To continue this posting
What then is the role of the
four methods of resting, the four Chog Zhags, elaborated in chapter 10, since meditation is
not the province of Dzogchen?
It is simply to elicit the decisive experience
already known from direct introduction. And it can be elicited (again) only if direct introduction has been successful. Otherwise the four methods are of no use and trying to apply them will only result in ordinary mind's activities.
So the four methods of resting are not to be confused with ordinary mind's meditation sessions.
What then is the purpose of the four methods?
Even if direct introduction has been successful it may happen that during everyday life (work, meetings, debates, family etc.) and its activities one slips back into ordinary mind due to ingrained habituations and one becomes aware 'This isn't it'. If one then interrupts the continuation of ordinary mind through applying
Resting imperturbably like an ocean,
Resting imperturbably in awareness and
Resting in the immediate perception of sensory appearance for a matter of seconds only one immediately slips out of ordinary mind again and the result is
resting imperturbably like a mountain.
Consequently there is no formal meditation session involved. Meditation sessions are the province of ordinary mind but not the province of awareness.
Applying these methods repeatedly when necessary in the phase after direct introduction has been successful
stabilization of resting in awareness occurs naturally and slipping back into ordinary mind will very soon become a rare event and then not happen again and ever-present timeless awareness will manifest in and as all phenomena continuously.