Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Six analogies for placing the mind — a sun free of clouds, an eagle gliding without effort, a ship above deep ocean currents, a child gazing fixedly at temple murals, a bird leaving no trail in the sky, and combed cotton wool — are the organizing spine of this 87-minute session by Khensur Rinpoche. He traces these six methods to Pänchen Lama Losang Chökyi Gyaltsen’s Mahāmudrā text from the fifteenth-sixteenth centuries, working through each to show what it requires: the right balance of effort and relaxation, allowing feelings to arise without tracking them, carding away coarse mental afflictions. The result, he explains, is a non-physical clarity likened to a cloudless pre-dawn sky. A short Q&A covers flexibility in choosing a meditation object and practical advice on getting started — short sessions of ten to fifteen minutes, mornings when the mind is sharpest. For practitioners already engaged in sustained calm-abiding practice.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 12 MM 1997 02 11.mp3
UUID: b96e5809-05a2-48e7-935b-a91619d3bdcb
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Mahāmudrā 1996-97 (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1997-02-11
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 86.5 minutes
Words: ~4,128
Before we can actually cultivate the awakened heart, it’s necessary as a prerequisite that we cultivate love and compassion. And love is expressed in the thoughts firstly considering all living beings how in fact they don’t have happiness. That is, that they don’t have uncontaminated happiness nor do they have the happiness of liberation. So beginning with the loving thoughts, it would be wonderful if all living beings had happiness. May they have happiness and the causes of happiness.
I myself will bring them happiness and the causes of happiness. That is to say develop an exceptional love. But additionally, not only do they not have happiness, but in fact they are all tortured by various sufferings. It’s like they’re intoxicated, overwhelmed with their the darkness of ignorance and causes of their suffering. And so developing a compassion which begins with the thought, It would be wonderful if all living beings were free of suffering and the cause of suffering.
May they be free of suffering and the causes of suffering. I myself will free them from suffering and the causes of suffering. And moreover, I myself will lead all sentient beings to a state free of suffering where they have complete happiness. But before I can lead all sentient beings to such a state, I myself must first attain such a state. And therefore, initially, I must remove all my various faults and bring to fulfillment all of my excellent qualities that I will achieve such a state.
In order to bring about such a state where I have actually removed all my various faults and brought fulfillment all my acts and qualities, then it’s necessary that I involve myself in first the listening. The listening to what is the essence of the universal vehicle Dharma, the practice of the great seal, Mahāmudrā. Having listened, then I will reflect upon what I have heard until I gain an ascertainment of its meaning. And having gained that ascertainment then I will cultivate it in meditation whereby I will ultimately be able to bring about both the welfare of myself and all others. In order to bring about that end, then I must listen well and put what I have listened to into practice.
So, we’ve been covering the means of cultivating calm abiding in accordance with the teachings on the great seal, Mahāmudrā. We take as our object of observation that of the mind. This object of observation is being held by the factor of mindfulness and examined while being examined in terms of the arising of laxity or excitement by means of the factor of introspection. There were two means upon the arising of these factors there were two ways in which we could then proceed. One was that immediately upon the rising of laxity or excitement to stop them from the very root immediately.
The other means of proceeding was not to stop them, but simply to observe them, to examine them, allow them to cease of themselves. That when conceptions arise, thoughts arise, that they will as if in the analogy of a bird circling a ship on the ocean having nowhere to perch, they will return to the source and they will cease for themselves. So it is said that these two methods that we’ve just mentioned were the dominant means for proceeding in the cultivation of the great seal in Tibet by the meditation masters prior to the year 1014.
Prior to that. The author of our text, Pänchen Lama Losang Tubwang Dorje Chang Chökyi Gyaltsen, goes on to say thAt this stage, can I say contemporary to himself, there were, that the trainees made use of a method of placement of the mind upon the object? There was a sixfold manner, a sixfold manner by means of which the mind is placed upon its object. A sixfold manner.
So when the author, Losang Chökyi Gyaltsen, says “these days” he is referring to his contemporary times which was about the fifteen, sixteen hundreds. So, are these? So, there are six manners in which the mind is placed upon its object. And what are these six manners of placement? The first of these is placement like a sun devoid of clouds.
A sun devoid of clouds. So we’re presenting six analogies of how the mind is to be placed, How we are to place the mind upon its object for the cultivation of calm abiding. In this case the object is the mind itself. So there are six analogies on how the manner in which the mind is to be placed. Now the first of these analogies is the analogy like a sun devoid of clouds.
That just so we have a completely clear sky There’s not there’s no clouds whatsoever. There’s no black clouds or white clouds. The sun is shining brightly and so there is no obscurity. There’s no obscurity. There’s a perfect clarity of the light of the sun as it shines.
