The Great Chariot

by Longchenpa | 268,580 words

A Commentary on Great Perfection: The Nature of Mind, Easer of Weariness In Sanskrit the title is ‘Mahāsandhi-cittā-visranta-vṛtti-mahāratha-nāma’. In Tibetan ‘rDzogs pa chen po sems nyid ngal gso’i shing rta chen po shes bya ba ’...

Part 2a.1 - The instruction to rest in non-thought

From these three stages of how to meditate in terms of students’ powers, briefly:

Now meditation for those of average powers is taught.
Just as when troubled water is being tossed by waves,
Bright reflections will be unsteady and unclear,
As for the mind, unruly thoughts arise and move,
When it begins to give credence to its complexities.
The luminous nature of mind and the clarity of wisdom,
The stars of the eyes and higher perceptions, do not arise.
So unwavering one-pointed meditation is important.

When water is agitated by waves, any reflections that may arise are not grasped. Similarly, though the mind has naturally-existing virtues of the higher perceptions and so forth, because of disturbing waves of false conceptions, these virtues do not manifest. Therefore meditating in unity is important. The Dohakosha says:

By waves of prana included in the mind[1]
Rising and moving, the mind becomes unruly.
If the co-emergent nature is realized,
By that one’s nature will be stabilized.

Rest like that, with no disturbance by the waves of thoughts. The water of mind will come to rest motionlessly, self-illuminated by the luminous lamp of the nature of mind. The same text says:

The excellent lord is without any waves.
Dhyana without disturbance will occur.
Release the water and the self-luminous lamp.
Not coming and going or accepting and rejecting.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

As for this, by... Omitted for metrical reasons.

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