Is there really a problem?

Most relgions seem to propose that there is some fundamental problem that needs a solution. Indian religions such as Buddhism and Vedanta see the problem as repeated death and rebirth on the wheel of samsara. Western religions frame the problem as sin and reconciliation with God. Then these traditions propose a solution–whether it is nirvana, self-knowledge or faith and union with an absolute reality. But in these times, we are becoming aware that each religion’s statement of the basic problem and its solution is historically conditioned. When we are exposed to so many vying formulations of the problem and its solution, can we be sure what the problem and solution really are, or that there really is in fact a problem at all? In the following short talk (about 14 minutes long), Hal Blacker proposes questioning the idea that there is a problem that needs a solution altogether.

This talk was given on April 17, 2012 at Real Dharma.

or download or listen by clicking here.

The Everyday Practice of Dzogchen ~ A Teaching of HH Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

The everyday practice of dzogchen is simply to develop a complete carefree acceptance, an openness to all situations without limit.

We should realize openness as the playground of our emotions and relate to people without artificiality, manipulation or strategy.

We should experience everything totally, never withdrawing into ourselves as a marmot hides in its hole.

This practice releases tremendous energy which is usually constricted by the process of maintaining fixed reference points. Referentiality is the process by which we retreat from the direct experience of everyday life.

Being present in the moment may initially trigger fear. But by welcoming the sensation of fear with complete openness, we cut through the barriers created by habitual emotional patterns.

When we engage in the practice of discovering space, we should develop the feeling of opening ourselves out completely to the entire universe. We should open ourselves with absolute simplicity and nakedness of mind. This is the powerful and ordinary practice of dropping the mask of self-protection.

~HH Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Read the whole teaching here

Mahasiddhas, Mahamudra and Awakening in the West

The Mahasiddhas were unclassifiable and often eccentric yogis of medieval India and Tibet who pointed out ultimate reality in direct and unconventional ways. Non-monastic, and not depending on dogma or ritual, their approach toward Mahamudra and Dzogchen teaching may hold the key to the transmission of genuine awakening to the West.

Hal Blacker gave the following talk on Mahamudra, the Mahasiddhas and their inspiring example and potential significance for the modern West at Real Dharma on November 29, 2011. To listen, use the flash driver:

or download or listen by clicking here.

Milarepa at Yolmo Kangra-Part 4

Speaking of fruition,
There are three pith instructions:
There is no nirvana to attain beyond this.
There is no samsara to abandon.
Be completely resolved that your own mind is the Buddha.  ~ Milarepa, Song of View, Meditation and Action at Yolmo Kangra

Listen to part 4, the concluding talk in a series by Hal Blacker, on The Song of View, Meditation & Action at Yolmo Kangra, by Milarepa. This talk discusses the  fruition of Mahamudra. Given at Real Dharma Sangha on February 15, 2011:

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

Milarepa at Yolmo Kangra-Part 3

Errant thoughts are liberated in the Dharmakaya;
The awareness, the illumination, is always blissful;
Meditate in a manner of non-doing and non-effort.
These are the key points of practice.
~Milarepa

Listen to part 3 in a series of talks by Hal Blacker, on The Song of View, Meditation & Action at Yolmo Kangra, by Milarepa. This talk discusses the meditation practice of Mahamudra. Given at Real Dharma Sangha on February 8, 2011:

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

Milarepa at Yolmo Kangra-Part 2

You who are the way of view, meditation, and action,
Grant your blessings so that I may dwell within the self-existing nature.
~Milarepa

Listen to part 2  in a series of talks by Hal Blacker, on The Song of View, Meditation & Action at Yolmo Kangra, by Milarepa. This talk continues to discuss the view of Mahamudra. Given at Real Dharma Sangha on February 1, 2011:

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

Milarepa at Yolmo Kangra-Part 1

All the manifestation, the Universe itself, is contained in the mind.
The nature of mind is the realm of illumination
Which can neither be conceived or touched.
These are the key-points of the view.

~Milarepa, The Song of View, Practice & Action at Yolmo Kangra (trans. Garma C.C. Chang)

Listen to part 1 of a series of  talks by Hal Blacker, on The Song of View, Practice & Action at Yolmo Kangra, by Milarepa, covering the view of Mahamudra.  Given at Real Dharma Sangha on January 25, 2011:

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

Earth touching awakening

Since we recently celebrated the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day, this might be a good time to briefly reflect on the relationship between our mother the earth and awakening.

Legend has it that when Lord Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, he was challenged by Mara, the voice of limitation, death and delusion. Mara asked the Buddha by what authority he could claim awakening. In response, Buddha extended his right hand, touched the earth, and said, “The earth is my witness.” These words and this gesture have been immortalized by countless images of Buddha touching the earth, showing the earth-touching mudra.

The meaning of this symbolic story is profound. Many forms of spirituality claim descent from immaterial or “higher” spiritual realms, and set up an opposition between the spiritual and the material. In contrast, Buddha was a human being and he taught that his awakening came from the earth itself. This earthly orientation to awakening permeates the Buddhist teachings. For example, in contrast to the traditional yogic technique of withdrawing the senses—pratyahara, the fifth limb of ashtanga yoga as taught by the father of yoga, Patanjali—Buddhist meditative techniques commonly teach the development of mindfulness and awareness of the senses and their objects.

According to Buddhism, the earth and the objects of the senses are not themselves an obstacle to awakening. It is only a wrong relationship with them, based upon craving and ignorance, that creates our suffering. In the innermost essence of real dharma, the earth and all its forms, when seen without craving or ignorance, perfectly reflect and embody awakening. This wisdom teaching implicitly underlies Buddhism’s many manifestations—from the early Buddhist practice of mindfulness; to the Prajnaparamita teaching that form is emptiness, and emptiness is form; to the Third Turning teaching  that Buddha Nature pervades everywhere; and beyond to the secret teachings of Tantra, Mahamudra and Dzogchen.

Seen with the eye of wisdom, the earth, its forms, all of its beings and we ourselves are embodied awareness, and are all worthy of reverence and love.