The Great Secret of Mind

Chonga had seen thousands of people, but he had not registered his perceptions.
It was not that he had not had the perceptions. In premeditation experience,
although thoughts arise uninterruptedly, they are unexamined and unnoticed and
hence do not rise to the level of consciousness, as in the case of Chonga the fool on
his tour. Now, by virtue of the meditation precepts, the thoughts that arise are
recognized, and their nature is understood, so that slowly, through meditation,
they will disappear.
During the fourth disposition, fully resting, and the fifth, taming, what earlier
were gross thoughts become more pacific, like a cataract in a narrow valley. There
is the continuity of many subtle thoughts here, many busy whirls and swirls of
thought, becoming more dense. It is understood that the falls in a cramped gorge
are slower than high falls.
The experiences of the sixth disposition, pacification, and the seventh, thorough
pacification, are like a broad river running across a plain. From far away, it
appears that the river is not moving. When we get closer, we can see its slow,
dignified progress. Likewise, from above, we may think the mind is resting, but
looking more closely, we can see many subtle fluctuations. At this time, the crux is
to apply increased effort.
During the eighth disposition, one-pointedness, the experience of firmness is
like a fresh breeze over a small lake, the mind abiding in the object of focus, and—
if effort is sufficient—abiding continuously. This is attentiveness. Like a stone
dropped into a pond making ripples in concentric circles that eventually become
imperceptible, in this experience, the rising of thought becomes so subtle that we
do not quite catch it, even though we are paying attention.
During the ninth disposition, at attainment and resting in equanimity, we gain
the experience of completion, which is like a mountain, unmoving and
unyielding. If that type of single-pointed aspiring mind is accomplished, the mind
becomes effortlessly familiarized. All the stages are accomplished automatically,
and if the mind is kept without thought in its own place and all appearances cease,
we have the experience of mind mixed with space. Later, desire and anger and
other emotions become reduced and finally vanish altogether. Experiences of bliss,
clarity, and no-thought arise, and even sleep seems to be mixed with
concentration, and most dreams seem pure.
If the nine dispositions of mind and familiarization with the five experiences are
completed outside the Dzogchen context, then we do not go beyond the worldly
path. It is best first to develop perfect shamata and then find Dzogchen. A good
field will yield a good harvest, no matter what we sow.
After accomplishing this single-pointed mind, if we then train in the
development and completion stages, we can easily accomplish both. Moreover,
whether we enter the Dzogchen path of Cutting Through to alpha-purity or Direct
Crossing in spontaneity, we are blessed with supreme good fortune.
Consider Polo Khen Rinpoche, the emanation of the rigzin Garab Dorje, who
practiced a shamata retreat for three years. Afterward he trained in Dzogchen and
accomplished a unique result, as has been told to me personally by my lama Khen
Rinpoche Dawai Wozer. He reiterated that neophytes should practice shamata if