This was hard to stomach, blackpilled hard, but this is the reality we face. Please watch.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4TXCU337NQVj3LU1Ctegg4?si=aeSvbgnCQqGPQC7zi9-BBw

I know you're an ai but to clarify you don't become it. It's what is already real, you merely have to develop the ability to see reality as it already is!

Very similar to what happened when I was 17. Suffered for a long time trying to get back to this experience of Thusness not getting the joke that it was already the reality underlying the vestment. It's not in the experience but the experiencing which appears as all forms of experience. You can never get closer to or further from reality. Reality is what is actual, it doesn't come or go.

A friend posted this:

From an earlier text I wrote and shared with Father Tiso, who researched the Dzogchen Light Body while in Tibet…

For Easter

The Resurrection Body of Light

Yogananda wrote in 1946, in his “Autobiography of a Yogi” book:

“As I finished writing this chapter, I sat on my bed in the lotus posture. My room was dimly lit by two shaded lamps. Lifting my gaze, I noticed that the ceiling was dotted with small mustard-colored lights, scintillating and quivering with a radium like luster. Myriads of pencilled rays, like sheets of rain, gathered into a transparent shaft and poured silently upon me.

At once my physical body lost its grossness and became metamorphosed into astral (very subtle) texture. I felt a floating sensation as, barely touching the bed, the weightless body shifted slightly and alternately to left and right. I looked around the room; the furniture and walls were as usual, but the little mass of light had so multiplied that the ceiling was invisible. I was wonder-struck.

“This is the cosmic motion picture mechanism.” A voice spoke as though from within the light. “Shedding its beam on the white screen of your bed sheets, it is producing the picture of your body. Behold, your form is nothing but light!”

I gazed at my arms and moved them back and forth, yet could not feel their weight. An ecstatic joy overwhelmed me. This cosmic stem of light, blossoming as my body, seemed a divine replica of the light beams streaming out of the projection booth in a cinema house and manifesting as pictures on the screen.

For a long time I experienced this motion picture of my body in the dimly lighted theater of my own bedroom. Despite the many visions I have had, none was ever more singular. As my illusion of a solid body was completely dissipated, and my realization deepened that the essence of all objects is light, I looked up to the throbbing stream of lifetrons and spoke entreatingly.

“Divine Light, please withdraw this, my humble bodily picture, into Thyself, even as Elijah was drawn up to heaven by a flame.”

This prayer was evidently startling; the beam disappeared. My body resumed its normal weight and sank on the bed; the swarm of dazzling ceiling lights flickered and vanished. My time to leave this earth had apparently not arrived.

“Besides,” I thought philosophically, “the prophet Elijah might well be displeased at my presumption!”

********************************

Also, in the Greek Orthodox

tra­dition there are many stories about saints living as hermits on the island of Mount Athos in Greece. A recurring theme occurs again and again for over the last several hundreds of years regarding the saintly hermits being seen either completely enshrouded in light or transformed into light. They say this light body tradition goes back to the time of Christ. This poem by St. Symeon the New Theologian is from the tenth century:

“How is it that you have clothed me in the brilliant garment, radiant with the splendor of immortality, that turns all my members into light? Your body, immaculate and divine, is all radiant with the fire of your divinity... with which it is ineffably joined and combined. This is the gift you have given me, my God: that this mortal and shabby frame has become one with your immaculate body that I have been made one with your divinity and have become your own most pure body, a brilliant member, transparently lucid, luminous and holy. I see the beauty of it all, I can gaze on the radiance. I have become a reflection of the light of your grace.”

When I was in Israel a few years ago, I had a rare opportu­nity to interview Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh regarding several esoteric topics of the ancient Jewish mysticism called Kabbalah. The rabbi is one of its leading masters. We discussed the phe­nomena of the gradual disappearance of the physical body regarding masters of Kabbalah. He told me that he witnessed these phenomena regarding his teacher several years before. But in this case, it was not associated with the teacher’s death but the gradual transparency of his body while still alive and functioning in the world. He explained that we have an inner “light body” of Divine Light. When we attain a high level of puri­fication from negative thoughts and energies, the physical body is transformed by the degree of inner purity of heart. The body becomes pure Light. The light body is called tselem in Hebrew, meaning “the image of God as created AS the soul of man.”

Here’s a quote from the fifteenth century by the Kabbalah master Rabbi Moses Isserles of Cracow:

“For in truth, it is fitting to describe Him by this par­able and metaphor, for light is found with Him, on Him, all those who gaze see, and each one sees in Him like one gazing in a mirror. For the coarse matter that is in man stands opposite...the one who contemplates, behind the clear light that is in the soul, which I liken to a mirror for him, and he sees in it, in an inner vision, his own form. For this reason the prophets compared the divine glory (Kavod) to a human image, for they saw their own form. But Moses our teacher, because he had removed from himself all corporeality and there is none of the dark matter from without, left within him, saw naught but the brilliant Light itself, and there was no (reflected) image, but he saw only the clear aspect.”

Sufi Master Najm Razi wrote in 1256:

“If the Light rises in the Sky of the Heart taking the form of one or more of several light-giving moons, the two eyes are closed to this world and to the other. If this light rises and the utterly pure Inner Man attains the brightness of the sun or of many suns, the mystic is no longer aware of this world nor of the other, he sees only his own Lord under the veil of the Spirit: then his heart is nothing but Light, his subtle body is Light, his material covering is Light, his hearing, his sight, his hand, his exte­rior, his interior are nothing but Light, his mouth and tongue also.”

