16. Week 2 - Teaching 13
2025.08.05
When Geshe-la taught Mahamudra teachings in 2007, he used this verse from Atisha’s Advice:
Since this human life is wasted by indulging in distractions, now is the time to practise concentration.
It’s helpful to understand how these verses have different levels of meaning, and VGKG has used them in different ways. Here, in this particular context, we need to understand the great disadvantages of distraction, and we want to stop conceptual thoughts. We want to stop gross minds while we’re awake and either imagine or impute our subtle mind arising.
Understanding the great disadvantages of distraction, now we want to cease distracting conceptual thoughts - which means all gross minds cease. We want to experience the cessation of gross mind, and experience the subtle mind which is very peaceful. We want to make our mind progressively more and more peaceful, until finally it becomes the very subtle mind, fully qualified clear light. From there it will directly transform into the omniscient wisdom of enlightenment. Understanding this we should encourage ourself to apply effort to cease all the gross minds, all the distracting conceptual thoughts.
First we stop paying attention to any object. It’s quite simple in reality. We stop paying attention to any object. We should stop thinking about anything. Remain like a stone or a piece of wood. We stop perceiving anything. Remain in this state for a few minutes. Apply effort and determination because we understand the great disadvantages of gross conceptual thoughts. We forget everything. Remain like a piece of wood or stone. We do this for a few minutes.
This meditation becomes part of the path to enlightenment because it is part of our bodhichitta practice.
In this way we experience the cessation of all gross minds. This is the basis. Then we try to perceive our subtle mind by contemplating: Our subtle mind is the nature of the cessation of all gross minds. Its function is to perceive an empty-like space. And it is located at our heart region. We contemplate our subtle mind which possesses these 3 characteristics. This is seeking. Through seeking we find the object, a generic image of our subtle mind - a clear appearance of our subtle mind. This is finding. Then we engage in holding - we try to hold for about 1 minute. And then we engage in remaining, trying to hold for about 5 minutes.
With familiarity, gradually increasing the time that we are remaining on this object, the subtle mind, we can remain in pure concentration for 5 minutes without forgetting the object. We accomplish the 4th step - remaining.
This is how we train in how to identify our subtle mind.
Friends, there is no happiness in this swamp of samsara, so move to the firm ground of liberation.
Meditate according to the advice of your Spiritual Guide and dry up the river of samsaric suffering.
You should consider this well because it is not just words from the mouth, but sincere advice from the heart.
If you practise like this, you will delight me, and you will bring happiness to yourself and others.
I who am ignorant request you to take this advice to heart.
This is the advice that the holy being Venerable Atisha gave to Venerable Jangchub Ö.
Friends, there is no happiness in this swamp of samsara, so move to the firm ground of liberation.
Within this cycle of impure life, life controlled by delusions, there is no real happiness. Atisha encourages us, “move to the firm ground of liberation.”
(At this point Gen-la Dekyong said, ‘Actually I’m going to jump a verse and come back to that verse.’)
Meditate according to the advice of your Spiritual Guide and dry up the river of samsaric suffering.
VGKG taught the meaning of this verse in the 2001 teaching:
This is very very profound, important advice. “Meditate according to the advice of your Spiritual Guide and dry up the river of samsaric suffering.”
Meditate doesn’t just mean meditate. This means concentrate on Dharma practice according the advice of your SG. You should sincerely practise Dharma according to the advice of your SG.
We rely on our Dharma books. This is the advice of our SG held in the collected works of VGKG. They have appeared out of our SG’s heart, out of respect for the modern world, a new presentation of Buddha’s teachings, Kadam Dharma, that is acceptable for society.
At this point Geshe-la asked do we trust this advice. And he said when you go to the doctor, and the doctor says, ‘you’ve got this and you need to take this,’ and we immediately go to the pharmacy and immediately start taking it. But when we read a Dharma book are we sure or are we not sure?
Often we wish we could ask directly, because we’ve got a particular difficulty. We probably have the experience, when our mind is quiet and faithful, of opening up a Dharma book and reading advice that is exactly what we need at that time. And one of the uncommon characteristics of our NKT is our study programmes - GP, FP, and TTP, where we learn all our Guru’s advice, and we hold it in the storehouse of our mind, and then we can use it when appropriate. VGKG has encouraged us, if you’re able, be on TTP. If you’re not able, study on FP. And if you’re not able, study on GP.
