Meditation
Introduction Meditation in Shambhala is much more than a simple technique–though it is a simple technique. Meditation instruction is one powerful way to share the possibilities of basic goodness. There is an accumulation of thousands of years of experience in the technique that we use, and the language that we choose. As the Sakyong writes:
“It is important for us to appreciate and understand the evolution of meditative words; if we do, even ancient words can yield benefit in modern times. At the same time, we need modern meditative words. In this spirit of continuity and freshness, Shambhala uses particular words to convey the essence of meditation. Thus, the language we use in Shambhala meditation is itself a transmission.” Shambhala Meditation, p. 10.
The language of meditation can be likened to a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Each family lineage or restaurant lineage has their own recipe—some come out crispier, others are soft and chewy. Some have nuts and others very dark chocolate. Some are salty and others very sugary. All recipes for chocolate chip cookies have their own qualities. Similarly, the language and emphasis that each tradition uses to pass on meditation teachings have their own qualities and all should be respected. Some may emphasize mindful attention to the body, others may emphasize stillness and non-thought, while others highlight the health benefits. In Shambhala, we inherit a rich lineage of meditation teachings that bring together the Shambhala principle of basic goodness and the depth and sophistication of the Buddhist traditions of mindfulness and awareness. This leads to a very complete and balanced “recipe.” The particular emphasis and quality of meditation in Shambhala is experiential trust in the basic goodness of all. The specific language that we use allows us to communicate the experience of rediscovering the goodness of human life on this earth.
At first, intending to spread the different aspects of my ideas in the form of short scenarios suitable for theatre or cinema,
I dictated at the beginning such scenarios, and began to "bake" every other day a fresh and completed scenario.
I shall mention only four of the numerous scenarios dictated by me:
"The Cocainists".
"The Chiromancy of the Stock-Exchange".
"The Unconscious Murder".
"The Three Brothers".-- The Herald of Coming Good: First Appeal to Contemporary Humanity, by G. Gurdjieff
In Shambhala Guide training we simultaneously train in 1) the skill to utilize this language effectively and 2) our own experience of basic goodness so that the words flow from our authentic understanding. This training includes knowledge of the geometry of the posture, how to work with the breath, and how to work with the mind and heart. Equally important is the subtle, pre-language feeling of natural awareness that we learn to communicate. During the Guide training, we will work on both the technical skill and the personal experience of basic goodness.
Guides and Initial Instructions Shambhala Guides are empowered to offer initial meditation instruction to individuals in Shambhala Centres or at work, at home, or in schools. However, Guides should not be the first point person for receiving instructions during Open Houses or other events in which new practitioners first learn about meditation. As much as possible, first-time instructions should be offered by senior teachers, shastris, and acharyas during an Open House, Learn to Meditate, Level, or course. The Guide position was designed to make sure that Shambhalians could offer basic instruction to friends, family, colleagues at work or school etc. It was never envisioned to be the primary way that new practitioners first hear meditation instructions in Centres, unless this is necessary. For example, some smaller Centres or groups may have to rely on Guides for this function for a period. Though this has occurred in many Centres, we should make an active effort to readjust this situation. Again, first-time practitioners entering our community should receive instruction in a group or individual situation from our strongest and most experienced teachers, or MIs, or Mentors whenever possible. This means that at an Open House, the teacher of the dharma talk should give instruction to first time guests before the dharma talk. It is only when this cannot happen that a Guide would give initial instruction.
Meditation in Shambhala When we offer meditation instruction in Shambhala, we are welcoming humanity into a full and natural experience of who we are and what our world is. This includes an experience of our basic goodness, which can unfold as openness to others and a relaxed perception of elemental reality. So meditation includes an understanding of what it means to be human, what it means to be social beings, and what it means to live in a sacred world. Meditation accommodates our human feelings and experience, and encourages us to relax within that, and not struggle with who we are.
In Shambhala, meditation even includes the process of enlightened society. As the Sakyong writes, the “natural process” of meditation “builds unwavering conviction in basic goodness, nurturing kind and confident warriors who, by meditating, can create a culture of goodness.” (Shambhala Meditation: Proclaiming Basic Goodness, 16). Very simply, and without a lot of theory, we offer a method in which the innate confidence and freedom of our being can reveal itself. As Guides, Meditation Instructors, and Shambhala Mentors, we do not only talk about our view—we transmit a simple practice that embodies and communicates our view in real experience. We practice a way for our sensitive human hearts to simplify, let go, and rest, while at the same time expanding the brilliance of awareness, allowing us to “follow and delight in the confidence which is primordially free” (Letter of the Black Ashe).