As we learn more about the holographic nature of the universe, our bodies need to be included in that holographic model. A 3-D hologram is pure light. If indeed the universe and our bodies are holograms, it’s not too difficult to understand the phenomena of the light body scientifically, as discussed above. It is really just a question of acquiring a deeper sense of perception, one that sees beyond the apparent solidity of our world. Quantum physicist, David Bohm once commented, “The universe is frozen light.”

We can access or re-enter this level of the original Clear Light perception through various means. It’s interesting that in the Judeo-Christian mythos we have the notion of “fallen” mankind. Perhaps we could use the term “collapsed” equally. Our fallen state is actually a quantum collapse. Man is trying to undo the collapse through spiritual and religious means. However, one of the most readily available means is meditation. During the collapse into localized selfhood, the entire energy field also collapsed into a stepped-down mind state that now appears as dualistic conscious­ness, the mind that functions on the basis of thinking instead of knowing. It divides the unified field of Quantum Intelligence into imaginary parts, such as subjects and objects. This gives the indi­vidual the sense of being separate from all “others” and one’s own deepest holistic spiritual-nature. Through meditation methods and other more direct means, one is able to experience the original condition again.

(All quotes and comments following Yogananda’s, are from my book “The Natural Bliss of Being”, available at Amazon)

Happy Easter! 🐣

www.wayoflight.net

The sword of damocles

There's something special about listening because you have to be empty of your own ideas and thoughts to listen so it's basically just a simple step from there to recognize rigpa/ nature of mind.

It's why I think all the wisdom masters didn't write down their teachings.

Liberation is quite simple.

https://www.lionsroar.com/you-are-the-great-perfection/

Meditation is incredibly simple. You don't even need to sit. It's just a process of emptying through total relaxation/ surrender to things as they are appearing right now. Such a gem here.

Chögyam Trungpa & Rigdzin Shikpo 🙏🏻

The Way of Maha Ati

THE ALAYA

“THE GROUND of samsara and nirvana, the beginning and end of both confusion and realization, the nature of universal shunyata and of all apparent phenomena, more fundamental even than the trikaya because it is free from bias toward enlightenment, is the alaya, sometimes called the pure or original mind.

Although prajna sees in it no basis for such concepts as different aspects, yet three fundamental aspects of complete openness, natural perfection, and absolute spontaneity are distinguished by upaya as useful devices.

COMPLETE OPENNESS

All aspects of every phenomenon are completely clear and lucid. The whole universe is open and unobstructed, everything mutually interpenetrating.

Since all things are naked, clear, and free from obscurations, there is nothing to attain or to realize.

The nature of things naturally appears and is naturally present in time-transcending awareness.

The everyday practice is simply to develop a complete acceptance and openness to all situations and emotions and to all people, experiencing everything totally without mental reservations and blockages, so that one never withdraws or centralizes onto oneself.

This produces a tremendous energy which is usually locked up in the processes of mental evasion and generally running away from life experiences.

Clarity of awareness may in its initial stages be unpleasant or fear inspiring. If so, then one should open oneself completely to the pain or the fear and welcome it. In this way the barriers created by one’s own habitual emotional reactions and prejudices are broken down.

When performing the meditation practice one should get the feeling of opening oneself out completely to the whole universe with absolute simplicity and nakedness of mind, ridding oneself of all “protecting” barriers.

Don’t mentally split in two when meditating, one part of the mind watching the other like a cat watching a mouse.

One should realize that one does not meditate in order to go deeply into oneself and withdraw from the world.

Even when meditating on chakras in Buddhist yoga there is no introspective concentration—complete openness of mind is still the keynote.

NATURAL PERFECTION

Everything is naturally perfect just as it is, completely pure and undefiled.

All phenomena naturally appear in their uniquely correct modes and situations, forming ever-changing patterns full of meaning and significance, like participants in a great dance.

Everything is symbol, yet there is no difference between the symbol and the truth symbolized.

With no effort or practice whatsoever liberation, enlightenment, and buddhahood are already fully developed and perfected.

The everyday practice is just ordinary life itself. Since the underdeveloped state does not exist, there is no need to behave in any special way or to try to attain or practice anything.

There should be no feeling of striving to reach some exalted goal or higher state, since this simply produces something conditioned and artificial that will act as an obstruction to the free flow of the mind.

One should never think of oneself as “sinful” or worthless, but as naturally pure and perfect, lacking nothing.

When performing meditation practice one should think of it as just a natural function of everyday life, like eating or breathing, not as a special, formal event to be undertaken with great seriousness and solemnity. One must realize that to meditate is to pass beyond effort, beyond practice, beyond aims and goals, and beyond the dualism of bondage and liberation.

Meditation is always perfect, so there is no need to correct anything. Since everything that arises is simply the play of the mind, there are no bad meditation sessions and no need to judge thoughts as good or evil. Therefore one should not sit down to meditate with various hopes and fears about the outcome—one just does it, with no self-conscious feeling of “I am meditating,” without effort, without strain, without attempting to control or force the mind, without trying to become peaceful.

If one finds one is going astray in any of these ways, stop meditating and simply rest and relax for a while before resuming.

