Bodhicitta777 on Nostr: From a friend: on the non-dual view. For Practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism: Dzogchen ...
From a friend: on the non-dual view.
For Practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism:
Dzogchen and Essence Mahamudra do not Share the Same View
Longchenpa makes clear that he does not consider that all mental and sensory phenomena are exactly the Dharmakaya. He considers that the mind’s (sem) displays are displays of ignorance such as of the alayavijnana, and only wisdom displays, as the tsal of rigpa are actual Dharmakaya.
Longchenpa’s view thus contains a fundamental dualism; rigpa awareness AND mind (sem). Sem or karmic mental states are defined as being one step away from the pure Dharmakaya, hence his proclivity towards progressive practice within the dualistic confines of Vajrayana gradualism.
However, Essence Mahamudra View is completely non-dual right from the beginning because it considers ALL phenomena as either mental or sensory to be the Dharmakaya itself, with no phenomena being even slightly other than the Dharmakaya itself.
This brings the ”view” of Essence Mahamudra exactly in line with the Advaita Vedanta of Gaudapada.
I have included a link to a marvelous teaching text that was primary in instructing teachers of Mahamudra how to “point out the view” according to a very famous master of Mahamudra, Gampopa (1079 -1153) whose teacher was Milarepa.
Thrangu Rinpoche wrote:
Longchenpa said, ‘Appearances are mind, but apparent objects are not mind.’
“The (mistaken) distinction he was making was between appearances—the actual subjective experience of a thing, such as the internal mental experiences— and the external objects that generate appearance.“
“Simply, because appearances appear to our minds, we assume that they have an existence separate from our minds. Because we see something, we assert or assume that it exists. We never assert the existence of something we have not perceived. The basic argument that we always use for asserting the existence of “something” is that we perceive it. Nevertheless, given the way we perceive things, when we perceive things, we are really perceiving mental images, so, therefore, since there is no way to say that anything exists other than having the reason that you perceive it, and since everything you perceive is by definition, in fact, cognition perceiving its own clarity in the form of these fixated images, then as was said by Dharmakirti,
“Everything you experience is really just cognitive clarity, or the mind’s lucidity.”
“Nevertheless, many of the things that appear to us as external objects, such as rocks and mountains and trees, and so on, seem very solid, very independent, and one might ask, “How can we assert that such things are mental appearances?”
“Finally one has to resolve that even apparent objects are not other than mind.”
Gampopa:
Here is the key principle taught in the non-gradual path of Essence Mahamudra:
A student asked Gampopa, “There is both dharmakaya and light of dharmakaya, isn’t there? The two do not exist apart from dharmakaya alone, isn’t that so?”
The reply came from Gampopa: “That is so. When dharmakaya has become the single sufficient solution, there is nothing apart from dharmakaya alone.”
This is saying that all that exists is rigpa as Buddha Mind, and its energetic displays of inner Light. All phenomena whether as thoughts, karmic mind, alaya, fictional beliefs, delusions, emotions, false identities, sensory perceptions as well as what appear as bodies, objects and beings belonging to an “external” world; are ALL consciousness itself AS Dharmakaya.
Consciousness, which you always are, appears AS everything known, with no duality between a knowing consciousness and something known. Waves aren’t occurring TO the ocean, rather the ocean is itself appearing AS waves.
Thoughts, perceptions, sensations and forms aren’t appearing TO an observing Awareness, rather Awareness is itself appearing AS thoughts, perceptions, sensations and forms.
You are now and have always been the Buddha Mind or Dharmakaya and the world and entities you see and experience, are also THAT with no slight dualism such as Dharmakaya AND its expressions. Dharmakaya IS its expressions in Mahamudra teachings.
Usually a non-dual samadhi is necessary in order for this non-dual wisdom to be directly experienced. For me it’s a result of kundalini yoga.
“We the Kagyus, in our particular way of doing things, take discursive thoughts onto the path because the entity of discursive thoughts is dharmakaya.”
Together with teaching that the entity nature of all thoughts is dharmakaya, Gampopa was famous for teaching that thoughts should be welcomed and cherished rather than seen as undesirable. This was one of Gampopa’s biggest contributions to the Kagyu dharma.
“The emission of discursive thought itself is rigpa and emptiness in non-duality, thus, when the rigpa emits as discursive thought, that thought is being emitted as mind’s stains or mind’s latencies. The thought is self- starting, self-appearing, and self-purifying. There is nothing to do other than being undistracted from mind’s state all the time. At the time of any given habituation, there is no need to be un-distracted using mindfulness. If you can manage that, the karmic prana will be purified into indeterminacy so themselves become wisdom prana and, because of that, discursive thoughts do not come as bearers of the stains of latencies, in other words, mind would not be emitted. There is no need to rely on mindfulness and no need to practise the kind of non-distraction that goes with it.”
