SOGYAL Rinpoche is the spiritual master of the RIGPA association

Here Sogyal Rinpoche presents meditation as a practice that reveals inner peace. He speaks of the blessings we feel when we come into contact with the nature of our mind.

The Buddha's teaching is vast. The "Word of the Buddha" alone comprises more than a hundred volumes. In addition, the commentaries and treatises of the great Indian scholars comprise more than two hundred volumes, not counting all the works of the great Tibetan masters.

 

Yet the Buddha's teaching can be synthesised in a very profound way. I remember the words of my master Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche:

 

"The Buddha's teaching is both 'vast' and profound": 'Vast' is the approach of the scholar, the pandit, and 'profound' is the approach of the yogi.

When the Buddha was asked to summarize his teaching, he said

 

"Do not commit any negative action

Cultivate a treasure of virtues

Tame this mind of ours

This is the teaching of all Buddhas."

 

"Do not commit any negative action" means abandoning all harmful and negative actions that are the cause of suffering for others as well as for ourselves.

 

"Cultivating a treasure of virtues" means adopting the positive and beneficial actions that are the cause of happiness, for others as well as for ourselves.

 

However, the most important thing is to "tame this mind of ours".

 

This is why masters such as Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche have often said that this phrase alone sums up the essence of the Buddha's teachings.

 

Because if we can realise the true nature of our mind, this is the essential point of the teaching and of our whole existence.

 

The mind is the root of all things, responsible for suffering and happiness, Samsara and Nirvana. In the Tibetan teachings, mind is called "the king who is the origin of all things - kun jé gyalpo - the universal principle that orders everything. As the great master Padmasambhava said

 

"Do not seek to cut the root of phenomena, rather seek to cut the root of the mind.

 

That is why these words of the Buddha inspire me so much:

 

"We are what we think, and all that we are rises from our thoughts. With our thoughts we create the world.

 

Speak and act with a pure mind and happiness will follow. "If only we could remember this, keep it in our heart and keep our heart and mind pure, happiness would really follow. The whole teaching of the Buddha is aimed at taming this mind of ours and maintaining a pure heart and mind.

 

This begins with the practice of meditation. We allow all our turbulent thoughts and emotions to settle quietly in a state of great natural peace. As Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche says:

 

"Let this exhausted mind, beaten to a pulp, rest in the great natural peace.

This exhausted mind, relentlessly beaten by karma and neurotic thoughts,

Like the relentless fury of waves breaking

In the infinite ocean of samsara.

Let it rest in the great natural peace. "

So how do thoughts and emotions settle? If you let a glass of muddy water sit, without shaking it, the soil particles gradually settle to the bottom, allowing the natural clarity of the water to manifest.

 

In the same way, in meditation, we allow our thoughts and emotions to settle into a state of natural ease.

 

There is a wonderful quote from one of the greatest masters of the past, which was a revelation to me when I first heard it, because these two sentences revealed the nature of the mind and how to dwell in it - which is the practice of meditation. In Tibetan it's very beautiful, almost musical chou ma nyok na dang, sem ma chu na de. Which means roughly:

 

"The water, If you do not agitate it, will become clear; the mind, left unaltered, will find its own natural peace. "

 

What is remarkable about this instruction is that it emphasises the naturalness of the mind which allows it to simply be, unaltered and unchanged.

 

Our real problem is manipulation, fabrication and an excess of thoughts. A master often said that the root cause of all our mental problems was this excess of thoughts. As the Buddha said, "With our thoughts we create the world. "But if we keep our mind pure and let it rest quietly in the natural state, what happens then, when we practice, is quite extraordinary.

 

In the Buddhist path, the first practice of meditation is "shamatha", in Tibetan shiné, "to remain peacefully" or "meditation of tranquility". When we begin, it is a practice of attention.