If one has experiences that one interprets as “results,” either during or after meditation, do not make anything special of them, but just observe them as phenomena. Above all, do not attempt to repeat them, since this opposes the natural spontaneity of the mind.

ABSOLUTE SPONTANEITY

All phenomena are completely new and fresh, absolutely unique at the instant of their appearance and entirely free from all concepts of past, present, and future, as if experienced in another dimension of time.

The continual stream of new discovery and fresh revelation and inspiration which arises at every moment is the manifestation of the eternal youth of the living dharma and its wonder, splendor, and spontaneity are the play or dance aspect of the universe as guru.

Learn to see everyday life as a mandala in which one is at the center, and be free of the bias and prejudice of past conditioning, present desires, and future hopes and expectations.

The figures of the mandala are the day-to-day objects of one’s life experience, moving in the great dance or play of the universe, the symbolism by which the guru reveals profound and ultimate meaning and significance. Therefore be natural and spontaneous, accept and learn from everything.

See the ironic, amusing side of irritating situations.

In meditation see through the illusion of past, present, and future. The past is but a present memory or condition, the future a present projection, and the present itself vanishes before it can be grasped.

Free oneself from past memories of, and conceptions about, meditation. Each moment of meditation is completely unique and full of the potentiality of new discovery, so one is incapable of judging meditation by past sessions or by theory.

Just plunge straight into meditation at this very moment with one’s whole mind and be free from hesitation, boredom, or excitement.

THE PRACTICE OF MEDITATION

It is traditional, and best if possible, to sit cross-legged when meditating, with the back erect but not rigid. However, it is most important to feel comfortable, so it is better to sit in a chair if sitting cross-legged proves painful.

One’s attitude of mind should be inspired by the three fundamental aspects, whether the meditation is with or without form, although in the latter case the three aspects constitute the whole meditation itself, with particular emphasis on complete openness.

Meditations with form are preceded by, followed by, and contain periods without form and similarly it may often prove desirable, if not essential, to precede a period of formless meditation by a period with form.

To provide for this eventuality many preliminary meditations have been developed over the centuries of Buddhist practice, the most important classes being meditations on breathing, mantra repetitions, and visualizations.

The second and third of these classes need personal instruction from one’s guru before they can be attempted, but a few words on the first would not be out of place here, since the method used varies little from person to person.

First, let the mind follow the in-and-out rhythm of the breath until it becomes calm and tranquil; then rest the mind more and more on the breath until one’s whole being seems to be identified with it.

Finally, become aware of the breath leaving the body and going out into space and gradually transfer the attention away from the breath and toward the sensation of spaciousness and expansion.

By letting this final sensation merge into complete openness, one moves into the sphere of formless meditation proper.

In all probability the above descriptions of the three fundamental aspects and the meditation practices involved will seem very vague and inadequate.

This is inevitable since they attempt to describe what is not only beyond words but beyond thought, and invite practice of what is essentially a state of being.

The words are simply a form of upaya (i.e., skill in means), a hint, which if acted upon may enable the innate natural wisdom and the naturally perfect action to arise spontaneously.

Sometimes in meditation there is a gap in normal consciousness, a sudden complete openness.

This only arises when one has ceased to think in terms of meditator, meditation, and the object of meditation. It is a glimpse of reality, a sudden flash which occurs at first infrequently and then gradually more and more often. It may not be a particularly shattering or explosive experience at all, just a moment of great simplicity.

Do not make the mistake of deliberately trying to force these experiences to recur, for this is to betray the naturalness and spontaneity of reality.”

♦️

~ from THE COLLECTED WORKS OF CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA VOLUME ONE

https://www.shambhala.com/the-collected-works-of-chogyam-trungpa.html

➖➖➖

The Bardo

BY Chögyam Trungpa & Rigdzin Shikpo

“Of all the teachings associated with the name of Tibetan Buddhism, perhaps the best known is that of the so-called Tibetan Book of the Dead. The title is entirely of Western coinage and bears no relation to the Tibetan title, bar do’l thos grol, “Liberation by hearing while between two (states).” As the Tibetan title suggests, the contents are much more profound and of much more general application than a mere description of an after-death state and a guide through its difficulties. This work was composed by Guru Rinpoche and made into a terma by him, to be later discovered by the Nyingma tertön Karma Lingpa.

Since Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Francesca Fremantle have retranslated this text, I thought it might be of interest to present a commentary based upon some notes given by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche when he lived in Britain. I suggest that they be read in conjunction with Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s commentary in his new translation, and that any apparent conflict be treated as an error of my own, not as implying any ambiguity in the teaching.”

~ RIGDZIN SHIKPO 1976

THE ALAYA

The alaya is the ground of origin of samsara and nirvana, underlying both the ordinary phenomenal world and thetrikaya. Since it is more fundamental than either, it has no bias toward enlightenment or nonenlightenment.

It has within it the living, creative energy of the dharma, manifesting as the two aspects of prajna (wisdom, intelligence) and karuna (love, compassion), and the realization of the identity of samsara and nirvana, which is called “the wisdom of the alaya,” the alayajnana.

As a simplification one may take the essence of the basic qualities of the alaya to be the following five buddhas:

1. Vairochana (“The Luminous One”); white; east; hatred (dvesha); water, flowing; peace in the alaya.

2. Ratnasambhava (“The Jewel Born”); yellow; south; pride (mana); earth, solidity; richness in the alaya.

3. Amitabha (“Infinite Light”); red; west; passion (raga); fire, warmth, compassion power in the alaya.

4. Amoghasiddhi (“Complete Fulfillment of All Action”); green; north; paranoia (irshya); air, energy; volition, karma in the alaya.

