Podcasts about teaching alan

Ultra Brief Teaching--Alan Hall Interview by Mountainlion

Teaching: Alan shares the conclusion of phase 1 of the Dudjom Lingpa’s Sharp Vajra of Conscious Awareness Tantra. Phase 1 covers taking the impure mind as the path aka settling the mind. You identify the impure mind that is dissolved into substrate consciousness. How never to be separated from the experience of the practical instructions when distant from sublime spiritual friends. A sublime spiritual friend reveals the path. It is important to distinguish between path and not path. We need to practice diligently in this phase, as shamatha is indispensable when we venture into practice. We know the taste of luminosity and cognizance of awareness. We know substrate and substrate consciousness. But shamatha is just a preliminary to the path. If we just stay put, we don’t actually get on the freeway to liberation. Whether or not we’ve recognized rigpa, if our mind still gets distracted or dull, we need to mount conceptual mind like a cripple onto the blind stallion of the breath. Tethering the mind with attention, uncontrived, primordially present consciousness will manifest, and it will be easy for the guru’s introduction to pristine awareness to strike home. Alan concludes with some suggestions for further reading/study/practice. Q1. In awareness of awareness, I don’t understand the instruction to forcefully withdraw attention. Is it correct to contract back towards me when inverting?
Q2 What does o laso mean? 
Q3. Can we still have emotions in a lucid dream?
Q4. When I practice emptiness of awareness, there’s an open feeling that’s not there when I practice awareness of awareness.

Teaching: Alan presents the conclusion from Karma Chagme’s Union of Mahamudra and Dzogchen. Emanation of Padmasambhava’s speech, Atisha addressed how to combine all the teachings of the 3 yanas into one practice. The fivefold practices are: 1) bodhicitta as motivation, 2) meditation on one’s own body as the deity, 3) meditation on one’s spiritual mentor as the deity, 4) view of non-conceptuality (insight into emptiness and rigpa), 5) dedication. Alan also introduces the 4 reliances: Rely not on the person but on the dharma. Rely not on words but on the meaning. Rely not on the provisional meaning but on the definitive meaning. Rely not on conditioned consciousness but on primordial consciousness. Both coarse mind and subtle mind (substrate consciousness) are conditioned consciousness. Meditation. Fivefold practice with shamatha, vipasyana, and vajrayana. Attend closely to sentient beings who all wish to be free from suffering. Arouse bodhicitta to be achieve awakening for the sake of sentient beings. Practice mindfulness of breathing to clean the space of awareness. Let your awareness illuminate the space of the body and tactile sensations therein. Monitor the space of the mind. Include the flow of knowing already present: awareness of being aware. Probe into the nature/referent of awareness, and know emptiness. Imagine personification of primordial consciousness Samantabhadra before you. Take refuge in the ultimate source of refuge. Samantabhadra comes to your crown, dissolves into light, flows down your central channel, and reforms at the heart. With every in breath, light of all the buddhas flow in from all directions. With every out breath, light flows out serving the needs of sentient beings, guiding each one to freedom. Dedicate the practice with your most meaningful aspiration. Q1. How can we keep motivation for practice fresh and unwavering?
Q2. What advice for people who want to do retreat? 
Q3. In mindfulness of breathing, sometimes I’m very aware that mind is right there. If I go into mind, it slows rumination. I’m not sure this is OK. Please explain the image of the air mattress. 
Q4. In settling the mind, sometimes everything is very vivid like I’m in right in the thick of things. Does this mean grasping? Meditation starts at: 35:30

