Profound Instruction on Śamatha
by Jamgön Mipam Rinpoche
I prostrate to Mañjuśrī!
The Benefits of the Practice in Brief
If you focus mind [upon itself] you’ll come to achieve śamatha, and gradually insight
(vipaśyanā) into the nature of things will dawn.
The Actual Instruction
Draw your ordinary awareness – that which is vividly clear, open, and brilliant –
into the empty center of your heart and allow it to settle; this is what is meant by
mind being turned upon itself, and within this experience there is nothing
whatsoever to focus upon.
If mind exists, it should be found within the body; but it isn’t to be found, not in the
heart and not anywhere else for that matter.
When thoughts run wild look toward their source and remain there with a gentle
tranquility.
There is no need to search for mind; simply relax, and abide where you find yourself.
Nor is there any need to investigate whether there is a ‘place’ to abide—simply abide
within mind.
It is perfectly alright simply to relax as if preparing to sleep. This is the mode of
resting; anything else is unnecessary.
Just as the brilliance of sunlight increases when it refracts and reflects on turbulent
waters, emotions and thoughts proliferate in an agitated mind; attempting to stop
thoughts simply will not work. However, when the waters are no longer agitated but
settled and calm, the reflection of the light-rays will decrease. Just like that, allow the
mind, which is the source, to settle calmly without mental agitation.
Don’t forget this experience, but rather use an uninterrupted flow of mindfulness
and alertness to remain within the natural [empty-clear] calmness of mind – focused
and fresh.
If there is an experience of blankness, relax into its natural calmness.
If there is an experience of intense clarity, relax into its natural calmness.
If there is an experience of mind going wild and giving rise to many thoughts, relax
into its natural calmness.
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In the naked, direct experience of whatever there is in that moment, simply relax, no
matter what arises.
When these experiences of blankness, clarity and thought arise, recognize them, but
don’t follow or chase after them. Simply rest within the space that is the recognition
of their nature.
With familiarity this [recognition] will last longer and longer. Allow any analysis or
coarse thinking to subside in its own place.
On occasion, the mind may appear dull and devoid of all movement [of thought].
Clear this drowsiness and simply rest.
At other times the mind may seem as if full of movement – giving rise to all kinds of
thoughts. At such times, since the movements are none other than mind, look into
its nature and relax.
Don’t try to prolong the experience that follows movement but stand your ground.
Thought will naturally subside, and you’ll come to see how agitation, calmness, or
even strong feelings and emotions are all on the surface of mind – relax into its
depths.
Placing mind within your heart or simply letting your mind be, these are essentially
the same. The key point is to relax the mind. When mindful, the knots of thought
will untie in and of themselves. [Just as a snake can loosen knots in its body without
relying on another, mind, when left to rest genuinely, frees itself.]
The Faults of Being Continually Under the Influence of Discursive Thought
There is no end to discursive thoughts; they won’t disappear in and of themselves.
For all their multiplicity and number, they bring no real results or benefits. They
can’t put an end to negative mental states or suffering.
[Should you wish to be free of suffering you must get rid of its respective causes]
To this end you must recognize the faults of discursive thought and emotion.
Since time immemorial you have been under the control of these thoughts and, as a
result, have not acquired any genuine qualities.
Now, give up attachment to such thoughts and do all that you can to cultivate
stillness of mind.
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The Qualities That Arise from Overcoming Discursive Thought
If you can do this, you will gain many qualities, such as concentration and
[uncontaminated] clairvoyance. You will gain the power to abide by the natural state
and find supreme bliss.
Reasons to Apply Great Effort to The Practice
With such an understanding of the faults and benefits, and having gained a degree of
control over the mind, continue to practice with unflagging diligence until you
achieve calm abiding. [Where you have passed through the meditative experiences
of movement, achievement, familiarity, stability, and ultimate experience and
achieved the samādhi of the pinnacle of saṃsāra.]
Through familiarity with this method of meditation, the moving energy/wind of
activity [which gives rise to so many thoughts] will converge at your heart and enter
the central channel. Wild hard-headed thoughts will be gradually pacified and your
mind will become increasingly workable and positive.
[The activity wind – movement of the subtle energy/wind within the body – will
naturally come to dissolve into the central channel. The effect of this is that the rider
of said energy, discursive thought, will be without its mount and will naturally
dissolve into empty/awareness and you will be without thought. Discursive thought
will be calmed and you will abide in the open luminosity of their absence.]
Showing How Profound and Yet Easy to Practice This Particular Method of
Meditation Is
Even without other modes of introduction from the guru, these pith instructions of
mind resting upon itself offer a simple way to calm the mind that has none of the
dangers associated with the forceful manipulation of energy.
If you are able simply to place the mind upon itself in this way, workable
concentration will be won swiftly and with little difficulty.
Here there is no need for meditation upon subtle bindus/drops in the heart, nor upon
letters, nor any shape and form for that matter. Nor is there a need to manipulate the
breath.
The most profound method of calm abiding is simply to view and rest in the nature
of your own mind and sustain its continuity mindfully. This is easy to practice and
brings fast results.
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A Summary of the Points: How Calm Abiding Naturally Gives Rise to Insight
First, rest quietly and let the mind settle. Then, allow the mind to look into itself. Just
as when you stare into space and there is nothing to observe, discursive and negative
thoughts will naturally be liberated in and of themselves. Then the secret of mind—
dharmatā, the union of [the view of Madhyamaka, the subject of the turning of the
second dharma wheel] emptiness and clarity [the subject of the third turning of the
dharma wheel and the subject of mantra, the Buddha Nature]—will naturally arise.
And, through the blessings of the realization of a perfect qualified master, his/her
lineage and your perfect devotion, an experience of the empty clarity of the great
Natural State—the spontaneous, self-emergent wisdom, which is the meaning of the
Luminous Great Perfection— will arise.
Written by Mipam during the third part of the sixth day of the second month in the year
of the Fire Horse.
| Translated by Sean Price, 2019. The headings were added by Khen Rinpoche Yeshe Gyaltsen for the
sake of clarity.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
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