In order to attain perfect vision, a perfect Guru is necessary—one capable of fully and correctly transmitting the four empowerments, and who skillfully and compassionately explains the hidden meaning. The empowerments awaken one to the supreme Reality, and we begin the practice of meditation at all stages of the path. Striving to discover the “I,” devoid of selfhood, spoken of in the Sutra tradition, one must investigate oneself by means of logic, the Teaching, and analogies.
What does it mean to “investigate oneself by means of logic”? Trying to discover the location of the “I,” we examine all parts of our body and its organs in order to understand: if it is in the body, then in exactly which part, in which organ. And when we conduct such an investigation, we discover that the “I” is not located in the body. Then we try to find it in emotions or feelings and also see that all of this is separate from consciousness. Next we try to find the “I” in thoughts, but we see that thoughts are impermanent and changeable; they flow in a stream and are a set of certain ideas that can change at any moment.
Then we continue wrestling with the question: “What, then, is the ‘I’?” We go beyond thoughts, see simply subtle consciousness, and think: “At last, I have found it!” We meditate on this subtle consciousness, but over time we discover that even this subtle consciousness becomes subtler and subtler until it turns into complete emptiness, a subtle luminous transparency. When we try to define ourselves in this transparency and say: “So this is what the ‘I’ is,” we see that we cannot do it, because in order to say something, at least a mind, thoughts, are needed; but as soon as we begin to think, we fall out of this luminous transparency. We cannot even think there; it is simply a boundless state of ultimate intense clarity in which there is no concept of “I.”
Having discovered all this, we suddenly understand: “From the very beginning I did not exist; my life, just like the lives of other beings, the entire Universe, is a grand joke of the Absolute. How deluded I was! I was totally deluded in everything.” We emerge from this state with new knowledge and now, understanding what is what in samsara, move happily through the world, playing with its energies. “Playing with energies” should not be understood to mean that we behave foolishly in some way. The play of siddhas is not the play of ordinary people. To play with energies means to embody this boundless state, responding to the variety of situations and energies in this world while continuing to deepen one’s practice. Now we are one with the Spirit; the Spirit is no longer lost, we never fall asleep in samsara, and we nurture it amid the diversity of energies. This is the path of discovering the natural state and abiding in it.
The State Beyond Concepts
Not finding the “I,” one realizes the absence of selfhood. Next, one should bring the mind into a calm state. When, through various methods, the mind is calmed, discriminating thought disappears, and the mind attains a state beyond concepts.
“And the mind attains a state beyond concepts.” To begin speaking about this is to slip back into concepts again. But how can it be indicated? If I see that a person fundamentally does not understand this principle, I do not listen to him; I simply interrupt and ask: “Everything you are saying is very good, but what about the frog that swallows an elephant? If you do not answer me, consider that everything you are talking about has no significance whatsoever.” He begins to ponder and interpret again. But there is no logical answer to this question. We can give an adequate answer to it only when we enter the natural state and allow the light to respond to the energy of this question. There can be no mistake here: if your state is true, your response will be total and complete, and then you will certainly give an answer to this question. There are different levels of understanding and response, so the disciple, moving to an ever higher level, gives a more correct answer over time until, at last, he completely liberates this question.
Attaining Genuine Peace of Mind
If this state lasts for days, months, and years, a person loses the sense of time, so that others have to remind him of the time. This means genuine peace of mind has been attained.
It is very important to attain peace of mind in the seated meditation of mahashanti. Of course, spiritual geniuses (divya) can receive glimpses of the natural state simply through direct transmission or by listening to explanations of the texts. However, most people need to diligently polish their mind in seated meditation and attain lasting peace, when the mind is like the water surface of a sleeping lake.
You can keep traveling from one teacher to another, to the Himalayas and Vrindavan, but if your bad mind keeps troubling you, you will find peace nowhere: neither in Aurobindo’s ashram, nor with Rajneesh, nor with Tibetan lamas, nor with Toltec sorcerers. They will still tell you: “You need to calm the mind, you need to meditate.” It is simply astonishing how people fool themselves. Instead of practicing and working with the mind, they skim the surface, like a bee flying around a jar of honey.
Wherever you may end up, the practice is the same everywhere; there are no shortcuts, no quick and tempting methods. All of this is self-deception. You must work a great deal on yourself. And any teacher will say: “You need to calm the mind and meditate in order to become established in the state beyond thoughts.” And this is not easy; it is hard work. Nevertheless, the results of this hard work will affect all your future lives, for you will be liberated from samsara (you will not be born in the worlds of passion) by attaining even the first dhyana. A yogi who is stable in the first dhyana becomes a companion of the god Brahma, and a yogi who is stable in the second dhyana becomes Brahma himself in the worlds of form. By “stable” it is meant that the yogi has truly become absorbed in the second dhyana and can evoke it for a long time without effort.
Overcoming Obstacles in Meditation
The state of peace is maintained through prolonged concentration of vigilance, which does not allow one to become distracted or fall into a state of dullness or drowsiness.
At the stage of discipleship, it is very important to understand how to eliminate diffuseness and agitation in meditation. From the first years of discipleship, one must not become accustomed to meditating incorrectly, because this habit will become stronger, and then you will meditate your entire life with a compromise, that is, incorrectly. One must literally fight for every second of proper meditation; one must reread the instructions on how to overcome lethargy, diffuseness, and agitation.
