The Great Secret of Mind

things happen from stories of past great masters who tell their students that
favorable conditions are less conducive to attainment than unfavorable ones.
When we encounter unfavorable conditions such as sickness, war, conflict, or
slander, we are able to recognize them, and in a state of confidence, we can allow
our envisionment to self-release. Favorable conditions, on the other hand, incline
us toward attachment. The beautiful wife, fine children, wealth, fame, honor, and
international recognition with prestigious awards constitute such conditions that
lead to attachment to external objects. If we practice buddha-dharma, our dreams
may be realized, and sometimes there are actual signs of accomplishment in
dreams. Sometimes those dreams are the creation of devils, even those in which
we hear the lama giving transmission. Our thoughts are equivocal, and since our
body-minds are not the same as previously, and since various mystical experiences
such as bliss, clarity, and no-thought arise—some pure and others impure—we
cannot distinguish between accomplishment and the miasma of the devil’s antics.
In short, whether favorable or unfavorable thoughts arise, if we are free of
attachment, understanding thoughts as illusion, they will release themselves by
themselves. The crucial point is that misfortune provides good fortune, and
unfavorable conditions are actually more easily dealt with than favorable
conditions. But for ordinary yogins and yoginis, it is more difficult to take favorable
conditions as the path than unfavorable ones. The story of the yogin Surya Vajra,
told in the Dudjom Lingpa’s Cutting Instruction, illustrates how favorable
conditions can rebound upon us. When Surya Vajra was about to attain
accomplishment, devils conspiring to obstruct him bewitched the people of his
town, especially the beautiful women. Here is how it went.
Once in the great kingdom of Magadha a man called “Surya Vajra” abandoned
his family and assiduously practiced the Dharma. When his commitment was seen
by the devils [maras], they conspired to harm him. The devil of form offered to
show the yogin his own fearfulness and thereby disturb him. The devil of
formlessness offered to obstruct him by entering into his mind and letting him
experience the heights and depths of happiness and sadness. The devil of pride
offered to obstruct him by inducing equivocating thought. Finally, the devil of
happiness made his offer, saying that the devil of form could show Surya Vajra
fear, but Surya Vajra’s oral instruction upon selflessness could assuage that fear
and the yogin would gain accomplishment. Fear would actually be the cause of his
accomplishment, and he would go beyond their sphere of influence. So fear was of
no use. He went on to say that if the devil of formlessness entered the yogin’s heart
and induced various feelings of suffering and happiness, all of them would be
easily recognized and provide means of release into the space of freedom from
rebirth. So likewise such obstacles should be classified as favorable conditions. To
the devil of pride, he said that the equivocal thoughts that he could induce would
be countered by the oral instruction of taking misfortune as advantage, so that also
would not work. He assured the three of them that their plans were bound to fail
because they consisted of the provision of unfavorable conditions, which are easy
to overcome. On the other hand, if they befriended him and provided favorable
conditions, he would come under their control forever. Asking for their help in