Dry up the river of samsaric suffering.
Samsara, impure world, does not exist from its own side. There is no inherently existent samsara. It’s like an illusion, a hallucination created by self-grasping ignorance. If we destroy self-grasping ignorance, we can cause samsara to cease.
Within the teachings of HYT, we are taught how to stop minds by stopping the winds upon which they are mounted. Remember - minds can’t move on their own. They move to objects through the power of inner winds. We want our mind to move to the object that is the emptiness of all phenomena. There are special methods for doing this in the teachings on HYT.
The introduction to the empowerment of Buddha Tara is the first few pages of the sadhana, The Yoga of Enlightened Mother Arya Tara.
From Modern Buddhism, VGKG explains (related to the teaching during the Tara empowerment on the different levels of mind, the levels of winds, different bodies, and we understood our body was our continually residing body, or very subtle inner wind, and our very subtle mind, continually residing mind):
In TGAP (p 147):
According to Secret Mantra it is very important to control the winds. All pure Dharma practitioners know how important it is to control the mind. But we cannot really control our mind without controlling our winds. As long as impure winds are flowing in our channels we will continue to develop negative thoughts. Seeing how our states of mind depend upon the purity or impurity of our winds, Secret Mantra practitioners strive to control their winds. For a mind to function, it requires a wind to give it the power to move to its object. Thus, for as long as the defiled wind that acts as the mount for self-grasping ignorance flows through our channels, we will develop self-grasping ignorance, but, if we manage to subdue this wind, our self-grasping will have no power to grasp object; it will not cause us to develop delusions, and it will not be able to act as the cause of samsara. Recognising the need to control the winds, Tantric Yogis consider the yoga of the wind to be very important. Directly or indirectly, all completion stage yogas are yogas of wind because they are all methods for bringing the winds into the central channel. In Vajra Rosary Tantra, Vajradhara says that if Yogis meditate on wind they will accomplish the attainments swiftly, and in Little Sambara Tantra, he says:
Those who do not know about the yoga of winds,
Or do not meditate on it,
Will be afflicted by various sufferings
And will remain in samsara.
Of all winds, the most important is the very subtle wind. This is the basis of both samsara and Buddhahood. If we fail to control the very subtle wind, it wil be the cause of rebirth in samsara, but, if we control it, it will become the substantial cause of the illusory body and the Form Body of a Buddha. Controlling the very subtle wind means stopping ordinary winds developing from it.
Think about our life and our life story. Normally we think of our life story in terms of external developments. But VGKG, when giving instructions to OIOM in London, said:
VGKG’s life story is all the Dharma instructions and realisations of these instructions held within his collected works. This encourages us to look within for our real life story. How we’re using our life has to be the improvements in our mind.
Geshe-la said:
The real essence of our life is happening in our heart. We think, “I want my life story to be the realisations of renunciation, bodhichitta, correct view of emptiness, generation stage and completion stage. I want to control my winds, I want the river of samsaric suffering to dry up.”
He has also said:
This is the very essence of being a Kadampa. Every moment of our life is conjoined with the wisdom of Lamrim of Sutra and Tantra.
Lamrim is our main practice. It is the most important practice. Everything is included in the ocean of Lamrim. Lamrim includes, Lojong - training the mind, Mahamudra - Lamrim combined wit HYT. Everything is included. Without compassion, HYT has no meaning. There is no generation stage or completion stage. When I am eating I am practising Dharma. When I am sleeping I am practising Dharma. Lamrim is my life. We need to practise Lamrim ourself. Then we can benefit others.
We need to show the value of Lamrim through sincere practice and example. Particularly Dharma teachers, managers, community, need to show a good example publicly. Or people cannot understand how Dharma has value. Please encourage everyone.
Teachers, managers, students, please show a good example. Dharma centres need to show good example. Then people throughout the world will see the value of Kadam Dharma. That our teachings have so much value. Please give this advice and encouragement.
In the same conversation, Geshe-la said:
As Atisha said, “dedicate your virtues throughout the day and the night.”
Geshe-la said this dedication: