(The natural state as timeless non-dual awareness and non-meditation)
The natural state entails direct experience of a timeless, limitless, non-dual field of awareness, wherein whatever arises in this expanse is immediately and automatically known as empty upon arising. Automatic emptiness of whatever arises immediately upon arising is important because automatic emptiness serves as a clearing agent for all residual instances of doing anything during meditation, and all residual attempts to conceptualize about state or outcome. As a result of automatic emptiness the mind returns to its natural state of simplicity (absent of all doing) and freshness (absent of all conceptualization. Once all residual conceptual thought settles down, the lucidity and brightness of the field of timeless, boundless awareness becomes apparent. This natural state is also referred to as “non-meditation meditation” (sgom med).
The view—sometimes referred to as “lion’s gaze”—entails taking the limitless, timeless field of awareness itself as the object of meditation, holding the view of the non-dual unbounded wholeness uninterruptedly, moment-by-moment, without looking at anything in particular. In this way, any tendency of the mind to pick out anything particular is viewed as the activity of the unbounded wholeness itself, in such a way that the view no longer interferes with the direct recognition of the unbounded wholeness that is always right here. However, the practitioner must use his or her metacognitive awareness to recognize this unbounded wholeness of awakened awareness through one or another of two pathways of recognition.
First, is the pathway of recognizing non-localization. At some point the
meditator realizes that he or she is no longer operating out of localized, individual consciousness, but instead is operating out of being the unbounded wholeness—a place that is no place and has no reference point.
Each time the meditator shifts the basis of operation to awakened mind, he or she dismantles more and more of the residuals of the ordinary mind. Over time, the practitioner remains in the awakened mind most of the time in formal meditation sessions. Then, the practitioner learns to “mix” (‘dres ba) awakened awareness into a variety of daily activities, outside of formal meditation, until attaining the confidence that he or she can maintain awakened awareness at all times and in all situations.
(Non-mental engagement as the path of self-liberation from karma)
In other words, the view becomes seeing whatever arises moment-by-moment—every thought, emotion, sight, sound, special meditation state, etc.—as none other than the liveliness of awakened awareness, such that the view becomes a continuous, uninterrupted flow of liveliness. Once stabilizing the experience of liveliness, the practitioner then takes the view of the inseparable pair, simultaneously the limitless vast expanse of awareness-space and the uninterrupted liveliness of awakened awareness of whatever arises in that expanse. As part of that view, but not as a strategy of doing something, the practitioner no longer mentally engages
whatever arises moment-by-moment. Because mental engagement— also called “accepting and rejecting” for processing (blangdor)—is necessary to form new karmic memory traces, non-mental engagement results in no longer forming new karmic memory traces, and therefore initiates an automatic process of releasing the ripening of all previously stored karmic memory traces. Through practicing non-mental engagement all the time, all immediately arising karmic memory traces run their course and immediately disappear, leaving no trace, like writing on water, and all previously stored karmic memory traces are automatically released. This automatic process is called “self-arising/self-liberated” (rang snang rang ‘grol), and is also called the “path of liberation” (‘grol ba’i lam), and the end point over time is referred to as “dharmadhātu exhaustion” (chos nyid zad pa) because the entire storehouse of karmic memory traces is exhausted. The endpoint is “complete purification and the flourishing of all positive states” (sang rgyas).
Like space, it has no substance and is groundless. Unlike space, this limitless awareness/space has the capacity to know, so it is sometimes referred to as “knowing-awareness” (shes rig).
mainly emphasizes purification of ordinary perception and conceptual thought into the three pure visions, with ultimate sound reflecting the purified sound of the liveliness of awakened awareness, pure light reflecting purified visual forms, and light-rays (because of directionality) reflecting purified conceptual thought.
direct realization of the dharmakāya, i.e., the limitless expanse of non-dual awakened awareness space. This limitless expanse is the groundless-ground of existence within which everything arises as the liveliness of awakened awareness.
Yet this universal ground is the container for all of both the positive states of nirvāṇa and the suffering of saṁsāra. Therefore, stable realization of the universal ground entails liberation from all ordinary states of mind, such as those based on dualistic constructs such as “existence/ non-existence, appearance/emptiness, eternalism/nihilism, birth/death, and accepting/rejecting,” as the Sun-Light commentary says.
adds, “It is the same lucid space that pervades everything—lucid space without partiality.”
This universal ground is the “domain” (klong) of infinite space, the matrix within which everything exists, everything arises, and everything is interconnected. Next the root text introduces this as the ground of awakened awareness. It says, “From the domain of space [awakened awareness] arises like the sun rising in the sky.”
“From that [lucid, empty, knowing-awareness] three types of liveliness appear, and the three are ultimate sound, light, light-rays.”
