Dzogchen Practice of Contemplation

[jonesboy]

The following is from the book AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PRACTICE
OF CONTEMPLATION by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu

Among the many topics taught by the Master
Chogyal Namkhai Norbu during a retreat at Monte
Faito in spring 1980, that the present writer had the
good fortune to attend, he gave the transmission of a
complete and progressive method for those wishing to
practise contemplation according to the Dzogchen
tradition.

This is a progressive method, replete with counsels
and exercises to enable a beginner to master the
practice, and with precious advice on how to avoid
deviating from the right path. Among other things it
also gives definitive clarification regarding the crucial
moment when students may start to consider
themselves Dzogchen practitioners.

This method is complete because, starting from the
beginner's position it reaches the advanced level,
illustrating on the way the increasingly imperceptible
and delicate variances that distinguish true
contemplation from the deviations that, throughout
the path, present a risk to the practitioner. Finally, it
directly penetrates the purest realms of Total Perfection
so as to provide all the instruments that enable one to
achieve perfect and complete Realization.

This book is intended as a manual of contemplation
that can be utilized by all practitioners of the Dzogchen
Community.

[jonesboy]

FIXATION

In the Dzogchen teaching, to approach the practice
of contemplation according to the instructions found
in the Semde, the Series of the Nature of Mind, the
first exercise with which to begin is called fixation.

THE PLACE

The ability to practise fixation must first be
developed through constant application: for a beginner
it is not easy to learn this practice while remaining
immersed in the commitments of daily life, in one's
family or surrounded by people busy with their affairs.

The first aspect concerns the body posture. When
you first learn to practise fixation the body should be
controlled; that is, you should seek to remain still in a
steady posture. Those who are able to do so should
assume the 'seven-point Vairochana posture'1; this is
the perfect posture. Many people, however, find this
body posture difficult to maintain, in which case you
should remember that the only indispensable feature is
to keep the back straight and the body under control.
The tongue should touch the palate; this disposition
is symbolically called 'union of the water element and
the fire element', that is of the two principles of cold
and heat.

The second aspect is the breathing. Before
practising you should p erform a series of nine
purification breaths2 as is done in Yantra Yoga.

NB: There follows a description of the nine breaths as performed
by male practitioners; female practitioners should perform them
inverting right and left.

Inhale (through both nostrils), raising your right elbow.
Block your right nostril (with the tips of the middle and
ring fingers of your right hand) and exhale from your left
nostril.

Then, after having inhaled again (through both nostrils)
raising your left elbow, block your left nostril and exhale
through your right nostril.

Repeat alternating in this way until you have done the
movement (combined with the respective breathing) thrice
from the left and thrice from the right.

Then the last three times inhale through both nostrils
thoroughly expanding your chest, and exhale completely
from both nostrils, bending your trunk down and forward,
as if to touch the ground with your forehead.

This preliminary purification exercise is always
performed at the start of any practice session- for every
type of practice - and is most useful; before a Shine
session, among other things it serves to make the flow
of thoughts more regular, to find greater mental
equilibrium, and to develop more self-control.

[jonesboy]

The third aspect, after those of the methods of
posture and of breathing, is the gaze.
When practising Shine in Dzogchen the eyes are
not closed.

It is customary to keep the eyes closed in other
meditation practices, such as in the inner Tantras, when
visualising a deity or mandala in order to 'transform's
impure vision into pure vision. With the eyes open this
would be far more difficult. Why? Because all around
you would still see impure vision. When you have to
work with your imagination it is easier to do it, and it
comes more spontaneously, with your eyes closed.
In our case, however, to engage in contemplation
there is no need to train in the 'transformation' of our
vision by means of the creative imagination, nor, on
the other hand, is it necessary to 'think' of anything;
you engage in the practice remaining present to your
perception of everything appearing to your six senses6
in the present moment.

Thus in the Dzogchen Semde, apart from in its
initial stages Shine is not a meditation exercise (in the
sense of there being 'something on which' to meditate
discursively) but is instead a practice that from the very
beginning aims at the state of p ure contemplation.
(Shine nevertheless is only a preliminary to true
contemplation that must eventually be surpassed).

The eyes must re main open, and the gaze must be fixed.
It should now be clear that as you do not close your
eyes, in order to start to practice fixation you need a
point on which to fix your gaze. This point can be the
Tibetan letter A, as depicted in the bookmark; in any
case, it is not so important for it to be the letter A from
the Tibetan alphabet, it could also be a western A or
any A.

Fix your gaze on the A.

[jonesboy]

The fourth aspect is the mind, and the ways to
direct it.

There are two ways to practise fixation: 'with an
object' and 'without an object' (or, 'with a concept' and
'without a concept')

You can say 'with an object' or 'with a concept' at
choice because, when a practitioner is gazing at the
letter A or any other object her intention is to fix on
the object, and this is connected with the concept of
having 'something to do'.

As regards the second manner of fixation, 'without
an object' or 'without a concept', there are two kinds,
that will be described below.

[jonesboy]

FIXATION WITH AN OBJECT NEPA -THE CALM STATE

The aim of fixation with an object is to discover the
state of mental calm ( nepa)7 and to become accustomed
to it.

The best way is to train in fixation with the letter A.

In the various contemplative traditions, in this practice various
objects are used to fix one's gaze, such as a candle flame, a sacred
image, or a blue flower.

In any case, as regards the specific way in which Shine is
practised according to the Dzogchen teaching, the letter A is most
used. There are many reasons for this. The A is also used in the
night practice, it is used for going to sleep and waking up, it is
used in Phowa and in many other practices, as the principal
symbol of the primordial state of consciousness.
It is used also because A is a neutral sound that 'rules' or
'generates' all other sounds.
When you practise pronouncing A with your voice, your
mind, breath and gaze converge on the A.
First of all, then, fix your gaze on the letter A as
indicated:

Controlling your body posture
Relaxing breath and mind, but
Concentrating somewhat sharply on the point
where you are fixing your gaze.