So that’s the image that’s being presented. And what this means in terms of manner of placement is that the mind is unobscured by thoughts, by afflictive emotions. There’s no excitement. There’s no laxity. So this clarity of the mind in this shines forth.
This is what is to be observed. Buddha said that the nature of the mind is clear and that the stains are adventitious. So this is to say that whatever the obscurations of the mind are, whatever faults are only temporary. Just as in the case of the shining of the sun. Though the sun is always shining, at times it’s temporarily obscured by the passing clouds.
And likewise, though the mind is by its very nature pure, At times this purity is obscured by the temporary defilements. But these defilements are not in the nature of the mind just as this obscuring clouds are not in the nature of the sun. So in this metaphor we’re using, the sun is analogous to the mind. The clouds are analogous to the afflictive emotions. And just as the case when the wind blows, that the clouds are blown away revealing the sun in its full clarity.
Likewise, by applying antidotes the afflictive emotions can be removed revealing the natural purity of the mind. So I don’t think that needs to be translated. The second is that like, here it says, like a great eagle gliding in the sky. Like a great eagle gliding in the sky. It may refer to a Garuda, a mythical bird of ancient times.
But we can just make use of the type of bird as an eagle. It is a great bird, an eagle which glides in the sky as we see eagles in Australia. That they can simply glide without having to make a great deal of effort in flapping their wings. Whereas very small birds have to keep flapping their wings to stay up in the air. Whereas the great birds can simply glide.
So just as in the case of eagle gliding through the sky, needs to make little effort maintaining its flight. It doesn’t have to make effort in its flapping of its wings. Likewise, we are to place our mind in the cultivation of calm abiding in a like manner. That is to say, we are not to hold our object of observation overly tight nor too loosely, but just as an eagle gliding in an effortlessly relaxed manner, if the mind is to relax. And if we can maintain that relaxed manner, in the way that we hold our object with an intensity of clarity, then we are to abide in meditate equipoise in such a way.
So meditation and meditate equipoise combining a relaxed manner of holding the object with an intensity of clarity. So that’s the second of the manners of placement. Little debate here about this third manner of placing the mind was as like on a great ocean a ship on a great ocean. And so there is some discussion about the effects of winds on the surface of an ocean and at the depths of an ocean. A wind can whip up the waves on the surface, but the depths of the ocean remain unmoved.
But there is also another interpretation of this. I was going for the first one. The other interpretation is that that the ocean is made up of the four elements: earth, water, fire and wind energies. And that the subtle currents of wind energies can only can only affect the depth of the ocean very slightly, whereas they can bring about great waves on the surface. So understanding that that’s the analogy.
Then the meaning of that analogy is that So with that, Rinpoche is pointing out that the movement of the hand is brought about by movement of wind energies. Even in the tip of your finger there are the four elements: the earth, water, fire, wind energy elements. But this wind energy element is subtle wind energy element. We cannot see it. So likewise within a great ocean there is a collection of the four elements.
So this and that these elements likewise is the same subtlety as in the finger where which we can’t see as the same element in the ocean. But due to the movement of that wind energy, the ocean moves. So a very subtle wind energy cannot cause a movement. But a great wind can cause movement. To cause movement on the surface of the ocean.
I think this is what they’re talking about here. All sailed on the ocean so you know what they’re talking about. So that’s the image which is being presented in these analogies. And the meaning of that is, again with respect to the mind there are various levels of thoughts which can arise both subtle and coarse types of thought. With respect to the mind and the wind energies there are both subtle and coarse wind energies Here we probably cannot stop the movement of the subtle wind energies.
That probably that only occurs at the time of death. The subtle wind energies or in the case of someone who has achieved the first ground that is there has a high realization, they’re able to withdraw all their wind energies and bring it and bring suspend the movement of their wind energies. But, but the subtle wind energy accompanies the subtle wind mind. The subtle wind energy accompanies the subtle mind.
They go together. Subtle mind, subtle wind energies accompany one another. According to the sūtra explanation, we circle within cyclic existence due to the influence of the root affliction of ignorance grasping at truly existent self. According to the explanation of Secret Mantra, the root our continuing to circle within cyclic existence is the wind energies. So one, by means of bringing to a stop the dysfunctional wind energies and only allowing the functional wind energies to remain, one is able to achieve liberation and Buddhahood.
So now the fourth analogy, a manner of placement is like a small child looking at a temple, like a small child looking at a temple. So for example in Tibet, the temples of Tibet are lined with murals depicting various deities. And if a small child were to enter a new temple, then they would be drawn to stare at the large figures. They wouldn’t, their mind, they wouldn’t be drawn to the various details in the small deities, but they would stare at the at unmovingly at the great figures that the deities depicted. So that’s the image which is being presented in this analogy and the meaning of that image in terms of placement upon the object and cultivating calm abiding is that the mind is the mind in meditation is observing the mind.