 

Shamata practice can be done on an object, a support, or without an object. Sometimes we use a representation of the Buddha as an object, or, as found in all schools of Buddhism, we observe the breath, lightly and mindfully.

 

Our problem is that our mind is always distracted. When it is distracted, the mind creates endless thoughts. There is nothing that it does not think, that it does not do. If we only observe it, we will realise how indiscriminate we are, how we allow all kinds of thoughts to invade us and lead us astray.

 

This has become the worst of all our bad habits. We have no discipline and no way of paying attention to the thoughts of all kinds that come to us; whatever arises, we allow ourselves to be carried away in a whirlwind of illusions, and we take them so seriously that we end up not only believing them but identifying with them.

 

Of course, we don't have to suppress our thoughts and emotions, nor do we have to wallow in them. Our problem is that we have allowed ourselves to think too much, and the result is mental and physical illness.

Many Tibetan doctors have observed an upsurge in disorders in the modern world caused by disturbances of the prana, the inner air. All of these are caused by too much restlessness, worry, anxiety and thoughts added to the pace of life and aggression that dominate our lives.

 

The only thing we need is peace. This is why we find that simply sitting for a few moments, breathing in and out and allowing thoughts and emotions to settle quietly, can be a wonderful way to take a break.

 

When we allow ourselves to become inattentive and distracted and overthink, when we lose ourselves in thought, when we cause mental problems and anxiety, the antidote to apply is mindfulness. The discipline of shamatha practice is to constantly bring the mind back to the breath. If you are distracted, the moment you realise it, simply bring your mind back to the breath. Nothing else is necessary. Even asking, "How could I be distracted?" is another distraction.

 

The simplicity of attention, which constantly brings the mind back to the breath, will gradually calm it down. When you try to put a child to bed, he will want to play with you, and if you let him, he will become more and more restless and never be able to fall asleep. You have to hold him, stay with him, attentive and quiet, and he will eventually calm down. The same goes for the mind, however restless it may be, bring it back again and again to the simplicity of the breath.

 

Gradually the mind will settle down, it will settle down into itself.

 

At first, of course, one may feel a little self-conscious. One thinks that when one observes the breath, there are three separate things: the act of breathing, the breather, and the breath.

 

But gradually, as the practice is perfected and our mind settles, the act of breathing, the breath and the breather become one, and eventually it is as if you have become the breath.

 

The masters always insist on the importance of not focusing too much when practising the concentration of "quiet rest". That's why they advise giving about twenty-five percent attention to the breath.

 

But as you can see, attention alone is not enough. When you are observing the breath, after a few minutes you find yourself in the middle of a football match, or playing the lead in your own film. Therefore, twenty-five percent will be devoted to a sustained and continuous awareness that supervises and verifies that you are always paying attention to the breath. The remaining fifty percent of the attention will be left in spacious relaxation.

 

Of course, this division of attention doesn't have to be so precise, as long as these three elements - attention, clear awareness and spacious relaxation - are present.

 

Being spacious is truly a wonderful thing.

Sometimes just being spacious is enough to calm the mind. This spacious quality is the very spirit of meditation; it is also the basic generosity of meditation. In the practice of shamatha, when one can combine this spacious relaxation with focused attention on the breath, the mind gradually settles.

 

As it settles, something extraordinary happens - all the fragmented aspects of yourself settle and you find wholeness. Negativity and aggression, pain, suffering and frustration are finally defused. A sense of peace, spacious relaxation and freedom is experienced. And from this comes a deep tranquillity.

 

As we perfect this practice and become one with the breath, the breath itself, as the object of our practice, eventually dissolves and we find ourselves suspended in the present moment.

 

We arrive at a single-pointed centred state, which is the fruit and goal of shamatha.

 

Staying in the present moment, in stillness, is an excellent achievement, but going back to the example of the glass of muddy water, if you don't shake it, the dirt particles will settle and everything will become clear. However, the dirt particles are still there at the bottom; the day you shake it, the dirt particles will come to the surface.