Meditation: Settling the mind preceded by settling body, speech, and mind. 
1) settling body, speech, and mind. Let your awareness come to rest in its own place. There may be knowing of knowing. Let your unmoving awareness illuminate the space of the body and the objective/subjective experiences. Observe them like an out-of-body experience.
2) settling the mind. Let your eyes be open, gaze vacant. Direct mindfulness single-pointedly to the space of the mind and its contents. Begin with mental images and discursive thoughts. Awareness in stillness illuminates the movements of the mind without distraction, without grasping. Monitor with introspection. If distracted, relax, release, and return. If spaced out, refresh, refocus, and retain. Let mindfulness include subjective impulses like feelings and desires. Take special note of the intervals between thoughts. Can the space of the mind be ascertained? The space where appearances of the mind arise from, remain, and dissolve into. With the mentally perceived, let there be just the mentally perceived. Teaching: Alan speaks about how to make the teachings on emptiness practical. These teachings are designed to cut the root of mental afflictions by critiquing our views of reality. According to the Prasangika Madhyamaka, all the phenomena we experience arise in dependence on conceptual designations. We can see this process happening in our experience. Mindfulness of breathing cleans the lab. In settling the mind, awareness stops being jerked around, and with discernment, comes to view mental events as mere empty appearances in both meditation and post-meditation. You come to non-conceptual certainty that nothing in your mind can harm you, whether or not thoughts have ceased. Upon achieving shamatha, the power of samadhi flows right into sleep. The dream yoga practice of emanation and transformation strengthens the conviction that there is nothing here from its own side, just a world of possibility waiting to be designated. Sentient beings reify everything they experience. In practicing the 4 applications, ask yourself, “Do I reify anything?” When you experience craving or hostility (arising from delusion rooted in reification), identify the referent and probe its existence. Meditation starts at: 1:00

Teaching: Alan completes his commentary on the section on mindfulness of phenomena in Ch. 13 of Shantideva’s Compendium of Practices. Composite phenomena are impermanent and unstable, rising quickly and passing away. This points to impermanence and relative reality. Although this is just the way things are, people may react with depression to the hedonic present, anxiety to the hedonic future, and PTSD to the hedonic past. Composite phenomena are also unmoving and empty, like an optical illusion. This points to their absolute nature, empty of inherent existence. Composite phenomena arise in dependence of causes and conditions. They are neither always there nor passing into non-existence. As for objects, so too for consciousness. All speech is like an echo, momentary and without essence. Its coming and going is unobservable. The essential nature of phenomena is like space. Conditions are empty and nameless. Neither the names nor their referents have any inherent existence. Names illuminate phenomena, but as soon as we reify them, they obscure their nature. Meditation. Mindfulness of phenomena preceded by mindfulness of the mind.
1) mindfulness of the mind. Let your eyes be open, resting your gaze evenly. Rest awareness in the present moment, mindful presence without distraction, without grasping. You are aware, and you know it. What is the referent of awareness? What has its qualities of luminosity and cognizance? What are its boundaries? 
2) mindfulness of phenomena. Turn your attention outwards towards appearances arising in the relative dharmadhatu. Whatever comes to mind, examine its nature. Does anything exist from its own side? All composite phenomena are empty and unmoving. They appear, and yet are empty, mere configurations of empty space. With awareness still and clear, attend to emptiness and luminosity of all appearances. Q1. Is it possible to experience timelessness in shamatha or only in the union of shamatha and vipasyana?
Q2. In a guided meditation, I applied vipasyana to an unpleasant feeling and made it go away. I still get stuck on visual appearances, like the square panel on the ceiling. I haven’t conceptually designated it, so how is it empty? Meditation starts at 37:50

Teaching: Alan continues with verses 85-87 in Ch. 9 of the Bodhicaryavatara covering components of the body. Just as we examined the body, we now examine parts of the body, going all the way down to the atomic level. As long as something has attributes, it can be divided further. The Vaibashika view contends that while we view the world with our senses and that configurations depend on our way of perceiving, atoms are truly existent. The Madhyamika view understands dependent origination as follows: 1) conditioned phenomena arise in dependence on prior causes and conditions, 2) parts and attributes, and 3) conceptual designations. The Dalai Lama says that which you’re pointing your finger at and holding to be already out there from its own side does not exist in that way. In the dzogchen view, dharmadhatu, primordial consciousness, and energy of primordial consciousness are all co-extensive. Perhaps it is possible to arrive at this one reality via different doors—e.g., probing matter, probing space, or probing the mind. Meditation: mindfulness of the body. Attend to the 5 elements in the space of your body. Open your eyes, and see the form of your body. Note the difference between the tactile and visual perceptions. Apart from these tactile and visual perceptions, is there anything else of the body you can perceive? These perceptions are arising and dissolving either in the space of the body (tactile) or the space of the mind (visual). What do you think of as “my body” among all these perceptions? As in the Heart Sutra, form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. Appearances are mere appearances that arise from and dissolve into space. Appearances consist of space. Appearances are none other than space which is empty. Release the conceptual designation “my body” and rest in the realm of appearances, which are the basis for designation yet empty. Q1. For me, lucid dreaming starts with me being aware that I’m asleep (body is paralyzed). As the dreamscape begins to unfold, I’m not sure how best to make use of this opportunity.
Q2. This is a question about emptiness and atoms. While people may question the reality that arises to meet them, interdependence makes classical reality true for all of us within the same quantum system. 
Q3. In Ven. Analayo’s book on the satipatthana sutta, he covers the dry insight approach which dispenses with shamatha and describes sati as attacking an object like a stone hitting the wall which sounds like it requires a lot of effort. 
Q4. There are claims of people achieving multiple dhyanas or offering 1-2 week retreats to move through all the dhyanas. From your perspective, you seem sceptical of these claims. Do such people have experiences which somehow match the dhyanas, or are there references to dhyanas with lower levels of realization? Meditation starts at 40:19

