenesswhich,likethemirror,allowsexperiencetocomeandcomeandnevergetsfilled up. The other is our consciousness, which is the aspect of our mind whereby weengage with and make sense of the world. This has a limited capacity. We all know theexperienceofbeing filledupuntilwehavehadenough.Wecanonlyabsorbsomuchandthenweneedsomefreshair.

Knowing about these two aspects, in themeditation practicewe can recognisewhenweneed to shift our focus if we are getting trapped in involved consciousness. It’s not thatconsciousness is bad and awareness is good. Fundamentally they are not two differentthings, but they have different qualities, different functions. It’s like a bicycle which hasgearsonit.Somegearsareverygoodforgoingonflatground,andsomearegoodforgoingupahill.Ifyouhaveabikewithoutgearsyoureallyknowthedifference.Itmakessensetochangegearsandgetthissupportwhenyouaregoinguphilloroveradifficultsurface.

TheTibetanwordforawarenessisyeshe:yemeansfromthebeginningorprimordialandshepameanstoknow.Thewordforconsciousnessisnamshe.Nammeansshapesorformsandshe pa means to know. These two words have the same root in ‘knowing’. Awarenessindicates just knowing, like the shiny surfaceof themirror, it showswhat is there. Whileconsciousnessattendstoknowingthisandthat,knowinghowthingsare,knowingwhattodo.Ifyouwerejustinastateofopenawarenessallthetimeyoucouldnotdoanything.

ChogyamTrungpa,oneofthefirst lamastocomeandteachinthewestusedtosaythatifthemindwasonlyopenandshiningthenyouwouldneedtohaveaspecialhospitalwardforbuddhas!Soit’sveryimportanttohavebothcapacities:tobeintheworldwithallthedetailbutnotgetcaughtinit—toberelaxedandopenbutnottohideinit.Whenconsciousnessis

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integratedinawarenessitisdeconstructed,freedofitsenmeshmentwithreification.Thenitisrevealedasbeingtheenergyofawareness,itsmodalityofparticipation.

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AllthatweseeislikeanillusionbutillusionshavetheirownlogicGarabDorjedescribeshowfromthenakedopenstatethatisnotartificial,notcovereduporconditionedinanyway,anilluminationarises,whichisthenaturalclarityofthisopenstatewhich reveals everything that is here. It reveals dreams in the night‐time and all theexperiencesinthedaytime.Allthatweseeislikeanillusion.Hereinthisplacewherewearenow,wecanseeatrainrunningalongthetracksacrossthevalley.Youmightthinkthatthetraincan’tbeanillusionsinceifyoustandinfrontofitandithitsyou,youwilldie.Thisideawouldindicatethatwedonotunderstandthebuddhistmeaningofillusion.

Illusionshavetheirownlogic.Eachformintheworldhasitsfunctionsandstructures,yetitexists in adimensionwhichmakes it inseparable fromeverythingelse that ismanifesting.Thus the train is on the train tracks; it has to be somewhere.When youwake up in themorningyoudon’t finda railway trackparkedoutside in thestreetbesideyou.Whenyoucome home from work and you open the door into the kitchen, you don’t find a train.Everythingissomewhere,thatistosayeverythingisconnectedwithotherphenomena.Allphenomenaarisetogether.IfIlookoutofthiswindowIcanseesheeponthehill,butIalsorememberseeingoneofBunuel’searlyfilmswheretherewerea lotofsheepinsidearichperson’shouse.Doyourememberthisfilm?

Group: Yes,TheExterminatingAngel.

It’s very shocking to see sheep in thehousebecauseweexpecteverything tobewhere itshouldbe,andgenerallythat’sthecase.Everythingiscominginitsownparticularplace.Thisisthequalityofclaritythatdoesnothavetosortthingsoutbutjustshows,‘Oheverythingiswhereitis’.

Ourparticularmanifestationisarisingfromandwithinthisclarity,andchangingmoment‐by‐moment. That is to say, every day we are doing something; all day long something ishappening toourvoice, toour thoughts, toourbodies.What I callmyself isanunfolding.Now,iftheflowerhastherightconditionsitwillunfoldastheflowerweknowitcanbe,butwedonotknowhowwearegoingtounfold.Wemaybehappyinthemorningandsadintheeveningorviceversa.Itdependsonwhathappens.Thatistosay,betweenmyselfandthe world, there is not a wall. This is the great freedom and creativity of the humansituation.

ThecentreofmyexistenceisalwaysoutsidemyselfMy existence is revealed to me through my participation in the world. I can’t find myexistencebylookinginsideme.It’snotanessencelikethebulbofaflower,closedinandofitself, andwhich will reveal itself if the conditions are right. Rather we havemanymanydifferentpotentialsandhowtheseariseinnotdependentprimarilyonourintentionbutonthepossibilitiesthatariseintheinteractionwehavewiththeworld.

InthecourseofmyworkingdayatthehospitalIseemanypatientsandeachpersonhasadifferentkindofconversationwithme.Thewaytheconversationdevelopsisinfluencedbyhowtheyarewhentheycomeintotheroom.Imayhavedecidedbeforehandthatit’stimewetalkedaboutsomeparticularthingbutiftheycomeinandsay‘Oh,Ihavejustfoundoutthatmychildisill…’,thenmyideaaboutwhatisimportanttotalkaboutissuddenlynotsoimportant. That is to say how I foundmyself coming into the situation is defined by thequalityofthespace.It’snotalluptome;it’snotalluptotheother.Soitmeansthecentreofmy existence is always outsidemyself since it is at the pointwhere self and other areinteracting.Bothselfandotherarepotentialities,notentities.

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Ithinkthisisactuallyhowitisforus,butitisnottheusualwaywethinkaboutit.Normallywehavetheideathatyouhavetobeinchargeofyourownlife.Thepowerfulandpragmaticview is thatweneedto formapracticalengagementwith theworld, inorder togetwhatyou need and ensure that the things you want, happen. It’s a view of dominance andcontrol:Iassertmyownindividualexistencebylivinglifeonmyownterms.

Fromthebuddhistpointofviewthisismadness,sinceitmeansthateachlittlepersonsetsouttobetheworlddictator.Themainmood iscompetitivebutcompetition isnotall thathelpfulforvariousreasons.Italienatesusfromeachother,itreducesempathy,anditgivesusthesensethat ‘mysuccesscanbeestablishedthroughyourfailure’.But ifofcoursemyexistence is tied tomy lived interactiveenvironment, then Idon’thavemyexistencewithme as a personal possession like something in my pocket. Rather my existence is co‐emergentwiththefieldofexperience.So,ifIthenbecomecompetitivewithyou,Iamreallybecomingcompetitivewithmyself,becauseIneedyourexistenceinordertodevelopmine.

Nowifwearefriendlytogether,anddothingstogetherthenthequalityofmebeingmeisquitenice,quitehappy,quiterelaxed.ButifIthinkthatinorderformetobehappyIneedtosqueezeyousothatyouworkharderformetogivemethethingsIneedevenifyouarenothappy, then at the end of the day I sit in my room on my own counting all my money.OutsideIhearyoucrying,Iimagineyourtears.‘Don’tdisturbme.Iamvictorious.’Whatkindofalifeisthat?Fromthispointofview,ethicsindzogchenisn’tarulebookabouthowyoushouldbehave;ratheritisbasedontheprinciplethatifwestayconnectedwitheachotheranethicalconnectionarisesautomaticallywithinthefieldofourexperience.

It’snotsomethingyoucanknowinadvance.Justasyoucan’tknowhowyouaregoingtobeinadvance,youdon’tknowhowyoushouldbeinadvance.Thisiswhatismeantby‘beingtime’: thatyouareexactly inthemomentofyourarising inexistence. It isnotanabstractconceptbutratherareminderthatactivityarisesinthefieldofawarenessandsowedon’thave to struggle towork out what to do. Unborn openness, and the ceaseless display ofclarity, and the precision of our gestures moment‐by‐moment are the three inseparableaspectsofourexperiencesandwecanstarttotrustthat,anditwillbefine.

Practicesforopeningup:Phat!

We can use the sound of Phat! to help us get a sense of our open dimension. Phat! is asoundwhichrepresentscuttingandisusedtocutawaythethoughtsandfeelingsthatwrapthemselvesaroundyou.Firstrelaxintothemeditationpracticeandthenwheneveryoufindyouaregettingdistracted intosomethoughtpatternor feelingorbodilysensation,simplyreleasethissound.Itcomesrightupfrominsideyouandyouimagineitcomingoutofthetopofyourhead.

InthecommentarybyPatrulRinpochehesaidweshouldbeshockedopen.Hedewa is theTibetanwordusedtodescribethisstate. Itmeansveryopen,withoutanythought inyourhead,butnotspacedout.Here,butnothing.Therearetwoaspectstothis:thefirstiscuttingoff the immersion in thoughts and the second is being completely balanced, present andopen. We are not attacking ourselves but we are freeing ourselves to see what is therewithoutobscuration.

