The Twelfth Chapter Of
The Commentary On
The Great Perfection:
The Nature Of Mind, The Easer Of Weariness
Called The Great Chariot

When the Sixth Patriarch heard the layman recite the Diamond Sutra and reach the line, "One should produce that thought which is nowhere supported,"
the Sixth Patriarch said, "Oh! Not supported anywhere!" he was immediately enlightened.
-- The Sixth Patriarch's Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra --

Having practiced in that way, we are unified with the ultimate fruition, Buddhahood. Now

XII. The Chapter On Actions Of Benefit has three sections. These are:

· A. The instruction to train in Dhyana

· B. The cause of establishing the teaching of the three immovable samádhis

· C. The dedication of merit

A. The instruction to train in Dhyana:

Having explained the extremely profound way of meditation,
(i.e. Chapter 11 concluded that we should unite shamatha and vipashyana to be in accord with the goal, in accord with the real non-dual unborn nature of everything. This chapter will go into details about how to gradually unite those two.)

Now the truly established nature of its limbs will be discussed.

As just explained:  

Thus, in order to unify our meditation,

There is training in the three limbs of unwavering samádhi.

(i.e. The three limbs of union are :

1. The individual by whom it is established

The procedure for the one who wants to achieve it
The procedure by which it is established (see section "a")

2. The means for establishing it

The means of how we ought to practice
How this is accomplished by the limbs of the skillful means of practice (see section "b")

3. The essence which is established

Non-duality, the essence of the practice
The practice of non-duality (see section "c")

All true samádhi involves these three.

The essence of the path to be perfected, the special Dhyana, also has three limbs of union by which it will be perfected.

B. The three immovable samádhis:

(i.e. The three limbs of union present in all true samádhi.)

There are two sections,

· 1. The brief teaching

· 2. The extensive explanation

1. The brief teaching

These three limbs are like this: 

The Three Limbs:

· The first is the procedure [1] for the one who wants to achieve it.

· The second is the means of how we ought to practice.

· The third is non-duality, the essence of the practice.

All true samádhi involves these three:

1). The individual by whom it is established

2). The means for establishing it

3). The essence, which is established.

 

2. The extensive explanation:

There are three sections:

Ĝ a. The procedure by which it is established (First of the three limbs of union present in all true samádhi)

Ĝ b. How this is accomplished by the limbs of the skillful means of practice (Second of the three limbs of union present in all true samádhi)

Ĝ c. The practice of non-duality (Third of the three limbs of union present in all true samádhi)

a. The procedure by which it is established:

There are five parts of the procedure, for the one who wants to practice

Ĝ 1) The practice for renunciates

Ĝ 2) That those who are disciplined and have heard much will establish samádhi

Ĝ 3) Establishing it by abandoning the five obscurations

Ĝ 4) Its being established by staying in solitude with few activities

Ĝ 5) For those having the family of the Mahayana it will be established

i.e. The first of the three limbs of union present in all true samádhi: The individual by whom it is established; The procedure for the one who wants to achieve it; The procedure by which it is established.

1. Renunciation

2. Faith, humility, modesty, pure discipline, contentment, having heard much

3. Control of the three gates (abandoning the five obscurations)

4. Living in solitary places, abandoning the worldly goals

5. Bodhicitta motivation)

1) The practice for renunciates,

First the individual:

The First Limbs: The individual
Those who practice this must have renunciation,
Keeping their bodies far from the bustle of civilization;
Keeping their minds far off from the host of complexities;
In such a way, samádhi will quickly be established.

With body and speech disturbed by the bustle of activities, and mind disturbed by a thousand nets of complexities, if one does not even practice shamatha, why speak of samádhi? Therefore, keep the body far from the rat- race, alone in a solitary place like a remote forest. Keep the mind far from the host of complexities. Then within one's being, moistened by shamatha, profound samádhi will be established.

The Samádhiraja Sutra says:

Prince, therefore those desiring samádhi should forsake places disturbed by bustling activity, and exert themselves while remaining alone in a solitary place.

It will not be established, while living in a house.

The same text says:

Whoever stays inside or outside a house
As for attaining completely pure enlightenment,
Such a Buddha has never arisen yet.
They do not exist, and never will.

(i.e. Meditation has been misrepresented in the Western world. The term alone causes many people to get discouraged. Their understanding of meditation is that they must do it in a completely isolated place, under a tree or in a cave, and starve to death. They think that to meditate means to give up everything: family, house, possessions, and wealth. With that conception in mind, the term meditation simple scares the wits out of them. But it is not true. Meditation does not mean that you have to give up everything. The method to unfold wisdom is practicing, and integrating the practice into our daily or worldly activity. That is meditation. Then slowly and gradually our spiritual strength and wisdom develops.
As we develop our qualities within, our virtues, then naturally we detach from worldly matters; we detach effortlessly from our material possessions and wealth. That detachment happens very naturally, as our inner qualities develop. We do not have to force ourselves to give up anything. It happens effortlessly, like winter yields to summer. As we develop our inner qualities, we will shed our possessions as easily as we shed our heavy winter clothes when the season changes to spring. We take off our coats and no longer need them. As the heat of summer comes, we shed our sweaters, effortlessly. Likewise, when our inner development allows it, we will effortlessly give up possessions and wealth. As if we were going from a hostile country to a friendly, favorable one, there is no hesitation on our part to leave the one and go toward the other, more appealing one. Likewise, once we have developed the Inner qualities, then we have no hesitation about giving up worldly things. It actually happens by itself. -- Ven. Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche)

2) That those who are disciplined and have heard much will establish samádhi:

They should have faith and humility as well as modesty.
With care and pure discipline, they should delight in goodness.
Knowing much and desiring little, they are content.
In such a way, samádhi will quickly be established.

By having faith, it will be established. By having faith in the Dharma, one enters and remains, and one's excellent faith will therefore increase more and more.

The Edifice of the Three Jewels says:

For persons who have faith
White dharmas arise by themselves.

With "humility as well as modesty," meditating in samádhi, enthusiastically not giving up, one will produce yogic union. These take care of guarding the mind from disturbance, and so samádhi will be established.

The Sutra on Ultimate Samádhi says:

By care, humility, and modesty
Ultimate deep samádhi will be established.

Regarding establishing it by discipline, the former text says:

Having discipline and staying with that,
One will attain the excellent peace of samádhi.

Rejoicing in virtue and having heard much, having few desires and knowing what is enough one will establish samádhi.

The Moon Lamp says:

Desiring excellent qualities, and knowing what is enough

Having heard much of the Dharma, but reducing personal baggage,
Staying in solitude, rejoicing in being alone,
By this it is not hard to gain this supreme samádhi.

(i.e. There are six prerequisites for concentration:

1. To be in a conducive place. Maitreyanath says in Mahayanasutralamkara that a serious practitioner who wants to develop concentration needs to find a place conducive to the quick development of concentration.

2. To have few wants.

3. To be content. To have a sense of 'enough-ness' regarding what one has so that one feels, "What I have is more than enough," and doesn't waste time looking for more.

4. To avoid hustle and bustle. To avoid going to where there are large crowds of people. In other words, one should seek solitude.

5. To have pure ethics. Ethics are not confined to the ordained. Lay people also should live a pure and ethical life and if they do they too can develop single-pointed concentration.

6. To avoid longing for sensual objects

These are the prerequisites that a truly serious seeker of calm abiding must have. According to Atisha, without them even if a practitioner were to try to develop concentration for thousands of years, he or she simply would not be able to do it. However if a person truly fulfills these prerequisites and then applies him or herself to developing concentration, that person can develop calm abiding in a matter of six months. Thus these prerequisites are very important.
-- Gen Rinpoche Teaches Concentration: Preliminaries)

3) Establishing it by abandoning the five obscurations: 

Controlled in mind and body, they love to stay in solitude.
They abandon the love of chatter, and being drowsy or lazy.
Neither wild nor regretful, they have little to ask of others.
In such a way, samádhi will quickly be established.

PL Uncontrolled body and mind, wildly discursive, contradict the path of peace. Living in cities and such places swarming with people, one will be distracted, and vipashyana will be interrupted. A place of relationships with many people and dear friends is a place of passion and aggression contradictory to samádhi. Those whose samádhi is damaged by delight in talking will obscure and hinder it’s arising. They will therefore give birth to much hostility and contention.

If these are abandoned, samádhi will naturally develop, and the dharma of the Victorious One will be grasped.

The former text says:

Without preoccupations, delighting in solitude
With few acquaintances, pure of sleep and laziness,
Neither depressed or manic, body and mind are controlled.
By that it is not hard to gain supreme samádhi

The Wisdom Mudra says:

One's body far from crowds, completely devoted to peace,
As graceful as a deer, will be the cause of non-dwelling.
Like air within the sky, without desire for things;
One will grasp the Dharma of the Victorious One.

4) Its being established by staying in solitude with few activities:

Without the bustle of cities and people who live in them,
In solitary places with little need of support.
They have no connection with various goals and actions.
In such a way, samádhi will quickly be established.

Those who depend on and frequent cities, the people who are part of them, crowds, and places where people congregate, rather than remaining in solitary places as renunciates, because of the completely distracting objects and many activities of this life, non-dual never establish the samádhi of peace. When we live with few associates, objects and activities, wholesomeness will naturally develop. Samádhi will be established, because there will be many proper attentive apprehensions of the mind.

The Edifice of the Three Jewels says:

Future monks, easy going, not controlling distraction,
Infatuated with property and being reverently served,
Will just get angry with anyone who is disciplined.
Those desiring samádhi should not attend on these.
Rather staying alone, they should put extremes to rest
Living like that they should rejoice in solitude.

With only proper attentions, they will produce transcendence.

The Spiritual Letter says:

Really trying to see the ultimate absolute,
Becoming accustomed to training in proper kinds of attention--
There is no other Dharma than having such virtues as these.

5) For those having the family of the Mahayana it will be established: [Bodhicitta motivation]

Caring little for happiness in this life or the next,
Or to attain nirvana for their own benefit,
Desiring liberation for the sake of other beings,
They are sad with samsara and have renunciation.
In such a way, samádhi will quickly be established.

These remain in peaceful solitude, entrusting themselves to samádhi for the benefit of others. Aspiring to the self-serving peace and bliss of the shravakas and Pratyekabuddhas is not the path of holy beings abiding in the great vehicle. They do not wish for the fruition of happiness in this life or the next or for peace as a benefit for oneself. These individuals are sad with samsara, and practice Dhyana with an attitude of renunciation, for the sake of the sentient beings of samsara.

The True Samádhi says:

Completely not desiring the happiness of samsara,
Free from the wish of seeking solitary peace
For compounded beings one has a feeling of sadness
Because of that, supreme samádhi is established.

None of the joys of this life are desired. In particular, train in diminishing personal baggage by purifying the craving for wealth.

