: shabkar :

all appearances are vast openness,
blissful and utterly free.

with a free, happy mind
i sing this song of joy.

when one looks toward one's own mind -
the root of all phenomena -
there is nothing but vivid emptiness,
nothing concrete there to be taken as real.

it is present as transparent, utter openness,
without outside, without inside -
an all-pervasiveness
without boundary and without direction.

the wide-open expanse of the view,
the true condition of mind,
is like the sky, like space:
without center, without edge, without goal.

by leaving whatever i experience
relaxed in ease, just as it is,
i have arrived at the vast plain
that is the absolute expanse.

dissolving into the expanse of emptiness
that has no limits and no boundary,
everything i see, everything i hear,
my own mind, and the sky all merge.

not once has the notion arisen
of these being separate and distinct.

in the absolute expanse of awareness
all things are blended into that single taste -
but, relatively, each and every phenomenon is distinctly,
clearly seen.

wondrous!

~ shabkar


~~~

: sky-like :

The source of all phenomena of samsara and nirvana
Is the nature of mind void, luminous,
All-encompassing, vast as the sky.

When in that state of sky-like vastness,
Relax into its openness; stay in that very openness,
Merge with that sky-like state:
Naturally, it will become more and more relaxed
Excellent!

If you become accomplished
In this method of integrating mind with view,
Your realization will naturally become vast.
And just as the sun shines freely throughout space,
Your compassion cannot fail to shine on all unrealized beings.

~ dilgo khyentse rinpoche


~~~

: the inheritance :

The essence of mind that is primordially empty and rootless is unlike holding the idea of emptiness in mind, and it is not the same as the sustained attempt to feel empty. Neither of these helps very much. By growing used to this natural, original emptiness again and again, we become accustomed to it. Then there will be a stretch throughout the whole day from morning to evening, which is only empty awareness untainted by notions of perceived objects or the perceiving mind. This corresponds to having attained the bodhisattva levels, the bhumis. When there is never a break throughout day and night, that is called buddhahood, true and complete enlightenment.

From the perspective of mind-essence, the interruptions of thoughts are like clouds in the sky. The empty essence itself is like the space of the sky. Our cognizance is like sunshine. The sky itself never changes whether it's sunny or cloudy. Similarly, when you realize the awakened state of the buddhas, all clouldlike thoughts have vanished. But the qualities of wisdom, meaning original wakefulness, are fully developed, fully present, even now, when thoughts are present. We need to train in slowly growing more and more used to the recognition of mind-essence. This will dissolve our negative karma and disturbing emotions. In this recognition it is impossible to be tainted by karma and emotions, just like midair cannot be painted.

I would like to give you a famous quote from the Hevajra Tantra:

"All sentient beings are buddhas,
But they are covered by temporary obscurations."

This temporary obscuration is our own thinking. If we didn't already have the buddha nature, meaning a nature that is identical to that of all awakened ones, then no matter how much we tried we would never be enlightened. The Buddha used the example of churning milk into butter. Sentient beings contain within themselves the butter-yielding milk, in the sense of this basic material of enlightenment. It is not like we are water -- you could churn water for a billion years and still never get butter from it. All sentien beings have the essence of buddhahood within themselves. But if you ignore this most precious essence inside yourself, you will continue spinning around in the three painful realms of samsara.

~ tulku urgyen rimpoche


~~~

: song of shabkar :

Omniscient lama
Whose wisdom mind is wider than the sky,
Grant your blessing that
My mind and yours may merge as one.

Like dreams, like apparitions:
All these phenomena of samsara and nirvana.

Like the wide sky:
One’s own mind.

All the phenomena of samsara and nirvana
Are the natural play of mind –
This I’ve come to understand.

The source of all phenomena of samsara and nirvana
Is the true nature of one’s own mind:
An immense expanse that is an empty brilliance
Completely free of taking things as real:
This I have realized.

If I look toward the one who realizes this –
One’s own awareness –

It is like the sky,
Set free, beyond clinging,
In the unborn expanse of dharmadhatu.

Relaxed, at ease in that very state of freedom,
I arrive at the immense sky realm
That is unconditioned dharmakaya.

When it is left to itself, as a vast sky
Utterly transparent and serene,
The poisonous, painful bindings that are mental constructs
Loosen by themselves.

When I remain in this state,
Which is like a transparent, empty sky,
I experience joy beyond words, thought, or expression.

When I dissolve into that vast expanse –
Empty and clear –
Without end, without limits –
There is no difference between mind and sky.

Looking on with the eyes of a wisdom
That is more immense than the all-encompassing sky,
The phenomena of samsara and nirvana
Become delightful spectacles.

Within that brilliant continuum,
There is no need for effort.
Everything occurs by itself,
Completely at ease, very naturally:
Complete contentment!

Not expecting to see anything at all,
I actually did see an empty brilliance
In its nakedness: what was seen
Was, like the sky, unchanging –
Extraordinary!

Signs of progress on the path,
Spiritual qualities, will arise in reality,
In dreams, and in meditation experiences;
What is called “enlightenment in a single lifetime”
Can really be achieved, I’m sure of it.

Compassion toward sentient beings
Once my mothers, surged up from deep within me –
These aren’t just empty words:
Now I’ll work to benefit others!

While I was remaining in the natural flow
Of the essence of mind, the absolute natural state,
This and similar songs spontaneously arose.

Fortunate disciple with a special connection,
Sing songs like this while you remain
In the realm of the natural sate, and
Meditation experiences and realization will blaze forth.


~ shabkar, sung on the shores of lake manasarovar, early nineteenth century tibet


