(This post is more applicable to practitioners of meditation for liberation, such as Mahamudra, Dzogchen etc)
Phurpa Tashi Rinpoche
To teach Togal (in the Dzogchen practice), the student must have generated certain qualifications in
Trekchod. In terms of Trekchod, according to our lineage, there are two stages:
(1) turning consciousness into the path and (2) turning wisdom into the path.
Before your practice reaches the second stage of turning wisdom into the path,
the teacher will never allow you to practice Togal. That is for sure. It is a kind of precept or method passed down
by the lineage masters.
I often see people trying to do very advanced practices. Yes, if you already
possess the view needed for it, it is quite good to do these practices. But if
you lack the necessary foundation for it, there is not much point to doing
these practices. It is not beneficial in the least.
Talking about Trekchod, it is really not as easy as just settling the mind in a
quiet state without any concepts. The practice of meditation consists of two
parts. One is a realisation of emptiness. The other is a recognition of
clarity/luminosity.
The realisation of emptiness should be attained within the stage of
"turning consciousness into the path". But most people can't even
manage this. This is still within the
scope of "consciousness".
When we learn about dependent-arising with the nature of emptiness, it is said
that all phenomena are empty in nature. When you use logic to infer, the final
conclusion we reach is substanceless. So we use the label "emptiness"
to represent it. I believe that all of you here possess this understanding
already.
However, if we ask ourselves how much the actual feeling of emptiness has
arisen in our minds, it is a different matter altogether. Ask yourself: when
you had a dream last night, did you realize that the dream was unreal or
illusory the moment the dream began?
Anyone can talk about emptiness. Even a 3-year-old child knows that the sky is
empty space. But everyone still thinks
that there is a real thing called the "sky". So, this type of "emptiness" is
just a label or a name. This kind of
understanding does not have a practical function.
If we can't even break through the first stage (consciousness), there is no
need to mention about the second stage (wisdom).
Everyone knows that dreams are unreal. Whether you are Dharma practitioners or
not, any old man or woman on the street knows that dreams are unreal. But to recognise that dreams are unreal when
you are within the dream— that is the real test. Can you do it? You can't do it.
What is primordial purity? To reach the stage of primordial purity, you must
first have the insight into emptiness. That is just the first stage. At this stage, you have not realized the
nature of mind but you are getting a little close. What are the qualities of
someone who has reached this far? At night, such a practitioner can already
control his dreams the moment he starts dreaming. He knows that dreams are
unreal within the dream.
So, you are not even close to reaching primordial purity.
(The questioner interrupts to say something)
Rinpoche responds: You have not even recognised that dreams are unreal while
within the dream-state. Your mind is
totally manipulated by the dream. Your
view is not high, not high at all!
Reaching this stage of recognising dreams is actually very easy.
You know all the theory but that is not equivalent to realizing the nature of
mind. Practitioners must take note of
this. Recognizing that all phenomena is
emptiness by learning some theory from teachers or books, or through having a
little experience in your meditation — these are not insights at all. If we
have to call them something nice, we call them the "prajna of words".
In Tibet, we say this is the stage of "understanding". A metaphor given is that “understanding” is
like a patch sewn onto holes in clothing, they fall off in a short time with a
little wear and tear. They last briefly. Your present understanding is
basically like this.
The next level after "understanding" is "experience". In Chan, this is called the "prajna of
examination or reflection". This is like the mountain mist at the
beginning of spring that will melt away when the sunlight becomes stronger.
This level is deeper than the previous level of "understanding" but
it still lacks stability.
For someone at this level, the moment he enters the dream, he recognizes that
it is unreal. He is already capable of
this, but in terms of the nature of mind, he is only getting slightly close
because this is only "experience". The qualities of the practitioner
at this point are already quite evident.
In his dreams, the practitioner is already starting to enjoy
freedom. There is control over his
dream-state. Although this control is not every time, but, fundamentally, the
practitioner has gained control already.
(The questioner interjects saying that he can sometimes control his dreams.)
Rinpoche: I am sure that there are some
instances in our entire lives when we can control dream-state to some
extent. But these instances are not due
to our choice. Sometimes, when the dream
is quite painful or suffering, we are unwilling to accept the suffering, this
causes us to reject the dream and hope that it is unreal.
This happens in real life too. Maybe a businessman suddenly faces a huge
financial loss, or someone you love dearly suddenly passes away, or in the
situation when great dangers occur, the person is so stressed that he/she
wishes that it is unreal or just a dream. Many people have had this experience
before.
When this happens in the dream-state and you gain some control over it, it is
not considered "recognizing dreams as unreal".
