A comprehensive introduction to visualization practice in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition including how to select an archtype (ideal figure) to become and the set up for a condusive meditation environment.
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Transcript
GUIDELINES FOR VISUALIZATION THE SIX PRELIMINARIES The Six Preliminaries of Tibetan Buddhism are a comprehensive system of spiritual practice. They provide the structure for one's daily meditation and offer a set sequence of contemplative themes and mental activities that one rehearses in a similar way as a sequence of yoga poses, Flowing gracefully from one to the next. The preliminaries rely heavily on visualization to provide an enriching atmosphere for learning. To visualize during meditation is to use your inner eye of creative imagination in order to open a channel to a subtle realm of reality in which divine beings, Mentor guides, And angels can aid you in your inner process of transformation. The aim of the preliminaries is that they are designed to create the true causes and conditions necessary for achieving happiness and liberation. The process allows one to eliminate negative mental habits, Accumulate virtues, Develop the compassionate motivation, And establish the correct view of reality. The Six Preliminaries are 1. Purifying space and time. 2. Making offerings. 3. Posture, Going for refuge, And generating bodhichitta. 4. Evoking the mentor merit field. 5. Purifying negativities and accumulating virtue. 6. Offering a mandala and request for blessings. Each step is indispensable and builds upon the last. The six steps comprise what is known as the ordinary preliminaries that prepare the mind for more advanced practices such as the extraordinary preliminaries and finally the two stages of the esoteric system of tantra. As such, The preliminaries are a very suitable system for beginners. One may practice all six preliminaries straight through or insert additional specific meditation techniques such as tranquility, Compassion, Analytic insight, In between step five and six. The six preliminaries presented in this recording are based on the teachings of Je Tsongkhapa, The awakened scholar-yogi of the fifteenth century in Tibet, Founder of the Golukpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, And root teacher to the lineage of the Dalai Lamas. Je Tsongkhapa was the author of the Lamrim Chenmo, The great treatise on the stages of the path to enlightenment, One of the greatest jewels of world spiritual literature, Which illuminates the entire path one traverses to complete liberation. Other commentaries were taken from the modern scholar Geshe Rapden, Who was a graduate of the highest order from Sera May Monastic College in Lhasa. Geshe-la spent many years beginning in the early 1970s teaching all facets of Tibetan Buddhism to Westerners and was known for his great kindness, Patience, And dedication. Lastly, This recording is inspired by my own mentors, Dr. Joe Louiso and Dr. Robert Thurman, Who in their own unique ways have translated the ancient systems of Tibetan visualization into a language applicable and relevant to modern Westerners seeking happiness and freedom. The first preliminary, Purifying Space and Time. Designate a quiet space in your home for regular meditation. Clean and tidy the space as this will help put your mind at ease. As you tidy the surroundings, Imagine you are cleansing your mind of negative imprints that obscure your natural clarity. Time is a manifestation of space, So think about cleaning up your time as well. You can do this by clarifying your intention to practice right here, Right now, In the present moment. As opposed to doing things mindlessly and on automatic pilot. Then commit to your meditation period with single-pointed focus and determination. Space and time are purified with our respect, Taking nothing for granted. The second preliminary, Making Offerings. Now transform the space. Make the space pleasing to the senses, Meaningful or sacred, By setting up an altar, Arranging flowers, Lighting candles and incense, Setting up pictures or statues of inspiring people and places, And making other gestures of gratitude. This helps create a special environment and differentiate the space from ordinary space. Now mentally transform the space. Return to the active imagination of a child, Relaxing beyond limits of what you think is real or possible. Imagine that you're in a safe healing environment of your choosing. Rather than a bedroom or a corner of your house, Imagine you are in a sanctuary, Temple, Palace or other inspirational place. Multiply your offerings, Creating a feeling of abundance. One flower becomes a pleasure garden. A single candle becomes a clear sky illuminated by rainbows. The cool breeze is perfumed by incense and sweet fragrance. The sound of a gong becomes the deep primordial hum, Reminding you of your imminent liberation. All your senses are recruited for the purposes of creating delight and wonder. Then imagine that the space is well protected by a force field of awareness created by all the spiritual mentor guides of your tradition and lineage. They hold you in their tender embrace, Watching carefully over you. They are delighted by your activities. The force field acts as a filter for any stress or toxic elements, Thereby sanctifying your surroundings. Let your imagination ease your brain and nervous system into feeling safe enough to disarm and relaxed enough to enjoy. The third preliminary, Posture, Refuge and Bodhicitta. The meditative recordings will begin at preliminary three, Assuming that you have already cleaned your space and made offerings. Now you're ready to sit down and meditate. Posture. How