From the event perspective or appearance aspect, this same awakened awareness is dynamic, expressing its “liveliness” (rtsal) in a pure form, namely as the visions of ultimate sound, light, and light-rays, and in an impure form as ordinary visual forms, sounds, thoughts, and emotions. The
It says, “Object and awakened awareness [that knows the object] are without distinction.” (335)
However, seen correctly, thoughts are empty and insubstantial, and express the speed and directionality of enlightened
intention, like rays of light that streak in various directions from the sun, their single source.
“Universal ground is sort of like an open portal of space. Awakened awareness is sort of like the heart of the sun. Ordinary conceptual thought is sort of like the rays of the sun. Ultimate sound arises as self-occurring liveliness. Light is sort of like rainbow light. Light-rays are like a matrix of sun rays. [This defines] the natural state whose disposition is primordially unconditioned.”
The difference between Buddhas and sentient beings is that Buddhas have realized the universal ground and awakened awareness and perceive the pure visions, and sentient beings have not realized the universal ground nor recognized awakened awareness and perceive the impure ordinary seemingly existing world.”
The “mind consciousness” (yid shes) utilizes conceptual thought to appraise and interpret perceptual objects, and, in so doing, conceptualization instead of direct perception defines the pathway of deluded perception.
Through grasping the duality of self and other, afflictive emotions like the five poisons occur.… Under the influence of the five poisons, the karmic activity of the formative aggregate occurs. Under the influence of [both] afflictive emotions and karmic activity, habitual karmic propensities accumulate in the storehouse.
(The heart lamp: awakened awareness seated at the center of the physical heart)
The Lamp of the Fleshy Heart-Mind The next precious secret teaching is on how to enhance the recognition of awakened awareness by focusing the view on the center of the thumb-sized space in the center of the physical heart. While it is certainly true that awakened awareness is non-localized, and its limitless unbounded wholeness pervades everywhere, it is also true that focusing the view in a localized manner on the center of the space within the physical heart space enhances the recognition of awakened awareness.
The reason is that upon conception the indestructible essence of individ-
ualized consciousness is seated in the center of the heart and held there by a series of chakra knots.
As the Ultimate Meaning commentary says, “In the midst of groundless-ground the center of the [fleshy] heart is where stainless, completely pure awakened awareness stays and arises in-and-by-itself…. This is the lamp wherein [awakened awareness] stays as great self-lucidity and is not obscured by anything whatsoever.”
Tapihritsa says, “Although the universal ground pervades the body, filling everything like space, it is generally obscured by the clouds of delusion and lacks lucidity. Within the center of the heartmind, primordial wisdom stays on the inside as immense yet pervasive clarity, like a cloudless sky.
Yet this immense light is not perceived dualistically, as bright light out there, but is recognized as self-arising, immense brightness of knowing-awareness. Although awakened awareness is non-localized and pervades everywhere as the “mother” consciousness, it is also packaged in the heart of each sentient being as the “son” consciousness. Practicing at the site of the heart lamp collapses the boundary between mother and son consciousness, which is also the dissolution of packaging awakened mind-itself in the physical body or anywhere. Tapihritsa uses a number of metaphors to illustrate the release of awakened awareness: like a bird in a cage when the cage disappears, like a person riding a horse on the ground where the ground disappears, and like a fin caught in a net where the net is taken away.
the golden tube channel, which extends from the center of the heart and connects to the upper half of the central channel, then connects the upper central channel to the throat, and then splits into two channels that go up the back side of the head under the skull, and loop down connecting to each of the two fluid eye lamps. The root text says: Then, in the center of this heart-mind [space], from the liveliness of the light and awakened awareness, the wind of the space element arises. From that, the door of the heart-mind opens to the channels. [This is the great golden channel that goes from the heart to the central channel]. From that, by means of the upwardly moving winds, the interior of the central channel opens upwards. This [wind] courses up the central channel and extends through the throat chakra, and emerges from the center of the [throat chakra]. It penetrates the chakra of great bliss at the top of the crown. At the crown protuberance is a gateway that is a completely open hole. This is the pathway to pass beyond [all] suffering [i.e., the path of nirvāṇa]. [It is also called the channel of threads of white silk]. (342)
The Lamp of the Soft White Channels
However, as an advanced by-passing Great Completion practice, it is not necessary to visualize the channel. Rather, the channel pathway defines itself-to-itself-by-itself. Once awakened awareness arises in its full radiance in the heart lamp, it spontaneously ignites. The meditator perceives considerable activity of dancing energy drops at the heart-mind site. Next, these activated energy drops begin to flow and define their own pathway, first flowing backwards and horizontally defining the golden tube channel, then flowing upwards in the upper central channel to the Adam’s apple, then flowing along two side channels around the outside of the brain under the skull, and then turning down to enter the eye
lamps. Each time the practitioner focuses on the site of the eye lamp, awakened awareness brightens, the energy drops again become activated, the energy drops again flow through the soft white channel and pour into the fluid eyes lamps, and each time the channel pathway becomes more and more clear until the energy drops flow easily from the heart lamp to the fluid eye lamps without the slightest obscuration.
