In the following passage—from Buddhahood Without Meditation (p. 111)—Dudjom Lingpa describes how sensory appearances are neither identical to nor completely separate from the ground of being (aka the nature of mind, aka Buddha-Nature, aka Pure Awareness), by using the metaphor of planets and stars reflected in a lake: Because all phenomena of samsara and nirvana arise distinctly and individually …
Nonduality
Snowflake
Imagine a single snowflake, with its delicate crystalline structure—utterly unique from any other snowflake. As it drifts through the air, this single snowflake displays its uniqueness—drifting this way and that: serenely, beautifully, playfully. Now imagine this snowflake landing on the surface of a river, lake or ocean. The moment it touches the water, it melts. Its crystalline structure …
Taking The Red Pill: Free Will, Nihilism & True Freedom
Very nuanced analysis here via Christopher Hareesh Wallis, on the "near enemy" of believing that while we can't choose what happens to us, we can choose how we respond. He shows how this really is not ultimately true—and how we can accept this truth without collapsing into nihilism. The most obvious evidence for the lack of free will is the simple fact that you don’t exist in a state of blissful …
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Perception, Reality, Fitness: Practice Notes
Skate On a sunny winter morning several years ago, I was riding with a friend through some winding mountain roads. Coming around a hairpin turn, we hit a patch of black ice, went into a tailspin, slid across the opposite lane, and took out a half-dozen or so fence posts before the trunk of a towering pine tree brought our wild skate to a thudding halt. The good news is that—though the car was …
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Something Marvelous & Superb
Here's a treat: a full three-week retreat's worth of Dharma-talks on the topic of Samantabhadra, via Tarchin Hearn. A friend who recently returned from this retreat—which was held in New Zealand—sent me a link. I've been enjoying them greatly, so thought I'd share the wealth, so to speak. In Dzogchen, Samantabhadra is a representation of our true nature, the Primordial Buddha: the innate wisdom …
Practice Notes: Perceiver & Perceived
A True Story Recently underwent a minor outpatient surgical procedure (nothing serious, thankfully!) that was going to involve some amount of physical discomfort. I was informed that the standard protocol was to administer a sedative cocktail—featuring the uber-potent opioid painkiller fentanyl—which induces drowsy relaxation as it masks the pain-sensations. While the sedative/painkiller …