Founded in Kuntuzangmo, everything is necessarily virtue; all Kuntuzangpo’s
behavior, even devilish conduct, thus ultimately vanishes. Thus all action
founded in Kuntuzangmo, even devilish action, is bodhisattva action.
There are many methods of changing the mind provided by the paramitas
and the yoga-tantras, such as the concentrated absorption free of the six faults
that removes the ten veils on the path of liberation; the samadhi of the eight
impulsions that voids the five faults, which is also on the path of liberation;
the technique of aggregates [skandha], elements [dhatu], and sensory fields
[ayatana], and the concentration of grasping, establishing, stopping, opening
up, and eliminating that is also on the path of liberation; the concentrated
absorption of recitation that prevails over the six obstacles that are difficult to
overcome and is also on the path of liberation; and the samadhi of
visualization of body, mind, and deity that is also on the path of liberation.
There are so many methods of concentrated absorption like that.Here we stay with the Dzogchen view, meditating on shamata and vipasyana
combined with the nine stages of the resting mind, and the order of appearance of
the nine stages of the resting mind is correlated with the five mystical experiences.
At any rate, when we practice shamata, the five mystical experiences—
fluctuation, attainment, familiarization, continuity, and completion—appear one
after the other. The experience of fluctuation is like a high waterfall; the
experience of attainment is like a cataract in a narrow valley; the experience of
familiarization is like the river flowing sedately across a plain; the experience of
continuity is like a gentle breeze blowing over a small lake; the experience of
completion is like an ocean free from waves. We need to continue with shamata
meditation until these five mystical experiences have occurred.
Furthermore, when we practice the single-pointed meditation of the aspiring
mind, if the nine stages of resting mind and the appearance of the five mystical
experiences are correlated, they arise in the following way. During the first three
dispositions, while meditating on the stages of resting, continual resting, and
repeated resting, strong thoughts arise like a high waterfall. Many bright thoughts
arise here, seemingly more than before the start of meditation practice, but that is
a delusion because earlier, the thoughts were not examined, recalled, or focused
upon, and for that reason alone, we were not aware of them. During meditation
according to shamata instruction, however, we actually become aware of such
thoughts, and it seems therefore that there are more of them. Through this
ongoing recognition, thoughts will gradually become clearer and eventually will
disappear. When thoughts arise and are not recognized, it is like what happened to
Chonga the fool.
Once Chonga, the idiot, was lost, and he did not return to his house until a
month later. The people asked him where he had gone. He replied that some
Khampa traders had taken him to Lhasa. Everyone believed him. One day a man
asked him what he had seen in Lhasa. He replied that he did not know exactly, but
that Grandfather Jamyang was there. Grandfather Jamyang, however, lived near
Mount Kailash, so the people assumed that he had been to Mount Kailash.