Teaching: Alan begins by exploring why it is said that dzogchen is particularly effective in degenerate times. He suggests that when the teachings are degenerate, society is degenerate, the mind is shot, the body is shot, they become difficult vehicles to transmit the dharma. By going directly to awareness, dzogchen bypasses culture, body, and coarse mind. 
Alan presents the misnomered placebo effect as a miracle for modern science and medicine because they do not understand consciousness. Both modern medicine and faith healing are disempowering the mind, by attributing its effects to another.
Alan revisits the 2nd close application of mindfulness to feelings by commenting on verses 88-92 of Ch. 9 of the Bodhicaryavatara. Does suffering truly exist? If so, one could not experience joy. Can suffering and joy exist at the same time? No, as there is no such thing as an unexperienced feeling. This type of investigation benefits contemplatives who have achieved dhyana. Because of OCDD in our ordinary mind, we cannot merely choose to stop conceptually designating, nor is it a serviceable basis for investigating the nature of phenomena. When probing into the nature of feeling, it dissolves. Feeling is a way of experiencing/apprehending, and is not in the object itself. Suffering is designated as suffering, and once the conceptual designation is released, it is liberated. Meditation: mindfulness of feelings preceded by mindfulness of the body.
1) mindfulness of the body. Let awareness remain motionless, holding its own ground. Let awareness illuminate the space of the body without entering into it nor becoming immersed by it. Observe the space of the body from awareness’ own place. Illuminate the tactile sensations of the body. Is there anything substantially there from its own side? 
2) mindfulness of feelings. Feelings do arise, but how do they exist? Attend closely, and penetrate feeling with samadhi to find its core. Penetrate through the feeling to the tactile sensation, and see if the feeling lies therein. Probe right into the origin of pain. Does investigation have any impact on pain—i.e., are you participating, or is pain simply being presented to you? Meditation starts at 1:08:25

Teaching: Alan continues with his commentary on Ch. 13 of Shantideva’s Compendium of Practices on the 4 applications of mindfulness. The body is filled with impurities, fragile by nature, and subject to destruction. One who sees this body as impermanent takes the essence of life, serving all sentient beings, avoiding faulty behavior, no craving or clinging to enjoyments, etc... One views the body as a the body, nothing that is mine. One designates the body of all sentient beings as my body, wishing to bring this body to buddhahood. The ultimate nature of this body is undefiled. In sum, Shantideva uses impurity of the body to dispel craving as in the Shravakayana, but then on that basis, builds the Mahayana practices of compassion, emptiness, and pure vision which provide the framework for Vajrayana. Meditation: practice of your choice. Q1. What is the connection between Mahasi Sayadaw and Pa Auk Sayadaw?
Q2. You mentioned that phenomena come into existence with conceptual designation, but a person doesn’t become a fool merely through being designated as such, etc... It appears that phenomena come into existence with conceptual designation but not really. 
Q3. I’ve had lucid sleep without dreams whereby the only awareness I have is akin to awareness of awareness. Am I doing this practice correctly? 
Q4. We’ve established that a baby needs secure attachment for survival. Secure attachment appears to be biologically inbuilt for humans, being defined as a lasting psychological bond between beings. Is it possible to have healthy human relationships without attachment? 
Q5. From the time of the agricultural revolution (human population of 5 million) through the present day (human population of 7 billion), there has been a population explosion. Where are the reincarnated human consciousnesses coming from? Are lesser consciousnesses being promoted before their time, leading to chaos and degeneration? 
Q6. I’m finally starting to enjoy meditation, see changes in the quality of awareness, and detect a certain calmness in mind. I find that I’m worrying about leaving in a few weeks and losing all these gains made. How can we best make use of the time in the final weeks? Meditation starts at 33:10