The Spiritual Letter says:

Like evil villains, and poison, weapons, foes, and fire
The mind of happiness is expelled because of desire.
Therefore liberate the skandhas from desire.
The Lord of Sages taught that their fruit is like a kimba [2]
Therefore abandon it. By being bound in its chains,
In the prison of samsara these worldly ones are bound

Within, sexual passion is what must chiefly be abandoned.

The same text says:

Separate yourself from women with princess bodies.
Do not crave the nine holes of such a stinking vessel,
Like a vessel of everything filthy, covered by skin and ornaments,
See it as something that properly ought to be put aside.

The Objects of Mindfulness says:

Woman produces ruin
In this world and the other.
Do yourself a favor.
Have nothing to do with them.

The Bodhisattva Pitaka Sutra says:

Even If one examines a thousand world realms, there is no enemy like my wife.

In brief, the idea is that the most predominant kleshas in our being should be examined and rid of first. All attachment for objects of the six senses should be abandoned.

The Spiritual Letter says:

Whoever is stable, for the objects of the six senses
Always unstable and forever moving about,
With the attitude of war, must conquer these enemies.
At first the capable will have to be very brave.

And also:

Gambling and physical pampering.
Lazy good for nothing associates,
Boozing and night-time tomcatting,
And addiction to nasty gossip,
These six should be abandoned.

By grasping our own dharma as supreme, we disparage others, and doubt profound Dharmas. We will grasp the impermanent as permanent, the untrue as true, the erroneous as ultimate, and the suffering of samsara as happiness.

These last four errors entirely unite one with samsara, so these are the chief things to abandon.

The same text says:

Though we grasp ascetic discipline
Supremely with the body,
The four errors, views, and doubts
Completely united these three
Block the gates to the city
Of ultimate liberation.
This should be well known.

In particular, if there is gain there is joy, and if loss sorrow; and if there is happiness there is joy and if unhappiness sorrow; if one becomes famous there is joy, but if disparaging and unpleasant things are said, there is sorrow; when there is praise, we feel joy, and, when there is blame, sorrow. These eight worldly dharmas should certainly be abandoned.

The same text says:

Joy and sorrow,
Loss and gain,
Praise and blame,
And pleasure and pain,

These, by the Worldly-wise
Are called the eight worldly dharmas.
Let us produce equanimity
For these non-objects of mind.

In regard to establishing the seven riches the same text says:

Purity and discipline,
Learning and generosity,
Spotless perfect humility,
Modesty, and prajña,
These are the seven riches
As they were taught by the Sage.

Householders and so forth should encourage others to virtue and establish supportive activities.

The same text says:

Hurting people and theft,
And sexual peccadilloes,
Desire for drinks and snacks,
Delight in high seats and music
Dances and special garlands--
Abandon these and follow
The discipline of the Arhats.

If one has these eight limbs,
Reconciliation,
Desirable activity,
A pleasant godlike body
For men or women is taught.

In brief, meditator’s dwelling in solitude, by the discipline of their vows restrain the mind from what is associated with evil activity. By the discipline of gathering wholesome dharmas, samádhi, liberation, and so forth that were not possessed before are established. Wholesome dharmas that were formerly possessed increase. We spend our time day and night on the side of wholesomeness alone. By the discipline of performing benefit for sentient beings, those remaining in samsara are urged to virtue. Those desiring the Dharma who have gone wrong in the ongoing rules of discipline, those whose Dharma was too much for them, should be made to rejoice. Finally, do not injure even birds, beasts, insects, ants and such sentient beings. Giving them food and so forth, speak the name of the Tathágata, proclaim the names of the three jewels, and always think that even these will certainly get enlightened eventually. Always think, "May these be liberated as my retinue," and "Even these may be emanations."

Having thought that, arouse devotion and sacred outlook. Even if it exists now today produce matchless apprehension of separation and impermanence. Not even for an instant being mundane, let the mind spend time only with the wholesome.

(i.e. Meditation, however, depends in part upon the generation of loving-kindness and compassion. And this is true of any meditation, but it is especially most true of Vajrayâna meditation. The reason is that the specific Vajrayâna practices - the visualization of deities or meditation upon Mahamudra and so on - depend upon the presence of a pure motivation on the part of the practitioner from the very start. If this pure motivation or genuine motivation is not present - and, since we're ordinary people, its quite possible that it might not be present - not much benefit will really occur. For that reason, Vajrayâna practitioners always try to train their motivation, and try to develop the motivation that's known as the awakened mind, or bodhicitta.
Now, as an indication of this, if you look at the liturgies used in Vajrayâna practice, you'll see that the long and extensive forms of Vajrayâna liturgies always begin with a clarification of, or meditation upon, bodhicitta, and that even the short and shortest liturgies always begin with a meditation upon bodhicitta, loving-kindness and compassion, the point of this being that this type of motivation is necessary for all meditation, but especially for Vajrayâna practice.
The only real meaning that we can give to our being born on this planet - and in particular being born as human beings on this planet - and the only really meaningful result that we can show for our lives is to have helped the world: to have helped our friends, to have helped all the beings on this planet as much as we can. And if we devote our lives or any significant part of our lives to destroying others and harming others, then to the extent that we actually do so, our lives have been meaningless. So if you understand that the only real point of a human life is to help others, to benefit others, to improve the world, then you must understand that the basis of not harming others but benefiting others is having the intention not to harm others and the intention to benefit others.
Now, the main cause of having such a stable intention or stable motivation is the actual cultivation of love and compassion for others. Which means, when you find yourself full of spite and viciousness - and it is not abnormal to be so - then you have to recognize it, and be aware of it as what it is, and let go of it. And then, even though you may be free of spite or viciousness, and you may have the wish to improve things, you may be thinking only of yourself; you may be thinking only of helping or benefiting yourself. When that's the case, then you have to recollect that the root of that type of mentality, which is quite petty and limited and tight, is desiring victory for yourself even at the expense of the suffering and loss experienced by others. And, in that case, you have to gradually expand your sympathy for others, and therefore this cultivation of bodhicitta or altruism in general as a motivation is an essential way of making your life meaningful.
The importance of love and compassion is not an idea that is particular to Buddhism. Everyone throughout the world talks about the importance of love and compassion. There's no one who says love and compassion are bad and we should try and get rid of them. However, there is an uncommon element in the method or approach, which is taken to these by Buddhism. In general, when we think of compassion, we think of a natural or spontaneous sympathy or empathy, which we experience when we perceive the suffering of someone else. And we generally think of compassion as being a state of pain, of sadness, because you see the suffering of someone else and you see what's causing that suffering and you know you can't do anything to remove the cause of that suffering and therefore the suffering itself. So, whereas before you generated compassion, one person was miserable, and after you generate compassion, two people are miserable. And this actually happens.
However, the approach (that the Buddhist tradition takes) to compassion is a little bit different, because it's founded on the recognition that, whether or not you can benefit that being or that person in their immediate situation and circumstances, you can generate the basis for their ultimate benefit. And the confidence in that removes the frustration or the misery which otherwise somehow afflicts ordinary compassion. So, when compassion is cultivated in that way, it is experienced as delightful rather than miserable.
The way that we cultivate compassion is called immeasurable compassion. And, in fact, to be precise, there are four aspects of what we would, in general, call compassion, that are called, therefore, the four immeasurables.

Ĝ Now, normally, when we think of something that's called immeasurable, we mean immeasurably vast. Here, the primary connotation of the term is not vastness but impartiality. And the point of saying immeasurable compassion is compassion that is not going to help one person at the expense of hurting another. It is a compassion that is felt equally for all beings.

Ĝ The basis of the generation of such an impartial compassion is the recognition of the fact that all beings without exception really want and don't want the same things. All beings, without exception, want to be happy and want to avoid suffering. There is no being anywhere who really wants to suffer.

Ĝ And if you understand that, and to the extent that you understand that, you will have the intense wish that all beings be free from suffering.

Ĝ And there is no being anywhere who does not want to be happy; and if you understand that, and to the extent that you understand that, you will have the intense wish that all beings actually achieve the happiness that they wish to achieve.

Ĝ Now, because the experience of happiness and freedom from suffering depend upon the generation of the causes of these, then the actual form your aspiration takes is that all beings possess not only happiness but the causes of happiness, that they not only be free of suffering but of the causes of suffering.

Ĝ The causes of suffering are fundamentally the presence in our minds of mental afflictions - ignorance, attachment, aversion, jealousy, arrogance, and so on - and it is through the existence of these that we come to suffer. Now, through recognizing that there is a way to transcend these causes of suffering - fundamentally, through the eradication of these causes through practicing meditation, which may or may not happen immediately but is a definite and workable process - through this confidence, then this love - wishing beings to be happy - and the compassion of wishing beings to be free from suffering, is not hopeless or frustrated at all. And, therefore, the boundless love and boundless compassion generate a boundless joy that is based on the confidence that you can actually help beings free themselves.

Ĝ So boundless love is the aspiration that beings possess happiness and the causes of happiness.

Ĝ Boundless compassion or immeasurable compassion is the aspiration that beings be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.

Ĝ And the actual confidence and the delight you take in the confidence that you can actually bring these about is boundless joy.

Ĝ Now, because all of these are boundless or immeasurable or impartial, then they all have a quality, which is equanimity. Which is to say that if these are cultivated properly, you don't have compassion for one being but none for another, and so on. Now, normally, when we experience these qualities, of course, they are partial; they are anything but impartial. In order to eradicate the fixation that causes us to experience compassion only for some and not for others, then you can actually train yourself in cultivating equanimity for beings through recognizing that they all wish for the same thing and wish to avoid the same thing, and through doing so you can greatly increase or enhance your loving-kindness and compassion.

-- The Reason We Practice Meditation By V.V. Thrangu Rinpoche)

b. How this is accomplished by the limbs of the skillful means of practice.

There are two sections:

Ĝ 1) The means of practicing shamatha and vipashyana

Ĝ 2) Individual means of practicing shamatha and vipashyana

(i.e. The second of the three limbs of union present in all true samádhi: The means for establishing it; The means of how we ought to practice; How this is accomplished by the limbs of the skillful means of practice.

Ĝ Using the five antidotes to abandon the five obscurations.

Ĝ Using the both shamatha and vipashyana; both method and wisdom; the two accumulations; the antidote for the two obscurations; in accord with the goal, with the real nature of everything.

Ĝ Specific means for shamatha:

§ The goal, the sign to watch, is to calm the body, speech and mind.

§ The meditation can be on an object, external or internal, or without object. it is without thought, without grasping at the object.

§ Maintaining one-pointed-ness concentration on an object without distractions, without the five obscurations.

§ Dhyanas are not the goal; their benefits are only temporary. But one-pointed-ness, shamatha, will permit the production of insights.

Ĝ Specific means for vipashyana:

§ In vipashyana, discrimination is used to analyze the real nature of appearances. Non-thought is its retinue.

§ Training in directly seeing the emptiness of an apparent object as it arise. Dharmin and dharmata are inseparable. -- the wisdom of unobstructed objects of appearance, the natural wisdom of simplicity, emptiness/luminosity.