This practice and experience has been passed down through the ages in an unbroken lineage of teachers and students, especially in the meditation traditions inspired by the Buddha’s awakening. After many years of intense ascetic training, the Buddha remembered a simple experience of freshness sitting in nature when he was a young boy. He then sat down beneath a tree and resolved to awaken. This enlightenment experience is the ultimate model of meditation. Throughout the Shambhala years, this experience has taken many forms and has been expressed as a variety of techniques and emphases. Sometimes, the peaceful abiding quality is emphasized, and this is the tradition of shamatha. Sometimes the awareness aspect is emphasized, and this is the tradition of vipashyana. Sometimes precise intelligence is emphasized, as in the analytical contemplation approach. Sometimes the spacious elements are emphasized, as in the Shambhala Training levels as well as in the Mahamudra and Ati traditions. Sometimes effortlessness is expressed, sometimes the need for intense discipline. Sometimes the bliss of the body is emphasized, as in certain vajrayana methods. In Shambhala Meditation, we immerse ourselves directly in feeling, being, and touching primordial goodness, which can be the basis for any form of meditation or for our human lives. All of these techniques are facets of the same diamond of meditation and mutually support each other in revealing awareness. There is no need for a conflict between these techniques. The Shambhala lineage includes all of these views and approaches. And the heart of all of these approaches is present in our simple, basic technique.
Each tradition passes on their unique expression or “recipe” for meditation practice. In Shambhala, we emphasize basic goodness as the ground, path, and fruition.
Basic goodness as ground refers to our view of reality as primordially pure, fresh, and sacred. Our human being is originally wakeful, worthy, and genuine. We approach meditation without the idea of a fundamental mistake that we need to correct. We begin by simply feeling how we are feeling without evaluating ourselves, attempting to change, or stop our thoughts. This is total, aware accommodation.
With this ground, basic goodness as path refers to the way the very experience of meditation can be an expression of trust and blamelessness. We feel our experience with care while we are practicing. The experience of meditation itself can be gentle, genuine, and tender, allowing us to befriend the totality of our experience. It can be precise, unwavering, and clear, allowing us to touch an unshakable quality of mind. Although a meditator discovers hidden neurosis of all kinds, they are not viewed as problems or mistakes, but as the only basis for waking up and becoming stronger. For example, when we are open and honest with ourselves about being deceptive and take responsibility for that, this is the shining through of wisdom. So we do not have to wait for the fruition to experience basic goodness—it can be integrated into the journey, or it is the vehicle through which we make the journey.
Basic goodness as fruition means that the end result of practicing in this way is a more full experience of the basic goodness of all—which has been primordially present. When you combine the basic goodness of ground, path, and fruition, you have a summary of the Shambhala approach to meditation.
Within these qualities of basic goodness, there will be aspects of peaceful abiding, aspects of awareness, and aspects of insight. We work with the full-range of our human experience, including our embodiment, our breathing, our mind, heart, emotions, and perceptions. We draw on the sophistication and depth of the Buddhist meditation lineages, especially within the practice lineages of vajrayana Buddhism, as well as the unique transmissions of the warrior tradition such as windhorse and enriching presence practice. And importantly, our basic technique is infused with the care, trust, and all-embracing kindness of Shambhala Meditation.
Our Basic Instruction The basic instruction that we offer in all of our entry programs, Open Houses, and for our initial instruction in Shambhala is:
View: Based on the view of basic goodness: whatever arises in the meditation session can be embraced with gentle, present awareness infused with tenderness, care, and precise simplicity. We do not have to be afraid of who we are.
Posture: The posture is natural and uplifted, relying on the 7 points of posture, with a soft, open gaze looking slightly downwards, a few feet in front.
Breath: We settle into the present by feeling the body breathing. We can feel the breath come in and fill the body; then we feel the breath dissolve out into the space around us. We let go as we go out with the breath, and then we feel the breath coming in again in an ongoing flow.
Mind/Heart: We feel whatever arises, letting our self be human, and be as we are. If the mind wanders into the past or future, we simply and gently notice this. Then we let go and return to the posture and the breathing in the present. There is no problem with thinking—that is part of being human. We include thoughts as part of the practice. We gently notice if the mind wanders and return to being as we are, again and again.
This is the approach to practice that we offer as Shambhala Guides. This is our foundation technique, which we call our “basic meditation.” It is not Shambhala Meditation, which is a formal, guided practice of moving through the three gestures of feeling, being, and touching. Only specific teachers are empowered to transmit Shambhala Meditation and the three gestures. Our basic meditation is just sitting, in the meditation posture, feeling the in and outbreath, with senses open, feeling whatever arises with gentleness, and just being. We come back to the breath and our body as our connection with the present, so this is a very gentle form of shamatha mindfulness. We are also aware of our thoughts, emotions, and perceptions, so this is a spacious form of vipashyana awareness, or panoramic awareness. We can give the instruction to notice the breath dissolving out and opening into the space around us. And we also feel the breath coming in. The overall attitude and view is basic goodness, and a feeling of gentleness and humanity.
History of Meditation Teachings in the Shambhala Lineage It would be too unwieldy to summarize all of the ancient meditation lineage streams that flow into the present manifestation of Shambhala. However, we can mention the importance of: the ancient tradition of warriorship and windhorse, the Mahamudra tradition of mindfulness-awareness, the Great Perfection (dzokchen) tradition of effortless and spontaneous practice, and the “just-sitting” (shikan taza) meditation in the Zen tradition. Other than these brief references to the older traditions, we will begin with the modern history.