Teaching: Alan draws the teachings into the 21st century by dedicating this session to a brief history of science culminating in the view according to quantum mechanics. Early scientists like Galileo were devout Christians who attempted to understand reality from God’s perspective. The real world must be out there because 1) stuff happens when we’re not looking and 2) there is a commonality of perceptions. Modern physicists debunk this view. Anton Zeilinger said that reality is based only on information we receive. John Wheeler spoke of the participatory universe where its (physical world) come from bits (information). Based on bits, the conceptual mind makes the its. Andre Lindt asserts that perception is primary and that consciousness is needed to explain the physics observed in the real world. Stephen Hawking speaks of the quantum world which is in a superposition state (in probabilistic mode or realm of possibility). He notes being inside (causality and linearity) or outside the system (quantum world where observer creates both past and future). Without an observer, the universe is frozen. The observer breaks the symmetry of the quantum world, giving rise to the classical world. In sum, both the observer and information constitute essential links in understanding the world.
In buddhist epistemology, a cause which can never be seen cannot be inferred based on the effect. Appearances of the 5 sense domains arise in the substrate, not in physical space. We can only see the qualia of the 5 senses, not the things is physical space which are unknowable. Samsara arises from not knowing (avidya), reifying the its and not recognizing that come from the bits. In terms of Vajrayana, the ordinary self lies inside the system whereas rigpa lies outside the system. We can go outside the system by realizing the emptiness of self and phenomena and dissolving mind into rigpa. Just as in quantum mechanics where there is no absolute time, from the perspective of rigpa, Ground, Path, and Fruition are simultaneous. Given the indivisibility of primordial consciousness (yeshe) and dharmadhatu, we can know simultaneously who we are and how reality is. Apologies, there has been a cut in the recording at: 29:13 and 1:10:38 There is no meditation today, rather a really interesting talk.

Teaching: Alan talks about the fifth of the five obscurations afflictive uncertainty. While it is appropriate to be uncertain about that which is uncertain, when we wonder about whether or not it is possible to make progress in our practice or attain enlightenment we need to apply its antidote close investigation. As the Dalai Lama says, something becomes hopeless, the moment we’ve given up hope. 
Alan introduces the fourth of the 4 immeasurables equanimity. People appear to us differently, so how can we attend evenly to a reality that’s uneven? We need to look more deeply until we find common ground: just like me, every sentient being wants to be free from suffering. How can we attend to all sentient beings? Every sentient being you encounter, either physically or those who come to you, represents all sentient beings. Meditation: equanimity. Direct attention to the space of the mind, settling the mind in its natural state. When someone comes to mind, attend to that person carefully until you find common ground. Then practice loving-kindness and compassion. With every in breath, “May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering,” and imagine suffering and its true causes as darkness in that person converging at a white orb of light at your heart chakra and dissolving completely. With every out breath, “May you be find happiness and the causes of happiness,” and imagine light suffusing this person and fulfilling his innermost desires. Allow this appearance to dissolve and see who else comes to mind, repeating the practice with the in and out breaths. Now with every in breath, imagine the light from all the buddhas filling you completely, purifying body and mind. With every out breath, give this light out evenly, excluding no one. Meditation starts at 36:52

Teaching: Alan talks about the fourth of the five obscurations excitation and anxiety. Excitation is associated with restlessness and agitation. Anxiety is also known as guilt, remorse, shame, or regret. Bliss and joy are the natural antidotes. But since these qualities cannot be called up at will, discursive meditation on the pros and cons of the practice (in this case, shamatha) can be helpful. As long as we have not achieved shamatha, we are subject to the 5 obscurations characterized as being: 1) sensual craving = indebted, 2) ill-will = sick, 3) laxity/dullness = bondage, 4) excitation/anxiety = enslaved, 5) uncertainty = lost in a desert tracked. Achieving shamatha is the ultimate retreat, makes both body and mind supple, places the 5 dhyana factors at our disposal, and allows us to truly help others. It also greatly facilitates the realization of bodhicitta, vipasyana, and for buddhahood in one lifetime according to Dudjom Lingpa, threkchö and thogyal. Meditation: mindfulness of breathing per Asanga. If needed use oscillation as in awareness of awareness until your mind comes to rest in the center. As you breathe in, focus your attention from the nostril down to the navel, and without visualization, as you breathe out. Note the 4 stages: 1) inhalation, 2) pause at the end of inhalation, 3) exhalation, 4) pause at the end of exhalation. Note the end of the in and out breaths. With each out breath, total, complete release. With each in breath, just take in whatever presents itself. Meditation starts at 30:14