 

As long as we seek stillness, we can enjoy peace and rest, but whenever our mind is somewhat disturbed, the misleading thoughts will arise again.

 

Remaining in the present moment of shamatha will not allow us to evolve, and will not lead us to enlightenment or liberation. The awareness of the present moment becomes a subtle object, and the mind that rests in the present moment, a subtle subject.

As long as we remain in the realm of subject and object, the mind is still part of the ordinary conceptual world of samsara.

 

But with the practice of shamatha, our mind has returned to a state of peace and stability. Just as the image in a camera becomes sharper when you focus, the single-pointed attention of shamatha allows the clarity of the mind to manifest more.

 

As the obscurations are gradually removed and the ego and its tendency to grasp begin to dissolve, the "clear view" or "deep view" of vipashyana, in Tibetan lhak tong, is revealed.

 

At that very moment, we no longer need to anchor ourselves in the present moment and we can go beyond ourselves, into the wisdom that realises the non-ego. This is what will defeat the illusion and free us from samsara.

 

Consider the impact of this on the way we deal with thoughts and emotions. To begin with, lacking security and stability, we are scattered and overwhelmed by our thoughts.

 

This is why in mindfulness practice we focus on one object, the breath.

 

But whatever thoughts arise, they always and only come from our mind, as naturally as the rays come from the sun and the waves from the ocean.

 

We are now in the state of "quiet rest", things are rising, though they have never been separate from us and we are different. There is no need to fear losing our balance or being distracted, no need to hinder what is rising, now that the opening of the deep view has been revealed.

 

We have become like a rock, facing winds and tides, and no longer, as before, the feather swept to and fro by the slightest breath.

 

The only thing to do is to keep our consciousness clear.

When a thought arises in this state of stillness, if it can be recognised with this clear awareness, it will return to dissolve in the nature of the mind.

 

Thoughts and emotions become like the waves of the ocean, rising up and returning to merge into the vastness.

 

We become like the ocean itself, vast, spacious and calm. There is nothing left for us to do but to maintain this clear awareness.

 

Of course, what rises may destabilise a beginner, bringing back old habits.

 

The moment that what rises is seen as separate from us, we lose ourselves. At this crucial moment, before that which rises becomes a thought, we must absolutely maintain our clear consciousness. We need to look after our clear awareness, as a natural reminder that keeps us coming back and without which we would be swept away.

 

What I am describing here is a process called stillness, movement and clear awareness (ne gyn rig sum), and its meaning deepens as we reach deeper and deeper stages of realisation.

 

As we move forward, and allow that which rises to dissolve and release in the light of our clear awareness, it only strengthens and prolongs the stillness, just as the waves and eddies beautify the ocean.

 

Through the pure awareness of clear sight and through the wisdom that realises the non-ego, we gain access to the nature of mind. As we progress, we will gain profound insights into the nature of reality and ourselves; indeed, as subject-object duality dissolves, we reach the state of non-duality.

 

When we achieve this, we experience a state of profound peace. Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche often spoke of the great natural peace - rang shyin shyiwa chenpo - the deep peace of the mind's nature, the peace of Madhyamika, Mahamudra and Dzogpachenpo. As the Buddha said,

 

"Nirvana is true peace."

 

When one reaches this peace of mind nature, one discovers a vast expanse, a great openness: the clouds have evaporated, revealing an infinite and open sky.

 

Cloud-like thoughts and emotions have dissolved through the practice of meditation, revealing the sky-like nature of our mind. In this sky shines the sun of our Buddha nature, our bodhicitta, the heart of enlightenment.

 

The sun has two wonderful qualities: heat and light. Its bright light is like wisdom, and its warmth is like love and compassion.

 

If you ask, "What is the Buddha mind? It is simply this: wisdom and compassion.