~~~

: buddha nature :

Emptiness, the ultimate nature of Dharmakaya, the Absolute Body, is not a simple nothingness. It possesses intrinsically the faculty of knowing all phenomena. This faculty is the luminous or cognitive aspect of the Dharmakaya, whose expression is spontaneous. The Dharmakaya is not the product of causes and conditions; it is the original nature of mind.

Recognition of this primordial nature resembles the rising of the sun of wisdom in the night of ignorance: the darkness is instantly dispelled. The clarity of the Dharmakaya does not wax and wane like the moon; it is like the immutable light which shines at the centre of the sun.

Whenever clouds gather, the nature of the sky is not corrupted, and when they disperse, it is not ameliorated. The sky does not become less or more vast. It does not change. It is the same with the nature of mind: it is not spoiled by the arrival of thoughts; nor improved by their disappearance. The nature of the mind is emptiness; its expression is clarity. These two aspects are essentially one's simple images designed to indicate the diverse modalities of the mind. It would be useless to attach oneself in turn to the notion of emptiness, and then to that of clarity, as if they were independent entities. The ultimate nature of mind is beyond all concepts, all definition and all fragmentation.

‘I could walk on the clouds!’ says a child. But if he reached the clouds, he would find nowhere to place his foot. Likewise, if one does not examine thoughts, they present a solid appearance; but if one examines them, there is nothing there. That is what is called being at the same time empty and apparent. Emptiness of mind is not a nothingness, nor a state of torpor, for it possesses by its very nature a luminous faculty of knowledge which is called Awareness. These two aspects, emptiness and Awareness, cannot be separated. They are essentially one, like the surface of the mirror and the image which is reflected in it.

Thoughts manifest themselves within emptiness and are reabsorbed into it like a face appears and disappears in a mirror; the face has never been in the mirror, and when it ceases to be reflected in it, it has not really ceased to exist. The mirror itself has never changed. So, before departing on the spiritual path, we remain in the so-called ‘impure’ state of samsara, which is, in appearance, governed by ignorance. When we commit ourselves to that path, we cross a state where ignorance and wisdom are mixed. At the end, at the moment of Enlightenment, only pure wisdom exists. But all the way along this spiritual journey, although there is an appearance of transformation, the nature of the mind has never changed: it was not corrupted on entry onto the path, and it was not improved at the time of realization.

The infinite and inexpressible qualities of primordial wisdom ‘the true nirvana’ are inherent in our mind. It is not necessary to create them, to fabricate something new. Spiritual realization only serves to reveal them through purification, which is the path. Finally, if one considers them from an ultimate point of view, these qualities are themselves only emptiness.

Thus samsara is emptiness, nirvana is emptiness - and so consequently, one is not ‘bad’ nor the other ‘good’. The person who has realized the nature of mind is freed from the impulsion to reject samsara and obtain nirvana. He is like a young child, who contemplates the world with an innocent simplicity, without concepts of beauty or ugliness, good or evil. He is no longer the prey of conflicting tendencies, the source of desires or aversions.

It serves no purpose to worry about the disruptions of daily life, like another child, who rejoices on building a sand castle, and cries when it collapses. See how puerile beings rush into difficulties, like a butterfly which plunges into the flame of a lamp, so as to appropriate what they covet, and get rid of what they hate. It is better to put down the burden which all these imaginary attachments bring to bear down upon one. The state of Buddha contains in itself five ‘bodies’ or aspects of Buddhahood: the Manifested Body, the Body of Perfect Enjoyment, the Absolute Body, the Essential Body and the Immutable Diamond Body. These are not to be sought outside us: they are inseparable from our being, from our mind. As soon as we have recognized this presence, there is an end to confusion. We have no further need to seek Enlightenment outside. The navigator who lands on an island made entirely of fine gold, will not find a single nugget, no matter how hard he searches. We must understand that all the qualities of Buddha have always existed inherently in our being.


~ dilgo khyentse rinpoche