Teaching: Alan talks about the third of the five obscurations laxity and dullness. Dullness occurs when attention is no longer fully engaged with the object. It is experienced from stages 1-4, whereas laxity is experienced between stages 4-5. Its antidote is coarse investigation (aka applied thought) whereby you just check it out. Meditation: mindfulness of breathing per Asanga. Allow your body to breathe itself as your respiration settles into its natural rhythm. Let the mind come to stillness in the present moment. Shine the spotlight of your attention on sensations of the respiration as prana flows down to the navel, and keep your attention there single-pointedly. Note the end of the in and out breaths. Note the beginning of the in and out breaths. Arouse attention at every in breath as the navel cavity fills with prana. Maintain the flow of mindfulness throughout the entire breath cycle. Meditation starts at 6:12

Teaching: Alan talks about the second of the five obscurations ill-will. As shamatha dredges the psyche, it is normal for ill-will to arise in response to memories, etc... The antidote is sukkha or well-being. You are experiencing sukkha when you enjoy and get into the flow of the practice. Sukkha comes through shamatha. Further support for the antidote comes from mudita or empathetic joy. On the spiritual path, we need to make a gentle transition from 100% dependence on hedonic well-being to genuine happiness. Find interest in the breath. Find interest in the quality of awareness. The latter will come in handy through the various bardos. Meditation: mindfulness of breathing per Asanga. Release the mind into the present. Utterly release yourself into the breath. Let your awareness observe the space of the body and in particular, the flow of the breath between nostril and navel. Relax deeply all the way through. Let the mind be especially calm at the end of the in and out breaths. With every out breath, release long-standing habit of rumination. Be right there for the beginning of each in breath. Meditation starts at 16:45

Teaching: Alan elaborates on some points from his translation of Asanga’s explanations for mindfulness of breathing, as advice for people with heavy rumination. Asanga mentions 4 stages in mindfulness of breathing: 1) inhalation, 2) pause at the end of inhalation, 3) exhalation, 4) pause at the end of exhalation. He notes 1) overly lax or 2) overly forceful engagement. Asanga also presents training in counting as support: 1) counting individually (at end of inhalation/exhalation), 2) counting pairs (at end of exhalation of 1 breath cycle), 3) counting forwards (either practice in ascending order), and 4) counting backwards (either practice in descending order). The point of this training is to cultivate an ongoing flow of knowing, covering all 4 stages of one breath cycle. Meditation: mindfulness of breathing per Asanga. Settle respiration, by releasing deeply without preference nor control. Set the mind at ease, without concerns of the 3 times. Let your awareness be still, illuminating the space of the body. Be aware of the space of vital energy (prana), in particular as it flows between the nostril and navel. Mind should be especially still at the end of each out breath. Experiment with counting if you wish. Monitor posture and mindfulness with introspection. Q1. You mentioned that we should view the space of the body from the perspective of the substrate. Since we do not have direct access yet to the substrate, do you mean from the coarse mind?
Q2. This mindfulness of breathing practice per Asanga is required more attention than usual, in particular catching the pauses. What the difference between awareness and attention? Is it true to say that only attention moves and that awareness does not? My idea of oscillation in awareness of awareness means that something is moving. 
Q3. In observing the space of the mind with eyes open, forms are present. Is this clarity of mind? 
Q4. In settling the mind, you gave the analogies of a scientist and a movie critic. 
Q5. I find it hard to be focused on the space of the mind between sessions. Either I am disengaged from the environment or I’m not focused on the mind at all.
Q6. In this mindfulness of breathing practice per Asanga, please explain the interim breath. Are vital energies equivalent to the tactile sensation of the breath moving throughout the body? If Asanga does not mention the acquired sign nor the counterpart sign, how is shamatha achieved? 
Q7. In awareness of awareness, we should be focused entirely on awareness, yet appearances of the other senses still arise. Meditation starts at: 29:06