And as the teachings say, we all have Buddha nature, we are all Buddhas in the making. The purified mind becomes wisdom and the purified heart becomes love and compassion. If you purify your thoughts, this pure intelligence, untainted by ignorance, is wisdom. When the emotions are purified, they rise to compassion.

 

So, through this practice, we can grasp the deep purity of the nature of mind, that great peace that the Buddha spoke of at his awakening over two thousand five hundred years ago under the Bodhi tree in what is now called the Bodhgaya. His first words were:

 

Deep peace, natural simplicity, uncompounded luminosity".

 

With these words, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche often said, the Buddha proclaimed the core of his awakening, which is the state of Dzogpachenpo, the Great Perfection.

 

It is this deep peace that we seek to attain through practice. In fact, "taming this mind of ours" is perfectly accomplished when we achieve it.

 

See how, when love inspires and moves us, we find ourselves absolutely helpless. Similarly, when we realise the nature of mind through this practice, it defuses and dissolves ordinary thoughts and emotions.

 

Then immense compassion and love radiate through us, just as the sun gives us its warmth.

 

As soon as we connect with the purity of our inherent nature, our Buddha nature, our basic goodness - our good heart - is revealed. Tenderness, compassion and love simply emanate from us. In this way, you are completely in touch with yourself, but also with others. You feel a true unity. There is no longer any separation between you and others. There is not even a separation between the different aspects of yourself.

 

Too often the barriers and problems are of our own making. We are at war with ourselves. Through this practice, the ego's grip loosens and our tendency to grasp evaporates. Thus the conflict, suffering and pain of fragmentation and inner struggle disappear.

 

For the first time, we can forgive ourselves in a fundamental way.

 

At the same time, expectations, fears and anxieties vanish, and with them all those feelings of blockage and closure, of not being in touch with ourselves and others, of being cut off from our own feelings, which prevents us from accessing happiness.

 

What this practice can bring us is incredible, and when I hear these teachings of the Buddha, transmitted by the great masters, when I feel their truth in my own heart, through the modest practice that I know, I feel their immense blessing.

 

What is extraordinary is that you can actually experience the truth contained in the teachings. It's not something that is based on belief or faith, you can savour it and understand it yourself.

 

What happens when you experience it?

You feel the immense love, compassion and you will be overwhelmed with gratitude. Your greatest wish is to share this truth and help beings everywhere to free themselves from suffering and to possess that ultimate happiness, that great natural peace, the peace of the Buddha.

 

Whenever you experience this peace in your meditation, even in a small way, pray from the depths of your heart as we do in this bodhicitta practice from the preliminaries of the Longchen Nyingthik of Dzogchen:

 

Hypnotised by the sheer variety of perceptions

like the illusory reflections of the moon in the water

Beings wander endlessly, lost in the vicious circles of samsara.

To enable them to find comfort and well-being in the brightness and space that penetrates all of the true nature of their mind,

I engender love, compassion, joy and

I engender the immeasurable love, compassion, joy and equanimity of the awakening mind, the heart of bodhicitta.

 

Your wish is that all beings find peace and happiness in the true nature of their mind. I believe that in the twenty-first century, what so many people are looking for is the truth that is within themselves. Everyone seems to be asking this question "Who am I?" and longing to realise their authentic being, beyond the egotic self.

 

Through this practice, you can begin to experience your true nature, and when you do, your greatest desire is that others come to the same understanding. Because you know that not only does this understanding show us who we really are, but it also frees us from ourselves.

 

To have such a practice is, it seems to me, of extreme importance. We all want peace, we all have a longing to feel good, to be a good human being, to have a warm heart and to be kind. But often we don't know how to achieve this. Too many things occupy our minds, our hearts seem to be closed all the time. We are not free, and in the midst of all this confusion, pain and suffering, we can easily lose hope and sink into distress.

 

However, when we hear the wisdom and compassion in these teachings and understand that they begin to open the eye of wisdom, to open our hearts and minds to our true nature and the nature of all things, we are filled with joy, inspiration and hope.