At first the mind is agitated, and this creates many problems for the practitioner. Usually, novice monks and those who are practicing in their first year encounter this problem more often. Then desires become fewer, and the practitioner can already turn inward. And then the second problem arises—dullness, diffuseness. That is, as soon as one immerses oneself inwardly, one immediately enters a tamasic prostration.
To prevent this from happening, one needs a secret friend on the path—continuous self-checking. If self-checking does not help, one should pay attention to the state of the channels and prana (energy) and work with them: concentrate on the muladhara, perform chandali and other techniques. If this does not help either, then one should meditate with open eyes in order to activate consciousness and not allow oneself to go deeply inward, sinking into a sleepy state and falling into prostration. When you grasp this golden mean, each session of mahashanti becomes a new breakthrough for you.
Vigilance as the Secret Friend
Through the power of vigilance, pure awareness without discrimination is attained.
Mindfulness is ordinary consciousness directed toward the object of meditation, while vigilance watches over mindfulness. In other words, vigilance is our secret friend. As soon as mindfulness weakens, vigilance gives an alarm signal. When we meditate, sometimes our mindfulness wanders off somewhere, and vigilance falls asleep. It is like the captain of a ship going to sleep, the first mate deciding to entertain himself and going to the bar, while at the helm stands the captain’s monkey, which has accidentally wandered into the wheelhouse; so at that moment the ship is sailing on autopilot. It is unclear where such a ship will arrive. If the same thing happens in meditation, then in that case one must turn on the siren, sound the alarm, wake everyone up, and take the helm into one’s own hands.
Visions in the First Dhyana
Pure awareness can be described as a flash of perfect insight, but the ability to experience it is acquired only upon reaching the first level of awakening. At this stage, one should contemplate the form of the Yidam. In the course of such contemplation, various visions and visible manifestations of forms may arise, which have no essence of their own and are merely the result of meditation.
Here instructions are given on the practice of tantra, and what happens in the first dhyana is described. If you do not meditate on the image of a deity, you most likely will not have specific images. But in the first dhyana, many different images arise. To enter the first dhyana, we meditate on the visualized sign OM.
The Foundations of Perfect Insight
So, the conclusions. First, a clear state of mental calm and stability of energy, together with intellect—the discriminating faculty of the mind—are an essential condition for attaining perfect insight. They are like the first steps of a staircase leading upward. Second, any meditation, whether with an object or without an object, must be based on deep compassion and love. All actions should be lovingly directed toward the universal good.
Why should one dedicate merit and direct meditation toward the enlightenment of others? In this way we connect to the universal enlightening power—Anugraha Shakti. Anugraha is one of the five universal energies. It is often depicted as a beautiful woman who can sometimes be stubborn, sometimes capricious, and sometimes benevolent. There is a concealing universal force (tirodhana), which obscures and clouds. There is an enlightening force—Anugraha. There are also the forces of destruction, preservation, and creation.
When we meditate on helping others and on the enlightenment of all living beings, we connect with this infinite power of the Absolute, with Anugraha. It can be said that we become its servants, spreading the Dharma, and then we also have a great chance of coming under its shaktipat ourselves.
Third, through the perfect view, all discrimination dissolves into a state beyond concepts.
The perfect view means the ability to self-liberate everything without falling into extremes, when everything dissolves into a state beyond concepts. First, at least at the level of the mind, one must master mental self-liberation, because if the mind has understood the principle of mental self-liberation, then it is easy to discover the principle of the natural state.
Dedication of Merit and the Accumulation of Virtuous Deeds
And finally, abiding in the state of empty awareness, one should sincerely dedicate the fruits of attainment to the universal good. I have realized that this is the best path.
When we dedicate the fruits of attainments to the universal good, we connect to transpersonal cosmic or universal forces that surpass our small personality. Even if we are not very aware of them, they certainly exist. We fail to notice them only because our consciousness is contracted. There are gods who conduct the energy of these universal forces.
Just as a hungry person is satisfied by food, and not by thoughts about it, so one who wishes to comprehend emptiness must experience its meaning in meditation. I understood that in order to gain perfect insight it is necessary, in the intervals between meditations, to constantly practice the accumulation of merit and purification.
When we come out of retreat or meditation, when we practice contemplation in movement, our other actions should be connected with the continuous accumulation of merit. This is the only truly effective way to interrupt the burden of old karmas, causes, and effects that we have previously accumulated. Every action should be like a magical ritual, an offering. When performing any action, you should open yourself to the universal forces. These universal forces that you have invoked will come into contact with you and work through you, manifesting themselves.
The Four Aspects of Dedication and the Offering to the Guru
In general, I saw that the meditator’s understanding of the emptiness of things, their unity, their indefinability, and the absence of differences constitute the four aspects of dedication. In order for this knowledge to arise in me, I gave up indulging the body, depriving it of food, tamed the mind, and gained calm when encountering any obstacles, even in the face of mortal danger. I came to the lama and to the lady not in order to repay you with service or wealth. O Father and Mother, for your unsurpassed love I offer you all my efforts in the practice of meditations, which I will carry out for the rest of my life. And I ask you to accept my perfect realization.
Yes, the best offering a disciple can make to the Guru is enlightenment. One disciple asked his teacher: “If I meditate and surpass you, won’t you probably feel hurt?” The teacher said: “What a fool you are. That is my dream!”
The Lama was very pleased and said, “My son, I had placed great hopes in you, and they have been fulfilled.” And the mother added, “My son has the strength of mind necessary to attain great realization.” We spoke at length about the Dharma; then the Guru and his wife returned home, and I, having sealed up the entrance to the cave, returned to meditation.