Teaching: Alan introduces some points from his translation of Asanga’s comprehensive explanations for mindfulness of breathing. While Asanga does not mentions following the breath at the tip of the nostril, he does mention following the flow of vital energies from nostril to navel, noting 4 stages: 1) inhalation, 2) pause at the end of inhalation, 3) exhalation, 4) pause at the end of exhalation. Asanga also presents several counting methods as support when needed: 1) counting each inhalation/exhalation, 2) counting each complete breath cycle, 3) counting forwards, and 4) counting backwards. Meditation: mindfulness of breathing per Asanga. Set the mind at ease, without concerns of the 3 times. Let your awareness be still, illuminating the space of the body and in particular, the flow of the breath from nostril to navel. Note the energies at 1) inhalation, 2) the pause at the end of inhalation, 3) exhalation, 4) the pause at the end of exhalation. With each out breath, relax and release any rumination. Experiment with counting if you wish, but keep it very staccato. Meditation starts at: 6:04

Teaching: Alan introduces the 4th application of mindfulness to phenomena (dharmas). Whereas the first 3 applications of mindfulness are microscopic, the mindfulness of phenomena takes a step back to understand how it all fits together and their inter-relationships—i.e., dependent origination. While dependent origination applies to all phenomena, the focus here is understanding causes and conditions leading to suffering and happiness. All the different lists of phenomena in this section are presented so that we can become free. Within the 5 obscurations, the first one is sensual craving which means fixating on an appearance and believing therein lies my happiness. Its antidote is single-pointed attention, and we can see how this can be in settling the mind. Lama Zöpa Rinpoche has said that renunciation is a prerequisite for shamatha. Renunciation itself can be cultivated by 1) discursive meditations of the lamrim, 2) devotion, or 3) shamatha. Meditation: silent session on either mindfulness of the breath as this morning or open presence (without dzogchen). In this proto-shamatha practice, let your awareness settle in the present moment, lighting all the sense fields. Maintain flow of knowing. Keep either mindfulness of the breath or open presence as the baseline, and make forays into other practices from there. Q1. In settling the mind, is the space of the mind for this practice the same as the substrate which is also referred to as the space of the mind? If so, how can we attend to the substrate as beginners?
Q2. I want to report a strange meditative experience. When I’m very relaxed in the supine position, there is prana pounding at the solarplexes like a heartbeat reverberating through the whole body. It’s not in sync with the heartbeat, and it doesn’t occur when I meditate in a seated posture. 
Q3. In settling the mind, how can we recognize subtle excitation and apply the corresponding antidote? Meditation starts at 41:25

Teaching: Alan draws parallels between settling the mind and mindfulness of breathing. 
In settling the mind, in principle, being present with all mental arisings sufficient for the mind to undo its knots and heal itself. Don’t be the agent of thoughts! Sustain flow of mindfulness without distraction, without grasping. In reality, we grasp, and there are knots we cannot seem to undo on our own. In such instances, we may benefit from the counsel of spiritual friends and putting them into practice. The mind’s ability to heal itself remains the substantial cause. 
In mindfulness of breathing, being present with the space of the body, truly letting the breath settle in its natural rhythm without preference, should be sufficient for the prana system to sort itself out. Don’t be the agent of the breath! We must release rumination at every out breath. In reality, we may encounter blockages which are not releasing themselves. Similarly, we may benefit from the help of spiritual friends. In the end, the body and mind have capacities to heal themselves if we get out of the way. Meditation: mindfulness of breathing. Let the healing agent awareness illuminate the space of the body. Settle the respiration in its natural rhythm. Relax deeply with every out breath, neither retaining nor expelling the breath. Utterly release rumination with each out breath. Release all concerns about the past and future, and let the present suffice. Let awareness come to stillness. When the breath is long, know that it is long. When the breath is short, know that it is short.
In post-meditation, maintain an ongoing flow of mindfulness of breathing to keep rumination from throwing the whole system out of balance. Meditation starts at 28:26

Teaching: Alan reminds us that all the shamatha practices have been attending to the mind in that there is mindfulness placed on an object and introspection to the mind. In settling the mind, the object of mindfulness is the javana of the psyche. In awareness of awareness, the object of mindfulness is the bhavanga. In mindfulness of the mind, we attend to both the javana and the bhavanga with probing and inquiry vis-à-vis the 3 marks of existence. We see first-hand how mental afflictions are unpleasant, how they come and go, and how they have no substantial nature. Meditation: silent session with practice of your choice. Q1a. In mindfulness of the mind, are feelings of desire and curiosity mental afflictions? Desire leads to craving and attachment, so would desire to achieve shamatha also be wrong? Curiosity can lead to anxiety. In my practice, both mental states can trigger unpleasant feelings, but can’t they also be positive states leading us to liberation?
Q2. Why aren’t you teaching settling body, speech, and mind with 3 breaths as explained in your book? 
Q1b. Following up on the question on desire and curiosity, do they fall on a continuum with other mental afflictions, or are they in a category of their own? How about attachment as something positive as what a baby develops towards his/her mother?
Q3. In awareness of awareness, does the oscillation serve a purpose other than being an antidote to laxity and excitation? 
Q4. In awareness of awareness, is it referring to one awareness that is different from all the other awarenesses? In my practice, my awareness jumps to different objects rather than staying on awareness itself. I let go, and it becomes like open awareness. Meditation starts at 23:00

