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The Natural State of Mind (Rigpa)

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  • The Natural State of Mind (Rigpa)

    Dear everyone,

    This is an important topic, but I couldn't find any direct references in this forum to the concept in question. Tibetan Buddhists call it rigpa which means knowledge (of the natural state), and it's an useful term to know in case you wish to know how different Mahayana traditions are really related.

    Why is Zazen or sitting meditation made so much a big deal in Zen? Many honored teachers (Dōgen chiefly) have implied that Zazen is both the means and the end of Zen. I never quite understood what was it about, though I understood that the Zen monks could train for dhyana absorptions and practice insight meditation. There seemed to be something else involved which lied beyond these two traditional categories of meditation. My own introduction to meditation was an informal self-iniation, and I always only cared for the prospect (I don't honestly and unfortunately remember what gave me the idea) that it could provide the pleasure and happiness that I somehow had figured out as my lost birth right. Little did I know that I was very close to the truth with that intuition.

    After the Helsinki Chi Kung courses there were few days I felt bit dull, but then again I started to feel very happy like just before the courses. Then gradually there appeared a type of irresistable pull, a sort of happiness and bliss which was simultaneously both subtle and profound. However, what I valued most of the experience was that it was easy to access and stable. Closest words describing the totality of the experience are as if I've finally arrived home from a long journey and now I've started making myself cozy. After a terribly hard road and bitter experiences my heart now has found the unshakeable peace and comfort that it always longed for, but knew not what to seek for or what exactly to call it. Now I call it the Natural State of Mind.

    How to access the Natural State of Mind? Funny, it's something that we all are taught in the very beginning: just enjoy. Don't try, don't seek, don't focus, don't intellectualize, and don't identify as anything. Just be and enjoy. Feel how wonderful the life is!

    How can you recognize that you are in the Natural State of Mind? The signs obvious: you are immersed in happiness, and your vision relaxes in a peculiar manner. There is more mindfulness towards your peripheral vision and your attention is naturally fixed in the space before the objects, so in fact you are not actually looking anything directly in the same manner you might have known. It's weird getting accustomed how this unusually fixed perception works. There is a great sense of liberation and spontaneity that comes naturally with the change in vision. In other words, your spirit is naturally spacious, illuminated, and perceptive, which will only deepen with passing time.

    Sometimes I find many minutes have passed without any thought arising or any feeling of "self" being found. I find myself thinking and reacting to things with a child-like innocence if that description makes any sense. If I'm not entirely wrong, then this development will help me to purify my mind much faster than I thought could've been possible. The irony of this Natural State of Mind is that by resting in it you spontaneously engage in non-meditation that provides the benefits of both dhyana and insight meditation without any effort. There is the blissful focus of dhyana, and the ceaseless undoing of vipassana.

    I'm extremely happy to announce that with the gentle (not fully mature yet) realization of this state I have now accomplished one of my life's main goals, and it was directly with and because of Shaolin Wahnam Institute's kind teachings. I have really learned what genuine meditation truly is about and gotten immeasurable benefit because of its application! What an immense gift has been given to me; how could I ever repay the debt that I now owe? I can hardly believe my incredible luck. Thank you Sifu and Sigung from the depths of my heart! THANK YOU!

    Now I would like to poll you more senior practicioners. How long did it take for you to realize this state once you began applying Shaolin Wahnam teachings daily?

    With sincere gratitude,
    Olli
    1
    No realization and less than 10 years of practice.
    0.00%
    0
    1 year
    0.00%
    0
    2 years
    0.00%
    0
    3-4 years
    0.00%
    0
    5+ years
    0.00%
    0
    10+ years and still don't have it.
    100.00%
    1
    I have always had it.
    0.00%
    0
    I don't understand what you are writing about.
    0.00%
    0
    Last edited by understanding; 14 August 2016, 08:31 PM.

  • #2
    Dear Olli,

    Thank you for your timely post. Your experience coincides with my recent heart opening last week.

    Basically, it took me 15 years to truly open my heart!

    I am now constantly buzzed with bliss. In fact, I seemed to have develop a new skill derived from Smiling from the Heart. I've noticed that when I think of my back area (opposite of where my heart is), energy would gently rise up my spine and open my heart to love and joy. Sometimes the bliss would be so overwhelming that I cannot concentrate at work and would have to take a break.

    Needless to say, I'm enjoying this new high. However, I also know to guard against becoming blissful without ignoring my daily work!

    Best wishes,
    Stephen

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