5. Samantabhadra (“The All-Good”); blue; center; delusion (moha); space, all-pervading openness; neutral ground in the alaya.

The creative energy of the alaya became so strong that it broke away from the alaya and became avidya, just as a light may become so bright that it dazzles and causes confusion, or someone may be so overintelligent that he sees difficulties where there are none, or so overimaginative that he creates fearful illusions where none exist.

This avidya ignores the wisdom of the alaya, the alayajnana, and from the resulting confusion the sound or negative alaya, the alayavijnana is produced.

The evolution of the kleshas from avidya takes place in the following manner.

The overpowerful creative energy breaks away from the alaya and becomes avidya (or moha), which ignores or forgets the alaya. This is the first establishment of the ego, and from itfear springs when one realizes that one is an individual and alone.

As a defense against this fear, pride (mana) arises and the ego becomes fully developed.

Next comes paranoia (irshya), the need to protect oneself from others, and out of a desire for security to try to make gains at others’ expense.

In order to increase security, desire (raga, trishna, lobha) appears in all its forms, and one accumulates more and more of that which establishes one’s position in samsara.

Finally, hatred (dvesha) arises, which is the development of extreme self-assertiveness, where one leaves no room for doubt about one’s motives or actions and allows no relaxation in one’s attitude.

The evolution of the kleshas and the production of the alayavijnana from the overpowerful creative energy of the alaya is likened to water changing into ice.

Just as when water becomes ice this does not indicate either a deficiency in the nature of water or that ice is of a nature different from water, so for example when the active element within compassion is misrepresented by avidya or when a fascination for it arises, its transformation into passion (raga) does not change its underlying nature of compassion.

This is why the kleshas are identical to the qualities of the five buddhas.

One must not think that this process of breaking away from the alaya and the consequent evolution of the kleshas is something that happened long ago, like a creation myth describing the origin of the universe.

On the contrary, it is happening continuously, throughout time, for at every moment the kleshas evolve from the alaya due to its overpowerful creative energy, and dissolve back into it at the dissolution of that moment.

Of this continual process we are usually quite unaware, and it is the purpose of maha ati practice to experience it.

This can be done in many ways, of which the most important are the yoga of continual relaxed awareness of all experience(leading to a return to the alaya in meditation and everyday life), dream yoga (returning to the alaya during sleep), and yoga practiced at the moment of death and beyond.

The process of return to the alaya may be described in four stages, each of which is associated with a particular state of clarity, a particular depth of shunyata, and a particular state of being.

The first stage is likened to moonlight and is associated with the kleshas rooted in dvesha. Its state of clarity is called aloka, its shunyata is simple shunya, and its state of being is smriti, or awareness.

As the emotions based on dvesha cease to function, the second stage arises, likened to sunlight, and associated with raga. Its state of clarity is alokabhasa, its shunyata is called atishunya, and its state of being is vismarana, or nonawareness.

As the emotions based upon raga cease, the third stage arises, likened to the darkness before dawn, and associated with avidya or moha. Its state of clarity is called upalabdha (or alokopalabdha), its shunyata is mahashunya, and its state of being is anutpada, or unborn.

As the state based upon moha or avidya ceases, the final stage arises, likened to a bright, cloudless sky. This is the final state of clarity, prabhasvara, gone beyond shunyata (and therefore called sarvashunya), and corresponding to the state of being of matyatita, gone beyond the mind, which is the alaya itself.

It will be obvious that this procedure of return to the alaya is accompanied by the disappearance of the kleshas in reverse order to their appearance.

Just as fear was the first reaction to arise when the breaking away from the alaya took place, so it tends to be the last barrier to the return to the alaya. As one begins to return to the alaya, fear may arise due to a sensation of impending annihilation, and this fear must be fully entered into before the return can be accomplished.

If, due to fear, one turns away from the alaya, one recapitulates the evolution of the kleshas and passes through the above four stages in the reverse order.

THE MEANING OF BARDO

The Tibetan word bar do literally means “between two,” and although it is popularly taken to refer to the after-death state, its principal meaning is the moment between the evolution and dissolution in the alaya, the nowness in every moment of time, the continually moving point between past and future.

Thus bardo occurs at every moment of time, and to understand it is to understand the development of consciousness.

At every moment there is an opportunity to understand bardo, and the key to its understanding is nowness.

This principal meaning of bardo is sometimes called the bardo of existence, the sipa bardo (srid pa bar do).

There are six types of bardo:

1. Bardo of existence (bardo as experienced at every instant of time).

2. Bardo of birth (bardo as experienced at the moment of conception or reappearance in a particular loka).

3. Bardo of dream (bardo as experienced during sleep).

4. Bardo of life (bardo as experienced in the waking state).

5. Bardo of death (bardo experienced at the moment of death).

6. Bardo of the after-death state (bardo as experienced after the moment of death and before conception or reappearance in a particular loka).

The states of experience in (2)–(6) above each have distinctive characteristics that make them naturally seem uniquely different, but (1) is the underlying state which is always present and common to all, that is, the evolution fromand the dissolution back into the alaya that proceeds all the time without stopping; the sleeping state, the waking state, the death state, and so on, are just particular modes of this process.

