Host: So the yoga practice supports the tummo practice, the inner fire practice, which supports your, in touch with the illusory sort of body.
Kalu Rinpoche: Yes.
Host: Which helps you with your dream yoga.
Kalu Rinpoche: Exactly.
Host: Without which, you cannot really do bardo yoga, right?
Kalu Rinpoche: No. You cannot. So “bardo yoga”, because the very existence of the bardo is projection of thoughts that is beyond our control. And that is a very cause of the suffering of the bardo. Not just wake, not waking up from it, but also not having the awareness of whatever we are projecting.
Like an example, person who has a great traumatic experience will never be in peace instantly after that. He or she gone through an extreme traumatic experience, they will live in that memory again and again, again and again. And every decision they make will relate to the traumatic experience they had. Right? So that’s, that is in our physical level of experience that we can admit, at least.
And then, like an example, in a dream, you know, at least we can say “ah, that was a bad dream”, “that wasn’t real”. But in the state of the bardo, you don’t have a choice at that stage, you don’t say “I have a traumatic experience”, at that stage it’s no longer a traumatic experience, it’s just a, the body doesn’t exist anymore, but you still have all the projection of fears, and different unpleasant things, to summarise.
In order to relate to that bardo experience, you need to experience the dream yoga. Because in the stage of the dream yoga, in all the elements: ས་ sa [earth], ཆུ་ chu [water], མེ་ me [fire], རླུང་ rlung [air], you know, the dissolving stage, is exactly the same as the, the bardo stage when we enter the death, but the only difference is that the pace is different.
In the state of the dream, we do not see the, the Mother Nature Clear Light, in the state of the bardo, we see the Mother Nature Clear Light. So in a state of the dream, we just don’t see the Mother Nature Clear Light, but other than that, all the element, we are able to witness it if we have a subtle awareness. You know?
So in order to develop the subtle awareness, you need to develop non-fixated, non-fixated to all the different kind of attraction, lust, all that kind of things from the, the world of senses, right? Because if you are very much overwhelmed by world of senses, let alone the clarity, you cannot even have time to meditate. You know?
By saying that, it doesn’t mean I have conquered my mind. Okay? I’m still struggling. So just to be clear, just because I share my experience, doesn’t mean that I’ve achieved it. So I know little bit in terms of experience.
Live with Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche on Wisdom Dharma Chats (21′ 57”)
Perspective on dharma in the modern world – 4th May 2023
To be continued …
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