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.

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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:

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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:

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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.

When mind is spacious, liberation can occur

When mind is tight,
There is suffering.
When mind is spacious,
Liberation can occur.
—Tsangpa Gyare (1161-1211)

Listen to a talk inspired by the above quote by Mahamudra master Tsangpa Gyare, given by Hal Blacker  at Real Dharma Sangha on September 21, 2010, in the flash audio player, below:

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Tilopa’s Meditation Instructions

Stop all physical activity: sit naturally at ease.
Do not talk or speak: let sound be empty, like an echo.
Do not think about anything: look at experience beyond thought.

Your body has no core, hollow like bamboo.
Your mind goes beyond thought, open like space.
Let go of control and rest right there.

Mind without projection is mahamudra.
Train and develop this and you will come to the deepest awakening.

—From “Ganges Mahamudra” (trans. Ken McLeod)

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.