§ Not rejecting obstacles, but using them on the path. Eventually, the real nature of the mind is also directly seen. Appearances are self-liberating. We realize our mind as the Trikaya.

Ĝ Inseparably uniting them:

§ The perfection of meditation. Using both method and wisdom together. Meditating while knowing the emptiness of the three.

§ The perfection of wisdom: knowing the emptiness of everything, and knowing the emptiness of emptiness -- not grasping at emptiness.

§ The Middle Way: not accepting, not rejecting; letting things be as they are.

§ Non-dual: not one not two; uniting the variety of appearances with their emptiness.

§ Both used as antidotes: Vipashyana is the antidote to drowsiness; Shamatha is the antidote to discursiveness.

§ The result is The Union of The Two Truths. The inseparability of dependent origination and emptiness. The inseparability of the three kayas. Total freedom from the traps of the illusions created by the mind. Seeing appearances and knowing their emptiness as they arise. Using skillful means and knowing their emptiness all the time. Working for the benefits of all sentient beings without discrimination while knowing the emptiness of the three.

§ The real nature of everything, including the mind, is beyond any description, beyond conceptualization, beyond any duality, beyond existence, non-existence, both, neither. But it is described as the Union of The Two Truths, or by the inseparability of appearances and emptiness, inseparability of body and mind, inseparability of the Trikaya.

§ The signs of progression - the luminosities.)

1) The means of practicing shamatha and vipashyana has three parts,

Ĝ a) Abandoning and antidotes

Ĝ b) Clearing away hindrances

Ĝ c) Relying on unifying the antidotes

a) Abandoning and antidotes:

Two meanings/benefits:

Then in regard to the [second] limbs of practice, [the means,]
These five obscurations ought to be abandoned:
Being drowsy, dull, discursive, disconsolate, or doubtful.

Practice the union of shamatha and vipashyana.
Being drowsy and droopy will obscure shamatha.
Discursiveness and depression disrupt vipashyana.
Doubt harms both, incompatible with either one.

Yogacharins have five obscurations of Dhyana.

· Within true shamatha revealing clear luminosity, by being drowsy and droopy, depression is produced.

· Within the one-pointed lucency of vipashyana, by being discursive or disconsolate, proliferation of thoughts is produced.

· When there is doubt, neither shamatha nor vipashyana is established.

· As for drowsiness, or sleepiness, entering into it involuntarily, the mind is gathered up.

· Dullness is a neutrality where objects are not clearly known.

· These should be abandoned.

The Spiritual Letter says:

Discursive-disconsolate; malicious; dull and drowsy;
Interested in desire; and being doubtful.
These five obscurations are errors about the wholesome.
It should be known that they are plundering thieves.

Discursiveness and disconsolateness are taken as one. Drowsiness and dullness are one. With interest in desire, malice, and doubt there are five. [3]

Ĝ (i.e. Question:  What skillful means does one practice to achieve Dhyana paramita?
Reply:  Dispense with five matters, namely the five [sense] objects.  Get rid of five dharmas, namely the five coverings.  Practice five practices, namely the five "branches" of the first Dhyana

(i.e. The five great obstacles to samádhi are:

Ĝ Laziness,

Ĝ Forgetfulness,

Ĝ Wandering mind or depression,

Ĝ Not correcting any of the above problems when they arise,

Ĝ And applying meditative opponents to problems when in fact the problems are not there, that is they are purely imaginary.

-- Lama Gelek Rinpoche
i.e. Against laziness

Ĝ Faith in tranquil abiding

Ĝ Aspiration to attain tranquil abiding

Ĝ Effort

Ĝ Suppleness -- flexibility

Against forgetting and losing the object:

Ĝ Mindfulness

Against mental sinking and excitement:

Ĝ Alertness

Ĝ Application

Ĝ Non-application:

§ Sinking leads to thinking positive and benefits, precious human life

§ Excitement leads to thinking about impermanence, death; use breath meditation)

(i.e. The actual process of meditation and the function of meditation and the purpose of meditation is to tune into one’s own being, to tune into oneself. ... in
shamatha meditation practice we are simply trying to be there as simply and precisely and as alertly as possible.
-- [Shamatha meditation] Just Being There Very Simply With Yourself - By Lama Tashi Namgyal)

(i.e. If we want our meditation to be clear, we should cultivate a feeling of great joy towards the meditation. That feeling can be developed by thinking of all the qualities that come from meditation. The opposite of these qualities comes with distraction. What is the harm in distraction? The harm is that whatever we do is of poor quality when we are distracted and therefore is a waste of time. If we are distracted when we are meditating, or studying, or visualizing a deity, then that time is wasted. However, if we leave our mind in a natural state without following thoughts, then what we do is very precise, very clear, and very efficient. When distracted, we are wasting some of the time of our precious human existence, which can never be recovered.
We might think that it may be nice to let ourselves just follow our thoughts and this will bring about mental comfort. But if we fall under the influence of negative feelings such as passion, aggression, pride, or jealousy, it is not very pleasant. Once one of these emotions gets started, it is very hard to stop it and it only brings about suffering. For example, once we start feeling anger, it brings about a lot of mental discomfort and if that feeling remains for a long time, it can actually make us feel physically and mentally ill. Similarly, the negative feeling of desire is constant craving. We are always looking for something, which we think is going to give us, pleasure, satisfaction, or contentment. But somehow we never seem able to get this something, so we keep wanting constantly. It becomes very painful because we never seem to achieve what we are aiming for. So if we look carefully at these negative feelings and thoughts, we see that their nature is basically suffering.
However, by practicing meditation, we can eliminate pain because our mind will be under control and peaceful. By developing concentration through our meditation, we can attain tranquility. It is taught that once one reaches a certain degree of mastery in meditation, it automatically brings great physical and mental comfort. This is because meditation reduces thoughts that are constantly distracting us and this reduces our negative feelings. Meditation will also bring a very great feeling of happiness because little by little, we will be able to gain control over our thoughts and feelings.
-- A Guide To Shamatha Meditation by The Venerable Thrangu Rinpoche)

(i.e. The reason we practice meditation is to attain happiness. And this means states of happiness in both the short term and the long term.
We practice meditation, therefore, in part in order to obtain the short-term benefit of a state of mental happiness and peace. Now, the reason why meditation helps with this is that, normally, we have a great deal of thought, or many different kinds of thoughts running through our minds. And some of these thoughts are pleasant, even delightful. Some of them however, are unpleasant, agitating, and worrisome. Now, if you examine the thoughts that are present in your mind from time to time, you will see that the pleasant thoughts are comparatively few, and the unpleasant thoughts are many - which means that as long as your mind is ruled or controlled by the thoughts that pass through it, you will be quite unhappy. In order to gain control over this process, therefore, we begin with the meditation practice of tranquility, which produces a basic state of contentment and peace within the mind of the practitioner...
In fact, the short-term benefits of meditation are more than merely peace of mind, because our physical health as well depends, to a great extent, upon our state of mind. And therefore, if you cultivate this state of mental contentment and peace, then you will tend not to become ill, and you will as well tend to heal easily if and when you do become ill...
The ultimate or long-term benefit of the practice of meditation is becoming free of all suffering, which means no longer having to experience the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness and death. Now, this attainment of freedom is called, in the common language of all the Buddhist traditions, Buddhahood, and in the particular terminology of the Vajrayâna, the supreme attainment, or supreme siddhi. In any case, the root or basic cause of this attainment is the practice of meditation. The reason for this is, again, that generally we have a lot of thoughts running through our minds, some of which are beneficial - thoughts of love, compassion, rejoicing in the happiness of others, and so on - and many of which are negative - thoughts of attachment, aversion, jealousy, competitiveness, and so on. Now, there are comparatively few of the former type of thought and comparatively many of the latter type of thought, because we have such strong habits that have been accumulating within us over a period of time without beginning. And it's only by removing these habits of negativity that we can free ourselves from suffering.
You cannot simply remove these mental afflictions, or kleshas, by saying to yourself, "I will not generate any more mental affliction," because you do not have the necessary freedom of mind or control over the kleshas to do so. In order to relinquish these, you need to actually attain this freedom, which begins, according to the common path, with the cultivation of tranquility. Now, when you begin to meditate, [when] you begin to practice the basic meditation of tranquility meditation, you may find that your mind won't stay still for a moment. But this is not permanent. This will change as you practice, and you will eventually be able to place your mind at rest at will, at which point you have successfully alleviated the manifest disturbance of these mental afflictions or kleshas. On the basis of that, then you can apply the second technique, which is called insight, which consists of learning to recognize and directly experience the nature of your own mind. This nature is referred to as emptiness. When you recognize this nature and rest in it, then all of the kleshas, all of the mental afflictions that arise, dissolve into this emptiness, and are no longer afflictions. Therefore, the freedom, or result, which is called Buddhahood, depends upon the eradication of these mental afflictions, and that depends upon the practice of meditation.
The practice of tranquility and insight is the general path, which is common to both the paths of sutra and tantra. In the specific context, which is particular to the Vajrayâna, the main techniques are called the generation stage and the completion stage. These two techniques are extremely powerful and effective. ...
So both short-term and ultimate happiness depend on the cultivation of meditation, which:

Ĝ From the common point of view of the sutras (the point of view held in common by all tradition of Buddhism) is tranquility and insight,

Ĝ And from the uncommon point of view of the Vajrayâna is the generation and completion stages.

-- The Reason We Practice Meditation By V.V. Thrangu Rinpoche)

b) Clearing away hindrances:

These five obscurations can be summarized
under the headings of drowsiness and discursiveness.

Ĝ If there is drowsiness, we should try to refresh our practice.

Ĝ If there is discursiveness, meditate one-pointedly.

Ĝ Drowsiness and dullness are depressive sinking, so meditate trying to adopt a refreshed and revitalized attitude.

Ĝ If there is discursiveness about other things or people, try to meditate on the nine means of resting.

(i.e. Concentration has two enemies, mental agitation, or busyness, and mental torpor, or numbness.

Ĝ Generally, agitation arises from desire. An attractive object appears in the mind and the mind leaves the object of meditation to follow it.

Ĝ Torpor arises from subtle apathy developing within the mind.

In order to have firm concentration these two obstacles must be eliminated.

Ĝ Mental agitation is overcome principally by the force of mindfulness

Ĝ and torpor by attentive application.

-- Geshe Rabten Rinpoche)

(i.e. In meditation there are two main obstacles to actual tranquility meditation.

Ĝ The first obstacle is "sinking" which means that when the mind starts thinking, it becomes heavy and lethargic and we start feeling sleepy. It's a feeling of apathy and wanting to sleep but we can't, so there's no clarity in the meditation.

Ĝ The other obstacle is agitation in which the mind becomes wild and one has many thoughts and follows these thoughts in all directions--into the future, the present, or the past--so that the mind cannot rest at all.