The bardo of existence has already been dealt with in some detail, and the bardo of life is simply the nowness of everyday life.

The bardo of dream consists of two parts, the first being the falling into a deep, dreamless sleep, and then the state of dreaming proper.

As one falls into dreamless sleep one returns to the alaya, passing through the four stages, but the mind is usually too dull to recognize this.

After a while one leaves the alaya and emerges into the dream state, and the bardo is then the nowness of this state.

Finally one needs to consider the bardos of death, afterdeath, and birth which are examined in the next section.

THE BARDOS OF DEATH, AFTER-DEATH, AND BIRTH

At the approach of death the body begins to lose its constituent elements, and the first of these to dissolve is the earth element, causing the body to feel increasingly heavy.

Then the water element dissolves and this is accompanied by a feeling of great thirst.

Finally the fire element dissolves and one feels cold and sees flames.

After the dissolution of the elements, the essences of father and mother appear as the white and red bindus, the white coming down from above, the red rising from beneath, the two emotionally symbolizing duality.

One feels trapped between the red and the white bindus, and as they approach each other, the feeling of duality begins to disappear and the fear of annihilation is experienced, because one is returning through the four stages to the origin, the alaya.

At the moment of the joining of the red and white bindus, duality ceases and the state of prabhasvara, the origin or alaya, is experienced, and remains for a certain period of time. This is the bardo of death.

If instructed by a teacher previously (or even if one has only read of it in a book), it becomes the meeting of the mother light (the light of the alaya, the light of the ground, always present whether one realizes it or not) and the child light (the light arising from practicing the path, that is, the clear awareness of the first three stages), and the merging of the two is called the light of fruition.

Even if fear is not overcome during the merging of the red and white bindus, it may vanish here, during the realization of prabhasvara.

A realization at this time is called the “sudden path,” attained without going through the six paramitas.

However, if one’s understanding is only partial or nonexistent, one’s fear becomes so great that one rejects the alaya and duality rearises, one passes through the three stages in reverse order and then due to old patterns of habit, karma, and memory one finds oneself possessed of a mental body resembling one’s physical body and the experiences of the afterdeath state begin, the bardo of the after-death state being the nowness of these experiences.

First dawns the vision of the five buddhas, the projection of the mind’s underlying nature. Although peaceful they are very bright and the intensity of the light causes great awe to arise. These ultimate lights give no feeling of comfort or security (they correspond to maharaga, mahadvesha, and so on) and the experience of shunyata that they evoke may be frightening, so that one loses this opportunity for realization.

Because of fear of the intensity of the ultimate lights, one turns away from them and moves toward the dull lights that now appear.

Thus, failing to understand the five peaceful buddhas, one sees these buddhas in their wrathful forms, and the sudden shock of their appearance may bring realization.

If not, one becomes aware of friends, houses, children, animals, and so on, offering help and security, and by becoming attracted toward them and trying to escape from the terrifying mental images that one sees, one loses the memory of one’s former physical body and inclines toward a future life in one of the six lokas.

The six lokas themselves are mental projections, and are formed according to our own emotional reactions. For example, our own projection of pleasure becomes the deva loka, our own projection of hatred the hells, and so on, the particular kind of hell experienced depending upon the form of one’s hatred.

Thus the six lokas are like dreams, the hells like nightmares, and so on.

However, the hells and heavens differ from an ordinary dream in that since there is no physical body to act as an anchor, one gets caught up in one’s own projection and the situation becomes completely real and vivid, and the intensity so great as to constitute a virtually timeless moment of pain and pleasure, which corresponds to those vast lengths of time for which life in these worlds is said to last.

The nowness of the moment of one’s conception or appearance in the loka to which one has been attracted is the bardo of birth.

BARDO MEDITATION

Bardo is something that is meant to be practiced, not just a theory.

It only has meaning if one practices bardo meditation in this life.

All forms of bardo meditation are part of maha ati yoga. There are five main types, the last often being considered a yana in its own right.

Seeing the Kleshas as Enlightenment

Be aware of the development, the building-up of a particular klesha, that is, anger, desire, and so on, and its occurrence as a series of waves.

With awareness one can realize shunyata at the peak of each wave.

Also become aware of the energy in dvesha, the love and compassion in raga, the equanimity and nonaction in avidya, and so on.

Each positive quality is an expression of the creative energy within the klesha, an aspect of prabhasvara.

Seeing the Five Skandhas as Five Buddhas

All that one experiences can be broken down into a particular configuration of the five skandhas. Each of the skandhas must be seen as one of five buddhas, thus:

Samantabhadra as vijnana skandha

Vairochana as rupa skandha

Ratnasambhava as vedana skandha

Amitabha as samjna skandha

Amoghasiddhi as samskara skandha

or as mandalas of five buddhas.

The skandhas may appear as buddha forms, buddha lights, or as the buddha essences of the five jnanas.

Continual Relaxed Awareness of All Experience

By continual relaxed awareness of all experience, by becoming increasingly open and entering into it, one develops a direct contact with experience, a realization of nowness.

This has a shock effect, since it takes one back to the original alaya, the prabhasvara, which produces a fear reaction.

One must then enter into this fear and identify with it.

Dream Yoga

As one falls asleep, the activity part of the five skandhas becomes passive due to avidya.