It is important that throughout the time that you practice
fixation all the sense functions should always be present. Even
when a practitioner is fixing very sharply and not actively
'attending' to all that is happening around him, everything
should be clearly present to his sense perception.
Otherwise it means he has strayed from fixation, sliding
into a state of torpor.

There are two different ways to ftx on an object.

1) 'Staring' at an object as if you wanted to pierce it. You
concentrate all your attention to focus on that object.

This is also called 'triangular fixation': two 'angles' are at the
practitioner's end while the third points at the object. Our side has
two 'angles', that is a larger space (the 'base of the triangle') ,
because it represents the multitude of our thoughts; all our
thoughts, all our confusion, are like the space contained between
the two 'angles' that we now concentrate as much as we can,
forcing them all to converge on a single point, the third 'angle',
that is on the object on which we are fixing our gaze.
Concentrating all our attention on the object in this way our
thoughts block themselves; but take care - do not think that they
no longer exist, that they have been destroyed: they do not arise
simply because in this way they are blocked.

2) Fixing the gaze in a more relaxed manner.

In general, as soon as your attention is relaxed thoughts arise
again; if you fix more sharply, they disappear.

This is why it is useful to train in fixation on an object. If you
notice that thoughts no longer disturb you very much, you should
gradually relax your concentration. If you find that you are still
frequently disturbed by thoughts, you should relax more
gradually, whereas if they no longer disturb you then you can relax
more swiftly.

If, after having relaxed, there are not too many thoughts
present, or if the thoughts that arise do not disturb you, that is, if
presence is found by means of fixing on the object (naturally when
you practice fixation you should not follow the train of your
thoughts), then you can pass immediately to fixation without the
object.

Practicing fixation using this method it becomes
possible to start to find within yourself the state of
calm called nepa in Tibetan.

Nepa means 'still, quiet'.

For example, at times it may occur that immediately
after the extinction of a thought others do not
automatically follow it, as usually happens9, but we are
able instead to recognize a 'space', a gap where there are
no thoughts. This is the effect that ensues from fixing
the gaze on an object sharply enough.

Practising fixation by applying this method, do not
follow thoughts or try to stop them. In fact, there is
ac tually nothing you have to do with thoughts. All you
have to do is to fix your gaze quite intensely on the
letter A.

[jonesboy]

Now there is much more detail about this first method, shine with object but I figured I would stop here for any questions.

Please notice he starts off this practice with a pranayama/energy practice and then teaches calm abiding/shine with object a meditation practice. That leads one ever deeper along the path of progression..

Once one is able to..

A practitioner who is able to abide thus, that is
without being disturbed by thoughts and without
following them, as if the presence or absence of
thoughts was completely irrelevant, can start to practice
fixation without an object.

[jonesboy]

Before moving on to Shine without Object I wanted to give this last instruction for Shine with Object.

At this point there is something very important that you
should know. While you are fixing in the first way
('triangular' fixation) , you may notice some changes in
your perceptions, for example changes in the appearance of
the letter A where you are fixing your gaze. Maybe as you
stare at it the white A may appear yellow or black, or it
may turn into a face or a mask, or become gigantic, or
disappear, or turn into moving flames. It can also turn into
many other things.

When the object on which you are fixing your gaze seems to
transform before your eyes, this means you are fixing too
sharply.

It does not mean that you have already accomplished
realisation, or that you are beholding some miracle, it simply means that your fixation is too intense and that you
should relax it a bit. In any case when you fix on an object
you cannot relax your attention completely, otherwise you
will not achieve the goal of your practice. The aim of
fixation on an object (that is, in our case, on the letter A) is
to attain a state of mind in which thoughts are not present.
This state cannot arise unless you have trained for a certain
amount of time fixing your gaze intensely; however, if you
have fixed your gaze too sharply and your perception
undergoes deformations you should try gradually to relax
the intensity of your gaze in order not to block progress. It
is useful to remember that Shine is not achieved by
fixation alone; this is just a preparation.

Furthermore it may happen that when you are practising
Shine even though everything seems to be going well you
experience a sense of sleepiness. This is a symptom of lack
of attention, in which case it is necessary to engage in
fixation with more vigilant attention. Sleepiness happens
fairly frequently, and if you cannot shake it off engaging a
sharper and more wakeful attention, then it is useful to do
some breathing exercises or movements.

One movement in particular is very helpful. 'Push' (but
witho ut straining) your chin upwards, tilting your head
backwards, two or three times. This exercise is very
effective. In fact if you do it too much it can also cause
insomnia; if this happens, you should do the opposite
movement, that is tilting your head forward.

In this way you can actually understand what is
meant by the 'calm state of nepa'.

[Ground]

They even cultivate belief in ghosts and advocate taking herbs as a method of their shamanistic causal path.
I am quite certain that people who believe in ghosts and shamanism also can believe in meditation as a means to effect what is already present.

[sky]

Originally Posted by Ground

They even cultivate belief in ghosts and advocate taking herbs as a method of their shamanistic causal path.
I am quite certain that people who believe in ghosts and shamanism also can believe in meditation as a means to effect what is already present.

Bodies of 'hungry ghosts ' are horizontal and therefore have channels for winds and cravings.
I wonder if the cravings are for food and the wind caused because of the empty stomach

[jonesboy]

So to summarize up to this point...

One does Shine with Object to experience the state of Nepa which is a state of no thought.

One can stare at a rock, a candle or as described in the book the Tibetan letter A.

After one has become stable with ones meditation of Shine with Object they are then able to move to Shine without Object.