The way to correct this dullness is to think of the qualities of the Buddha and the dharma and how much we can gain through meditation. Thinking this will create a feeling of happiness, and our inspiration and enthusiasm will be renewed so we will automatically correct our sinking mind. To do this, we think that through meditation we will become free from defilements and emotional difficulties and gain freedom. Even before achieving complete freedom, meditation will bring peace of mind, which will help us gain more happiness. Remember, we have so many difficulties and tension and frustrations because we have so many thoughts and are involved with these thoughts. If we start thinking, "I want this" or "I need this" our mind will expect these things and there will be a constant tension from this wanting. Then if we can't have or achieve what we want, there will be the constant pain and frustration of being trapped. If, however, we can pacify the mind, there will be fewer thoughts which means, our craving will diminish and this constant thirst will be reduced. So meditation has the short-term effect of creating tranquility and the long-term effect of making one free from the defilements, the cause of all unhappiness.
Mental agitation is caused by distraction, which can come from pride or desire. The remedy to this problem is to think of all the suffering that is inherent in conditioned existence (Skt. samsara) and to become aware of the drawbacks of being distracted. We've been wandering in samsara for a very long time because we have allowed our minds to be continually distracted and this generates only suffering. By allowing the mind to be distracted, we gain nothing. Also, if we are distracted in our daily life, we can't achieve very much. So when we think of the drawbacks of distraction and wandering in samsara, we will automatically work on calming the mental agitation in our meditation.
The way to eliminate drowsiness in meditation is to imagine that there is an eight-petalled lotus in our heart, which is facing upwards. Then we imagine there are very white, very bright little light dots on the lotus. We send these white dots up to the top of our head at about the level of the hair. We should also straighten our body a little more and generally make it move a little upwards.
To eliminate agitation in meditation, we should imagine a black lotus, which is turned upside down (facing downwards). In this lotus we imagine a black dot and send it downwards to the ground. At the same time we should relax our posture, letting the body stoop a little.
 -- A Guide To Shamatha Meditation by The Venerable Thrangu Rinpoche)

c) Relying on unifying the antidotes:

It is like this:

 

Ĝ Vipashyana without shamatha is discursive complexity.

Ĝ Without vipashyana, shamatha will go nowhere.

Ĝ It is the highest path when these two are combined.

This is the antidote for the two obscurations.

· Prajna un-moistened by shamatha is only verbal understanding.

· Shamatha uncompleted by vipashyana, is neutral and cannot be expected to elevate one above the seeds of samsara.

· Therefore, try to unify them.

The Spiritual Letter says:

Without any prajña, samádhi does not exist.
Without samádhi, also there is no prajña.
Where there are both, the black ocean of samsara,
Will have be searched for like the tracks of cattle.

2) Individual means of practicing shamatha and vipashyana,

Of the two individual explanations of shamatha and vipashyana,

Ĝ a) Shamatha

Ĝ b) Vipashyana

a) Shamatha

There are four sections (i.e. Specific means / instructions for the skill of shamatha.)

· i) The cause of its being established

· ii) The way of grasping the object

· iii) The limbs of means

· iv) The means of practice

i) The cause of its being established,

(i.e. The goal, the sign to watch, is to calm the body, speech and mind. It is established when those are at ease, when there is one-pointed concentration. The results of Dhyanas are great peace and bliss because the mind is temporarily relieved of all preoccupation, obsessions, attachment, and fears. But it is only temporary; Dhyanas cannot bring Nirvana. Only the wisdom directly seeing the real nature of the mind and of everything can bring Liberation. But this wisdom cannot develop without great concentration. And this concentration cannot be obtained without the peace gained with renunciation and moral discipline.)

Here first:

When body, speech, and mind, and intellect are at ease,
Then it can be said that shamatha is established.

There is equanimity with the natures of all dharmas,
The chief ancillary is that all conceptions are pacified.
In samsaric style, the mind is grasping a single object.

The complete non-thought of samádhi is established by putting the three gates completely at ease. By putting the body at ease, the nadis are put at ease. By putting the nadis at ease, prana is put at ease. By putting prana at ease the red and white essential elements are at ease, naturally collecting in the petals of the four chakras and so forth.

i.e. The Tibetan word for the practice of concentration is zhi-nay (zhi-gNas). Zhi means peace and nay means to dwell; zhi-nay, then, is dwelling in peace or being without busyness. -- Geshe Rabten Rinpoche

Then the mental resting of shamatha is naturally established. This is because the supports of mind, the elemental essences, motionlessly collect in one place. Within this, the nature of mind continually exists in its natural state, even, uninterrupted ungraspable, inexpressible equality that does not come, go, or remain anywhere at all.

· The half of this that is the aspect of vividness and transparency is vipashyana.

· The aspect of being and resting is shamatha.

· Their non-duality is called their union.

Because it always exists in all beings, luminous clarity is easily encountered when there is the remedy of exhaustion through natural motionlessness and so forth. Whatever is done by the yogin, whether emanating or resting, by knowing shamatha/vipashyana where everything is left as it is without fabrication or defilement, there is liberation.

(i.e. Meditation teaches you how to relax and how to develop peacefulness in your mind. With this peacefulness also comes a happy and joyful frame of mind. -- Ven. Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche )

ii) The way of grasping the object:

(i.e. The meditation can be on an object, external or internal, or without object. -- The objects are not analyzed. The mind is not left to go wild with complexities. The mind one-pointed concentrated on the object without grasping it, without distraction, without thought, without visualization or grasping. There is no conceptualization. There are no real characteristics to analyze. All dharmas are like space. -- The mind is not forced, nor is it left to go wild; it is jut at peace, resting on the object, becoming one with the object; or simply without object, one with the space of emptiness.)

As for the way in which the mind grasps a single object:  

One kind has an apparent object (1) and one does not (2).
Either kind can be external (3) or internal (4).
In all that makes four ways the object can be grasped.

When there is an apparent object of shamatha,
It will be form and such, the objects of the five senses.
That without form is one-pointed resting in non-thought.

External objects are things like rocks and trees and statues.
Internal ones are like the inverted heart-center lotus

First, as for the way the mind grasps,

· In shamatha with an apparent object, the mind rests with constant and motionless one-pointed-ness on form, sound, smell, taste, and touchables, whatever objects there may be.

· Internally, unsupported by appearance, the mind grasps complete non-thought. Within the body, on bodies of gods, mantric syllables, or the downward-opening heart lotus and scepters and emblems, the chakras and so forth, or by meditating on light and so forth, the shamatha of the five complexities arises in shamatha, which is predominantly bliss.

· Externally, if one grasps rocks, trees, images of bodily forms, and so forth without distraction, also the clear and luminous half of shamatha will arise.

Ĝ Here because predominating complexities are grasped as external, their proliferation are grasped as internal.

Ĝ By the diminishing of thoughts, if they are grasped as internal, by drowsiness predominating, they will be grasped as external.

Ĝ Moreover, by the mind having first grasped something with characteristics, afterwards the state without characteristics will arise.

Ĝ Those who do not know this, if their minds grasp bodily forms and so forth, go into complexity, so when they say they are resting in a state without complexity of nothing whatsoever, they miss the point. This is the speech of those with little experience. Here though one's mind seems to be steadily on/directed toward something, at the time of first being directed toward that, a thought precedes it.

· Then, not remaining on the appearance of that object, the mind without emanating and gathering is substance-less, pure, and vivid, like an autumn sky free from clouds does not rest there and cannot possibly do so.

· In a state without appearance, even if the mind grasps, further damage will not occur. If there are such faults, one will not be harmed by drowsiness or discursiveness and cannot possibly be.

In brief, not entering into the appearance of objects, with a mind resting free from emanation and gathering is called Dhyana.

Whatever the mind grasps, whether with or without appearance, by realization of bliss and the experiences of luminosity, and non-thought, the ornament, the great non-fixation free from extremes, must arise.
If it doesn't arise, there are faults.
If it does arise, the samádhi of genuine Dhyana in which upaya and prajña are non-dual will arise within us.

(i.e. There are three main techniques of meditation:

1. Concentrating on an outer object,

2. Concentrating on an inner object,

3. And concentrating on no object.

The goal of meditation is to reach the point of not needing any object in meditation. But to prepare for this goal we need to gain familiarity with meditation using outer objects and then inner objects.
Meditating on an Outer Object:
In the beginning it is useful to meditate on an outer object such as a statue of the Buddha. Meditating on an outer object is not to examine or think about its shape or composition or color, but to simply remain aware of the statue in front of us and not become distracted by other thoughts. When looking at the statue, our eyes shouldn't strain and we should just register the picture of the Buddha in our mind. If other thoughts arise, we should try to become aware of these thoughts as quickly as possible and immediately drop them and return our awareness to the statue.
Tilopa said that one should abandon all physical activity and just remain very quiet when meditating. One should stop talking and stop thinking; just leave the mind at rest. If we meditate on a Buddha statue, we should not stare at it with a forced or fixed gaze because this will just give us a headache and eyestrain. We must relax letting our eyes rest on the statue, merely registering the image. Whether our sight is sharp or blurred makes no difference. And when we look at it, we don't think, "Statue, statue, statue." We just look at it and try not to let the image drift out of our mind. If we start having an important thought that is taking us away from the statue, we just gently bring our attention back to the statue because if we follow the first thought, then another will come, then another and we will completely forget about the object of our meditation. When the thought comes, it is important to acknowledge its presence. If our mind starts to follow the thought, just recognize this fact and bring the mind back to the statue.
We should always focus on what is called the "support" of the meditation, which is the statue, or other object we are focusing on. If we develop the habit of trying to avoid the two defects of being too tight or too loose in our meditation, our meditation will improve. If we practice this kind of meditation more and more, we will then gradually have more and more mental peace with the mind being able to concentrate and there will be increasing clarity of one's meditation.

Inner Meditation:

We begin meditation by stabilizing our mind with the help of an external support. When we become more proficient, we can concentrate the mind inwards. One practice of inner meditation is using breathing. The Buddha taught six different points of shamatha meditation.  There are three main meditations based on breathing, such as counting the breath, following the breath, and so on.
In the beginning our mind is not stable and this is why we can fall under the influence of our emotions so easily. With meditation we try to refocus the mind by focusing on something that is fairly small, but not too small. So we learn how to focus using a statue of the Buddha. Little by little our concentration improves, and we can then focus on a letter representing the Buddha's speech. Later on we concentrate on a symbol of the Buddha's mind which is a small dot. In the beginning our attention is scattered over hundreds of objects, then gradually it becomes centered on something much smaller such as a statue of the Buddha. The statue has a face, arms and hands, etc., and when we have developed more concentration, we focus on a single letter and still later a single dot. In all cases, the technique is the same with the object of our concentration becoming more and more focused producing a finer and finer type of concentration.

Ĝ The first method is counting the breath. We should, first of all, breathe quite naturally. When exhaling, we think, "Now the air is coming out, now I'm exhaling." When inhaling, we are aware of this air entering our body. Each time we are aware of the air going in and going out, we count this as one. We count it mentally. This becomes easier when we develop the habit of this meditation. Just keep a very clear count of how many times one is breathing.

Ĝ The second method of meditation is called "following the breath." We breathe normally, but when we are inhaling, we imagine the air that is being taken in fills up our whole body. When we are exhaling, we imagine all this air inside us goes out through the nose and dissolves in space. As we are doing this, we are following this movement with our mind so our mind and the air are connected continually during the meditation. This is a very good way to develop mental tranquility.

Ĝ The third method is to combine the counting of the breath and following the breath, so first we count our breath up to 21 with each inhalation and exhalation being counted as one. This keeps our mind concentrated on breathing and not forgetting to count. As soon as we finish counting up to 21, we begin doing the following breath meditation.

When we practice breathing meditation, we should practice it in very short sessions, but multiply the sessions. While we actually meditate, we should do it with much care and with as much precision as possible.

Ĝ While meditating on the breath, we may find our mind has a tendency to grow a bit dark and not be very clear. When this happens, we should sharpen our attention. To make meditation clearer we can do "the three cycle meditation."

§ First we take the air in (first cycle) and keep it inside us (the second cycle) and then exhale (third cycle).

§ When we are inhaling we think of the sound OM.

§ When the air is inside of the body think of an AH.

§ And when the air is going out of the body think of HUM.
All three cycles should be natural and not forced and one should try to make the three cycles equal. If we do this, we will find that we don't become too agitated or too drowsy. This meditation keeps the mind clear so when we find the mind becoming agitated or drowsy, we can just switch to the three cycles of breathing.

Mahamudra Meditation:
Receiving the blessings at the end of the Dorje Chang prayer is the way that true meditation will be born in us and we will achieve the realization of the true nature of phenomena.

Ĝ This true nature is both void-ness and clarity.

Ĝ In an ordinary being this clarity is called Buddha nature (Skt. Tathágata-garbha).

Ĝ When Buddhahood is realized, this clarity is called the Dharmakaya.

On the path to Buddhahood, Buddha nature is the gradual realization of all the good qualities and the gradual elimination of all the bad qualities. This is why it is so important to meditate on the true nature of phenomena and on the nature of the mind.

Ĝ First one gains a theoretical understanding of this through the great teaching such as the Uttara Tantra.

Ĝ Then through Mahamudra meditation, one comes to the direct recognition of the true nature of phenomena by looking at the true nature of the mind.

-- A Guide To Shamatha Meditation by The Venerable Thrangu Rinpoche
Dorje Chang Lineage Prayer:

Great Vajradhara, Tilopa, Naropa
Marpa, Milarepa, and lord of the dharma Gampopa.
Knower of the three times, the omniscient Karmapa.
Lineage holders of the four great and eight lesser schools.

Drikung, Taklung, Tsalpa, and glorious Drukpa and others
To all those who have thoroughly mastered the profound path of Mahamudra
The Dagpo Kagyu who are unrivalled as protectors of beings
I pray to you, the Kagyu lamas, to grant your blessing
So that I may follow your tradition and example.

The teaching is that detachment is the foot of meditation;
Not being possessed by food or wealth.
To the meditator who gives up the ties to this life,
Grant your blessing that attachment to honor and ownership cease.

The teaching is that devotion is the head of meditation.
The lama opens the gate to the treasury of the profound oral teachings,
To the meditator who always turns to him,
Grant your blessing so that genuine devotion is born in him.

The teaching is that unwavering attention is the body of meditation,
Whatever thought arises -- its nature is empty.
To the meditator who rests there in naturalness,
Grant your blessing so that meditation is free from conceptualizing.

The teaching is that the essence of thought is Dharmakaya,
Thoughts are nothing whatsoever, yet they arise.
To the meditator who reflects on the unobstructed play of the mind,
Grant your blessing so that he realizes samsara and nirvana are inseparable.

Through all my births may I not be separated from the perfect lama
And so enjoy the glorious dharma
May I quickly accomplish the good qualities of the path and stages
And quickly attain the state of Vajradhara.)

iii) The limbs of means:

(i.e. The specific instruction for shamatha: one-pointed-ness concentration on an object without distractions, without the five obscurations.)

In brief:  

To rest the mind one-pointedly on a single object
Is the means by which shamatha will be established.

The object on which one wants to rest is one pointedly grasped by the mind.
Then by the nine means of resting the mind, it should be stabilized.

1. On that object the mind should (1) rest

2. And (2) continually rest.

3. If it emanates outward, the mind should be (3) brought back to resting.

4. As one becomes more and more assiduous, there is (4) thoroughly resting.

5. When that has produced joy, there is (5) taming,

6. (6) Pacification of the faults of distraction.

7. When sleepiness, dullness and so forth have been cleared away, there is (7) complete pacification.

8. Non-emanation of other produces (8) one-pointed-ness.

9. By not struggling with that, there is (9) resting in equanimity.

The Middle Length Prajñápáramitá says:

Resting the mind, continually resting, bringing back to resting, taming, pacifying, complete pacifying, one-pointed-ness, and resting in equanimity.

(i.e. Eventually, a stage comes when the meditator feels tremendous bliss and peace. This is actually only extremely subtle torpor but it is often mistakenly taken to be real zhi-nay. With persistence, this too disappears. The mind gradually becomes more clear and fresh and the length of each meditation session correspondingly increases. At this point the body can be sustained entirely by the mind. One no longer craves food or drink. The meditator can now meditate for months without a break. Eventually he attains the ninth stage of zhi-nay, at which level, the scriptures say, the meditator is not disturbed even if a wall collapses beside him. He continues to practice and feels a mental and physical pleasure totally beyond description, depicted in the diagram by a man flying. Here his body is inexhaustible and amazingly supple. His mind, deeply peaceful, can be turned to any object of meditation, just as a thin copper wire can be turned in any direction without breaking. The tenth stage of zhi-nay -- or actual zhi-nay, is attained. When he meditates it is as though the mind and the object of meditation become one. -- Geshe Rabten Rinpoche)

iv) The means of practice:

(i.e. Dhyanas are not the goal; their benefits are only temporary. But one-pointed-ness, shamatha, will permit the production of insights. The mind is so concentrated that, when defilement comes to disturb this peace, its real nature is directly seen as it arises. Thus vipashyana develop naturally with the perfection of shamatha.
-- This skill of concentration will permit us to use it in every situation, understanding the real nature of everything, the absence of absolute characteristics, the empty nature of everything.
-- Thus calm and peace is gained by both: through Dhyana and with the understanding of the real nature of everything; knowing that there is nothing to get, nothing to reject. So Dhyana, concentration, is used to create the proper condition for vipashyana. And vipashyana is used to increase the peace, bliss, and concentration level of shamatha. The result will be this perfect samádhi where they are united.)

When one-pointed shamatha has arisen by means of this,
By reason of its stabilization and spreading outward,
The wisdom of vipashyana will proliferate.

It is important to gain the benefit of this
That it should be mixed with everything we do.
Relying on this, in freshness of both body and mind,
We should meditate as is described before.
It will quickly be established by doing this.

It is not achieved merely by the condition of the mind's having achieved one-pointed-ness, since that is not suitable for mixing with vipashyana. At that time one-pointed-ness is mixed with vipashyana, clear seeing of illusion and so forth. Also shamatha is mixed with emanation and gathering and so forth. If this is not done, after the mind has been distracted by emanated objects, by meditating as before, attaining self-control over the object on which one wants to rest, and the period for which one wants to rest, and the way in which one wants to rest, the power of resting and disengaging will arise.

The Mahayanasutralankara says:

By that, having made that increase,
By that increase having gone far,

The main practice of resting will thus truly be attained.

(i.e. Now the meditator can look deeply into the nature of his object of meditation while holding all details of the object in his mind. This gives him extraordinary joy.
Here, looking into the nature of his object of meditation means that he examines it to see whether or not it is pure, whether or not it is permanent, what is its highest truth, etc. This is the meditation known as vipasyana, or higher insight. Through it the mind gains a deeper perception of the object than it could through concentration alone.
Merely having zhi-nay gives tremendous spiritual satisfaction; but not going on to better things is like having built an airplane and then never flying it. Once concentration has been attained, the mind should he applied to higher practices. On the one hand it has to be used to overcome karma and mental distortion, and on the other hand to cultivate the qualities of a Buddha. In order to ultimately accomplish these goals, the object of meditation that it takes up must be void-ness itself. Other forms of meditation are only to prepare the mind for approaching void-ness. If you have a torch with the capacity to illuminate anything you should use it to find something important. The torch of zhi-nay should be directed at realization of void-ness for it is only a direct experience of void-ness which pulls out the root of all suffering.
-- Geshe Rabten Rinpoche)

(i.e. Beyond this you can either remain in samádhi meditation and cultivate the four levels of samádhi or, as advised by Lama Tsong Khapa, turn to searching for the root of samsara. No matter how high one's samádhi, if the root of samsara is not cut one must eventually fall. Tsong Khapa likened samádhi to the horse ridden by a warrior, and the wisdom that cuts the root of samsara to the warrior's sword. When you gain the first level of samádhi you have found the horse and can then turn to the sword of wisdom. Unless you gain the sword of wisdom, your attainment of samádhi is prone to collapse. You can take rebirth in one of the seventeen realms of the gods of form, but eventually you will fall. On the other hand, if we develop basic samádhi and then apply it to the development of wisdom, we cut Samsára’s root as quickly as a crow knocks out the eyes of an enemy. Once this root is cut, we are beyond falling. -- Lama Gelek Rinpoche)

(i.e. In the practice of dharma, we have to work with our body, speech, and mind. The mind determines the quality of our physical and verbal activity. We are trying to free ourselves from problems and suffering and thus go beyond samsara. The root of samsaric existence is the defilements and as long as these are present, we cannot expect to have any lasting happiness.
There are two ways through which we will be able to gain freedom from the defilements; both involve meditation.

Ĝ Through meditation we will first gain some mental tranquility, which leads to having fewer thoughts. With fewer thoughts, we will have fewer negative thoughts leading to fewer defilements.

Ĝ But the seed of the defilements is still present, so we must develop an understanding of the nonexistence of "self." We therefore meditate on the actual nature of phenomena. The second aspect of meditation that can clear the defilements away is insight meditation (vipashyana meditation).

