Sunday, January 29, 2012

As It Is

"This original state is not of our making. Acknowledging this is the perfect view. I am not saying that this view is good while the views of the lower vehicles are bad; but there is a difference in the extent to which the view is mixed with concept. One could convince oneself that, 'This is the meditation state! This is probably emptiness.' That is superimposing emptiness upon one's experience. In other words, it is not the natural state as it is. Similarly, to remind oneself 'This is all a magical illusion,' during the activities of daily life is still a concept.

"To cling to a particular concept is like a bird that flaps its wings and tries to fly but cannot, because it's bound by a chain. The training in the true view is not a training in holding concepts, even the subtle types. It is a matter of recognizing what already is, by itself. Our nature of mind is naturally empty and cognizant; it is not of our making. There is no need to hold a concept about it. In other words, when you remember to recognize, you see immediately that there is no thing to see. That's it. At other times one has forgotten, and it is lost."

--Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche,
As It Is: Volume II

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3 reader comments:

Alastair said...

Tulku Urgyens books ..As it is vol 1+2 and Quintessential Dzogchen are full of instruction on intrinsic awareness ...he continually points out what is the natural state ....identified at birth the incarnation of an important yogi he still did nearly 20 yrs solitary retreat .....a truely remarkable man

snakespeak said...

When one realizes that their relationship with the Dharma is conceptualized, it can come as a shock. That happened two years ago and I stopped reading and attending our local meditation meetings for fear that it would just be compounded. I don't know if it has been resolved, as such. But I've let that anxiety pass. I certainly feel like "the bird bound by the chain" on most days.

alastair said...

Blazing Splendour ..the memoirs of Tulku Urgyen is a remarkable book ....would love to hear some stories from people who had the good fortune to meet him ......