TrytohavethesoundofPhat!comingfromdeepwithinyou.Youdon’twanttoshoutitoutfromyourmouthorthroatforthatwillhurt.Astheforceiscomingup,trynottobetrappedin anything but you just stay open.Have the feeling of the force comingup and through,cleavingeverythingaway.

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[PracticeshoutingPhat!]

Your throatmay feel a bit blocked and youmay have some tension around shouting. Aschildrenweareoftentoldtobequiet,tonotmakeanoiseordisturbotherpeople.Thiscanleadtoretroflectionwherebywepushthingsbackintoourselvesoutoffearandanxiety.

Phat!isanuninhibitedsound.ForexampleinIndiatherearemanydogswanderingaroundintheroadsandsometimesthesedogscarrydiseaseswiththem,especiallyrabies.Soifanunknown dog comes towards a villager, they shout out Phat! Phat! Poor villagers cannotaffordanytreatmentforrabiessoadogbitingthemissomethingimportant.Somethingisatstake.

It’s the same herewith us. These thoughts,which on an ordinary level are like your bestfriends,areso friendly that theymightbestoppingyou fromgettingyouronebigchance.Imagineyou’vesavedupallyourmoneyandnowyou’regoingonapilgrimagetoIndia.Fiveof your friends come to the airport to say goodbye to you. They say ‘Let’s drink somechampagnebeforeyougo’. So thereyouare,drinkingand laughingand jokingandkissingandsayinggoodbye.Thenyoulookatyourwatchand…theplanehasgone!

Thislifeisgoingby.Ourfriends,ourlittlethoughts,ourfeelingsinsideourselves,arealwaysgivingus something to thinkabout. There isnoend to the conversations insideourhead.You’resittingtheretryingtofocusonyourbreathgoinginandoutandathoughtpopsup,‘That was quite interesting, what we were talking about yesterday…’ and off you go onanotherlittlejourney.Itisimportanttoseehowsomethingveryimportantisatstakehere.Nowwehave a chance todrop this immersion in the thoughts and feelings.Don’tworry,theywon’tvanishforever!

Allwearegoingtodoisopenaspaceinwhichweseethisunborngroundorspaciousness,which we actually are. Then the thoughts arise again as an expression of this state,connectingourselveswitheverythingelsethatarises.Thethoughts—whichactasakindofblanketorduvetaroundus—needtobedroppedinordertorevealthefactthattheyaretheenergy of emptiness. We have to stop them spiralling around this illusory solid self, likecandyflosswinding around a stick. Phat! cuts the thought and the thinker simultaneously,revealingnaturaleffortlessclarity.

Inthispracticeweneedsimplicityandtotalcommitment.Ifwefeelinhibited,alittleshy,abitembarrassed,thinkingthatwearegoingtomakeafunnynoiseorwewon’tdoitright,wehave to recognise that these thoughts themselvesare the limitofourexistence. Ifwebelievesuchthoughts,theywillcontinuetodefinehowwecanmanifestbutifweseeeachthought for what it is, as an illusory phenomenon whose only power is the fact that webelieveinit,thenbysayingPhat!,webreakfree.Webreaktheinvestmentthatwehaveputinthethoughtthatisourownprisonguard.

Phat!isthesoundofwisdomandcompassionNo matter what kind of thoughts are inside us, happy thoughts, sad thoughts proudthoughts, frightened little thoughts… whatever kinds they are, we want to taste what ishiddenbehindthem.Soinsteadofbeingfrightenedbyourownreflection,whichisallthatourthoughtsare,allowthissoundtocomethough. Inthecommentaries itsaysthis is thesoundofwisdomandcompassiontogether.It’sthesoundofwisdombecauseitcutsthroughattachment, and it’s a sound of compassion because, in freeing us from this self‐centredview,weareimmediatelypartoftheworldwithothers.

OKsonowwewilltryit.Wedon’twanttomakeittooseriousbecausethat’sanotherkindofheaviness.Wearejustlooseningourselvesup.Sowesitandrelaxandgointothepractice.

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First we just relax, breathing in and out, sitting quietly. Thenwhenever you find yourselfwrappedinthoughts,releasethesound.

[Practice]

This is a goodpractice to doon your own. There ismoredetail about it in Chapter 11ofSimplyBeing.

Whatbuddhismmeansby‘emptiness’When you read in books about the empty nature of themind it’s not like going into anempty room and finding nothing there. The familiar furniture may not be there but theemptyroomisthere.Sometimeswethinkthereisgoingtobenothingatall,butifyouthinkofthemirror,themirroralwayshasreflectionsinsideit.Thefactthatthereflectionisinthemirrordoesn’tdiminish thecapacity for themirror toshowreflectionsand in fact it is thepresenceofthereflectionthatshowstheemptinessofthemirror.

Compare a mirror with a picture like this one here. It’s not a mirror although the glasssurface is a bit shiny. It is a particular picture and although it can look slightly differentaccordingto thechangesof light in theroom,generallyspeakingwecansay it’s thesamepicture in themorningas in theevening.Nothingelse is going toarise inside thispicture.Whereaswithamirroritshowswhatisthere,becauseitdoesn’tshowitself.Sothepictureshowsitself,andbybeingfullof itself, itcan'tshowanythingelse.Themirrornevershowsitselfbutitalwaysshowsreflectionsandthroughshowingreflections,itshowsitsemptiness.Isthatclear?That’sveryimportant.Ifyougetasenseofthatthenyougetasenseofwhatbuddhist ‘emptiness’means.Emptinessreferstoboththeemptygroundofthemirrorandtheemptyexperienceof thereflection.Botharedevoidof inherentself‐nature; theyhavenointrinsicdefiningessencethatcanbeestablishedassomethingtrulyexisting.

Forexample, ifyoudecidetohaveapartyyoumightmoveoutsomeofthefurniture.Thefirstpeoplewhoarrivemaythinkyourhouselooksabitemptybutthenmorepeoplecomeandtheplacefillsup,themusicgetsgoingandpeoplearedancing.Theemptinessoftheflatwas thebasis of yourhospitality. If you runaround saying ‘This is anewwhite carpet.Becarefulwith the redwine’, it’snotgoing tobemuchofapartybecausehospitalitymeansletting things happen. It means that the flow of experience, the coming together, themoving,ismoreimportantthantryingtokeepeverythinginitspropershape.

It’s the samewhenwedomeditation.Theemptinessofourmind is revealed through theflowofimageandsensation.IfyoudothePhat!orsomeotherpracticeintensivelythenforaverybriefmomentoftime,it’sasifthere’snothingatall.Butit’stheverynatureofthemindtodisplaythoughts,feelings,sensations,coloursandsoon.Theirpresenceinourmindisnottheproblem.Theproblemisifweloseouropennesstowhatisoccurringandbecomeover‐identifiedwithwhatever isarising, then itbecomesstrongly real inourexperience. Then,whateveroccursseemstobeinherentlyimportantandsotheseeminglyrealobjectandtheseeminglyrealsubjectseemtoresumetheirfamiliarinteraction.Identifyingourselvesasourspecific, personal consciousnesswe try to push away bad thoughts and try to hold on togoodthoughts.Andtheendlessactivityofsamsarakeepsrollingon.

Relaxed openness is non‐defensive presencewith whatever is happening. Part of what ishappeningisthefamiliarsenseof‘I,me,myself’.Butbecausewearenotstronglyidentifiedinside ourselves the hospitality includes everything which is arising including ourselves.Through this we awaken to the primordial integration of the three aspects of existence.Theseare, firstly theemptyopenhospitableground, thesourceandsphereofeverything.Secondlythereistheinfinitefieldofspontaneousexpression,therichnessofthepotentialityoftheground—theimmediacyofnon‐duality.Thirdlythereistheuniquespecificityofeach

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momentof themovementof the field—theexquisite,ungraspable ‘thusness’ofourbeingaliveasparticipantsinthesharedfield.Althoughtheseaspectscanbedescribedseparately,theyarenot‘things’,andtheyareinseparable.

Inthemeditationwearenottryingtogofromoneplacetoanotherplace.SometimeswhenweseepicturesofBuddhas,theylookverybrightandshinyandwemighthaveanideathatif I recognisemyownnature Iwill see rainbows in the sky. Iwill feel completelydifferentinside;noonewilleverberudetomeagain,andsoon….Thisisanicefantasy,butactuallytheexperienceofexistencecontinues;nowwearepresentinitasmovementintime.

Rather thanmoving our life around like pieces on a chessboard, trying to get to a bettersafer place, it ismore likemovements ofwaterwithin a river.Movements or currents orlittle rivulets running inside the general flow of the water. Experience never stops; itcontinuesbutnowwecanbemorelight,moreplayful,moreanintegratedpartofit.

Ifbadtimescomewewon’tfeelsodeterminedbythemordowncast.Ifhappytimescome,wecanenjoythembutwithout imaginingthattheyaregoingto lastforever.Thenour lifebecomesmoresimple,moredirect.Wefindthatwearenotafraidofdeath.

OKsowehaveabreakforhalfanhour.

[Break]

Practicesforopeningup:GuruyogaNow we will look at another method for opening ourselves to the natural state. In ourordinary existencewe are caught up in a duality of subject and object.We become veryconcerned with the difference between ourselves and other people. The differences aremanifestbutthatdoesn’tmeanthatthereisatrueessentialdifferencebetweenourselvesandothers.Thisistosay,wehavedifferentwaysofexistingbutthenatureorstructureofourexistenceisthesame.Wesee,wehear,wetaste;sensationsariseandpassandsoon.Soifsomebodytellsusabouttheirlifeandwelistenwithanopenheart,generallywhattheysay makes sense to us. But our belief in the duality of self and other can operate as alimitingthreshold.Dzogchenisconcernedwithnon‐duality.

Non‐duality isnotthesameashomogenisation.Wedon’tputeverything intoonepotandstir it around. Rather, non‐duality, in someways, is the same as co‐emergence. Itmeanseverythingisarisingatthesametime,withinthesamedimension,withmutualinfluence.Inordertogetasenseofthiswehavetobeawarethatwearealwaysinrelationship.

Thereisakindofellipticalmovementinthedevelopmentofbeingsandcultures,thatistosay,wetendtogotowardsoneextremeandwegetsofarandthenwehavetocomeback.Youcouldsaythat fromthetimeof theEuropeanenlightenmentwehavebeenmoving inthedirectionofindividualism.ExemplifiedbytheFrenchRevolution,wehavethecollapseoftheroyalhierarchyandalsoofthereligioushierarchy.PeoplestarttothinkthatjustbecausemyfatherwasapeasantfarmeritdoesnotmeanthatIhavetospendallmylifefollowingacow.IcanlookinsidemyselfandfindouthowIamandthentrytobringthispotentialintotheworld.

Asthisideadevelopedmoreandmorepeopleleftthelandandwenttothecitywhere,withtheopportunities and the anonymity, they could forgetwho theywere according to theirclassor familyoccupation,andbecomesomebodynew.Westart todevelop the idea thatmy life belongs to me and it’s up to me how I use it. I want to be independent andautonomous,Idon’twantotherpeopletodefinewhoIam.Butofcoursewhenthatgoesto

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a radicalextremeweendupbeingdisconnected fromotherpeople. In thecityof Londonnow, people are so alienated now that they find it very difficult to talk to other people.Whenchildrenthrowrubbishonthepavement,adultsdon’tfeelabletosay‘Heywhatareyou doing?’ If someone is attacked on the street, other people often look away, becausethereisnosenseofrelation.

Fromthepointofviewofbuddhismthelossofthedirectexperienceofourowngroundisdefinitelyleadingusinthedirectionofindividualisticalienation.Therearetwoaspectsthatgotogether:awakeningtothenon‐dualityofourmanifestformandthisopen,awaregroundofourbeing,andawakeningtothenon‐dualityofselfandother;theseareinseparable.

Inorder to relaxour fixationonduality andopen to thegivennessofnon‐duality,we canmakeuseofourconnectionwithanother.Traditionallythis isdonewithwhat isknownasguru yoga. ‘Yoga’ canbe interpreted inmanyways.Oneaspect is linked to its rootwhichmeans ‘yoke’, thewoodenbeamthat isusedfor joiningtwocowstogetherwhentheyarepullingacart.TheTibetantranslationof‘yoga’is‘naljor’;nalmeansrelaxedand jormeanstojoinortobeinthestateof.Thustheheartofyogaisrelaxation.Inguruyogawerelaxintotheinseparabilityofourmindandthebuddha’smind.

‘Guru’includesallthepeopleyouhavelearnedfromAllourteachersarelinkedtothepathofawakeningfortheyhaveopeneddoorstoawiderworld. ‘Teacher’ ‘guru’ thus includesourparentsandour schoolteachers,becausewithouttheirhelpwewouldnothavebeenabletoenterthedoorofdharma.

Youcanreadtheseaccountsofchildrenwhohavebeenabandonedintheforestwhentheywereverysmall.Sometimestheywereraisedbywolves.Whentheyarefoundagainyearslatertheyfindhumancontactverydifficultandcannoteasilydevelopthecapacitytospeak.What’sveryniceisifourparentsspoketous,evenifsometimeswedidnotlikeverymuchwhattheysaidtous.

Reflectingonwhatothershavedoneforuswecanstarttohaveasenseofgratitudeandtoseethatrightfromtheverybeginningasababyourlifewasconnectedwithotherpeople.Ofcourseforninemonthsweweregrowinginsideourmother’sbody.Thedistillationofherfood,thestrengthofherbodywasgoingintoours.Thefirstmusicweheardwastherhythmofherheart,thenwedrankhermilk.Intheseways,ourbodydevelopsthroughrelationship.Throughall thedifferentwayspeoplehavetalkedtousand listenedtouswedevelopthesenseoftheextensionorcontractionofourselves.

Weimagineallthepeoplewhohaveeverhelpedus,includingmeditationteachersandsoonin the sky in front of us.We imagine then in spacebecauseeverything has thenatureofspace,theyaretheradiantappearanceofspacemanifestinginspace.

We imagine themall contained in the formofawhite letterAa.Youcan thinkof it in theTibetanformorasacapitalA.Aarepresentsemptiness,emptinessintheformofa‘plenumvoid’,afullvoid,avoidwhichfillsitselfup.It’savoid,itisempty,butitisfullofeverything.It’snotempty,empty,nothing,nothing,butit’semptyandfullatthesametime.

ThesoundAarepresentsnothingatall,yetastherootvowelit isourfirstsound.FromAayouhavemama,papa,thenall itsvariationsasthewordsandsoundsoftheworld.Inthatsense Aa is stillness and movement. It’s the first sound that arrives from silence and itcontainswithinitallthepotentialoftheothersounds.SowithAayoucangointonothingatall,andoutintoeverything.

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WhenweimaginetheletterAa,itissurroundedbyaballoflight,likethesortofshimmeringbubbleballthatchildrenblowfromwashingupliquid.Wehavethesensethatthisisinfrontofus.WesayAaslowlythreetimes.AswesayAawereleasethetensionsinourbody,ourvoiceandourmindandopen into integrationwith thepresenceof thequalitiesofall theteachers.

Thespaceofourheart—theopennessofourheart—and theopenness representedbyAaare inseparable. After we have said Aa three times, the letter Aa dissolves and we sit inspace. Nowourawareness isopenandempty, inseparable from themindof theBuddhaandwestayrelaxedinthisstateandallowwhatevercomestocome.

[Meditation]

Thegroundofexperienceisempty

Aswelookedbefore,intermsofordinaryconsciousnessthegroundofourexperienceisthemovementofthethoughts,sensationsandfeelingsthatweseemtoberestingonmoment‐by‐moment.Butawarenessitselfisnotrestingonanything.Thatistosay,itdoesn’thaveabase;itdoesn’thaveaground.Thegroundofexperienceisempty,justasarainbowappearsintheskythoughthereisnothingsupportingtherainbow.Everythingwesee,andhearandtouchhasthesamenature.

Onone level this sounds completelymadbecause you can think ‘Wellmy feet areon theground; there is something there supporting me’, but that sequence ‘something theresupportingme’isamentalsequence.Iamtheonethatsaysthatthis isthefloor.Iamtheonewhosay that this isme.One idea followsanother idea,and together these two ideascreatesomeimage,orsomeexpectationthatsomethingistrulythecase.Butaswestartedto lookearlier,eachthing isrelatedtootherthings.Theseeminglysolid floorbeneathourfeethasaspaceunderneathit.Thenwecangorightdowntothefoundationsofthehouse.Onepieceofearth isrestingonanotherpieceofearth;wegodownanddownanddown,and the earth becomes very hot, it becomes magma. One atom of magma is resting onanotheratomofmagma,thenanotherandanother.EventuallyyoucometoAustralia!SoinfactwearerestingonAustralia!Inthatwayideassitonideasandwecreatethisstructureofourinterpretation,thisstructureofourmeaning,andforaslongasitmakessense,wethinkthatitmustbetrue.

Fromthebuddhistpointofview,thereisnosolidityinanyoftheseaspects.Ifwelookatthewallsofthisbuildingwecanseethatit’smadeofbigblocksofstone.Ifyouhavetherighttoolsyoucancutintoanyso‐calledearthsubstance.Sothestonewallsmayfeelverysolidtomebuteventuallysomeonewilldecidethattheyaregoingtoknockthebuildingdownandthey’llbringabigmachineandwithintwodayseverythingisknockedflat.

Whatholdsthisbuildinginshapeisnotthestrengthofthestonesbutthatthefactthatthechurchhasenoughmoneytofundthecontinuationofthebuildingfornow.Whentheycannolongerpayforit,itwillbesold.Maybesomebusinesswillbuyitorwillknockitdownandbuildsomehouses.Sowhatwetaketobeaverysolidstructurewhichseemstohavesomeintegrityofitsownisheldinplacebythecontingentfactthatpeoplelikeuscomehereandrentthisspace,bythefactthatthelocalcouncilprobablydoesnotchargetoomuchtothechurchforrates,waterandsoon,bythefactthatpeopleliketohavetheirweddingshere...It’slikethat.Therearefactorsofmaintenanceorcontinuationthatkeepthisplacegoing.