But to develop strong insight meditation, we must first develop strong tranquility meditation. Without tranquility meditation the mind just goes everywhere and we are not able to control it. Once we have developed tranquility meditation, we are able to use the mind in a controlled way. So if we decide to let it be at rest, we can do that. If we decide to focus it on something, we can also do that.
The ideal way to gain tranquility meditation is to just let the mind rest naturally without any thoughts. But this is extremely difficult to achieve because we have become so used to having thoughts and being involved with them. Because we have always turned our minds towards objects outside of us, it is easier to use an external object for our meditation when we first begin to meditate. So the first step is to meditate on an outer object such as a small Buddha statue.  -- A Guide To Shamatha Meditation by The Venerable Thrangu Rinpoche)

(i.e. As our concentration gets better little by little through the power of meditation, we will be able to expand this natural concentration to the rest of our life. Whether we are walking, sitting, talking to other people, or working we can learn to stop our mind from wandering. If we are distracted while working, we can't do our work properly. If we can eliminate distractions and develop better mental concentration, our life will automatically be better, which will also improve our worldly and dharma practice. If we had to depend on other people to modify our state of mind, it might be a very involved process. Controlling our mind is entirely up to us. This is something we can do ourselves with a little mindfulness and awareness. Little by little as our concentration improves, we can turn our mind inwards more easily.
-- A Guide To Shamatha Meditation by The Venerable Thrangu Rinpoche)

b) Vipashyana:

There are eight sections (i.e. Specific means for vipashyana.)

· i) The principal feature and the subsidiary aspects that are like its retinue.

· ii) Training in the skill of discriminating vipashyana.

· iii) The benefit of training in drowsiness and discursiveness as play.

· iv) Having trained in both, as for inseparably uniting them.

· v) The non-duality/dual non-existence of arising and liberation.

· vi) Meditation to train in the skills and to dispel.

· vii) The explanation of what is gained.

· viii) How the outer, inner, and secret luminosities arise.

i) The principal feature and the subsidiary aspects that are like its retinue.

Having trained in shamatha:

(i.e. Contrary to shamatha where all conceptualization are dropped, in vipashyana, discrimination is used to analyze the real nature of appearances. The abandoning of the conceptualization, in order to create concentration or after realizing the emptiness of all characteristics is a retinue surrounding that. -- It has never been about dropping all discrimination, or about dropping all conceptualization permanently, but about the perfection of discrimination: discriminating while knowing the real nature of the three. That is the wisdom of discrimination: combining dependent origination and emptiness. That is combining method and wisdom. That is the Union of the Two Truths. That is uniting shamatha and vipashyana.)  For whoever wants the clear seeing of vipashyana
Within the limpid clarity of the luminous mind,
Discriminating awareness is the principal aspect.

Being and resting within the equality of non-thought
Exist in the form of a retinue surrounding that.

At the time of shamatha, within luminous mind, the clear state of looking at the nature of dharmas is the principal feature, like the ruler.
The luminous aspect of the mind of non-thought, not emanating, exists as the retinue or the ordinary people.

(i.e. The practice of shinay (shamatha) meditation will develop peace, stability, and one-pointed-ness of mind.
Lhatong (vipasyana) meditation is the result of healthy shinay practice. The word lhatong means, "seeing more," (more than we usually do). Instead of seeing things out of confusion we see what they really are. Through the experience of a more peaceful mind we have a more stable perspective. Let us take the example of a lamp. Its purpose is to give light, to let us see what we can't see in the darkness. If the lamp flickers constantly, it will be more difficult to see things clearly, this movement will not allow the flame to express its ability to give light. To be able to do this, the flame must be protected so that it can be still while the fullness of the light is expressed. Likewise, to experience true discriminating wisdom and the real nature of all phenomena, we need a calm and one-pointed mind. In this way shinay practice is the root of all meditation. We must not, however, neglect the practices of abandoning unwholesome patterns of body, speech, and mind and those practices, which result in the accumulation of merit. -- H.E. Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche)

ii) Training in the skill of discriminating vipashyana:

(i.e. Discriminating vipashyana is the perfection of meditation: it is directly seeing the emptiness of an apparent object as it arise. Dharmin and dharmata are inseparable. Realizing both together is The Union of The Two Truths. Once a true direct understanding of emptiness is realized, concentration is used to hold this realization (to abide in it) as long as possible, and later to apply it to any other object.
-- The eight examples of illusion are skillful means to help to understand the concepts of emptiness of inherent existence, non-duality, equality of all objects. They could also be used out of meditation, in order to see all objects like illusions…like space.
-- So they are apparent, dependently arisen, functional, but of the nature of space.
-- Discriminating wisdom is not about rejecting them as if non-existent, that would not be a wisdom, it is seeing the inseparability of appearances and emptiness of objects, of the inseparability of emptiness and clarity / cognitive lucidity. "The wisdom of unobstructed objects of appearance, the natural wisdom of simplicity, emptiness/luminosity". Uniting the relative and absolute. The perfection of meditation and wisdom. Using skillful means and knowing their real nature at the same time.)

Discriminating vipashyana:

Here there are the two aspects of dharmin and dharmata.

· The dharmin is viewed like the eight examples of illusion.

· As for dharmata, the way that we should train
Is that phenomena are the emptiness of space.

By resting within such-ness, wisdom will arise.

i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature.

From stabilized meditation, examine in detail the essence of these external appearances, the dependent arising of the dharmin, appearing as dream, illusion, and so forth. Meditate within that as long as is desired.

The Ten Circles of Kshitigarbha Sutra says:

All these dharmas are like
An illusion or a mirage.
A dream or trick of the eyes,
An echo or emanation
Like colored scarves of a dancer
These should be realized.
I bow down to this
As an excellent field of merit.

Looking at it like that, rest without mental struggle in dharmata, the naturally existing unborn, like space. (i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature.

The Precious Treasury of the Unborn says:

Not realizing anything, also not thinking anything,
Create nothing artificial; let the nature be.
That is the precious treasury known as the unborn.
All the victorious ones of the three times have gone there.

Meditating in that way, within the realization that all objects are like illusion, do not enter into fixation. Within realization of the nature like space, arises the wisdom of unobstructed objects of appearance, the natural wisdom of simplicity, emptiness/luminosity.

The All-Creating King says:

Kye! As for me enlightenment, the doer of all, the king,
I am a perfect mirror that looks at all the dharmas.
All that rises is nature-less in luminosity,
It is taught that by not looking there is the luminous nature.
Within the realm of such-ness, which is the unborn,
Realize the great seeing, without any objects to look at.

iii) The benefit of training in drowsiness and discursiveness as play.

i.e. Not rejecting obstacles, but using them on the path: With this realization any appearances, any defilements, can be used to develop insight. All that is needed is to realize that they are empty of inherent existence as they arise. All dharmas are like that: appearing and empty of inherent existence, like illusions and like space. There is no absolute characteristics, not absolute unwholesome or wholesome. Any occasion can be used to develop wisdom. When a dharma arises we should concentrate and mix this with the equality found in shamatha. Dharmin and dharmata are inseparable. Like luminosity and space. We should try to apply this to everything: combining method and wisdom all the time. Using skillful means and knowing their real nature all the time. Practicing the six paramitas ... and knowing the emptiness of the three all the time. Uniting both Truths all the time. Not accepting anything as absolute, not rejecting anything as completely non-existent: the Middle Way. This is in accord with the goal, with the real nature of everything: not existence, not non-existence, not both, not neither.
-- By directly seeing the arising and real nature of appearances, the real nature of the mind is also directly seen, changeless, free from stains of artificiality, naked luminosity/emptiness; not existent, not non-existent. By manifestation arising as the play of dharmata, whatever appears is known as the play of wisdom.
-- Appearances are self-liberating, and we realize our mind as the Trikaya. This is Liberation.

In the pond of this vipashyana meditation:

In relying on this, we should train on the various dharmas as play,
Viewing them purely as non-dual illusion and emptiness.

When there is proliferation, we should compose the mind
Within the equality that is found in shamatha.

At this time in luminosity like the sky
We see in simplicity the empty, luminous essence.
This frees us from the two-fold clouds of the obscurations.

Sometimes there rises the luminosity like an ocean.
Within its clarity, what arises is liberated.

It is important to gain the benefit of this,
And that it should be mixed with everything we do.

Thus vipashyana will quickly be established.

In the pond of vipashyana, the unborn, proliferate many dharmas of denying, affirming and so forth.

· Train in them as a play of vividly insubstantial illusion, passing the pass into non-dual illusion.

· If thoughts emanate, meditate as before in shamatha.

· Relying on that state, meditate on the eleven apprehensions below. [4]

· Moreover, examine the conceptions of independent arising and so forth.

· If because of these there is emanation, meditate in shamatha and do not analyze.

· If by this there are conceptualizing thoughts, put the mind in a state of non-thought that does not flicker with conceptual analysis.

· To prolong this, contemplate the reason for completely grasping the mind.

· Contemplate the reason of shamatha, not moving the mind from resting.

· Contemplate the reason for vipashyana, the half of luminous clarity.

· Contemplate the reason for non-dually mixing luminosity and emptiness in union.

· Contemplate the reason for equanimity, the nature-less equality of all dharmas.

The Middle length Prajñápáramitá says:

1 Apprehend with thoughts and analytic discrimination;
2 Without thoughts, apprehend with just analytic discrimination
3 Apprehend with neither thought nor analytic discrimination.
4 Apprehend shamatha.
5 Apprehend vipashyana.
6 Apprehend their unity.
7 Apprehend the reason for completely grasping the mind.
8 Apprehend the reason for shamatha.
9 Apprehend the reason for vipashyana.
10 Apprehend the reason for their union.
11 Apprehend the reason for equanimity.

That is the meaning. If the mind emanates, tame it. If it becomes drowsy, refresh it. By training in the skill of uniting shamatha and vipashyana, the ocean and waves arise like luminosity that has become space. The object that is the mind's reference points rest without fixation in luminosity/emptiness. This is unharmed by the waves of flickering thoughts that are self-liberated at the very time of their arising as our own nature.
 

Like clouds and the sky, as the imputations of vipashyana becoming space, the luminous nature of mind is seen, changeless, free from stains of artificiality, naked luminosity/emptiness.

Even if mind exists, it exists within dharmata.(i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature)

Confidence is attained that it is primordially pure of existence and non-existence.

By manifestation arising as the play of dharmata, whatever appears is known as the play of wisdom.

This is the time when conditioned appearances are liberated as naturally arisen wisdom.

By seeing the essence of one's own mind as Trikaya, one is liberated from the dharmas of characteristics of effort and establishing.

(i.e. Appearances, the wisdoms, and the emptiness of everything, the three kayas, are natural consequences of the real nature of everything (like already contained in the two gotras). These are inseparable. Inseparability of the Two Truths; one implies the other. It is really realizing this that is Liberation.)

The All-Creating King says:

Kye ho, listen to me now O Mahasattva!
As for Dharmakaya, it is bodhicitta.
As for Bodhicitta, it is Dharmakaya.
Not even an atom was fabricated by anyone. (i.e. No real production)
Therefore, there is neither Buddhahood nor mind.

As for Sambhogakaya, it is bodhicitta.
Bodhicitta likewise is Sambhogakaya.
All the different forms arising from the mind
Are not anything else other than Sambhogakaya itself. (i.e. Everything is merely imputed by the mind.)

