The Radiant Mind

In the past few meditation sessions I have attended at the Zen Hall of the monastery, I have had a direct encounter with the original awareness, the Bodhi mind, or the luminosity of mind, as the Dalai Lama refers to it in his book A Simple Path (1). The experiences have been somewhat profound in the way in which they have provided a direct experiential validation for much of the Buddhist teaching on Śūnyatā.

When you are able to clear away thoughts of the past and the future, slowly you begin to get a sense of the space between these two. You learn to abide in that present moment. In that space, you begin to glimpse what we call emptiness, and if you can remain in that emptiness for longer and longer periods of time then gradually the nature of consciousness itself, which is the sheer luminosity and natural awareness of mind, will slowly dawn in you. Through repeated practice the period can be lengthened more and more, so that your awareness of the nature of consciousness becomes clearer and clearer.

Dalai Lama (1)

The approach to entering this level of awareness, abiding in this present moment is perhaps of interest to some and I have a strong inclination (dare I say desire?) to share my approach for the benefit of those other meditators who may be interested. Firstly, I must admit that this experience has only been achieved in the Zen Hall during formal meditation with other meditators present and my attempts to achieve it at home have not been successful, although I certainly intend to keep trying. So this is my approach:

1. Arrange your seat and position yourself for maximum comfort in the posture of your choice – This is not an insignificant element and I have recently discovered that by simply adding a second cushion under myself, I am much more comfortable and maintain a better posture while sitting in half-lotus position. Coincidently perhaps, this experience has occurred since making this subtle change.
   
2. Calm your mind – On commencing meditation I find that using the breath counting technique of steadily counting on the in-breathe and releasing on the out-breathe using spherical breathing helps calm my mind, allowing it to release mundane concerns and focus in the present.
   
3. Apply single-pointed concentration – After some minutes of Breathe Counting, I apply my mind on an object of single-pointed concentration. I have used different objects of focus for exercising single-pointedness in the past, from the image of the Buddha, to a concept or question, to following a pre-defined internal landscape; however, in this instance I apply my mind in single-pointed attention on my Chakra Energy Centres. Starting at the Root and then progressing sequentially to the Crown, I visualise the associated colour and energise that Chakra by spinning the energy centre clockwise (for inwardly focused energy flow according to the Right-hand Rule) and trying to see the colour brighten and crystallise. I finish this stage by feeling the flow of energy into and through me, then radiating outwardly into an encompassing sphere or oval of white light that surrounds me. This is a protective seal from negative energies.
   
4. Raise your level of focus – Then following the path of the coiling Kundalini, I let my focus rise up through the central channel of my spine and my energy centre connections to the pineal gland.
   
5. Middle Way Reality Method – Then I apply myself to the middle way reality method. This is really just a fancy title for focusing on nothing at all and dismissing any and all thoughts that enter your awareness, whether through your mind or your senses.
   

From here, it is a matter of extending the period of no-thought until, as the Dalai Lama says above, gradually you become aware of the luminosity of the mind. This is a radiant quality that one senses within one's awareness, like a sense of something shining in your awareness. Once detected, the objective is to abide in this awareness for longer and longer periods of time. This is the nature of mind; mine, yours, everybody, everything. Touching this is experiencing our pure mind, our original awareness, the consciousness that is embedded within the reality of our experience.

However, it is important to realise that this experience of the luminosity of the mind, of the nature of mind, is not a profound realisation in itself. Rebirth in many of the Formless Realms of samsara is considered to result from abiding in such states of clarity. On the other hand, if we know how to use that initial experience of luminosity as a basis, then we can build on it by complementing our meditation with other practices, and in this way it will become truly profound.

Dalai Lama (1)

So, while you may be able to achieve this state of awareness, it is not an end in itself, for we have not really achieved anything. We have not attained anything, we have just realised for however a fleeting period, that which we have always had. All we have done is temporarily release the distortions from that original mind that we carry around in our normal life and glimpse the truth that lays beneath our delusions.

However, in catching this glimpse, we do cross a threshold of realisation and that is, there is a fundamental truth to our existence that is not explained by the material obsessions of the modern world and that the teachings of the enlightened masters of our past have actually been trying to tell us something of this truth. In the Diamond Sutra for instance, the Buddha says in verse 18:

Subhuti, I know the mind of every sentient being in all the host of universes, regardless of any modes of thought, conceptions or tendencies. For all modes, conceptions and tendencies of thought are not mind. And yet they are called 'mind'. Why? It is impossible to retain a past thought, to seize a future thought, and even to hold onto a present thought.

Diamond Sutra (2)

Perhaps we can see that by knowing the nature of our own mind in its original radiance, we also know the mind of all sentient beings.

But what is more important, knowing the truth of our existence through this direct personal experience, or realising that those who have walked this path before us have left a trail of breadcrumbs so we may also follow? Both are significant realisations.

How fortunate we are that there is a path to follow that confirms through experience that there is something to be attained spiritually and allows us to reach enlightenment in our own way and in our own time, while all along we grow in awareness that there is in truth, nothing to be attained.

May we all have this experience of the radiant mind.

Namaste.

 

1. Dalai Lama (2000). A Simple Path. 2nd ed. London: Thorsons. p81, originally published as The Four Noble Truths.
   
2. Diamond Sutra, http://embeddedconsciousness.blogspot.com.au/p/diamond-sutra.html