That during the taking that mind as the object of observation. During the course of placement upon that, that there will be subtle forms which will be seen by the eye or subtle sounds heard by the ear or subtle odors smelled by the nose. But these objects of the various sense consciousness are not pursued. They’re not examined. These various objects are not analyzed as to what they are.
That the mind simply that it is the mental consciousness which is doing the meditating and it remains in unmoving fashion upon its object, the mind. The fifth of these manners of placement is that like the trail left by a bird flying in the sky. Like the trail left by a bird flying in the sky. Just as you know, when a bird flies through the sky from one moment to the next, its position changes. And but there’s nothing left to show where it has been.
It leaves no tracks in the sky. It leaves no trail in the sky. So that’s that’s the image. And the meaning of that in terms of cultivating calm abiding is that we in observing the mind in the course of cultivating calm abiding, holding the mind with holding with the factor of mindfulness, examining with the factor of introspection, that there will arise the course of this process various feelings feelings of pleasure, feelings of pain, and neutral feelings. Normally feelings lead us on to various afflictive emotions.
Feelings of pleasure lead us to attachment, and feelings of pain lead us to aversion, and neutral feelings lead us to bewilderment. It is said that we are bound to cyclic existence by these feelings. Because of these feelings arising, when there’s pleasurable feelings developing attachment, we engage in various actions to to procure the object, creating karma and perpetuating cyclic existence. In the case of painful objects, we might want to kill the object. Or in the case of neutral, that we go on to develop a bewilderment which leads to increase in ignorance and perpetuating cyclic existence.
Here, even we’re not to allow these feelings, though they arise, to leave any tracks. To leave that we are simply to not to follow not to follow them with attachment, to follow them with aversion, nor to follow them with bewilderment. To not to follow on when these feelings arise with these afflictive emotions arising. So there’s no there’s no even though they arise they don’t leave any tracks in the mind. There’s no imprint.
There’s no trail left by them. So then the then the sixth manner is like So like combed cotton wool. Like combed cotton wool. Like so that’s the image. It just in the case of in order to to make the wool like the cotton cotton wool.
So it’s like combed wool. In order to make the wool of use, to make it into thread, it needs to be combed. It needs to be pulled, fluffed. And this in this process in the course of this process it becomes soft and light and flexible pliable. So it’s necessary to to let the wool be combed and stretched be pulled and whereby it becomes soft and light and flexible so that it can be eventually be made into thread.
So the combing of wool. So it becomes extremely It become soft and light and flexible. So the meaning of this image is that in the cultivation of calm abiding that afflictive emotions and laxity and excitement are seen as rough aspects of mind. And these rough aspects are to be eliminated just as in the carding of the wool. The carding of the wool in order to what remains is soft and pliable.
Likewise, these coarse factors of mind, the afflictive emotions and laxity and excitement, are to be eliminated leaving a soft, pliable, relaxed mind. So it is said that by these previous lamas who at this particular time that this was written that if one is able to place the mind on its object in these six manners and go and proceed in cultivating calm abiding, then this is excellent. So the text then now goes on to explain that, you know, what is the result of having placed the mind upon the object of cultivation, in this case the mind itself, and proceeding to develop calm abiding. That as a result of these six manners of placement, then mind will dawn in a very pure and clear manner. That it’s non physical pure clarity.
It’s nature of non physical pure, being non physical pure and clear will be apparent. It is likened to just after the monsoon season, at early dawn, when the sky is completely clear, no clouds in the sky. The appearance of the sky at such a time. That purity and clarity will become apparent to you. So it says it’s extreme it’s extremely difficult to point out the characteristic of the mind. To say that the mind is this way and the mind is this way.
To actually it’s difficult to identify the mind. And why is that? Because the mind is non physical. If it were physical and had form, then we could say, well, it’s long or it’s short or it’s white or it’s red or it’s square or it’s round. We could point out the mind in a very easy fashion.
But because of the non physical nature of the mind, it’s very difficult to identify it. It is indeed difficult to even know its location. And sometimes it seems to be inside the body, sometimes it seems to be outside the body, sometimes it seems to be in the lower part of the body, sometimes in the upper part of the body. Even to identify where it is, is difficult. So we we proceeded in our meditation developing the factors of mindfulness and introspection, making use of as has been explained in the cultivation of calm abiding the eight antidotes in order to overcome the five faults.
And as a consequence of which we as it were gain control over our mind. At present our mind is in control of ourselves. Our mind leads us where it will. Having the once cultivated calm abiding then the roles are reversed. We actually gain control over our mind.
