Follwing the silent meditation, Alan gets to a few remaining questions, including one about his experience with Shambala and Kalachakra. A fascinating discussion and series of stories follows. Meditation starts at: 0:05
Before the silent meditation, Alan mentions a few points about Bodichitta. After the silent meditation, we go back to the last few aphorisms of the Lo-Jong. We finish the Seven Point Mind Training with a quote from Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche... and then go back to the very first aphorism of the Lo-Jong: the preliminaries. Meditation starts at: 03:21 (silent, not recorded)
Before the session's meditation, Alan raises the issue of retreat and expedition for after the retreat is over. After the meditation, there are a few questions about the relevance of doing short-term retreats in Dzogchen/Mahamudra/Vajrayana; is it worthwhile to chase after lamas, teachings and empowerments? How to live in the modern world after a long term retreat? Meditation starts at: 22:48 (silent, not recorded)
Meditation front loading: The porousness of the mind. It is possible that influences can go both into and out from the mind. Like when praying to your guru and getting a response. Does the response come from the guru or from a deeper aspect of your own mind? All that matters is that the advice is taking you further along the path. So in practice of tong len, using the power of the mind, it is possible that we are providing genuine relief from suffering. Post meditation: Covering the following ap...
Silent session, followed by one question regarding the origin of people within a lucid dream. They all stem from the substrate consciousness. Even when lucid, they are not puppets on your string. As the relative dharmadhatu has no clear boundaries, it is porous so it is possible for a visitation to occur. There are accounts of people having visions of tara, padmasambhava etc. It is hard to say if these are actually tara or some figment of your imagination. But if a teaching leads to enlightenmen...
From the seventh point of Atisha's mind training: 'Adopt the three principle causes' These causes are: 1. Following a qualified mentor - Alan told the story of the first person to encounter the Buddha. - Alan taught that we should see through the person and not reify them (or ourselves). Seeing all teachers equally whether it be as a emissary of the Budhha, like a Buddha or as a Buddha. - If there is one with an inner heart connection, a root guru, see that guru in the centre and other teachers ...
This practice is a variation for shamatha without a sign. The method this morning being balancing earth with sky: shamatha with support, with quasi support and without support. Alan taught more on what rigpa is (and what it is not) and on the analogies with dream yoga. Meditation starts at: 13:18 (silent, not recorded)
Alan begins with two quotes from William James regarding aspiration. The guided meditation is on developing your personal aspirations and the causes to fulfill them. Discussion of Aspiring Bodhicitta and engaging Bodhicitta. Within engaging Bodhicitta, shepherd like Bodhicitta, Navigating Bodhicitta, and King like Bodhicitta. Alan continues with the 7th point of the Seven Point mind training. Meditation starts at: 9:23
As you merge the mind with space, maintain a flow of knowing of the sheer absence of thought. It is a knowing of emptiness that can lead to an open expanse. Meditation starts at: 6:40 (silent, not recorded)
Tonight the meditation is front loaded by looking at two ways we can view the adversity that will no doubt effect us and those we see as belonging to us. Firstly, non lucidly with relative bodhichitta which still has an element of self centeredness, or secondly with ultimate bodhichitta, the view from the bardo, from emptiness or from rigpa. After the meditation we move on to the practices of Seven Point Mind Training which look at the constructive things we can do to support our ongoing dharma ...
In this short session Alan front loads our week of meditation practice speaking of how we can rollback the layers of conceptual overlay to conceptual and then primal mentation - the first raw sense of presence different from space. This too can be melted away to the substrate consciousness. Meditation starts at: 10:15 (silent, not recorded)
Tonight we return to the meditation on the two bodhicittas. Before the silent meditation, Alan give a short preamble on the importance of motivation for one's practice. Once one engages in any virtuous practice such as meditation, charity work or any other type of work for others, one accumulates merit. But how this merit will manifest will depend on the motivation that lead to the practice. If the motivation is mundane, one can possibly enjoy a prosperous next lifetime, but this merit would be ...
This morning we have our last silent meditation in the second cycle of Shamatha without a sign. Alan gives a short preamble, stressing the importance of having contentment in once's practice: knowing right in the moment of the practice that one does it correctly and taking satisfaction in it. Also, having deep faith that one can, in fact, achieve Shamatha is indispensable for progressing along the path as hoping, doubting, fearing, aspiring, and giving up can diminish one's progress. It is cruci...
The session starts with a silent meditation on the two Bodhichittas. After the meditation, Alan talks about ultimate and relative bodhichitta and their connection. Next, we go to the subject of lucid dreaming: 1) waking induced lucid dream, 2) dreaming induced lucid dream, and 3) state check and prospective memory/mindfulness. Then the Lojong is further discussed: the pledges of the mind training. Alan comments on the aphorisms "Do not speak of others' limitations" and "Do not stand in judgement...
The session starts with a short explanation of today's meditation (silent meditation, not recorded), a variation of Shamatha without a sign as taught by Padmasambhava. After the meditation, Alan talks about the significance of Shamatha on the Path and how to deal with all the suffering of which we become more and more aware as we expand our awareness. Alan emphasizes the importance of Shamatha as a platform/base camp for Vipassana and Bodichitta. Furthermore, it is the union of Shamatha and Vipa...
The two bodhicittas may seem incompatible, if there is not someone really there, then how to feel compassion? From the other side, when seeing someone in anguish, it seems so real. This is falling to the extremes of nihilism and substantialism, as we deepen the practice the two enhance each other. From ultimate bodhicitta, we realise the lack of inherent nature, so self centeredness seems silly. From conventional bodhicitta, always attending to others, we come to see that we only arise in depend...