 

Through practice, we may have a small experience of this peace, but we cannot remain in it continuously. We fall back into our ordinary habits and thought patterns that were ready to re-emerge.

 

This is the time to be more vigilant than ever, to constantly remind ourselves that this mind is like a crystal, it is clear and pure. Just as a crystal takes on the colour of the medium on which it is placed, so the mind identifies with whatever it occupies, if we let it. The mind itself is completely open, it is beyond choice, beyond duality. It can just as easily be good as bad.

 

As the Buddha said, "with our thoughts we create the world". We are the makers of our world, whether it is a source of pleasure or suffering: a world of karmic phenomena, shaped by our thoughts and actions.

However, once you have tasted a little of this peace, once you have had this insight, you will want to make a firm resolve not to fall back into your old ways.

 

In Buddhist confessional practice, where negativity and wrongdoing are recognised and purified, we speak of the "four powers":

 

the power of presence, i.e. the presence of the Buddhas ; 

the power of regret, which is the power we feel at the thought of having caused harm; 

the power of resolution, which is the commitment never to do it again; 

and the power of method, which is the practice, whatever it may be, that we do to purify negativity.

 

In fact, in Dzogchen practice, we confess all our negativity into the Dharmadatou, the all-pervading space of the nature of mind. All our negative thoughts are purified in the purity of our inherent nature and their darkness is dispelled by this clarity. By confessing, we resolve not to fall back into the darkness of negativity and to keep our hearts and minds pure.

 

Now we understand better than ever that

 

"We are what we think.

Everything that rises, rises from our thoughts. 

With our thoughts we create the world.

Speak or act with an impure mind and suffering will follow. 

Speak or act with a pure mind and happiness will follow..."

 

However, when you come through meditation to the state of goodness of the mind's nature, everything you say is goodness, everything you see is goodness, everything you touch is goodness, because you are goodness itself. You are naturally pure, and this can only manifest itself through everything you do, think or say.

 

When I think of Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, Dudjom Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and all the great masters, I ask myself, "How can they be like that? How is it possible that whatever they do is always a benefit to beings? "

 

The answer is: because they remain in this state of goodness. This is how they inspire us and give us hope.

 

When ordinary people like us see His Holiness the Dalai Lama, we regain hope in humanity. Realizing that there is such a good human being inspires us because we understand that we too can become a truly good human being like him.

 

Great practitioners, men and women, personify this goodness. Everything they do is beneficial because they continually remain in this state, thanks to the discipline of maintaining purity of mind. They are never perverted. They are always pure, and they act out of that goodness, and they remain firmly there.

 

Sometimes one feels truly in touch with oneself, with others, and with the whole universe, and experiences a deep inner peace. Anyone who is fortunate enough to have a small experience of this inner peace should immediately resolve to maintain it, not only for their own sake, but also for the sake of the whole world.

 

When you are in this state, the extraordinary thing is that even if you don't do much, your very being is a benefit to others. As long as you maintain the goodness, the purity in your mind and heart, in your motivation and in your being.

 

Whether we are good or bad in appearance, we can receive their blessings. Whatever we may be is only temporary; all our illusions can be purified because our basic nature is goodness.

 

Clouds may darken the sky, but we need only to look past them to realise the existence of an infinite sky that has never been touched by clouds.

 

In Dzogchen, the example of the mirror is often used. Our true nature is like the mirror: it reflects all kinds of things, but, and this is the wonderful thing, the reflections never defile the mirror. No matter how we are, our true nature remains pure and undefiled.

 

It is said that we all have Buddha nature, and this is the truth. The Buddhas themselves cannot make it better, and we sentient beings, with all our confusion and negativity, cannot corrupt it. This means that nothing can touch it; it is immutable; it is uncreated; it is our true nature, it cannot be defiled or diminished. It is unchanging goodness.