We can lead it where we will. We can place it upon any object that we wish and it’s like placing a great boulder at that place that remains firm and stable upon that object. We can we can meditate on any object that we choose whether it be impermanence or selflessness or leisure and fortune. So having proceeded through the nine mental abidings, once we generate mental and physical pliancy, we have achieved calm abiding. Presently our minds are in pretty bad shape.
You know they’re dominated by anger, by they were carried away by all the various thoughts. Involves unskillful states of mind. Various afflictive emotions are continually rising. We’re not able to remain upon thinking about one thing for only a moment. At present we have what is called a mind of the desire realm.
There are three realms: the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm, each having a mind of that realm. So, presently we have a mind of the desire realm. Once we have cultivated calm abiding, then we will have a mind of the form realm. And this, we will have, and this mind is characterized by extreme peace. So at present, our minds are comparable to the apron worn by an apron worn by a dirty chef.
It’s quite it’s quite filthy. So but if we take that apron, that filthy apron, and we wash it, you know, the first washing we get out the coarse stains, some of the coarse dirt. And then subsequent washings we wash out more more subtle levels of dirt until finally we can remove the subtlest stains. And this applies likewise to our minds, and though they are also stained in a similar manner that and we can proceed by to purify them by means of the dharma in a similar manner, working on the coarsest stains and then eventually removing even the subtlest of stains. So the dharma is likened to clean water and soap.
We can wash our minds. We can remove the levels of the stains in our minds gradually beginning with the courses and eventually purifying our minds removing even the subtlest of stains by means of the dharma. So if we this is in the case the stains will always remain upon the apron unless it’s washed. And likewise with our minds, unless we actually begin to purify our minds, the stains will remain and moreover they will bring ourselves only troubles and suffering. So we’re gonna stop there for the evening, but we’ll take five minutes if you have some questions.
Yeah. So the making use of an image of a Buddha as the object for cultivating calm abiding is in accordance with the graduated path or Lam Rim. And here in the explanation of the great seal, it states to make use of the mind. But this is according to one’s own wishes. If one was a non-Buddhist, example, when you could, non Buddhists could make, can make use of a stone or a piece of wood as a basis for cultivating calm abiding.
So it’s according to one’s wishes. If for example some people it might be difficult for them for a image of a Buddha to appear to their mind. Maybe they might choose another image such as Chenrezig or Tārā or Mañjuśrī whatever. Gyaltsen in his text Offering to the Spiritual Master, the Guru Puja, states that calm abiding is cultivated taking as its object emptiness. Some people take the Tibetan letter ah within in the say Om, it’s made up of Om, Ah, Ma, Ma.
And so the letter Ah is thought to be very appealing, very beautiful to some people. They take that Tibetan letter ah. So it’s not definite what the object necessarily must be. Even in the case of taking a Buddha or an image of a Buddha or Chenrezig or Tārā, it’s not necessary to observe the entirety of the body. One can just take the face.
Of the body. One can just take the face. So it’s here it’s sufficient that one go away with the understanding that being able to use whatever object one wishes as the a base cultivating calm abiding. So once one has achieved calm abiding, then the mind can be placed on any object one wishes whether it be emptiness, impermanence, awakened heart. All the various varieties of possibilities of different objects the mind will be will can be placed upon.
Except that the difficult part is actually achieving calm abiding. It is said that if the Lama, the spiritual teacher who gives you is a good one. And that if the student who receives the instruction meditates well, then calm abiding can be achieved in six months. So it is said that in the cultivation of calm abiding, when we talk about achieving it in six months, it must be meditated in an uninterrupted manner without any breaks. So this is the analogy which is used here is in like in starting a fire using a stick by rubbing sticks.
Is, know, I remember Terry was pointing out that the Aboriginals would in the bush would start a fire by rubbing sticks. And it has to be done continually. If you rub for a while then stop and then rub for a while and stop, it never blazes up. You never get a fire. To begin a retreat?
If you were just doing it in a casual manner, as a part of your daily practice. Generally our mind is clear in the morning. So that it would be a good time to have a session. We can meditate in the evening if we don’t eat a great deal of food. Food brings an unclarity to the mind, heaviness of mind.
And so our mind isn’t as clear. So morning is best. And but however many sessions that we’re going to have over the course of the day, even if it’s only one, it should be very, it should initially be only very short. Maybe ten or fifteen minutes. Because our mind, our mindfulness is not very strong at present.
So we’re going to continue to lose our object. And also the force of laxity and excitement will overcome our meditation. So as our mindfulness increases, then we can lengthen our session. So beginning, it’s important to have short sessions, maybe ten or fifteen minutes. But you could have many of these over the course of the day.
You could have fifteen or twenty such short sessions in The Cultivation of Calm Abiding.