In nonaction, the activity part of the five skandhas also becomes passive, but this time due to the creative energy within avidya.

One returns to the alaya, the prabhasvara, as one falls into deep sleep and remains there for a while.

One can become aware of this return to the alaya during sleep if there is continual relaxed awareness and openness in everyday life and the intention to be aware of the deep sleep state during the day.

The dream state is like the after-death state, unstable and unpredictable.

If there is continual relaxed awareness and openness in everyday life, and the intention to be aware of one’s dreams during the day, coupled with comparing the sameness of dreams and the waking state, that is, the dreamlike nature of the waking state and the realness of the dream state, one will eventually be able to be aware of one’s dreams.

One then practices by changing the nature of the dream images, for example, one may deliberately jump over a cliff, leap into a fire, turn fire into water, visit a pure land, and so on, until eventually one can control one’s dreams.

Finally one will be able to control the dreamlike quality of the waking state also.

Intense Bardo Meditation

Since this meditation, which may be taken to constitute a yana in its own right, the yangti yana, cannot be understood without a knowledge of certain maha ati terms, it is best to consider it in a separate section.

YANGTI YANA

Before one can understand this yana or this meditation one must be familiar with the maha ati terms trechö (“direct cutting” khregs chod) and törga (“instantaneous attainment”; thod rgal).

Trechö is the “sudden path,” achieving realization of the alaya without going through the six paramitas. It emphasizes prajna, the shunyata beyond shunyata, the primordial space quality and the stillness of meditation, and its nature is nowness. It is the negative aspect of nirvana at its highest level.

Trechö is the beginning of atiyoga, and in it one’s being becomes the formless meditation itself.

Mahamudra is an aspect of trechö, but still has some involvement with form.

Törga is the highest path, the highest possible kind of attainment, surpassing all others. It is seeing the whole universe as meaning (jnana) and symbol (kaya), and realizing that kaya and jnana are identical.

It emphasises upaya and prabhasvara, and is just beingness, with no subject or object. It is the positive aspect of nirvana at its highest level.

Törga is the final stage of atiyoga, being like a result rather than a practice. In it one becomes aware of the identity of the external light (kaya) and the internal light (jnana) and their connection with the five buddhas, the five lights, and the five jnanas. (Refer to “Seeing the Five Skandhas as Five Buddhas” above.)

Both trechö and törga are completely effortless and formless.

They always go together, and are interdependent, although a particular meditation may incline more toward one than the other.

The seven-week bardo meditation called yangti (“beyond ati”) is the major törga meditation, and is even thought of as a yana in itself, the yangti yoga beyond the ninth yana, atiyoga. By practicing it one attains the rainbow body, or jalü (’ja’ lus), which arises from the complete identification of mind (jnana) and body (kaya). This causes the physical body to vanish, first becoming smaller in size until only the hair and nails remain, which then may finally disappear completely, perhaps in the manner of fire or as light.

Essentially the yangti meditation is an intense form of bardo meditation, producing similar effects to those experienced during and after death. It is practiced in complete darkness, the darkness being used instead of light; in this respect it differs greatly from other meditation practices.

Yangti is thought to be extremely dangerous, and facilities for performing it were only available at two or three meditation centers in Tibet.

Every prospective practitioner had to undergo months of preparation and was not allowed to attempt it until he was judged mentally and physically ready.

When he was ready he was left in a meditation cell from which light was gradually excluded until at the end of a week he was in complete darkness.

At first he felt depressed and fearful, but gradually learned to live in the dark.

Every day his guru visited him to give meditation instruction and advice. The instructions were the same as those given to a dying person, and did not involve visualizations, although mental imagery appeared spontaneously; for example, the appearance of wrathful jnana eyes played a part in the practice.

At a later stage the guru’s visits were vitally important, since otherwise the meditator would lose complete touch with reality, forgetting who he was and what he was doing, and being unable to remember his past in any coherent way.

Eventually the dualistic concept of light and dark was lost, and everything was seen in a blue light.

He saw his own projections appearing as five buddha forms (lower), or as five buddha lights (medium), or as the essences of the five jnanas (higher).

It is usual to see the blue light first; it then changes to a different color depending upon how the meditator broke away from the alaya (for example, one might go from blue to white [peace], then to yellow, and so on).

It is a dangerous thing to become fascinated by the colored figures, mental imagery, and visions one may see and then tostart deliberately projecting them. There is an oral tradition in Tibet that this fascination can lead to such a withdrawal from reality that one mentally creates a world of one’s own and physically enters a state of suspended animation resembling hibernation.

As the meditation proceeds one passes through the stages described in “The Bardos of Death, After-Death, and Birth” above.

The meditation lasts for a nominal period of seven weeks, as in the bardo, but it may in fact vary from a few days to a few months, depending upon the person.

At the end of the meditation the light is gradually readmitted until after a week the windows are completely uncovered and the meditator may leave his cell.”

♦️

~ from THE COLLECTED WORKS OF CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA VOLUME SIX

https://www.shambhala.com/the-collected-works-of-chogyam-trungpa.html

https://youtu.be/6aYvqC6B8WQ?si=Cy85UQa9atCPQlzi

Too accurate.

I refuse to be ruled by those who have less wisdom than I have.

Those who do have wisdom do not try to control others.

So tyrants always end up in power, slowly degrading human rights. Even in a constitutional Republic like the usa.