As for Nirmanakaya, it is bodhicitta.
Bodhicitta likewise is Nirmanakaya.
There is no other producer of benefit for beings.
All of the Buddhas throughout the three divisions of time
Are not anything else than bodhicitta itself. (i.e. The skillful means of Bodhicitta.)

Previously, the Buddhas abiding in the past
Saw self-realization of un-fabricated mind.
At this time the Buddhas dwelling in the present
Are the realization of un-fabricated mind.

Now they do benefits for others, sentient beings.
In time to come for Buddhas arising in the future,
This naturally existing nature of the mind
Is not destined to have its former fabrications,
Now the mind of samádhi has no fabrications,
Having remained to the end on the path of non-fabrication.

i.e. The mind is not the five aggregates; nor is it to be found without them. They are not separate or different, not the same.

iv) Having trained in both, as for inseparably uniting them

i.e. The perfection of meditation. Using both method and wisdom together. Meditating while knowing the emptiness of the three.
The perfection of wisdom: knowing the emptiness of everything, and knowing the emptiness of emptiness -- not grasping at emptiness.

Thus having trained individually in shamatha and vipashyana, inseparably unite these two so that awareness and emanation rest in equality/equanimity:

In the union of shamatha and vipashyana
It is equal whether awareness rests or proliferates.
Both are primarily the wisdom of non-thought.

The encompassing style of this unification is its freedom
From all the complexities of existence and non-existence.

Both within the principal wisdom of non-thought
Are the retinue of undisturbed simplicity.

As for "union," when the excellent essence of luminosity/emptiness arises, emanation and resting are not contradictory. The main point is wisdom that does not grasp apparent objects, the freedom from confusion of non- thought. The nature of awareness that does not move from this state exists as a retinue. Though the principle thing is always the non-dual nature of mind, at the time of meditating in shamatha/vipashyana this is easy to realize. Therefore, it possesses those means of non-distraction as a retinue or aspect.

Nargarjuna says:

When grasping and fixation
Go into non-duality,
Not different from the nature,
They are said to be in union.

At that time, by the subsiding of incidental complexities, the nature of mind, goes into the ground, like water poured into water. There is no division in their equal taste.

The Dohakosha says:

The mind of the natural state,
For the yogin in unity,
Should be known to be
Like water poured into water.

v) The non-duality/dual non-existence of arising and liberation [5]

(i.e. The Middle Way: not accepting, not rejecting; letting things be as they are. Using both method and wisdom; vipashyana and shamatha; the two accumulations. Non-dual: not none not two; uniting the variety of appearances with their emptiness. The result will be more calm, peace, bliss, concentration, insights, until there is liberation.)

At the time of abiding in that union, concepts:

Because we rest in the state of letting things be as they are,
By their very arising things are liberated.

Therefore we are resting within equality,
Unifying shamatha and vipashyana.

Bliss, luminosity, and non-thought will then arise.

Appearance and emptiness are the spontaneous presence
Of upaya and prajña, developing and completion.

· Like waves being pacified within water, whatever thoughts arise, instantly having gone into natural arising as they are, rise and are liberated at the same time, this is vipashyana, clear seeing of liberation by arising. This accumulation of merit with appearance is the spontaneous presence of the developing stage.

· Self-pacified intrinsic self-awareness, [6] abiding with luminous clarity, is shamatha. It is the perfection of the accumulation of wisdom, which is without appearance.

· Their unified nature primordially abides as spontaneous presence of mind.

The All-Creating King says:

Knowing this, abide undistracted in the real,
Do not make any effort or train the mind in antidotes.
Do not postulate objects or rest in mindfulness.
Whatever arises then will be the meaning itself.
So enter into my world--be the doer of all.

(i.e. The practice of tranquility and insight is the general path which is common to both the paths of sutra and tantra. In the specific context which is particular to the Vajrayâna,

Ĝ The main techniques are called the generation stage and the completion stage.

Ĝ These two techniques are extremely powerful and effective.

Ĝ Generation stage refers to the visualization of, for example, the form of a lineage guru, the form of a deity or yidam, or the form of a dharma protector. Now, initially, when first encountering this technique, it's not uncommon for beginners to think, what is the point of this? Well, the point of this is that we support and confirm our ignorance and suffering and our kleshas through the constant generation of impure projections or impure appearances, which make up our experience of samsara. And in order to transcend this process, we need to transcend these impure projections, together with the suffering that they bring about. A very effective way to do this is to replace these gradually, replace these projections of impurity with pure projections based on the iconography of the yidam, the Dharmapala, and so on. By starting to experience the world as the mandala of the deity and all beings as the presence of that deity, then you gradually train yourself to let go of mental afflictions, let go of impure projections, and you create the environment for the natural manifestation of your own innate wisdom.

§ Now, all of this occurs gradually through this practice of the generation stage. The actual deities who are used can vary in appearance. Some of them are peaceful and some of them are wrathful.

§ In general, the iconography of the wrathful deities points out the innate power of wisdom,

§ And that of the peaceful deities the qualities of loving-kindness and compassion.

§ Also, there are male deities and female deities.

§ The male deities embody the method or compassion,

§ And the female deities embody intelligence or wisdom.

For these reasons, it's appropriate to perform these practices of meditation upon deities. And because these practices are so prevalent in our tradition, if you go into a Vajrayâna practice place or temple, you will probably see lots of images of deities - peaceful deities, wrathful deities, and extraordinarily wrathful deities. And you'll see lots of shrines with some very eccentric offerings on them. Initially, if you're not used to all this, you might think, "What is all this?" And you might feel, "Well, the basic practices of tranquility and insight make a lot of sense, and are very interesting; and all these deities, all these rituals, and all these eccentric musical instruments are really not very interesting at all." However, each and every aspect of the iconography, and each and every implement you find in a shrine room, is there for a very specific reason. The reason in general is that we need to train ourselves to replace our projection of impurity or negativity with a projection or experience of purity. And you can't simply fake this; you can't simply talk yourself into this, because you're trying to replace something that is deeper than a concept. It's more like a feeling. So, therefore, in the technique by which you replace it, a great deal of feeling or experience of the energy of purity has to be actually generated, and in order to generate that, we use physical representations of offerings, we use musical instruments in order to inspire the feeling of purity, and so on. In short, all of these implements are useful in actually generating the experience of purity.

Ĝ That is the first of the two techniques of Vajrayâna practice, the generation stage. The second technique is called the completion stage, and it consists of a variety of related techniques, of which perhaps the most important and the best known are Mahamudra and dzogchen or "The Great Perfection." Now, sometimes, it seems to be presented that dzogchen is more important, and at other times it seems to be presented that Mahamudra is more important, and as a result people become a little bit confused about this and are unsure which tradition or which practice they should pursue. Ultimately, the practices in essence and in their result are the same. In fact, each of them has a variety of techniques within it. For example, within Mahamudra practice alone, there are many methods which can be used, such as candali (see footnote) and so forth, and within the practice of dzogchen alone there are as well many methods, such as the cultivation of primordial purity, spontaneous presence, and so on. But ultimately, Mahamudra practice is always presented as guidance on or an introduction to your mind, and dzogchen practice is always presented as guidance or introduction to your mind. Which means that the root of these is no different, and the practice of either Mahamudra or dzogchen will generate a great benefit. Further, we find in The Aspiration of Mahamudra by the third Gyalwa Karmapa, Lord Rangjung Dorje, the following stanza:

It does not exist, and has not been seen, even by the Victors.
It is not non-existent; it is the basis of all Samsara and Nirvana.
This is not contradictory, but is the great Middle Way.
May I come to see the nature, which is beyond elaboration.

And that is from the Mahamudra tradition. Then, in The Aspiration for the Realization of the Nature of the Great Perfection by the omniscient Jigme Lingpa, an aspiration liturgy from the dzogchen tradition, we find the following stanza:

It does not exist, it has not been seen, even by the Victors.
It is not non-existent; it is the basis of all Samsara and Nirvana.
It is not contradictory; it is the great Middle Way.
May I come to recognize dzogpa chenpo, the nature of the ground.

In other words, these two traditions are concerned entirely with the recognition of the same nature.

So both short-term and ultimate happiness depend on the cultivation of meditation, which:

Ĝ From the common point of view of the sutras (the point of view held in common by all tradition of Buddhism) is tranquility and insight,

Ĝ and from the uncommon point of view of the Vajrayâna is the generation and completion stages.

-- The Reason We Practice Meditation By V.V. Thrangu Rinpoche

vi) Meditation to train in the skills and to dispel.

i.e. Both used as antidotes: Vipashyana is the antidote to drowsiness; Shamatha is the antidote to discursiveness. The Middle Way: not letting the mind go wild, not controlling the mind or killing it. On the edge between hot chaos and frozen determinism.

By meditating in this union undefiled by fabrication:

Moreover we should train in the individual skills
Both of shamatha and of vipashyana
As antidotes for discursiveness and drowsiness.

And if drowsiness and discursiveness increase,
We should meditate in order to dispel them

In addition to vipashyana, one should meditate on shamatha.

· By meditating in vipashyana when there is drowsiness

· And shamatha when there is discursiveness,

· There will be liberation from these faults.

vii) The explanation of what is gained:

i.e. The result is The Union of The Two Truths. The inseparability of dependent origination and emptiness. The inseparability of the three kayas. Total freedom from the traps of the illusions created by the mind. Seeing appearances and knowing their emptiness as they arise. Using skillful means and knowing their emptiness all the time. Working for the benefits of all sentient beings without discrimination while knowing the emptiness of the three.

When there is the benefit, like a clear and cloudless sky,
Looking into total space with the sun at one's back,
Simple awareness of emptiness / luminosity rises.

At the time of a cloudless sky, when faults have been put behind, look with the outlook of the ushnisha. The luminosity / emptiness that indeed arises at that instant is the wisdom of union.

The Prajnaparamita-samgatha says:

Examine the pure space, which is the meaning of this.

viii) How the outer, inner, and secret luminosities arise.

i.e. The real nature of everything, including the mind, is beyond any description, beyond conceptualization, beyond any duality, beyond existence, non existence, both, neither. But it is described as the Union of The Two Truths, or by the inseparability of appearances and emptiness, inseparability of body and mind, inseparability of the Trikaya.
--The signs of progression - the luminosities.

At that time:

Outer space is pure, but only an example,
Of the greater inner space of the nature, dharmata. 
The secret space is the heart of luminosity.

Know realization as being composed of these three spaces.

When we look at the example of external space, the meaning, self-awareness actually arises. As for the arising of the realization of secret wisdom, this is what all the instructions of the ultimate meaning are really teaching.

The Dohakosha says:

However, the sayings of the guru should be viewed as one.

Also:

Entering into the essence of the sayings of the guru
Is like seeing a treasure placed in the palm of your hand.

The All-Creating King says:

If one wants to realize what this truly means,
Mix with the example, the purity of the sky.

The Middle Length Prajñápáramitá says:

As for producing the yogic union of the perfection of prajña, union with space is produced.