Againandagainwehave to inspectwhatare the seemingly solid self‐existingphenomenathatseemtocreatealimittoourmindleadingustosay‘Thisismental.Thisisphysical’.

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Experienceisallwehave:differentwaysoflookingattheworldIusethewordexperiencemanytimesbecauseactuallyallwehaveisexperience.Partofourexperience is our capacity to use abstract concepts. Sowe can say that the table is quitesolidandthatisafactbecausethethingsrestingonthetabledon’tfallthroughit.But,withthe idea that the table is solid,we tend to link theassumption that the table is thereforetrulyexisting.Becauseinthewestourmainpolarityisrealityandfantasy.Wecansaythatthe tablehasa reality; you can touch it, you can lick it, you could runyourhandsupanddownit;itshowsthatitisthere.ToimaginethewhiteletterAaandraysoflightspreadingoutwouldnormallybedescribedasafantasy,likewatchingBambiinthecinema.Bettertostaywith reality. Get a good job,work hard, and don’twaste your time on all this funnybuddhiststuff.Thinkofyourfuture.Thisisthesortofthingthatanxiousparentssay.‘Whatareyougoingtodowhenyougetolder?’Thesetwocategoriesareverypowerful:thesolid,thetangible,thefactsofwhatreallyexistsandtherest,whichisjustsomekindoffantasy.

It’sveryimportantforustoexplorethisbecauseitisoneoftheorganisingsystemswhichwewereeducatedtobelievein.Hereinthewestwetakethematerialassomethingreliableandthe imagination as something deceptive. The material is reliable and the immaterial isunreliable.Forpeoplewhowereraisedaschildren inTibetanbuddhism it’sverydifferent;theyaretaughtthateverythingisillusion.Eitheryougraspattheillusionandtrytomakeitrealoryouacceptthatitisanillusion.Graspingattheillusionandtryingtomakeitrealwillmake you stupid, whereas trying to directly understand illusion and live within that freemovement, will set you free. So you can see, how that is a completely different way oflookingattheworld.

ItisstillthetraditioninIndiatoseetheworldintermsofthefiveelements.Accordingtothisview there is space,and themost subtlemovementof space is thewind. Spaceyoucan’ttouchor feel in anyway, it’s just the arena inwhich you aremoving. Thewind you can’tcatch,butyoucanfeelitwhenitblowsonyou.Youcanseeitbytheeffectithasonatree;weseethetreemovingandimputetheactionofthewind.Then,withmoreshape,wehavefire.Fireexistsinrelationtofuel.Thefuelcanbelikethewindelement,gasforexample;itcanbe liquid like thewaterelement,petrol forexample; it canbe like theearthelement,woodorcoalforexample.Youcanseefirebutit’sdifficulttocatch.Ifyouhaveafireburningoutside the flamesaremovingall the time. Waterhasmoreshape than fire.Water flowseasilyandadaptstowhereitfindsitself.Ifyouputyourhandsintothesink,thewaterrisestogivethemspace.Earthisthemostsolidandtangibleoftheelements.Itholdsashapebutthatshapecanbealteredbyotherelementsactingonit.

Itisgenerallybelievedinbuddhismthateverythingiscreatedoutoftheinteractionofthesefive elements, and from the point of viewof tantra and dzogchen, the basic nature of alltheseelementsislight.Theenergyoftheuniverse,theenergyofexistence,manifestslightandsound.The light takesonmanydifferentshapesand this iswhatappears tous in theuniverse.

Lightandsoundarevibration.Ifvibrationbecomesdenseand‘heavy’itcantakeontheformofearth.Sosomething like thismetalobject [James isholdingametalbell] isquiteheavyandhard;youcansaythatthisreallyistheearthelement.Itiscreatedoutofmetalswhicharecreatedoutoftheearthyetitisrevealedtousthroughoursenses.BecauseIamholdingitnow,Icanfeeltheweightofitbutprimarilyitisrevealedthroughourbeingabletoseeit.As with all we encounter, the quality of light which is displayed from them, shows ourrelationwith them in this unrepeatablemoment. If you look at the flowers and then youlookatthisbrassbell,theirwaysofshowingthemselvesareverydifferent.Thequalitiesofthe‘object’arerelational,notintrinsic;theyarebothattributedtotheobjectanduniquelyrevealedineachmomentofexperienceofthem.

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MyexperienceofmyselfemergesatthesametimeasmyexperienceoftheworldAll experience is moment‐by‐moment revelation. It’s not that I am seeing things outsidemyself—thatIamrealandtheyarealsoreal—butrathermyexperienceofmyselfemergesatthesametimeasmyexperienceoftheworld.Theexperienceofbothisalwayschanging.Whatappearstobesolidandrealandreliableisonlyconcept.

Itisaparadoxthatthethingswhichseemmostreliable,arethemostabstract.WearenowinSpain;thisisafact.Spainisaconcept;it’saconceptpeoplearewillingtodiefor,todieforthedignityofSpain.‘Spain’isaword,andit’sanidea.Aswitheverythingyoucanseeintheworld,whatseemssolidandrealandreliable isactualityan idea,whileexperience itself istumblingandchanging.Itisimmediate,itisphenomenological;it’swhatyouget,exceptyoucan’tget itbecause it’salreadygone. Names,words, concepts seemtoendure—yet theyhave no substance. And what they seem to refer to is only available to us as fleetingexperience.Theactualworld isungraspable.Theusualworldwe inhabit isamentalworldmadeoftherapidflowofmesmerisingconcepts.

For example in the worst practice of psychiatry, some person, often a young man ofeighteenornineteen,startstohearvoicesandseestrangevisionsTheparentsorfriendsgetworriedandeventuallyhegoestohisdoctorwhorefershimtoapsychiatrist.Afteraskingarange of questions for half an hour to an hour, the conclusion is that the person has apsychoticillnessandthattheyneedmedication.“Ifyoutakethisyouwillfeelbetter.”Sothepsychiatristopensupafileandwritesinit‘Psychosis’.Nowthepersonhassomething.Whentheywent into the room theyhadvoicesand strangevisions,now theyhavepsychosisaswell!Thisiscalledaddingvalue!Nowthatweknowwhatiswrongwiththepersonwedon’tneed to listen or try to understand. There is nothingmore to be found; it’s just that thepersonhaspsychosis.Becausewenowwe‘know’whattheproblemis.Thisis,ofcourse,notveryhelpful,butweourselvesaredoingsomethingsimilarallthetimewhenwerelyonourconceptsanddon’tattendtowhatisthere.

Questionstoaskaboutourmind:it’sshape,size,colour…Itisimportanttoexplorehowourmindis.Wecandothisnowinaverysimpleway.WewillagaindothethreeAapracticeandthen,whenyouhavebeensittingrelaxedforawhile, Iinviteyoutotakeupthequestions:Whatshapeismymind?Ismymindinsidemybody?Ismybodyinsidemymind?Doesmymindstophere,ordoesitgowayback?Isthisbuildinginmymind?Howfardoesmymindextend?IfIthinkofMadrid,isitinmymind?DoesMadridexist somewhere in itself? If I go to Madrid will I experience Madrid itself, or my mindexperiencingMadrid?

Holdthequestionverygently:Arethereanywallsattheendofyourmind?Isthereanythingyou can find that is outside yourmind?As you think about the thing that is outside yourmind, while you think about it, the thought about it is inside your mind. While you arethinkingabout something that appears tobeoutside yourmind, youare thinkingabout itwith thoughts that are inside yourmind. So is there something outside yourmind that isdifferent from the thoughts that youarehavingabout the thing that is inside yourmind?Thisisachancetoputintoquestiontheassumptionsyouhaveabouttheworldyoulivein.

[Break]

Question: Whenwetalkabouttheground,isitonegroundforoneandeverythingorhaseachpersonhasanindividualground?

James: Accordingtotraditioneveryonehastheirownground,but it’sall thesameground.

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Question: Sotheyareindividualbuteveryonehasthesame,identical?

James: We each have our own unique experiences yet their nature is identicalbecause thegroundofexperience is itselfemptinessandemptiness tastes the same inalldirections. By lookingwe can see that our existence is arisingmoment‐by‐momentout ofthisemptiness—notarisingoutofitlikeafishjumpingoutthesea,butmoreinthewaythatreflections seems to come out of a mirror but remains in the mirror. Then we canexperience,“Oh,thereisnosolidbasisfor‘me’.Iammovement.Thebaseofmyexistenceisemptybecause I can’t findanything there,andyet it’salways full,because there isalwayssomethinghappening.”

Eachpersonwholookstofindwhotheyare,howtheyare,willfindexactlythesamething.This is thecasebecauseas faras Imyself can tell, andaccording to the lineage, it’snotacultural construct. It’s not created out of concepts, although in order to talk about it wemakeuseofconcepts.Thereforeit’snotconditionedbyyourage,yourgender,thecultureyougrewupin,thecolourofyourskinandsoon.