In the early years of his teaching in the West, the Druk Sakyong introduced a range of techniques individualized for different students. Sometimes he taught a very relaxed instruction that had almost no technique. Sometimes he gave the instruction, “just be,” when students entered long retreats. It was not until the 1973 Seminary that the Vidyadhara began to establish a more unified and standardized initial instruction. In 1974, during the first summer of Naropa Institute, the Druk Sakyong offered this standard approach to public audiences. This instruction emphasized identifying with the outbreath as it dissolved into space, a gap following the outbreath and the in-breath happened naturally. When the practitioner noticed that the mind had wandered, the instruction was to silently label this “thinking” and return to the breath. Trungpa Rinpoche emphasized “touch and go:”
You are in contact, you're touching the experience of being there, actually being there, and then you let go. That applies to awareness of your breath and also to your day-to-day living awareness. The point of touch and go is that there is a sense of feel. The point of touch is that there is a sense of existence, that you are who you are.
When you sit on the cushion, you feel you are sitting on the cushion and that you actually exist. You don't need too much encouragement to develop that kind of attitude. You are there, you are sitting, you are there, you are sitting. That's the touch part. And the go part is that you are there, and then you don't hang on to it. You don't sustain your sense of being, but you let go of even that. Touch and go. There's a sense of individuality, a sense of person. Actually, we are here, we exist. (Dathun Letter)
This instruction is subtle and profound. It includes a simple technique for working with the mind to train in returning gently to the present; it integrates space with awareness; it joins elements of peaceful abiding with open and panoramic awareness. During his annual Seminary teachings, the Druk Sakyong offered traditional commentaries on the 9 Stages of shamatha as well as teachings on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness and vipashyana. All of these teachings helped to clarify the basic technique of working with the outbreath and opening further, letting go of the claustrophobia of the ego.
Shambhala Training After 1976, the introduction of the Shambhala Training techniques emphasized and expanded upon these various aspects of meditation, including precision, spaciousness, and openness. The evolution from the Level I to the Level V technique of non-technique represented a gradual arch of training and for many years this arch told the story of how meditation unfolded within our tradition. In this approach, we gradually open beyond the cocoon of fear and expand into space, resting with our own basic goodness.
Shamatha in Turning the Mind into an Ally The next major step in the evolution of meditation instruction within Shambhala began during the 1999 Seminary. The Sakyong offered traditional shamatha and contemplation instructions that differed in specific ways from the standardized mindfulness-awareness technique. The Sakyong’s approach at this time utilized both the in and out breath and emphasized a classical understanding of shamatha as stabilization on an object of meditation. In such a “precise” relationship with shamatha, the practitioner lets go of all sensory and mental distractions and cultivates one-pointed attention on the object. There is not much emphasis on space or insight. However, this “precise” approach to shamatha is not tight. Rather it is a way to train consciousness in complete stillness. The Sakyong’s instructions of the 9 stages emphasized the possibility of transforming the “waterfall” of discursive and untrained mind into a “still lake” or “vast ocean” of peace. This approach differed from what had been the standardized instruction because it used both the in and outbreath and because of its precise emphasis on one-pointed stability more than on opening out into spaciousness.
Contemplation However, the Sakyong was clear that such stillness is not complete. In order to awaken, this stillness needs to be joined with knowing and therefore the Sakyong described how awareness develops with this form of precise shamatha. Again, this approach to awareness differed from the vipashyana instructions of the Druk Sakyong. Here, awareness begins as “presently-knowing” —sheshin in Tibetan. Presently knowing means knowing what is happening in the present; it is a bare knowing that is not insight, but a kind of introspection that is simply aware of what is happening in our practice at any given moment.
With the basis of this presently-knowing awareness, we can cultivate insight through contemplation. The meditator utilizes the one-pointed mind of shamatha, and then places that mind on an object of contemplation, such as a thought. In pure shamatha, we place the mind on the breath as our object of meditation. This is as clear and deliberate as placing a stone on a piece of paper. In contemplation practice, we do not place the still mind on the breath; instead we place the mind on a question, a theme, or a word or phrase. For example, we could place the calm mind on the word “contentment” or “selflessness.” Then we would intentionally use our intelligence to contemplate, or think about, this word. We would rely upon previous study and ask ourselves, “what does selflessness really mean?” We think about the meaning, but we do not wander into other themes. If the mind wanders, we come back to our word, “selflessness.” Then, if insight or some non-conceptual knowing starts to arise, we can drop the words and rest in that insight. This is the process of contemplation.
The one-pointed or precise shamatha is the first step. Contemplative insight is the second step. In this way, calm-abiding and insight work together. The peaceful abiding helps cultivate stillness and helps to ease the suffering of a wild mind. It is also the foundation for the traditional path of insight through contemplating all of the teachings and penetrating into the nature of reality. These teachings are summarized in the book Turning the Mind into an Ally.
Controversy and the “Breath Wars” When the Sakyong first presented this approach, and especially the technique that uses both the in-breath and the out-breath, there was some controversy in the Shambhala community. In what had previously been the standard technique, Trungpa Rinpoche had usually emphasized only following the outbreath. This technique was especially powerful in cultivating a sense of spaciousness and a willingness to let go. By using just the outbreath, there is much less to hold on to and meditation practice becomes a continual training in egolessness—with outbreath after outbreath, we let go and dissolve. We open beyond the need to have any reference point or object of attention. We even let go of the need to be onepointed or stable. Therefore, when the Sakyong introduced an approach to shamatha that emphasized stabilizing the mind on a continual object and using both the in and out-breath, there was some controversy. We jokingly refer to this moment as the “breath wars.” It should be noted that Trungpa Rinpoche did at times teach a technique using both in and outbreaths, and that the Sakyong continued to teach more spacious and open methods of meditation as well. Both teachers reminded us continually that we should not get hung up on technique.
Precise, Open, Beyond After some time, we arrived at a unified approach that brought together both the precise peaceful abiding and the more open out-breath and Shambhala Training techniques. The following sections summarize the synthesis that we came to, which “weaves together the Sakyong’s step-by-step teachings on shamatha with the more fruition meditation instruction given by the Vidyadhara:”
There is no real conflict between the two approaches. The Sakyong has consistently presented the view that if you can practice the outbreath approach without spacing out, then there is no problem. For example, at the 1999 Seminary he said:
Some people have been asking me about this outbreath/inbreath business. You can follow the outbreath and you can follow the inbreath. People say, “I thought we were just supposed to follow the outbreath.” Obviously you can do that, but you could say that just following the outbreath is a little more advanced. The first thing we’re trying to do is just regulate the breathing. The breath is going in and out, in and out. Initially we’re trying to just calm our minds, so we have a feeling or thought of the breath going out, the breath going in: “I’m breathing out, I’m breathing in.”
If you just follow the outbreath, that means you’re able to maintain the continuity of your mindfulness to the point where you don’t lose it on the inbreath, you don’t drift off. If you find yourself following the outbreath, spacing out, and then coming back a few minutes later and following another outbreath, the practice is not working. If you’re able to maintain the space while just following the outbreath, fine. If someone can maintain perfect awareness without having to follow the breath, then following the breath should be pretty easy. (1999 Seminary Transcripts: Teachings from the Sutra Tradition—Book One, p. 16)
In light of this view, the Sakyong’s approach has been to provide a more gradual approach to beginners to help them tame their mind. It is also the case that even the most “advanced” practitioners at times have benefited from working more closely with their breath in order to stabilize their mind…
We do not replace one instruction with another, since if we look closer, we can see that there is no “one” instruction. The Vidyadhara in his lifetime gave a range of instructions. For example, his instruction in Meditation in Action was:
One tries to feel the breath—outbreathing, inbreathing, outbreathing, inbreathing—and it usually happens that the outbreathing is longer than the inbreathing, which helps one to become aware of space and the expansion of breathing outwards. (pp. 63-4)
The Vidyadhara also gave refinements and variations even after he had standardized the technique (for example, the instructions in his talk on the nine stages of shamatha in the 1979 Hinayana-Mahayana Seminary Transcript). There is also the very pithy talk that the Vidyadhara gave in London in January of 1986, in which he emphasizes the key point of meditating on nothing, although “nothing could mean something.” He then gives the instruction that you should pay equal attention to the out and inbreath. In the same way, we intend to keep the big view of meditating on nothing that could mean something, and to be flexible in our instruction.
Three Approaches To simplify, we could say that there are three major approaches:
1. A “precise” technique in which we are working very closely with the breathing process, gaze, posture, and thought process. The emphasis here is on drawing in the mind, relaxing, and stabilizing our mindfulness so that our mind begins to rest in itself.
2. An “open” technique in which we have stabilized our mind to a degree that the technique becomes more natural and spacious. The main point is to enjoy the space of our mind, using the outbreath as a bridge, and to include sense perceptions as part of our awareness.
3. A “beyond” technique in which our mind is well stabilized and naturally rests within itself, feeling very spacious and not needing to apply any technique. In fact, the main technique here is to disown any attempts to “meditate,” and yet not to wander for an instant.
Obviously, there can be further fine tunings and gradations within each of these approaches. For example, in the talk “Taking Our Seat,” the Sakyong gives the main “precise” instruction and then mentions the technique of counting the cycles of breaths. This could be used as a remedy for someone whose mind is so wild that they cannot even find and follow the breath at all. Then, once they have stabilized their mind, they can just work with the breathing without needing to count. As long as we understand what we are doing and why, this flexibility of instruction is practical and beneficial. In fact, the Sakyong emphasizes that we each need to “be our own meditation instructor” and know what our mind needs on any given day. Sometimes we need more stability, sometimes more space.
Trungpa Rinpoche’s Earliest Instruction There is a correspondence between these three approaches and the way Trungpa Rinpoche described meditation in an early seminar he gave in England. The following notes were recorded by Michael Hookham and compiled:
First, let the mind follow the in and out rhythm of the breath until it becomes calm and tranquil; then rest the mind more and more on the breath until one's whole being seems to be identified with it.
Finally, become aware of the breath leaving the body and going out into space, and gradually transfer the attention away from the breath and towards the sensation of spaciousness and expansion.
By letting this final sensation merge into complete openness, one moves into the sphere of formless meditation proper.
Shambhala Training and Precise, Open, Beyond Shambhala Training already presents a graded instruction over the first five levels of The Heart of Warriorship, in which the subject matter and meditation instruction go hand in hand. Level I teaches the unconditional quality of basic goodness. The technique of touch and go, mixing mind with space, points out that moments of resting in openness are natural and need not be created by effort or a technique. Therefore, the Level I instruction is to place mindfulness on the outbreath and, at the end of the outbreath, let go and relax in the space.
Level II presents the need for precise attention to habitual patterns, calling for a more focused practice. This instruction most closely resembles the precise instruction that the Sakyong has presented. Therefore, the Level II instructions incorporates the Sakyong’s teachings on stability, attention to the whole breathing process, and practicing with a gentle yet exacting precision. In Levels III through V, the meditation opens up further to include more space and awareness. Overall, the range of precise, open, and beyond techniques is presented fully, and at the end of the five levels, students can practice the approach that best suits the state of mind they are working with.
Level I: Open Technique Level I teaches the unconditional quality of basic goodness. The techniques of touch and go, identifying with the outbreath, dissolving, and mixing mind with space, point to moments of resting in openness. These are natural and need not be created by effort. One notices the thinking process and acknowledges it by labeling whatever arise in one’s experience as “thinking.” Out of that attention to detail, the participants may experience various kinds of awareness, the most common being to notice how pervasive the thinking process itself is. Beyond that, the insight cultivated in this level is often that there is an alternative to being constantly enmeshed in habitual patterns; if one practices, it is impossible to avoid the contrast between habitual patterns and the experience of basic goodness.
Level II: Precise Technique Level II teachings present the power and wisdom of investigating and knowing the cocoon and the nature of fear as a way of releasing ourselves from habitual patterns. This exploration calls for a more focused meditation practice—continuity of the whole breathing process, mindful of both in- and outbreaths. This technique is not tight, but relaxed and stable and grounding, so that the student can witness the ways in which habitual patterns are created.
Level III: Open Technique The Level III instruction suggests relaxing the technique to allow one’s awareness to include the surrounding environment around one, so that sense perceptions (such as the sound of someone shouting outside the meditation room) can be used as reminders to be present, rather than shut out as distractions. The shift in emphasis to the environment together with the content of the weekend, Warrior in the World, makes this the natural place to introduce the idea that only 25% of one’s awareness is focusing on the breath, while the remainder is open to the environment. At this point participants may have begun to understand the purpose of the technique; it is a tool to cultivate one-pointedness, the ability to be alert and on the spot. As one begins to develop familiarity with this state, clinging to the technique can become an obstacle to further openness—hence the instruction to relax the emphasis on mindfulness of the breath. Mindfulness in action is also introduced at this level, and participants may be given simple mindfulness exercises to try during the meal breaks, overnight, or between weekends.
At the end of Level III students should be very strongly encouraged to begin a regular daily practice period if they have not already done so. Emphasize that practicing only on the occasional weekends when they attend a level really does not go very far and that a regular practice is essential—daily or at least several times a week. At Level III most participants have begun to feel that they are ready to make a serious commitment to this path, and so this kind of encouragement will probably be appreciated. Students are invited to continue to meet regularly with their assistant director, or another assistant director if they prefer, to discuss mindfulness-awareness practice.
Level IV: Open Technique Level IV instruction takes a further step toward precision and openness, suggesting that participants raise their gaze, thus inviting more pure perception. Awareness expands out with the breath as it fills the space of the room. Now participants could be encouraged to notice their reactions to their experiences: the internal dialogue evaluating one’s practice, the arising of feelings of aversion, attraction, or indifference, and the conceptual labeling of them so rapidly after the pure perception as to seem almost inseparable (e.g., “an unpleasant odor” or “an exquisite flower”). Encourage people’s inquisitiveness, looking closely at more subtle habitual patterns and feeling the texture of thoughts and emotions—the environment they bring with them. They can trust their own intelligence to indicate when to make a more conscious effort with the technique and when to let go and expand.
Level V: Beyond Technique The practice at this level joins the principles of mindfulness and awareness. You can relate the meditation practice to the Friday night talk: open sky is a sense of relaxation into vastness, based on trust in basic goodness. That open sky within which each moment arises is the awareness aspect. The dot of experience, the soft spot that leads us to communicate with the world and be kind to others, can be considered the one-pointedness and moment-by-moment precision of mindfulness.
This dot of experience is always fresh and unfabricated. Our habit of picking and choosing becomes superfluous. The Dorje Dradül said, “You have your dot already, whether you like it or not.” With this attitude, perceptions can be seen as basic goodness, thoughts arising can be seen as basic goodness, and our habitual tendency to judge it all can be seen as basic goodness. When we rest in the vast space of basic goodness in this way, attending to each moment as it arises, we join heaven and earth and experience our existence as regal.
Levels I-V Guided Meditation Instruction At a Glance
I. Open Technique Begin by suggesting the practice corresponding to Level I: gaze a few feet in front, identification on the outbreath, which goes out and dissolves into space. Label one's thoughts as thinking. Perceptions are also treated like thoughts: label them and return to the outbreath.
II. Precise Technique Next, corresponding to Level II, bring even further precision to the practice, lowering the gaze a little and identifying with the continuity of the whole breath as it goes in and out.
III. Open Technique Next, as in Level III, ask them to rest their gaze at about 9-10 feet (gaze is still down, however, this is not yet “raising the gaze”), placing some attention on environment (guideline of 25% on the breath and 75% on the environment). Perceptions are included, rather than regarded as distractions.
IV. Open Technique Corresponding to Level IV, now ask them to “raise the gaze” to look straight ahead, still having some awareness of the outbreath; have a sense of going out from the whole body as you breathe out; pay particular attention to the gap at the end of the breath and the sense of space.
V. Beyond Technique Finally, at Level V, invite them to drop the technique, letting go of awareness of breath and labeling, feel the vast space above and all around and the firm ground below. Let perceptions and thoughts occur within that space; whenever you find yourself lost come back to awareness of space. Participants could be invited to try letting the technique drop altogether for a short period; being aware of the breath naturally without putting special attention on it, nor deliberately trying to ignore it. One can simply rest, wakeful, with a light touch. In the environment of nowness, both breath and the thinking process simply happen. Practice sitting like a monarch with a broken open heart. Let your energy and awareness fill the space of the room. When you become distracted, return to that simple presence.
Meditation Instruction in The Way of Shambhala Because a practitioner may take the Everyday Life courses without having attended the Shambhala Training levels, each of the IEL classes rely upon our basic meditation technique. If a student has attended a level that taught another technique, a student could choose to practice that technique. However, the instruction to the group is always the basic meditation, following the full cycle of the breath, feeling the body, heart, mind, and perceptions within a space of gentleness. The Basic Goodness Series introduces Shambhala Meditation as the main approach to practice. The Sacred Path weekends use various techniques from Levels I-V.
Shambhala Meditation The three stages of precise, open, and beyond were our map of the meditation path until 2011 when the Sakyong introduced another major step in the evolution of Shambhala. This is the profound transmission of Shambhala Meditation. We have fully incorporated this experience into our basic technique, which, in a way, leads us full-circle back to where we started.
Just Be As stated in the Introduction to Shambhala Meditation: Proclaiming Basic Goodness, “Shambhala Meditation originated with the Sakyong, Jampal Trinley Dradül in Autumn 2011 in Pharping, Nepal. While receiving the kama empowerments—the transmission of the lineages of tantric teachings that were brought from India to Tibet—on the morning of the full moon day, December 10, 2011, at the culmination of the event the Sakyong had a strong experience of the need for humanity to connect to its own worthiness. He then reflected on how the Dorje Dradül had expressed to him that the essence of meditation is simple being. Thus, the text Shambhala Meditation arose both as a vision and an empowerment.
Shambhala meditation is the heart of the Shambhala message: feeling worthy to be, and touching our basic goodness. The entire vision of Shambhala can be experienced in this simple yet profound practice.”
The opening sentence of Shambhala Meditation states, “At this time, great confusion and suffering exist because humanity cannot simply be.” Shambhala Meditation arose from the Sakyong as a meditative way to allow simplicity, being, and a sense of worthiness. When he teaches on this practice the Sakyong often tells a story of sitting outside with his father when he was a young boy. Trungpa Rinpoche simply reached out and took the young Sakyong’s hand, held it gently and said, “let’s just be.” Later, the Sakyong realized that this was the most ultimate, and the most human, meditation teaching. Through Shambhala Meditation, the Sakyong would like to remind us of the warmth of meditation. Meditation is not just a cognitive training; it includes our whole being.
In a sense, Shambhala Meditation is not another meditation technique. Instead, it is like the “atmosphere” in which we practice. We could say that it is the atmosphere of living in enlightened society, with complete acceptance of who we are. Through the three stages of feeling, being, and touching, we relax and simply be. This opens up an experiential space in which mindfulness happens naturally and effortlessly. Within that space we could meditate, or we could kiss someone, or create art, or enter into a difficult conversation, or make a political speech. In this way, Shambhala Meditation is not exactly a way to train the mind. It is “before” we engage in a specific practice. It is more akin to reconnecting with our own heart and just resting with that. It is just being human without struggling to correct or improve or even become more relaxed. Within that atmosphere we could engage other practices or techniques such as shamatha, vipashyana, or visualization.
In addition to an “atmosphere” we could metaphorically think of Shambhala Meditation as like the “earth” that supports all things. Then various flowers or trees of experience can grow, and we can build many structures. Or Shambhala Meditation is like a “container” that holds, supports, and protects the experience of basic goodness. Or it is like the “confluence” of the various streams of meditation experience. It is also like a “sky” in which the stars, sun, and moon of experience appear. It is like a “dot” or a “seed” from which a variety of different experiences may ripen. This dot is the human heart.
The “feeling” stage of Shambhala Meditation is particularly important. It orients practice towards open, non-manipulation. We just feel, without trying to fix or change anything. Feeling is not just “being present.” It is an attuned sensitivity—as the Sakyong says, it is a “tactile aliveness” present in our senses and our emotions. It is utterly inclusive of our humanity. Once we have some experience of this way of feeling, we could think of the rest of the path of meditation as an endless and ongoing deepening of feeling. We feel more and more, until we include everything.
Shambhala Meditation is an experience or way of being that can be integrated within all other methods or practices. Once we have our own experience of this warmth, simplicity, and confidence, we may find that it influences how we engage in the rest of our path and our life.
Shambhala Meditation and Our Basic Meditation Instruction
Gentleness and Basic Goodness Shambhala Meditation has influenced how the Sakyong would like us to present meditation in general. Rather than describe our basic instruction as “precise” which then becomes more open, we could describe our basic instruction as a way to feel and be as we are. This does not mean that we teach the three stages of Shambhala Meditation, but that even as we give initial meditation instructions, we are emphasizing a gentle approach to practice that allows us to simply feel, and rest in basic goodness. The sense of allowing our selves to feel and be is our beginning and foundation of the path of meditation. This is how we can communicate our mindfulness and awareness practice. The initial experience of feeling can deepen almost infinitely as the practice unfolds.
For some beginning practitioners, however, the experience of working with mind on the meditation seat is very difficult and practice is far from peaceful. Selfaggression, judgment, and harshness often arise. Many people feel discouraged that the mind is not free from thoughts, and no matter how many times we say “be gentle,” practice can still seem like a battle with our own mind. Even long-term practitioners who have been meditating for decades may still try to manipulate their minds in order to create a certain experience. Such manipulation is ultimately not relaxation, and not allowing our selves to simply feel and be.
Influenced by Shambhala Meditation, the Shambhala approach to basic meditation emphasizes tremendous gentleness as a way to work with this self-aggression or manipulation. Friendliness to oneself is key. This is true for basic mindfulness and awareness practice as well as the more spacious techniques. We cannot underestimate the importance of emphasizing loving-kindness as our approach to meditation. As we follow the breathing in the present, we are cultivating a gentle openness to our experience. Rather than trying to fight with thoughts, suppress emotions, or silence the mind, we are learning to finally allow ourselves to feel, and be as we are. The basic or initial instruction that we give is mindfulness and awareness infused with the view of basic goodness and especially a sense of gentleness.
“Ultimately meditation is a deep relaxation of the mind. However, if that mind feels insecure about its nature—basic goodness—then it can never truly relax. When it does attempt to relax it will eventually come to rest in what appears to be the nature of the mind—inadequacy. That seeming inadequacy comes from being brought up in a culture of doubting basic goodness. When we meditate from the perspective of confidence in basic goodness, there is no doubt, and we can relax.” —Sakyong Mipham, Shambhala Meditation, “Creating a Culture”
“The key point of meditation practice is to develop sympathy for yourself. You could enjoy being yourself. You don’t have to borrow anything or bring any foreign influences into your life. You are self-sufficient therefore you can make yourself comfortable. In meditation, you create a very natural situation for yourself… Meditation practice is based on the idea of being yourself, as you are—something you have rarely done. All along you have had problems with that.” —Chögyam Trungpa, The Profound Treasury: The Path of Individual Liberation, Chapter 23.
The Instruction Offered by A Shambhala Guide The “basic technique” (see Basic Technique above, pg. 65) is the approach to practice that we offer as Shambhala Guides. This is our foundation technique, which we call our “basic meditation.” It is not Shambhala Meditation, which is a formal, guided practice of moving through the three gestures of feeling, being, and touching. Our basic meditation is just sitting, in the meditation posture, feeling the in and outbreath, feeling whatever arises with gentleness, and just being. We come back to the breath and our body as our connection with the present, so this is a very gentle form of shamatha mindfulness. We are also aware of our thoughts, emotions, and perceptions, so this is a spacious form of vipashyana awareness, or panoramic awareness. In this sense, our basic meditation is quite similar to the initial and standard instructions that Trungpa Rinpoche gave, so we have come full circle. The only slight difference is that we relate with both in and out breath. We can give the instruction to notice the breath dissolving out and opening into the space around us. And we also feel the breath coming in. The overall attitude and view is basic goodness, and a feeling of gentleness and humanity.
With this profound foundation, we can extend our experience as we engage in the other more open and beyond techniques in Shambhala Training. Rather than think of the basic technique as less-advanced, or tighter, we could consider it as the primordial experience of basic goodness from which other techniques can unfold.
Below, are notes quoting the Dorje Dradül’s Shambhala Training Director talks on January 3 and 10 of 1978. They describe the heart of the Shambhala approach, which is particularly helpful for understanding our basic meditation:
“Everybody's opinions and attitudes about himself are very important in this case. If there is a slightest tendency within you to feel a little bit wretched, inadequate and fundamentally distrustful of yourself, it shows through. That doesn't mean that you are not allowed to think anything bad about yourself, particularly, but there is another side of you, which is good. It is just a simple attitude to ourselves... That kind of spark, which exists in you, is the seed that we are trying to spread to the rest of the world.