Teaching: Alan discusses causality and the relationship between cause and effect within the context of mindfulness of the mind. According to the Sautantrika, both cause and effect are considered real. According to William James, the relationship (relata) is also considered real. In order to perceive any causal relationship, you need to observe phenomena with a wide angle over time and connect the dots. 
When experiencing pleasure, enquire whether it is stimulus driven or not. Genuine happiness (sukkha) arises from the substrate when unimpeded. There are five obscurations which obscure the natural qualities of the substrate: 1) sensual craving, 2) ill will, 3) laxity/dullness, excitation/anxiety, 5) debilitating doubt. 
Unlike the 5 senses, there is no physical faculty corresponding to mental consciousness. In other words, mental consciousness arises from mental consciousness. All appearances arise from and manifest within the space of the mind (alaya). Meditation: mindfulness of the mind. Direct mindfulness to the space of the mind and the objective appearances and subjective responses therein. Identify whether pleasure or displeasure is stimulus driven. Observe closely and recognize coherent patterns. Distinguish between thoughts and emotions you generated versus those that arose spontaneously. Identify cooperative conditions and substantial cause for the discursive thought or mental image. If caught up in rumination, return to the shamatha practice of settling the mind. Q1. Please comment on the substrate, substrate consciousness, lucid dreaming, and the death process. Meditation starts at 46:07

Teaching: Alan begins the session by presenting the 2nd and 3rd marks of existence. In the 2nd mark of existence, dukkha can be understood to mean the unsatisfactory nature of looking at any experience and thinking, „This will make me happy.“ The 3rd mark of existence: all phenomena are empty and non-self. This means that „me“ and „mine“ are conceptual designations empty of intrinsic entity (=self). Meditation: mindfulness of the body focusing on the 3rd mark of existence emptiness and non-self. Use discerning mindfulness on each of the following sense domains in turn: 1) visual, 2) auditory, 3) tactile, and 4) all 5 senses. Ask: 1) is any appearance „yours“ or „you“?, and 2) do you have any control over appearances arising? Q1. When I focus on the breath, it gets tight and uneasy. Why and what can I do about it? 
Q2. Within the course of a single session, is it possible to shift from mindfulness of breathing at the abdomen to the nostrils, or vice versa?
Q3. It’s difficult for me to feel sensations of the breath at the upper lip, so I force a stronger breath to make it perceptible. Once I lay off, it becomes imperceptible again. What should I do?
Q4. Is there a gradient of conceptualization? (cont. from 120830)
Q5. How many people have attained shamatha in this century? 
Q6. How long does it take for people of varying faculties to attain shamatha?
Q7. What makes thoughts and images in the mind appear seemingly out of nowhere?
Q8. During meditation, random and sometimes disturbing thoughts arise. Where do they come from? Meditation starts at 21:00

Teaching: Alan gives a brief teaching on Dromtönpa’s quote „Give up all attachment to this life, and let your mind become dharma.“ In shamatha practice, releasing excitation corresponds to giving up attachment, and resting in awareness, 5 antidotes naturally arise to counter the 5 obscurations to the substrate and rigpa: 1) sukkha vs. malice/ill-will, 2) single-pointed attention vs. desire/attachment/fixation, 3) coarse investigation vs. laxity/dullness, 4) bliss vs. excitation/anxiety, and 5) precise analysis vs. afflictive uncertainty. Meditation: mindfulness of breathing method of your choice. If there is tension, you may want to practice full-body awareness. If there is rumination, you may want to practice mindfulness of breathing at the abdomen. If the mind is loose and calm, you may want to practice mindfulness of breathing at the nostrils. For any of the practices, use staccato counting if helpful. As always, monitor the flow of mindfulness with introspection and apply antidotes to laxity and excitation. Meditation starts at 12:53