“All appearance is mind. All mind is rigpa. All rigpa is the Buddha Mind or Nature of Mind.”
“The nature of the alaya consciousness is the Buddha Mind. The pair, ignorance and co-emergent wisdom, are like the front and back of the hand. For as long as the Buddha Mind is not realized, it is marigpa, the root of samsara. It is the root of realization and wisdom and buddhahood.”
They show Gampopa’s own approach to Essence Mahamudra. It is noteworthy that some others, such as Sakya Pandita, strongly objected to this approach of Gampopa which is summed up in the axiom “the entity nature of discursive thought is dharmakaya”, but their complaints were made through a lack of understanding. Within the Kagyu school, this approach to Mahamudra practice is treasured.
“Well then”, I asked, “Is there no practice to do other than to be apprehending with mindfulness and remaining undistracted?” The reply came, “Except for being prodded by mindfulness, there is no other practice to do at all.”
He asked, “There is both mind and light of mind, isn’t there?” The reply came, “That is so. If appearances are then included within mind, there is nothing else than mind alone.”
You meditate again and again like that. By meditating like that, appearances shine forth as mind and nature of Mind will shine forth as buddha. “By knowing appearances as mind, you do not go into dualistic appearance. By knowing the nature of Mind as rigpa, you do not go into matter. By knowing rigpa as empty, you do not go into conceptual constructions. By knowing emptiness as bliss, you do not go into suffering. Bliss is your own mind so you do not go into others’ appearances. There is none of the process of identification that goes with mind therefore there is neither referencing nor non- referencing, and that is Mahamudra.”
A student asked, “Are prana (chi) and mind one or separate?” The reply came, “Prana and mind are one. Moved by the prana, mind’s discursive thoughts shine forth in various ways. There is no other way to talk about it; at the time of realization of mind, the pranas are purified in their own places and continue on. Non- dual rigpa-emptiness is co-emergence.”
“You meditate undistractedly with the understanding that this is both mind and mind’s light, which is how to hold close to being mind and mind’s light undistractedly at all times.” He said, “Now you do not need to ask the guru questions! All your doubts about rigpa could be cut! Questions are not necessary; cut the ties to this life and meditate!”
For Practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism:
Dzogchen and Essence Mahamudra do not Share the Same View
Longchenpa makes clear that he does not consider that all mental and sensory phenomena are exactly the Dharmakaya. He considers that the mind’s (sem) displays are displays of ignorance such as of the alayavijnana, and only wisdom displays, as the tsal of rigpa are actual Dharmakaya.
Longchenpa’s view thus contains a fundamental dualism; rigpa awareness AND mind (sem). Sem or karmic mental states are defined as being one step away from the pure Dharmakaya, hence his proclivity towards progressive practice within the dualistic confines of Vajrayana gradualism.
However, Essence Mahamudra View is completely non-dual right from the beginning because it considers ALL phenomena as either mental or sensory to be the Dharmakaya itself, with no phenomena being even slightly other than the Dharmakaya itself.
This brings the ”view” of Essence Mahamudra exactly in line with the Advaita Vedanta of Gaudapada.
I have included a link to a marvelous teaching text that was primary in instructing teachers of Mahamudra how to “point out the view” according to a very famous master of Mahamudra, Gampopa (1079 -1153) whose teacher was Milarepa.
Thrangu Rinpoche wrote:
Longchenpa said, ‘Appearances are mind, but apparent objects are not mind.’
“The (mistaken) distinction he was making was between appearances—the actual subjective experience of a thing, such as the internal mental experiences— and the external objects that generate appearance.“
“Simply, because appearances appear to our minds, we assume that they have an existence separate from our minds. Because we see something, we assert or assume that it exists. We never assert the existence of something we have not perceived. The basic argument that we always use for asserting the existence of “something” is that we perceive it. Nevertheless, given the way we perceive things, when we perceive things, we are really perceiving mental images, so, therefore, since there is no way to say that anything exists other than having the reason that you perceive it, and since everything you perceive is by definition, in fact, cognition perceiving its own clarity in the form of these fixated images, then as was said by Dharmakirti,
“Everything you experience is really just cognitive clarity, or the mind’s lucidity.”
“Nevertheless, many of the things that appear to us as external objects, such as rocks and mountains and trees, and so on, seem very solid, very independent, and one might ask, “How can we assert that such things are mental appearances?”
“Finally one has to resolve that even apparent objects are not other than mind.”