to sit in your divinity according to the Indo-Tibetan seven-point vairochana posture. If you're seated on the floor, Place your legs in fuller half-lotus position or just cross them in front of you. The right hand is placed in the left, Palms facing upwards with the tips of the thumbs gently touching. If seated in a chair, Place your feet flat on the ground and hands folded in your lap. Eyes are half open, Gazing softly at the space afoot in front of you. This will help prevent you from falling asleep. If restless, Try closing the eyes gently to help the mind begin to relax. Keep your spine erect like a stack of coins, Upright but not rigid. This will help you stay alert. Position your meditation cushion beneath your rear to raise the spine and tilt forward the pelvis. If in a chair, Come forward slightly with your back away from the back of the chair and your rear at the front half of the seat. Shoulders should be even and relaxed. Be mindful not to hunch or slouch. Dip your chin down slightly. Keep a relaxed space between your lips and teeth. Do not clench your jaw. Rest your tongue softly on the roof of your palate. Here is a simple two-point version of this meditation posture, Which is to keep your back upright and relax your body. Now cultivate a sense of healthy pride as you sit in this stable posture. Assume your divinity. You are ready to practice within an ancient lineage of spiritual guides who have consciously maximized and achieved their evolutionary potential. You are next in line. Once the environment is purified and you're seated in your meditation posture, Begin to prepare your mind for meditation. This is done in a sequence of reflections, Including taking refuge and generating bodhicitta. The aim of such reflections is to help reprioritize your efforts and energies towards the monumental opportunity for freedom pregnant in the present moment. Refuge Going for Safe Direction to the Three Jewels Taking refuge is like seeking safe direction from a storm or the advice of a doctor when sick. It acknowledges first and foremost our existential predicament of suffering, That we are unable to accomplish our aims on our own, And that we need help and support from others who have already achieved the state of freedom and happiness that we seek. On the Buddhist path one seeks refuge in what are called the Three Jewels because they are infinitely precious. The first refuge is the Buddha. We surrender our compulsive ways and limited sense of self to the safety and care of the Buddha. The Buddha represents the ultimate mentor or role model, Someone who has gained enlightenment, Such as the Great Mother, Moses, Christ, Mohammed, Krishna, Or Lao Tzu. At the same time we take refuge in the inner Buddha, Recognizing that the outer teacher is just a mirror for our own enlightened potential, Variously known as Buddha-nature, Natural clarity, Basic sanity, Or fundamental goodness. Therefore what we seek refuge in is nothing other than our own Higher Self, Purified of any negativity and maximized of all positive virtues. The second refuge is the Dharma. The Dharma specifically refers to all the teachings that lead to liberation. It represents the methods one learns to maximize our evolutionary development and achieve our ultimate goal. More fundamentally the Dharma represents our encounter with or direct realization of reality itself. This is in the sense that learning to see things clearly, Learning to live in accord with the way things actually are, Is itself freeing, Joyful, And luminous. The third refuge is the Sangha. Generally speaking the Sangha refers to the community of like-minded practitioners embracing the contemplative life and abandoning the compulsive life. When you feel distressed on your journey towards awakening it can be helpful to rely on your fellow companions to keep you uplifted and on target. More accurately the Sangha are those beings actually present around you who have already experienced a direct realization of truth and thus offer inspiration that it is possible for the rest of us. Bodhicitta, The spirit of enlightenment. Once we fully appreciate our existential predicament of suffering, Born of compulsive existence, And we seek refuge in the Three Jewels as the ultimate remedy, Then we may naturally remember the plight of all our fellow sentient beings who still remain in the ocean of misery, Fear and doubt. How could we possibly enjoy the fruits of freedom and happiness when all other sentient beings remain in bondage? Bodhicitta is an aspiration, The highest intention, To direct the course of our day-to-day actions and the destination of our entire life towards helping others. This becomes the sole reason for our life. Have you ever wondered what the purpose of your life was? Why it is that you're here? Bodhicitta answers those perennial questions. Bodhicitta has two parts. The first part is the extraordinary intention to save all beings from suffering and to bring them to bliss. It is a messianic intention, A Christ-like intention. The second part of bodhicitta is the realization that the only way to fulfill your wish, The only real way to help others, Is to become fully awakened yourself. Achieving our highest potential will then make it possible to help others. If you don't yet genuinely feel up to the task of the messianic intention, That's quite normal. Stick to wanting to help yourself first, Wanting to be completely free and happy, But don't ever lose sight of the real purpose of happiness, Which is to share it with all others. The fourth preliminary, Evoking the mentor-merit field. Your body and mind are now prepared for the heart of the practice, Which is to transform yourself and world and evoke your mentor-guide in