(The questioner says something again about his view of equality.)
Rinpoche: Let me ask you first, if I
were to place a bun and dog poop in front of you, which would you choose to
eat? Yes, yes, do not exaggerate, do not
say things like this. You can't do it. Things are not equal to you. For sure,
you will choose the bun, not the poop.
What you are saying is too far away. It
is too far from your present stage. You
are only deceiving yourself. I just said, if you recognize dreams are unreal
while dreaming, you can only be liberated in the second luminosity (in the
bardo of dying). We are not even talking about
the first luminosity or accomplishment in the present life. You don't even have
any hope of getting liberated in the second luminosity, what is the use of
talking about accomplishment?
You can't get liberated in the second luminosity. We don't even need to talk
about liberation in the bardo of dharmata (the next bardo after the bardo of
dying). What comes next is the bardo of
becoming or rebirth. In this bardo, we
have to see if you have any chance of taking rebirth in Sukhavati. Without a
strong force of virtue supporting you, even Sukhavati is beyond your reach.
Then what follows next is rebirth in the six realms of samsara.
Our meditative view is already so pathetic, so what is the use of saying
fanciful and exaggerated words like "everything is pure." Nothing is
pure for you. If it were pure, then the
dog poop should be the same as the bun to you.
Don't cheat yourself with such grand claims that are beyond your
ability.
The practical truth is right before us. It is very practical. What is most practical is just by checking
how we fared in last night's dream. That
will tell us everything -- how deep our insight of emptiness is. If you are able to bring forth this insight
of emptiness within the dream, you are quite good already.
If you can't even do this, you are just an ordinary being. What is the
difference between an ordinary being and a holy being? An ordinary being treats
the unreal as real. The dream last night is unreal. When we are awake, everyone
knows this. But in the dream, you don't know this. Therefore, if you regard the
unreal as real, and are completely controlled by the dream, generating all
kinds of emotions and afflictions. This
is the definition of an ordinary being.
No matter how you embellish yourself, you are just an ordinary being.
We can wear a special crown or hat, and wear some special costume, whatever it
may be, you are still an ordinary being within. Because you are always
controlled by something that is unreal. You are not free or liberated.
What is a holy or noble being? What is the quality of realizing the nature of
mind? A holy being realizes the nature of mind.
He recognizes the unreal as unreal. That is to say, when a holy being
enters the dream-state, right from the start, he is in total control of the
dream. Whether you can do it or not, I
am sure you will know for yourself.
(Questioner admits he is not able to do this.)
Rinpoche: This shows that you are very
far from realizing the nature of mind. Very very far. If you continue like
this, even in ten years, I'm afraid you will not make the slightest progress in
recognizing the dream-state. What is the reason?
I have also done some decades of practice myself, I might know a little about
these experiences. It is not that simple, not that easy at all. Just saying
with your mouth that everything is unreal is not enough. The externalists
believe in nihilism or absolute emptiness. They also say that everything is
illusory and there is no cause-and-effect...
Sometimes put yourself in a very chaotic situation and see if you can find any
purity in that. Sometimes people
criticize you, is that pure for you? No, your emotions will fluctuate as usual.
If someone is nice to you, is that pure for you? No, you get happy because of
that. There isn't the slightest taste of equality or purity in the mind.
All your understanding comes from learning theory from the Madhyamaka, texts
like the Vajra-cutter Sutra, or the Chan tradition. They speak about
emptiness. This theory without practical
actualisation is not considered the meditative view. This is only what the externalists call an
absolute emptiness view.
If you continue to exaggerate like this, one possible future consequence will
be to disregard the law of cause-and-effect. When we hit our head with a rock,
it will definitely cause pain. If the feeling of pain is so obvious, why do we
say it doesn't exist? ...
One of Lama Achuk Rinpoche's teacher is a Sakya master who was quite
famous. At that time, medical facilities
and material conditions were quite backward. He suffered from rheumatoid
arthritis. When I first went to Yarchen, many elderly had to rely on the use of
crutches or were bedridden when it came to the start of spring. This was due to rheumatoid arthritis. Back then, the people had to endure the cold
unlike the good conditions people enjoy now, that is probably why such
illnesses are less serious nowadays. There were also less medications in those
times.
The pain from rheumatoid arthritis is quite severe. My first teacher passed
away from this illness. The leg would swell up and become purplish. The patient will not be able to sleep at
night due to the pain. Lama Rinpoche's teacher found the pain unendurable each
night.