Meditation: body scan. Single-pointedly focus on sensations (both outer and inner) at one target area, scanning the body from top to bottom as instructed in the guided meditation. Teaching: Alan introduces some Sautrāntika philosophy—view of reality—to help us observe closely. There are 1) things that exist and 2) things that don’t exist. Among things that exist, there are 1a) real and 1b) unreal. Real phenomena constitute anything that can be perceived directly or with the help of instruments. Unreal phenomena exist only because we say so—i.e., conceptual designations. 
This framework helps us in the practice of the 4 applications of mindfulness to distinguish through careful observation between 1) what’s being presented and 2) what’s being superimposed. Q1. In the practice of the 5 elements, each element appears to be in flux, so does each element contain air element?
Q2. Is the experience of prana (lelung) upon achieving shamatha the same as kundalini?
Q3. Can walking meditation be integrated into shamatha practice? 
Q4. How to refresh and renew interest in the breath without tension? 
Q5. Do the 3 shamatha practices present a gradual progression from gross to subtle? And if so, does this mean that we have to master all 3 practices to achieve shamatha? Meditation starts at 10:50

Teaching: Alan begins by framing the quest as the pursuit of inner knowledge, contrasting the centrality of subjective experience and mind in buddhism with the emphasis on understanding reality from the outside and materialism in science. In science, conceptual understanding and reason are considered the highest goal. In buddhism, concepts are used as a means to arrive at non-conceptual experience/realization. Both the body and the environmental are composed of the 4 elements. Meditation: mindfulness of the body with immediate experience of the 5 elements: 1) earth, 2) water, 3) fire, 4) air, and 5) space. For each of the elements, 1) observe nakedly, 2) can you observe anything stable or static?, and 3) can you directly perceive the space of the body? Q1-2. Can we guide ourselves using internal dialog or verbal prompts during our meditation, or is this distracting?
Q3. Can we adjust for any physical discomfort during meditation? 
Q4. I’ve experienced the greatest stability in my meditations when the breath is short and shallow. Is this OK? Meditation starts at 25:25

Teaching: Alan introduces the 3rd type of suffering—ubiquitous or all-pervasive suffering—and the last two of the eightfold noble path—authentic intention and authentic view—which belong to wisdom. 

Meditation (25:40): Based on your own experience, do you see link between grasping at I/mine and suffering? Generate aspiration for yourself to be free from all-pervasive suffering Generate aspiration for others to be free from all-pervasive suffering Generate aspiration for all sentient beings to be free from all 3 types of suffering Rest awareness in awareness Teaching: Alan reveals sources for the practice of resting awareness in awareness and discusses the complementarity of the developmental approach (e.g., cultivating compassion) and the discovery approach (e.g., dzogchen). Q&A (60:05): 1) Do you need shamatha and vipashyana to get rid of all mental afflictions? If so, will only those who take the path of meditation and achieve shamatha and vipashyana have genuine happiness? 2) Within the context of references to the jhanas (aka dhyanas) and samapattis in the tibetan tradition: In the Abhisamayalankara, a bodhisattva on the 6th bhumi trains and perfects all the levels of samadhi. How does this relate? 3) Does the acquired sign arise when one rests in meditation or does it only come when focusing on an object such as the sensations of the breath?

Teaching: Alan introduces the 3rd immeasurable: empathetic joy, defined as taking delight in virtues of oneself and others. While an antidote to grief and general negativity in life, beware of pride which elevates oneself above others. Meditation (31:09): From your early childhood through the present, bring to mind those who have treated you well and enriched your life. Invoke a feeling of gratitude and gladness as you recall others’ virtue. From your early childhood through the present, bring to mind what you have brought to others. Take delight in your own virtue, without slipping into pride. Q&A (55:47): Q1) Are bursts of creativity during meditation nyams? And if so, should we not follow through on them? Q2) During awareness of awareness, can I remind myself with „knowing“ and „aware“? Q3) Can we be in one stage in one method and another stage in another method? Q4) Should we release inner guidance when it comes up? Q5) Is it possible to be at different stages at different times? Q6) In the Vajrayana, one brings the energies into the central channel in order to realize the dharmakaya. What’s the relationship to settling the body, speech, and mind in their natural state? Q7) In settling the mind in its natural state, I felt happy that images were appearing and wanted to manipulate them.