Rigpa: Dzogchen

Four yogas: One-pointedness

SEE the Nature of Mind:
Luminous Emptiness.

If you are of sharp faculties:
PHET

If you have medium capacity:
listen to your master and LOOK.

If you are of the gradual type:
train in shine and laktong.

Once you have seen the essence,
keep that Natural Awareness.

If you get distracted,use MINDFULNESS
to return to Awareness.

After you familiarizate with this state,
duality will vanish.

Then you will enter the second Yoga:
SIMPLICITY.

Unless you find a genuine master,
these are only empty words.

If your motivation is not pure,
SHINE will become an obstacle.

If your VISION is not perfect,
you will never see the essence.

Only ONE THING matters:
SEEING as you LOOK.

RIGPA

Marpa: Rigpa

Doha: Pointing out

There is only one thing that can be pointed out:
the Nature of Mind.

There is only one thing that can point out:
Mind.

Unless you listen to the Master,
there will never be a pointing out.

Mind and Master are one and the same;
Master and Mind are not two.

You and Master are one and the same;
Master and you are not two.

Look at your Master and you will SEE Mind;
Look at Mind and you will SEE the Master.

Don´t fool yourself thinking that you and your Master are two;
there has never been a You separated from Your Master.

When you realize the emptiness of Self,
the arhat comes out.

When you realize the emptiness of Other,
the Siddha shows up.

Don´t think you know;
just KNOW.

Let mind express itself,
and just LOOK.

PHET

Marpa: Blissful Freedom

Don´t do anything; just let everything happen.

Don´think; just let thinking be spontaneous.

Don´t get distracted; remain in the Natural State.


If you allow the Natural State to establish itself,
then you are no longer a yogui.

If you relax in not- doing,
then you are no longer a master.

You are just Luminous Emptiness;
the five barriers have been penetrated.

Non- conceptual original Wisdom,
thinking without thinking,
Rigpa:

just different labels to point out
the same state: Blissful Freedom.

Look now for a no- master,
or you will keep wandering in samsara.

Be Humble, please.

Naropa: The Summary of Mahamudra

Homage to Great Bliss.

1) Mahamudra is knowing that all things are
one´s own mind. Seeing objects as external is
just noetic projection. The whole of appearance
is as empty as a dream.


2) The mind as such is merely a flow of awareness,
without self-nature, moving due to its energy-wind.

Empty of an identity, it is like space.
All phenomena, like space, are the same.


3) There is no definition of the essence of Mahamudra.
It is the mind´s own nature, just as it is.


4) Whoever has understood Suchness is not bound.
Resting in any other state is called either "meditation"
or "non-meditation". It doesn´t arise through the use
of fabricated techniques like meditating or not meditating.


5) Nothing whatsoever truly exists.

Appearances are self-liberated in the ultimate realm
of Dharmadhatu.

Concepts are self-liberated as primordial Wisdom.

Non-duality is realization of the changeless Dharmakaya.


6) Like the flow of a great river, whatever occurs is
meaningful and true. This is the permanent Buddha Nature.
Trascending samsara fully it is Great Bliss.


7) For those fortunate to connect with this teaching, I have
uttered these words of heartfelt instruction. Thus, may all
sentient beings become established in Mahamudra.


This exposition of Mahamudra was given orally by Naropa
to Marpa, who translated it into Tibetan.

Maitripa: Clear Compassion

You are the intimate friend,
the Heart of the Lineage.

Always bestowing compassion
upon the compromised practitioners.

Always here, in the core,
watching over the lions steps.

Maitripa, Friend of mine,
bless my mind, speech and body.

OM AH HUNG

KUKURIPA: The Mirror

,
The first thing that a genuine master will do, is to act like a MIRROR, and reflect what the practitioner brings with himself, be this good or bad qualities.

Usually we have a very idealistic image of ourselves, only focussing on what we think are good qualities, and very often this image is very distorted, so we keep acting following habitudes that keep us away from the right path of liberation from ignorance.

During many lives we have been practicing different so called spiritual methods, and we have forged a very powerful "spiritual ego", which pushes us to act in a way that reinforces his growth and sends us to a sidetrack or sometimes a cul-de-sac.

The master has to show us the true reality of our situation, so we can SEE what we need to CHANGE in order to progress, and CUT the "spiritual EGO", which has been in some way useful in the past, but now is preventing us from AWAKENING to the TRUE NATURE of MIND.

There are many techniques that can be used, and which one will be used depends on many factors that the genuine master will take into account.

One method that is in close relation to mahamudra is CHOD (cutting), and if we use this powerful technique we can go beyond the dual "spiritual ego" into non-dual awareness.

In order to be successful in this, we have to trust our master when he will show us our limitations and imperfections, and be Courageous in polishing them, so we can progress to a more advanced level of being.

If the master is not a genuine one, his reflection of ourselves will be distorted, and we can end up lost in the middle of nowhere, traumatized or even going crazy.

This is a crucial stage in the path, because if we do a good job, everything will be much easier later on. But we must acknowledge that this stage is going to be difficult and dangerous, and that is why we need a trustworthy master who will make sure that this CUTTING process turns into a constructive one, and not into a destructive one.

The master that did most of this "dirty" work with Marpa was Kukuripa, helping him to overcome his bad temper.

So, let´s work on it.

KARMAPA: What a Master is NOT

1- A master is not somebody looking for followers, but someone eager to advance in the path while helping others to progress as well.

2- A master has NOTHING to teach; he just provides opportunities for learning.

3- A master does not know everything, but he can LEARN from everybody and from any situation.

4- A master is not from another world; he just knows very well the world of SELF-DELUSION.

5- A master is not MORE THAN anybody; he is LESS (selfish, proud, ignorant...)

6- A master is not perfect; he knows and works on his own imperfections.

7- A master is not charitable, but COMPASSIONATE.

8- A master does not flatter; he tells you what has to be said.

9- A master is not authoritarian; but his words and actions are AUTHORITATIVE.

10- A Master is simply someone who has SEEN the TRUE NATURE
OF MIND, and has ESTABLISHED himself on that REALIZATION.

Naropa: Looking for the master

At some stage in our path, we may feel the need to look for someone who can understand our personal situation, and help us to advance to a further level of development.

In the west, we can join many so called "brotherhoods", or "mystical" orders or any of many esoteric groups. Usually, behind these organizations we find a hierarchy of so called "masters", who usually only look for their self-interests and to preserve their little niche of "power" and authority among the members of the organization. It is really difficult to find any genuine master trying to help you to develop and progress, and this is the same, I guess, in the east.

One thing is the Public image and propaganda of these institutions, and a different thing is the "reality" behind the mask. If you join one of these organizations, and you are HONEST and intelligent, you will probably quit after realizing the truth of the situation: You have been deceiving yourself expecting to find genuine masters teaching genuine methods, and you really ended up among bluffers and "pseudo-masters".

But this is not all negative: in this process, you will probably discover WHAT IS NOT A MASTER, and this is the starting point for getting rid of the flaws you have seen on the bluffers, which in fact are your OWN flaws.

So, after all, what seemed to be a sidetrack, in fact it was a "purification" process that allowed you to get to know yourself better.

As long as you keep wishing to find the genuine masters, you will meet better quality teachers according to your own level of advancement.

That is the real function of the aspiration prayers to the Lineage: to actively seek the contact with the genuine masters, who have established themselves on the Nature of Mind.

As it is said, when the apprentice is ready, the master shows up.

In fact, the real master is the AWAKENED MIND, which is always close to us, but if we are not able to SEE it, then we have to look for an external master to give us the pointing out instructions.