unfolding path has its own intelligence and shows itself-to-itself-by-itself. Therefore, the language shifts from talking about awakened awareness to talking about primordial wisdom manifesting itself. As the root text says, “Here regarding the Lamp of the Soft White Channels is the essential point on how to draw forth the transparency of primordial wisdom from whatever occurs on the path.” (342) Transparent here means that the self-arising intelligence of the path becomes obvious. The root text adds, “This central channel is like a cloudless sky, wherein primordial wisdom shines forth with complete transparency.” (344)
(The fluid eye lamps and the gaze that sees visions from within)
The Fluid Eye Lamps of the Extensive Lasso
“Here is what is called ‘the essential point of the Fluid Eye Lamp of the Extensive Lasso,’ to see awakened awareness nakedly in whatever has arisen from the [sense] gateway [of the eyes].” (344) The practitioner sets up the gaze looking out from the universal ground, and looks up at an angle just below the lower boundary of the eyebrows—the eyebrow fence. The angle of looking up is sometimes referred to as the “bolt-mountain” gaze.
or like looking at images appearing on the surface of two crystal balls. After setting up the gaze, the practitioner watches the dance of visions on the surface of the viewing screen, the fluid eye lamps. It is important that the practitioner not see the visions dualistically as out there, but rather sees them as self-arising and generated inside the eye lamps.
The Condensed Style; All Four Lamps at Once
First, the meditator establishes the universal ground of limitless, non-dual, non-localized awakened awareness as his or her basis of operation. Having established this as the basis of operation, at the same time the practitioner focuses on the heart lamp until awakened awareness arises like the dawning of the first morning sun, and then until the energy drops become ignited.
Setting up the gaze allows for viewing the appearance of the internally-generated visions on the outer surface of the fluid eye lamps, as if watching a movie projected onto a movie screen.
Operating out of the universal ground corrects for seeing the visions as out there. Opening the heart lamp guarantees a continuous flow of the liveliness of awakened awareness to fuel the incessant display of visions on the surface of the fluid eye lamps. Defining and opening the soft white channel, free of obscuration, insures a continuous flow of energy drops from the heart lamp to the fluid eye lamps to fuel the visions.
(The unfolding visions: light, sound, and rays as the liveliness of awakened awareness)
The Development of the Visions; The Lamp of the Buddha-fields
Seeing becomes an unshakable miraculous display. Finally, the ultimate state of the visions shines forth. Light is the naturally arising light of awakened awareness, the way a rainbow arises by itself in empty space. Ultimate sound is the naturally occurring sound of awakened awareness, the way an echo occurs by itself in empty space. Light-rays are the natu-
rally emitting rays of awakened awareness, the way the miraculous display of reflections appears in space.
Seeing the visions at first is often enhanced by sun gazing. The practitioner meditates outside at times when the sun is not too strong—early morning up to mid-morning, or late afternoon after mid-afternoon. The practitioner meditates either with the sun behind him or her or directly looks at the sun with the eyes covered by a silk cloth. The practitioner never looks directly at the sun. Practicing in the presence of sunlight activates the energy drops and the visions. Energy drops dance on the surface of the eye lamps. Patterns of ever changing colors like looking into a kaleidoscope.
The visions are more likely to appear once direct perception is purified of conceptualization about perception. The first level of visions is expressed as moving energy drops, filaments, and splashes of some colors appearing usually in the periphery of the visual field. The practitioner is instructed to hold the gaze “until you see a miraculous display, the matrix of light-rays, like a web or filigree: light-rays right within the obscurity of darkness.
that time, the lucid self-radiance of the mandala of light, the essence of self-awakened awareness, is made clear, having a brilliance that is never obstructed. The external and internal body is made clear—the flesh, blood, muscles, wind channels, sense-organs, sense-supports, become the unobstructed vessel of truth [as a light-body].
The essential point is that the conceptual interpretation of perception by the mind consciousness (yid shes) obscures the direct perception of the sacred realms of the mandala as being always right here.
As the contrast between the sacred world and the ordinary world deepens through meditation, the aspiration grows stronger and stronger.
Then it becomes obvious that each individual energy drop is like a computer chip that contains the entire world of the sacred mandala. All that is required is for the practitioner to open right into any energy drop.
Thus, the pure visions arise. Being purified by the liveliness of primordial wisdom’s awakened awareness, the impure five aggregates become pure by leaving them in their own way and arise as the five deities. Having separated the pure elements from the dregs, seemingly real external appearances, when left in their own way, become pure, and become directly manifest
as the three-fold embodiment of enlightenment and all the Buddha-fields existing in themselves as spontaneously present.