According to him, when he analysed with the view of Hinayana of
"dissecting down to the smallest partless particles and smallest
indivisible instants of time"; the view of Mahayana of
"dependent-arising with the nature of emptiness"; or the view of
Vajrayana of great emptiness, the pain could not be found, not even the
slightest experiencer of the pain could be found. Yet, the pain continued to torment him.
It goes to show that in terms of understanding he knew emptiness. But his
practice experiences were insufficient. He did not realize the meditative view,
consequently the pain he suffered was exactly the same as that experienced by
an ordinary being.
Another teacher also had poor health.
One day, a student asked him, "How are you doing today? It seems
like you are doing much better than yesterday." The teacher joked saying, "If I put my
mind on the pain, it is insufferable pain. If I put my mind on non-pain, there
is no feeling of pain." The view of
great equality is just so liberating like this...
The first Bhumi of the Bodhisattva path is like seeing the moon on the first
day of the lunar month. Although one only sees a small sliver of the moon, but
one has already seen the actual moon. One has already attained the level of
"realisation". What we mentioned before on the level of
"experience" is still on the path of preparation (the path prior to
the path of seeing).
There are three levels: understanding, experience and realisation. The first
Bhumi is when direct "realisation" occurs. The level of
"experience" is on the path of preparation and by then you will have
obtained the various qualities I mentioned before. Although it is somewhat touching the edge of
the path of seeing or the stage of "realisation", it is in reality
still very far away from the Bhumis (or the path of seeing)…
In our lives, we have a habit of rejecting or being averse to negative
situations we dislike. It may not be intentional but we may reject situations we dislike quite unconsciously . In
the dream-state this habit persists, although it is not as strong as when we
are awake. So to recognize some dreams
once in a while is not a big deal.
Especially, it is said in the Tantra of Two Observations that "all
beings are Buddhas".
All of us have this Buddha-nature. Sometimes the hidden presence of the Buddha
nature reveals itself and brings a quality of liberation in our
dreams. This is very normal. For
instance, on a dark cloudy day, if the clouds occasionally part a little and
show us the blue sky beyond the clouds, that is perfectly normal. But that doesn't take us away from the fact
that it is a dark cloudy day.
When we truly recognize dreams, it is not due to some other force working upon
us. It is due to our mastery or control
over the dream. If we think we have recognized the dream-state, yet our minds
are still enslaved or controlled by some other force, there is still a lack of
freedom. This is not true recognition.
Moreover, upon recognition of the dream as unreal, one can go on to transform
the dream as we wish and even reach the stage of luminosity in sleep. But this stage is very far away for us. Not
to mention the stage of luminosity in sleep, even the stage of transforming our
dreams is beyond our reach.
To give an example. The point of
recognizing dreams is because they are unreal.
By overthrowing the unreal, we wish to reach the real. What is real to practitioners is the
pure-realms like Sukhavati which represent a state that is permanent and
unchanging. In that case, how many times have you been to Sukhavati (in your
dreams)? Not even once. That goes to show that your so-called recognition of
dreams is really still under the power of a force beyond your control. There is no freedom to speak of, so this is
not recognition…
It is useless trying to make ourselves recognize the dream forcefully, or to
pursue that as a goal. There is no one
who doesn’t know that dreams are unreal. When your practice has developed to
the point when its habituation is very deep, it will permeate your dream-state
and recognition will occur naturally.
To achieve recognition in dream-state, our view in waking-state must be
progressively deepened. When the dream is not recognised, it shows that the
insight into emptiness is quite shallow.
If it is a deep insight, as the saying goes: "what one is very attached
to or thinks a lot about in the daytime shows up in dreams", similarly, the insight of
emptiness will also continue in dreams due to the deep habituation. If this
does not happen, it shows that although you are doing the practice during
waking hours, it has not made a deep imprint in your mind. Because the qualities of practice are not
appearing.
When qualities do not appear, our insight of emptiness can be likened to a
picture of a sun drawn on the wall. The
picture of the sun appears like a sun but it does not function like the sun in
the sky. It does not produce light or
warmth. In the same way, though an insight of
emptiness that doesn’t produce actual qualities cannot be denied entirely, but
there is not much practical function to it.
This is the difference between the drawing of a sun and the sun in the
sky.
In applying our practice, we need to progress from theory to contemplation and
then to actuality. Today we are mostly
talking about theories. Theories are
useful for pointing us in the right direction but for our lineage, this is not
enough, practical application is needed.
Longchenpa said, “Even if one knows a hundred thousand Dharmas, it is not of
the slightest use in facing death.” So talking about it is not enough, when we
meet Yamaraja (Lord of Death), all your talk about emptiness is just going to
earn you a slap from him. Is that slap empty? It is not empty at all to
you. So, practice is essential.