order to perform an inner therapy. Begin by identifying your sense of self. From beginningless time our attachment to an erroneous sense of self, As being permanent, Unitary and independent, Has been the primary cause for all our suffering. In order to proceed with the visualization, We must at least conceptually begin to loosen our fixation with a core sense of self. Find your internal narrative. I am such and such person with such and such history. Locate your sense of I-ness within that narrative. How absolutely real you feel yourself to be. From this sense of self you can go through a dissolution process in which the fabricated self dissolves in increasingly more subtle stages until you reach a kind of clear light nature. When you reach your clear light nature, You'll re-emerge in a light body made of pure breath and energy, Free and open. When we take on a dream body or a clear light body, We can then dissolve our world picture. First identify how you see and experience the world around you. Typically we experience the external world as stressful, Threatening, Mired with pandemics, Violence, Unstable governments and natural disasters. From the Buddhist perspective, The experience of the world is merely a projection from a mind that is fearful and confused. Just as you have accessed your clear light nature by letting go of the illusion of a separate self, You can now let go of your fearful base projection of the world and re-envision it as a safe healing paradise. This is crucial because our optimal learning potential is predicated on the basis of a safe nurturing space which works as a feedback to accelerate our development. In order to re-envision the world, Dissolve the world into emptiness, The pure light of primal potential and kinetic energy. Let the forms, Colors and concepts go, Let the whole picture of the world melt like butter into broth into luminous clear light. Then recreate the world into an optimal enriched environment, Also known as a mandala, A protective space of your own choosing. It could be a specific environment from a traditional source or simply what you imagine heaven or paradise to be. It could even be a space from your childhood, A place where you felt protected and free. Now that you feel light and clear and safe, Evoke your mentor merit field. Traditionally the mentor is called a merit field because it is within their presence that you create enormous amounts of positive energy and virtue. The mentor merit field can be a host of enlightened beings or a single figure archetype that encompasses them all, Such as the Buddha, Christ or Krishna. They can arrive in full form spontaneously or progressively in stages. In order to envision the merit field appearing in stages, Imagine in the space before you a luminous sun and moon disk or cushion arising out of a vast energy flow of your purified awareness. Now imagine your mentor seated in full lotus upon that lotus sun and moon disk. Then imagine your personal teacher appears to inhabit the form of the mentor archetype. Here the idea is that someone you actually know and admire animates the aspect of the divine, Making them feel more real and accessible to you. The example would be of your personal yoga teacher inhabiting the form of Shiva or the Dalai Lama inhabiting the form of Chen Rizek so that the divine archetype is filled with the warmth and moisture of an actual person you hold dear. The fifth preliminary, Purify negativities and accumulate virtue. The fifth preliminary occurs in a process called the sevenfold mentor bonding process or the seven limb prayer. Now begin the inner therapy and dialogue with your mentor, Facing your mentor and feeling that he or she is present just for you. Admire the positive qualities of your mentor that you seek to cultivate in your own life such as their love, Peace, Wisdom, Warmth, Equanimity or courage. Think to yourself how nice it would be to be more like that. If you feel so inclined, Imagine bowing or making supplication to them. Making offerings. In the spirit of generosity and admiration, Imagine making offerings to your mentor by giving him or her flowers or precious items. The highest gift that you can give your mentor is your own spiritual practice and its fruits. Imagine your mentor accepts these gifts with gratitude and delight. Feel close to them and entitled to ask for support. Confession Feeling close with your mentor, Allow yourself to disclose any real or imagined limits, Blocks or failures. Review your recent actions of body, Speech and mind in the last twenty-four hours and identify any transgressions you have made, Particularly those of harming others. Go through what are called the four opponent powers which help to eliminate the negative imprints on your consciousness. The first power is taking refuge and seeking the safety in your higher self. The second power is regret, Having genuine remorse for your wrongdoings. The third power is resolve, In which you commit for a specific period of time not to recreate the negative action. The fourth power is repair, By consciously imagining or actually performing an opposing positive action. After reflection on the four opponent powers, Allow yourself to have a visceral sense of feeling purified and cleansed of any shortcomings. Rejoicing After you've identified your shortcomings, Identify and rejoice in your spiritual accomplishments. Take some healthy pride in the effort you've put into changing your life. Be happy about your Dharma practice. Take delight in becoming a more peaceful and conscious being. Feel like it's actually possible to become closer to your mentor, To actually become your mentor. This stage marks an important turning point in the dialogue. When you have your