Howeverofcourse,onthelevelofpersonality,ourexperienceisexactly individual. It’snotdirectinthemannerofawareness,butismediatedthroughourhistory,ourlanguageandsoon.Sowhenweexamineourselves, if the limitofourenquiry isour individualhistory,ourpersonalitytraitsandsoon—thekindofenquiryyouhaveinpsychotherapyforexample—theneachindividuallookscompletelyunique.Theyhavetheirownspecialpersonalpackage.

If theenquiry isbasedonthenatureofyourpersonality,andyourownpersonalhistory isthe limit of the definition of yourself, then youwill find the particular details of your lifedeterminewhoyouare.Thesedetailsarenotsharedbyanyoneelse.Andso,fromthatlevelof analysis we are completely unique, sealed inside our own private world. However,dharmaenquiryisseekingtogothroughconcepts,nottopushthemtooneside,buttoseehow they function, and to reveal that they themselves have no solid basis. That enquiryshowsanopenness,whichIthinkissharedbyeveryone.

QuestionsaboutmindfulnessandawarenessQuestion: Whatdoes‘mindful’mean?

James: ‘Mindfulness’isnowadaysoftenlinkedwithcognitivebehaviouraltherapyasamethod for disrupting neurotic patterns. Traditionally in buddhism ‘mindfulness’meansremembrance.ThewordforitinTibetanitisdrenpawhichmeansmemoryorrecollection.

IlivedforquitealongtimeinIndiaandIdevelopedahabitofremembranceofmymoney.Sonowmany,manyyearslater,whenI’mwalkingdownthestreet,Icheckthatmymoneyisstill there. In India youbecome very used to knowingwhere is your bagwhere is for youcan’t just be in a daydreamor else somebodywill take it. Thusmindfulnessmeans beingcareful.Itisafocusedintentionaluseofattention.Thatisthetraditionalsenseofit.

Youcanbemindfulofthebody,ofthebreath,oftheemotions.Youcanbemindfulofthepassageoftime,ofdeathandsoon.Inthatsensemindfulnessisnarrowandfocused;it’samethod;it’snotastatetoarrivein.Itisanartificialmethodofincreasingyourreceptivitytoaparticulararea.Howeverbecauseit’safocusedattention,whilstyouarefocussingonthatonething,somethingelseishappeningandyouarenotattendingtothat.

Also, generally speaking,mindfulness is self‐referential. That is to say, I know I am beingmindfulbecauseIamtheonewhodecidedtobemindful.Soalthoughitfreesmefrombeingdistracted intothisandthat, ithaswithin itasubtlereinforcementofmysensethat ‘Iam

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theagent’,‘Iamtheactor’,‘Iamtheonewhoisdoingthis’.Thiscanincreasethesenseof‘Ireallyexist’.Mindfulnessisatechnicalintervention.

Indzogchenopenawareness issometimescomparedtothesun.Thesungivesoutraysoflightandilluminateseverything.Thesundoesn’tdecidewhattoilluminateandwhatnottoilluminate; it just illuminates. It is active but it is not intentional. Sometimes awareness isalso compared to amirror. Themirror doesn’t have todo anything to showan image; itscapacitytoshowthereflectionismorelikethewaythemoonreceivesthelightofthesun,andthus,withoutanyeffort,itseemstogiveoutlightallbyitself.It’samorepassivewayofshowingwhatit’sgot,whichisthelightofthesun.

Likewise, in the stateofawarenesseverything is registered,withoutanyparticular choice.Out of this state of awareness, energy arises. What’s called rigpa’i tsal, the manifestingenergy of awareness itselfwhich illuminates particular situations. This is compared to theheatorthelightofthesun,becauseitcanmakesomethinghappen.Thisdoesnothaveanyintentioneither,sofromthepointofviewofdzogchen,activityisnotconcernedwithdoinganything.Benefitwillhappenautomaticallyifthereistheunimpededflowoftheenergyofmanifestation non‐dual with the ground. This is different from the quality of consciousintention,whichisconnectedwithmindfulness.

Whenachildislearningtorideabicycle,atfirsttheycan’tfindtheirbalance;thentheyfindtheir balance but they can’t yet steer very well. We can see children in the local parkslearningtoridetheirbikesandtheirlittlelegsaregoingroundandroundandtheyareveryexcitedandtalkingtoeachotherandthebicyclesaregoingallovertheplace.Wewanttosay ‘Hey,becareful!Therearepeoplewalking. Look, there’sadog.Becareful!’ That is tosay,don’tforgetwhereyouareandenjoythespacewithothers.Howeveroncesomebodyisusedtoridingabicycletheygettoaplacewhereitjustflowsthroughthem.Thenalthoughthey are relaxed, their peripheral vision will pick up any difficulties so that they movesmoothlyandeasilydealingwitheveryproblem,withouthavingtobeespeciallyattentive.

People in that state could either becomemore aware or becomemore complacent. Theycouldclosedowntheirattentionandlosealittlebitoftheircompetenceortheycouldopentheir attention to the wider field and enjoy being on the bicycle while being completelyrelaxedandpresent.

Thekeythingisweareneveraware.Wecanbeconscious,wecanbemindful,becausetheseare activities of the individual organising their energy ofmanifestation. But awareness orpresenceisastatewerelaxintoit’snotsomethingwedo.SoIcan’t‘makemyselfaware’.Itisnotthat‘I’amaware,butthatIfindmyselfinthestateofpresenceorrigpa.

For example, if you arewalking in the summer and you are very, very hot and youmightcometoaplacewheretheriveristumblingdownthemountainsideandthereisawaterfall.All youhave todo is towalk into thewaterfall.Thewaterfallwill coolyou.Youcan’t coolyourself.Youcouldsayyouarecoolingyourselfusingthewaterwhichwouldaffirmyouregoagency,butactuallyyouarelettingthewatercoolyou—noeffortoragencyisrequired.

Similarly thestateofopennessorpresence isalways there,andaccording to the traditionwearenevermorethanonehair’sbreadthawayfromit.Butthathair’sbreadthmakesabigdifference.Ournaturalfreedomisalwaysheresaying,“HereIam.HereIam”butwereply“Shh, I’mbusygettingenlightened.Goawayand leavemealone.WhenIgetenlightened Iwillhavetimeforfreedom.ButfirstIhavetodothisanditisveryimportant.”Fromthepointofviewofdzogchen,trustfreedom.Doinglesscouldbeenough.Butthisisthebigsacrifice;thisiswhatishardbecausetheegofeelsasifitisbeingmaderedundant.Theegohasbeenthecentreofourexistenceforaslongaswecanremember.Usuallyaftersomeyearshave

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gonebyourhearthasafewscarsonit.Wearealittlelesstrustfulandthatbringswithitacertainheavyfeeling,“Oh,betterbecareful.It’salluptome.”Becausewerememberwhenwewerestillyoungandmorefreshandopenandspontaneous–wegotburnt.Sointermsofthepracticewehavetoconfronttheseanxietiesandthedesiretogobackintoanisolatedsenseofourselvesandprotectourselves,becauseitisourattitudeofself‐protectionthatiscausingourlimitation.Whenlifeisharditisdifficulttotrustthatawakeningiseasy.

[EndofDay2]

Howdowelearn?Nowwecanexplorewhatitmeanstomakeprogresswiththispractice.Themaintraditionsof spiritual learningareveryhierarchalandso they tendtoprivilege the teachers,but theteachersalreadyknowsomething,sothat’snotveryexciting.Muchmoreinterestingisthelearner,becausethe learner isthesiteofpotential.Howthendowelearn?Ifyouwanttolearn, the most important thing is not to know. Not‐knowing can be both exciting andanxiety‐provoking.Wemight feel thatwe should know,wemight become very hungry toknow,wemight try to be knowledgeable by accumulating bits of information. But I thinklearningactuallyinvolvesakindofself‐forgetfulness,aleavingoftheplacesthatarefamiliartousandamovingout,withtrust,hopeandconfidence.Learningisaboutenquiring,aboutputtingwhatoccurs—includingourselves—intoquestion.

Thisisaworkonlyyoucando.IfIeataverynicedinnerwhenI’mbackinLondon,evenifIamthinkingofyou,yourstomachwon’tgetfull.Youyourselfhavetoputthefood inyourownmouth,andyouyourselfhavetochewit.

Sothereisaparticularwayonehastofindone’sownstyleoflearning.Forexampleinthedzogchentradition,thereisthenotionoftheteacher‘showingthenatureofthemind’.Youcould say to the teacher ‘Please show me the nature of my mind’. Then somehow youimagine it’s likebeing inthebarber’s;yousit inthechairandinfrontofyou isthemirror.Thehairdresserdoessomethingtoyourhairandthentheycomebehindyouandtheyholdupanothermirror,andthereflectionofthebackofyourheadgoesfromthatmirrorbehindyouintothemirrorinfrontofyou.Inthatwaytheyshowyouwhatyoucannotseeyourself.Withoutthebarberyouwouldneverseethataspectofyourselfalthoughitisalwaystherewithyou.Yetwhenyouleavethebarber’sshopyouarelikelytoforgetit.