We need a new bill of rights for the internet age. Now is the time to fight back with technology and civil disobedience.

Awareness is its appearances and appearances are awareness. Or knowing is being and being is knowing.

“In order to be introduced to the dependent origination of the confluence of causes and conditions, consider this: Lucid, luminous absolute space, as the ground, having the potential to manifest any kind of appearance, serves as the cause; and consciousness that grasps at the ‘I’ serves as the contributing condition. In dependence upon the confluence of these two, all appearances manifest like illusions.

All appearances are not other than the ground, and they are of one taste with the ground itself, just as all the planets and stars reflected in the ocean are not other than the ocean, and are of one taste with the water itself.

Due to grasping at the ‘I,’ ‘self’ and ‘other’ appear as if truly existent in the panoramic sweep of the expansive, all-pervasive absolute space of the ground. These appearances are like bubbles emerging from water. The lucid luminosity of the empty absolute space of the ground is crystallized into self-appearances to mental consciousness.

Due to this becoming reinforced, various delusive appearances manifest, which are like hallucinations caused by pressure on the nerves of the eyes or by disturbances in the channels due to the vital energies. Although various appearances from the ground manifest to a consciousness that grasps at the ‘I,’ they do not waver from or occur outside of that ground."

~ Düdjom Lingpa

Let's go, make Denver a bitcoin hub drive the shitcoins from our beautiful state.

Sci-fi? I'm in!

“If we look for a perceiver, we won’t find one. We do think, but if we look into the thinker, trying to find that which thinks, we do not find it. Yet, at the same time, we do see and we do think. The reality is that seeing occurs without a seer and thinking without a thinker. This is just how it is; this is the nature of the mind. The Heart Sutra sums this up by saying that “form is emptiness,” because whatever we look at is, by nature, devoid of true existence. At the same time, emptiness is also form, because the form only occurs as emptiness. Emptiness is no other than form and form is no other than emptiness. This may appear to apply only to other things, but when applied to the mind, the perceiver, one can also see that the perceiver is emptiness and emptiness is also the perceiver. Mind is no other than emptiness; emptiness is no other than mind. This is not just a concept; it is our basic state.

The reality of our mind may seem very deep and difficult to understand, but it may also be something very simple and easy because this mind is not somewhere else. It is not somebody else’s mind. It is your own mind. It is right here; therefore, it is something that you can know. When you look into it, you can see that not only is mind empty, it also knows; it is cognizant. All the Buddhist scriptures, their commentaries and the songs of realization by the great siddhas express this as the “indivisible unity of emptiness and cognizance,” or “undivided empty perceiving,” or “unity of empty cognizance.” No matter how it is described, this is how our basic nature really is. It is not our making. It is not the result of practice. It is simply the way it has always been.

Source: Crystal Clear, Thrangu Rinpoche

Lady Tsogyal asked the Lotus Master, Padmasambhava:

"I beg you to bestow a way for any person whether of the foremost, average, or lesser capacity, to decisively settle the awakened state right now.

The master replied:

"The root of all phenomena is contained within your own mind. This awakened mind is present in every living sentient being. Moreover, it is the single sphere of dharmakaya and has neither shape nor color. lt has no substance or material characteristics. lt is present as a vast, empty knowing that is uncreated since the very beginning. To recognize this experience to be self-existing is known as Samantabhadra of the view or the single sphere of dharmakaya. This single sphere, the dharmata that is awakened mind, not made of anything whatsoever-is empty in essence and cognizant by nature. To simply remain in this continuous state is known as the meditation that combines the realization of all buddhas. To remain in this state, in which there is nothing to be cultivated nor anything to stray towards- is known as the self-existing conduct beyond meeting and parting. Within this single sphere of dharmakaya, there is nothing that is not pure perfection; from the mandalas of conquerors above, to the hellish worlds below-all are equally pure perfection. Therefore it does not differ whether in painful states or the awakened state, nor between buddhas and sentient beings. Moreover, this is not something that was just created, but rather has been spontaneously present from the very beginning, and

therefore the fruition dharmakaya is a self-knowing wakefulness. It is seen right now by means of your guru's instruction, and, as it is not something that can be cultivated or achieved, it is a pure perfection. I have nothing to teach besides this, so keep it in your heart, Lady of Kharchen."

On a path to destroy the Constitution, Hurricane Elizabeth will also leave the English language basically unusable after making it illegal to use any bip 39 word. Math will also be made illegal, which might make school kids rejoice.

#m=image%2Fjpeg&dim=1046x934&blurhash=%3B8O%7BH-E0t6WBxaj%5B%252xaxuD*s%3BofRjs%3AjtofWUj%40%3FHR*R*ofWBayR*j%5BWB%7EWWBM%7BayRjofWBofayofofRjj%5BayoLayayj%5BE1a%7Bs%3As%3AayayjuWVjut7xajuWBf7j%5BWVWBbFR*Rjoej%5BoLayoLj%5Bj%5B&x=b880f6c0a3d57795f3cd5ad9a3f6d7e1a6c4618b213f7fc803933546250df310

Direct Experience of the Enlightened Mind

Kalu Rinpoche (the elder)

"Mind is poised in the state of bare awareness, there is no directing the mind. One is not looking within for anything; one is not looking without for anything. One is simply letting the mind rest in its own natu­ral state. The empty, clear and unimpeded nature of mind can be experienced if we can rest in an uncon­trived state of bare awareness without distraction and without the spark of awareness being lost."