first glimpse of actually achieving your highest potential, Becoming free and happy, It is a wonderful vision and the basis for guiding the rest of your life. Recognize that in essence the mentor and you are made of the same stuff. That he or she is just a little further along the path. You are two waves in the same ocean. Requesting Guidance Now acknowledge that this is just the beginning, Just a taste of possibility, And that your development along the path will take time, Energy, And guidance. With deep sincerity ask your mentor for the help you need to fully realize your optimal capacity. Delighted to be asked, Imagine the mentor sends from his or her heart all the blessings, Intuitive realizations, And guidance you need to actualize your potential. Envision rainbow waves of positive energy emanating from your mentor's heart and entering your heart, Filling you with optimism and hope. If you're ill, Imagine the blessings eliminating toxins in your body, Melting fears and doubts, Destroying insecurities in your mind. Imagine this positive energy filling your dream or breath body like a flame fills a lamp until you are completely illuminated. Being so full of this positive light and energy, Imagine it overflows and ripples outwards from your heart and body to the ends of the universe. You can imagine the energy extending out from every pore of your body and filling the universe with light. Finally, The positive energy ripples back to you in a wave of solidarity with all of life. Let this positive energy resonate at your heart. If you'd like to insert any other meditation techniques into the overall structure of the six preliminaries, Here is where you would do so. For example, You could now enter into a period of resting into the mind's natural state. You could continue with mindfulness meditation of forms, Sounds, Sensations, Or emotions. You could begin a compassion practice of giving and taking. Or you could do an analytic meditation on the emptiness of self. Requesting Presence After a period of meditation, Revive your vision of being connected and in dialogue with your mentor. Reflect on the teachings and guidance that you've been given so that they become metabolized. Now recognize that your mentor is already awakened, Has completed the path, And could easily abide in their own happiness. Ask for their continued presence in your life so that they stay with you always and be continuously available to help support you. Thrilled to be asked and respecting your request, Imagine the mentor begins to dissolve into pure light. From their crown to the tip of their toes, They dissolve inwards towards their heart until all that remains is a luminous drop, Like a teardrop of joy, Coalescing their entire being. Now imagine that that teardrop floats above your head, Slips into your crown, Past your throat, And melts into your heart, Purifying your body, Speech, And mind. It dissolves there and mixes with your own inner chemistry and intuition, Like a drop of water merging with the ocean. Imagine that your mentor's essence dissolves inseparably with your own inner essence and healing wisdom. You and the mentor are of one taste. In fact, You and the mentor were never two. Allow the merger to resonate with an optimism that inspires and uplifts you. Again, The healing energy ripples out from your heart center to the ends of the universe. It then ripples back like a tsunami of love, Touching all the hearts and minds of all living beings in the universe, Kindling their own sense of optimism and potential, And finally comes back to your own heart where it dissolves. Now that you have tasted your potential, Commit yourself to actually manifesting that potential and sharing it with all living beings. Dedicate all the positive energy you've generated through this entire practice towards becoming a mentor guide for all other beings. The Sixth Preliminary Offer Mandala and Request Blessings A mandala is an offering one makes at the conclusion and sometimes at the beginning of one's meditation practice to the mentor merit field. Imagine the lineage of the entire tradition of enlightened beings to which you are a single link in the chain. Feeling gratitude, Place your hands in the mandala gesture mudra and imagine giving away the mandala in four levels of meaning. The first level is the outer mandala, Which is your visualized environment, Typically conceptualized as a purified universe or paradise. The second level is the inner mandala, Which is one's good virtues, Past, Present and future. The third level is the secret mandala, Which is your feeling of happiness and bliss. And the fourth level is the suchness mandala, Which is your wisdom of emptiness, Of open potential. Then recite the mandala mantra, Idam guru ratna mandala kam niriyatayami. Finally, Make a sincere request to the mentor merit field and all enlightened beings for their ongoing inspiration so that a full ripening of all your positive activities will spontaneously occur, Facilitating your direct realization of truth.
4.7 (56)
James
June 9, 2019
Every step of the way is needed, but somehow, this teaching is one of the most important ones for me. The way I meditate has just changed significantly. Thank you and bless you.
Ryan
June 7, 2019
I loved this and really needed to be reminded of all of this this morning
Chuck
May 23, 2019
Hey Miles. Great to see you here and to listen to your meditations. Looking forward to hearing more. Say hi to the family!
Jo
May 19, 2019
Dr. Miles Neale has given us an amazing gift of insight and healing. 🙏
Christine
May 4, 2019
Inspiring and ver y accessible explanation of preliminaries- thank you so much. Will listen again with do much info The 13 mins is transposed- it’s 31 mins long