The Dohakosha says:

The nature of mind should be grasped as being like space.
The nature of space should be grasped as being mind.

i.e. They are inter-dependent, inseparable, like the Two Truths, like dependent origination and emptiness.

· The example is the luminous, empty, unobstructed outer space of the sky.

· Awareness at this time too is luminous, empty, unobstructed wisdom. That is inner space.

· That empty, luminous, simple wisdom arises co-emergently with the experiences of bliss, luminosity and non- thought. By that all dharmas are self-liberated into the characteristic of space. This liberation of all fixations of things and characteristics is the secret space of the great luminosity.

At that time, there are the ten signs of smoke and so forth,

1) smoke
2) mirage
3) firefly
4) lamp
5) blazing
6) moon
7) sun
8) Rahu
9) cha shas or mchog gi cha
10) bindu seeing.

and the appearance of the five lights [bindus of the five Buddha family colors]. By the entering of prana and mind into the central channel, space is completely illuminated.

The Avatamsaka Sutra says:

From the nature without conception and perception, [7]
Come the varied phenomena of the mandalas of light.
These several luminosities that shine in the center of space,
By expressing variety, have never risen at all.

Signs of true and stable samádhi arise within one, even if one does not want them.

c. The practice of non-duality:

From the eight limbs,

· 1) The great perfection beyond accepting and rejecting

· 2) The teaching of the meaning of this by example

· 3) The example of assertion and denial

· 4) The example of realized experience

· 5) The example of samsara and nirvana

· 6) The example of mind and the nature of mind

· 7) The example of thought and non-thought

· 8) The example of hope and fear

 i.e. The third of the three limbs of union present in all true samádhi: The essence which is established; Non-duality, the essence of the practice; The practice of non-duality.
-- The essence is to establish non-duality: all of equal taste.
-- The Middle Way: nothing to accept, nothing to reject. No basis to do it; no objective / absolute characteristics; no objective perception.
-- Not seeing absolute characteristics, no basis for objective discrimination, no objective reference, and no basis for attachment or repulsion.
-- All equal, like space.
-- Non-dual: not one, not two; not separate or different, not the same; beyond existence and non-existence, both, neither.
-- Inseparability of relative and absolute; inseparability of appearances and emptiness; inseparability of body and mind;

-- The eight examples showing the equality of all dharmas, their non-duality:

1. Like various reflections and the surface of a mirror

2. Like various clouds within the space of the sky

3. Like various rivers in the expanse of the ocean

4. Like various illusions and the space of emanation

5. Like the space of the ten directions that is without a ground

6. As water pours into water without duality

7. Like various dreams within the state of sleep

8. Like an ocean and the waves within its waters


"The dharmin is viewed like the eight examples of illusion."

Ĝ The eight examples of the confused relative.

Ĝ The dharmas of appearance, form, sound, smell, taste, and touch-ables, along with mental conceptions that assert and deny them, are all confused appearances like the eight examples of illusion.

"As for dharmata, the way that we should train Is that phenomena are the emptiness of space."

Ĝ In the absolute, meditate on patience like space.


-- "In the mind-only school the object and perceiver of dualistic appearance are relative truth. Non-dual knowledge is maintained to be absolute truth."
-- So non-duality in the sense of oneness, like emptiness, is one side of the real nature of everything; only one of the skillful means. The essence of non-duality is not dual, and not non-dual, beyond one and two, beyond existence and non-existence.
-- We need to use both method and wisdom: the practice of non-duality with the eight examples, and the emptiness of non-duality.

1) The great perfection beyond accepting and rejecting,

Third meanings:

  The third limbs of the essence are establishing non-duality.
This is the great perfection, where all is of equal taste.

Accepting and rejecting are things that should not be done.
Cast away attachment to any objective reference.
Attachments to the grasper are the formations of samsara.

Without fixated objects, as it is in space,
There is no bondage and also there is no liberation.

The essential nature is beyond effort and establishing and accepting and rejecting, like space. Realizing this is the view. Not being distracted from this is meditation. Therefore, having become aware that this meditation is beyond existence and non-existence, accepting and rejecting, and hope and fear, attain stability by meditating in this samádhi. Since here there is no thought of improvement, why speak of any other meditation.

The All-creating King says:

Since desiring bliss is the sickness of desire,
By not desiring bliss, bliss will be received.
By establishing Buddhahood, there is no establishment.
The nature that need not be sought is spontaneously present.
Do not conceptualize, and the nature need not be sought.

Also:

Kye Mahasattva, If you wish to establish the nature of your own mind,
As it is self-established when you are without desire,
Do not establish the equanimity of non-thought.
Rest in the sphere of the nature that does not accept and reject.
Naturally rest in the state of natural motionlessness.

As for mind, the essence of it is such-ness.
All of the dharmas, likewise, are established as such-ness.
Do not fabricate within the state of such-ness.
Do not establish anything other than the essence.
If it is sought, the Buddha-space will not be found.

It was already made, it need not be made now.
It was already established. That need not be done again.
Meditate in non-thought. Don't realize anything.

If fixation and attachment exist, one will not be liberated from samsara.

The Song of the Oral Instructions of the inexhaustible Treasury says:

If the mind of yoga is drunk
With the poisons of hope and fear,
Co-emergent wisdom
Will be bound in place
Having no reference point,
We will be beyond bondage
As well as liberation.

The same text says:

The ultimate vajra mind
Has neither hope nor fear.

Even going to hell,
We will not suffer there.
Even in fruition,
There is no more to gain.

Having abandoned benefit
And harm by pleasure and pain,
By good and evil actions,
These will not grow and diminish.

Wanting a better Buddha,
Besides this non-duality
The realization of wisdom,
One should be called a fool.

2) The teaching of the meaning of this by example.

As for the extensive explanation of this nature of dharmata beyond accepting and rejecting
(i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature)

For example:  

Like various reflections and the surface of a mirror,
Such are the various dharmas and the state of emptiness.

As reflections are not something other than the surface of a mirror, all dharmas should be known as emptiness.

The Edifice of the Three Jewels says:

In a pure and luminous mirror,
As reflected natures appear,
All dharmas are reflections
To be truly viewed as unborn.

3) The example of assertion and denial.

Just like various clouds within the space of the sky,
Such are various affirmations and negations
As they are found within the space of the nature of mind.

Accumulating and dissipating moment by moment, clouds do not move from the space of the sky. Similarly, whatever affirmations and denials arise within the space of the mind do not move from the space of the nature of mind.

The Newly-strung Mala of Oral Instructions says:

All clouds are within the sky.
All thoughts are in dharmata.
(i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature)

4) The example of realized experience: 

Just like various rivers in the expanse of the ocean,
Is realized experience in the space of meditation.

As tributary streams are one in the ocean, experiences of realization are of one taste with the meditator.

The same text says:

Within the limitless ocean of precious qualities,
All the various waters of experience
Flow together and then they are naturally motionless.
A stable mind is characterized by wish fulfillment

5) The example of samsara and nirvana:

Like various illusions and the space of emanation;
Such are the variety of samsara and nirvana
Emanating within the space of dharmata.

Illusions are nature-less from the time they appear. Just so, be aware that samsara and nirvana do not move from dharmata.(i.e. dharmin, the realm of dharmas, and dharmata, their real nature)

The Sutra Requested by Bhadra says:

Dharmas, in the nature of illusion,
Are taught as emptiness of any essence.

The Dohakosha says:

That which is samsara is that which is nirvana

6) The example of mind and the nature of mind:

Like the space of the ten directions that is without a ground,
Is the state that views eternally liberated dharmas.
As water pours into water without duality,
So mind and the nature of mind cannot be separated.

The space of the sky has no different natures; so all dharmas are of non-dual nature.

The All-Creating King says:

Just as the sky is inseparable,
All dharmas are inseparable.

When water is mixed with water, they are not two. When thoughts that arise within the space of the nature of mind dissolve back into the ground, these also are not two.

The Golden Mala says:

As water dissolving in water is not two,
So it is with mind and the nature of mind.

7. The example of thought and non-thought: 

Just like various dreams within the state of sleep,
Such is the state of the action that does not accept or reject.

Just like an ocean and the waves within its waters,
Such is equality of discursiveness and non-thought.

Dreams do not move from sleep. So all that is accepted and rejected is of one taste in non-duality, the same text says:

Dreams are luminosity in the Space of sleep.
Dharmas are luminosity non-dual from emptiness.

Waves are made of water. They are not something other than water. Thoughts and non-thought are the same.

The Dohakosha says:

So long as there are emanations of mind,
So long there is the nature of lord Buddha.
Can there be otherness of water and waves?

8. The example of hope and fear: 

Just as we are happy with a successful business,
There are neither hope or fear within fruition.
Know the monolithic state of the great perfection
To be the all-encompassing space of dharmata.

When we successfully take care of business, the mind is in a relaxed and comfortable state without hope or fear. Just so, having gained conviction that Buddhahood is one's own mind, one is relaxed and comfortable within that.

The same text says:

If a mad elephant should get its mind together,
It will stop coming and going, and start resting at its ease.
Thus for realization, there is nothing else to look for.

If this state of the nature of mind, self-arising wisdom without accepting and rejecting, is fully complete, there is liberation from perception of the characteristics of action and seeking.

The All-Creating King says:

This path has no completion of anything at all
Perfect as one, perfect as two, perfect as all,
It is therefore the bliss of the perfection of action.

It is perfect as one as perfect bodhicitta.
It is perfect as two as perfect actions of mind.
It is perfect as all as perfection in its fullness.

By this teaching of the unity of perfection,
One will dwell in realization of Buddhahood.
By the reality of this perfection of everything,
Everything is really made to be complete.

Whoever so abides within this established action
Whether this body is that of a god or human being,
Is enlightened in dharmata, benefiting beings,
With effortless non-establishing, dwells in perfect bliss.

C. The dedication of merit:

Now the merit of these sayings is dedicated:

  Thus by the single taste of difference as non-dual,
All beings are liberated from self as well as other,
From grasping subject as well as fixations of the object.
Exhausted here within the confusion of samsara
By the perception and conception that "this is it,"
May mind this very day relieve its weariness.

This supremely wondrous merit, vast and non-dual, is like immaculate space. May those in the realms of beings, exhausted in samsara by the confusion that grasps duality, though they have become far-distanced from this, as a hundred light rays of merit are emanated by the bhumis and divine realms, ease their weariness in the pleasure grove of the Buddha Bhagavat, built of flowers.

Realms of the gods adorn the sky above the earth,
Arising on red supporting feet of spotless light,
To these seven levels of noble ones may all beings cross.
May they have the vast wealth of the Buddha's treasury.
In their mountain peaks and forests may they be delighted
with lands of herbs adorned with flowers and flowing water.
Because of having passed through this life successfully,
May liberation and its qualities be established.
As the moon, only beautified by being wreathed in clouds,
Makes white kumut lotuses stretch into space and bloom,
By this may the "good light rabbit [8]" of peace be grasped.
For beings without remainder, may there be the ground of life.