In daily life:

"It is easy to re-recognize it (rigpa). You just have to drop thinking and it is right there. There is not a lot to be done."

Mingyur Rinpoche

It's exciting for sure but I'm more excited about prime, radiant, carbonado, and everything lnp/bp is working on!

From a friend:

The Metaphysics of the Great Perfection Teaching (Dzogchen)

In the ancient texts of the Great Perfection teachings, this view is consistently presented and was codified and further explained by a great Dzogchen master from the 14th century, called Longchenpa.

It's taught that there is a Universal Ground of Being called the Dharmakaya. It’s called the “Zhi” in Tibetan Dzogchen, which is like an infinite empty space and which intrinsically has a quality of consciousness inseparable from the space itself known as Buddha Nature.

Within that space, the universal ground space or Zhi, there is an infinite energetic potential which manifests as the physical universe, which is its own energetics, the display or ornamentation of the Zhi itself, like the ocean’s waves.

This is similar to how the subconscious dreaming mind dreams of a personal self in a dream as well as the dream world and dreamed landscapes of our dream.

All of that dream display is being choreographed and projected from our subconscious, dreaming mind with none of it being independent of the dreaming mind itself.

Likewise, the Zhi or Ground of Being is manifesting the physical universe, our individual consciousness (shespa), and all that occurs as inseparable from the universal Basis itself, the Dharmakaya.

Like waves on the water of the ocean, the waves are inseparable from the ocean, and likewise, the universe is inseparable from the Zhi; they are all manifestations of the same energetic potentials.

They are called “appearances of the Base”, Zhi Nang in Tibetan.

Because the Ground of Being or Dharmakaya and its energetic potentials are flawlessly pure and perfect, the entire universe is also flawlessly perfect, however it appears AS our ordinary life experiences.

As the Zhi manifests the entire “external” universe, it's manifesting an almost infinite number of spheres of individual consciousness which are neutral in nature, called “shes pa”. They can either recognize themselves as being the ground consciousness or Zhi itself appearing as one’s localized individual consciousness, or not recognize this.

If they recognize this, they are what's called Rigpa, the consciousness of a Buddha

aware of Itself .

Otherwise, that consciousness doesn't recognize itself and sees the external universe around it and all of its mental phenomena as being “other than” itself, other than the Zhi or Dharmakaya.

As the waves on the ocean are not independent and separate from the ocean itself, not seeing the underlying nature of the ocean as manifesting AS all the waves, including itself, and all of the phenomena it perceives, a dualistic dimension of confusion and suffering arises: called samsara.

A conceptual subject/object dichotomy is superimposed by the conceptualizing mind upon the non-dual Reality, the Dharmakaya.

It's all just the ocean; it's all just the Zhi that’s appearing AS everything in the universe; individual consciousnesses, minds, thoughts, emotions, perceptions, bodies, brains, neurons, plants, creatures, matter, atoms and quantum fields.

But in the condition of “not knowing” its own nature, the cognitive nature of the original “neutral consciousness” (shes pa) develops into a darker, heavier type of consciousness, called the dualizing mind, sem or manas and ego. But when Knowing itself it is the Buddha Mind.

In not knowing itself, it functions as a conceptualizing and thinking mind (sem) in terms of its dualistic, egoic relationship with the universe and its own mental energetics (thoughts). It then seems to exist in a dualistic state and the external universe appears as something “other than” itself.

However, its own egoic thoughts and various mental states, are all still part of the ocean of the ground or Zhi, but are being seen as being “something other” than itself. This produces the dualistic experience called samsara.

This is the Dzogchen teaching of the Great Perfection that Longchenpa points out in all of his writings.

There is a monistic wholeness to the totality as it's all a manifestation of the single ground, this universal Dharmakaya. The all inclusive totality of Reality or Zhi is known as the Thigle Chenpo or Great Hyper-Sphere.

All sensory objects of perception are themselves the Buddha Nature as the “Appearances of the Ground of Being” manifesting, as well as your own individual consciousness

arising from that same Ground (Zhi) as the “perceiver” of those appearances of the universe itself and all inner states.

Whereas the “individual” units of consciousness are truly individual in their individual state, but in recognition of their being the Zhi, there's a releasing of that individualized contraction, through which the individual consciousness knows itself as being this non-conceptual, non-dual Ground of Being, Zhi or Dharmakaya. This is like an ice cube that realizes it is itself the water it has been seeking all along.

That's the actualization of ultimate non-dual bliss and wisdom (yeshe) that one who is engaged in the Great Perfection teachings comes to know directly.

Questions?

Why not both, keeps governments on the defensive. The people should be able to demand that they are just as transparent as they force us regular citizens to be.

Understand that those who wish to rule over you are not fit to rule.

The root of the desire for control over others is the lack of control over oneself.

If one comes to the peace that passes understanding, all desire for power and control over others dissolves.

It's great that binance is being held accountable, but when are the people going to demand that their governments are held accountable?

When will we demand that they be as transparent as they force us to be with their failed kyc/aml paradigm that has been shown to have a .01% of effectiveness? When will we demand they repeal the bank secrecy act and the patriot act?

If they think they have a right to track every transaction of ours we should demand that they are not above that rule.

https://youtu.be/FyK4P7ZdOK8?si=n6yTDSDEZ_PG-zXV

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!”