Gampopa:
Here is the key principle taught in the non-gradual path of Essence Mahamudra:
A student asked Gampopa, “There is both dharmakaya and light of dharmakaya, isn’t there? The two do not exist apart from dharmakaya alone, isn’t that so?”
The reply came from Gampopa: “That is so. When dharmakaya has become the single sufficient solution, there is nothing apart from dharmakaya alone.”
This is saying that all that exists is rigpa as Buddha Mind, and its energetic displays of inner Light. All phenomena whether as thoughts, karmic mind, alaya, fictional beliefs, delusions, emotions, false identities, sensory perceptions as well as what appear as bodies, objects and beings belonging to an “external” world; are ALL consciousness itself AS Dharmakaya.
Consciousness, which you always are, appears AS everything known, with no duality between a knowing consciousness and something known. Waves aren’t occurring TO the ocean, rather the ocean is itself appearing AS waves.
Thoughts, perceptions, sensations and forms aren’t appearing TO an observing Awareness, rather Awareness is itself appearing AS thoughts, perceptions, sensations and forms.
You are now and have always been the Buddha Mind or Dharmakaya and the world and entities you see and experience, are also THAT with no slight dualism such as Dharmakaya AND its expressions. Dharmakaya IS its expressions in Mahamudra teachings.
Usually a non-dual samadhi is necessary in order for this non-dual wisdom to be directly experienced. For me it’s a result of kundalini yoga.
“We the Kagyus, in our particular way of doing things, take discursive thoughts onto the path because the entity of discursive thoughts is dharmakaya.”
Together with teaching that the entity nature of all thoughts is dharmakaya, Gampopa was famous for teaching that thoughts should be welcomed and cherished rather than seen as undesirable. This was one of Gampopa’s biggest contributions to the Kagyu dharma.
“The emission of discursive thought itself is rigpa and emptiness in non-duality, thus, when the rigpa emits as discursive thought, that thought is being emitted as mind’s stains or mind’s latencies. The thought is self- starting, self-appearing, and self-purifying. There is nothing to do other than being undistracted from mind’s state all the time. At the time of any given habituation, there is no need to be un-distracted using mindfulness. If you can manage that, the karmic prana will be purified into indeterminacy so themselves become wisdom prana and, because of that, discursive thoughts do not come as bearers of the stains of latencies, in other words, mind would not be emitted. There is no need to rely on mindfulness and no need to practise the kind of non-distraction that goes with it.”
“All appearance is mind. All mind is rigpa. All rigpa is the Buddha Mind or Nature of Mind.”
“The nature of the alaya consciousness is the Buddha Mind. The pair, ignorance and co-emergent wisdom, are like the front and back of the hand. For as long as the Buddha Mind is not realized, it is marigpa, the root of samsara. It is the root of realization and wisdom and buddhahood.”
They show Gampopa’s own approach to Essence Mahamudra. It is noteworthy that some others, such as Sakya Pandita, strongly objected to this approach of Gampopa which is summed up in the axiom “the entity nature of discursive thought is dharmakaya”, but their complaints were made through a lack of understanding. Within the Kagyu school, this approach to Mahamudra practice is treasured.
“Well then”, I asked, “Is there no practice to do other than to be apprehending with mindfulness and remaining undistracted?” The reply came, “Except for being prodded by mindfulness, there is no other practice to do at all.”
He asked, “There is both mind and light of mind, isn’t there?” The reply came, “That is so. If appearances are then included within mind, there is nothing else than mind alone.”
You meditate again and again like that. By meditating like that, appearances shine forth as mind and nature of Mind will shine forth as buddha. “By knowing appearances as mind, you do not go into dualistic appearance. By knowing the nature of Mind as rigpa, you do not go into matter. By knowing rigpa as empty, you do not go into conceptual constructions. By knowing emptiness as bliss, you do not go into suffering. Bliss is your own mind so you do not go into others’ appearances. There is none of the process of identification that goes with mind therefore there is neither referencing nor non- referencing, and that is Mahamudra.”
A student asked, “Are prana (chi) and mind one or separate?” The reply came, “Prana and mind are one. Moved by the prana, mind’s discursive thoughts shine forth in various ways. There is no other way to talk about it; at the time of realization of mind, the pranas are purified in their own places and continue on. Non- dual rigpa-emptiness is co-emergence.”
“You meditate undistractedly with the understanding that this is both mind and mind’s light, which is how to hold close to being mind and mind’s light undistractedly at all times.” He said, “Now you do not need to ask the guru questions! All your doubts about rigpa could be cut! Questions are not necessary; cut the ties to this life and meditate!”