From the substrate, which is in the nature of delusion, a stirring of karmic energies eventually leads to the full elaboration of conceptual designation, everything crystallising in its place with its defined borders. In this practice we are trying to roll this back by oscillating between inquiry (who is the agent) and relaxation. All actions performed out of a reified sense of I only perpetuate samsara even though they might be virtuous. For this not to be the case, actions must be grounded in ...
Before the meditation Alan discusses from which perspective you can do the tong-len practice - from your ordinary self or from the platform of Avolokishrvara. Alan explains how shamatha can be developed in the context of stage of generation practice. After the meditation Alan continues with the fifth point of the text - 'The whole of Dharma is synthesised in one aim'. Self grasping is not steady, constant. If we can recognise how frequently and robustly they come up and look for triggers, we can...
For the practices of awareness of awareness, Alan begins by saying to release your awareness into space with no object, then let awareness of beginning ware be most explicit. Then begin the oscillation. Meditation starts at: 8:30 (silent, front loaded at start of session) Alan discusses the inner and outer mandala - the inner and outer conditions for retreat. Alan quotes and gives commentary from Atisha's lam rim - 'A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment'. The quotes are: 'Just as a bird without d...
Meditation – continue as described yesterday with one meditation on ultimate Bodhicitta and one on relative Bodhicitta. Continuation of the discussion on transmuting the death process. If have habitual practice of converting adversity into the path then when the final adversity of death arises you will be able to convert that. During the dying process go back and forth between the meditations on ultimate and relative Bodhicitta. Discussion of dream yoga as best preparation for the bardo of becom...
We lock onto an object, reify it and then attachment or aversion arises. The discovery model allows the mind to heal itself by doing nothing but maintaining cognizance. Discussion of blessings arising from Buddha nature. Meditation – Rest for a while without grasping. As the clarity and warmth of awareness becomes really obvious then explicitly attend to it. Discussion of the five inner qualities necessary for long term shamatha retreat. Meditation starts at: 18:15 (silent, front loaded at start...
Alan again front loads the meditation by comparing Atisha's Lam Rim texts and Seven Point Mind Training text and the role of discursive meditation in both. We can be encouraged that although Ultimate and Relative Bodichitta might seem high and complex ideals we have already begun training our minds in each of these with our range of meditations. After the meditation, Alan begins to unpack the next aphorism taking the advice from living well to dying well. He shares advice on preparing for death,...
Alan front loads this session by looking at the difference between this practice and Dzogchen - grasping - and looks at how practice is ideally couched in a supportive way of life. After the meditation session Alan shares with us Atisha's list of complete conditions for achieving Shamatha, starting with the outer conditions. This takes us naturally to discussion of the contemplative observatory. Meditation starts at: 15:30 (silent meditation)
Today's evening session begins with the continuation of the discussion on the power of prayer and blessings. Alan gives a few examples of how blessings work and their possible bandwidth and draws analogies with the so-called placebo effect. After that, we move onto a beautiful practice of the stage of generation of Avalokiteshvara - the embodiment of compassion. The practice is based on a text titled "A spacious path to freedom" by Karma Chagme (which Alan translated) and the sadhana from the te...
This morning we start with the last session in the second cycle of settling the mind in its natural state. Alan gives a short preamble before we go into a silent meditation emphasizing the utter simplicity of the practice and its very nature of presence and stillness. Alan also talks about how this stillness and presence can be applied to a more engaged way of living once we come out of the retreat. After the meditation, we go onto discussing the post-meditative effects of achieving Shamatha, fr...
Before the guided meditation, Dr. Wallace comments on Malala, a 16 year old girl from Pakistan, who currently fights for the right of education for women amidst Taliban death threats against her. After the meditation, we pick up where we left yesterday. In the last 150 years, the growth of knowledge coming from science is unprecedented. However, at the same time, the last 150 years have also lead to severe damage of the environment, destruction of an increasing number of species, and man's inhum...
Before the meditation, Dr. Wallace starts with a prelude to the meditation of settling the mind in its natural state. The focus should now be on the ongoing flow of mindfulness, whether thoughts and images arise or not. Special attention for "what's there" when there are no thoughts. After the silent meditation, Dr. Wallace comments on various quotes of great masters form Theravada, Sanskrit and Tibetan traditions on "what it is to rest in Shamatha". Meditation starts at: silent meditation (not ...
Silent meditation session and then a continuation of yesterday's theme related to the 'power of prayer'. "We don't believe in anything without sufficient evidence". That's the creed of scientists and so called skeptics alike, but in practice they don't follow it. Newton believed he could find the philosopher's stone, Miller believed he could create life from inorganic compounds and neuroscientists believe that the mind is the brain. What is merely belief is presented as evidence with great autho...
We revisit an important facet of settling the mind in its natural state: to observe not so much the objective appearances to the mind, but the subjective impulses to the mind. This is not as easy as we only become aware after it occurred. But we can observe them and not identifying with them. There are three points: 1) The importance of this practice cannot be over emphasised, we can’t just wish for no mental afflictions and apart from arharts, everyone has them. Now we have the great fortune to...
Silent meditation on relative and ultimate Bodhicitta (not recorded) at 6:08. Fourth point of the text 'To synthesise the essence of this practical guidance, apply yourself to the five powers', the last of which is the power of prayer. Alan discusses the last 150 years of the 'dark age' of scientific materialism. This is the view of the 21st century that is important to understand to relate to the world in which we live. Much of science hinges on the causality being closed, and the conservation ...
