Mahamudra and Emptiness – An Experiential Approach

One day the great master Padampa Sangye asked his students to express their realization. Lama Charchung said:

Discarding Guru and Buddha together,
I can’t find such a thing as faith or devotion!
Destroying both divine Dharma and worldly opinion,
I have no effort or practice!
Mixing Buddhas together with sentient beings,
I can’t find anything to accept or reject!
I don’t know how to speak of realization!
Ask those of Central Tibet to explain!
~from Lion of the Siddhas: The Life and Teachings of Padampa Sangye (trans. David Molk)

Lama Mipham (1846-1912), a great teacher in the lineage to which I belong, spelled out 4 stages of realization that apply to both Mahamudra and Dzogchen:

1. All appearance resolves into consciousness.
2.  Consciousness resolves into emptiness.
3. Emptiness resolves into awareness.
4. The union of bliss and emptiness, or bliss and awareness.

In the  talk reproduced below, inspired by the  above quote from Lama Charchung, and working with Lama Mipham’s 4 stages, I attempt to speak experientially about consciousness resolving into emptiness and realization in Mahamudra. This talk and discussion occurred at Real Dharma Sangha on December 6, 2012.

or download or listen by clicking here.

Demolishing the Ridge Pole

Soon after his enlightenment, the Buddha described his discovery of no-self like this:

Seeking but not finding the house builder, I traveled through the round of countless births. Oh painful is birth ever and again! House builder, you have now been seen. You shall not build the house again. Your rafters have been broken down; your ridge pole is demolished too. My mind has now attained the unformed nibbana and reached the end of every kind of craving.  ~ Dhammapada, 153-154

In the following talk, I suggest that this demolishing of the “ridge pole” of the illusion of self may occur as a natural falling away when one discovers and rests in one’s true nature as consciousness, rather than as a result of an unnatural assault on the notion of self, using concepts or artificial practices. This is a healing process of going through the fundamental sense of being a conscious being–rather than trying to destroy it.

To listen to the talk, given at the Real Dharma group on October 18, 2011, use the flash driver below

If you are unable to use the flash player, listen or download here.

The Four Seals of Existence

The four seals (also known as the four emblems or marks) is a fundamental Buddhist teaching–some would say it is the view that defines Buddhist dharma, or teaching. The four seals, or emblems are:

1. All composite things are impermanent.

2. All defiled emotions are suffering.

3. All phenomena lack a self or inherent existence.

4. Nirvana is peace and beyond conceptuality.

To listen to a talk by Hal Blacker on the four seals, or emblems, follow the links below. This talk was given at the Real Dharma group in Fairfax, California on June 28, 2011.

If you are unable to use the flash player, listen or download here.

[The talk begins with a short discussion of meditation].
[Errata: There is a reference in the talk to the Buddhist teaching on the smallest unit of time, the kshana, said to constitute 1/65th of a finger-snap in duration. This unit was mispronounced ekasana in the talk.]

Suffering and the “I” Fixation

To listen to a talk on the Buddha’s First Noble Truth of Suffering, and suffering’s origin in the fixation on a false sense of “I”, use the flash player or click on the link to the mp3, below.

This talk was given by Hal Blacker on June 21, 2011 at the Real Dharma meditation group.

If you are unable to use the flash player, listen or download here.