Straying of meditation

First, the straying of meditation itself this is when the disciple fails to understand the direct actuality the master points out. He then goes astray by confusing essence, nature and capacity, and by not recognizing them to be indivisible emptiness and cognizance.

To explain this further: after practicing according to your master's style of oral instructions, if instead you cling to the mere feeling of bliss in body and mind, you will stray into rebirth as a god or human in the Realms of Desire.

If you are attached to the state of mind that is merely free of thought, you stray into becoming a god in the Realms of Form.

If you are fascinated by being clear and thoughtfree, you stray into becoming a god in the Pure Abodes.

If you are attached to being blissful and nonconceptual, you stray into becoming a god in the Realms of Desire.

If you are fascinated by being empty and nonconceptual, you stray into becoming a god in the Formless Realms. In these ways you go astray into the three realms.

If you interrupt the flow of sense objects, you stray into the perception sphere of Infinite Space.

If you interrupt sensations, as in the case of deep sleep, you stray into the perception-sphere of Nothing Whatsoever.

If you interrupt the perceived while cognizance is still vivid, you stray into the perception-sphere of Infinite Consciousness.

If you retain a slight sense of bliss while there continuously is nothing whatsoever perceived, you into the stray perception-sphere of Neither Presence Nor Absence.

These are called "falling into one-sided shamatha," and when you die and transmigrate, you continue going around within the three realms among the six classes of beings. Tsogyal, there is no need to fall back into samsara, so, cut through the strayings of foolish meditation practice!

Furthermore, if you believe in the way ordinary people see objects and mind, you stray into materialistic ordinariness.

If you regard them one-sidedly as either existent or nonexistent, you stray into the eternalism or nihilism of heretical extremists.

If you believe that objects exist separate from mind, you stray into being a shravaka or pratyekabuddha.

If you claim that perceptions are mind, you stray into being a Mind Only follower.

If you believe that the world and beings are deities, you stray into Mantra.

What is the use meditation practice without knowing how to cut through these strayings!

Well, please give me the method of how to cut through going astray, she asked.

The master replied: Tsogyal, if you want to avoid going astray in these ways, first gain extensive learning; next, concentrate on the pointing-out in struction; and finally, when applying it in practice, understand the above- mentioned ways of straying are nothing other than clinging and attachment to the meditation state.

To meditate like the example of a rabbit sleeping in a hawk's nest or with the concentration of an archer is not the cause for liberation.

No matter what kind of temporary experience you have, simply relax and remain in whatever is experienced, without trying to improve or alter, without hope and fear, and without accepting and rejecting.

When free from fixating on whatever is experienced, there is no cause for going astray.

Submitted August 19, 2016 at 08:09PM by SereneMountain http://ift.tt/2bHBCRZ