MetaphorofatentandtentpoleInteachingwecancreatesomekindofmood,usewordsthatoperateasmetaphorstoopenupakindof space.Buteachofushas toexplore that spaceand findourwayofbeingathomeinit. It isabit likeifyouhaveabigroundtent;youstretchoutallthepiecesonthegroundandyouputinthepegsandthenyouputthepoleinthemiddleandupitallgoes.

Theteaching is likethepole.Foramomentyouunderstanda littlebitmore,but thentheteacher has to go and takes the pole with them and you find the tent has collapsed allaroundyou.Youhaveatentbutit’snotmuchuse,infactyoucan’tevenwalknow.Sothemainthingistofindyourownpole.Thepoleneedstobestraight,likeyourspine;it’saboutyourdignity.Byputtingyourselfinthatplacegraduallyyouunderstandmore.

ThisrelatestothesecondpointofGarabDorje,‘Notremainingindoubt’.Thatistosaywhenyoubecome full of different ideas, don’t followafter the content of the ideabut observewhat is thenatureof the thought that is arising.Because if you followafter the thoughtstheywill lead you astray. Theymay start to create fantasies of your being stupid, of not

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understanding,orofitbeingtoodifficult.Thisistheproblemofnotknowingwhatthoughtsare.

Yesterdaywe lookedathowthoughtsthemselvesare likeJanus,theyhavetwofaceseachlooking in a different direction. In terms of the semantics, in terms of the content, thethought is looking towards the construction of meaning but the same thought,simultaneously, is lookingat itsowngroundwhich is thisopendimensionofpresence.Soonceonehasasenseofopennessandrelaxation,thecentralpointistoobservehoweveryexperience which arises is inseparable from its own ground. That ground is empty—wewon’tgettoasecureorsolidplace.Yetbecausethatbasisorgroundisnotathing,itgivesthe freedom to manifest in every possible way, which is why the instruction is, ‘Don’tinterferewithyourmind’.Ifyoubecomesadthenbesad.Ifyoufeelhopelessyoucanfeelhopeless.Ifyoufeeljealousyoucanfeeljealous.

This is where this path is very different from many other paths. Some paths would say,‘Don’tbecomesad.Putonacheerfulfaceandthinkofgoodthings’.

But this practice supports equal opportunities forall kinds ofmental events. For too longhappinesshasbeenmadetooimportant,butwedzogchenpractitionersaremembersoftheBuddhistSadnessParty!Wedefendtherighttocry,sinceeverythingthatarisesinthemindisillusoryandimpermanent.Ifwetakeitasstronglyreal—ifwesay,‘thisisbad’or‘Ireallydon’tlikethisandthereforeIhavetochangeit’—thenthesiteofouroperation,theplaceweareenteringintoexperiencefrom,isournarrow,historicallydevelopedegoconsciousness.Butwearenotthemastersoftheworld.Dharmaisnotapathtonarcissistic inflation.Weareparticipants intheflowofexistence,neither inchargenoraslaveto it,butfindingourway,takingourplace.

Themorewecanofferhospitality towhatever isarisingand findwaysofbeingwith that,thenthemorewebecomeflexible;westarttobeabletoallowourenergytoflowaccordingtothesituation.Becausewearenotholdingontoaself‐referentialidentitywebecomemoreuseful to other people. Actually, the flow of existence is always being interrupted.Interruption is existence. You do one thing and then something happens, then somethingelsehappens.Opennessmeansavailableandthatmeanswelcoming,orat leastaccepting,interruption.

Themorewetrytobeincontrol,themoredangeroustheotherseemsThisisonereasonforbeingalittlebitcarefulwithmeditation.Youcangetintotheideathatif you do a retreat then life would be better—that you could then have space anduninterruptedtimetopractice.Yes,thatisusefulfordevelopingwisdom,butakeyaspectofwisdomisknowingthatyoucan’tcontrolyourmind.

Whywouldyouwanttobeadictatorofyourself:‘Iamtheboss.Iknowexactlywhattodo.Iamincharge.NowIwilltellmyselfexactlywhattodo.’Themythofcontrol,thefantasyofcontrolisverypoisonous.

WhenIwaschild,maybeaboutseven,IgotstungbyawasponcewhenIwasoutplaying.Ibecameveryangrywithallwasps,andsoeverytime Isawawasp I’dtrytohit itwithmystickandkillit.MymotheraskedmewhatIwastryingtodo?Shedidnotlikekillingthingsatall.Isaidthatthesewaspswereverydangerousandyou’vegottokillthem.Thensheverynicelyexplainedthattherearemanywasps intheworldandthat Iwasone littleboywithonestickandthatlifewouldbebetterifIfoundawaytolivewiththewasps.It’slikethat.

Themorewe try to be in control, themore dangerous the other thing seems. Eventuallydictatorsbecomeparanoid,alwaysimaginingthattheyaregoingtobebetrayed,initiallyby

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outsideenemies,andthentowardstheend, theyarealways lookingat thepeoplearoundthemwonderingwhichoneisgoingtobetraythem.

Ifyouapplythisfantasyofcontroltoyourownmind,ifyoutrytocontrolallyourthoughtsandonlyhaveverygoodthoughts,thenanybadthoughtthatsuddenlyarisescandestroyallyou have created. I rememberwhen Iwas first studying buddhism reading in Santideva’sBodhisattvacharyavatarathatathousandaeonsofpracticingvirtuewillallbedestroyedbyasingle flash of anger. This can mean either of two things: first, you must try harder, orsecond,whybotherbeingvirtuoussinceclearlyit’sveryvulnerabletoevents.

Virtuehastobedoneforotherpeople,notforgaininganythingforyourself. It isafantasythatIcansomehowcreateanidealself.AstheBuddhaexplained,everythingthatiscreatedwillcometoanend,everythingwithabeginningmovesinexorablytowardsdeath,towardsitsextinction.Indzogchen,weareworkingwiththenatureofthemind,whichisnotborn,andisnotathing.

In practice we have a chance to observe the precise point at which the construction ofsamsara occurs. One thought is flowing along, then another thought lands beside it andsomethingseemstobecreated.Mymindisrestingonthisidea;itisthebasisofmyactivity.Whateverwefindinthemomentseemstobeanadequatesupportformyidentity.Theegocanrestonanything,identifyingwithanything.Thethoughtthatappearstobeme,andthethoughtwhichappearstobethesiteofthemind,arebothmoving.

Forexample, ifyougooutonaboatandthewind isblowingabit,youcanseethewavesmoving.Thenalongcomesaseagull,anditlandsonthesea.Itwasflyingandnowit’ssittingon thewater. It’s having a little rest, butwhat it’s sittingon ismoving. It’s like that. Thethoughtismovinginyourmindlikethewavesonthesea.Anotherthoughtsarises,and‘Ah’,youthink,‘Icanstayhere.’Intheverymomentthatyouthink,‘Ah,thisiswhereIbelong’,you are being moved along. All manifestation is dynamic, which is why we have to lookagain,andagain,andagain,sowereallyseetheessentialdifferencebetweenstillnessandmovement.Movement is never still; you cannotmake it still. Theonly thing that is still ispresence,anditnevermoves.

Sowhenyoulookfortheshapeofthemind,orwherethemindrests,orwherethemindiscoming from, or where the mind is going to—in all of these cases the temptation is tochoosesomethingfamiliar,whichseemstoustoberight,butwhichisactuallyanaspectofmovement. Welookatsomethingthat ismoving,andtryto imaginethat it isstill. Asweexplored in some detail yesterday, the dynamic nature of experience is hidden by theprojectionofassumptionsregardingfixedstableentities.

Forexample,someofushavebeen in thisbuildingbefore.Thatseemsquitea reasonablethingtosay.Wewereherelastyear;we’rebackinthesameplacenow.Butis itthesameplace?Wecansaysomethingsareinthesameplace,andweknowthatbecausewhatweseefitsthemapthatwehavecreated.SoIamusingthememory,orthemapinmyhead,astheproofthatthesephenomenaasthesameastheywerelastyear.Butofcoursewhenwedothatwearenotlookingverycarefully,becausemany,manythingswillhavechanged.

Forexample, I can see from theway the sun is shining that therearemanymarkson thewindows. They are dirty this year in a way that they were not dirty last year. Does thismatter?Well,it’swhatisthere;it’swhatisactual.Ifwesay,‘It’sawindowwithabitofdirton it. What does the dirt matter?’ this is a concept. Whether we are interested in thewindowsbeingcleanordirtydoesnotmatter; the fact is that thewindowasawindow istherewiththedirtonit.Sooncewestarttolookreallycarefully,weseethateverythingischanging.

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Thisisaverysimplethingtodobutifyoubringitintoyourlifeyouwillbeabletoseethateverything is an illusion. For example, when I go to work in the hospital, I go on theunderground.There isanannouncementwhichsayswhenthenextstop isLondonBridge.The doors open and I get out onto the platform along with some other people frommycompartment. IalwaysgetoffatLondonBridgebecausethat’swheremywork is,butas Icomeon to theplatformandgoup theescalator, it’snot thesamepeopleeveryday.Wedon’thavetheHalf‐Past‐SevenLondonBridgeClubwhereweagreetomeet.SoeachtimeIgetoff,LondonBridgeisverydifferent.It’scalledLondonBridgeStation,butmyexperienceofitisalwaysverydifferent.Differentcommuters,differentundergroundstaff,thelightingabitdifferent,andsoon.

So we have these two worlds that exist simultaneously: the world of immediateexperience—what is here—and theworld of concepts, ofmaps, of interpretations.Whenthe buddhist teachings say that everything is an illusion thismeans that the constructionwhich is created in the world of concepts is not truly existing. If you attend to what isactuallythere,it’stherebutungraspable.Youcan’tcatchit,youcan’tkeepit,andyoucan’tbuild on it. This is true for everyone, however your life is. If you have to take children toschool,everydayisdifferent.Onedaytheyareveryslowineatingtheirbreakfast;thenextdaytheycan't findtheirshoes; thefollowingmorningtheyareworriedbecausetheyhaveforgottentodoalltheirhomework.Thisishowlifeis.So,whenyousayyouaretakingyourchildrentoschool,thisisaconcept.Whatisrevealedinthemomentofparticipationinourexistence,youcannotknowinadvance.

Thisisthemeaningofillusion.Itdoesn’tmeanthatthereisnothingthereatallbutit’slikeadance—a dance is revealed as you dance it. If you are trained in the Laban notation ofchoreographyyoucandenotethemovementsofthebody,butthat’sabstract.It’swhenthemusicstartsandthebodyismovingthatdanceisrevealed,aswhenafishsuddenlybreaksthesurfaceandyousee itsshiningsilverybodyandthen it’sgone. Ifyou’renot thereyoudon’tseethefish.There’snothingtoget,butyougetit.

Translator: Butyougetit?Ifyouarethere?

James: Yes,ifyouarethere!

GarabDorje’ssecondpoint:staytruetotheexperienceofopening

Thus the second point from Garab Dorje is to stay true to the experience of opening.Probablyit’snotwhatyouthoughtitwouldbe.Youseeallthesepicturesofbuddhassittingverypeacefully,butour life isnot likethat.Wehavemany,manythingstodo.So it’sverytempting for us to focus our attention onto activity and onto the sense ofmaking thingshappen. Of course if you are doing an activity like driving a car, you have got tomake ithappen,youhavegottocontrolthesteeringwheelandsoon.Butofcourseyoudriveyourcaraccordingtotheroad,accordingtotheothercars.Soagainyoucouldsay‘I’mdrivingmycar’or‘Iamparticipatinginthetraffic’.Whenyou’reparticipatinginthetrafficyoufindthatthecar ismovingaccording toothercars,according to thecurveof the road,whether it’srainingornot,whetheryouareinahurryornot,whetheryouarehappyorsad…Alloftheseinfluenceinsomewayhowyouaredriving.

Byopeningandwelcoming lifeas it isandseeingthe impermanenceof thoughts, feelings,sensations and experiences we come to see that the only place to be alive is now. Thedreams which tempt us—which send us spiralling into a place which is both in time andoutsidetime—thesebecomelessinteresting.

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Translator/Question: Intimeandoutoftimetoo?

James: Yes.Soforexample,you’resittinghereandyourmindgoesoffandyouthink‘Tomorrow isMonday so nowwhat do I have to?’ Your body is here, the clock is goinground,youareinthatflowoftimebutsimultaneouslyyouaresomewhereelse.Thereisnotreally another place you have gone to. You’re not quite here, but you’re not quitesomewhereelseeither.Phenomenologicallyitcanbeveryinterestingtoexaminewhatitisliketobecaughtinathought.It’sakindoflimbo,akindofdream.Althoughthatstatemayfeel familiarand reassuring toyou, theexperience isoftengeneratedbyanxiety. ‘If only Ithinkmore,ifonlyIpreparemore,mylifewillgobetter.’Sometimesthat’strue,butalotofthetimeit’snottrueatall.

If life isaboutparticipation,themost importantquality isavailability.What is it thatstopsouravailability?Allneurosis,allpsychosis,andeverythingelse!Anykindofpreoccupationisaforeclosure;itclosesthingsdownbeforetheyhavehadachancetoopenup.Expectations,hopes,fears,allofthesecreateaslighttilt,oraslightturn,whichcutsusofffromthefreeopenavailabilityofthewidestaspectofourselves.

WeariseinrelationtootherpeopleSo inthepracticewecomebackagainandagaintobeingpresent inthemoment,butnotjustpresentinthemomentbutpresentasthemoment.Ournatureisitselfthespacewithinwhicheverythingoccurs.Thisincludestime;weareourselvestime.Everythingflowsthroughus. Each person is the centre of the world. It’s not that there are some big people andeveryonehastoturnroundthem.

Thereisroomforeveryonetobethecentre.It’squiteunique,yourwayofemergingintotheworld. Imagineahundredpeoplegoto theseaside, thentheyareall swimmingunder theseaandsuddenlytheyallpoptheirheadsoutofthewater!Theyareallinthecentreofthesea!Eachonehastheseaallaroundthem.Itfeelslikemysea,buttheseaisbigenoughforeveryonetobeatthecentre.

Itmeansthatwhenwemeetotherpeoplewesharethesimilarityofbeingtheenergyofthegroundandthereforebyattendingtotheparticularityofourselvesasweariseinrelationtothis person—because each person has their ownway of embodiment—that embodimentwill bring a resonanceor a response inotherpeople. That is theactuality. That iswhat isthere.Soifwearepresentinourselveswealsoreceivetheparticularityofeachpersonandthenwe allowourselves to arise in that situation. So,we say different things to differentpeople…,whichmakeslifeinteresting.It’sdynamic;it’sfreshintothesituation.

GarabDorje’sthirdpoint:simplytocontinueinthisway

Garab Dorje third point is simply to continue in this way, which is to say, to continueintegratingeveryexperienceintothenaturalopenspaciousnessofyourpresence. Inordertodothatwearecontinuallydeconstructingourhabitofreifyingpersonalpronouns.

Forexample,wemightsay‘tointegrateeverythingintomypresence’.Foreachpersonitis‘mypresence’but ‘mypresence’and ‘mywatch’ isnot thesamekindof thing.Wehavealong habit of appropriation of things that are the part of the world, including our body,whichisapartoftheworld.Sowhenwesay‘mypresence’itisminebecauseoftheuniquevitalexperienceofbeingthere,but it’snotsomethingwecanpossessorownbecausetheonewhosays‘mypresence’,isitselftheenergywhicharisesasaqualityofthepresence.

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For example, if a child says ‘my mother’ and a mother says ‘my child’, these are verydifferent statements. The mother can pick up the child but unless the child is calledSuperman,hecan’tpickupthemother.Sothemother’sownershipofthechild istoknowwhatfoodtogivethem,whatthingstheylike,whatstoriestotellthematbedtimeandsoon. This is a particular kind of possession. For the child, ‘mother’ is just mother…Mum!Mum!

Whenwespeaktootherpeople,weareofnecessityswimmingintheseaoflanguage,andthisisaseaformedoutofthemovementofindividualegostryingtodefineandadjustandrelate. So when we speak, it’s very tempting—it’s a strong pull—to identify with ourindividualisedsenseofselfasifitwasthecentre,andthenfromthatstatetoexperiencethemomentsofpresenceassomenicethingsthatIhave,likehavingmyholiday.

Garab Dorje is describing something very different—relaxed open presence, whichcontinuously integrateseverything, including thevoiceof the individualisedperson, saying‘mypresence’.

Practice:relaxingintotheout‐breathOK,sonowwewilldoalittlebitmorepractice.Thistimewewillstartinaverysimpleway,relaxingintoalongdeepout‐breathandstayingpresentwithwhateverhappens.Nowthereareadvantagesanddisadvantagesofthiswayofdoingthings.Ifyoudoalotofchantingfirstandsomemudrasandsoonyoucancreatethesenseofasacredspaceandthereforeyoucreateasenseofsomethingdifferentwhichcanhelpyoutomaintainaparticularqualityofattention.Ofcourseyouthenhavetheproblemofhowtointegratethekindofexperienceyouhaveinthesacredspace,intodailylifewhichisnotatallsacred.Butherewejustrelaxintotheout‐breathit’snotveryfarfromwherewehavejustbeen.Lifeisgoingonasbefore;thesamesortofthoughtsinyourhead;theroomlooksthesame…Sotherearemanyhookstogettingdistractedandbeingcaughtinfamiliarpatterns.Thisiswherewejustverygentlyapply thebasic instruction:don’t goafterpast thoughts;don’twaitexpectantly for futurethoughts; just here andnow in thismoment, open towhatever comes letting themgo astheygo.

Letitcome,letitgo.OK.

ThefunctionsofritualsIn our time together, because it’s not so long and also because it is in harmonywith thisstyle of practice,wehaven’t done any rituals. That's not to say there is somethingwrongwithritualsandofcoursemanyofyouhaveyourownritualsfromothertraditionsyouarepracticing. Learning new rituals is not necessarily better. The key thing is to discover thefunctionoftheritual.Soifwetakerefugeanddevelopbodhicitta,thisoperatesondifferentlevels.Ontheouterlevelwesay,‘HereIamwanderinginsamsara,adangerousplace,andIgetlostveryeasily.’

Translator: Whenwetakerefuge,dowesaythat?

James: Well we feel that. Then we think that we want something which is morereliableandthatwecanholdonto.SowecanrelyontheBuddha,ontheteachingsandonthesangha.Similarly,wecanthink,‘I’mratherself‐obsessed,ratherselfishinmyapproachtolife, but I recognise that I have a connection with all beings’, so I develop a bodhisattvaaspirationorintention,thatinthisandinallmyfuturelivesmayIhelpallbeings.

Essentially these are ways of shifting our energy. We take refuge because we are veryreactivetomanythingsthatarehappening,andwemakeanintentiontohavesomekindof

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path, some kind of line to follow.When we take the bodhisattva vow, we want to stepoutsideoftheenclosureofourselves,tofindourselvesaspartoftheworld.

Fromthepointofviewofdzogchen,wearenottryingtogoanywhereelse.Wedon’tneedto have a path; rather we need to be present. If we are present thenwhere we are isrevealed to us in terms of what it actually is rather than the fantasies we have about it.Whenwerelaxandopen,ourexperiencearisesastheundividedfieldofselfandother.Wesee that what I call ‘myself’ and what I call ‘other people’ are not two different things.Becauseimmediately,directlyIamawarethatifIlookdown,IseemylegandIseethefloor.ThelongblackshapeIsayis‘myleg’;theflatlightbrownshapeIsayis‘thefloor’.Thesearenamesthatmyownmindisputting.IfIdon’tattendtothesenames,whatthereis,iscolourandshapes.Thereisnorealseparationbetweenthetwo.Alltheshapesandcoloursoftheworldareorganisedbymymindaccordingtowhat’sinside.

Intermofrelatingtothedetailsoftheworldthiscanbequiteuseful,butinrelatingtotheactual nature of ourselves, it’s not helpful. This is because it creates the sense that thefunctionofnaminganddividingissomehowthecentralpointofourexistencewheninfact,thiscapacitytoputnames,todistinguish,toseparatethingsout,isjustafunctionofenergy.Energythatarisesandpassesasmovementsoutofthenaturalclarity.

All sadhanas are activities. In Tibetan they are often referred to as ‘trinlé’, which means‘activity’. An activity is a mobilisation of energy in a particular direction towards a task.Whenwestarttoseethat,everythingwedoisaparticipationinthefieldofmovementandthegroundofthismovementisnot‘I,me,myself’becauseactually,mostofthetimeweareconsciousafterthefactofouractivity.InEnglishwesay,‘Ifoundmyselfdoing…’.Thatistosay, my activity was preceding my consciousness. The situation called me into a kind ofresponse,agesture,which isnot something Iplanned.Not somethingarisingoutofapotinsideme,butwhatIcall‘myself’hassomehowbeingflowingoutinthisparticularshape.

Thiswecanobserveallday long:thatweareessentiallyaflowwithinaflow.Someoftheflows you can call ‘religious’ and some you can say are ‘not religious’. Some are called‘helpful’,somearecalled‘nothelpful’.Ifyouhaveabottleofwineforbreakfastandspendtheday just falling about, that’s oneway to spend time. If you cook some food, and givesometoyoursickneighbour,that’sanotherwayofpassingtheday.Wesaythatthesecondwayisbetterthanthefirstway.Butthat’sfromarelative,conventionalpointofview.Bothare activities. Thepersonwho is helping theneighbour couldbequiteproudand so theirmentalstatewouldbeundoingthevirtueofwhattheirbodywasperforming.

Generally speaking in buddhism there is the idea that the value of an action lies in itsintention,notinitsoutcome.Particularly,indzogchenwesaythatthenatureoftheactionlies in its ground, because all activity is the energy of this opendimension. So integratingyouractivity intotheground is—at leastwhileyouare learningthepath—more importantthantryingtodogoodthings.Thisisaverybigworldandmanysituationsarise;sometimesourbehaviourneedstobequiteradical,andifyoudevelopastrongnotionofwhatis‘goodbehaviour’ or ‘proper behaviour’ you might not be able to help people very much. Forexample,traineetherapistsaregenerallyverygoodnicepeople.Sowhentheysitinaroomwith a patient who is quite tricksy they can sit, week after week, and the patient is justdancingontheirhead.Eventuallytheyhavetolearnhowtosaytothepatient,inaveryniceway, ‘Don’tmesswithme’because if theycan’tsaythat, thenthere isnotherapy.At firsttheythinkthisisveryrude,‘Ijusthavetogivesomespacetothislostperson,andthentheywillfindthemselves’.Whywouldtheywanttofindthemselves,whentheyareplayingwithyou,thewayacatplayswithamouse?

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Sointhatway,everykindofbehaviourcanbeusefulaccordingtoparticularcircumstances.Veryoftenformal,ethicalmapsdon’thelpussortthisout.Inordertohelppeople,wehavetobewillingtoletouractivityflowintothesituationandthatinvolvestakingarisk.

Rituals are useful as a way of observing yourself when you do something quite artificial.Whenwedothisnamastegestureandwebowthiscreateaparticularkindoffeeling.Ifyoudoafull‐lengthprostrationontheground,thiscreatesadifferentkindoffeeling.Thenwhenwe learn to chant you have a different kind of feeling. The function is to observe whathappenstoyourself. It’snotsomuchaboutsayingtheseholywordsbutaboutseeinghowthesituationactsasastimulus,callingyouforthtoallowyoutoexpressyourenergy.

So in whatever situation you are—if you are working with friendly supportive people orworkingwithdifficult people, if youare caring for sick relativesor if youyourself becomesick—whateverhappens,justobserveyourself.Don’tstandapartfromthesituationthinking‘I like this. Idon’t like that’. It isyour lifeandsinceyouare in this situation,don’tprotectyourself fromyourownexperience. Justopento itandseewhat it is.Seewhat itdoes toyour breathing, your posture, what feelings arise, what thoughts arise… Then somethingchangesandyouwillfindyourselfmanifestinginadifferentway.Andyoubecomedifferent,open, free, spacious. This is very important. Then youwill discover that no situation evercatchesyou.Evenifsomethingishorrible,it’sthereforamomentandthenit’sgone.

Themomentleavesnotraceiftheonewhoexperiencesitisintegratedinspace.Butifyouturntheeventintothebeginningofastory—‘Whydidtheysaythat?Ihatethisperson…’—thenyoustart togetscratchesalloveryouandnext thing is thatyou’rebleeding.Sowhohasharmedusinthatsituation?Isittheotherperson?Orisitourownmentalactivity?TheDhammapadarecordstheBuddhaassaying,

Notfather,notmother,notbrother,notsister,notfriend,notenemy,noonecanharmmemorethanmyself.

anditcontinues,‘Notfather,notmother,notbrother,notsister,notfriend,notenemy,noonecanhelpmemorethanmyself’.

Thisiswhyourmainpracticeistoobserveourselves.WhatamIupto?Andinparticularhowam I up to it, howdo I domyself?What is the process of becomingmyself?What is thepattern I habitually bend myself into?What are the expectations and beliefs behind themovement into that pattern? And particularly from the view of dzogchen, what is thegroundofmyselfandwhyamIdriftingawayfromit?

Ourexpectationsandbeliefsare thepseudo‐ground.As longaswearecaughtup in themthey seem like the true basis of our existence. Sowemight say ‘I am angry’, ‘I don’t likepeople who behave in this way.’ ‘I don’t like that’. ‘This is just how I am’. ‘This is what Ibelieve,enough!’‘Don’ttalktomeanymore’. ‘Idon’twanttochangemymind.Thisisme.’But actually it is an illusion; it is just a habit. And what we bring from the practice ofmeditation is the capacity to just observe this place which seems so definite so secure.Observingagainandagainthatitishereandthenitisgone.

OKsonowisthetimetodosomefinalpracticetogether.Justsittinginanicerelaxedway.Relaxintotheout‐breathandremainjustopen.[Practice]

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Soourshorttimetogethercomestoanend.Ithasbeenveryniceformetocomehereandbeamongstsuchwarmandfriendlypeople.InparticularIwouldliketothankMartaforallherorganisationandhardwork.

Meetingandpartingispartofourlives.Nothinglastsforlong,buteverythingrevealsitselfwhen you aremost free and present with it. So if we bring the quality of attention andopenness and presence thatwe have here—if we bring this out into every aspect of ourlives—then I believewewill all havemore andmore richness and depth. So it’s been apleasure,thankyou.

Documents

Low, James - Finding Your Way Home - An Introduction to Dzogchen