...And the first thought that comes to mind when we think about what we can do with this is some sense of friendliness to ourselves. Some sense of friendliness begins there, that it is worthwhile and you are worthwhile. And some sense of softness to ourselves begins to develop.
...And when we present these things to ourselves, they should be moving rather than a big deal. It is almost like touching the aspect of whatever exists in us, which is positive, but at the same time, slightly sad. Because it is very positive, it's very tender. So it has to be truly human, you see, a very human kind of thing. So we are talking about a human situation and how to feel like a human being. And the human thing, which exists in us is a kind of positive cervix which is very tender. That seems to be the heart of the Shambhala approach, if you like, that kind of tremendous gentleness. That has been one of the problems of the world, that people don't feel themselves. So we are trying to feel ourselves from that point of view.”
Cutting Fixation on Techniques With all this discussion of the different techniques, we might start to miss the larger perspective. As already mentioned, in the early 1970s in North America, the Vidyadhara experimented with giving a variety of approaches to his students in his personal interviews with them. He either gave them the meditation on the outbreath, or a direct introduction to being present without technique. Over time, particularly with the introduction of longer meditation intensives, he found that people could not sustain just resting without any technique, and so, at the 1973 Seminary, he made it clear that working with the outbreath, labeling, etc., was the standard approach for everyone at that point. One student was confused by this more “primitive” approach and asked:
Question: I am trying to get my attitude straight towards the labeling approach. Right now I have the attitude that in the beginning we began to sit with our relatively sophisticated meditation technique, which was somewhat shamatha and had tremendous space of vipashyana. And then you were recommending the labeling practice, which is somehow less sophisticated and has less room for vipashyana. It is strict shamatha in the sense of being strictly mindfulness experience.
Rinpoche: That seems to be a typical Western approach to technique—that techniques are the only things that make us valid, or tell us where we stand. Somehow it doesn’t work that way.
The development of meditation practice doesn’t come from what you do with your method, your technique. Technique doesn’t have that much power to bring you down to the hinayana level particularly. Techniques are just sort of lip service—a very convenient lip service that you pay. Underneath that, what happens is the real thing. So you can have ati type labeling, you can have mahamudra type labeling, or all kinds of things. The labeling itself doesn’t make that much difference. Labeling seems to be just another way of relating with the manifest world, if we could look at it that way. Underneath, the whole thing might be heightened, but still you know that gesture is good—just like sitting in meditation itself is a hinayana style. (Sourcebook for Shambhala Instructors, pp. II-21)
The important point here is that even though a student is given many instructions on their path, they will go at their own rate. Just because we give students a more “full” vipashyana-like instruction, e.g., in Levels IV and V, does not mean that they will be able to practice this instruction in an ongoing way. It will depend on how much they have stabilized their practice and how much they understand what they are doing.
Most students quite naturally progress in their insight along the path, whatever their instruction may be. No matter what technique they start with, their experience and understanding of that technique will naturally evolve over time. At times they will receive different instructions to try out in the context of a weekend program, or their meditation instructor may suggest a slightly different technique to work with. All of this is a natural process on the path. The key point is knowing what we are doing and having the confidence and experience to stabilize it.
Ultimately, the point is to go beyond the technique itself. The technique is just a method to help us uncover basic goodness and expand our innate awareness. It is not that the technique itself creates basic goodness and awareness. Therefore, it is said that by applying the technique, we can eventually wear the technique out, like a pair of shoes. When our mind becomes very stable and clear through applying the technique, the focus on the technique will naturally decrease and finally dissolve. Other times, we can experiment with letting go of the technique to experience what that feels like and see how easy or difficult it is to do.
We would encourage everyone to take to heart that our basic meditation instructions preserve the full heart of our lineage transmissions, including mindfulness, awareness, open spaciousness, and Shambhala Meditation. As always, we will make sure to educate our students as to the basic purpose of meditation and to the full range of techniques such that they can ultimately become their own meditation instructors. Even though a meditation instructor can help a person along the path, fundamentally each one of us is on our own. Only we can judge whether we are mindfully present or spaced out. Only we know what is happening with our mind.
As Shambhala Guides we are responsible for transmitting the experience of basic goodness, welcoming human beings to simply be. Even though the above history can feel complicated, it is just the ongoing process of expressing basic goodness in a variety of ways. The basic meditation instruction that we offer is a very simple foundational practice that incorporates all of the experience that we have of teaching meditation in the modern world. Ultimately, this practice is one of our most powerful methods for creating enlightened society.
As warriors of Shambhala, it is up to us to gently blow on the ember of goodness with courageous windhorse, aspiring that we may personally take responsibility for uplifting ourselves and society. We do so not by castigating, ourselves but by appreciating who we are as human beings. By relaxing and contacting basic goodness, we arouse our inherent tenderness, which opens up the sky of possibilities. Great vision occurs: without guilt or arrogance, we see clearly our potentials and problems, experiencing our existence without deception, this is genuineness. (Shambhala Meditation).
